CA trip - Legoland

Wednesday we made our way down to San Diego. I had read about a beach called "Children's Pool Beach," made for children in the 1930s, but now full of seals.

But despite what San Diego's website says, the sign at the beach said we couldn't go close to the seals because some were going to have pups.

 

So we found a rocky shore just down the sidewalk to explore.

Then Thursday was Legoland.

Oh how we loved Legoland. It was EMPTY compared to Disneyland, and perfect for the ages of our boys right now.

I liked the places right by the lines for the rides (which were never bad) where littles could play with buckets and buckets of Legos.

The Volvo driving school is cute. Andrew couldn't quite get his car going though.

But Max and Ben blew through stop signs like pros.

Despite the clouds, Andrew still couldn't quite open his eyes for pictures.

I'm pretty sure I'm doing a Rudy Gobert salute here to the boys in the other choppers. James is meanwhile biting down hard on his chompers. I think he got a new molar on the trip. He was quite clingy to me.

The Miniland area was amazing. We all went a little nuts, yelling "Look at THAT!" over and over about the Lego creations. Especially in the Star Wars section.

Andrew is so stoic on rides. I feel like I must over-compensate to show how fun it is.

The best part I think (with more LOOK at THAT! exclamations) was the whole movie set for "The Lego Movie." This is the very basement used in the movie.

This however did make all the boys greatly desire more Lego sets. They each got to assemble their own minifigure. Andrew's was a pirate, and he carried it everywhere. We often had to stop what we were doing to look for a missing hat or accessory. Arrrrr!

CA trip - Disneyland

We went first thing to Carsland in California Adventure. Because boys.

JB did Radiator Springs Racers first, then that glorious rider switch pass came in handy for me. Notice Andrew's little head in the seat below by Ben. The height requirement on just about everything was 40 inches, and he made it!

We had to take turns who sat by mom each time one which ride.  Below is the picture JB took of us with the big camera....

....and this picture I took of them with my iphone. Notice James reaching out for his momma.

It's loud in the line for Midway Mania.

But fun inside.

Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.

Waiting for the rest to come off of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Space Mountain. My first time. I could not breathe in the picture below I snapped of the one they took of us. Notice Andrew's little head again.

Star Tours (done twice in a row with Fast Passes and the Stroller/Rider Switch pass)

Autopia (we spent a lot of time in Tomorrowland. Because boys.)

The monorail

Carsland again

The parade at 5:15

A Bug's Life area. This is the picture I took of them....

And here's the one he took of me watching (look at that face scrunched in the fence).

One day at both parks made for a tired family.

I did want to show this picture of what most evenings at the hotel looked like. They were spent mostly watching Daniel Tiger (TIGER! TIGER!) on my laptop to keep James and Andrew quiet for the other guests. The big boys watched, too, though mostly kept their eyes on the NBA playoffs on the TV.

CA trip - the beach

Beach baby.

We spent a week in California -- not spring break week, because I hoped to avoid some of the Utah crowds there. And the day at the beach was perfect weather. The other days were overcast, which is perfect for amusement parks.

Ben was the only one to really frolic in the cold water.

We had a frisbee for tossing around or shoveling sand.

And there was this hole....

And suckers in my purse.

James still thinks my purse should have treats in it. For the drive to CA, every half-hour the boys would get travel tickets to trade in for treats or i-phone time. But James only had to squawk, and his demands were met.

Deardeuffs

My brother Peter and his wife Mindy and their new baby David just moved to Utah from Missouri. My youngest sister Sarah drove out with them to help with said baby, and the horse dog Mal (picture here from when we met him years ago in MO).

We had a dinner with the Deardeuff sibs in Utah. We are in age order here youngest to oldest left to right: Sarah (#12), Rachel (#9), Peter (#6), Joe (#3), me (#2). 

That's 5 kids, and 7 children were missing! My siblings are loud, goofy, smartphone-addicted, hilarious, and very very nice.

I was in college, on a study abroad in Spain when Sarah was born. She was 4 when I got married.  While she was here, went to the mall together and I took her to the KSL Newsroom and out for frozen yogurt in "the city" before she flew back home. It's always fun to bond with a sister, no matter the age difference.

Long hair don't care

Those prenatal vitamins sure did make my hair grow. I haven't had it cut in months. James and I tried some selfies at Ben's basketball game two Saturdays ago:

This week I got a trim of around 4 inches, and took this picture with my other 3 boys to show my mom and sister:

I used to have quite short hair. In recent years it's stayed above my shoulders a lot. When people see me and exclaim over my hair, I say I don't know why it's so long now. It's kind of past the point of no return.

Laziness maybe in setting up hair appointments. Or that ever-easy ponytail option. But it could be deeper -- ever since my fourth boy was born I've felt a desire to have more feminine things around my house -- not that only long hair and no other style is feminine, but it's some way that I feel more like it, you know? Earrings, necklaces, more pink clothing. I noticed a friend (Sabrina? You read this anymore?) also has really long hair since her 4th boy was born.

Now if someone could come over and help me with those braids and fancy updos I keep looking at on Pinterest, that would be even more fun.

Little boy blue

I mean, come on.

Baby. Model.

JB did not pose James for that picture. He likes to put his hands in his vest pockets, and he loves to carry around that mitt.

Then there's this shot:

22-month-old my goodness. He kind of rules the roost around here.