Our California Adventure

We spent this past weekend visiting some good friends in California. The last time we saw them, Liz was pregnant with Joe, who is a year older than Madeline! Needless to say, our entertainment was much different that the last time we were together considering we had 3 kiddos in tow. We had such a great time meeting each others kids, catching up, reminiscing on the past adventures we have had together and chasing the kids to and fro.

The first day we were there we headed over to Catalina Island where we enjoyed some fun on the beach.

Family photo after our arrival on Catalina

Daddy and Madeline checking out the beach

Joe found 'salad' on the beach

Building sandcastles on the beach

This was her first time on the beach where she's been mobile and has actually enjoyed playing in the sand.

She had sand all over!

This is a face that says, "I had a blast!"

After cleaning up and relaxing during naptime, we went out for a good meal and then let the kids chase bouncy balls around the square. Madeline was quite the character as she tried to emulate her big buddy Joe.




The next day we stumbled upon quite the find....a beautiful beach complete with cabanas, tasty food, and fruity drinks. The kids chased the birds on the beach while the adults enjoyed the view.

I love this picture of Joe!


Rolling in the grass


After a fun day on the beach, we boarded the late afternoon ferry to head back to Long Beach. I think this was the highlight of Madeline's entire trip, as she is still talking about it. Brian took her outside to see the water. When they returned back to the inside of the ferry, Madeline was so animated and kept saying, 'Boat, water, moose, moose, water, boat, moose!!!" She made the most excited expression as she kept telling me about the moose she saw. As Brian later said, you would be pretty excited, too, if you had spotted a moose swimming in the ocean off of CA. We still have no idea what she saw, but days later, she is still talking about the boat and the moose in the water!

On Saturday, we enjoyed a nice day at Liz and Dave's condo.
Before our visit, I was excited about seeing how Madeline would interact with Daniel, who is 6 months old, as she is very fascinated by babies right now. What I failed to realize is that Daniel and Madeline would be nearly the same size! Here she is holding the baby:

Dave made a wonderful dinner for us all.

The kid's table:


Sunday was the big day! Liz and Dave have a friend who works for Disney. Normally, we wouldn't have taken Madeline to Disneyland at this age, as I think she is really too young to get the full experience. That being said, Megan was able to get us in for free and we would have been pretty crazy to turn down a free visit to Disneyland!

This is Madeline trying to peek out the window as we arrive at Disney:


Here's the adults. Unfortunately the kiddos in their stroller were cut out of the shot :(

Joe gave Madeline a huge hug and kiss as we were waiting in line to get a morning snack.

(I think she was developing a bit of a crush!)

Waiting in line to ride the flying Dumbos

"Whhhheeeeeeee"

Brian holding all 3 of the kiddos while waiting in line!

Madeline was a bit overwhelmed by everything. She relaxed a bit while we waited in line. She is getting so heavy, but it was nice to have such a big hug and all the snuggles!

I can't believe that after 4 full days together that this is the only shot we got of all of us together. Here we are in the boat getting ready for It's a Small World.

After getting over her initial apprehension, Madeline really enjoyed watching all the singing dolls and animals

Waving to all the animatronics

I had so much fun watching her on this ride. Her big eyes and the way her face lit up were priceless!


We didn't see many characters while we were there. Actually, the only ones we saw were Tigger and Pooh. From a distance they were really funny!


But, up close, not so much! Even daddy giving Pooh a hug couldn't convince her that this was a good idea!


Enjoying dinner after Disney

Check out little Daniel's smile. This guy was such a trooper and is a great baby.

Daddy is a sucker for buying his baby stuffed animals. This is Madeline back at our hotel showing off her new Eeyore doll.

Exhausted after a very fun-filled day.

Madeline enjoyed staying at the hotel, as every morning she got to watch cartoons as we got ready. This was a fun special treat for her!


We had such a blast. Thanks to Liz, Dave, Joe and Daniel for a wonderful visit and for being such great hosts. We need to make sure we get together again before another 3 years pass!