San Diego!

Yesterday marked our four year anniversary of living in Texas. To celebrate, we went to San Diego for a week! We had a great time seeing family and friends. We also hit all the tourist spots for the girls.

The Beach

We went to La Jolla shores with Mike's brother, Steve, and his son Caleb. My best friend, Alisa, also came with her three children, Chloe, Elijah, and Sam. We had an amazing time. The water, of course, was quite cold, but the kids enjoyed wading out in it nonetheless. We built sand castles, buried all the kids, and grossed each other out with seaweed.

You know how there's one kid in every situation that is going to get hurt? That's Abby. We buried all the children, but only one of them was bitten by sand fleas. She had dozens of bites all over her arms. She is quite tasty.

Disneyland!

On Tuesday, we entered the magical kingdom. Alisa and her family went with us. Our plan was to stay together, but we were separated within 10 minutes. Our kids wanted to go on different rides, so we would plan to meet up after the ride at such-and-such a place. Somehow, I misunderstood where we were to meet, and I would get a call from Alisa. Time after time, I was in the wrong place. Eventually, it became comical, and we said our goodbyes over the phone.

Our first mission was to see the princesses. Let me tell you, this was a huge waste of time. The line was at least an hour. Mike and I took turns walking the kids around while the other stood in line. At one point, I was washing my hands and my cell rang. It was my boss. I answered, "Hi! I'm in the happiest bathroom on earth!"

Before we were through with our first line, the first meltdown of the day happened.

I asked my princess to pose for a picture, and she threw herself down on the ground, screaming. After waiting for an hour in line, our big Princess adventure lasted two minutes. The girls met Cinderella, Mulan, and Belle.

Honestly, I'm not sure they even cared.


The rest of the day ran more smoothly, with relatively short lines, and great attitudes. Their favorite rides were Pirates of the Caribbean and driving the cars in Autopia. The saddest part of the day was when Hannah finally went to meet Mickey Mouse and found he had already gone to bed for the night. (Well, for crying out loud! It was only 7:00!) They also loved the parking lot tram. "Let's ride the train again!"

When I was little, there was one thing I always wanted to get at Disneyland, but never was allowed to:

(They were done after about 10 licks. Then what are you supposed to do with it?)

We got back to the hotel at midnight. Exhausted, we fell asleep quickly. Mike and Abby shared a bed and I shared one with Hannah. All this close quarter sleeping made me realize that Hannah yells in her sleep. "Daddy, you forgot my water!" "No, Abby, NO!" "SPIDERS!!" Not much rest that night. . . .

Seaport Village

On Wednesday, we drove back down to San Diego and walked around Seaport Village. We also rode the ferry boat to Coronado island. We then took Mike to the airport, and away he flew.

The girls and I moved in with Alisa, and we had an amazing time playing at her house. We all went to the zoo together on Thursday, but my camera was already full of pictures, so you're out of luck on that one.

On Friday, my two aunts and two cousins took us out for some girl time. We hit Old Town and then the movies. It was wonderful. They taught my kids how to do the Macarena. At the end of end of each verse, Hannah would shout, "HEY, Macaroni!"

The Ride Home

As I mentioned, Mike was already safely home. He had a direct flight. Alone. No one even sat next to him. He called me and told me this, and then he laughed.

So the girls and I fly 45 minutes to Los Angelos. They did very well. They were the perfect angels I taught them to be. As soon as they got off the plane, however, they turned into the wild monkeys I know they can be. One look at them, and I knew our two hour layover was not going to be pretty. I went to the service desk and asked for an earlier flight. While he was checking, I was threatening the girls, putting them in time-out, giving them my mean look. Nothing was working. The agent finally told me that, yes, he could get us on an earlier flight, but not our luggage, which was checked. With this in mind, I called Mike and explained the situation. He was fine with whatever I wanted to do. I turned to phone over to each child and he gave them a lecture about "listening to Mommy" while I continued with my mean look.

As I was deciding on what to do, Abby yells, "Mommy! Hannah peed her pants!" I turn to find a very wet Hannah, laughing and pointing at a puddle on the floor. Did I mention that the luggage was checked? I booked the earlier flight.

We made a run for the plane, and as we approached the gate, they said, "Are you the Johnsons?" Which told me that everyone else was already on the plane, and that we were THOSE people that everyone else was waiting for. With no dignity left, I had little Hannah lead the charge. This is a great mental image. The plane was full of waiting people, and in walked this spunky little smiling blond child. Her light blue pants had a huge pee stain running down to her shoes. Our seats were in the very back. She sauntered slowly down the aisle, smiling at those who were quite noticeably smiling at her. Thinking, "Everyone is so FRIENDLY on this plane!" Can you see it? Now can you see the poor, frazzled mother behind her? That's me.

The flight consisted of Abby falling asleep and me entertaining Hannah for three hours. When the pilot finally announced, "We are now beginning our initial descent," Hannah fell asleep.

Mike picked us up at 10:30 p.m. and went back for our luggage at midnight. I slept so soundly!

All in all, we had an AMAZING time. The girls did wonderfully. We loved seeing everyone. We want to thank so many people for helping us with plane tickets, cars, lodging, D-land tickets, zoo tickets, and free meals! We love you and could not have had this wonderful vacation without all your help. Thank you, thank you!