California Adventure

Rob here reporting and journaling our happy times spent in the California Adventure Theme Park during our trip to California earlier this year. Disneyland and California Adventure are among my favorite places in the world. I’m so grateful to have been able to spend time here with my wonderful family. It was also great to have my parents along on the trip to once again experience the happiness of being here with little children. We spent a magical four days in Disneyland and California Adventure; Day 1 and Day 3 were in California Adventure.

Julie has already chronicled the extensive planning process that she undertook to ensure us very minimal wait times and I must say that she really delivered on that. We were there the first week of may and the lines were very, very, short. There was a tiny bit of a snag that really got us first thing on Day 1. As you can see from the image of Paradise Pier above we had some cloud cover on day 1. It was even heavier first thing in the morning. We’d been watching the hourly forecast like hawks to try and avoid the periods of possible rain. It looked like 9AM was shaping up to be pretty good and was also the opening time of CA so we left our hotel at 8:30 under the lightest of misty sprinkles planning to get a bite to eat in the park. Unfortunately, the heavens unleashed an incredible deluge of water as we walked across the street into the park. We were literally running through inch deep puddles to get under the security screening points. Unbelievable! What a way to start the day! Julie wanted to return to the hotel for dry clothes but I wanted to just buy some new top layers and be on our way. We made another mad dash to the Disney Store in Downtown Disney and proceeded to get jackets, hoodies, and ponchos (thanks mom and dad).

After gearing up the rain stopped and we enjoyed dryish clothes and no more rain the rest of the day. The rest of the day was really very nice weather for a theme park. It just took us a bit of time to get over than initial shock of being soaked. These two days were fantastic. Here are a few highlights from each area of the park.

Paradise Pier (photo taken just before the World of Color show).

Some big news this year is Nate going on California Screamer. Here he is in front of people waiting to be launched down the track. I’m very proud of him for facing his fear and getting on that big ride. Go Nate!

Waiting for our turn on California Screamer (yeah that wait was about 5 minutes). 

My parents blasting off (middle of the frame). The kids thought it was so funny to see them take off.

Hollywood Backlot

The Hollywood Backlot really has some charm. The various activities and shows along this stretch of the park are very interesting and worth while if you have the time to explore.

The shows are really good and well worth the time (Aladdin is a family favorite). The Animation Studios were a nice break in the afternoon. The girls danced around watching their favorite characters being brought to life on gigantic screens all over the room. My parents really enjoyed a chance to sit down for a while. There are various other activities available in the Animation Studios including dubbing our voices into Disney movies (thanks to Ursula the Sea Witch). Nate and I did one from Aladdin, See the video below or here.

Grizzly Peak

Last year we didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Grizzly Peak because there were so many other things we needed see and do. Today we really got a lot of time to explore and let the kids play. As you can see, we had a lot of fun. There were walking nets, slides, rope and tire swings, and even a spirit cave. My spirit animal was a wolf of course.

Pacific Wharf

Lots of decent eats on the Pacific Wharf. Not much else to say though. Haha.

Cars Land

Cars Land, oh Glorious Cars Land. We spent a lot of time here just because Disney did such an amazing job. Really, it blew us away! This is why so many come here. It isn’t just rides. It is an entire world. Check out the cell phone shot below. No one special in this photo; however, have you ever wondered what it is like to be in Radiator Springs? Well, you can. It is incredible.

We had some really good food at Flo’s V8 Cafe (I really recommend eating here). I was really hoping to get cozy with Julie at the Cone (Sally’s Cozy Cone Motel), but she wasn’t in the mood. Oy. Maybe next time.

Radiator Racers. Wow, what can I say? It is up in the back of the park among the rocks and hills that Disney built. Half the ride is outside, half is inside the mountain where we do some crazy stuff with Mater, and best of all it ends with a real race against another car full of riders. This is the ride that some people wait hours to ride and it is well worth it. However, if you know how Disney works the waits are much shorter. The fast pass line was long in the morning but I only waited for about 30 minutes in that line (you must do this first thing before it sells out for the day) while everyone else hit another ride in cars land. With thw fast passes and a swap rider pass (anyone with little kids can get one when some of your kids are too short to ride) we all got to ride and only waited about 5 minutes each time. Nate got to ride 3 times!!!

 

I’m not sure why the kids look so tired here but they all sure loved the Tow-Mater ride. :)

At random times during the day one of the drag racer cars would cruise out into the main area of CarsLand and launch an impromptu dance party. Of course the girls loved this. So fun.

 

A Bug’s Land

Last year we didn’t make it to the Bug’s Life area until night which I really preferred. I felt so small last year and it felt so fun under all the lights. This year we wanted to hit this area again but made sure to visit during the day to play in the water areas! What fun and remember to bring your swimsuits. Check out these videos if you have the time.

 

Condor Flats

Soaring over California is a lot of fun. Nate was very enthusiastic about this one. Madeleine however was completely mortified of this experience. She took one look inside the boarding area and completely freaked out! Just the look of the seats was enough to bring her to screams and tears! Julie had to bring her out. Crazy. Here is a picture of Nate waiting for his turn to ride. Once again we used the fast pass and child swap passes with great success.

Grizzly River

There is no way I can let our time in California Pass without detailing Nate’s favorite ride of all. I kid you not that he rode this ride at least 6 times during the two days we spent there. His favorite ride of all time!

In closing, we had a magical two days among the rides, movies, and worlds created here to experience. I didn’t catalogue everything we did because we wrote so much of that last year. I just shared some of the highlights. Let it suffice to say that we did everything we wanted, experienced the other fun stuff the park has to offer, and then did our favorites another 2 or 3 times (or 6 times in the case of our extra favorites). Such A Blast!!

So much fun to come here with young children when the worlds created in the Disney movies come to life are just so fresh and exciting in the minds of our kids. OK and mine too (I like it here just as much as the kids do). So worth it.

Busy as Bees

We are busy as bees in summer around here…just as happy, too!

 

These were taken at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in May.
The flowers look like they’re made out of tissues and for some reason that pleases me.

Happy Summer to all of you!

Home Decor: Front Porch

Focusing just on the porch today…

Before:

Our door was standard brown and the door handle blended right in. It also had a brass dead bolt. There was really nothing special about the entire front porch. I have always wanted a porch to hang out on while watching the kids play. I wanted it to be welcoming and pretty.

After:

 

While there is still more to do (a new chair or two, maybe some flower baskets on the rail or hanging, PAINT the rail!, decorate that blank corner somehow, etc, etc), we’re pretty much done for now. We actually finished it last fall but I just got around to doing this.

House numbers: We put new ones on from Hobby Lobby for $2 a piece. Now people driving by can actually see them instead of them being hidden behind the column.

Doorbell: Our old one was the standard $2 plastic rectangle that had shattered and was an electrifying liability. I thought all the doorbells at Home Depot and Lowe’s were super blah so I bought this beauty on Amazon for about the same price as the one’s at the store. $15. Such an upgrade and it’s one of my favorite things. It’s slightly annoying to see the screws but oh, well.

 

 

Knocker: We decided to go with a classic look and install a knocker and kick plate. The knocker is cheap. Honestly, too cheap. It wiggles and feels lightweight but at least it looks nice. I didn’t like drilling through the door and the screws show on the inside. Definitely not ideal.

 

Kick Plate: I love the look of the kick plate but I almost didn’t go for it because it was $30 for this plain, thin piece of metal. I have no idea why it cost so much. In the end I’m glad we installed it. It just completes the look. All the kids in the neighborhood use this, literally, as a kick plate. I always have to tell them, “Stop kicking the kick plate!” Haha.

 

Here’s the hanging lantern. After looking at outrageous lighting prices online I was going to give up but then I happen to find this at DI for $7. It was brass, of course, and we painted it black. After hanging outside for 2 seasons it needs a cleaning and touch-up. It looks great at night all lit up. We are a corner house and the street is very dark at night as there are hardly any street lights. When our porch light is on it just lights up the whole corner. It’s so welcoming and I love it. It was a pain to install! It took Rob 4 reinstalls in 4 hours over two nights just to hang this thing.

I got two Yew trees and put them in plastic pots that I already had and painted black. I wanted evergreens so that they look nice and welcoming even through our long winters. They survived! I’m hoping they grown enough to need a repot next year.

 

Pillow fabric leftover from another project.

 

Just over a year ago we had to get our concrete redone. It looked great until a couple of months ago. Now it’s even worse than before they “fixed” it. The whole top of our porch is coming off. It’s a problem we’re going to have to address soon.

 

The blue door was a bit stressful. It was supposed to be slate blue and it turned out a little less slate and a little more blue than I was counting on. After Rob spent $35 and 4 hours to paint the dang thing so I wasn’t going to change it. I have since grown to really like the color (it has a luminescent sheen) and we receive compliments all the time.

 

Finding this outtake made me smile!

Like I said, there’s always a ton more to do but I can’t wait forever to document. Having a house and a yard is fun but SO much work! I really do want to give lots of props to Rob for his hard work in making my visions come to pass.

Total Cost: About $100 including the yet-to-be-used black paint for the rail.

Blog Attacks

On more than a few occasions I have experienced mild panic attacks regarding things I’ve said or pictures I’ve shown on our blog. During such attacks I get all sweaty and my breathing quickens and my mind goes a mile a minute. I worry about offending someone or making myself seem foolish or unlikeable or a number of other things. I realize that even though it’s my family’s personal blog, the list of people reading it is growing longer and longer. We’ve chosen to not make it private but sometimes I wonder if I’d feel more free if it wasn’t public. I’m just so introverted in real life that I love being more extroverted online. It’s probably a lot easier to get to know me by reading this rather than talk to me in person.

Depending on the subject, before I click “Publish” I read and re-read and sometimes have Rob read what I’ve written. He always tells me it’s fine whether or not I think it is. I try to be honest without being too honest (there are so many more VERY honest things I could say…). I don’t want to regret saying something I shouldn’t. I have regretted more than a few posts over the years. Rob thinks I’m crazy for worrying about it but I care about what people think, whether or not I should.

If you think I’m crazy, you’re right on the mark. There. That’s honest.

ps…I’m probably going to regret posting this post. I didn’t have Rob read it first…

Disney Planning

Even though I’m no longer a professional in the travel industry I take travel planning very seriously. I think things run so much more smoothly with three kids when you follow a plan. Of course, I plan for everyone’s needs and wants, wiggle room, spontaneity, and randomness :)

I really try and make each trip the best possible. I don’t overspend but I also don’t skimp. If you’re going to spend $1500 on a vacation it better be worth spending that kind of pizza dough! Here’s my methodology. If my budget is $1500 but the hotel in my price range is less convenient or a little grimy, then I don’t hesitate to spend $200 more on a hotel that makes me feel comfortable and like I’m actually on vacation. The same thing applies to flights, car rental, food, etc. You’ll often find that by spending just a little more (in the grand scheme of things), you’re experience is much more enjoyable. So in the end, I could have spent $1500 for a decent trip but with more stress or I could spend $1800 for a great and relaxing time. It is well worth the extra $300. Otherwise, it’s almost a waste to spend $1500. Does that make sense? In the end, your joy compounds more than your budget does.

I’ve tried so many websites and guides over the last couple of decades. Last year when I was making my plan of attack I utilized “The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland”. I’ve used the “Unofficial Guides” for many of my trips and I LOVE them. Indispensible. These are the real deal. SO much more worthy of using than Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, Frommers, etc. which are too generic and depend too much on the location’s tourist boards and chambers of commerce rather than their own people being there and experiencing everything first hand.

I need to give serious props to the Unofficial Guide’s companion website and app that I 110% depended on the entire trip. Touring Plans (which covers Disneyland, California Adventure, and Disneyworld) uses data they have personally collected ON THE GROUND in these parks for the last ten years. As far as crowds, they take everything you can think of into account. They don’t only consider obvious things like spring break but other conventions that take place in Anaheim throughout the year. They have a Crowd Calendar which we used to plan exactly which days to go. We were somewhat open concerning our dates so we checked the calendar and, sure enough, there was a 4-day window with crowds MUCH lower than other days and weeks in our time frame. We went and, yes, we didn’t wait longer than 15 minutes in all the days we were at the parks. Most of the time we only waited 5 minutes (even the new Radiator Springs Racers, which has a typical wait time of up to 2 hours! We went on it 3 times in a row with only a 5 minute wait each time). Had we gone a few days before or after, we would’ve been waiting 20-45 minutes for almost everything. This worked brilliantly for us last year, too. 

There’s WAY too much for me to include here but the website also has tips and suggested touring plans (which I didn’t use because they’re mostly geared for busier days where you have to scramble to get on anything). They describe in detail and rate every ride and show so you know if it’s something you want to go on or see. We used their detailed Dining Guide which shows not only all the menus and prices so you can plan without wandering around wasting time but they also personally rate food quality and value for the price. We ended up being quite happy with our meals because we knew we were getting the best for our money. We downloaded the Lines app which gave us up-to-the-minute wait times on all rides. We were able to hop on many more rides because we knew there was only a 5 minute wait. Anyway, yadda yadda yadda. It’s $7 for a year’s access to their site which is a complete steal. I’d pay $50 or more. I’m frugal with my endorsements. I don’t throw them out there Big Willy-Nilly style, but in this case I will be their spokesperson. I’m in love with them. If I could, I’d marry them and co-produce their offspring.

Certified Travel Counselors are almost a thing of the past due to the ability of people having their own access to everything online, even though it can be very daunting. Even a little trip to California can take 10s of hours to plan! I don’t think people realize how valuable hiring a pro can be but I know that’s rarely going to happen anymore. I’m not saying you can’t have a fantastic time planning your own way. Some people would throw up at the very idea of planning like this, but as for me and my house, this way works best. I don’t like to settle for okay. I want optimization. So this way, I get to utilize my travel education and passion and my family gets to reap the rewards. Win-win.

PS. Rob’s also an optimizer. One night I found him trying to optimize my optimized plan. Boy, that didn’t end well ;)

PPS. After reading this you would think that our plan was executed perfectly. You would be wrong. As much as we can predict crowds and wait times, I wish we had an app to better predict weather (literally up-to-the-minute), sickness, and the general cooperativeness level of toddlers. More about this in future posts.

Grandmother Allred’s Party

My Grandma Allred moved back to the area after living away for too many years. We are happy she is close again and we get to visit with her at all the family get-togethers. Madeleine seems to be particularly happy about this.

For her birthday, my mom wanted each family to get a picture with her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some other candid shots from the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

We love grandma!!