California 2011

We are home from our two week "Woodward Family" vacation. I am not going to lie, it has been a little bit of a let down leaving beautiful Newport Beach, and coming home to bare trees and ugly brown grass everywhere. I am wishing I was still there! We stopped in St. George on our way there, and on our way home, and it was so nice to have a break between drives. And, of course, Lilly loved being able to see her Grandma and her cousins. My mother-in-law would take Lilly in the afternoons, and it was so nice for me to have a little break from her. She is a busy one I tell you!

Anton and I mentioned last night that after being on vacation with the kids, we need a vacation! Lilly struggled on the trip a little bit because I think she was a little overwhelmed with everything going on. It was crazy with all the cousins around, she was off her schedule, and not sleeping terrible well. So, it took her a couple of days to kind of adjust. Claire on the other hand, couldn't have been better. She was a dream. One of the days we decided to head down to Long Beach and see the aquarium, while the rest of the family was at Disneyland. Right as we were arriving, Lilly says, "Mom, I don't feel good...", then proceeded to you-know-what. All over. It was sad. We hemmed and hawed about what to do, but once she threw up, she seemed to feel so much better, so we decided to just take of her shirt and go after all. So, while she was at the aquarium, she was rocking a giant sweatshirt from the gift shop that we bought on our way in. Of course, I just happened to take out the change of clothes I had in the diaper bag, RIGHT before we left. Good times!

Disneyland was not the best experience I have had there. I have never had it be as busy as it was. Lilly wasn't a big fan of the crowds. But, there were three things that she LOVED, and talks about every night before going to bed. I bet you can guess....

1. The Haunted Mansion. Her favorite thing of the whole trip. Go figure.

2. Pirates. She keeps making me sing the song over, and over, and over.

3. The princesses. We had early admission, so we ran (my sister-in-law actually did the running) and waited in line before it got too busy (the day before it was an hour, twenty minutes. No thanks). We scored! She got to meet Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and her favorite...Snow White. It made me emotional to see her get so excited. She really thought that they were the real deal. It was so sweet. Even though the crowds were hard, it was still so fun to take her. Seeing her meet the princesses is a moment I will never, ever forget. It was priceless. That made the whole chaotic day at Disneyland worth it!

Two of the days we went to the beach. The first time, she didn't realize that the waves could knock her down. She went running out there, fully dressed, and low and behold a wave got her. It was SO funny. I thought for sure it was going to scare her, but no, she loved it. The next time we went she was in heaven running around and making sand castles with her daddy. Claire was just Claire...happy as a clam just sitting there with everyone. She is a hard baby, let me tell you :) Honestly one of the cutest things that day was I pulled my camera out to take a picture of Lilly and Anton, and right when I snapped it, she turned and planted a kiss right on Antons cheek. She didn't even know I was going to take a picture. So sweet.

So, there you have it....a two week vacation in a nut shell! It was such a great trip! Sad to be home, but so happy that spring seems to be right around the corner! It was a fun surprise to come home and see our tulips popping out of the ground. Yay!