Monday, January 6, 2014

The Beach

We planned a time to go to the beach and have a marshmallow war.  We had a great time and ended up staying at the beach for several hours (when we were packing up to leave, Reed didn't even notice that his cousins had left over an hour before).  Turns out that the Walsh cousins have never been to the ocean.  They were the crazies running all the way into the freezing water!  My kids LOVE the beach.  Maybe more than Disneyland.  Maybe.  
*I love beach pictures. :)
























Thursday, January 2, 2014

Mormon Battalion

We spent a couple hours and took a tour of the Mormon Battalion.  It was really interesting and the kids even enjoyed it.


 Panning for gold.

The whole crew

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

San Diego Zoo

After 2 days in Disneyland and California Adventure, we met up with all of Kevin's family in San Diego for a Wilson family reunion.  It was so fun to all be together, especially those that live far away (Christi and Tom and their 6  kids in Minnesota; and AJ, Christina, and baby Andie in Arizona).  

We all got a combo pass to see the Zoo, Zoo Safari, and Sea World.

 Some famous panda bear. ;)

 The first time at the zoo, this could've been their favorite  part--a stream coming out of a rock.  The San Diego Zoo is great but huge!  My kids can last about 15 min or less before complaining about getting tired.  

 Reed sizing up next to a polar bear.

 Taryn liked the idea of a baby polar bear instead.

 But she had no problem petting (and hugging) the real polar bear later.

Peek-a-boo
 Oma and Taryn

OUr nephew, Colin, is always adventurous and volunteered to help out at one of the shows.

Holy cute baby!

 Petting zoo

Matthew, Reed, and Taryn

If I were an animal, I would definitely want to live at the San Diego Zoo!  These elephants get pedicures and pampered at least twice a day!



Matthew and Reed

DISNEYLAND!!!

About a week before Thanksgiving, our family took a trip to Disneyland.  We are apparently one of those families that has to go to Disneyland every 2 years or so to get our "fix," because this was Reed's third time going!  However, this year was the best because we talked about the trip months prior and Reed remembered a little from last time and was super excited about going again.

 The kids did great in the car.  Of course, they did a lot of this.  I was mostly worried about Corbin in the car, but he was a champ too.  

 The kids were so excited about sleeping in a hotel.

 The castle.  This is as close as we could get.  "The View" was taping a show all week long and they blocked it off.

 Happy baby

 Getting serious on the tea cups

 While I took Reed on gadget's go-coaster, Taryn got to meet Minnie.  Reed has never been interested in meeting characters, so it worked out great.  When Taryn met Minnie, she said unprompted, "I love you, Minnie" and gave her a hug.  So dang cute!

 Corb was awesome in the stroller.  

 Reed loved most of the rides, but he does not love getting his picture taken.

 "It's a Small World" ride.  Taryn claims Little Mermaid was her favorite, but she seemed most excited about this one.

 They even decorated it for Christmas!  I was so impressed!

 Corbin's favorite ride was "It's a Small World" too.

 They happened upon a video game in Tomorrowland.

 What a champ.

 Entering Toy Story Mania, which is my and Reed's favorite ride (though they were nervous about the talking Mr. Potato Head.

 They didn't want to meet Mr. Smee and Captain Hook, but we got close enough to see them.  They both love Peter Pan.



 Talking with Crush was a hit again!  It is such a fun, interactive show.  And Reed even raised his hand and asked Crush a question ("What is your favorite food?")  When Crush asked him back, Reed responded with "chicken with crackers" (a poppyseed chicken casserole dish).  Crush thought that was weird because he thought he heard him say "chicken with cockroaches."  Reed thought that was hilarious.  5 year olds are so fun.

 Our handsome boy

 Sharing a smoothie

 Radiator Springs was AWESOME!  It looked just like in the movie!  And the new Radiator Springs Racers ride is so fun!  Another one of Reed's (and my) favorites. 

 Lightning McQueen even talked!

 Watching part of a parade.  This is right before we entered Reed's worst nightmare.  We knew they would get scared seeing "It's a Bug Life" 3-D show, but we didn't realize to what extent.  As soon as Flik, the animatronic ant, sticks his head out of the ceiling, Reed immediately announced that "this is scary."  We tried to tell him everything was okay.  The show starts and a big tarantula walks onto the screen and Reed is getting more and more nervous saying "We need to get out of here" over and over.  Kevin tried to pull him on his lap; meanwhile, Taryn was getting scared (only because of Reed's reaction).  When they start shooting acorns at us and they puff air at our faces, Reed loses it.  He keeps saying louder and louder, "This is scary, we've got to get out of here!" over and over.  At this point, he stands up, and starts running from exit door to exit door in the back of the theater trying o get out.  We chase after him and immediately leave before letting him get any more disruptive.  Wow.  It was crazy and we only could laugh about the whole thing.  

 Bumper cars


 Radiator Springs

WE LOVE DISNEYLAND!!!