legoland!!! (plus some beach time)

Ben is obsessed with legos, so going to Legoland was a must for this vacation.  He was beyond excited about going, but we did learn that his main source of excitement was the prospect of buying legos at the end of the day.  We had a great time at the park.  I think we will have aged out of it in a year since the rides are geared towards smaller kids.  But both really enjoyed the mini-land areas and all the structures.  Plus we all enjoyed wandering through the Lego Movie set.

On the drive back to Anaheim, we stopped by the beach at sunset to do a quick walk on the sand and the requisite jump in the Pacific (a slightly warmer version than we get up here).

disneyland!!!

We made our inaugural family trip to Disneyland and California Adventure during a school break in October.  It seemed like the right time for the boys to really enjoy it- Ben being big enough to do all the rides.  We stayed on site at the Paradise Pier hotel, and spent 3 days at the two parks with a day in the middle to Legoland in San Diego.

We all had a ball at Disneyland.  On request from the boys, we avoided all princesses, but did get to meet some of the characters and mostly enjoyed them (Ben had to avoid Minnie Mouse's kisses).  Ben rode the big roller coaster at California Adventure and loved it enough to go multiple times.  Owen really enjoyed the safari boat ride and Indiana Jones ride.

Ben was selected for Jedi training, and luckily had the skills to defeat Darth Maul.

It was an exhausting trip, but one I hope we will do again!

coastal camping

We had a warm final weekend in September. Richard took Owen and Evan to a Cub Scout camping weekend near Florence at Camp Baker.  They did archery and sling shots and hiking and learned about forestry.

Ben and I joined the Muhly's at the coast and lucked into some sunshine.  They had a wonderful campsite right on the beach, and Ben and Laurel had a blast exploring and building.   We had a comfy  night in the pop up trailer, and a quick trip to the aquarium on the way home.