California Trip

We had a great time in California last week. We met up with Christina's parents and some of her siblings and their families. We spent three days at Disneyland and California Adventure, as well as a day at Legoland. The kids liked most of the rides. The only one they really hated was Space Mountain. It was called Ghost Galaxy for Halloween so the images were frightening and the coaster speed was a little high. They may never set foot near that ride again.

I probably overdid it with the photos (taking more than 600). Here are a few.

The sun almost broke through the clouds at this point. We didn't see any sunshine until Friday afternoon...


On Sunday we took the kids to Muscle Beach for some intense strength and conditioning in preparation for walking around the parks all week...


They responded pretty well...


On Monday we hit Legoland...


Lots of Halloween everywhere, including giant Lego pumpkins...


Elijah and grandpa taking the safari drive...

Carson drove pretty well for a seven year old. Both boys got their Legoland driver's license...

Carson and grandpa ready to take a flight...

The girls on the boat ride. Clarissa loved it as you can see...

Elijah set to take down Darth Lego...

I'm not sure how Legoland's structures stay so durable with kids climbing all over them...

Tuesday we woke up really early and got into Disneyland at 7:00. It was good to beat the crowds. We got a lot in before lunchtime...

The kids were very excited and ready to ride...


Elijah and Grandma flying around on Dumbo. Elijah loved doing the rides with grandma and grandpa...

The rain kicked in about noon and never really let up...

By time we walked back to the hotel, we were pretty wet, despite throwing another $30 at Disney for rain ponchos...

All the grand kids on the trip posing with the Disney villains...

After a break on Wednesday, we went to California Adventure on Thursday. The boys loved Soarin' Over California. It was their favorite ride. Lijah was obviously excited to meet Mater and Lightning...

Clarissa and I on the giant Mickey Ferris Wheel...

Waiting to get into the Bug's Life 3-D movie. It was really cool...

Carson in the new Toy Story Mania ride. The wait was very long, but it was a lot of fun...

The kids about to ride Monsters. Elijah won't watch the movie because it scares him, but he loves the ride...

I managed to get Christina to do the Tower of Terror with me. I thought her eyes were closed the entire time, but she must have opened them for just a second when the cameras flashed...

We went to the World of Color that night. Amazing to watch, but the crowd was pretty unbearable...

Friday we headed back to Disneyland. The kids met many characters during the week, but were really excited to meet Mickey...

Hanging out in one of the Toon Town cars...

Carson in Goofy's chair...

Elijah tries to hoist the Toon Town weights...

Clarissa was scared by some of the rides, but she did love Winnie the Pooh's Adventure...

One of the boys favorites is Buzz Lightyear's Blasters. We did that one a couple of times...

The statistics indicate that October is the least crowded time to visit Disneyland. What?

Meeting Pooh. The characters scared Clarissa. Most the time she'd put her head down and bury her eyes, but as the week went on she got more comfortable with them...

On Splash Mountain. It was a hit with everyone, Elijah especially liked it...

So long Halloween Disney. We had blast...

Armed and loaded with a pair of Minnies, Clarissa is ready to hit the long road back home. Eleven hours later and less than 10 minutes from home, she was screaming her head off and wanting the heck out...