Seven fun-filled days! I barely know where to start. I guess the beginning is a good place.
Actually, I have to start off by saying that Brenna was SUCH A GOOD GIRL!!! When you travel with a baby/toddler, you don't know what to expect and how they will adjust. But, WOW! We were really proud of her. She slept in her car seat almost the entire trip there (middle of the night), took naps in her stroller at each of the parks we were at, slept through the night each night in her pack-n-play, waited in sometimes LONG lines for a ride, ate well, and played while in her car seat on the way home (it was daytime)-- None of this is part of her daily routine.
The Journey: Joe drove through the night to get us to my grandparents house to meet up with my parents in California. They only saw Brenna when she was days old. They, themselves, are getting pretty old so it was important that we saw them.
My parents went to our hotel with us the next day. They stayed with us two nights. I love my parents company so much! I was actually sad when they went to stay with my aunt. We DID see my Aunt Wendy briefly where she lives in Marina del Rey. She made us a fabulous dinner and Brenna played with Boston (her dog) continuously. She (Wendy) would not allow any pictures at this time, as she was recovering from a sickness :)~
Day 2: Our first theme park day was at the San Diego Zoo! It was important to me to have this be Brenna's first zoo experience because it was mine when I was little. I still have pictures from when I was there. Animals she liked: monkeys, hippos, fish and goats. She was asleep when we saw a lot of the others. :) We did unfortunately see a gorilla barf in his hand and eat it. I know, right?? Brenna was actually more concerned with saying hi to the kids around her... even if they didn't speak English :)
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| She found Brenna! |
The last half of this first day, we also went to Sea World. It was right by the zoo. We were only there a few hours since there isn't a whole lot to do, but we did catch the Killer Whale Show which Joe had never seen. Brenna loved the penguin exhibit, too. She rode her first RIDE there!
Day 2: Universal Studios. The whole time I was here and at Disneyland I kept thinking how Brooke, Bekah and I were here together last time TEN YEARS AGO! Time flies. It was pretty crowded but we did manage to see a couple of characters and see a couple of shows. Brenna liked the Shrek 4D show & the Water World Show. We all liked the Back-Lot Tour, but little did we know it was 45 minutes long. They revamped it and it is SO MUCH BETTER than it used to be! We also saw the neighborhood and houses on the show Desperate Housewives! Even though I don't watch the show, it was really neat.
My favorite ride, The E.T. Ride is GONE! They put a roller coaster in its place. Boo. They even took out the Back to the Future Ride! The Simpson's replaced it and we all hated that ride. Totally not worth the wait!
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| Took over the E.T. Ride! |
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| She did not like him |
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| Jurassic Park Ride: That's us in the front! Me with the hood :) |
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| Splash Park- not sure why her belly button caught her attention! |
Day 3: My favorite. Beach!
Not only did we get to take Brenna to the beach for the first time, but the weather was PERFECT and I also got to see my friend Crystal that I hadn't seen in 10 years! We used to work together at Target. Her and her hubby showed us around and we hung out and ate some dinner. I can't believe I didn't take a picture with her!
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| We tried to get her acclimated to the sand but she hated it! |
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| THIS is the life! |
One of the best memories with Brenna thus far was when we took her swimming that night. She held onto us so tight and was laughing and laughing at anything we did. Here she is in her cute Tinkerbell swimsuit ready to go!
Day 4, 5 & 6: Disneyland!
Warning! Do not go the week we went! TOO BUSY! We made the best of it and had a great time anyway. Brenna went on her first Carousel Ride, Storyland Boat Ride, Roger Rabbit Ride, Jungle Cruise, and a few more. We could not go on all the rides we wanted to because it was too hot (70's) and the lines were too long. The Tangled Ride was a 90 MINUTE WAIT! Not a chance. Her favorites were It's a Small World and Ariel's Underwater Adventure.
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| Storyland Ride |
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| Of course she got some of these! |
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| She thought this was so neat |
Some other fun things we did while there:
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| The things we do as moms :) Waving at Ariel |
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| A must see! Brenna thought they were real |
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| She was captivated by this show! |
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| Best memory! Playing at a splash pad |
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| Her legs are still so amazing! |
AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE!!!!!!!
MINNIE MOUSE! Brenna could not wait to see her. She was saying hi to her and touching her outfit. Brenna lost it when we had to leave! She was so upset! I don't blame her. But at least we got to do the one thing we set out for!
What fun memories! I'm so glad we got to go! God really blessed us and we only used cash and had no debt from this trip! Not sure when we'll go back. If I had it my way, we'd move to California!
