Our 10 Days of Fun!!!

All summer long, we have been waiting for July to get here... and once July got here then we were waiting for the 15th!  Starting July 1st, we started a countdown to vacation!! Well July 15th came, and now it is gone, which means vacation is over and back to reality.  How fast time goes by!  So here is our 10 days of fun and a few parts of not so much fun.

Monday, July 15, 2013.  We were suppose to leave around 4 am, since we had a 14 hour drive that day.  And yes, 14 hours with SIX kids, that is CRAZY!!!!  Well I didn't sleep much at all, actually I only slept two hours that night, so at 1:30 AM I got up and started getting me ready and the car.  Then the kids got up and in the car, they slept in their clothes for the day to make it easier.  We left the house at 3 AM!  I love being ahead of schedule.  Our first stop was Amarillo, Texas as the sun came up.  It was pretty cool that morning; we walked around some (took photos) and used the bathroom.  Then we had donuts and milk, and then it was time for more driving.  Our next stop was at the state line at New Mexico.  There isn't a whole lot in New Mexico, and then we stopped at the Arizona state line.  At the Arizona state line we saw a couple from Oklahoma!!  The father actually noticed us, and apparently I went to school with his younger brother.  Small world! We got rained on a few times, the temperatures were from 60's to 80's along the way.  The gas prices from Shawnee to Williams, were about the same- $3.40-3.85 a gallon.  When we got into Williams, Arizona (AKA Hillbilly Hell) it was pouring.  Which is no surprise, I think it always rains there.  Our hotel that night was in Williams, Arizona, the only thing good was we were on the top floor like the kids wanted.  I am not a fan of small towns, if you don't have a Wal-Mart then the town is too small for me.  We made it to the hotel around 4 that afternoon (keep in mind there is a 2 hour difference from Shawnee, Oklahoma to Williams, Arizona).  Not bad at all! The kids did really good in the car, no screaming or fighting.  We did the license plate game, which was entertaining and interesting to see all the tags on the drive.  Parker (18 months) didn't cry in the car much at all, he slept and played in his car seat.  That evening we had Taco Bell for dinner, once again there wasn't much in Williams; we did take some photos with the kids at a train stop.  Then to bathe the kids and sleep! 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013.  Well this day was suppose to start around 5-6 AM, and instead Parker woke me up at 3 by throwing up on me, not once but twice. He seemed fine, except for the throwing up, no fever no cough no nothing. Since I was woken up early, everyone else got up and got ready, and we left the hotel at 6:15 that morning and headed for California.  I have to say that drive was much more prettier!!  So many mountains and it was so pretty!  We stopped a few times to take photos, and we had In N Out for lunch!!  Yum!!  In N outs are wonderful, the best hamburgers ever.  They just make their restaurants way too small.  We had to eat in the car since there wasn't any sitting left.  All of the kids enjoy In N out also, I wish we had one in Oklahoma.  We did hit some traffic once into California, nothing too bad till we got closer to LA.  I think traffic in LA (and all around LA) is crazy, all you do is sit and wait, then you drive like hell for a few minutes and then sitting still again, and then repeat the cycle the whole trip.  Our hotel was in Anaheim and it was so cute!!  Only 2 stories and quiet (well quiet with 6 kids ha!).  And of course we could walk out and see palm trees!!  The best view! We were on the top floor, which was what the kids wanted.   After getting unpacked in the hotel we went to Santa Monica beach.  It was around 70 degrees or so, which is WAY too cold for me to swim in.  The older five didn't seem to mind the freezing water and were soaking wet, and played for around an hour and a half.  Parker played in the sand.  That beach was crazy busy, and I was amazed by the number of people swimming.  The drive there and back to the hotel was long.  I think it took us an extra 30-40 minutes to get there because of the traffic.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013. This day we all got up and ready by 8 to get to Universal Studios.  We left with plenty of time before the doors opened, but traffic was crazy!!!  It took us an extra 40 minutes to get there. The older boys and even Samantha liked the Transformers 3D ride.  And of course meeting the transformers.  Which I have to agree the ride was cool and the transformers were great!  The boys liked theJurassic Park ride, which left them wet. The only ride Parker could ride with us was the studio tours ride, which was about an hour wait time but a 45 minute tour.  Overall, I think for the money for the tickets there isn't a lot to do there.  I think Universal could easily be a half day thing, which is what we did; which is really a waste of that much money.  After we left there we went and saw the Hollywood sign, got pizza and went swimming at the hotel.

I had each kid keep a journal and they had to tell about their favorite thing on each day.  Today the favorites were:

M-  meeting transformers and the ride.

C- the transformer ride.

G- he enjoyed the fire during the studio tour ride and of course the transformers.

D- The dinosaurs and optimus prime.

S- The shrek and transformer rides.

P- He actually didn't like getting sprayed by water during the studio tour ride.

Thursday, July 18, 2013.  That day was Legoland day!  It was about an hour drive, but some of that drive was along the ocean which was hazy but still pretty.  The traffic to San Diego wasn't too bad at all, it was a lot worse on the way to the hotel that evening.  Legoland was a lot bigger than I expected.  We could of easily of spent two days there.  And they have a really cool resort, I didn't go inside the resort but the outside was really neat.  The kids would of loved to of stayed there!  Parker got to ride a few things, Samantha rode just about everything and the boys rode everything that we had time for.  The food is expensive there, so we brought peanut butter sandwiches to save some money.  The lines were pretty long, especially in the afternoon.  We spent 10hours there and didn't get to ride everything.  But everyone had a great time!   They do have a water park in Legoland, that is extra so I didn't pay for that part.  But there is a boat ride there, and you will be soaking wet!!  Holy moly, I rode it with the kids and didn't think we would get very wet while waiting in line.  Once we were closer to the ride, I noticed everyone that was getting on the ride were taking off their socks and shoes and everyone that was getting off was wet.  So we took off our shoes like the rest of the people.  On the ride, it was a quick ride.  You ride up the ramp and drop down, simple.  On the way down I knew I was going to get soaking wet so I ducked my head and you get soaked twice!!  There is water coming from you at every angle.  The kids loved it!!!  It was fun, I am not a fan of getting soaked but it was fun.   

Today's favorites.

M- Pirate reef which was the boat ride.

C- roller coaster

G-pirate reef and roller coaster

D- Pirate reef

S- dragon roller coaster

P- the mini city boat ride.

Friday, July 19, 2013.  California Adventure day!!!!  Also the morning that I am pretty sure I broke my foot/toe.  It has been almost 3 weeks and my foot is still hurting, it is improving but not 100% still.  We walked to the park since our hotel was so close!  Our first thing to go do was Cars land, and wow it is amazing!!  It looks pretty much like Cars the movie!  Very cool!  We got there before they opened so the morning was pretty dead, the afternoon was crazy!!  Our favorite ride was Racers and we went back later in the day to re-ride it and it was a 90 minute wait time, which means we didn't get to re-ride it.   We did get to ride a lot of rides, some as a family and then some with me and the boys.  My only disappointment was not meeting Mickey Mouse, but we did meet Mater, Lighting McQueen, Red, Donald, Buzz, Jessie, Pluto, and Duffy.  We did eat lunch in the park, and holy Jesus the prices are a rip off.  A tiny hamburger, about the size for a 2 year old was $6 dollars.  I about had a heart attack over the prices.  For dinner we went back to the hotel and had a sandwich.  We rode a lot of rides that day, no way we rode everything though.  We even had Ghirardelli, which was wonderful!  Around 9 PM they did a water show with colors, it was pretty neat and at 9:30 Disneyland (next door) did fireworks.  We did watch fireworks from our hotel too.  But that night we got both shows inside the park. We spent 14 1/2 hours there that day, it was a full day but went by in the blink of an eye!

Today's favorites

M- Carsland and racers

C- characters and rides, especially the roller coaster that went up side down (Which made mom sick)

G- upside down roller coaster

D- meeting lighting mcqueen and the racers ride

S- Racers ride

P- LOVED Lighting McQueen

Saturday, July 20, 2013.  Disneyland!!  Who doesn't love Disneyland?  We once again walked to the park since it is close to our hotel.  This was another long day at the park, it was raining when we first got there and then pouring around 4 so we took that time to go to the hotel and rest for 30 minutes, eat McDonalds and then return to the park.  On this day we did get to meet Mickey Mouse!!  Minnie was leaving so we just missed her.  :( Other characters that we met were Cinderella, Aurora, and Ariel. I have to say Cinderella was so very nice to all of us, the only person wanting to meet the princesses was Samantha, but we all went with her.  And Cinderella acted like a princess should.  Aurora and Ariel were talking about us, which I found to be every rude.  Ariel actually acted like she was annoyed to take photos with Samantha.  We did get to ride a lot of rides even though the weather wasn't the best.  The lines were long, the crowds were bad.  This day we got to ride a lot of rides together, and all of us got to ride, which Parker loved riding!!  And I enjoyed getting to ride with all of the kids and not leaving a few behind.  Parker and Samantha couldn't ride every single ride, but they could most everything.  Inside this park, they have a Jedi training show.  So we decided to let the kids watch it.  While waiting on them to start, there is a sign saying children can be called on to participate, and Garrett and Devin were picked!!!  They loved it!  Garrett battled against Darth Maul and Devin against Darth Vader and two storm troopers.  It was great!!

Today's Favorites

M- the roller coaster inside the mountain

C- Mickey's house and meeting him

G- the rides and being a Jedi

D- Mickey's house and meeting Mickey

S- meeting the princesses

P- the carousal and he loves seeing dogs (mainly service dogs are inside the park)

A few things I have learned from experiencing both Disney World and Disneyland.  Go off peak if you are going.  September was wonderful, lines are short, crowds are fewer.  Disney World- there are meet and greets for all the characters, and when that Mickey needs a break he is replaced every 15-30 minutes with a new Mickey.  And it is like that for all the characters.  You can meet Mickey and Minnie in all four parks on any day of the week at World.  Land- meet and greets are not as important to them.  Even the people helping with the characters don't know when a few character will be out again.  The food is expensive at both places and inside all of their parks.  The characters are a lot nicer inside World.  I have taken 5 kids to World, so one extra kid didn't make Aurora and Ariel decided to be rude.  Florida in general is more friendly towards larger families, California not so much.  That isn't just at Disney either, that is in general even the crowds and at and about the town.  Some parts of the world just isn't tolerant of large families.  Not that it is any of their busy.  I always find it funny when someone has something to say about a large family.  With the divorce rate as high as it is, more families are now large families because they are blended families.   You would think that society would get over the whole large versus small family thing. 

Sunday, July 21, 2013.  This was our last day in California.  That morning we went to take photos of the Anaheim Angels Stadium, then on to Griffith and saw the Hollywood sign. After that we went to Hollywood to see the stars, which was interesting and I use that word loosely.  While there, I got onto Parker and some guy told me to take him to the Playboy Mansion, that he would stop crying...  if you know me that crap doesn't fly with me.  Then while looking at the stars some strange dressed up chick came up to the kids and was trying to get them to take photos with her, all while grabbing them and trying to get them too close to her.  I don't allow strangers to touch my kids.  I made my point quickly with her, by making the kids come to me and not even look in her direction again.  So Hollywood lost a lot of credit after that.  The first time I went there it was ok, I enjoyed it, this time I would prefer to not go back.  After that we went to some beaches.  We first went to Malibu and took photos, climbed a cliff, and the kids played in the water some. The other beach we went to was Nicholas Canyon County Beach.  We did a few more photos, including one with Parker naked on the beach.  He didn't seem to mind at all.  After photos the kids played in the water some more.  The weather was hazy and gloomy but the kids enjoyed playing in the sand and water.  It was a great last day in California.   The gas prices in California are crazy!  They are around $4.- $4.20 a gallon. 

Monday, July 22, 2013.  This day we left California and went through Palm Desert and then on to Phoenix.  It was hot and sunny on this day.  It was about a 7 hour car ride to Phoenix.  We  had In N Out and MacAlisters for lunch and dinner.  Two great places to eat!  That evening once in Phoenix, we went to take some photos and the kids walked up a mountain and we swam in the hotel pool.  Gas prices in Phoenix and Arizona are around $3.89 or so.  Not as bad as California.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013.  We left Phoenix and headed back to Williams, AZ to spend the night.  Before we left Phoenix we did stop and took some photos of the Arizona Diamondbacks Stadium.  I am a huge baseball junkie, and I actually want to tour all the baseball stadiums before I die, but this time we didn't get to actually tour the stadiums, maybe next time.  Along the way we went through Sedona and it was really pretty! I wish we had planned for more time through there.  We planned for an hour, but it was so very busy that we could have spent hours there.  The kids enjoyed walking up cliffs.  We had a peanut butter sandwich for lunch (more money saved).  And that evening we went to the Grand Canyon.  The older boys that it was "big", the little ones didn't care.  We had Wendy's for dinner that evening 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013. We left one Hillbilly Hell (Williams) for another one.  We stayed in Tucumcari, New Mexico.  If you haven't been to Tucumcari let me just say there is NOTHING there.  I don't know how people live there.  They have to have a high suicide rate.   We had McDonalds on the way there and Arby's for dinner.  Arby's was in a Loves... interesting!  We drove around that evening and took a handful of photos and that was it.  Watched some TV, there was nothing else to do.

Thursday, July 25, 2013. Left New Mexico with plans to stop at the Big Texan and the Cadillac Ranch. But once into Amarillo it was pouring!  So we didn't get to do either one.  Which really stinked, but maybe next time.  The boys were wanting to graffiti a car. We made it home around noon that day and everyone was happy to get home.  All of us missed our pup so much!  And he missed us too.  He "cried" for a good 30 minutes when we got home.  Once we got home, the kids got their souvenirs (each kid got something from each park), and Thunder got his things too.

Overall, we all had a great time!!  And we look forward to the next vacation!

 

In Texas

New Mexico!

Arizona

In Williams

Saw this along the way, I am a huge Harry Potter fan so this was cool!

Mountains!

Universal

Studio Tours at Universal

Hard Rock Cafe

Legoland

Carsland

Ghirardelli

Sully

Pluto

Disneyland

Cinderella

:)

Arizona Diamondbacks

Grand Canyon

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Jedi Training

Autographs!

 

I took over 1500 photos in 10 days, and no way I have had time to edit much of them.  This is a few of them.  I will post more photos as I finish editing them.