San Diego and Disneyland!

We decided to take a mini-family vacation, the goal being a free day at Disneyland for Dave's birthday (and, of course, some quality nuclear family time)! Since his birthday was on a Tuesday, we left Chandler on Saturday and headed over to San Diego for a few days, ending our trip in Anaheim at the Magic Kingdom.

Our first day in San Diego was spent at the Model Railroad Museum in Balboa park. The railroad scenes were amazing, and they are even currently working on making the grand Tehachapi Loop. The boys loved seeing the trains run and even got to see Thomas puffing around one of the tracks. We ended that day eating pizza at a small New York style pizza place called Bronx pizza. Here's Brandon posing with a picture of boxer Rocky Marciano.


We ended that day at Extraordinary Desserts (of course!!) So delicious and nutritious (if you count chocolate as a food group, which we most certainly do). Here's Noah enjoying his chocolate creation.


On Sunday we went to Carlsbad to visit Legoland. We actually left the condo a little early (must have been Dave's influence) and so stopped at a small coffee shop for a little coffee and snack with the boys. They met the largest dogs alive (sorry, no pics). Noah had no fear and loved it when the show dogs gave him kisses. Such a brave soul. The dog was taller than he was! Then, onto Legoland where the boys' first find was a Thomas the Train made entirely of Legos. They immediately declared their love of the park.

We went on a lot of fun rides, though Brandon's favorite was the bicycle in the sky and the train. He also LOVED the Lego cities. Here we're visiting San Francisco.


Monday was our relaxation day. We went to the beach in front of the Del hotel on Coronado, played in the water and sand, and just enjoyed the beauty of the waves and the dolphins frolicking in the ocean.

Later that day, we made our way to Anaheim to get ready for our big day at Disneyland!

And then, that night, we woke to a sick Noah. Really sick. We finally got him back to sleep, praying that he would be better in the morning. When morning arrived, we still weren't sure it would be a good idea to take him to the park, so we moved slowly until he started smiling and laughing. Then, we rushed through morning prep, took a quick breakfast and jumped in our car. We made it into the park only 30 minutes after opening.

The boys did have a good time, though Noah needed an afternoon nap in the hotel to make it until the 8pm close. Brandon's favorite ride was the Disneyland train and Nemo. He also loved Small World and wanted to go on it twice. And that was after we almost had to beg him to get in the boat. We needed to cool off, the line was under 5 minutes, and we really thought he would like it. Thank goodness he was willing to try! I think Noah's favorite part was meeting the characters. He wanted to hug every single one he saw, even the statue of Buzz Lightyear on the Blasters ride.




Can't wait until next year!!!