M-I-C-K-E-Y MOUSE

Justin and I have the same conversation every year during tax season. Do we do something responsible with our tax return or do we throw the whole adulting thing out of the window and have some fun? We usually decide to be irresponsible and go on a family vacation. During that yearly conversation I always have to remind him that Leland is going to remember the vacation over if the bills are all paid... it's how I win. After all, I have no idea whatsoever if my parents were out of debt when I was growing up. But you can bet your bonnet that I remember every single vacation we went on. Life is about choices after all, and sometimes, you just gotta choose family!

This year we decided to do Disney Land. It was the perfect timing for three reasons 1) Leland is still two which means he is still free for everything. 2) This year if you went in May adults were kid prices and 3) This **MAY** be the last summer-ish (we are hoping) that it's just going to be the three of us. (I don't necessarily like the idea of packing a baby around Disney and didn't want to have to wait another 3+ years to go.) (NO, NO! NOT pregnant.... just thinking... just thinking)

Anywho....

Our tax return ended up being almost double what we thought it would be, so we did end up compromising and split it in half. Which meant we went pretty cheap- but still so much fun! The first thing I found a great deal on was flights! Obviously the weekends were way too expensive so we ended up finding super cheap flights if we went from Sunday to Thursday. I found our flights on cheapflights.com and they ended up being about $160 per person for round trip. I also saved us $100 by not taking any check in luggage, but packed us all up in carry-ons. Next, we booked our hotel through getawaytoday.com and found a package deal that included hotel and park hopper tickets. Score! And lastly, we discovered Uber- the cheapest way to get around California by far! It was also really nice because our hotel had a shuttle to the parks that ran every 20 minutes. So there you have it- money saving tips from yours truly! The rest of the trip we only spent money on food and some souvenirs for little man. 

So like I said before, we left super early Sunday morning. (Flights are also more expensive if you want flights in normal waking hours, especially mid-morning.) When we got to Cali it was still too early to check into our hotel so we dropped off our luggage at the front desk and then headed to Huntington Beach. Since we didn't rent a car we had to haul Leland's car seat around with us when we used Uber. Fortunately there was a super sweet lady at the information booth at the beach that offered to hang on to his car seat while we explored the beach. It was awesome of her. That thing would have been such a pain to lug around! We bought Leland a cheap shovel and bucket and then just sat our bums in the sand and watched the waves, surfers, people, and built sand castles. I mentioned to Justin that I truly believe that it is a spiritual experience watching the ocean, and just plain good for your soul. I love the ocean. I love the beach. I was in pure heaven. We also got some lunch on the beach and it was so fun to people watch and listen to the live bands that were playing there. I think I could spend an entire week just at the beaches of California. 

The next three days we did Disneyland and California Adventure every day. I was really worried that Leland wouldn't have any fun and it would be just one big trip of melt-downs. Lately he has started this fear thing where he is scared, or pretends to be, of everything. But the kid did awesome! I was especially nervous in line for the roller coaster that he insisted going on. It's the one in Toon Town, so not exactly big, but still, he is only 2. I didn't need to worry though- he was belly laughing the entire time and insisted we go on it again. The first day we did have some melt-downs when it was time to get off the ride. I had to literally drag him off kicking and screaming. Eventually he got the idea of it all and realized that after this ride would come another and another, and it eventually got easier and easier to get him off. (Well, except for the race cars that is... hahaha I was laughing so hard at the fit he was throwing on that one!) The only time he ever got scared was during the Bug's Life 3D movie. It totally freaked him out when the air and water shot out at him- we had to exit the theater real quick in that one. He kind of got nervous in the Tiki Room when the storm started too, but he sat on my lap and continued to eat his Dole Whip and all was well. 

Can I just say, going to Disney with a kid is like a bazillion times more fun then going by yourself?! I LOVE Disney through the eyes of my boy! It is the absolute best I tell you! Cars Land was of course the biggest hit, and we ended up back there on the last day. I have never done Disney so lazy before. Usually we get there when it opens and stay until it closes so that we can get our moneys worth. But this time we would sleep in, go back to the hotel in the middle of the day to get lunch and a nap in, and then go back at night. It was actually kind of perfect. We were not burned out by the third day and it was kind of fun to just sit back and relax and enjoy the moments. In three days we didn't even get to see everything though... but it was okay with me. Eventually your toddler is done with long lines and so you sit and eat a churro and life is grand. Everything was perfect. I could have probably stayed longer, and definitely could have had another beach day, but all in all, it was perfect. Cheers to good times and 'makin' memories!'

Ice, Ice, Baby!

A few months ago I decided that I needed to plan a mini getaway in February so that I could have something to look forward to and help me survive the January blues. I googled different things to do in Utah- and stumbled upon the ice castles in Midway. It was exactly what I was looking for! A place that we had never been, not too far from home, with reasonable prices, and something you could do with a toddler. Score!

Little did I know that the week leading up to our mini vay-cay was going to be an incredibly difficult week (see previous blog post for details). So it kind of came at the perfect time. Divine intervention made me choose that date? Who knows! But it was such a nice little getaway. I needed it so badly. With my husband working six days a week I sometimes feel like I am a single mom. Vacations like that are the only times I feel like I REALLY get QUALITY time with my family. I crave that.

We left on a Thursday and that night we hung out in the hotel room and watched movies after we found a cute mom and pop hamburger shop in town. We do not have TV at our house, so sometimes it is really nice to completely veg out in a hotel room and overload on television and eat lots of junk food. On Friday we spent the morning at the pool, took a nap, and then went to the ice castles that night. They were actually pretty cool! Leland was super excited to meet Anna and Elsa and they were so adorable with him. Elsa asked him for a hug and he shyly walked up to her, stared at her for a minute, and then threw his arms around her. It was precious! That whole night he kept repeating, "I have Elsa a hug Mom!" He was so excited, that was totally the highlight for him. The ice castle itself is like a corn maze, but with ice. There are lights that change color in the ice and it goes along with the music. There was a big water fountain in the center which completely mesmerized Leland.

After that we hit up the burger joint again, cause it was super yummy so why not, and then took a little drive around town to explore and see what there was. We left Saturday morning so even though it was a short trip, we had a very good time. I really like going to places I have never been before and just explore.

San Diego Heaven

This is the blog where I tell you all about the most amazing and much needed vacation in the history of ever. You see, I don't know why exactly, but life has been a little rocky here at the Palmer house this past year. It's not anything that we can't handle, or is that extreme mind you, but somewhere along the way we forgot to be utterly, blissfully, happy in the day to day hustle and bustle of life. So when we got a big fat tax return our brains instantly went to the bills that needed to be paid and the fridge that makes scary noises. We thought about how we have to run the dryer twice to get our clothes dry and the yard work that needed to be done. And the more we thought about those mundane everyday things, the more unhappy we got. But aha! Why not invest the money. So that is exactly what we decided to do. We invested the money into us. Into our marriage. Into our family. Into making memories. And I am here to tell you, it was the BEST investment that we have ever made! Yes, that may sound sappy, but guess what? I am a sappy kind of happy. I am sappy happy!

Our vacation was a week long. We drove to Mesquite on Sunday, which is half way and 10 minutes away from my grandparents home. We got to visit with them and they took us out to dinner and then we went to bed early because at the butt crack of dawn we woke up and drove the rest of the way to San Diego. I was super nervous about the car ride because Leland gets really car sick, it is a freaking long time for a toddler to sit still, and we both get extremely crabby when we are tired or hungry and so two crabs in the car equals bad news. However, he did phenomenal! We had a little car sickness but nothing too cringe worthy. I had downloaded some episodes of Paw Patrol (love that show!) on my iPad and it was a total life saver! I really was astounded that he did so well! (Insert happy dance here).

Monday night we checked into our hotel, ordered pizza,and hit the pool.

Tuesday we went to Sea World. It was a blast. Leland loved it, though he did fall asleep during the dolphin show, which was my favorite one. They had professional divers, acrobats, ribbon dancers, the whole works! We also went to a whale show, the seal and otter show, and a pet show where they had dogs and cats do funny tricks. I think the pet show was Leland's favorite because he is definitely in a "puppy!" phase right now. He didn't like getting wet though so we made sure to sit in the dry section for all of the other shows haha. We did ride two of the little kiddie rides and Leland loved them so much I had to drag him off kicking and screaming and promising him that we could ride it "one more" time.

Wednesday we headed over to Coronado Island for a beach day. We found a cute little cafe to have breakfast at and then basically had the beach to ourselves for most of the morning. Leland loved having the waves come up and wash over his feet and he thought it was hilarious when the water would go back and suck the sand from beneath his toes. We made lots of sandcastles and then we had a family nap together crowded under an umbrella. As I lay there watching my little family sleeping on the beach together I had a  Grinch moment where my heart grew three times its size. It was one of those perfect moments that you wish would never end. I was extremely aware of how blessed I am. I love those kind of moments-- they almost take your breath away in their perfection. The only downer about that day was that I completely forgot to put sunscreen on the back of my legs and they were completely scorched by the end of the day. As in, I can't move, kill me now, kind of burn. So yeah, that was not fun.

On Thursday we explored Balboa Park. It is this amazing place next to the zoo that has over 17 museums, botanical gardens, street performers, nature walks, Japanese gardens, and food vendors. All of the buildings look like they are straight from Spain (not that I have ever been there) and so the atmosphere is quite lovely. This ended up being the perfect spot for my boys. We went to a vintage car museum, an aerospace museum, a railroad museum, and the San Diego History Museum. The car museum was run by all of these WWII veterans and so it was a lot of fun talking to them. One older man even gave Leland a wooden toy car that he had handmade himself which was really neat. At the aerospace museum we got to watch a 3D movie about space travel and when our seats began shaking Leland got a little nervous, but by the end he thought that was pretty hilarious. We decided to go to the San Diego History Museum because they were doing a temporary display of Dr. Seuss. Maybe this is common knowledge, but I had no idea, that Dr. Seuss was from San Diego. The museum had some of his original paintings that never made it into books which was completely fascinating to me. The walls were lined with his quotes and there were sculptures everywhere of his characters. My book nerdy self was ecstatic! By far the best museum however, was the train museum. Leland is obsessed with "choo-choos" right now. This museum was two floors of model trains and my son probably ran the entire museum three times. The halls were lined with windows that you look in at the trains, and every so often they have steps going up so that the younger kids can see. Leland would run up the steps, shout "Wow!.... More!", run down the steps, run down the hallway to the next set of stairs, and repeat. He barely even took time to look at them because he was too excited to see "more!". By the end of it I was almost dying laughing at my son's enthusiasm and excitement. I wish I would have thought to get it on video because it was so freaking funny! So anyway, all of his souvenirs have wheels-- a jeep from Sea World, a car, a plane, and a train. He was in boy heaven!

On Friday we went bowling, went out to lunch, and then hit the pool again. We taught Leland how to hang on to the side of the pool- it took a while, but he got it and we were proud parents indeed. He loved it when I threw him up out of the water and into the arms of his daddy who was standing three feet away. We played "toss the toddler" until our arms couldn't take it anymore. We are definitely raising a fish. Another funny thing at the pool was that when you got out of the water you got pretty cold because of the breeze. Justin and I stayed in the pool so we never got too cold, but Leland kept getting out and in because he liked to jump in. Pretty soon his teeth would be chattering and he would just start pointing, which meant that he was ready to get warm in the hot tub. Oooooh the hot tub, A freezing toddler's best friend haha. I loved spending that much time with him in the pool, he is such a crack up!

Saturday and Sunday were exactly like the first two days of our trip, but in reverse (obviously). Leland did amazing in the car again but this time the days seemed never ending because we were tired and ready to be home. And boy was it good to be home and back in our own beds!

I am just so, so thankful that we took this trip. I am absolutely in love with my family again and life is going pretty great for us. We really got to cherish each other and soak each other up for a few days and it was fabulous. We still have a scary noise making fridge and are still in debt, but the memories we created and the bonding that took place are priceless. I am the type of person who needs vacations. I crave them. These last few years vacations haven't been a priority or they get put on the back burner. But I came to realize that our life is happening now. Leland will never be this age again. We will only be a family of three for so long. (And no, that was not an announcement) Basically what I am saying is, is live life to the fullest right now. Because you will always have bills and mundane things that need attention...blah blah blah. No more excuses. Get out there and create some memories!

*Disclaimer: We are at an age where getting a good picture is downright impossible*