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.