Summer Staycation

We are pretty darn lucky to live where we do and have so many awesome vacation destinations right in our "backyard". It's so hard to take the kids anywhere overnight/on a long drive/on an airplane and leaving them seems impossible at this point. My mom watched them for 3 days while we were at Youth Conference and it was about all she could take. Who else would watch our 3 kids if not a grandparent? Tanner's parents have made it pretty clear that they can't come down for that sort of thing. So we planned a little "staycation" for the few days Tanner had planned to take off in between jobs. We hired babysitters so we could have some grown up dates and took the kids along for fun family adventures. It has been a  fantastic few days! 

Sometimes I bride the kids with cookies so they will stay in their high chairs just a few more minutes so I can do the dishes or something. Jack always makes the biggest mess! I could just kiss those chocolaty cheeks!

Before the official start of the Staycation, I took the kids to Disneyland and it was soooooooo crowded already. So we did a few things that have been on my Disney bucket list. I finally got the kids their silhouettes and we did some re-con regarding Jedi training. We filled out popcorn bucket and AP drink. We watched the candy makers through the window and took some cool photos in front of the castle! At least the Monorail feels like a fun ride!

After we got home, I played with the kids in the backyard. I love when we're just out in the sunshine playing. No computers/phones/tablets. Just us and the sun! I thought it was funny when Ray tried to get into the car with Jack. 

Before leaving the next day for Anaheim I could not find Rayleigh's phoney anywhere! So I turned on the "find" feature and low and behold there it was. On the roof. There was a small tear in the screen and she somehow made it big enough to shove the phone through. Rayleigh keeps us on our toes!

Tanner's last day at his job was supposed to be Tuesday but since all the drama had unfolded he felt it best to just keep working. He signed on a deal Wednesday night (stressssssfulllll) but literally the next day, he was offered the original job offer back! Hallelujah! Anyway, the point is that he went to work the day that we were checking into the Marriott next to Disneyland so I had to do it all by myself! It was fine but I get nervous about doing these kinds of things. Tanner always takes care of the hotel check ins and stuff... but I was a big girl! The kids LOVED the room and had fun playing around for a few minutes. Then I walked them down to McDonald's and we got some food to bring back to the room. We waited for Tanner to arrive and then went to the pool! This was the reason we really wanted to stay at this hotel! We could see the epic water slides from the Monorail and have been dying to check them out!!! The kids had a blast!!!! And Parker made a bunch of friends with kids visiting from all over the country!

We could have stayed there all day but we wanted to check out the parade at CA Adventure so we walked on over (so nice) and filled out popcorn bucket and enjoyed the fun show! Tanner and I switched who took Parker on some fun big kid rides. He took him on the Luigi ride in Carsland and I took him on Tower of Terror! He's been so freaked out of going on that ride but he was brave and it was so fun!!!!

We walked past this pizza place on our way back to the hotel so we decided to get that for dinner. Ray loves pizza and was so excited. ha ha This picture is so close to perfect. Parker was too busy watching HGTV to smile. Ray was so funny with the pizza and wanted to eat it in bed. She says "Pizza. Pizza." and it's just about the cutest thing you've ever heard.

That night we stayed up to watch the fireworks from our room. We paid the big bucks to have a special "firework view" room but they were canceled for some reason! Grrrr. Ray asked if she could go to sleep and just laid down on the top bunk and feel asleep early. Parker was a good sport and let her stay there. He was very inent on claming the top bunk and kept getting upset with her when she'd climb up there. Everyone slept pretty good. It was super hard getting Jack to sleep. I'm so scared for our summer travels coming up..... But after he drfted off we all slept better than expected. I woke up and got ready as early as possible and took Parker and Rayleigh to Disneyland to be there right when the gates open. It was "magic hour" so the park was already pretty full and it was packed soon after 8am but we got in line for Jedi training and were able to sign up. Then we walked back over to CA Adventure and Tanner met us after he took Jack to breakfast. Tanner really does NOT like Disneyland. I LOVE IT! But it's just not his favorite. So he was a good sport to put up with MY idea of a fun 2 days. He and Parker went on CA Screamin' and then we ran around the challenge course. Ray got in trouble for ducking under the fence and walking in the bushes. Jack was off his rocker by 10 and so we tired to get him to take a nap. That's basically what consumed most of the day- trying to get Jack to be happy and/or take a nap. Poor guy. He's so sad when he doesn't get his nappers. I took Parker on Soarin' Over CA and we saw Schmidt from New Girl! We walked back over to Disneyland and the babies finally passed out so we found a little hidden spot by It's a Small World where they could rest while we ate more popcorn and frozen lemonade. When they woke up we rode It's a Small World and Tanner realized that was his first time!!!! He was kinda cute all excited about it!!! That was the highlight of my day!!!!!! Yay for Tanner!!!!

Tanner was throwing popcorn to the family of ducks in the water. Jack and Parker had fun playing with the ducks too!

Alice and the Mad Hatter came and hung out with us.

This bird sat there and totally stared down Tanner. This is how I feel when Tanner is constantly on his phone. The bird and I have a lot in common..... #birdstare

It was finally time for Jedi Training! Parker was thrilled!!! I got there 1/2 hour early and tried to get a front row center spot! Tanner took the babies and ate lunch up above (a much better vantage point for the show FYI). I chose the completely wrong spot because Parker was on the far left the entire time!!! Grrr!! But I was proud of him for being a Jedi!

We took some fun family photos in front of the castle on our way out. As you can see, I refuse to pay $12 to get those pesky watermarks taken off....

You'd think that the extremely tired babies would have fallen asleep on the way home but NO, it was Parker! And this was only about 4:30 in the afternoon! If you think the kids are tired, you should see me and Tanner! Whew!

Rayleigh has been asking us to lay by her at night and so Tanner has been squeezing himself next to her. Well now she won't go bed unless one of us is there next to her and when we sneak away after she falls asleep she will wake up and climb into out bed! So, now we have to put her to bed and walk away and she screams and cries and breaks my heart. So sorry, sweet girl but we all sleeep better in our own beds. ;-(

The next day (Friday) my sister, Cami, brought her kids over for an all day play date and watched my 3 kids so that Tanner and I could go to Glen Ivy Spa! I'd heard about this place and was excited to check it out! We each got the "total body wellness" package which included a massage, the grotto experience, and all the pools, hot springs, and mud baths we wanted all day! We also enjoyed a super yummy lunch together! The lady behind me was so jealous of our nachos and chocolate cake. Apparently she was on a diet or something. She said, "I can't eat like that! I'm in my 30s!" Uhhh, me too. "After kids you won't be able to eat like that." Uhhh,  I have 3 kids. Lucky for me, my husband loves me just the way I am!!! Oh man, we had SUCH a great time together, though! This is what we need to do for 5 days straight! ha ha I got the berry scrub massage which was heavenly. The mud experience was so cool! And the grotto was magical and felt so rejuvenating! We sat in the mineral baths and hot springs and laid out for a while. It was amazing.

On Saturday we got up at 4am, picked up our babysitter, and drove to Perris for a hot air balloon ride. If you know me at all you know I HATE waking up early. So this was a huge deal for me but I was excited to do it! And it was fun being with Tanner. But the marine layer rolled in shortly after sunrise and we weren't able to take our balloon up. I was sooooo sad!!!! But it wasn't a complete waste because we also had tickets for indoor skydiving! So we grabbed a yummy lunch there at the Perris Airport where all the skydivers hang out and then went indoor skydiving! It was so cool! I'm such a wuss but Tanner was stoked! We both had a blast! We got home at 10am and it felt like the end of the day. But we spent the rest of the day running errands and getting things done that had bee neglected recently.

Tanner went to get the oil changed in his car and while he was gone I asked Parker to start a movie for the kids so I could take a quick shower. He tried to pop some popcorn in the microwave and ended up setting it on fire! I was naked in the shower and he came running upstairs yelling, "There's a fire!!!" Like, can't I just take a shower without the house burning down around me?!?!? Just kidding. But seriously. I had to take a picture to show Tanner.... If you put a quarter cup of kernels in a paper lunch sack, fold it down once or twice, and push "popcorn" on your microwave, it will pop just like in the popper. But if you put 2 CUPS of kernels and fold it down with clothes pins, you will start a fire. FYI.

We have one last day of stay-cation festivities planned. Sunday we were able to rest and focus on keeping the Sabbath Day holy. We renewed our temple recommends and had a nice family dinner. Summer is off to a nice start!