Driving Through the Redwoods

On Friday the 6th of January, we got up and drove a bit until we entered The Avenue of the Giants in the Redwood Forest area.

We went to a privately owned park where you can drive through an actual Redwood tree. Why not, right?

I walked through so I could take a picture and video of Brian and the kids driving through. This was my view looking up.

Quite a gripping video, I know. :)

Then we (they) got to drive on a tree! :)

I think these tree houses were pretty awesome. You can see Brian and Sydney's heads poking out of the heart-shaped windows.

Wes has some growing to do before he's as tall as the width of a Redwood!

We stopped at a state park along the route. This was a wagon/truck made from a hallowed out Redwood.

Here's a family picture of us hugging a Redwood. It looks like we'd need double the family members to make it all the way around!

In the leafy treetops...

Sydney and I decided to see what the view was like from on top a fallen Redwood.

After we'd had our fill of the trees, we drove and drove and drove until we got to Oregon. Actually, I should say Brian drove while Sydney and I slept to keep from getting nauseous on the twisting ride. (Sydney did throw up once along the turns...she gets motion sick very easily.) I think Wes played on the iPad.

I think this picture is super cute. Wes totally admires his dad.

The kids entertained themselves (and got out their energy) at yet another hotel by pretending to be bridges and jumping from one bed to another. Luckily for them, this was our last overnight stop for the trip and we made it back to Seattle on Saturday afternoon!

On the Road to Northern California

On the morning of Thursday the 5th, we got up and headed north toward Seattle. We knew it would be a long drive home, so we decided to take our time and enjoy ourselves along the way.

While on the road, I found an app called Roadside America that touts itself as the "Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions". I think this is my favorite app to date. I love making the most of our road trips by stopping at random places that most people can say they've never been. (Before we had kids and a blog, Brian and I made stops at the Very Large Array, Roswell UFO Festival, and the Four Corners Monument, to name a few.)

While we didn't want to go completely out of our way, we did find a small cheese factory to stop in at. We enjoyed sampling some cheeses and then buying some for a snack.

We also happened to be near the Centennial Light Bulb, which I had heard about some time ago in the news. Of course, we had to go see it since we were so close!

Livermore, California is home to the world's longest running light bulb. The light bulb was installed in 1901 and is still lit. Apparently it's been moved a couple of times (which you can see on the timeline), but it's never burned out.

The bulb is housed in a fire station and the fireman that showed us the bulb was so nice and let the boys sit in the fire truck (the girls took a pass). It was a fun and random stop to break up the monotony of the drive (and the gas stations and the fast food restaurants...).

Disneyland (aka: Mickey Mouse's House)

On Wednesday, January 4th, we got up early and left the hotel, drove down the street and made it to Disneyland just after it opened.

Since there are a lot more kid rides at Disneyland, we hit as many of those as we could first, before the lines started. Here we are at the Teacups, of course.

And another classic: Dumbo.

A train ride.

The space ship things (I can't remember what they're called).

We killed some time while waiting for a show by playing a few arcade games.

Then we watched the Jedi Training Academy show. It was fun to watch, but we couldn't get our kids to participate. This was the hottest part of our day as we were sitting in 80-degree sun. It was still beautiful though!

After we went to the Tiki Room (which was not as cool as I remembered, by the way), we waited in line for Dole Pineapple Whip (which also wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be according to the rave reviews and the line). Can you tell the kids were getting tired?

Checking out the map to figure out where to go next. Brian and I did get a few adult rides in like the Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, and Space Mountain.

A family picture outside of Star Tours.

Thanks to Sydney's big hair and tennis shoes, she just made the 40-inch cut off for some of the older kid rides. It was fun to go on rides like Star Tours, Soarin' Over California, and a roller coaster as a family. (She enjoyed Soarin' and the roller coaster, but wasn't a big fan of Star Tours.)

Here are the kids waiting patiently in line to get their books signed by Mickey Mouse in his actual house at Disneyland.

Wes thought it was interesting how Mickey Mouse's car and house weren't real, yet Mickey himself was real. :)





Here's Wes with Mickey's pretend car.

We then waited in line to see Minnie Mouse.

Sydney had more fun playing in Minnie Mouse's house than seeing Minne herself.

After getting some dinner, we took a family picture with the castle.

Then we waited for the parade to start. Someone was looking a little sleepy...

After the parade, a quick ride for the adults, and a quick souvenir stop, we headed out of the park and the kids were completely zonked out. The most difficult part of the day was getting the sleeping kids and the stroller in and out of the tram to get back to our car. Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Disney's California Adventure

For Christmas, Santa gave our family a trip to Disneyland! We were very excited to spend a couple days at the Happiest Place on Earth!

We had so much fun. Looking back at these pictures I feel nothing but happiness and gratitude. I love traveling - and having fun experiences - with my little family!

To give us our gift, Santa had filled a box with goodies like pajamas, dolls, autograph books and, of course, tickets!

On Tuesday, January 3rd, we got up early and left Brian's cousin's house and made the drive an hour south to Anaheim. We got Jambas as we enjoyed the early morning sun and waited for California Adventure to open.

Our first stop was Toy Story Mania. We were one of the first few there so we walked right on. It was a lot of fun, but I don't know if it would have been worth waiting 45 minutes for, so I'm glad we did it first thing.

We then took the kids on the "Jumping Jellyfish" ride. They were both a bit nervous at first, but we ended up going on it twice in a row. I guess they enjoyed the little "rush" they got when they fell from the top.

For some reason, we weren't allowed to go down that part of the street. ;)

We went to the show, "Disney Junior, Live on Stage". I think this was my favorite thing because the kids' faces were lit up and excited the entire time as they watched their Disney friends (Jake, Mickey, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny) appear before their eyes. It was so much fun for them and for me! :)

After the show, they held onto their spoils (gold doubloons and streamers).

After the show, we had lunch, and after lunch we had a treat! Everyone got to pick their own. I don't think anyone finished their sugar-filled snacks.

Wes' first autograph was from Pluto who signed his name with a paw print. Wes thought that was cool. Sydney didn't feel like getting too close.

The kids patiently waited for the rides and enjoyed watching them.

More rides! The kids wanted to do each one twice, but Brian and I had a plan. Plus, we knew they'd love the next ride just as much as the previous one.

The kids got to enjoy some street performances. I think this was one of Brian's favorite shows because of the characters and their cool jumping legs.

Of course, there were moments that the kids got tired and needed a little break. After all, we were going pretty much constantly.

We went to the Sorcer's Workshop, which was really cool (but didn't sound as cool from the description online) and to Turtle Talk with Crush (also very cool). However, my favorite part was taking this picture with my hubby on the way out! (Awwwww....) :)

After dinner and souvenir buying (an airplane and pink Minnie Mouse pen), some rides started closing as World of Color started to get going. We watched the light/water show for a bit and then decided to head to our hotel since we knew we'd have a full day of fun ahead of us on Wednesday!

Back at the hotel (the Super 8 just minutes from Disney) the kids put on their new Disney PJs from Santa and we all zonked out!