Hendrickson's - Family of Four

to sum it up in a few words : HOT, great, miles of driving and walking, busy, bonding experience, long, FUN, whirlwind, HOT

This was our original only big trip for the year that we have been looking forward too. We were able to visit some wonderful places earlier this year unexpectadly and are now, after this trip, ready for some down time.

We started our trip off with a nice quick morning flight from Bellingham to Reno and picked up our mini van we would be using for the next 11 days :) We are very happy this was our only choice because we had ALOT of "stuff" and the van had plenty of room! We took our time that day heading down the east side of Lake Tahoe with a couple stops along the lake. It is so beautiful there and such a COLD lake. Terrace did not seem to care and had a great time in what she called a pool. We made it to Brad's sisters house near Sacramento around 7 that evening.

We spent the next 3 days with Kris, Brian, Leigh and Brian Jr. or in Terrace language Auntie Kris, Uncle Brian, Leigh Bug, and Junior (sometimes Brian Jr.). We were able to see the kids swim practice for their summer league, swim at a lake, catch a baseball game and spend some great time together relaxing inside and out.

Thank you Kris for taking so many great pictures and putting them on CD for us :)

We left around nap time on day 4 to head to Bakersfield to visit with Aunt Diane for a few days. She was so kind as we took over her condo with all of our "stuff." We enjoyed a couple evenings in her pool, time at a shallow river walk, the local museum and children's museum, and the zoo - along with a couple meals out and some time at the mall because the weather was between 100-113 everyday and did not drop below 70 at night!

After a couple days with Aunt Diane we were off to the Anaheim area. These next 4 days were jam packed!! My grandparents live in the area so we straight to their house to say hi and Brad went for a 11 mile run in 90 weather down to the beach (he is training for a marathon :) ) and then we went to check into our hotel room. My parents had a room right next to ours which was wonderful and Brad and I got to spend Sun evening at California Adventure by ourselves doing the big rides and had sooo much fun. We came to find out we like different rides, he prefers roller coasters where I like the rides that make you drop.

Monday was our big day for Disneyland with my parents. It was still really hot and very crowded so we did not get to do as much as we had wanted to do but had a great time being together and watching TJ's expressions in this overwhelming magical place. We dressed her in a minnie mouse outfit for the morning that my friend Tricia let us borrow (THANKS!) and Terrace was soooo excited to be in Minnie's house and to meet Minnie (it was so cute). She was not ok with getting close to any of the other characters; just wanted to wave hi from afar. After a nap for all of us we headed back for early dinner at Rainforest Cafe and then back for a few more hours of rides and on our way out we were able to watch parade. After putting Terrace to sleep Brad and I again went back to Disneyland to do a few more "big" rides ending with Splash Mountain and getting SOAKED!

Tuesday we got up at 6 and we were at Disneyland by 7 for the early enterance and headed straight for the Nemo submarine ride along with most everyone else. We had head that was where we should head to avoid the long line. It was a fun ride and I am glad we did not have to wait a long time for it. We continued on and were able to do so many rides with Terrace in just a couple hours. She started getting mad when we had to get off of them and asking to go again or do it more. She also learned how to cover her ears when they are too loud which is sooo cute to see. We made it over to California Adventure by 10 when they opened and spent the first hour in the Bugs Life area which is amazing. They had a variety of water areas which she really enjoyed and we thought the Bugs Life show was great! Terrace now calls A Bug's Life - bugs life year....too funny! After walking around a little more we headed back to the hotel for a family nap and then it was time to meet up with my parents and grandparents for dinner near Seal Beach. I was very excited to see them and eat at the Crab Pot where they poor a variety of seafood right on the table.....so yummy! We had a nice couple hours and then back to Disneyland for the last time to catch the Fantasmic show and then the fireworks which is a crazy time but great entertainment to watch. It was sad walking out of the park for the last time, you could easily spend 5 days there but 3 was enough for us this time. Brad says we are not coming back until our child(ren) are teenagers....we will have to see about that.
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAgeci0V-ei-rRCYxd97ALpJvKfOjYcjNoi2d6MSBcu0MrGD_EdWvT_PHudhWH901Vxfzyh3AUUbFv_ZhIXEOb6GVikXf4RJuSMxGgAV_kUm7jPboo1gUrdSAwRK3qcM9z7_FRQ/s1600-h/IMG_3335.jpg">

Wednesday we slept in a bit, got everything packed up and checked out of the hotel for a short visit to Huntington Beach with my parents and then a quick goodbye at my grandparents house before we headed back up north to the Sacramento area. When we started our drive we were unsure if we were going to make it the whole 8 hrs in one day but we did it! Terrace only slept for 45 minutes of the drive so it was a VERY LONG and HARD 8 hrs in the car but we made it. With the wild fires in northern California there is so much smoke in the air....very sad to see.

Thursday morning was spent doing laundry and packing up, including an extra suitcase full of toys and books from Diane and Kris :) .... and maybe a few things from Disneyland. Then it was time to hit the road again for a 3 hr drive back to Reno, the drive would have been gorgeous if we could have seen through all the smoke :( We ended our trip at a great cheap hotel in Reno full with buffet and a few games at circus circus before our flight home Friday morning. Terrace was tired by the time we were on the plane and was asleep right after the wheels left the pavement.

This vacation was an amazing bonding experience for the 3 of us as a family and we had such an amazing time but we were ready to be home! 11 days, 4 cities, over 1300 miles driven, 2 disposable coolers, 4 suitcases, 1 bag, stroller and car seat - we were all excited for our own beds :)

What we have learned - Terrace is a great traveler, especially when she has had enough sleep, Disneyland is craziness and took us 3 days to feel like we finally understood it, Bakersfield and Sacramento are HOT in June, a portable DVD player makes life a little easier some times but not all, 1.5 hour flights are a piece of cake, 8 hr drives in one day are not so much fun, we need more time to spend at the beach (CA beach), thank you to all of our family for taking us in, feeding us, and showing us a wonderful time!! we miss you already

Hendrickson's - Family of Four

Thursday, July 10, 2008

California Road Trip June 2008 :)

Thursday, July 03, 2008

I was tagged

growing up

Friends....

What we are up too....