Category Archives: family

Road Trip Part 3 – Disneyland!

Not surprisingly, one thing we were all looking forward to on our trip was Disneyland. It’s the happiest place on earth, right? It’s been years since I’ve been there, Josh had never been and we figured both kids were old enough to enjoy it, so the 4 of us and my mom headed off to Disneyland bright and early on a Thursday morning. One thing we knew we wanted to do was spend a full day there, but we didn’t necessarily want to drive back to my mom’s the same day, so we got a room at a hotel a couple blocks away. Best idea ever. We were even able to check in that morning, drop our stuff off and walk over to Disneyland.

Enzo wasn’t keen on getting his photo taken so early in the morning, but I can’t really blame him. Even during an on “off-season” day there were still lots of people and lots of things to see. We kind of just picked a direction and went for it.

Josh and I started the day off going on Big Thunder Mountain. Phoebe was too short and Enzo decided it was too scary, so my Mom stood by with them while we got one ride out of our system and then focused on a little sight-seeing and heading toward Toon Town.

We were briefly distracted by the short line to Small World, so we figured it would be a really nice and easy first ride for the kiddos. So… Phoebe loved it. It wasn’t too fast and she loved looking at everything. Enzo thought it was boring. The rest of us feel like we lost 5 years of our lives in the ride that never freaking ends. Just when you think you can’t take it anymore and are willing to throw yourself from the boat… it keeps going. My only consolation is that it made Phoebe very happy.

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Road Trip Part 2.5 – Smelly Sea Lions

Is it any surprise that the kids were really excited about seeing the beach? It was one of the things they wanted to do right away, so the day after we arrived in California we had an easy, lazy day that included seeing at least one beach and the sea lions (as one does).

The kids were okay with not actually going swimming that day and they had fun just getting their feet in the sand and finally in the water. Enzo was more cautious partially because it was cold, but Phoebe doesn’t really care how cold water is.

The kids started to get braver and ventured slightly further out and would giggle and run when the waves came in, however, the tide was also coming in which is something the kids know nothing about. Enzo was taken off guard and ended up on his face with a (thankfully gentle) wave washing up over him. He was not impressed. I had extra clothes in the van, so we got him changed and then we went to see the sea lions.

Oh, the sea lions. Never have I smelled anything so awful in my life. It was hard not to gag and we only lasted a few minutes up close and personal with them.

Oh you smelly, smelly things.

We ended the day with lunch and a Target run because… always Target. It was also important to get the kids to bed at a decent time because the next day was Disney Day!!

Tune in…

Road Trip Part 2 – California

We got up bright and early to leave Colorado Springs to head towards California, but first we had a stop in Winslow, Arizona to spend the night and get to see family I haven’t seen in far too many years. Alas… somehow we didn’t get any photos, so you’ll have to imagine it. We got a picture of lunch, though…

So glad we had AC for the desert portion of our drive. We definitely aren’t used to 100 degree temperatures coming out of a cool winter and we would have been miserable. However, for the most part, we were quite comfortable.

At around the Route 95 point in California, however, the smiles ended and Phoebe became carsick and extremely unhappy and vocal about all of the dips in the road. She cried, she kicked, she yelled, and then finally she passed out. We will never drive on that road again. She asks almost every time we get in the car if there are going to be dips.

Eventually, the kids had to go pee again and we figured we would check out Joshua Tree National Park for a bit. Alas, we really only checked out the bathrooms because a pass was more than we wanted to spend considering we only had so much time in the area.

The kids were tired and a little cranky, so they stayed in the car while I got out here and there to explore and look at flowers and use the little Sony a bit more. There were so many pretty plants and after living in a very different climate for so long, it was nice to see new things.

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InnerActive Play Area

Last weekend the kids and I needed to get out of the house for a bit, so I had the brilliant idea to take them to an indoor play area so we could be out of the chill and also go earlier in the day. Everything is at least 30 minutes away from us, but most indoor play areas are further. Thankfully, however, a couple have popped up in that 30-40 minute range and so off we went!

Honestly I wasn’t sure what to expect at 10:30 on a Saturday morning, but my heart sank a bit when we drove up and the parking lot was packed. I took a deep breath and warned the kids that a lot of other people were there. We managed to find a cubby to put our things in and off we went to brave the play area and people. Immediately Enzo and I shared a look and he said, “There’s too many people, Mommy.” Phoebe was not bothered, though, and took off running. Even she had a few moments of panic, though, when she couldn’t spot me right away after getting off the slide.

We got used to the amount of people fairly quickly and to my pleasant surprise it started clearing out and the amount of noise and activity was more manageable. We all were more comfortable and Enzo and Phoebe were all over. It’s a pretty cool place too.

I didn’t get pictures of everything, but there’s a fairly large play area with slides and climbing toys as well as the favorite of both kids – the bouncy pillow. Both kids spent a lot of time on the slides and were having a blast.

Eventually I convinced the kids to take a break for snacks, which we had brought, and had to promise several times that we weren’t going to leave right away. For almost $8 a kid I had already decided we’d be here for a few hours. There wasn’t enough seating at actual tables, but we found a bench to sit at over by another play area that was for toddlers. Then we had to go bounce on the bouncy pillow, which admittedly was a lot of fun. I was probably one of only 2 or 3 parents who was openly enjoying it. There was also a big basketball court and a smaller soccer “field.” Enzo was hooked on shooting baskets and got 5 while we were there. He was so proud of himself.

I have a feeling we’ll be going back there, especially whenever the temperatures drop. They have monthly plans and yearly plans which is also nice, but I don’t think we’d be there often enough for one of those. Maybe if we lived a little closer. For an un-staffed place, I was impressed at how clean it was and how involved parents were with their kids. Hardly anyone on their phones (except to take pictures) and everyone was respectful, which was a huge win for me.

Let there be light!

If there’s one thing I love, it’s dragging my family out to experience new things, even if it’s cold and I know there’s a decent chance of whining. I’m a sucker for light installations, though, and knew we had to go to the arboretum when I heard about Bruce Munro’s exhibit going up. We got tickets for 5:00 on Friday and hoped for the best. The kids seemed excited despite the cold temperatures and were even more excited to get to wander around in the dark. Go figure.

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It was magical and enchanting and inspiring and despite Enzo asking when we were going to go back to the big house and get hot cocoa, I really did enjoy it. If I had one complaint it would only be that I wish I could have stayed longer and that there had been more displays. At times I felt rushed just because… well, kids, but I’m still glad we took them to see it. Sure they may have been more excited for the hot cocoa and cookies at the end, but I do think they enjoyed it over all.

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As for me… I’ve always loved the ambiance that lights can create and really did enjoy seeing it all. I was filled with ideas and motivation to start creating again and you can’t ask for much more than that. The pictures really don’t do it justice, but I had to attempt to take a few photos while also not tripping over small bodies or my own feet in the dark. Haha!

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