Last week Bill the kids and I were in sunny California! We finally made the trip to Disneyland. This was Stella, Tristan, and Bill's first time. My second. I went once when I was 7 years old. The kids were excited, but the have never been to an amusement park, so I don't think they quite understood the concept of what Disneyland actually was.
We left Sunday morning and stayed the night in Mesquite at my dad's friends condo. The next day we left bright and early for California. We didn't get to our hotel until about 2:30. My parents flew in that morning so they were there when we arrived. We did our grocery shopping that day and spent too much for pancakes at IHOP. The pool was nice and the kids loved swimming while we were there! Tuesday we spent the whole day in Disneyland! Stella was so excited and rode everything she could fit on. She was quite the dare-devil. More so than me! I get less daring the older I get. She even went on the Tower of Terror! 
Tristan was a serious boy. He had his game face on the whole time. Once in a while when he was actually on the ride we would see a little bit of a smile. I don't know if it was too much that it was overwhelming, or what. However, when we ventured over to California Adventures on Wednesday he had a HUGE smile when he saw Mater and Lightning McQueen. He picked a little McQueen car for himself then gave Stella a Sally car and said, "Happy Birthday Stella!" How could we not buy her the car after that! 
Wednesday was Stella's birthday. She turned the big 6! When we woke up that morning Bill said to Stella, "Did you see all of the little girls dressed up in their princess dresses? Too bad you don't have one." Stella says, "Yeah. We'll have to do something about that." 
Fortunately for her we had bought one along with our package for just such an occasion. That morning we went and met the princesses. We stood in line for 1 1/2 hours to meet Ariel, Belle and Tiana. Stella was in her element surrounded by so many princesses! She fit right in. That evening she said that was the best birthday she'd ever had. Aw! How sweet is she? Thursday we had planned on only staying at Disneyland for a few hours, but ended up staying until dinner time. Once back at the hotel we had some dinner and went swimming. 
Friday was a relaxing day at the beach. We went to Corona Del Ray, I believe is what it was called. It wasn't busy at all and it was beautiful! Tristan was in heaven with all that sand. He took off chasing the water down the coast line. Stella is usually my water baby, but they switched roles when it came to the ocean. Tristan liked running away from the waves and was content to play with his cars and the sand the whole day. Stella and I found some pretty awesome seashells. Bill loves the ocean too. He spent a lot of time body surfing the waves. He even convinced me to join him, which is a big step for me! I hate deep ocean water. It's a fear of mine, but sometimes you have to just face your fears anyway.
We had a great time and I wish we made more time to go to the beach while we were there! It was a great day. My parents headed home on Saturday morning so we spent a few hours again at the park. Everyone (but me) was pretty much done with Disneyland at that point I think. We left on Sunday morning after breakfast and drove all the way home. It wasn't that bad thanks to a short break in Vegas for lunch (and my awesome winnings of $20!) and I can't sing enough praises for portable DVD players! It's a must for long trips! I'm glad my parents were able to come with us. It was so fun to have them there. My mom documented every single moment of that trip. She left with and astounding 1168 pictures taken of just our trip! Typical for her. The trip wouldn't have been the same without them! It was a trip I will always remember and have such wonderful memories of. I can't wait to take them again. Hopefully soon! Here is a few seconds of Tristan I caught on my camera while I was trying to get a picture of him. I love it tho! <