Sunday, November 29, 2015

The Thomas Family Goes To California

It's here! It's here! Our California trip is finally here!!! ...ohhh and for fair warning, this post has ALOT of pictures... like alot alot.. like I debated whether or not I should make each vacation day of our trip it's own post.. but alas I didn't and so.. here they are in all their glory! haha... consider yourself warned!

We have been planning this trip for months... Our plan was to go for Keller's 3rd birthday... We had to go almost a month late, but we did it! We celebrated our little three year old like there was no tomorrow... Truthfully, even though he has technically been 3 for nearly a month now, I still can't believe it. 

To celebrate our little mister's bday, we packed the car and headed for the happiest place on earth! (The beach... If you ask Kurt! And Disneyland if you ask the kiddos!) 
Kurt is amazing and got off work to drive all thru the night to Barstow. 
Kurt and I couldnt stop laughing at Keller... every 10-20 minutes he would as k if we were almost at Disneyland....He was such a good sport!  

Hotel #1 shenanigans! 


We stayed in Barstow the first night to head to the beach the next morning! It was absolutely picture perfect and the kids LOVED the water (big surprise!) and the sand!! My little water babies were in absolute heaven (I wish they were a little more timid... But nope!) ... Their daddy included! After playing for a few hours at the beach, we headed to our Hotel by Disneyland! Keller was in absolute heaven since he could see Cars Land from the hotel! We swam! We ate! And we assured Keller six jagillion times that first thing in the morning we would go to Disneyland...
Keller was very concerned at first that we were not going to Disneyland yet... his exact words... "mom are you kiddin me?"

his attitude soon changed when we got to the beach! "mom I really like this place!" 


my babies and their first adventure with beach sand!!


Keller's first time in the water..... seconds later, a wave wiped him totally on his bum! I was so worried he would be mad... or cry.. especially since it was windy and kind of cold- BUT this little water lover stood up laughing and quickly informed us that this water tastes funny and we probably shouldn't drink it! hahaha




and then there is this little lady.... clearly she was in HEAVEN! giggles for days and it was almost impossible to keep her out of the water!







probably one of my new favorite pictures of these two little adventurers! 












totally worn out from their first beach adventure!!


 We had a happy few days! And by happy I mean it was fun, amazing, exhausting, tantrums, chasing two kiddos, eating more gummies than one should consume in a lifetime, blowing bubbles on bubbles to keep the kids happy in line, and paying more for food than you would care to know! BUT Let's be honest, what would the happiest place on earth be without all of that craziness?!?
hotel #2 adventures!

The kids were in absolute heaven running around, looking for Mickey, and seeing all of the darling Christmas decorations! Sailor seemed to love every inch of Disneyland- not even a single tear on the rides! Amazing!! 
Keller was not a fan, however, of the loud/ dark parts of the rides. He did okay for the most part but he left us guessing during each ride whether he loved or hated it... He kept asking "when can we get off this one?!?" But once it was done he wanted to go again... Silly little boy! Disneyland is a lot to take in for a little three year old! 
Keller loved looking for the characters at first but got nervous later... He found Pluto and goofy the first 2 days and was in heaven! He wasn't too happy when he finally got to hug Mickey since he waited for over 45 minutes! And then Donald (who he was super excited to see) he refused to get a picture with because he wasn't wearing the right clothes! Donald was wearing his Christmas sweater rather than his regular blue shirt and hat, Keller told him "I will take a picture when you change your Christmas jammies later!" Hahahaha! Keller you make me laugh!!! AND... then there's the character breakfast... Whoops! I thought for sure Keller and sailor would be in heaven... Nope! They hated almost every second 😭 granted Keller was sick the 2nd and 3rd days (don't put your fingers in your mouth!!!) but seriously, he kept telling each of the characters "I don't want a picture with you. I will later." I laughed... But wanted to cry... $35 bucks down the magical Disney drain! Haha 



this was the very first thing Keller saw when we went into California adventure... he was loving it! Trains and Donald Duck!?! Life doesn't get much better than that! 


Sailor's first ride... toy story mania! she was a champ! Sailor and mommy rode and Keller and daddy were behind us- they totally whopped us in the points!
  
Sailor meeting Pluto... she liked his whiskers... not so much the idea of taking a picture with him though... Keller on the other hand was so excited to find one of his favorite friends! 





ohh you know... just some handsome Thomas men!... can you tell it was cold! haha Keller's little cheeks were so red the first day... good thing it warmed up for the rest of our trip! 

Riding the Heimlich choo choo train! 


Riding the bugs life bumper cars!


Ready to ride the fun CARS RIDE!!! and... we saw... MATER!!! 




"Mommy this is what I will do when I see a ghost!" hahaha.. he was so brave... until we got inside... hahah.

 




Our little date night at The Cheesecake Factory



Day #2 in Disneyland!!!

 


riding every train there ever was.... Keller's paradise!!!

Riding on Nemo's submarine! 

Guess who Keller found.... GOOFY!! he was so excited! and he told Kurt right after..." Daddy you should get a hat and pants like Goofy, that would be sick tight!" hahahaha
Sailor was content to honk his nose... 

Riding Rodger Rabbit... or as Keller calls it... "riding the Bugs Bunny Ride!"


Kell found PLUTO again!! He was so excited to see him TWO times! 

Exploring TOONTOWN


You guys, we found MICKEY'S house... the emotions that filled Keller are simply unexplainable! haha Excitement, exhaustion, giggles, tears, ooohhh my goodness!!


after waiting over 45 minutes... he finally met his favorite mouse!!





Ohh... and then Sailor punched Mickey in the nose and the worker scolded her not to hit! whoops!!


After being emotionally exhausted from seeing Mickey we decided it would be good to take a break... oh and we finally were able to get Keller and Sailor their buttons... Keller was excited! oh... and he LOVES granola bars! hahaha




 
watching a little Curious George... from 3 inches away... :/
ohh did I mention each night me and this handsome fella pretty much had our own dates nights with two sleeping babes in a stroller! haha




Day #3 in Disneyland!







Daddy and Keller on the "Fast" train... aka.. big thunder mountain! 


Winnie the Pooh!

Mommy and Keller on Splash Mountain! 

those eyes...
Okay here are some pics from our character breakfast... it did not go at all as I had hoped for..... 






Sailor was constantly on the look out for characters... to keep her distance...
but as soon as we left... they were all smiles again... so frustrating!! It is a dang good thing they are so cute! and it was a dang good thing we had ibuprofen on hand... poor little Keller felt like crud and spiked a fever.. boo! 








before Keller's ibuprofen kicked in... poor little guy! 
 




Sailor meeting her favorite fairy and personality twin! Sweet, sassy, stubborn, and just cute as can be! She was so excited to meet Tink until it was our turn.. then she thought it was funny to tease and ignore her... but once our turn was over and we were walking out Sailor saw another little girl hugging tink so she went back and hugged her! haha Sassy and Stubborn like nobody's business!

Keller and Sailor's favorite rides... the carousel and the train!!!


But really though, for the most part, Keller was in heaven! I will never forget the look on his and Sailors face when we first got to Disneyland. The expression on his face on his first rollercoaster (Cars)- his face when the cars started racing was priceless! He had no idea what was going on! Once we got off, he told me "mom, next time we should get the slow car!" Hahahaha! He loved every second of EVERY. SINGLE. TRAINRIDE.  And his face when he first saw the Disneyland Castle!!! He literally squealed! He jumped and quickly announced to us... Mostly to Sailor .. "Sa-yor! You know dis is Dusneyland!!!! I an so excited!!!" It made my mamma heart skip a beat! And then there is Sailor! Her reaction to everything was almost comical! She danced, clapped, and was in complete awe!! She punched Mickey in the nose (whoops) and she met tinker bell!! So if anything, those little moments and many many others, made it all worth it!! And Even though they won't remember any of this... happy first Disneyland adventure my little loves!! mama loves you. 

After our glorious Disneyland getaway we hotel hopped once again (4th hotel room... 3rd hotel... Yes we had some exciting experiences...) and we headed back to Newport! It was time for a much deserved beach day! Kurt surfed! The kids and I played in the sand, played in the water, watched daddy surf, and took lots and lots of pictures!!! It was picture perfect from start to finish! (Even the silly hiccups in the middle!)


















you see that pier in the distance.. it looks close right??? WRONG!! we met Kurt on the other side of the pier... can I just say that taking two kids that far in sand felt like 10 miles... ahhhh... but it was fun! We saw 3 dolphins, found a million seashells, and asked 100+ seagulls and birds not to poop on us! 







You cant go to the beach without getting buried in the sand! Its all fun and games until you have sand EVERYWHERE!!! 




this little cheeser! I love her!!


Seashell and Seaweed hunting! 


we could watch daddy surf for hours! so fun and relaxing!

but its even more fun to try and surf WITH daddy! 


This little beach beauty wore herself right out! 

Driving home!!!


Ohh if only these days could last forever!!!!  Until next time!