Spring Break 2012

We decided to take a trip with the kids for Spring Break this year. It's been 3 years since we've had a family vacation and we were all in need of some quality time and change in scenery. A big part of this was deciding to put Grandma in respite care, which was extremely hard. It was so, so stressful but I'm really glad I did it - I think it was good for all of us! So the big thing was - where do we go?! Matt and I knew that we were going to do something completely awesome, since who knows when our next family trip would be! We made arrangements to stay in Anaheim and San Diego California. My parents also headed south so we got to spend some quality time with them too! Our first weekend was rainy so we mostly just spent it recooperating from out 15 hour drive. On Monday we headed to Disneyland! Faith was still a little scarred from some rides Matt had talked her into riding 3 years prior, (her memory is amazing!) but Ethan was down for anything. Bodhi was down for the constant flow of snacks while he kicked back in the stroller. We saw the parade which is always a favorite, ate some turkey legs which is a must, and ended the night with the fireworks show. We stayed in Anaheim that night and went back for more on tuesday, starting with California adventure. My parents went to visit family and took Bodhi, so we took advantage and went on as many rides as possible. It's so funny how different Faith and Ethan are, Faith would get off most rides crying - "It was TOO fast/scary/drop-y!" and Ethan would get off the rides crying - "I want to go again! I want to go again!!!!" It was so funny. The army men from Toy Story were crusing through the park recruting toys, the kids had fun participating in their little show. We made excellent use of our time that day, even riding a few rides twice. We ended with Space Mountain and Ethan crying because he wanted to do it again - even though we waited in line for an hour and a half! Wednesday morning we had breakfast with my parents, reclaimed our baby, and headed to San Diego! We explored the Harbor where we were staying, swam in the pool and went to bed early. Bodhi woke up with a wicked fever on Thursday so we decided to ditch our original plans of a guided tour and headed to Old Town San Diego. It was actually really neat (and informative!) there. I have to say, the food in San Diego is really, really good. Every place we ate was superb. On Friday, Bodhi was doing better so we headed out for Sea World. None of us have been before so we weren't sure what to expect but we all loved it! We'll definitely be going again. They have a Sesame Street area which was great for my little Elmo lover (Bodhi), and for me, who could go to the zoo every day and not be bored, I thought it was completely awesome. Even Matt really liked it. We didn't see as many shows as we wanted to but the Shamu Show was truly amazing. On Saturday we had a small party for Bodhi's 1st birthday at my grandpa's house in Los Angeles and then we headed home that night! We really had a great trip. The kids were well behaved, we got to do a lot of the things we had planned and we got to spend a whole week just enjoying each other. Success!!