This post is a long time coming. I was trying hard to narrow down pictures. This is a jumble of pictures from my phone and my camera, some are edited, some are not. There are hundreds (no, really.), but know that there are hundreds more that I didn't share!
In October we went to San Diego and Disneyland for Paiton's 4th birthday present. Her dream in life was to meet the Disney princesses. :) Here are hundreds (no, really) of pictures from our trip. Better late than never!
DAY 1::
Car loaded and ready to go, bright and early!
Quinn, his baby, and lamby.
The kids did pretty good in the car. This was Q's first time riding forward facing. He gets pretty car sick so for our 22+ hour drive, we didn't want him sick the whole time! Our car DVD players broke awhile back, so they didn't even have movies to watch. We just had to do it the old fashioned way. ;) It's good for the soul, right!?
Rainy Las Vegas, where we stayed for the night.
First stop in Vegas was In N Out, of course!
We needed to get out and walk around, so before we checked into our hotel we walked around the outlet mall.
Paiton found some giant flamingos!
Watching herself dance :)
More dancing in the hotel lobby.
And nose picking
Q became quite the little reader on our trip
Dancing on the bed. Are you starting to see a pattern here?
Shaving in the hotel with daddy
DAY 2::
And yes, less than 12 hours after we had In N Out for dinner, we had it for breakfast. :)
Quinn sleeping very comfortably.
P pretending to sleep
On day 2 we finally got to Aunt Lori's! Uncle Derek promptly found a 1 year old appropriate toy - a giant metal bar.
Bentley so kindly shared her hotwheels with the kids. They were in Heaven. So was Poppy.
Sweet note from Taylor on the door when we arrived:
Quinn found an instant friend in Poppy, and caught on instantly saying "Poppy" clear as day.
They share a love of technology ;)
Helping Taylor make dinner
Paiton and Taylor bonded quickly and had lots of fun playing together!
DAY 3::
We started the day off with a kitchen dance party, just like at home!
Lunch at one of our favorites - Islands!
We went to Mission Beach and P loved the "beach trees"!
I finally busted out my big camera. :)
Taylor and Paiton playing on the beach.
Quinn and Matt watching the waves.
I think the only thing that could pull me away from all the family and friends we have here is the ocean. There is nothing I love more than the ocean, and watching my kids play in the sand and fall in love with it too.
We didn't quite anticipate just.how.much this one would loooove ever aspect of the beach:
I dared to pick him up and try to get a picture with him.
So gorgeous.
Aunt Lori and Quinny
I think I'm going to frame this one in my house:
All Quinn wanted to do was go, go, go. Straight to the water. He's SUCH a fish. We've always known this. The ocean was no exception.
Always chasing sister around.
(He seriously could NOT be one ounce cuter!!)
Matt, P, and Bent in the hottub. It was then that Paiton proclaimed "Ahhhh....this is the life!" That's my girl!
Surveying the yard with Titi Lori
Our view for the week!
Quinn and Rocky
Yay! Uncle Derek came home from work!
Playing pool in the poolhouse
Halloween Disney jammies from Aunt Lori - on Disneyland Eve!!
Fun with Uncle D - pulling the kids around in a blanket
P and Bentley break dancing
Pony rides! Uncle D goes first, riding Paiton!
The dancing never stops!
DAY 4::
The kids loved listening to Uncle Derek play guitar
EEEEEEK!!!!!!
Walking into Disneyland!!
On the trolley from the parking garage to the park!
We got there before Aunt Lori, Grandma, Poppy, and Taylor. So we killed some time while we waited.
Walking around Downtown Disney we discovered this cool car store! It's the same idea as Build A Bear, but with cars!
Matt got to pick out all the parts and then build Quinn's car!
Matt made Quinn a sweet ride!
Once Aunt Lori, Taylor, and Grandma and Poppy got there, it was time to go into the Happiest Place on Earth! Because it was so close to Halloween the whole park was decorated for Halloween. It was super cute! They encouraged the kids to wear costumes as well. I have a feeling a certain 3 year old would have regardless... She was Cinderella. :)
Yay! The Locke Four at the famous Disney entrance!
As soon as we got in we happened upon Snow White!
We tried hard to catch Cinderella but as we waited in line she had to leave to take a break. :( We still got to see her, but not picture or autograph!
Quinn (with a mouth full of snacks already!) and Poppy!
First ride - the carousel!
Already tired of pictures!
Quinn did great for having no idea what was going on or why he was expected to ride in the stroller or be carried for hours and hours and hours!
Aunt Lori and Taylor took Paiton the Dumbo ride next!!
While we waited Quinn and Poppy shared some ice cream bites!
Here they go!
Hi!!
Of course we had to get the kids Mickey ears. The options these days are ENDLESS. When I was a kid you got the black Mickey ears with your name in gold. That was it. Now there are all the characters (my personal favorite was the Tinkerbell one with a blonde bun on top!), and so many options to choose from! I went with baby blue for Quinn to match his eyes. :) Paiton chose a Princess one with a crown and veil, naturally.
Waiting for the parade to start!
The parade was awesome. I'm so glad we decided to take a break and enjoy it. It was an easy way to see all the characters that Paiton knew and loved, but didn't necessarily have time to wait in line to meet!
We were shocked at how many characters paid very special attention to Paiton. Mostly the princesses and the ones walking. They would look straight at her and wave and she would get SO excited! Cinderella was especially happy to see Mini-Cinderella and even blew her a kiss! Paiton was just over the moon. I have to tell you, as Matt and I stood there and watched her and her excitement, we both had tears in her eyes. I'm teary eyed right now typing this and remembering. It was absolutely magical to her. These are THE princesses. Not someone dressed up as them. She was so in awe and amazed and felt so lucky to meet them. It was so sweet. She was very thankful about it all too and very appreciative. We just love her to pieces and are SO glad we did this.
Quinn loved it too!
I love this picture of Paiton and Poppy walking through the park:
Next up was meeting Princess Tiana!! I loved her, she was great. She had the accent down perfect!
Then came Mulan:
Then, Princess Aurora:
Uncle D and Quinn danced while we waited in line to meet Merida :)
Bentley was so brave to go and meet Merida! ;)
So was P!
The Merida set up was cute, her three bear brothers were even there and talked to the kids!
Merida was good too. She had a good accent and was sassy, just like the real Merida!
The park was decorated for Halloween. Unfortunately some of the rides were closed to be decorated for Christmas - like It's A Small World and some others. :(
Both kids went on Pirates of the Caribbean. It was fun! In fact, every single one of us went!
Bentley, me, and the Toy Story army guys.
Me and my Poppy!
Going on a ride!
Quinn took a nap in the stroller while we walked.
Dance Party time!
Pretty much all Paiton wanted to do at Disneyland was meet the princesses. We knew this going in! We went on some rides - the carousel, Dumbo, Pirates of the Carribean, Peter Pan, but for the most part, we met Princesses! They have a cool new area set up where 3 princesses at a time come out and you wait in line, then meet each one. It's a big time saver and so fun! The last princesses that Paiton was dying to meet was Belle, Ariel,and Rapunzel (who is her VERY favorite!)
When we came off a ride the three that were up were Ariel, Rapunzel, and ... I can't even remember who the third one was! Whoops!
Anyway, we waited and waited in line. Paiton was beside herself to get to meet Ariel and Rapunzel, it was SO exciting. Then as it was almost our turn, they announced that the princesses were taking a break, and 3 new ones were coming out instead. Paiton was crushed. Seriously, her little soul was just crushed. As the princesses walked away without meeting her and signing her book she kept asking "Why doesn't Rapunzel want to meet me? Where are they going?" It broke my heart into a thousand pieces. In that minute I hated Disneyland! I still believe they need a new system - like cutting off the line and having the princesses meet everyone up until that cut off. I think letting 3 year old princess-obsessed girls wait in line for an hour, just to watch the princesses be whisked away when it's nearly their turn, is just cruel! Of course I understand that they need breaks, etc., BUT, there HAS to be a better way. I hurt so much for her! :( She was sad, but she was very brave and didn't let it ruin her night (although she still talks about it to this day). Luckily I had snagged these pictures while we waited in line, so she can still see pictures of them.
Waiting in line for Peter Pan!
My kids are the sweetest. I have never seen sibling love like they have. Always wanting to snuggle and be sweet. As we held them in line they reached for each other and just held hands all through the wait.
The Happiest Place on Earth.
One very tuckered out princess.
Because of our tickets we got to stay in the park until well past closing. It was 11 before we left and we were all EXHAUSTED. The drive home was BRUTAL. We didn't even get on the freeway until almost 12:30, that's how long it took us to get out of Disneyland. On the way home I had to stop at a gas station and we pounded some Red Bulls. I was driving and I honestly thought I was going to fall asleep on the road. We finally got home around 2:30am I think.
DAY 5::
Paiton had a Disneyland hangover the next day. She slept in past noon!!!
Meanwhile this one was up at 7 ready to go!
She finally woke up and wanted Aunt Lori snuggles!
Q enjoying the car daddy built him!
That day we lounged around, had lunch at Oscar's, another SD favorite of ours, and walked around Parkway Plaza.
DAY 6::
Quinn was very snuggly this morning. What you don't see is that Rocky is under that blanket with him. ;) They had a love/hate relationship with each other. Mostly Quinn loved Rocky and Rocky hated Quinn for always trying to catch him. However, apparently Rocky loves Quinn more than he loves me, because I couldn't even bribe snuggles out of him!!
We decided to go to the zoo on Thursday! Aunt Rhonda drove down and came with us! It was lots of fun!!
Paiton was so excited to see flamingos, and we kept telling her they'd be the first thing she'd see when we walked in!! We had to spend some time there!
Poppy and Quinn may have spent even more time and had to catch back up to us! :)
Of course we had to stop and play on the playground for awhile!
In case you couldn't tell, Poppy and Quinn were buddies the whole trip!
Then it was off to the petting zoo. Paiton petting a goat.
Aunt Lori and Quinn checking out the goats. He wasn't too sure how he felt about them!
This parrot was such a good talker!
This is Sally: (just kidding, I don't know it's name. I just figured...she's got two humps!)
Quinn was mesmerized by the lions!
And they, by him.
Paiton getting smushed like a bug by a well-trained elephant:
Paiton and a peacock:
My personal favorite animal:
The cutest little seal I've ever seen!
Polar Bear:
Polar Bear watching:
Aunt Rhonda and Paiton climbed through the seal tunnels!
Such a trooper:
The hippo was fun to watch!! She would run through the water!
Poppy watching the hippo:
The red panda:
The regular panda:
Snack break!
Poppy and Paiton playing:
Paiton and the giant elephant bush:
Poppy and Pai Pai!
Walking back to the car
And these are out of order, from my phone:
That night everyone ate dinner at Aunt Lori's with us since it was our last night.
Quinn just loved Poppy to pieces. Refused to eat anything for dinner unless it was off Poppy's plate.
Aunt Lori, baffled that Paiton had never made Rice Krispie treats and didn't even know what they were, and P whipped up a batch:
Packing to leave. SO sad. :( The kids wanted to ride home in the suitcase!
DAY 7::
We left on Friday morning. It broke my heart and I cried like I always do leaving Aunt Lori's.
On our way out we stopped in Temecula to visit Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Brian! Aunt Rhonda had this robe of Caydence's that she let P have because it had flamingos on it!
Paiton, Uncle Bri, me, and Quinn
Sub in Aunt Rhonda :)
We got to meet and hold Jack Henry, their turtle
And of course we got manicures by Aunt Rhonda!
(In fact the other day when I offered to paint Paiton's nails her response was: "Well, I guess. I mean, you're not as good as Aunt Rhonda, she's the best. But I guess I just won't have Mickey ears on my nails this time.")
Her Mickey nails!
Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Brian took us to lunch at a Mexican place we had been to before, and then of course we had to go see Uncle Brian's fire station and the trucks!!
Quinn LOVES fire trucks. This was absolute Heaven to him!
These pics are at the firestation from my big camera:
Quinn LOVES firetrucks. Loves, loves. He was ecstatic to see them, and sit in them!
I know there's sooo many pictures. But even still, I didn't post even half of them! You're welcome.
Paiton was less of a fan, but did at least sit long enough for me to get a picture!
Quinn exploring all the cool stuff!
Fireman Paiton!
Quinn driving to an emergency!
Strike a pose!
I love this pic! Might end up on my wall!! :
Uncle Brian, the Fire Captain!
Thanks for ALL the fun Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Brian!!! We loved the visit!!!!
After we said more goodbyes we continued on our way. We stopped in Las Vegas and stayed at Excalibur.
We wanted to take the kids to Rain Forest Cafe for dinner, we knew they'd love it!
I had forgotten Paiton's sweatshirt in the car, but found a spare for Q in the diaper bag, so, like any good mother, I shoved my almost 4 year old girl into a 12 month old boy's sweatshirt.
Remember how fun it is to run through hotel hallways when you're a kid!?
Remember how you don't notice how trashy and scary Vegas really is until you want to walk around it with your two small children?
Oh there's Quinn!
Yes! This was the second Zoltar machine of the trip! Love these things!
After dinner we got frozen yogurt
And gambled $4 which we promptly lost.
On our walk back to our room we spotted the Dumb and Dumber guys ;)
DAY 8::
More time in the car. Boo.
We were about 20 miles outside of Twin Falls when I turned around to see this:
Whoops. Remind me next time not to feed him Yorks over my shoulder to keep him quiet.
I got to clean this up in the Target parking lot in Twin!
Good thing he's cute!!! ;)
We had SO much fun on our trip. We had saved a LONG time for it, and planned just as long. We wanted to make sure it was full of family and fun, and something the kids would enjoy and (maybe??) remember. Thanks everyone for letting us stay with you and add a little Locke Chaos to your life for a week. :) We had a blast and are already looking forward to the next trip!!
We love you!!
