The Magic of Disney

After a week in San Diego we headed to Disneyland for 2 days. Both Daddy and I have been to Disneyworld before but let me tell you, Disney with kids is even more magical than without. We were so so excited to take you there and make all of your dreams come true by meeting your favorite characters (Lightning McQueen, Captain America and Anna).

Our first day was the BIG day, the most important day out of the two as were heading to Disney California Adventure, home of Cars Land, the entire reason for this trip. We woke you up at the crack of dawn and you all hopped out of bed with excitement. Mickey had paid us a visit during the night and had left you ears of your favorite characters. Dressed in Disney ts, and armed with you autograph books we headed out ready to take on the Disney magic!!

We started out by riding Soarin', unfortunately Hayley wasn't tall enough for the ride so I sat it out with her. Once we were done there we headed to Cars Land. Chase and Asher your faces were priceless. Right there, if that is all we had done at Disney it would have been worth all of the planning and the expense. Making your dreams come true is what we live for. We really were in Radiator Springs; from Flo's V8Cafe (where we ate), to the flashing red light, to the rocks and the Stanley statue, it was all there. We got to meet Lighting, Mater and Cruz. We rode all the rides multiple times! We even went back at night to see it all lit up in its neon glory. It was truly a moment I will never forget. Next we headed over to Pixar Pier where we did all the Toy Story related rides and met Woody. Hayley was NOT a fan and wanted to do with him. In general Hayley was not a faon of any character in an oversized costume. Our afternoon was spent meeting Superhero's and Princesses. Specifically Captain America, Spiderman and Elsa and Anna. We went to the Disney JR dance party. On our way out of the park we ran into Fancy Nancy which was a huge bonus for Hayley. After spending 10 hours in the park we decided to head out for dinner. Both Hayley and MomMom were wiped. Amazingly enough you boys just kept on going. So after putting Hayley to bed, Daddy and I took you boys back to the park to see the fireworks. Of course you can't go to Disney at night without purchasing light up bubble wands. Watching you three that day was purely magical. I know you all were so excited and even though it might not seem possible, trust me when I say Daddy and I were ten times more excited watching you.

The second day we were a little more sluggish, but still excited to head to Disneyland Park. We went in with less of a plan than the day before, game for whatever came our way. We spent a lot of time in Fantasyland riding Dumbo, the teacups and a handful of other rides. We visited Toon Town and met Mickey Mouse. We got to meet Belle (Mummys favorite) and the best part of our day was watching Mickey's Soundsational Parade. By late afternoon we were all ready to escape the craziness of the park and grab an early dinner.

I couldn't have had our vacation end on a better note. We all left a little more tired than we had arrived but in the best way, and full of Disney magic!

Prendergasts Take San Diego

When James booked to travel San Diego for a conference I knew we HAD to tag along and make a vacation out of it. I had spent some time in SD pre you kids and pre meeting Daddy. I fell in love with the area instantly and have always longed to go back. Even better that I got to go with my favorite people.

I'd like to start by saying you kids are the most awesome travelers I know! You don't let delayed flights, boarding and deplaning our plan multiple times phase you in the least. You don't get grumpy when you are awake at 2:30am due to said disastrous flight. You just roll with it. Along for all the adventures, and I love you all for it. We stayed on Coronado Island for the week and it was perfect. You three loved the courtyard that our hotel had and we ate breakfast out there every morning. I'll never forget you all walking into the breakfast room, in pjs and with bedhead grabbing gogurts and chocolate milk and whatever else your hands could carry.

Our first day there we took it easy seeing we were tired from traveling. We did spend some time walking around the Seaport Village in downtown SD and ended the day by visiting Coronado Beach near sunset. You boys spent every minute jumping the waves, having the best time. Hayley you were fascinated with all the tiny shells. It was a beautiful evening. My favorite place to be is the beach with you, but there is something extra special about a California beach during sunset.

Unfortunately Daddy did have to head to his conference Monday through Thursday and while we missed him A LOT we still managed to have some fun. Okay, TONS of fun!! We spent a day down on the bay front playing in the water and digging in the sand. We took a picnic with us and enjoyed the views. We quickly came to realize that military boats, plans and helicopters travel the bay constantly and you loved when the passed by. Asher you would yell 'MILITARY!' we got treated to yummy ice cream by Mom Mom and dinner waterfront near the ferry landing. After dinner we walked out onto the pier and watched a guy reel in a huge fish. It was very cool and he let you kids look at the fish close up. MomMom even took a photo of the guy with the fish. We don't know his name, just his buddy that was named George.

Tuesday we spent the day exploring Balboa Park, an area full of museums. We went to ride the historic carousel and miniature train. Sadly, both were closed. Chase you had been begging to go to the Miniature Railroad Museum and so we did that. Such a great idea buddy! We spent quite a few hours there and everyone loved it. We had a nice surprise that night by getting to eat dinner with Daddy. We got to eat at the restaurant where the famous bar scene in Top Gun was filmed!!

Wednesday I had planned on being a go with whatever comes our way day and it ended up being my favorite day in San Diego. Since we visited the lighthouse in CT, I've been wanting us to go visit another one. Well Point Loma is home to the old lighthouse. I thought it would be a quick trip to see the lighthouse and then maybe hit the beach. Turns out there was a whole area of tidepools we could explore and you boys were ready to get in tune with the Wild Kratts and see what creatures you could find. We found a lot of crabs! The light house was beautiful and now that you boys are a little older you really enjoyed seeing how a lighthouse actually works and the reason for one. The scenery up there was amazing! Again we got to have dinner with Daddy to end our day! Like most days you all rode the historic carousel at the Saeaport Village.

Thursday was our last day without Daddy, yay!! We spent the day at the Birch Aquarium up in LaJolla. Such a fun place with so many different sea creatures that we don't get to see back on the east coast. There were more tidepools to explore, a dive show to watch and many many tanks to see. We rounded out the day with a yummy dinner at Coronado Brewing Co.

Friday, our family vacation began. We couldn't come to San Diego without visiting the San Diego zoo. It's only America's best zoo! We spent all day there and only saw half of the zoo. We got to see some awesome animals though, elephants and polar bears and koalas. Kangaroos and camels. I guess we will have to make another trip out there to see the other half of the zoo, and visit the rhino that Asher wanted to see but wasn't there. Friday was our last day in San Diego before we headed north. We were sad our time there was over but very excited for our next couple of days at Disney.

Saturday morning we got up and out of the hotel early so that we could drive some of the beautiful California coastline and stop in La Jolla on our way to the Disneyland area. La Jolla is one of my favorite places on earth. The rugged coastline, the seals and sea lions, just so so pretty. We went down onto the Cove Beach and you guessed it, explored more tidepools. We also got to stand right now to real seals. Boys, it made your hearts so happy and it was awesome to see nature so up close and personal. Later that afternoon we arrived at our new hotel ready to take on Disneyland the next day!