Trip to California

For Memorial Day weekend this year, Jason decided to use a couple vacation days and really take advantage of an extended weekend by driving down to California to spend some time with his family.  I hadn't realized he hadn't been there in almost a year because I had made several trips down there without him.

We drove as far as St. George Wednesday night after work and then drove the rest of the way Thursday morning.  Leila was a gold-star traveller, except for the fact that she doesn't take very long naps in the car AND she tends to get plugged up whenever we go on road trips.  We got to Oceanside in the early afternoon, just in time for Leila to take a good nap.  Grandma Z volunteered to stay with her while Jason, Daddy Z, Darlene, and I went and saw the new Star Trek movie.

Friday, we were bound for Legoland--a first for both Jason and I.  Jason's sister, Jessica, works there and was kind enough to give us some of her free passes.  It was certainly no Disneyland, but it was fun to try something different.  Leila absolutely loved the aquarium and would just sit and watch all of the fish swim past her.  Jason's highlight was seeing the Star Wars Lego figurines.  He went down the line making a video of him making the characters' voices.  Such a goof!  My highlight was probably looking at all of the intricate Lego sculptures, especially the replicas of historic buildings like the U.S. capital.

Getting a close-up look at the fish

This girl loves her grandma!

Auntie Darlene was a huge help keeping track of Leila

She LOVED the fish!

Causing trouble, as usual

Our favorite Legoland employee

My Lego boyfriend

Do....Do...Do....Do....DoDoDoDoDoDo

YUMMY Apple Fries

Star Wars Heaven

Lego U.S. Capital

Riding the train

Splash Pad!

On Saturday, we drove up north to Orange County because Mama Z really wanted to take me to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor for my birthday lunch.  There were lots of people celebrating their birthdays and every time they'd come out with a big old drum to sing to them.  Leila loved the drum and kept throwing her hands up in the air and saying "Yaaaaaay!"

After the yummy food was gone, Jason and I sent Leila back home with her grandparents while we went to check into the Hilton in Anaheim for the night.  We no longer have annual Disney passes and were bummed we couldn't actually go into the parks (especially since Jason hasn't seen Cars Land yet), but we made the best of it and walked to Downtown Disney and then were able to watch the Disneyland fireworks from our hotel room complete with the soundtrack, thanks to my techie husband.

View of DCA from our hotel room

Relaxing birthday getaway

More Legos, Disney style!

Next door to the Happiest Place on Earth

Some Disney in our hotel lobby

Disney fireworks!

We went to bed early and slept in late (ahh, vacation life without an 18 month old) before we checked out of our hotel.  We were starving but had slept in so late, that it was almost lunch time by the time we got to our car.  So we made our way to Northwoods Inn for some salad and cheese toast before we met up with Jason's friend Jimmy for lunch at Lucille's BBQ.  We started missing our little tornado and decided it was time to head back to Oceanside and relieve the grandparents.  We took Leila to the beach for sunset and she had a great time playing in the sand.

Before we hit the road Monday morning, we went to the Ziebarth's ward Memorial Day breakfast.  Yummy food, friends, and family--isn't that what vacation's all about?  Sure, I spent my actual birthday driving home, but it was still a GREAT weekend!

Discovery Gateway

For quite a while I have been wanting to take Leila up to Discovery Gateway--the children's museum in Salt Lake.  Everything lined up perfectly and we went as a family last night.  Leila absolutely loved it from the moment we walked in.  Her favorites were the balls and the water area.  It is so fun to watch her exploring the world around her!

Loved this until the helicoper started making noise...then she was outta there!

Laurel Got Married!

My friend Laurel (a roommate from back in Hawaii) got married last month and she had a reception here in Utah yesterday.  I had really wanted to be there for her wedding, but it just wasn't meant to be.  Stupid jobs and vacation days and money and travel time.  I am glad I at least got to see her yesterday for a bit to say congratulations and give her a hug though.  Why do most of my good friends have to live so far away?

An Evening at the Park

Last night we had been planning on going up to Gardner Village for the evening BUT we all ended up falling asleep for a couple hours in the afternoon instead (the result of a very rough night).  So we settled for a trip to our neighborhood park instead.  I bet Leila enjoyed this even more anyway!