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Sunday, June 5, 2016

Relaxing weekend in California - Hermosa Beach and Disneyland

We got to hang out with a few friends this past weekend. First, Matt, Amy, and the girls spent the week at Disneyland and finished their trip with a beach day.

Then on Sunday, we would go to Disneyland with our friends and their kids.

Matt's girls started their own seaweed collection. By the end, they had a good size pile of it.


She couldn't get enough of the sand.

Alli really wanted to join in.

Playing catch with Ian.

Alli found a new friend in Katherine.

Ian playing in the sand with Victoria.

This "June Gloom" was supposed to burn off by 1pm, but stuck around almost the entire time. Either way though, it was great to see some friends we don't get a chance to see that often and hang out at the beach together.

Getting caught by the EatGoodStuff Hermosa StrandCam.

If there's one thing Alli love, it's long hair.

Ian did the same thing with Katherine when he was little too. Thankfully she's very accommodating.

A couple weeks ago we had really good luck going to Disneyland on a Sunday morning. Was it a fluke or is it always like this? Let's try it again! Disneyland opened at 8am, but we weren't able to get there until 9am.

The lines to get through security and the entrance turnstiles were short, so that was a good sign. Hi Brother the horse.

Ian loves sitting in the front seat of the car and playing with the steering wheel, knobs, and buttons. Because of that, I knew our first stop of the day today was going to be Autopia. Even though Alli wasn't big enough to ride, I figured she'd wait in line with us and Theresa would walk her through to the exit. I didn't realize that you had to be over 32" just to stand in the line. So Ian and I watched all the cars while we waited in line and wondered which color we'd get.

It's a black car! All strapped in. Today's stuffed animal is Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger too). As for Autopia, initially Ian thought it was fun. He tried to steer, but once we hit the turns, it got pretty wild. The steering wheel jerked pretty violently as it went back and forth and after that he was done with it. We'll try again when he's bigger. 

Theresa explored Tomorrowland while we were riding and found the persimmons are in season. Is that a Mickey?  

Time to hit some of those rides that short lines. Let's go on the Storybook Land Canal Boats. And look who is here! Our neighbors!

Well she can't always be smiling, but here's a family photo.

Oh no! Monstro is looming ahead.

We enjoyed the boats, but all the lands seemed to be overwhelmed by a number of giant ducks!

Getting off the ride, we found a few ducklings behind Edelweiss Snacks, and headed that way to feed them. A cast member was encouraging them to head into the water.

So we tossed pretzels and crackers to them. While we were there, we saw a group formed around a table further back. Let's investigate.

Why it's the Mad Hatter and Alice having a tea party. After that group left, we all had a seat! There was also no one else waiting, so we had a nice long party with them.

If the Mad Hatter asks you if you like riddles and you say yes, he'll likely put you on the spot and ask you to tell him one. I should have asked him "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
I sat next to him with Alli on my lap. She was entranced, just starting at him. "Ooh, a staring contest!" the Hatter exclaimed. They went for a good 15 seconds until Alli finally blinked. "I win!" shouted the Mad Hatter as soon as she did, which caused Alli to jump and then start crying...

Poor Alli. Alice was very nice and told the Mad Hatter to swap seats with her. Now that the Mad Hatter was next to Emmett, Emmett started staring at him. "I give up. You win." the Hatter said to him. Ha. 

Pulling out some stuffed toys and pretending they're on the Mad Tea Party tea cups.

Shaking hands with Winnie the Pooh and making up a few songs about him. I love the energy of these interactions.

Time for some pictures.

Alli spied the Mad Hatter again.


Taking advantage of the photo ops around the park.


We're going on it's a small world next. The shade is really nice.

A couple weeks ago Ian went on his first roller coaster. The real test though would be whether or not he would want to ride it a second time. Let's give it a shot!

And Elliott and Grace are going too!

And they loved it.

Let's go again! Alright buddy.

Nice job Theresa! Great job riding in front too!

Might as well pick up one of these Annual Passholder popcorn buckets. $15 for the bucket and then $1 refills until September. We were really hoping we could refill it with caramel popcorn too, but we asked and only regular popcorn was allowed.

A yummy snack before lunch, and surely it's all just a ploy by Disney to sell more bottled drinks.

You can't not ride the caroussel.

Making sure Winnie the Pooh is secure.


Love the crowd levels! Let's go eat lunch!

It's been forever since we've been to the Cove Bar, but after seeing the line and learning that it would be a 45-60 minute wait, we had other ideas. Let's go get some pasta instead.

Now that Alli is eating baby food, she thinks she can eat just about anything. You've got to keep an eye on her too. Put her and Ian too close together when they're eating, and she'll snag food off his plate. She really really wanted my chicken pasta.

Why look who it is! Another friend from Arizona!
Kelly and her mom are visiting Disneyland for a few days with the girls! Hi Sophie!


After a quick ride on Ariel, we were just about finished with our day, while Kelly and her family were just arriving after a long drive from Arizona. We'll see you next time!

Just one more thing we wanted to do on the way out. After Ian had such fun time playing in the water at Disney Springs in Florida I was thinking he'd love Princess Dot's Puddle Park. This was as close as he'd get today though. Odd.

At least Elliott loved it.

Someone's getting tired. Time to go home.

Yep, she's wiped out.

We had a great weekend with friends.

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