Note: Please be prepared for large quantity of pictures.
It worked out prefect to hit our second day headed to Disneyland with uncle Matras. Olivia was so excited to see everything with him!
It was very crowded on Monday in Disney and we went on as many rides as possible that we didn't have to wait in line forever. Olivia didn't like the Haunted Mansion but loved the Winnie the Pooh ride the most. We did a lot of walking around on this day because it was so crowded.
We started our day out with some perfect timing to see some Disney Characters dance and put on a little show in front of the Castle.
After the fun music we headed back to Toon Town and first thing went on Rodger Rabbit.
Then went through all fun stuff in Toon Town, like meeting Goofy.
Of course we went through Mickey Mouses house and met the famous mouse himself.
We couldn't leave Toon Town without picking up Mouse Ears for the girls.
Olivia picked out everything and made her own Mouse Ears.
Jorja was wonderful about taking a nap in her stroller again. We had a yummy lunch together over by Pirates of the Caribbean, which was closed the whole time we were there much to our disappointment.
We had to meet Tigger and Pooh Bear...
We stopped and took in the sights. Olivia went through Sleeping Beauty's Castle and we made wishes in Snow Whites Wishing well.
Apparently Jorja wished for a booger.
Jorja loved the Ticki Hut and was on my lap pointing and dancing the whole time. I think I'm still singing that dumb song over and over again in my head. But, I would have to say it was her favorite.
Of course Liv didn't miss out on the teacups, though I was happy to stand on the sidelines and watch.
When our feet couldn't stand any more walking. We decided to have a nice dinner together at Tony Roma's. It's Lindz's favorite, but I will not be going back any time soon. Our service was terrible, we waited forever for food and they were horrible about the kids. We had a mellow night together as a family and I'm very lucky to have them.
We stopped for a few photo ops before leaving of course!
Day Three:
We started out Tuesday with a fun twist. Matras's really good friend Muppet Brown is an amazing drummer. He is part of a group that puts on a show at the House of Blues once a month for school kids teaching them about Blues and how it has influences music. It's about an hour show. We were able to meet Muppet Brown over in the morning and he got us into the show. It was great fun and I learned a lot. Olivia was being too shy and wouldn't move along with the music. So, I was a weird mom and kept moving her arms around and bouncing her trying to get her to dance. It was my first time to a House of Blues and I will not be forgetting it any time soon. Thanks Muppet Brown! We of course left Grandma back at the Hotel with the two babies.
I went to fetch her for lunch after the show. Once we finished lunch we also had to part with Uncle Matras. He had loads to do before officially migrating out of California. We we so lucky to have had some quality time with him before he got going.
We parted ways in the middle between Disneyland and California adventures. Of course Grandma and I cried a bit. I hate saying goodbye to that boy.
Olivia was very brave once we headed back into Disneyland. She wanted to ride Splash Mountain very first! Uncle Blake explained that if she could ride Splash Mountain, she could ride every other ride at Disneyland. She loved it! Of course, she was too short to even see on the picture, but she loved getting all wet. I was so proud of her... after that she was an addict. We went on all the big rides. Matterhorn, Space mountain and Thunder Mountain. She was a little too short for Indiana Jones though, just barely. Liv lucked out, with the parent swap tickets you can take someone back on the ride with you so, she got to ride them all twice. We had a fun filled day on Tuesday. The park wasn't as busy as it had been and we were able to enjoy more things.
We didn't take as many pictures on this day because we left the camera in Lindz's bag and she went back to the hotel to let Jaye nap. This is about the only picture taken. Blake and I rode Indiana Jones and the rest of the gang went up Tarzan's tree house. Grandma now regrets that choice because she had to carry my heavy Jorja up and down all those stairs.
Last Day and Headed Home:
Wednesday Blake, Lindz and Jaye had to leave first thing. They were driving straight home so Blake could be to work... but he didn't end up actually working because the office was freaked out he would bring back Swine Flu.
We got all packed up and ready to go. Said goodbye to the Marshall Kids and then us four girls went back to the parks for a little bit. We wanted to ride Soaring over California and Monsters Inc.
Plus get some last pictures and ice cream before going home.
It was nice for just the four of us to run in and enjoy some time. We left Disneyland on a good note.
We started heading out of California by about one pm and made it to St. George about nine thirty pm. Thanks to Blake and Lidz lending us their Garmin we made it out of California alive. We stayed at this super cute Best Western just off of St. George Blvd.
It was the best hotel we stayed in the whole trip. Kudos to the Best Western! We had promised Olivia that we would swim before leaving St. George. But... she woke up throwing up. We decided to get home ASAP. We had to pull over off the highway twice. Once outside of Cedar City for Olivia to throw up again. Then again past Fillmore when Jorja started throwing up. We had sick kids and it wasn't pretty. I was planning to send Olivia to school on Friday, but with her being sick and her teacher knowing she had been in California. I decided to keep her home and not stir the swine flu pot. She was completely better by Friday afternoon. Jorja took a little more time to recover and didn't act like her normal self till Saturday. I was happy to be home and see Josh. But overall it was an amazing trip and I'm so glad that we went. Olivia is still talking non-stop about the whole experience.
I can not thank my Mommy enough for all her time and effort into making it an amazing experience for us all. She completely spoiled us all rotten and I truly feel like we didn't deserve it. Thank you Mom for everything and all the fun memories! We Love You Always and Forever!
