Sunny Cali Part I

Trips to California are supposed to be sun-soaked, right? It must all be in the destination, though, because it certainly wasn't sunny for the first four hours of our trip:

The ice was so thick you couldn't read our front license plate. It's about an inch to 1.5 inches thick or more on that lower part of the car. We drove through snow and slush for 3 1/2 hours, after which it rained for the next hour. We finally discovered the sun in Nevada. Phew!

Liam is foreshadowing how he felt about the Indiana Jones ride at the end of it. He locked his arms straight ahead of him onto the ride's handlebar, locked his arms against his ears with his face staring down ... well, he would have been staring down if his eyes had opened at all once the ride began ... and he stayed that way until he got off the ride in tears. Oops. He discovered he doesn't like rides with drops and high speeds that are in the dark. Evan's face shows how he feels about Mom trying to take pictures of the kids in front of anything interesting. Everywhere.

Love this blue stairwell in the New Orleans quarter of Disneyland. Oh yeah. That's where we went for part of Spring Break. Along with half the population of our county. I'm not going to Disneyland on a Monday again.

Bronwyn decided she really wanted her own camera for the trip. She saved and saved through the winter, and early in the week before we left she realized she was very short of money. So she went to the neighbors (the "safe" ones we know well) and asked if they had any jobs she could do. She worked hard at various odd jobs for me too. When we got to WalMart the camera she'd saved for was gone, so we made a birthday present/earn a little more to pay back compromise. She ended up with a better camera, and a memory card full of pictures.
She is on It's a Small World ride. The first year we went to Disneyland the ride was closed. The kids loved it, although Evan groaned in pain every time Bronwyn started singing the song after that.

Liam thinks he is quite the cool dude on Autopia. It was one of his favorites. I worked the gas pedal while he steered. Sort of.

Liam begged and begged to go on Grizzly Bear Rapids a second time. Evan wasn't interested, so Bronwyn and I agreed. We took advantage of Fast Passes and had a great ride. Love the Fast Passes!

We got a great deal on Park Hopper passes because the Maeser orchestra and choir had arranged a performing trip to Disneyland. This was on their last day. Owen had an amazing time. We didn't see him much, though.

My handsome, talented, funny, and kind teenager. Did I mention he is a great violist? And awesome?
We travelled separately from the high school kids, although we got to stay in their hotel for two nights of our vacation. Owen chose to go home with the "big kids" too, rather than coming with us for visiting other places in California. Too bad for him. You and he will get the highlights reel of those adventures tomorrow (or when I get to it next...coming home and trying to catch up has been crazy!!).

And I have to say, I enjoyed the thrill rides more this time than I did during our first trip to Disneyland. Bronwyn talked me into California Screamin' again this year, and it was seriously a lot more fun this time. I also enjoyed Space Mountain a lot more too last week. That had been my favorite ride from my childhood, but maybe it had been too long between then and going as an adult because two years ago I ended our first day in Disneyland with a huge headache and a desire to pull the covers over my head for the next day rather than go back into the park. This year I made sure to have plenty of water and a baggie full of ibuprofen. Awesome experience this year. Oh, and I wore my pedometer both days in the parks. We walked about 17 miles over the two days.