California...it happened!

Since before Will was deployed, we have been planning on taking the kids to Disneyland and SeaWorld. It was supposed to happen in February, but when Will's team came home early...everything changed and we had to re-plan. I was supposed to save all the extra money Will was making during his deployment (like his Hostile Fire pay, and Hazardous Duty pay, and Separation pay) for our trip.

I managed to save...NONE! I did spend his Hostile fire pay wisely...I hope.

With all the military discounts that are offered, we had to take advantage. AND, we told the kids that Disneyland/SeaWorld was our Christmas...just a plain old regular Christmas would have been cheaper, I think. But we finally did it.

With much stress and anxiety on my part...and backseat driving...no surprise there...we made it to California and drove to the beach after a quick check in at the hotel. I don't remember which beach, I just remember that Will and I had to have a fight in the truck before we could get there...a theme during our trip. All the directions I had printed off of map-quest (useless) and the handy-dandy National Guard Atlas of the US were some help, but...we got to the beach after sunset, but still in enough time to let the kids play in the waves and ingest some salt-water and get sand into every crevice (you should have seen the bathroom floor at the hotel that night - a sand pile!) We even watched the Good Year blimp pass over our heads...kind of cool! I would put the video on, but it's not too exciting...just a slow blimp passing overhead with advertising flashing on it's screen. Still.


So this is the beach (Huntington, I think)...after sunset. I can only imagine how many awesome pictures I could have taken of the sunset. The only other thing I would have needed, besides the sunset, would have been a nice camera.

Julie + swimsuit = behind the camera...at all times!

Timid at first...the kids quickly immersed themselves in the freezing water! Emma didn't do it by choice, but by a very large wave that knocked her over...she laughed and did it again! Did I mention the enormous amounts of sand the kids carried back to the hotel IN their swimsuits? HOLY COW! No wonder they were squirming all over the place on the ride home.

I also have my swim-bag full of half shells. Every one that the kids picked up was the neatest to them and had to be included in the collection that we brought home. Any ideas for shell fragments?

So, day one...the beach.