Friday, November 26, 2010

Caroline Recap Continued - Oceanside Harbor and Another Day With Disney

Did I say I liked airports recently? I don't. Not today, anyway. We returned Caroline to fly home and miss her already.

More deets on her trip here:

We spent a lazy day in between Disney adventures around our new hometown of Oceanside. Visited the harbor and ate lunch.



Blake: "What in the hell is he wearing? And, is he a 50 year old man?"

Casey: "Fancy train sweater, new fancy socks and fancy shoes. Yes, he is."

Yum.

Little punks checked out the map of our coastline.


After a day at home to recover, we ventured back up to Anaheim to see California Adventure, another Disney park in our area. Had not been since 2003, so we had a lot to see again.

Umh.....anyone like trains?





Lord give me strength. We saw a lot of this from Lainey.

Sat in this very spot here in the park for 30 minutes until she said, "Please" for her blanket, rather than just barking, "Bwanket!!!!" at me. Good times.

Love, love, love this ride. Disney is way advanced with incorporating scents into their rides. Watermelon and fresh baked cookies on this one. So cute.

"Heimlich's Chew Chew Train".



Walked to Paradise Pier. It's darling.

I'm not a huge fan of California Adventure. It is fabulous, as all Disney parks are, but it lacks the nostalgia that I love about Disneyland. Perhaps that's drawn from my childhood or the years we've been taking our kids. Half the park was also under construction. New "Cars" and "Little Mermaid" mega-attractions coming soon. Maybe I'll like it more then.

Regardless, I do love seeing a weirdo, bulging muscle man on the pier. Notice his family (and everyone else in the park) wearing hoodies and such. Can't cover up those arms!

Lainey seemed happy when applying lip gloss. Got to look good.

Unsolicited love from Jack. Not a common occurrence around these parts.



Carter rode "Screamin California" seen below. It's a massive roller coaster with a loop and all sorts of fun.

Here he is after. So proud.

Oh, did I mention that we saw Santa? At Disney, no less? Yep, another Christmas duty marked off our list and at a fabulous venue. Don't pay any attention to Santa desperately leaning in the other direction from me holding Jack down. Really. He was quite comfortable.

Upon walking off, I said, "Santa, you might want to add him to your 'naughty' list".

Santa replied, "I think he's already there."

Nice.

Toy Story was EVERYWHERE. I do believe that California Adventure is transforming into less "California" and more "Disney". Several icons from our previous visit were gone and everything seems to have been transformed into the direction of their mainstream draws. Good for business. Not exactly what I loved about the park.

Bug's Land was and is super cute.

Walked down to the Muppets 3D performance. Love this picture. Everyone in his element. Carter and Caroline being goofy. Jack in his own world. Lainey acting like a kitty.

Golden Gate bridge. (not the real one, Sass.....don't get confused)

Lainey flew into a major meltdown upon leaving. We stood for about 20 minutes while I tried to reason with her and it was all sorts of embarrassing.

I composed myself finally, gathered the rest of the troops and we headed over to Disneyland. Just before, I noticed where we were standing. Right behind the "C" in "California" where everyone takes pictures. Great. Hope everyone has some good laughs upon seeing these come to life.

Oh, look. There is another tantrum.

We needed some Disney magic to lighten the mood. Caroline is a super champ and one of the few people I feel comfortable seeing us in this less-than-stellar element. Glad she was there.

I don't know. But, it made me laugh. Carter's sense of humor is fantastic right now. Love that kid.

Punkin Jack sandwich.

The castle looks like a gingerbread house up close. So precious.

We went on lots of rides, despite the crowds. Mr. Toad's here........old school and lovely.

She's smiling! She's smiling! Someone taking a picture!

And, we're back.

Haunted Mansion at night? Yes, please.

Ergo? Yep. Saved the day.

Look at how strong Caroline is. Holding chubbo Jackie. Makes me smile.

Inside the mansion......

Jack.

More loveliness at the Small World.

Out! Carter had 3 hours little punk-free for the big rides. It was fun for all of us.





Ended with the cars at Autopia.


Back tomorrow with a movie review, some Christmas decorating details and shopping recap!

Hope yall are loving the holidays. They're here! Christmas is here!

8 comments:

Allyson and Dave said...

I think my favorite part of this post is that you take picturs of your kids when they through tantrums. I love it. At least you find humor in it. Do you tell them that your are putting pictures on the internet for everyone to see? That might work as a bribe.

The Soladay Family said...

Caroline looks great!

Love the pic of you and Lainey smiling. Keeper for sure.

Ergo should pay you. Seriously.

Impulsive Addict said...

Loved looking at the pics~!

So L was a little on the grumpy side but she looked SUPER CUTE in that dress! =)

Kelly Beatty said...

I miss Caroline already. How was your birthday??? Did you post on that?

The Lenzers said...

holy shit, i'm sorry...was this all in 1 day? I am so glad for yall that C is feeling well enough to handle all that. Love that LC was in a bad mood and you weren't scared to show it! So 3 is a great age huh/

starnes family said...

Allyson - they wouldn't care.

Kel - not much to post about. Great birthday!

Jann - 2 days.

Dee Stephens said...

I'm with you on CA Adventures. The last time I was there it was not your traditional Disney park at all but I still loved a majority except for the PIER. If you know anything about Disney that IS NOT what Walt wanted his parks to become. He always said people can go to a fair anywhere and ride rides.. Disneyland/World is supposed to be different.
Cute pictures of you and the kids! Love the ripped jeans! ;)

Sara said...

Things I'm laughing about from this post:

1) Jack's old man outfit. Classic.

2) Carter acting like the goofy statue. Hilarious.

3) Lainey in the Ergo. Coco is throwing up right now, but I love it!

4) The bond between Caroline and Carter is so sweet. Love to see them both so happy and healthy!