We took our first non-family visiting family vacation from September 29 to October 3, 2011. We went to San Diego and went to Sea World, Legoland, the zoo and the beach. From start to finish this vacation was an adventure in parenting. We left Thursday night after Chad finished work and drove to Brawley, CA. Within half an hour of our drive to Brawley Cole threw up the In-N-Out fries and chocolate milkshake he ate while waiting for Chad to finish work. The road out of Prescott and the mountains is really windey and my kids are the worst car sick kids around. I was so mad about it though because I kept trying to hand him a water bottle to throw up in. He kept throwing it to the ground. As I was reaching for it one last time he projectiled all over the car door and his booster seat. We had to pull over and hose the kid off with a gallon of emergency water I thankfully carry in the car. His shirt was old and so gross, we just buried it on the side of the road. We thought that was it but within another 30 minutes of driving, Cole threw up again. Thankfully, this time he took the waterbottle. After we finished with the vomitting, the drive was relatively peaceful. We drugged the boys with Benadryl and the fell right to sleep for the rest of the drive. We stuffed Tyler with as much formula as his little belly could handle and he passed out. All was well until we reached Brawley. First of all, Brawley stinks to high heaven. It's a farming town and I think they had just fertilized the fields because it stunk like manure. When we finally adjusted to the smell, we were in for another surprise. I went in to check us in to our hotel at Best Western Plus (still wondering what the Plus is for) and discovered that Chad had made the reservation for the previous night. Thankfully, they had rooms for that night but to add insult to injury, under normal circumstances they wouldn't have charged us for the night we didn't use but because the hotel was booked and they held our room we got charged. We dealt with all of that, got our kids settled in and went to sleep.
Day #1:
The next morning we headed to San Diego to start our trip. Our plan was to spend the day at the zoo but when we arrived there we learned that starting the next day and for the entire month of October, children get in for free (and kids cost $30 apiece). We decided $60 was worth changing our plans and heading to Sea World. Grant was very upset by this change, as he had geared up for a day of seeing the animals. He got over it real quick when we got to Sea World.
We had a blast at Sea World. Our day started with feeding the sea lions. We paid $5 for six sardines and Grant and Cole took turns dropping the fish into the sea lions' mouths.
(Grant and Cole after feeding the sea lions)
We headed to the sea lion show after feeding the sea lions. It was hysterical. They were doing a dress rehearsal of their Halloween show that was supposed to be "opening" the next day for October. I hope they practiced a few more times because those sea lions were still doing their own things in the show we watched. The trainers were doing their best but when one of the lions took the giant cup, drank the water and threw it four times before the actual cue was given all they could do was shrug their shoulders and move on. We were dying and enjoying ourselves immensely. We also ran into some old friends from Tucson in that show and then saw them numerous times around the park throughout the rest of the day.
In between shows we took in all of the animals around the park and hit as many of the rides as we could. Grant rode his first roller coaster at Sea World with Chad. It starts with a Splash Mountain type drop then proceeds through more twists, turns and drops and concludes with another giant splash. Grant loved it and it was only the beginning of his roller coaster experience for the weekend. Cole, Tyler and I watched the first part of the coaster and also got soaked.
(Tyler waiting for Grant and Chad to ride the roller coaster)
(Cole watching the rays while Chad and Grant rode the roller coaster)
(The big boys in front of the rays)
(Grant and Cole with the sea turtles)
(Grant, Chad and Cole with the beluga whales)
Day #1:
The next morning we headed to San Diego to start our trip. Our plan was to spend the day at the zoo but when we arrived there we learned that starting the next day and for the entire month of October, children get in for free (and kids cost $30 apiece). We decided $60 was worth changing our plans and heading to Sea World. Grant was very upset by this change, as he had geared up for a day of seeing the animals. He got over it real quick when we got to Sea World.
We had a blast at Sea World. Our day started with feeding the sea lions. We paid $5 for six sardines and Grant and Cole took turns dropping the fish into the sea lions' mouths.
(Grant and Cole after feeding the sea lions)We headed to the sea lion show after feeding the sea lions. It was hysterical. They were doing a dress rehearsal of their Halloween show that was supposed to be "opening" the next day for October. I hope they practiced a few more times because those sea lions were still doing their own things in the show we watched. The trainers were doing their best but when one of the lions took the giant cup, drank the water and threw it four times before the actual cue was given all they could do was shrug their shoulders and move on. We were dying and enjoying ourselves immensely. We also ran into some old friends from Tucson in that show and then saw them numerous times around the park throughout the rest of the day.
In between shows we took in all of the animals around the park and hit as many of the rides as we could. Grant rode his first roller coaster at Sea World with Chad. It starts with a Splash Mountain type drop then proceeds through more twists, turns and drops and concludes with another giant splash. Grant loved it and it was only the beginning of his roller coaster experience for the weekend. Cole, Tyler and I watched the first part of the coaster and also got soaked.
(Tyler waiting for Grant and Chad to ride the roller coaster)
(Cole watching the rays while Chad and Grant rode the roller coaster)
(Chad and Grant after Grant's first roller coaster experience)
(The big boys in front of the rays)
(Grant and Cole with the sea turtles)
(Grant, Chad and Cole with the beluga whales)Feeling brave from the roller coaster, Grant wanted to go on the river rapids ride. It was later in the day. He was nice and dry from the roller coaster in the morning so it was time to get wet again and cool off. He loved this ride. He wanted to go on it again but we had to get to a show and couldn't do it. Cole was sad he couldn't go on the ride with them.
There is a large Sesame Street little kid area in Sea World that has Cole size rides, jumping areas and a big climbing system for kids. Chad sucked it up and took Cole on the tea cups. We both get sick on spinning rides like this.
I then took the boys on a flying caterpillar ride. It rocks and spins in one direction for a bit then changes directions for awhile. It wasn't too bad thankfully.
Grant had been dying all day to do the climbing set up. I manned Tyler while Chad took Grant and Cole. Poor Chad. The first part of the climb is a series of large fishing type nets. Cole really struggled through those nets, started crying and took forever. He refused to get out though or really let Chad help him. It took them forever.
(Cole at the end of the climbing gym, with his tear stained, exhausted face)
(Exhausted Chad following Cole)
(Tyler chilling with his bottle while waiting for big brothers to climb and jump)
Of course, we watched the dolphin show, the pets show and Shamu. Grant and Chad sat in the splash zones for the dolphins and the whales and were more than soaked from each show. We tried to feed the dolphins but that didn't work out. We were in line and Chad got us food but then we got out of line to eat the food and thought we'd be able to get back in line and do it. However, when we got back it was already closed off. We were very bummed about that.
Sea World was an absolute blast. Our kids loved every part of it. They were the perfect age. Tyler chilled most of the day in the stroller or the Bjorn.
We enjoyed Panera bread for dinner, a treat we miss from Chicago, checked into our hotel and went to bed. It should be noted that Cole threw a giant, over-tired, three year old tantrum about the mac 'n cheese we got him and then after 30 minutes, settled down and ate almost all of it. This was just one of many, many, many, many such tantrums on this trip.
Day #2:
I then took the boys on a flying caterpillar ride. It rocks and spins in one direction for a bit then changes directions for awhile. It wasn't too bad thankfully.
Grant had been dying all day to do the climbing set up. I manned Tyler while Chad took Grant and Cole. Poor Chad. The first part of the climb is a series of large fishing type nets. Cole really struggled through those nets, started crying and took forever. He refused to get out though or really let Chad help him. It took them forever.
(Cole at the end of the climbing gym, with his tear stained, exhausted face)
(Exhausted Chad following Cole)
(Tyler chilling with his bottle while waiting for big brothers to climb and jump)
Of course, we watched the dolphin show, the pets show and Shamu. Grant and Chad sat in the splash zones for the dolphins and the whales and were more than soaked from each show. We tried to feed the dolphins but that didn't work out. We were in line and Chad got us food but then we got out of line to eat the food and thought we'd be able to get back in line and do it. However, when we got back it was already closed off. We were very bummed about that.
Sea World was an absolute blast. Our kids loved every part of it. They were the perfect age. Tyler chilled most of the day in the stroller or the Bjorn.
We enjoyed Panera bread for dinner, a treat we miss from Chicago, checked into our hotel and went to bed. It should be noted that Cole threw a giant, over-tired, three year old tantrum about the mac 'n cheese we got him and then after 30 minutes, settled down and ate almost all of it. This was just one of many, many, many, many such tantrums on this trip.
Day #2:
Legoland. Yeah!!!!!!! We all loved this place. This place is perfect for kids our age to ride amusement park rides. They even have Lego building stations set up for kids to use at the bigger, more popular rides, while a parent waits in line. It's genius. Our plan was to head to Pirate's Cove at the back of the park and work our way forward to avoid crowds but that so did not happen. We got distracted at every turn.
The day started with Chad and Grant trying out another roller coaster while Cole dug in the sand for dinosaur bones. We figured out after that ride that we could all go up and wait and do the child swap.
From there we headed to the Safari ride. I'm just going to say up front that Cole did not do well with lines for any ride at any point during this day. This ride had a Lego building station that he wanted no part of. Lines are torture for three year olds. Grant, on the other hand, loved the Lego building time. Each time he got into one of the places, he immediately took charge of the building, giving directions and instructing other kids where to put their Legos to construct whatever tower, cube or other object happen to be being built.
(Chad and Cole on the Safari ride)
We did finally make it to the Pirate's Cove. I took the boys on a giant, sort of spinny pirate ship ride that thankfully did not make me vomit. Chad then got in line to take the boys on a log and water ride. I took Tyler on a search for the famous Legoland granny smith apple fries with the caramel whipped cream dip. My search was successful. See Chad enjoying the delicious treat.
As I said before, Cole hates lines and after a few minutes loses it. He proved true to behavior in the log ride line too. When I got back with the food, Chad handed him back to me. He snacked on some fries and then went to play in the splash park. Thankfully, I had the back up potty accident clothes in the diaper bag. He was in heaven. He played in that splash park while Chad and Grant waited for and rode the log ride and then waited for and rode the pirate ship ride.
I was able to drag Cole away from the splash park to spray Chad and Grant as they rode by in the pirate ship. Chad's wet shirt in the picture is from Cole's good water gun aim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcIuxxaOsHA (video of Grant and Cole going down a giant slide)
I hate free fall rides but was forced to go on this ride with Cole and Grant after they went on it with Chad and loved it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Su9U8Hs1k
Grant reached new heights in his roller coaster experience with Project X. He did the ride the first time with Chad while I watched Cole play in this ball popping area. Chad then sent me to ride the roller coaster by myself, as there was no line. It was awesome. After I went, Grant said he wanted to go again so we rode together. Finally, Chad rode it one last time with Grant. He wanted to go again but Cole was ready to move on.
We headed to the Lego building area. We checked out wheels and the boys were able to build Lego cars and race them. While waiting for the wheels to be available, Cole planted himself at the button that releases the cars down the race track. He butted his way right into the middle of the action and took over control. It was hilarious and not the first time he has done something like that. If any other child tried to take over he started screaming and the child moved away.
When we got the wheels I took a few Legos and stuck the wheels on them so Cole had something to roll down the track. That's all he cared about. Grant took a good amount of time building and working on his car. He came up with a deer car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZbJp01VvM
After awhile we moved to the next room where the kids played in a giant bin of Duplo blocks.
Grant is very serious about his Lego building. He even had his tongue out for this Duplo building.
Every amusement park has to have a character or characters. Legoland, appropriately in my opinion, has Bob the Builder.
In the final hour or so at the park, the boys rode this Sky ride car. It was drama getting on this ride but we made it happen. It broke down while we were in line but as we were getting out of line it was up and running again so we got back in line. Of course, Cole was in tantrum mode again because of the line waiting. He was over Lego building and waiting.
Cole rode his first roller coaster as the last ride of the day. We had to wait a little bit in line, which was torture for him but he loved the ride when it finally happened. Chad went with Cole while I waited with Tyler and Grant. When they finished I gave Tyler to Chad and took Grant. This was the roller coaster that Grant rode first thing in the morning while Cole played in the dinosaur sand.
This is what a three year old looks like after a long day at Legoland, with no nap, preceded by a long day at San Diego, with no nap.
The day started with Chad and Grant trying out another roller coaster while Cole dug in the sand for dinosaur bones. We figured out after that ride that we could all go up and wait and do the child swap.
From there we headed to the Safari ride. I'm just going to say up front that Cole did not do well with lines for any ride at any point during this day. This ride had a Lego building station that he wanted no part of. Lines are torture for three year olds. Grant, on the other hand, loved the Lego building time. Each time he got into one of the places, he immediately took charge of the building, giving directions and instructing other kids where to put their Legos to construct whatever tower, cube or other object happen to be being built.
(Chad and Cole on the Safari ride)From there we continued our attempt to the back of the park, only to be distracted again by giant guns that shoot water ...
cars the kids could drive on their own. (Here, we enjoyed another giant Cole tantrum because he struggled with the driving and then didn't like it when the cars would stop.)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ELXcuv7GM
and helicopters you can make go up and down with controls.
cars the kids could drive on their own. (Here, we enjoyed another giant Cole tantrum because he struggled with the driving and then didn't like it when the cars would stop.)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ELXcuv7GM
and helicopters you can make go up and down with controls.
As I said before, Cole hates lines and after a few minutes loses it. He proved true to behavior in the log ride line too. When I got back with the food, Chad handed him back to me. He snacked on some fries and then went to play in the splash park. Thankfully, I had the back up potty accident clothes in the diaper bag. He was in heaven. He played in that splash park while Chad and Grant waited for and rode the log ride and then waited for and rode the pirate ship ride.
I was able to drag Cole away from the splash park to spray Chad and Grant as they rode by in the pirate ship. Chad's wet shirt in the picture is from Cole's good water gun aim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcIuxxaOsHA (video of Grant and Cole going down a giant slide)I hate free fall rides but was forced to go on this ride with Cole and Grant after they went on it with Chad and loved it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Su9U8Hs1k
Grant reached new heights in his roller coaster experience with Project X. He did the ride the first time with Chad while I watched Cole play in this ball popping area. Chad then sent me to ride the roller coaster by myself, as there was no line. It was awesome. After I went, Grant said he wanted to go again so we rode together. Finally, Chad rode it one last time with Grant. He wanted to go again but Cole was ready to move on.
We headed to the Lego building area. We checked out wheels and the boys were able to build Lego cars and race them. While waiting for the wheels to be available, Cole planted himself at the button that releases the cars down the race track. He butted his way right into the middle of the action and took over control. It was hilarious and not the first time he has done something like that. If any other child tried to take over he started screaming and the child moved away.
When we got the wheels I took a few Legos and stuck the wheels on them so Cole had something to roll down the track. That's all he cared about. Grant took a good amount of time building and working on his car. He came up with a deer car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZbJp01VvM
After awhile we moved to the next room where the kids played in a giant bin of Duplo blocks.
Grant is very serious about his Lego building. He even had his tongue out for this Duplo building.
Every amusement park has to have a character or characters. Legoland, appropriately in my opinion, has Bob the Builder.
In the final hour or so at the park, the boys rode this Sky ride car. It was drama getting on this ride but we made it happen. It broke down while we were in line but as we were getting out of line it was up and running again so we got back in line. Of course, Cole was in tantrum mode again because of the line waiting. He was over Lego building and waiting.
This is what a three year old looks like after a long day at Legoland, with no nap, preceded by a long day at San Diego, with no nap.
Day #3: The zoo
We spent seven hours at the San Diego Zoo and saw pretty much everything. It was fun but exhausting. It was obvious too that our children were on the tired end of life for this activity. We did see some fun things. We saw a new baby hippo, new baby peacocks, a chimpanzee up close and personal, a baby panda bear and two rhino brothers fighting.
Video of the rhino fights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibG0eUo4Ucw; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLa0SB-pwV4; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1jWWq21c6c
After our day at the zoo, we drove to Mission Beach for dinner and to show the boys the ocean for the first time. We watched the sunset. The boys loved it. It was so beautiful. We actually watched the sun disappear into the ocean.
Before heading to the zoo, we checked out of our hotel to stay one night at a fancier hotel (although it turned out to be just as nice as the one were at but just cost twice as much). After watching the sunset, we checked into our new hotel and let the boys do some swimming. Believe it or not, they still had enough energy.
Day #4: The beach
We "slept in" and relaxed in our room on our last day. I took the boys to the pool again while Chad rested up. Grant, our little shark, stayed in the water a long time. Cole burned out pretty quick and Tyler just chilled with me in the shade.
We finally got ourselves cleaned and packed up and headed to Coronado Island to give the boys their first beach experience. We had a blast. We were at the beach for a few hours. The water was freezing but the weather was beautiful. The boys found shells, dug in the sand and built a sandcastle with Chad. I got Grant to walk out in the waves with me a few times. Chad got him to go out too. Towards the end of our outing he made friends with a little girl and they were playing in the waves for awhile. Cole hates to be cold and so every time the waves came in he would run up the beach.
Video of Grant playing with his new friend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S13OUXW8VnU; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnbS_aqanpY
This was a great but exhausting trip. We all want to go back to Legoland next year and spend a day or two at Coronado Island again.
We spent seven hours at the San Diego Zoo and saw pretty much everything. It was fun but exhausting. It was obvious too that our children were on the tired end of life for this activity. We did see some fun things. We saw a new baby hippo, new baby peacocks, a chimpanzee up close and personal, a baby panda bear and two rhino brothers fighting.
Video of the rhino fights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibG0eUo4Ucw; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLa0SB-pwV4; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1jWWq21c6c
After our day at the zoo, we drove to Mission Beach for dinner and to show the boys the ocean for the first time. We watched the sunset. The boys loved it. It was so beautiful. We actually watched the sun disappear into the ocean.
Before heading to the zoo, we checked out of our hotel to stay one night at a fancier hotel (although it turned out to be just as nice as the one were at but just cost twice as much). After watching the sunset, we checked into our new hotel and let the boys do some swimming. Believe it or not, they still had enough energy.Day #4: The beach
We "slept in" and relaxed in our room on our last day. I took the boys to the pool again while Chad rested up. Grant, our little shark, stayed in the water a long time. Cole burned out pretty quick and Tyler just chilled with me in the shade.
We finally got ourselves cleaned and packed up and headed to Coronado Island to give the boys their first beach experience. We had a blast. We were at the beach for a few hours. The water was freezing but the weather was beautiful. The boys found shells, dug in the sand and built a sandcastle with Chad. I got Grant to walk out in the waves with me a few times. Chad got him to go out too. Towards the end of our outing he made friends with a little girl and they were playing in the waves for awhile. Cole hates to be cold and so every time the waves came in he would run up the beach.
Video of Grant playing with his new friend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S13OUXW8VnU; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnbS_aqanpYThis was a great but exhausting trip. We all want to go back to Legoland next year and spend a day or two at Coronado Island again.
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