Right as we walked in, we saw Ariel! She's Hazel's favorite princess. I almost didn't want to wait in line to meet her, but James insisted upon waiting and reminded me this was the top thing Hazel wanted to do, so why would we miss it? Cute daddy. It was worth it. Hazel loved her.
Dad, James, and I went on the teacup ride with Hazel. Dad and I got the most dizzy, but luckily, Hazel loved that as well.
Then we went to a show "Mickey's Magical Map" and there we met up with Steph and Carrie (Speed). I can't believe how much Hazel and Phoebe look alike!
Hazel can't ever pass up a carousel ride.
We waited in another line to meet 3 princesses, but we didn't know which ones they would be. We lucked out! Hazel loves Snow White, Ariel, and Cinderella.
We did the Buzz Lightyear ride in Tomorrow Land as well as the rocket ride with Grandpa.
Then we took a break at Downtown Disney and met up with my mom's aunt (Grandma Helen's sister), her cousin Kathy, and her daughter Julianne. I loved seeing Aunt Susie because it reminded me of Grandma - her mannerisms and how she looks. They are such sweet ladies. Mom said she loved all of Grandma's sisters; they were strong, sweet women who enjoyed being girly girls.
Back at Disney, we rode the jungle safari ride and then met up with one of my good friends from college - Dave and his wife Karla and 3 kids. I couldn't believe that the last time we saw each other was in Utah before he was even engaged to Karla. Now here we are with 5 kids between the 2 of us! We rode the Pirates ride together and headed out afterward before the masses got too out of hand for the nighttime shows.
Until next time, Disney!
Friday was another swim day, and then in the evening we went to San Onofre beach with the Speeds. Steph's husband Dave is a surf instructor, so he took James out for his first surf experience. No surprise to me, he got up on the board after a few tries and a few shoves from Dave. It was fun watching him learn something new. He came back with only minor back pain and a scuffed up stomach. I'll take it, especially considering we heard (the next day) that beach is known for having several great whites!!!!!! This is why I'm scared of open water!
Grayson finally got it down - scoop, dump, scoop, dump.
We cooked some burgers and had ourselves a grand time. Love that Steph and Dave have a sweet pop up van.
Dave and James paddling out...
My dad has video of him getting up, so I'll have to get that from him.
Saturday we swam one last time at the resort, and then we had to say goodbye to Mom and Dad. Hazel was so sweet in the prayer she said before they left. She prayed for them to not be sad on the airplane. My mom was grateful for that because she sure was sad to leave paradise!
After that, James headed out to meet one of his best mission buddies for lunch. Will was probably his closest companion in Chile, and they hadn't seen each other since the mission, so it was great for them to catch up. We would've joined them to meet Will's family, but Grayson was sick and Will had a 6 week old baby. I asked James if he got a picture at lunch, but he said it felt a little weird to ask someone to take a picture of 2 dudes having lunch together. Oh well. Anyway, while he was gone, Hazel, Grayson, and I enjoyed the sports area and kids' club. They even had an animal show down by the main lobby, so the workers arranged for us to be shuttled down so we could go. And then there was free popcorn! Hazel was in heaven. Popcorn addiction must run in the Palmer blood. Of the little animals we saw, Hazel said the bearded dragon was her favorite. Not the cute sugar glider or sweet bunny... Random! We were shuttled back on a golf cart, and again, the simple things are so fun with kids.
That night we ate at Tin Leaf for the 2nd time because we just loved their fresh food and grassy area for the kids to play! The first time we went, we couldn't believe they had what James had been requesting for days - s'mores bars. And then their salmon was delicious, so my dad was thrilled and kept trying to go back everyday.
Sunday was our travel day, but we had several hours to kill in San Diego before our flight, so we spent some time at Balboa Park. There are tons of museums and things to see, but we just hit some highlights.
It took awhile to walk through this artsy area because Hazel only wanted to step on "girl" colors.
This miniature train was so cute and so fun for the kids.
Next to the carousel, a guy was doing balloon art, so we had to have an Ariel balloon!
Then another place I read about was called Extraordinary Desserts, so naturally we made a sweet pit stop before the flight. Beautiful, amazing, and deliciously divine.
Poor Grayson had an ear infection or something, so the flight home was a little more difficult, but we made it okay. We're still adjusting to 2 hours earlier, but for the summer I'm okay with a little later schedule! We sure did love every second of Southern California! Hopefully we can go back in a year or two!
And how can I forget this beautiful temple that we passed several times on our trip...
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