So-cal Vacation Part 1

The Brittons (Chris's parents) became time share owners a year or two ago and have been wanting to share a trip with us. We were on board, but of course! In January we booked our trip with them to visit San Diego, Disney, and stay in Escondido. It was a leap at the time to book our trip with the busy/intense/unknown spring with Owen's surgery, but it all worked out! 

I am just aching to upload the rest of our photos onto the big computer, but in proper chelsea fashion I'm blogging on my phone about an hour away from home. 

The 500+ mile drive to our destination was a bit rough but we have trooper kids! Owen got accustomed to "playing kindle and eating things" as he puts it! Ara can hang about 2.5 hours before she gets a bit cranky. That's when I crawl in the backseat to feed, entertain, etc to extend our time on the road. Then we get out, stretch, and let Ara walk us around (walking all the time now!)).

The first 2 days we laid low at the timeshare. We had our own kitchen, bathroom, etc! Sweet compared to our trailer! Also Mama B requested a ground unit with a patio/ grass area and that was well utilized by the kids. Shari, Josh, and Mat decided to join the trip only a couple weeks ahead of time (they are time share owners as well). That was an added bonus, especially for Owen to have his boy cousin at arms length!

Monday was the big Disney day! We made the trek (2 hrs) to Disney, so so excited! Owen was grumpy from an early morning wake up, so he had a hard time accepting the overwhelming sensory stimuli of happiness that is everything Disney. 

We went straight to dumbo and spent the 30 minutes in line trying to motivate Owen, calm his nerves, etc. He enjoyed it, of course, but he wasn't shy about showing his softer side! 

After dumbo we met up with the rest of the crew and we all went on pirates of the Caribbean. Owen was a champ and Arabelle fell asleep in my arms!

Then off to the haunted mansion while nana and papa watched the kids. It didn't impress us, we should have picked a different ride to use our adult time on. 

Next up was the Winnie the Pooh ride. Owen loved it, and sis took it all in.

Then we went to meet the characters. I was so excited! Way more excited than I thought! Ara and I met tigger, eeyore, and  pooh. Owen gave tigger a high 5, then wined about meeting the others so he walked away. 

Adult time again on splash mountain! So much fun! The fast pass was awesome and we waited about 20 mins. We got soaked and had a lot of laughs. 

Chris and I went to Disney with his parents when we were 16, that was the last time we went. It was a blast to visit as parents, not kids anymore!! I seriously felt like a kid, however, geeking out over making our lunch, what I was wearing, organizing the car, stroller, going on rides, and meeting characters. After splash mountain I made the parent choice to get Owen to have more fun! The commitment was easy- he needed sleep! I pushed ara and he around in the stroller until he fell asleep. It took a while and he only fell asleep for about 30 mins but he woke up happier and ready for some more Disney. We went on Mr. Toad's wild ride, dumbo again, it's a small world, and autotopia. 

It was so fun! We debated going 2 days but with the distance as well as the "warming up" time Owen had there we opted not to do a second day. We were all exhausted! We were in the car by 730, home by 930 and I was showered and fast asleep by 945. Chris and I both did wake the next morning with Disney fever and we decided to do another event/park later in the week. And hopefully we will return to the park(s) another time soon!