San Diego

The week after Scott's graduation we celebrated by taking off to beautiful San Diego. We have really wanted to take the kids to Legoland and Sea World and knew now was the time to do it before we moved to Nebraska and California was no longer a drivable trip for us. Thanks to my parents' willingness to stay with Ellie as well as their generous graduation gift to Scott, we loaded up the car and headed out for California.

Our first day we went to Legoland. I honestly don't think we could have picked a better destination for our family. Mason was in Lego heaven as he admired all the Lego creations around the park and could have spent the entire day in the Star Wars mini land. Brynn turned out to be a roller coaster maniac and couldn't get enough of all the rides that were perfectly geared towards 5-12 year olds and provided just enough thrill without being too scary or intimating for her. Miles was excited he was tall enough to ride almost all of the rides and the lines were generally short and quick because we all know waiting isn't a strong point for any 2-year-old. In the few lines that moved a little slower they had Lego tables that the kids could play at while we waited and most of the time we were dragging them away from the tables when it was our turn to ride the ride. Scott and I were just glad we weren't having to deal with the stress and crowds of Disneyland. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE Disneyland, but it was so much more low key at Legoland and that is exactly what I needed right now. We didn't have to make a plan of attack and race around the park at opening to get fast passes and spots in lines. We just casually strolled around the park enjoying things as we went along and were able to do everything we wanted to in one day including spending some time at the waterpark in the afternoon. We lucked out that our kids were all the perfect heights to optimize our experience. They are super strict about height requirements and check at the beginning of every single ride. They have a minimum height requirement to ride the ride with an adult and a minimum height requirement to ride the ride alone. It worked out perfectly that Mason was tall enough to ride on his own and Scott and I could accompany Brynn and Miles and we all got to ride the rides together. If you know Mason then you know that no trip to Legoland would be complete without a souvenir of a Lego set or two.  The kids had all been saving their money, including all of their birthday money, for months in preparation for this trip and so at the end of the day we went into the Legoland gift shop that has every Lego set you could ever want and let them buy some sets. You have never seen happier kids. Even Miles, who fell in love with Lego Duplos on this trip, bought a little Lego Duplo truck set that he still plays with every single day. When we got back to the hotel late that night Miles and Brynn crashed, but Mason couldn't wait to build at least one of his sets so he stayed awake, working by the light of a lamp at the perfect little Lego table that was in our hotel, until he was done building his set. 

Our very first ride left us without a dry spot on our body. Good thing it was nice and hot all day.

Mason and his favorite Star Wars character Baba Fet

Miles was playing with this figurine like it was a real child. I'm not sure he knew it wasn't.

Chima 4D movie

Duploland. One of my favorite places. It felt like the kids had shrunk down and lived in a world of Legos. 

The Xbox zone where they have all the different Lego Xbox games you can play. Of course Mason loved it.

Miles fell in love with Lego Duplos while we were there.

The next morning we just let the kids spend some time playing around the hotel room with their new legos. It is always nice to have some downtime after a day at an amusement park. I have to mention that Scott and I have become big fans of staying at hotels that offer family suites. We have stayed in suites the last few times we have gone on family vacations and it is heavenly. We put the kids to bed in their room and then shut the door and are able to watch a show or movie in our room, rather than putting the kids to bed and then us sitting in a dark room trying not to make a sound and wake any of the kids. 

Since it was Sunday we decided to take the kids to see the San Diego Temple, which was beautiful as always.

After the temple we went to the Mormon Battalion visitor center in Old Town. I was actually blown away at how awesome it was. The kids genuinely enjoyed it and so did I.  I learned so much about this part of pioneer history that I never really understood and came away from it with a strengthened testimony of how the Lord answers our prayers. 

We spent the rest of the day at the beach. I just can't put into words how much I enjoyed our time at the beach. Watching my kids playing in the waves, building sand castles, and burying each other in the sand made me so happy. These are the kinds of memories I remember from my childhood with great fondness and I am just so grateful I got to make these memories with my kids.

After our day of rest we were recharged and ready to do Sea World the next day. Once again, it was such a great fit for us. It had some great rides, fun shows, and plenty of sea animals for the kids to be fascinated by. The best part was there were no lines and we would arrive at the shows just a few minutes before they started and get prime seating. Mason and Brynn left with new aspirations to be Sea World trainers when they grow up.

Tuesday was our final day in San Diego and we went back to Legoland for round two. As I mentioned before we were able to go on all the rides and see all the things we wanted to on our first day, but the kids were really excited to go back for another day. We are so glad we did, because the crowds were non-existent and there were literally no lines. Several times when we finished a ride they would just let us go again without even getting off. It was the perfect end to our vacation. We stayed until the park closed and then loaded up in the car and started our drive home, stopping in Henderson, NV to spend the night with our cousins, the Stubbs.
The next day we made it home and we were happy to see Ellie after 5 days away. We wish she could have come with us, but truthfully she had waaaay more fun at home with Grandma then she would have had being dragged around all the places we went. I'm hoping this is the last family vacation we will have to take without her, because it just isn't the same when our family isn't complete. A big huge thanks to my parents who made this whole thing happen. It was an amazing trip!