Tanner Reunion-The Rest of the Trip

June 2013

I could break each day down into a different post, but I figured it would be easier to just combine the rest of the trip into one last post and let the photos tell most of the stories. 

Whenever we weren't out doing something, you could usually find everyone enjoying the pool and hot tub! I probably could've packed less clothes and more swimsuits- especially for the kids!

One afternoon we let Lilah and Emily watch Peter Pan. They were pretty mesmerized by Tinker Bell after having just seen her at the park.

Courtney's favorite part of the trip was being held constantly, and spending most of the time outside. Even if she was wrapped in a blanket a lot of the time. She started to really give some smiles while we were in California too. I love those baby smiles!

One night, Mom & Dad kept all the little kids at home while the big kids went back to Disneyland for a late night of fun and rides. Jacob and Caleb felt pretty cool to be going with the adults. It was really fun to take them and enjoy some rides with very short lines. I definitely couldn't have done it every night- I was already pretty tired from still getting up multiples times at night with a newborn, but it was really fun to go one night until closing.

 More fun pool time and enjoying being together. One night Jeff even set up the projector and we watched a movie outside in the hot tub.

I have some pretty fond memories of going to Disneyland when I was young with my family. It was so fun to watch our own kids enjoy the fun and excitement.

 Uncle Travis was a pretty popular guy for all the kids. He is going to make a wonderful daddy someday!

And you certainly can't forget Grandma. She was such a great sport too-running all over with the kids and going on all sorts of rides with them. We usually had to keep track of who got to ride with grandma because everyone wanted to!

 My sweet little smiley baby was a trooper. No nice, regular naps, she slept in the stroller and the baby carrier.  I can't even tell you how many people stopped me to smile and ooh and aah over such a tiny baby. I still had to stop every 2-4 hours to feed and change her. I really didn't mind though. Sometimes it was nice to find a quiet, somewhat secluded place (relative at Disneyland:) to take care of her for those 20-30 minutes. Most people thought I was crazy for being there with a newborn, but I really didn't mind, I was happy to take a slower pace through the amusement parks.

Another day we drove down to Carslbad for more beach time. Again, it was pretty cold- most of us didn't even bother to do swimsuits, it was kind of a bummer, but there were some cool tide pools in the nearby rocks and we collected all sorts of neat crabs, shells, etc. The kids had fun playing in the sand and sliding down sand slides.

On our last day at Disneyland we had early admission tickets. It was fun to get into the park and ride a few rides without any lines. Our favorite was the arcade Toy Story Ride. The kids had a blast shooting guns at all the targets- I was even able to just carry Courtney in the carrier, so she got to join in the fun as well.

Caleb wasn't too thrilled about riding in a pink elephant. I thought the look on his face was pretty hilarious!

The last item of business was letting the kids each choose out a special toy from Disneyland. They had been looking around all week and were pretty excited. Jacob chose a lightsaver, Caleb chose a cool bubble blower, Emily chose a Cinderella princess toy, and Matthew chose a Perry the Platypus pillow pet. I got Courtney a little bubble blower as well. I kind of wish everyone would have gotten something a little more along the lines of Matthew's toy- it's been the only one that has really lasted over time, but it was still fun anyway. They loved choosing their special souvenir!

Matthew showing off his fast sword skills...using a carrot. This is SO Matthew right now, always showing his tough fighting skills. I love it. Why do little boys have to grow up?

 We enjoyed our last few days together and finally had to say goodbye to everyone on Saturday morning. I was slightly jealous of the other cars- all the other families got to carpool together- it would have been fun to continue the reunion on the road- (and have some other adults to drive so you could actually sleep a little:) but it was ok, I love the time with our own little family too. We had a very long 30 hour drive home. We drove fairly quickly, but also made some fun stops on the way. Courtney did much better on the drive home than she did on the drive out. I loved to get her out at each rest stop or gas stop. Even if it was just for a few minutes, I loved holding her and playing with her. I know seat belts and car seats are there for a reason, but I sure wished it was a possibility to just hold her the entire way home, I would've loved that.

 At one of our stops, we had a pretty cool site. Dale Earnhardt's racing car and truck were parked there filling up with fuel as well. The kids all thought it was pretty cool! Definitely not something you see every day.

It was a fun week to spend together as a family. There were stressful moments and things we wish could have been different. With a large group, lots of kids and a newborn baby, we were all pretty tired by the end of the day. The heat on the hot tub & pool stopped working for some reason for the last few days.  We had to say goodbye to Tom and Kristie for a few days during the middle of the week while they traveled for Kristie to have a surgery. We missed them while they were gone (we kept Lilah with us), and wish it could have been different, although we were grateful it worked out that they were even able to come! 

More than anything though- it was wonderful to have a week to spend together. I'm so grateful for our family. We did a few days at Disneyland and California Adventure and a few days at the beach. I don't know if I really had a favorite- I think my favorite was sitting together at the end of the day talking and laughing and just enjoying the time together. As always, it was hard to say goodbye to everyone. We love them and are grateful to have such a wonderful family!

Beach Day

June 2013

 On Tuesday, we took a break from the Disney scene and headed to Newport Beach. The weather was a little cooler than we would have preferred, but it was still a fun day to enjoy the sand and water. I always love watching the kids play in the sand, build castles and run in and out of the water. It brought back a lot of fun memories of when we lived in Philadelphia and would head to Ocean City for playdates with friends. There's just something magical about the sand and water.

 Courtney was an angel baby while we were there. It was way too cold for her to be in a swimsuit. In fact, I put some layers over my own swimsuit before too long. I kept her in her clothes, wrapped up in a blanket most of the time. She was pretty happy just to be carried around outside, and I loved that I had nothing other to do than just hold her while watching the kids play.

 Cole, Travis, Lacey and Jeff had some fun burying each other and designing funny bodies- we had some mermaids, sharks, giants, etc. Travis made a very lovely mermaid. ;) It was pretty entertaining if anything-especially for the kids.

 After several hours, we finally decided to head back home where we enjoyed dinner together and a little more swimming- the hot tub felt great after the cold ocean and wind!

Newport Beach

Dinner time post beach day

 Courtney was pretty zonked by the end of the night- sweet little sleepy girl was completely out in my arms. I love it- that's one of my favorite things about newborns, they'll just sleep anywhere. Having a vacation where you can enjoy that sleepy newborn is the best!