Southern California!

 We went to Southern California February 7th through the 13th.  We had a great time!

Day 1

We woke up super early and were en route to the airport at 5am.  We made the most of our day by arriving in the morning and playing all day.

Rain tumbled down as we left.

When we arrived, the sun shone down, or so we thought.

We were thrilled to spend time at Disneyland!  Our first ride was 'A Bug's Life'.

Scott's parents joined us on the trip.

We checked out some more Bug's Land rides.

And really enjoyed the broadway style version of "Frozen."

Cars Land rides were next.

Found a little parade.

All of us.

We ended the night with a cool show of color and fire.

Day 2

We started off with Autotopia.

Then experienced Star Tours.  We ended up loving this ride and went on it several more times throughout our week.

The Star Wars Museum was a little bit of a letdown.

The teacups brightened our day!

Hyperspace Mountain was totally awesome!

Scott enjoyed the shooting range.

Splash Mountain ended up being a favorite ride.

The Haunted Mansion was our other favorite ride.

Lincoln was too short for Indiana Jones, so we hung out while the others went.  One day soon, buddy.

 Grandpa and Sterling went on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

 Explored Toontown.

And ended the night on my favorite, Small World.

Day3

 Started our early day on Dumbo.

 Played on Astroblast, Scott's favorite.

 Loved Splash Mountain.

Grandpa and Grandma.

Us.

 Visited Toontown again.

 Played around.

And went on a rollercoaster.

 Ate some yummy food with a great view.

 Then went to a 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates' play.

 California Screamin' was awesome!

 The Toystory Arcade was so fun!

And ended the night with a few kiddy rides.

Day 4

We visited Universal Studios!

Our first ride was a studio tour.

 Of all the rotten luck, we got a flat tire and were delayed for a half hour.

 We waited patiently.

They transferred us to another bus, and we continued our tour.  Whoville was cool to see.

 And Bates Motel.

 And some War of the World sets.

And a set from Back to the Future!

Next up was an animal show.

 Then a stunt show, where a guy lit himself on fire!

 Hands down, Jurrasic Park was the boys' favorite ride.

 Harry Potter food was delicious!

 Chocolate frogs were bought at the store.

 Despicable Me was neat.

 The Simpson's ride was clever.

Caught one last studio tour.

 Little boy was so tired on the way home.

Day 5

The view of Beverly Hills back at Universal Studios.

Inside the Transformers ride.

And the Mummy ride.

Greeted Scooby Doo!

Ate some Minion's Gru nachos.

Found Gru.

And a minion.

The Hogwarts Castle was really cool.

The kids liked the little roller coaster.

Makayla was selected to help with a wand show.

And we all shared a frozen butterbeer. Tasted like cream soda, yum!

And we hung out some more in the Simpsons world.

We found a lovely little dive called Carney's for dinner.

Exhausted again.

And we had some yummy treats.

Day 6

We headed to the California Science Museum today, specifically to see the Endeavor space shuttle.

A virtual tour gave us glimpes of the inside.

The boys chose metal space shuttles as their souveneirs.

Scott and Marv shot air at shiny circles.

We experienced a hurricane

Saw awesome jellyfish.

And the huge aquarium.

These silver schooling fish mesmerized us.

We pet starfish.

And checked out a vulture.

Makayla created some electricity.

Next up was Hermosa Beach.

 The kids ran around looking for seashells.

 And we grabbed a few photos.

 We headed back to Disneyland and caught the Tiki show.

 And were thrilled to ride Splash Mountain, our favorite most ridden ride, a few more times.

 Watched the pretty fireworks.

 And saw the light parade.

And stayed until the park closed.  So nice to have it to ourselves for a bit.

Day 7

 We hung out in Cars Land in the morning.

 Then zipped on over to the other side.   Found a cute photo op!

 Pinnochio's ride broke down.

 So they escorted us off it with the lights on.

We headed over to the other side again. Then we caught one last ride, the Radiator Springs Racers, before we left to catch our flight.

Our souveniers.  Makayla chose an owl and a chocolate frog.  Sterling chose a space shuttle and a mini game system.  Lincoln chose a space shuttle, a pen with shuttles in water, and a chocolate frog.  Scott and I chose a puzzle and a book. Also got various smashed coins, pins, and magnets along the way.

Goodbye Los Angeles.  Thanks for the memories!