A Kelley-fornia Adventure, Part 3: California Adventure Park!

Day 4:
Another fun-filled day at a Disney park awaited us.  This time it was at California Adventure Park.

I immediately loved the decor of the park with it's nod to an older America.

We headed straight to Radiator Springs Racers...and so did a lot of other people!  It was about an hour wait in line, but so worth it.  It was an awesome ride with many surprises.

This park is not nearly as big as Disneyland and much less crowded.  We also found that a majority of the rides seemed to be geared to younger kids.  Although there were still thrill rides and lots of adults enjoying them, there were also some very ssllloooowwww rides.

We rode on...

Luigi's Flying Tires

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

The Little Mermaid

...and more!

We got to see more characters and actually got to meet them this time!!!

The Green Army Men from Toy Story

Flik from A Bug's Life

Phineas and Ferb

We were also able to see the Pixar Parade twice while we were there with lots of cool characters.

Look, I found a sign with two of my favorite things!!!

We stopped in Clarabelle's Hand Scooped Ice Cream for dessert in the afternoon.  Everyone else had ice cream in a cone.  I got a hand dipped ice cream bar covered in Mickey confetti's.  And it was the BEST ice cream bar I've ever had!!!

We saw Donald Duck walking away from his post at one point.

Then we saw Mickey Mouse!!! We hadn't seen him at all yet, so we were super excited!!!

We were even more excited that we got to actually get a picture with him!!!

Aaaannnndddd.....remember the hat that was given to Preston by his great-grandfather?!  Mickey signed it!!!

As soon as Mickey left, we ran into Pluto!!!

And he signed Preston's hat too!!!  Now the hat is extra-extra-special.

Ahhh, the magic of Disney.  Even grown adults get excited to see someone dressed up as a beloved cartoon character!

We had another amazing day together, celebrating lots of firsts.  We loved finally seeing in person attractions that we've only seen on TV or online.

What we learned:  1) California Adventure is a much more low key place. We probably wouldn't visit again anytime soon.  2)  Clarabelle's has the best ice cream bars!!! 3) It's easier to meet the characters.

Once again, we were so exhausted by the end of the day after being there for 10 hours!

The best part of the day was meeting Mickey Mouse and seeing Preston's excitement when his hat was signed.  Great memory!!!

Vacation is far from over.  Next on the itinerary-San Diego!!!!

Hotel accomodations in Anaheim were made possible with the help of Heather Newton of Shipsmart Travel Inc.

California Adventure Park Tickets were made possible with the help of Abbey Mings of Vacations Gone Goofy.

A Kelley-fornia Adventure, Part 2: Disneyland!

Day 3:
We woke up bright and early, put on our Disney shirts, scarfed down breakfast, and waited for our hotel shuttle to take us to DISNEYLAND!!!!  Craig and I had been to this fun place before, but the kids have never been.  We did plenty of research before we left and looked up what rides we wanted to be sure to go on, who we hoped to see, which way to go throughout the park, etc.

These Texans were not used to such "cool" weather during the summer and actually needed light jackets in the morning.  Going from triple digits to 70 degrees was a very welcome change!!!

The Haunted Mansion has always been one of my favorite rides and now it's a favorite for Kaitlyn and Preston.

We headed to the Mark Twain Riverboat and lo and behold, the Captain picked us to join him and help steer the boat!!!  The kids even received certificates.  Such a cool experience!!!

We saw Goofy from a distance.  Understandably, you have to be in line to meet the characters and they don't allow the lines to get too long.  We weren't patient enough to stand in the lines because we wanted to go on rides!!!

We rode on so many rides...

Casey Jr. Circus Train

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Mad Tea Party

It's A Small World

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

...and so many more!!!

On the Astro Blaster ride, you can receive an email with a picture of you and your partner blasting astros!!!

What we learned: 1) The churros are awesome!!!  2)  Meals are incredibly expensive.  3)  Even though the line at Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin looked short from the outside, it snakes around the inside of the building and you're waiting for an hour!

After a very long day, we were glad to just plop down and patiently wait for the fireworks to close out the night.

Kaitlyn enjoyed a frozen lemonade while waiting.

We arrived back at the hotel after spending 14 hours at the park!  The kids did absolutely wonderful.  There was no time for complaining because they were taking in every little thing that they could.  

For me, the best part of the day was when we were watching the fireworks.  As I was watching this spectacular show, I felt so incredibly blessed to finally be able to experience this amazing day with my kids.  The joy and amazement on their faces will be etched in my mind forever.

And then they slept soundly because we had another very busy day ahead!

Hotel accomodations in Anaheim were made possible with the help of Heather Newton of Shipsmart Travel Inc.

Disneyland Park Tickets were made possible with the help of Abbey Mings of Vacations Gone Goofy.

A Kelley-fornia Adventure, Part 1: Road Trip!

After a very busy summer of All Star baseball, summer camps, and VBS, we were ready for a vacation!!!  This time, the Suburban Kelley's were headed to California!!!

This trip has not just been a few months or a year in the making.  This trip has been planned since our honeymoon in 1999!!!!  Craig and I absolutely love San Diego and could not wait to go back.  It never worked out for various reasons...until now.  And we were taking the kids.  And they got to experience all sorts of firsts.

Because our trip was so full, so fun, and packed with events, I am spreading it out over several posts.

First up, the Road Trip!!!

Day 1:
We decided to drive to California, over two days, because it was going to save us lots of money. Plus, we didn't have to worry about how much or how little to pack.  And, it was going to save us lots of money!  Did I mention how much money we would save?  It's a long drive, about 20 hours, so definitely not for a family that doesn't get along. Ha!!!

We left at 4 am on Saturday, the day AFTER VBS and our Family Fun Night.  Which means, we did not get a lot of sleep, but we had places to go!  We made it to our hometown of El Paso for lunchtime.

We were looking forward to some authentic Mexican food at our favorite restaurant, Leo's.  We were in heaven!!!!  The kids LOVED it (Preston talked about it the entire trip), especially the sopaipillas.

We drove through New Mexico and stopped again in the Phoenix area to visit some important people.

Craig's biological grandparents (Craig is adopted) have always kept in contact with us through emails, cards, and letters.  It's been years since Craig had seen them.  I have actually never met them and neither have the kids (their great-grandparents).  So, this was actually another reason we wanted to drive to California.

We didn't get to spend a lot of time with them, but we had dinner and dessert.  And like any grandparent, they lavished us with gifts.  So kind and thoughtful of them!!!  It was nice to see them and finally put a face to a name.  If all works out, we hope to see them again next year.

Day 2:
We spent the night in a nearby hotel, in a beautiful area, (I've always said I would move to Phoenix-gorgeous scenery and the dry heat is much more bearable than the humidity here!) and then it was off for the final leg of our journey. We got to the California border and immediately began seeing palm trees.

We arrived in Anaheim mid afternoon.  We got checked into our hotel and headed to Downtown Disney.

Downtown Disney is situated in between Disneyland and California Adventure and does not cost anything to get in.  However, they get you in the stores and restaurants!

There was a "beach" volleyball exhibition going on and a former Olympic Gold Medalist was hosting.










We also loved seeing the Lego sculptures on display at the Lego store.

We ate a very expensive pizza dinner and then headed back to rest up for our big day the next day.

Hotel Accomodations in Anaheim were made possible with the help of Heather Newton at Shipsmart Travel Inc.

VBS 2013: Kingdom Rock

I'll admit, VBS seemed to just sneak up on me this year.  Even though it was held the last week of July, I started planning it in May.  I usually like to start a couple months earlier than that.  However, it was still a great VBS, lots of fun, lots of new and familiar faces, and the kids had an absolutely great time.

It all starts with this big tin can full of goodies (Director's Manual and curriculum).  We always use the VBS curriculum from Group and just love the themes.

The week before is always the craziest and busiest.  My days and nights all run together.  I even start dreaming about VBS!

Kaitlyn and Preston were absolute troopers this year, having to spend very long days at the church or shopping, with very little complaining.

This is what a week's worth of snacks looks like.  It barely fit in my car!

We had a medieval theme and the decor was superb!  Another church very generously donated all of their decor to us.  We only had to purchase a few other things.  It made our decorating very easy.

Our foyer and registration area

Then, it was time!  The doors opened on that Monday and in came the children.  All 125 of them!  I loved seeing all my familiar friends and giving them hugs.  I loved seeing the eagerness and joy on their faces.  And I just loved seeing the smiles the parents had dropping them off, knowing their kids would be safe, have fun, and learn a lot.

We always have fun themed dress up days.  I wasn't going to do a whole lot with costumes this year because I just ran out of time to be really creative.  However, Kaitlyn and Preston really wanted to dress up because they just loved the themes.  So, with the help of Craig, we gathered whatever supplies we had around the house and made some costumes.

Tuesday-Hats and Stache Day

My sister-in-law just happened to give us foam glasses with attached mustaches.  Perfect!

Wednesday-Knights of the Round Table

Shields:  Ice cream bucket lids covered in foil.  

Helmets:  Kids hard hats covered in foil.  Vests:  Paper bags and duct tape. 

 Thursday-Thy Royal Court

Tutus:  From our closet.  Crowns:  Kaitlyn-from our party supply stash, Me-a VBS prop, Preston-donated from Medieval Times.  Scepters:  Kaitlyn-paper towel roll with ball on end and covered in foil, Preston-skeleton hand wand covered in foil.

Friday-Rock Star Day

All pieces from our dress up tote:  arm bands, rubber spike bracelets, bandanas, temporary tattoos, and glasses.

My kids had a blast each day and came home and told me every story.  I never tell them ahead of time what's planned.  This way they are surprised like all the other kids.  I love that they love VBS too.

And finally, it cannot go without saying that I have the BEST VOLUNTEERS in the world!!!!  I'm always worried I won't have enough volunteers, but God supplies all of our needs.  I had such patient, attentive, and creative volunteers that seemed to be having just as much fun as the kids.  From decorating to tearing down, they were there helping out.  Leading 60+ volunteers is never easy and not always fun, but I just trust God to be my guide, and it always goes well.

Now, on to vacation...

An American Girl Event

The past month and a half has been a complete whirlwind!  So much has happened so I have lots of blogging to do!!!  Let's back up and start at the beginning of July.

We were still in the midst of All Star season and Kaitlyn was still being an amazing big sister.  Since we were trying to do some special things for her as well, I saw a promo for the new American Girl Movie, Saige Paints the Sky.  Kaitlyn absolutely loves her American Girl doll, Julie, and I knew she would love to see this movie.

So, I bought her tickets to see a special screening and surprised her the night before with the tickets and the letter that came along with it.

She was so excited!  Even more excited that she got to take her doll with her.

We arrived early at the movie theater in hopes to catch a glimpse of the stars of the movie.  

Kaitlyn didn't want to get pictures or autographs with any of them, but I was a little giddy.  I get star struck very easily. Ha!

This event was actually a fundraiser for a local charity so beforehand, there were a couple speeches and giveaways.  The theater was so packed that we sat in the third row.  However, we got a great view of all the stars giving their speeches.

Finally, it was time for the movie.  The movie was definitely family friendly and Kaitlyn really enjoyed it.  It was cute seeing all the little girls dressed up with matching outfits on their dolls.  Kaitlyn loved the evening and even came home with swag bag full of goodies.

A special night for a very special girl!