The kids and I accompanied Ty on a 3 day trip to LA in October. He went for a conference, so we had a free place to stay. We also had a ton of airline miles saved up, so the trip was pretty inexpensive. The only bad part was that Ty had to work the whole time, so it really was just me and the kids hanging out the whole time. I was even crazy enough to brave a trip to Disneyland as the lone adult!
We went to the beach twice because the kids loved it so much! The boys body surfed the waves for hours.
Zoe was more timid in the ocean and mostly played in the sand.
Tatum, too, enjoyed the sand the first day.
The 2nd day she braved the water a bit more. We ran from the waves over and over again.
Even Mama enjoyed sunning on the beach!
Playing with Santa Monica Pier in the background.
California dreamin'
Our crazy crew!
I can't believe how beautiful this LA beach was.
We watched a magic show on Santa Monica Pier that the boys were enthralled with.
We had a great time at the beach. Wish we lived closer so we could go more often! I was so impressed by how well behaved the kids were too. I was nervous about this since Ty wasn't with us, but they were troopers!
We went to Disneyland for one day of our journey. Colt was old enough to ride in the tea cup by himself!
Tatum and Zoe love the tea cups and we rode them multiple times.
The boys favorite part was hands down the Jedi Training Academy. They were chosen out of the crowd, given a jedi robe and light saber, then given a lesson by a Jedi on how to use the lightsaber.
Then, out of the ground rose a platform holding Darth Vader and Darth Maul. It was so dramatic and epic, as Levi would say. Both boys got to fight Darth Maul and haven't stopped talking about it since! In fact, Levi has wanted a Star Wars birthday party ever since this day.
What a cute Padawan learner.
The Force is Strong with This One. Tatum was a bit afraid during the presentation, especially when Darth Maul came close to us in the crowd. His makeup was TOTALLY realistic looking! Both girls hung close by me, but afterwards, Zoe has been saying for months that when she turns 5 years old, she wants to fight Darth Maul. Guess the Jedi Training Academy was pretty influential on her too.
Since we just went to Disney World not too long ago, we decided to skip some rides that we had already done and not enjoyed so much. There were a few characters that Levi wanted to see who weren't at Disney World, so we stood in line for a while to meet them. Captain America didn't fail to impress.
Thor was so nice to the kids and even let them try to hold his mallet thing, but it was too heavy.
We ran into Cinderella's Fairy God Mother!
Zoe enjoyed Prince Charming's carousel.
Tatum wanted to meet Belle.
A photo op in front of the castle which was decorated for the 50th anniversary. By this point, we had been at the park all day and it was late afternoon. Even though I had wanted to stay for the fireworks, we decided to call it a day before everyone melted down. We had so much fun! We decided that we liked Disney World better than Disney Land (more rides, more space to navigate the crowds, and Fast Passes that get you to the front of the line that you coordinate before you arrive at the park), but we weren't disappointed that we went either.
Other things we did on our trip: drove through Hollywood, swam at the hotel pool, and sat in lots of traffic. I wasn't a huge fan of LA, the city. Too much traffic. Just a fan of the beaches... they were beautiful! Minnie Mouse says "until next time!"
