Warm, Wonderful California

Ahhhh... California. What a glorious place! It was absolutely heavenly to leave thirty-something degree Utah and spend a few days in seventy-something California! Friday was an all day travel day, and I just have to wonder how parents did it for centuries before the portable DVD player. I shutter to imagine. On Saturday we spent the morning at the beach. The water was COLD, but that didn't stop Benjamin from getting in and splashing around. Those of us on the saner side just enjoyed building sand castles, chasing birds, and just soaking up the sunshine!

After the beach, Ty and Daddy took a much needed nap, and my crazy Benjamin went to the hotel pool and swam in its frigid waters for awhile before deciding to call it quits before he turned into a popsicle. After the naps we went to Downtown Disney and explored for awhile. My little boys LOVED the build-your-own car store there.

We had dinner at the ESPN Zone, and it was actually the best restaurant experience that our family has had in a LONG time. First of all, they had all kinds of sports games (including race car video games) upstairs, so that kept my little ones happy and occupied while waiting for the food to arrive. Second, we were seated in a booth facing a wall the size of a movie screen that had about 10 different sports games playing on it. At the end of our booth was a TV screen that you could use to put any game you wanted on. Well, there was a BYU basketball game that night, so of course Benjamin was in heaven. Third, they served food that everyone in our family would eat! Mac and Cheese for Benjamin and Ty, and a grilled cheese sandwich for Jacob. It was a relief to not have to shovel down my food while trying to keep kids happy long enough to do so! If only we had one in Salt Lake! Jacob apparently was a little confused about the difference between sports bar and um... a different kind of bar, because while I was gone to get the car, Brigham said that he climbed up on top of the booth and had his pants and diaper off in a flash (no pun intended!). That's our boy!

Sunday we spent at my sister Cambrie's house in Loma Linda. It was fun to see her and her cute family again. We spent some time in the afternoon feeding some ducks and geese, and in all my life I've never encountered such aggressive fowl! They completely surrounded us and honked commandingly in our faces. Most of the kids were scared, and with good cause! Even I was worried that someone was going to lose a finger or a nose. But not Ty-- even though those geese were bigger than he was, he was NOT afraid. He loved plowing through them at full speed-- watching them scatter in front of him. He was like this little bowling ball scattering pins in all directions. Finally, one goose had had enough, and as Ty went charging past, this goose grabbed the back of his shirt and tried to pull him back, but Ty barely even broke stride. He shook the goose off and just kept running. The goose attack didn't bother Ty, but it certainly bothered me! We left not long after that.

Monday was Ty's second birthday, and to celebrate we went to Disneyland! I know that he won't remember it, but it was sure fun to watch Ty's delight as we rode the "choo-choos", boats, and other rides. He had a great time! Benjamin had a great time, too! Being seven years old now, he was much braver than the last time we went when he was five. We tried all of the roller coasters, starting with the Matterhorn. A couple of times during the ride he yelled, "How much longer does this ride have?", but he insisted afterwards that he wasn't scared. He explained, "I just had to remind myself of my motto of the day: It's just a ride. It can't hurt you."

We met up with Cambrie and Lydia for awhile while at Disneyland, and the above moment really made me see the difference between boys and girls. I put Lydia up on the firetruck next to Ty and braced myself for a fight over the steering wheel, but Lydia was perfectly content to smile for the camera and be chauffeured around by her enthusiastic cousin. Watch out, Disneyland princesses-- I think Lydia has her eye on your job!

Benjamin decided that Thunder Mountain Railroad was his favorite ride, and we went on it three times! It is great to have a roller coaster buddy!

Mom and Dad Dastrup kept the two little boys at the Innovations exhibit (we found a room with a big screen playing Cars!) while Brigham and I did a couple of roller coasters with Benjamin, and when we came back, we found that Ty had crashed on the couch. It's hard work turning two and having so much fun!

I have to give a huge "thank you" to Mom and Dad Dastrup for coming with us and putting up with all of our idiosyncracies. Jacob did not like Disneyland as much as I'd hoped he would (any dark rides with flashing lights or rides with loud noises made him cry), and so without their help, our Disneyland trip may not have been much fun for anyone. So, THANK YOU! You guys are the best!