California Trip- Day 2

On the second day, we woke up bright and early because of the time difference. I was able to head down to the very nice gym and get a run in. When I was done, we headed down to a restaurant in the hotel for breakfast. After our yummy breakfast, we decided to head to the beach again. I wanted to spend a couple of hours there. We again rented an umbrella which made it very nice to just sit and relax by the water. We were at Huntington Beach which is VERY clean and nice. Since it was a Monday and early, we practically had the beach to ourselves. I had a great time playing in the waves with Ashlyn. It's been almost three years since I have been to the ocean and I have missed it!

We discovered that the babies liked to stand holding the umbrella pole.

Ashlyn was having a great time playing in the sand.

Dawson playing with his feet.

There is that tongue again.

Ashlyn had a great time being buried.

Ashlyn's adorable little footprints in the sand

She just couldn't get enough of the water

Ella is an adorable beach girl too!

On our way back to the room, we snapped a picture of the sign in the front. What a great beach experience and great hotel!

We headed back to our room and bathed the kids in an attempt to get all the beach sand off. We checked out and were very sad to leave the beach. We were now on our way to Disneyland! On our way we grabbed lunch and the all of the kids took a really nice nap. We found our hotel but weren't able to check in yet. The hotel was not nearly as nice as the one we had stayed at the night before, but it was in a perfect location. It was right across the street from the main entrance to Disneyland. It was a five minute walk to the park. We decided to head over to the park and buy tickets and then got to the Magic Kingdom. I was so happy to see one of my favorite places on earth: Main Street!

I just never get over the great feeling I get when I walk down Main Street. Since I visited Disney often as a kid, it brings back some of the best memories for me. I love I now get to make new memories with my kids.

We knew visiting Disneyland in July wasn't the best time. But, with me returning to work, we had no other choice. I have to say it was a lot more crowded than I thought it was going to be. It was also in the high 80's which made it feel even more crowded I think. Disney does an amazing job of controlling crowds and keeping everything running smoothly. The crowds just meant we had to wait in line longer for rides. Ashlyn was very confused by this concept because when they went in February, they just walked on every ride. The Fastpass system is amazing and without it we wouldn't have been able to ride anything. Some of the lines for the big rides like Indiana Jones were 90 minute waits! We rode a lot of the rides aimed at small children and those rides were were able to get right on which was nice.

The first ride we decided to ride was the Jungle Cruise. Ashlyn really liked it last time she was there. She loved it again this time. The babies seemed indifferent to it, but tolerated the ride.



The next ride we headed to was Pirates of the Caribbean. You know it's busy in Disney when you have to wait 30+ minutes for Pirates. We decided to wait and the air conditioning felt very nice! Dawson was asleep when we first got on and I thought it might scare him if he woke up. He woke up in the first minute or two at a very dark part. It didn't phase him a bit. He just sat up and looked around and enjoyed the ride.

Katy and Ella on Pirates of the Caribbean

After Pirates, we just had to stop and get some Dole Whip, which is some of the best stuff on earth. Since it was now late afternoon and the peak of the crowds, the Dole Whip line was 20 minutes long. We still wanted our Dole Whip and waited in that line too. It was worth it! So refreshing and good.

Ashlyn enjoying her Dole Whip

We grabbed a quick dinner in the park and decided to go check into the room and get settled in. We wanted to try to keep the babies bedtime as close to home as possible so their sleep schedules wouldn't be messed up. We got the babies to sleep easily. We had collected some Fastpasses earlier in the day for the big rides like Splash Mountain and Space Mountain. Since the park was so close to the hotel, my mom offered to babysit while Katy and I went back over and rode some of the big rides. It worked out perfectly and we ended up doing it every night. It was great because Katy and I got to ride all of our favorite rides and didn't have to leave my mom with all three kids waiting at the park while rode.

California Trip- Day 1

Sadly, our vacation is over. We had an amazing time. I know that we are all very sad to be back home again. I have decided to post a separate blog post for each day of the trip since I took so many pictures. I got some great pictures and I think they will do a great job of recapping the trip.

Our flight left at 9:30 on Sunday morning. It was nice because it wasn't an extremely early departure time. The whole luggage situation was the only difficult part of traveling with three kids and three adults. We had 3 carseats, 2 strollers, and 4 suitcases. That alone was a lot to juggle and get from the airport to the rental car, to the hotel, etc. We even packed light, but babies just require a lot of stuff. Overall, the flight went well.


We had some time to kill at the gate, so we spread out a blanket for the babies to play on. They had a blast as usual playing together. It was nice that they got to stretch before the flight.

Ashlyn did a great job on the flight as usual. She just watched a movie on the Ipad. She even fell asleep towards the end of the flight. She is just like me, once she falls asleep nothing wakes her. She didn't even budge when we landed.

Here is Dawson on his first airplane ride. He did wonderful. The flight was about two hours and I think he slept about 90 minutes of it. I was happy because I was able to hold him and read some magazines and relax a bit. No complaints here! He seemed to enjoy his first airplane trip.

Katy and Ella eating at Tommy's

When we landed, we gathered up our massive amount of stuff, and headed to the car rental place. We hit a major snag with the car rental and it took almost two hours. We somehow managed to juggle all the kids and our belongings and keep them quiet and happy while all this was taking place. After we got our minivan, we headed to one of our favorite burger places in California, Tommy's. They have amazing chili hamburgers that are to die for!

We then headed towards our hotel. My mom booked us an amazing room at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. She got us a room with an ocean view. The room was just gorgeous. The room had a balacony and this was the view from our balcony:


We were all in heaven! What a great hotel and what a terrific view.
As a treat for Ashlyn, my mom arranged to have cookies and milk waiting for her. Ashlyn was very pleased to see both. They came in a neat little wooden box that Ashlyn saved for her seashells she collected on the beach. After we got settled a bit, we decided to heat straight for the beach.
On the way to the beach, we decided to check out the hotel pool. Just like everything else at the hotel, it did not fail to disappoint. It was such a nice pool.

We literally just crossed a street and were right at the beach. Ashlyn immediately ran right to water and had a blast. She is just such a beach girl. She loves playing in the waves and in the sand. The babies seemed to enjoy the beach as well. We were able to rent an umbrella so they were nice and shaded. The weather by the beach was cool in the high 60's, so they didn't get too hot.

What an adorable beach baby!!!

My little beach girl.

Ashlyn showing off her silly side

This picture does a great job of showing how much fun she was having.

Katy and Ella enjoying the beach.

Dawson and Mommy

DeLorme family at the beach

I did put Dawson's feet in a bit. He seemed to like it.

Ella was having a great time

What a cutie!

A long day of travel and beach fun wore Dawson out!

After the beach, we grabbed some dinner at a really good sandwich place. We then headed back to the hotel for the night. We all slept good that night! (I think the fluffy beds and super soft sheets had something to do with it!)

Race and Renaissance Festival

Today was a very busy and exhausting day! So I apologize if this post doesn't make too much sense or contains lots of grammar errors. I started my day by waking up at 5:00 a.m. for a 5k race. This was the first time I have done this race and it was very nice because it was at the baseball field right behind our house. My brother and sister also ran in the race. Since it was so close, and our kids wake up very early, Joey and the kids walked over to see the action. I really enjoyed this race. It was a neat course that ended inside the baseball field. Joey, Ashlyn and Dawson were at the finish line and Ashlyn was yelling "Go Mommy!" It was a great moment! This is my third 5k in a less than a month and I have been training very hard. I really wanted to push it for this race and give it my all. I am very proud to say I finished with a time of 23:51!!! It was by far my best time yet. I took first in my age group last week. I took second this week and my age group was much bigger for this race. Since this race was bigger than last week's, I will get my first running trophy! I am very proud of this accomplishment. A lot of the women I am competing with have ran for years and years or ran in high school and college. The competition is pretty fierce, but I train hard and it is really paying off. Next week, I will be running in my first 10k. I plan to take of a few months before my next race after that. My body badly needs some healing time!

Right when we got home from the race, we got changed and headed back out the door to go to the Renaissance Festival. We go almost every year and enjoy it. It was pretty hot today and crowded. We still had a great time. Ashlyn said she had a good time too.

We stayed at the Renaissance Festival most of the day. Right when we got home I started packing for our trip. Packing for three people including an infant is a daunting task. I create very detailed lists. I just hope I didn't forget anything. We are all packed and ready to get up early again to head to California. I know that we are all very excited for the adventure that awaits us!

Katy and I ready to run

And their off!!!

The kids watching me. LOVE it!!!

Waving as I ran by

My brother heading towards the finish line

Here I come towards the finish line

Such a neat place for a race. I just think that it is so neat that all three of us have taken up running and gotten so good at it.

At the Renaissance Festival. We were going to get Ashlyn's face painted, but she wanted her arm painted instead.

Ashlyn wanted to take a picture with the pirate.

The first time we took Ashlyn to the Renaissance Festival Ashlyn rode this ride. She was just a baby then. She really enjoyed it both times. This time we went a lot higher. She just loved it and I loved watching the joy on her face.

Joey's attempt at a picture before we left. Ashlyn was passed out in her stroller.