California 12

The kids and I had a great time in California! It was the first vacation I've taken since having children when I felt like I didn't need a vacation from my vacation. We left early on a Wednesday morning and I was a little nervous to be flying with both kiddos. Emma is a pro on a plane but Josh (who is a bit whinny and temper tantrumish lately) had never been. Thankfully both did a great job flying and since the flight to Orange County is so quick, we were descending right after we ate our snack and drank our soda. Both kids were very excited to see my grandparents and I absolutely love that they are both so fond of them. We spent the rest of that day catching up and helping Grandpa with the garden. The next day we went to Disneyland along with my mom. The morning was extremely rough and Josh had two MAJOR tantrums at the park. I was so caught off guard by the first because he'd never had one in public and never one of that magnitude. I ended up facing him in toward a trash can and walked a good 10 feet away from him while he got it out of his system, I knew if I got anywhere within reach of him, I might be escorted out of the park childless. :o) After his second tantrum we had a nice trip to the bathroom for discipline (I was very calm this time) and a long talk, we decided it was time to head back to my grandparents for naps. So thankful the park is about 10-15 minutes from their house! Josh and Emma both slept almost 4 hours, no wonder he was in such a mood! We headed back and the evening was wonderful, both kids plus me, loved our time there together. I had originally planned on taking Josh back to my grandparents for bed at 7:30 but, he was so good the rest of the day, that he ended up staying the entire night with us. We were all exhausted when we got home and the kids even slept until 8:30 the next morning, unheard of for the Hildwine children!

On Friday, more of my family came over and Emma and Josh had a great time playing with their cousins. Saturday and Sunday were spent at two different beaches. On Saturday we visited my Uncle Don and Aunt Karen at Seal Beach. The water was a little cold and the kids didn't get in but played in the sand and had fun running away from the waves as they broke on the shore.

 

Sunday we went to Doheny Beach with more family and thanks to my cousins Katie and Ryan, got an awesome picnic spot to hang out in. Doheny has a little beach called Baby Beach that was perfect for the kids. Giant rocks out in the ocean keep the beach from getting waves so the water was nice and still. Both jumped right in the water to play and were sad when they finally had to get out to eat. After dinner, the weather turned awfully cold so we headed to my Aunt Cindy's house who lives not more than 5 minutes from the beach. The kids played with the cousins on the golf course behind my aunt house (once it was closed) and we roasted marshmallows and made smores (yum!) before leaving.

Monday and Tuesday we didn't have much going on so we spent time at the park and playing outside. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I was really sad to come back to the heat of AZ.

Our trip was perfect!  The kids were SO good (other than Josh's morning at Disney, which I'll take most of the blame for, he was obviously tired).  They went to bed late every night, slept in every morning, took 3+ hours naps each day, played without fighting, and were genuine sweethearts.  I know they missed Eric and Elizabeth and I did too, but,  I am really glad that we took this trip together.  I'm already looking forward to next summer's trip, I even told Grandma that the kids and I are coming for the whole month of June!  Well, in my head, that's the plan!