Best Time Ever

We went back to California Adventure Saturday, this time on purpose! We rode a few rides and enjoyed GlowFest again. Cole watches Zoe and Brad on the rafting ride. They got pretty wet, but said it was a lot of fun.

We didn't get a chance to ride the Ferris Wheel because they shut down the rides for a water light show. It was neat but the rides would have been more fun.

We did all get to ride the 3D Toy Story ride. It was awesome. You get to shoot a targets and it looks like things are flying right at you. Zoe and Brad rode together and I rode with Cole but he kept getting mad at me because I really wanted to use the gun to shoot the targets!

These are our cool 3D shades. Not everyone could make them look this good!

Zoe's favorite part of the whole trip was GlowFest. The street was lit up and the music was loud. Zoe calls this guy the sweaty armpit guy but in his defense he was jumping around a lot. Anyway, he asked her to dance with him and they danced through 3 or 4 songs. People were gathered around them taking pictures and clapping. It was really cute to watch.

On Sunday we asked Zoe what she wanted to do on her last day in California. She really wanted to go to the American Girl Doll store. Holy Moly! About two and a half hours later (I was the co-pilot map reader... it should have taken less than an hour), a trip through the worst parts of L.A., and a near heart attack by Brad, we made it.

She was in heaven. They had two stories of doll stuff. The faces Brad made were hilarious and even the security gaurd there told Brad you can get a doll at Toys R Us for twenty bucks! They even had a hair salon for dolls. It was a bit insane.

Zoe used her birthday money to buy a new doll and a swimsuit for her (even though you can't get them wet). When she told the lady which doll she wanted she said, "Oh...I thought you would choose a doll that looked like you, but okay". When the lady went to get the doll Zoe looked at me and said "I'm adopting her"! Her look almost acted like she thought the lady was crazy.

We went by to see the Hollywood Stars so it didn't look like we only traveled to L.A. for a doll, but it was kind of dumpy and Zoe didn't know any of the people on the stars. The airplane trip home was a breeze. Cole slept most of the way and this time Zoe could really see out the window. They loved it.

We had an amazing time and can't wait to go back. What a trip!

California Beach Bums

We had a really fun time at the beach today. Cole is feeling more comfortable (as you can see from the top picture) and is loving the sand and water. Zoe is in heaven, but doesn't enjoy the salt water in her mouth!

I know it's hot in Missouri, but I was actually kind of cold at the beach! The weather is beautiful.

We built sand castles and found seashells. Even Cole was walking up and down the beach, picking up shells, and running them to Sis.

We were at Disney all day yesterday. The kids were champs! Cole was able to ride nearly every ride with us and wasn't scared at all. Here we are on "It's a Small World" which Brad renamed the most annoying ride! The song was a little cheesy, but we all had a fun time.

Zoe got her face painted and wanted to make sure Nana saw it!

This was lunch. Zoe's $6 kid's meal had the smallest hamburger I've ever seen. I think it took her 3 bites to finish!

We're still having a blast. I miss everyone, but am not ready to come back. We're going back to California Adventure tonight...this time on purpose!

Disney (I think)

We went to see the fireworks at Disneyland last night. It was really beautiful.

As we got near the park and starting seeing some of the huge rides Zoe went nuts! She was very excited. Cole just kept looking the other way at the traffic saying WOW! He's weird. His favorite parts of the trip so far have been the parking garages.

So we get parked and ride a tram in, which was quite an ordeal. We get in the park and walk around amazed, snapping tons of pictures. The entire time Zoe just keeps saying, "I can't believe we are at Disneyland". We ride a fun Monster Inc. ride that even Cole enjoyed. They also had a street called Glowfest and there were dancers all lit up and loud music. There was a crowd gathered in a circle and kids dancing in the middle. Zoe even worked up the nerve to go in the middle and dance.

The fireworks were at 9:30. At 9:00 Zoe bought these light up ears (one lady said she looked like a tan Minnie Mouse). We asked the lady working if we could see the fireworks from anywhere in the park and she said, "The fireworks are at Disneyland". What?!? Brad and I were quiet for a minute and finally Brad says, "I'm confused, we're not in Disneyland?"

We had been at California Adventure! Luckily we still made it to DISNEYLAND in time for the amazing fireworks.

We got back to the motel about midnight. Another late night for the Ward family!

We went back to the beach today. This was a different beach and wasn't nearly as crowded. There were a lot of young, pretty people at the other beach and I told Brad we weren't nearly as cool as them. He said "speak for yourself".
I finally got Cole out by the water and he was starting to like it. Then a huge wave came and went completely over his head. Oops!

It took about 15 minutes after that, but he went back out there. He loved throwing the sand. I bet he picked up sand and threw it for 30 minutes straight. Then he even started to have fun in the water. It was cold. It's only about 75 degrees here. Perfect actually!

The trip is great and we are having a blast with the kids. They are being really good. It's nice when we have nothing to do but enjoy them!

Vacation

The plane ride went really great. Cole was a champ and said WOW a million times. He really wanted to stay on Zoe's lap most of the ride. He slept for a couple of hours out of the 3 and a half hour flight. Zoe loved it and only slept about 20 minutes! Cole was amazed by the traffic of L.A. We didn't get to our room until about 2:30 CA time (which is 4:30 MO time, Dad). They were so cute the entire trip. We went to eat at a neat little place off the beach and had fish tacos (sounds gross, but they were delicious). We could see the beach from the upstairs patio. I have pics but they took a long time to load so I'll have to show you later.

We walked down to look at the ocean. Cole hated the sand on his feet and didn't really care for the water sneaking up on him. Zoe liked it and has already collected a lot of seashells.


She keeps collecting candy, seashells, and other little items for Charity and Blake. I think it's sweet that she constantly thinks of them!

Cole is resting then we plan to go to Disneyland! We're having so much fun!

Zoe's Birthday Party

Zoe's birthday party was lots of fun. She had it at the Flip Shop. They were great there.

She had lots of family and friends there to celebrate with her. Cole had NO nap that day so he wasn't his usual pleasant self!!

Many of Blake's friends were there because they are brothers of Zoe's friends. They were fun to watch because they were really showing off and trying lots of tricks!

What a fun day!