California Part 2: San Clemente

Its always hard to leave Disneyland, but luckily for us, our vacation was just getting started. From Anaheim we took a 30 min drive to San Clemente to spend Friday-Sunday at the beach house. Thursday night Dan and Emily were awaiting our arrival and once we got a tired baby into bed we got the tour of the house.

The house was gorgeous! It had a beautiful patio, a beautiful bathroom, and came with a hot tub, fire pit, boogie boards, beach bikes, and a grill, so naturally there was plenty to do to stay busy.

 

There was a trail along the beach that started right next to our house and so in the morning first thing we did was go on a run/walk along the beach. It. Was. Amazing! I never have LOVED the beach, but I loved the beach this vacation. It was just so nice to be able to play outside, soak in the sun, and feel, well, warm in January.
I went out a little bit before everyone just to get a small run in, and I couldn't stop smiling. The sound of the ocean crashing, the warm sun, the first sight of the ocean, and the clean air all just put me in the best mood. It was so majestic. It never got old walking down to the beach, but that first sight of it was so powerful for me. 

The trail was about a 1/2 mile to another beach so the whole trail was just gorgeous. Right along the trail there was a front runner train that would pass by every 20 minutes which added to the newness. The beach we were at was a rock beach which made the crashes of the wave even louder and more magnificent.

 

We were in no rush to do anything, so by the end of our run/walk, we were all feeling a little warm. We thought that it would be fun to put our feet in the water and Ethan being the classic younger brother that he is, teased Emdog until she caved, but of course it didn't go the way that he wanted. A giant wave crashed right when Em got close enough. Luckily they are fast runners! 

Em's a good big sister though, so no hard feelings!

We wanted to give Kelsey a chance to touch the water, but just like me, she hated it. I mean,  I just don't love getting wet and Kelsey takes after me 100%. Plus it was FREEZING!! We put her feet in barely, and she was done after that. She never touched the water again, but like I said, neither did I!

 

 Funny story. Ethan tried to wash off his feet and put them back in his shoes, misjudged the waves coming in and got his shoes soaking wet and had to walk home in bare feet. The shoes never fully dried and so he ended up throwing them away by the end of the trip. It was funnier in person I guess.

 

We spent the rest of the day getting ready for a delicious BBQ and the rest of the family to come. When we thought that we were ready enough, Ethan and Em wanted to try boogie boarding. I know. They went ALL the way in the water!!! Crazy peeps!

 

Kelsey and I made sure that we were a safe distance from the water. I wanted the sand. I wanted the sun, but the last thing I wanted was January ocean water touching me. Kelsey felt the same way except she didn't even want the sand! She wouldn't even leave the towel. It was kinda cute in a sad way. 

One time, I took her off the towel and made her stand on the sand and she did just that. Stood on the sand. She wouldn't take a single step! It was hilarious!

Okay, eventually she TOUCHED it but still

I don't remember what he was laughing at (I think the lack of pictures I am in) but I thought that this picture was a perfect beach model pose. It made me laugh so hard when I saw it for the first time.

 After our barbequed steak, hot tubbing, and smores, the rest of the family showed up. (yes. EVERY night was spent this way: BBQ, hot tub, smores, bed. It was amazing)

With everyone present,  Saturday was obviously dedicated to a family beach trip. Kelsey was a little better with the sand because Harper is such a champ, but we still didn't touch the water.

Boogie Boarding day 2. Hannah is as crazy as the rest! 

 And here was what the none boogie boarding scene looked like...

 

  very content and very warm.  

Ethan finally coaxed me to put my feet in (although he tried to trick me and I almost got smashed by a wave!!) and I did it. It took some time, and I wish I could say I am acting in these pictures, but my feet are super sensitive and I hate cold water and being wet. Especially when the water is 20 degrees! That"s no exaggeration either. I NEVER exaggerate!

 

Even though I hated it, Ethan was in heaven

We are both aware of our level of whiteness. It will never change so go ahead and laugh!

Saturday afternoon, Ethan and I took advantage of the millions of babysitters that were around, and while Kelsey was napping, we went to the little bakery on the corner for lunch and rode bikes along the trail. It was seriously one of the funnest dates I have been on in a very long time.

The goal of this trip was to relax and to breathe as much fresh air as we could. We tried to be outside as much as we could. When Kelsey woke up, we all went for a walk around San Clemente. It is a very beachy town. We didn't realize it then, but we planned our walk to end right as the sun was going down. As just the EWing family we went to watch the sunset over the ocean. It got pretty cold, but it was as beautiful as we hoped.

 Because we only had Ethan's phone, it was hard to get a good family picture with the sun behind us. This really nice lady took our picture though because the lighting was perfect and she didn't want us to ever forget this moment with Kelsey. "They grow up too fast so you got snap em when you can." It was super cute and family pic turned out really pretty.

I'd even say Christmas card worthy if Kelsey was looking. Maybe I can crop her head in some how

And because we were in the picture taking mood, we took individual shots too

I just love this picture so much

 So Saturday was wonderful and then Sunday happened. Ethan woke up shaking and aching, saying he was cold but sweat like a pig on a hot day, and wanting to eat but nervous to keep it down. We think the cold water finally got to him, but either way, it was no fun. Kelsey was was acting sick too, so here we were the last day of vaca, with two out of three sick. Luckily it was Sunday and all the fun to be had happened the day before but still. While the two slept, I snuck off to church with Diana and Robert which is actually a hilarious story.
The night before we established that church was at 9. We got up thinking church was at 9. Reo and I both looked at the church website and saw that church was at 11. At 8:10 I convinced everyone that they didn't need to hurry because church was at 11. Well, at 8:15 Reo ran downstairs apologizing because church was indeed at 9. We raced around the house and surprisingly all got ready in time to get out the door by 8:45. We were zooming around trying to find the chapel, which Diana did a great job, but the neighborhood that it was in was a little tricky so we got a little lost. We finally got to the chapel at 9:05 only time find IT WAS STAKE CONFERENCE!!! We immediately turned around and left laughing hysterically. We tried right?! We decided that instead we would go to the beach to play... um I mean pray! Ethan stayed sick pretty much the whole day and missed a picnic on the beach and a bike ride down the pier, but I had a great time. Robert watched the two sickies so I was able to go to the beach and journal with the rest of the family. Sunday is when we had our Baywatch event too. Dan and Emily got stuck in a current and we had to get a life guard to help them swim back in. Once we knew that they were going to be fine, it was kind of exciting seeing the lifeguard swim out to their rescue. Glad you are okay Emdog and Dan!

After some Sunday naps and KFC, we decided to take a trip to the Newport Beach Temple. Aside from the creepy black birds that were swarming the temple, convincing us all that they were going to attack just like The Birds, it was a beautiful time. I was sad Ethan and Kelsey were not able to see the temple with me, but it was still fun to be with family.

 Sunday night, like every other night, ended with smores, hot tubbing, and breathing in the cool fresh air. We packed and got all ready to go so that Monday we could leave bright and early in the morning. 

Monday was a sad drive back for us. Thanks to Punzle and Elmo Kelsey was great again in the car, but it was just so sad to know that the vacation was over. It was especially sad to watch the temperature go from 75 to 24 also knowing that the air was getting worse and worse the closer we got to home. It was  a fast drive home though and I do have to say, it always feels nice to be home. 

Kelsey  ready for our Vegas lunch stop

Here are just some pictures of the scenery that Dan took. Thanks Dan! These are amazing

California Part 1: Disneyland

Well Disneyland is turning into a yearly event at the Wing home. Not really, BUT we were lucky enough to go two January's back to back. Let me explain! (and explain I do! For the non Ewing family reader, I would recommend just looking at pictures so you don't die of family vacation boredom!)

Around July of 2013, Emily approached the family and said that she wanted to rent a beach house in San Clemente sometime in 2014 as a Christmas present to the whole family. Would that work? We all looked at our schedules, gave her possible dates, and she picked January 16th-January 22nd. For us that worked perfectly because the MBA program gives first year students a break in January from the 15th to the 20th. (The break is intended for those who do not yet have an internship. We do, so it was a 5 day vacation in January) This trip couldn't have worked out more perfectly timing wise. We had a day to travel, 4 days to party, and a day to get home.

We left Wednesday Jan 15th and drove straight through to sunny and HOT Anaheim. When we left Provo it was 24° and by the time we got to Anaheim at 5 their time, it read 91°!!! I mean we were excited for warmer weather but it was hot hot hot!
Kelsey was amazing in the car. We stopped for gas, but the only time we got out of the car was on this random road along the highway called Zzyzx road (no kidding! Look it up here) It was this random cul de sac looking road where we ate lunch and let her run around for a while.
Side note: we drove from Saint George to Vegas with our trunk open. Whoops!

We pulled into Anaheim at 5 and went straight to our hotel. After checking in and changing into shorts, we headed to Downtown Disney. So here's the thing. Our hotel was on Disneyland Dr, our hotel was cheap, and our hotel was "across the street from Disneyland." All true things, except, Disneyland Dr is a very long and busy street, you get what you pay for, and it doesn't matter if you are across from the park if you are on the opposite side of the entrance! See Disneyland has a very secluded entrance and there is literally like one way to get into the park. We were on the opposite side of that. Our walk into the park, although right next to the park the whole time, was like the 3 miles of behind the scenes stuff: storage, costumes, backup parts, animals, etc. Okay I'm done with my rant because for goodness sake: WE WERE AT DISNEYLAND!!!

Our first stop of the night was at Tony Roma's to eat. Lunch was pretty dismal and so some of us (me and Kelsey) were very very cranky! After an amazing patio dinner, we went back to Downtown Disney and this time we (mostly me) were able to enjoy it. Because we were so exhausted we didn't spend too much time Wednesday night, but headed back to the hotel to sleep. Kelsey fell right asleep and I made a run to Target to get souvenirs.
It was an exciting feeling that night, knowing that all of our vacation was still ahead!

There was not much talking at dinner that night. We were all so excited to see food that we wolfed it down. I don't think I have ever had a more amazing dinner in my whole life. I don't know if that was the hunger pains talking or if it was really that delicious, but who cares! Kelsey ate dinner and that hasn't happened in a long time. 

We never get Kels a kids meal because she never eats it, but we did this time and for 5 bucks she got a huge plate of spaghetti, broccoli, apples and cranberries, a yogurt, and a drink! There was so much food, but she did her best 

Thursday morning was a terrible morning actually. Kelsey came down with a cold and woke up at like 5 just screaming. Because I was so delusional, I got up thinking it was 7, and brought her into my bed. I didn't realize then that I brought her into my bed with two hours left of sleeping! I was so tried, I figured for one night it wouldn't kill me to share a bed with Smooch. Oh my, was I so wrong!!! She is the biggest bed hog in the whole world. No matter where she was and no matter how much room she had, she wanted more! She kicked me so many times and stole my pillow so many times, that I ended up sleeping on THE edge of the bed with no blankets and no pillows. Good news though, she was able to go back to sleep and slept through us repacking the car and stroller for the day so that was a relief.

She kept these on most of the day. Kelsey loves to wear hats so to her these were just another hat

We went down to breakfast at 8 and there was  no food left! I mean, I know continental breakfasts are juice and doughnuts, but you could at least have juice and doughnuts, especially when you say breakfast will go from 7-9. Again, we got what we paid for! We shared a doughnut, gave Kels some juice and "toast" (the toaster only cooked one side of the bread) and headed to the park! We were too excited to be mad about breakfast anyway. We got to Downtown Disney at 9 and tried to kill 30 min just listening to the different renditions of the Disney classics hoping time would go faster. I actually think this was Kelsey's favorite part. She just danced and danced and danced. I remember at one point saying, okay its 9:05 and then checking my watch what I thought was 10 minutes later only to find it was now 9:07! We were so excited!

9:30 we got in line, and at 9:35 they let us into the park to walk around Main Street! We were in! We made it!

 Because only Main Street opened at 9:30 we tried to get pictures with characters while we waited. There was Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Pluto and Kelsey was afraid of them all. We didn't expect much after our Santa experience, but we tried and she quickly let us know that this was a terrible idea.

At 10 the park officially opened and our day of magic began. While Kelsey was awake, we wanted to do family rides or rides that we thought she would like. While we were in line for Peter Pan she was acting really really excited, but once we got on the ride she got a little nervous. She didn't cry but she just didn't oh and ah like we thought she would. Despite this set back, we still had a great time riding rides together and enjoyed being parents in Disneyland.
I know I am totally a mom because the whole time I just wanted to make Kels happy. When I got to ride a ride by myself the whole time I was thinking what Ethan and Kelsey were doing. I just wanted to be together. Didn't think that being with Kelsey would over rule Space Mountain but it totally did!

Don't be deceived. We brought two outfits for Kelsey jic of  heat and I'm so glad we did too because it got HOT! We changed her back at night, but it was nice to have something in the day time.

Kelsey was AMAZING!!! She serious did not cry or fuss one time. Not even for a quick 5 second burst. She was way to tired and distracted the whole time. There were a few rides that she showed interest, like I would say even liked including:
Tarzan's Tree house
Its a Small World (which is WAY cooler than when I was a kid)
And the Tiki Room. Let me be clear about the Tiki Room. SHE LOVED IT!!! Like danced and sang and pointed at all the lights and birds. She sat the whole time and loved it. Most rides she didn't show any emotion so when she showed emotion it was really exciting.

 After many rides as a family, Ethan and I decided it was time to do the big rides. For the first time ever I finally got to ride Splash Mountain and my goodness. The hype is totally worth it. Its not just the drop that is fun. There is this part in the middle with Bees that is amazing and the Zippity do da song at the end had me smiling so big I felt like a little kid. I loved the whole thing. I can finally understand why this is Ethan's favorite ride of all time. 

No, we do not know anyone else in the picture but thats the beauty of single rider!

                             

One time while Ethan was on the ride I thought it would be fun to try to take a pic of him coming down the drop. I took a lot of pictures of total strangers but finally got the right one and it turned out awesome if I do say so myself. 

 

I showed Ethan and he was like, that's awesome. I' m going to do that for you. I went on the ride and when I was coming up over the drop I waved and saw Ethan fiddle with the camera hoping that he got me coming down. Lets just say he was less successful. Still a great ride though!

 Of course we rode a lot of Space Mountain and Indian Jones too and for some reason, every time we rode it they put us in the front. It was AWESOME!

Like last year we rode all the rides via single rider so we didn't have to wait too long for the person on the rides. While Ethan or I were on the rides, we would just walk Kelsey around taking pictures or playing where ever we could. 

 

If you look closely, you will notice Kelsey has chips in all these pictures. I don't know if she was good or if we just kept the snacks coming, but its cool because calories and health don't count on vacation right? 

Eventually Kelsey crashed but it was totally fine because that just meant more time for us to do the big rides. She slept for a whole hour. I'm telling you! This girl couldn't have been more golden.

When Kelsey woke up, we ran over to the new Fantasy Fair by the castle (which was kind of a downer in my opinion) to watch the Tangled play. Before I continue you must know that Kelsey loves Tangled. Let me rephrase, Kelsey LOVES LOVES LOVES Tangled. More than me, more than dad, more than chips, more than blankie, more than anything in this whole world. I don't know why but those are the facts. Every morning she wakes up and goes Ah! Punzel?! In her sleepy voice. After every meal she goes Ah! Punzel?! and every free moment when we are just sitting she will walk up to us and go Punzel? Sometimes we will be in the car or at the store and she will go Punzel? I mean this girl is in  love. She even laughs and dances while she watches the movie. 

With that lead up, I was so excited to show her the Punzel play and she did not disappoint. She let out so many AHHHHHHHHH!!! that I thought her voice would give out. She clapped and danced at the right times, pointed to Rapunzel like 50 times and never once stopped looking at the stage. The play was 20 minutes too!  It was adorable. I don't know why, but she loves Rapunzel.

  

 

The day was wonderful. The weather was great, Kelsey was great, the lines were great, we brought great food, and we were at Disneyland! We had a lot of fun being together and did all that we wanted to do and more.  While we were there we couldn't help but remember pictures we took last year and try to recapture them. I've learned this hard lesson before, but we just couldn't resist. Some turned out with the same cuteness as last year, some turned out better than last year, and some, well, not so much!

Same...

 

 Better...

 Not so much...

 And just like last year, we got a lot of family pictures where Ethan and I look happy and interested and Kelsey looks, well like she just doesn't want to be there!

These actually were both taken in front of Tarzan now that I look closely

I think the hardest part for us to wrap our heads around is that this is who we took last year

And this is who we took this year!

Our Disney experience was everything that we wanted and more. As the day was coming to a close we decided to spend the time as a family in Fantasy Land. We rode the carousel, took lots of pictures, rode the trolley down main street and made one last trip around the park on the train (which Kelsey feel asleep on and was out for the night). The park officially closed at 8 but they want people to keep shopping on Main Street so from 8-8:30 we walked up and down main street soaking in the last bit of Disney magic that we could. We love Disneyland and are so happy that we were able to go again this year and just like last year, the count down to go back has begun!

Side note
We had a lot of "first" this trip
Small World- Ethan
Splash-Cami
Lincoln- Us
Carousel- Us
Trolley-Us
Also Jungle Cruise and the Columbus Island were supposed to be closed but because of the heat they were both open. We only missed out on Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder this time.

We walked back to the hotel and by 9:30 were headed to our second vacation, San Clemente! It was only a 30 min drive so by 10 we were at the beach and ready to party!!!