I could get used to these girls' trips out of town. I can't exactly call it a girl's "getaway" because I believe any trip that involves a barely potty trained 2-year old (who shares a hotel bed with you) is no "getaway." Maybe the fact that she is a 2-year old crazy diva makes it a little tougher.
I think I saw every bathroom in LA and Orange County in a 72 hour period. Half the time she decided she didn't need to go. She was like the little girl who cried "potty." It got a little frustrating.
Anyways...let me rewind now that I've gotten all worked up. My mom, dad and nephew Jon all came down on Thursday night so that my dad and Jon could go on the Jeep trip to Big Bear with Luke and the boys. That of course meant that mom, Wiggy and I were headed out to find our own kind of fun.
Friday morning we all got up and showered. We had a big breakfast of turkey sausage bread and cinnamon rolls. The girls and boys departed the house at the same time and and went our separate ways. Thankfully, we left the house mid-morning so we could hit lunch at Cheesecake Factory at the Glendale Galleria. :)
After lunch we walked around a bit and found a cupcake place I've been wanting to try for a few years now. "Crumb's Bakery" has a shop in Beverly Hills, about 1/4 mile from Sprinkles...so I was pleasantly surprised to find their store in Glendale. I tried the Elvis, Wiggy had a vanilla sprinkle, and Grandma had pistachio. They were very good and BIG! A good combination!
After shopping around for hours we decided to head to our hotel in Anaheim. Traffic got my grouchy...as usual. We got to the hotel after 8pm and decided to eat at Coco's Bakery across the street. Thankfully Grandma had patience for Wiggy because I was checked out, tired and ready to sleep!
The next morning Wiggy woke us all up bright and early, in her usual fashion. We were able to make it to the hotel shuttle by 8:30am, after grabbing breakfast at Carl's Jr. (We brought several changes of clothes in case there was an "accident.")
Our first item was heading to Fantasy Land. On our way over we stopped at Snow White's Wishing Well to listen to the music. Wiggy loved it.
But-- we got a big surprise when Snow White showed up. She walked right up behind us and began talking to Wiggy. Wiggy was shaking and couldn't even look at her. It was priceless.
A few moments later Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella showed up. It looks like we got there at the perfect time!
Wiggy's first request in Fantasy Land was to ride the elephants! :)
We eventually got some lunch in Toon Town and Grandma got Wiggy a treat. We had to take off the Tinkerbell dress after that because she got chocolate all over it. Time for our first wardrobe change of the day.
We hit Frontierland and the Tiki Room was a hit. Wiggy tried falling asleep on our way over, but she woke up when the birds started singing. We grabbed a Pineapple Whip on our way out. Its a mandatory stop!
At the very end of the day she got to meet more princesses at the Princess Fair. She was in heaven and it was so fun watching her.
We had to wait almost an hour for the shuttle, so we finally got back to the hotel after 10:45pm. We were all exhausted!
Sunday morning we woke up and checked out of the hotel by 9:30. We grabbed some Jamba Juice at the Outlets and walked around for a bit. Nothing opened until 11am, so we had to wait.
After shopping at the outlets for a little bit we decided to head over "The Grove" and Farmer's Market in LA. Wiggy slept the entire drive up and since we hit traffic again, it all worked out. She woke up refreshed when we arrived. We ate a late lunch at the farmer's market and then walked around a bit. It was so loud and busy, it wasn't too enjoyable. Our last stop was in the American Girl store. Grandma got Wiggy a Bitty Baby for an early birthday present. Wiggy was quite enamored with it and named her "Baby Ariel."
I found out the boys were on their way home from Big Bear and I didn't want them to beat us home, so we left LA around 5pm. The boys ended up beating us by an hour, but I was thankful we all got home safely.
It was a wonderfully BUSY three days away with Wiggy and my mom. I hope we can do it every year!
The annual Father's Day trek to Big Bear for some Jeepin fun.
This year my dad brought my nephew Jon and Luke brought his buddy Brian and his son, Jake. They stayed up at Brian's cabin for the second year in a row, so they didn't really have to "rough it." Good things my kids love the dirt. They really enjoy these Jeep trips with dad, Grandpa and cousins each summer.
Bubba has been in Cub Scouts for two years now and Tubbs just joined when he turned eight this last April. This was our first year of sending the boys to the day camp because in the past, the boys have been out of town on Jeep trips. Another bonus this year was the fact that our ward contributed $20 to the fee for each boy.--- Which is really nice for having two boys!
The day camp was from 8:30am - 1:30am Monday through Friday. The boys had to miss Friday because they left on a Jeep trip to Big Bear.
The day camp required that two parent volunteers for each den help out each day. Luke took Tuesday and he sent me all sorts of pictures.
I think the boys' favorite part was archery....because they couldn't stop talking about it. I am really glad we were able to send both boys because it looked like a memorable experience. It was also fabulous because all the boys in the den were able to go, so they had plenty of friends.
My friend Laura invited some girls from church to LA to celebrate her birthday.
It was so wonderful.
I don't know if I've had an all day girl's day like that...ever? I don't know. I'm getting old. Nevertheless, it was so wonderful to hang out with so many fabulous ladies who are an example to me. Saturday morning we met at her house before 8am, loaded up in her mini-van and took off.
We started the day with a trip to the LA Temple---which was a magnificent idea. Being in the temple with 5 friends was wonderful. What made it even more memorable was we went to a Spanish speaking session. Hard to keep a straight face as we cruised up to start the session and realized we were going to need headphones for the session. We looked at each other, chuckled and headed on in.
It was a great session (much needed)....and a reminder I need to go back more often.
After the temple session we were all starving (naturally) and flew over to the 3rd street Promenade to find some grub. We ate at a trendy Mexican joint.
After lunch we all walked up and down stopping at miscellaneous stores. At one point several of us disbanded to do our own thing. I stopped inside this shop named "Lush" that sold bath and body products. I had this guy massage my arms and give me a hand treatment over the course of 30 minutes. I was sold! I would've stayed in there all day! A while later we met up again at Nordstrom's.
On our way to the car we stopped at the 3rd floor Food Court where Laura and I found Tutti Frutti. We had to indulge...just a little.
About 10 miles up the freeway was a Cheesecake Factory, so we stopped for dinner. I ctually behaved myself (probably because of the Tutti Frutti) and ordered a salad off the skinny menu. :)
We got home around 11....and I was exhausted. But it was a wonderful way to spend a day. I think we need to do this more often!!
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Meanwhile, while I was out playing....Luke took the boys to their swim meet in Taft. He is so great! (He probably needs to hear that more often)
He sent me pictures throughout the day, and I was a little sad I had to miss a meet. Luke and I have never missed a swim meet with the kids.
The boys swam their hearts out. At this meet, they gave away a prize to the swimmers who got 1st place. So, Tubbs got a soccer lamp and a $10 gift certificate to a burger place.
At the beginning of the school year Tubbs' 2nd grade teacher had us fill out this questionaire. On the last day of school, she sent it home with a few remarks underneath what I wrote. I thought it was a really great idea and I plan on keeping it. I really appreciate a teacher who can take the time to do this for every student.
This year my company celebrated it's 15th year and wanted to do something special for the company picnic. All of the employees voted and thankfully the winner was Disneyland.
They offered each employee two free tickets and any additional tickets were slightly discounted. They also offered charter buses for people who didn't want to drive.
Perfect!
Luke and I decided to go alone and leave the kids behind since we brought them last month. We have never been to Disneyland alone before.
The bad news....the charter buses left town at 5:30am....which meant we had to be at the Aera parking lot shortly after 5am. We were tired from staying up late the night before. Luke's parents came down to watch the kids for us and stayed the night. I got up at 4:30am. WOW!
We got to the park shortly after 8am and we grabbed a quick bite at a bakery in Downtown Disney. Expensive...but quick.
We hit up Star Tours first, then Indiana Jones, and the Haunted Mansion. We attempted Splash Mountain when the sun came out, but as we stood in line it was shut down for technical difficulties.
We decided we would take the train around the park and then take the Monorail over to Downtown Disney.
Our company lunch started at 11:30am in the Disneyland hotel.
We grabbed lunch and then watched "Snow White and the Hunstman" in Downtown Disney. I'm pretty sure Luke would've enjoyed it a little more if he wasn't sleeping thoughtout the movie! :)
After the movie we headed over to California Adventure for a bit.
We rode the Tower of Terror (which I LOVE) and it was Luke's first (and probably last) time on the ride. I was giggling the entire ride and Luke was chuckling at me.
Here we are in the service elevator before launch! All smiles.
(This is me trying to get my hair out of my face)
Then we made our way over to California Screamin. Another ride I love. Luke...not so much. I wish I could've rode these rides over and over again!
We made the 30 minute walk out of the park to Cheesecake Factory! If I'm going to pay out the nose for a meal, it's going to be here...not in the park.
I decided to go with the usual appetizer....deep fried mac and cheese. I wish this stuff was fat free....that would be my dream.
For dinner I got the chicken medeira and it was quite good...but rich. The chicken was smothered in cheese and mushrooms. I ended up eating only one of the chicken breasts and a few bites of potatoes. Way too much food...but I never complain.
By the time we finished we could've crawled under the table and taken a nap. We were done for the day. Too bad the charter bus wasn't leaving Disneyland until 10pm. We still had a few hours to party in the park. We ended up going into the Lincoln Theater for a little bit. The animotronic Abe Lincoln was SO REAL I would've sworn it was a real person. Seriously. I paid no attention to what he was saying and I was just staring at his every movement. It was very bizarre.
After we wandered around Main Street we decided to take the train around the park again...and just count down the minutes until we could get on the bus!
The conductor on the train had a serious speech impediment. It was hard to understand the guy. Finally Luke says, "Holy cow...Elmer Fudd is driving the train." I laughed so hard....partly out of sleep deprivation. It was pretty humorous.
We got to the bus at 9:50 all ready to pull out at 10. Needless to say, others weren't as prompt. We ended up pulling out at 10:30. WHOA. We got back to the Aera parking lot after 1am and crawled into bed by 1:30am.
It was a long day, but I really enjoyed the time with my partner in crime.
What a good excuse to take the kids to donuts for breakfast on our first official day of summer break! :)
Tubbs and Wiggy were up early, as usual, so we went on a 4.5 mile run. When we got back we loaded up, got Bubba out of bed, and picked up some friends down the street.
We headed to Sugar Twist because they were handing out free donuts. The kids were in heaven....and they even handed out free balloons.
Too bad it isn't National Donut Day every Friday!
That Stop Wasn't On My Itinerary....
So the Hogue's made it to Florida for our first official family vacation. It was Sawyer's first plane ride....and Simon's first plane ride that he can remember. We were excited....the boys were stoked. We had everything we needed! But it seems that Sawyer packed something with him that wasn't on our checklist: a big case of pneumonia. Yes, the little fella made it almost one whole day in Florida before he started heading downhill fast. Our 2nd day in Orlando we were in the Urgent Care south of Cocoa Beach. (By the way, to see a doctor more quickly, it helps if you vomit all over the waiting room in front of the receptionist. Little tip for ya) After chest x-rays they advised us to head to the ER in Melbourne, where they eventually admitted him to the hospital. So, we had 3 night deluxe accommadations at the Holmes Regional Medical Center. The little whipper snapper was a trooper though! The nurses loved him, thankfully, and made us all feel right at home. We were going to send postcards out with pictures of the hospital since we spent 40% of our trip there...but they didn't have any. Imagine that!Hmmm.....maybe its something they should consider.
