Vacation Part 2 - Disneyland

The "Happiest Place on Earth" wasn't so happy the first few hours of our visit. It rained.. in Southern California, in mid May, the only day out of 7 of our vacation, it RAINED. It wasn't a downpour but a consistent light rain where you are drenched after being in it for more than 5 minutes.
Our first stop on our walk to Disneyland was to get a couple of rain ponchos. Crazy that I didn't think to pack rain gear :)
But we made the best of it.

Benjamin wasn't ever too sure about any of the rides but he went along each time and, for the most part, enjoyed himself. Marty and Benjamin on Dumbo.

Josie's first ride is the carousel

We decided to take refuge from the rain in the "It's a Small World" ride

As if Walt Disney was trying to mock us himself, this was one of the wall decorations. We laughed, kind of, as we were soaking wet and trying to make the best of it.

The sound machine in Benjamin's room is almost always set to the sound of rain.... he felt right at home and settled in for his first nap of the day.

while Josie waited in line to drive the cars at Autotopia

She had a ball!! Marty said that he hasn't heard her giggle like that is a very long time.

Waiting in line for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

And then the sun came out. Happy, happy, happy. You would not haven't wanted to see my face before. The rain ponchos were put over the stroller and thankfully not needed again for the rest of the vacation.

Josie was mesmerized by Goofy

And got big hugs from Pluto

We took a break and left the park for lunch. The entrance sign looked so much happier in the sun.

After lunch, Benjamin settles in for his second nap of the day.

The Tea Cups were closed in the morning due to rain. Thankfully, they reopened after lunch.


Right after she got off with us she wanted to go back on again with Julie.

Near the end of the day was her highlight. She was able to see and get her photo taken with 3 different princesses. I don't even know who this one is. Josie says it is Sleeping Beauty but I'm not so sure. We'll have to ask Bryn :)

Jasmine

Cinderella

All in all, it was a very fun day. A bit overwhelming and loud but very exciting for both kids. We came home to the hotel exhausted. But, of course, they were up and ready to go again at the crack of dawn the next day.

Vacation Part 3 - San Diego

After Disneyland we headed to catch the train to our final destination, San Diego. We decided to walk to the train station to get some excerise... it turned out to be about a 2 mile walk which would've been nice had we not had all of our luggage and the route was a six-lane, busy freeway. We made it and Benjamin LOVED everything about the train and the tracks and the station.

On the way we spotted Benjamin's namesake :) Marty's grandfather or a Gentlemen's club in Anaheim??

Josie did great and took turns pulling a bag.

However, once it was discovered that she could ride on Julie's bag, that soon became her ride of choice.



Waving bye-bye to the train... he hated to get off.

We had a great time in San Diego. We even decided to hop the trolley and head to Mexico for a short visit.


"Short" is really an understatement. We stayed for maybe 15 minutes. The border has dissolved into a handful of barely standing shacks, we were the only non-Mexicans and it was all very dismal. After spending so much of my life in and around Tijuana, it was heartbreaking to see what has become of it these days.
The way back took much longer than our stay unfortunately, This is the car traffic but the pedestrian crossing was not much lighter. It took us nearly an hour to cross the border on foot.

On the trip Benjamin disovered "honking" noses. He does it to everyone now.

Julie even took a day trip to Sea World. We were done with the big amusement park scene so we hung out by the pool.

And no trip to San Diego would be complete without a visit to our favorite breakfast spot - Hash House a Go-Go. They have insanely huge portions and a ton of fresh fruit -yum.

I promise I didn't mean to match Benjamin to Marty but they do look pretty cute, don't they?

Easter and More Birthday Fun

Josie and I had a lot of fun getting the eggs ready for Easter. She takes it (and ALL things artistic) VERY seriously.

We continued celebrating Benjamin's birthday the following day with a combined Easter and family birthday party. And because I'm the second born and somehow us second borns always feel cheated in some way I made sure I made the same cake for Benjamin's first birthday as I made for Josie's. So, here is proof little Ben. Same cake just different fruit.


And 3+ years ago, the same cake for little miss Josie Marie as we celebrate her birthday a couple weeks early down in Bend with Grandma and Papa. I've been thinking that the kids look and a lot alike at this age and well, the photos speak for themselves.


And back to 2011... we had a great time eating, drinking, talking and hunting for chocolate filled Easter baskets.








Josie wanted to put on a little show for all of us... and of course, she wanted to take a picture of the audience.

And after a long day and a longer weekend we all collapse after Josie's show... all except Fritzy. He is alway raring to go.

Happy 1st Birthday Benjamin Fritz

It is hard to believe that our sweet little boy turned 1 on the 23rd! Time really does fly. He weighs in at 23 lbs. (50%) and is 31 inches tall (75%) He has been such a joy to have around this past year. He is a charmer and lights up when he comes in contact with just about anyone. He loves to dance and he loves to keep his hands and feet busy and he loves to be held and he loves his sister and his dad and his mom (maybe loves his mom a bit too much but I'm stocking it up for the teenage years!) We love you so much little Bubba!!

On his actual birthday it was one of the rare 70 degree gorgeous Seattle days. We headed downtown and spent some time at a park and beach. Then we went to Spaghetti factory for dinner. He loved every minute of it.





Marty took more photos with his camera but instead of delaying the post I'll just add a few more photos when he transfers them to my computer.

Thanks to Aunt Angie and Uncle Kevin for the awesome water table. It has been and continues to be a huge hit. The first day he just got soaked within 5 seconds.

The next time I got smart and put his swim attire on before letting him dive in.

He started to walk in the evening on his first birthday and is really getting around now. He is so proud of himself and always looks around the make sure he has an audience.