SoCal!!! May 2013

Can't think of a better Mother's Day present than a full family reunion!  That's right - the two siblings, spouse and all the cousins converged on SoCal and had a fabulous time.  And, after multiple trips - I think I've finally unlocked the secret to succesful travel.

We left at 4:30 in the morning!  The plan was that the kiddos would fall immediately back to sleep.  Wrong.  Afterall the sun was practically rising according to LuLu - why sleep?  So much excitement to be had!!  The morning hours flew by, and we missed all the commuter traffic (phew) and the ridiculous traffic on the grapevine.

Finally at 11:00 I forced them, against their will, to have quiet time in the car.  Little Brother could barely resist, but LuLu was somethin' else - eventually I won (remember that kiddo - I know where you get your stubborness from !!)  Here is what 11:00 looked like in our car.

...and good thing too becase we drove straight to a picnic lunch here!! HOORAY!  Could there be a more awesome finish line?!

A little bocce ball:

Some sand play w/ Grandma

A little rock throwing and wave chasing

 awww.... the serentiy

The two oldest cousins had a sleepover at the beach with Grams and Gramps...and in the morning we met up at.... LEGOLAND!! OMG the BEST VACATION EVER!  It was a great day at the park - weather was great (as usual) and no lines at all!  We went on a few new rides, and some of our favorites.  Little Brother had grown so he was excited to join sister and big cousin C on a few big-kid rides!

The Mischief Crew

 Too kuhl fur skuhl

Let's hope this is the last shot of the three of them w/ a "friendly neighborhood police officer" !!

Silly faces!!

For the first time on this trip we let them play at the water park within Legoland.  The kids were drenched.  Completely soaked.  I'm not exaggerating when I say the stairs were like waterfalls and gallons upon gallons dumped from the sky.  Legoland nailed it - if I were 8 ....or maybe even next trip...  :)  We shall see.  Here to being cousins!! :

At the end of the park we took a spin through the aquarium - its a great size and has some really well done tanks.  This shot was for Grams - got em all in there!  What parent doesn't want to put their kid in a bubble right?!?

Of course knowing how Mom feels about sponge bob...nothing could be better than a picture w/ LegoBob to memorialize the occasion.  Little Brother got a hoot out of it.

And no trip is complete without Dad's favorite...Family Breakfast!!!  Ah ya!!  After this trip I think Mom and Dad might borrow a dog when we're in town...just to help keep the floors clean!!  Dad even shares his favorite cereal with his favorite grandkids - whatta guy!

And since there have been a few new hands since Grandma's last garden stone was created - Uncle C took the lead and made a new one while all the cuties were under one roof!

All in all it was a quick but amazing trip - we packed so much fun into a few short days - we are pros with making the best of the time we've got.  Many thanks to my East Coast brother and his wife for continually making the effort to head West despite busy schedules, new babies, and, well, utter exhaustion.  Thanks - we love you!