Day 27 - A quiet one for me and the kids

Today was a kind of quiet nothing day so there aren't too many photos. 


Steve and mum had a tour booked in Hollywood. It was the Dearly Departed Tour. Something they both really enjoyed. I stayed at home with the kids and we they watched movies while I caught up on washing. We then went to check out the pool and I read my Kindle and they had a swim. It was gorgeous weather so I soaked up the sun. The pool area was nice. Very concreted though. There was a nice large pool which I swam around in for awhile. There was also a spa which was heated to a really high temperature. It was heavenly!

Spending time by the pool/spa

Steve and mum didn't get back until around 3:00pm and the kids were napping by then. We waited for them to get up and then took them out so mum could have a peaceful evening. We took them to In & Out Burger for dinner. The burgers were good but I wasn't so sure about all the hype surrounding them. After dinner we took the kiddos to Chuck E Cheese. I swear they loved this place. They used up a few tokens and we went home to bed!

He was pretty happy =D

Enjoying her fries

My burger

Playing around at Chuck E Cheese

Day 26 - An easy day off!!

Today was a day to relax. It was sooo good!!


We slept in and took our time getting ready, that was good on it's own! Then we headed out to check out Downtown Disney. We walked there and it was only about a 15 minute walk although we took our time just walking slowly and admiring the perfection of the grounds on Disney property.

A cool cop car in DTD

We checked out the shops and then decided to see a movie. Kung Fu Panda 2 was on so we saw it and we all actually liked it. After the movie we went to the Lego store and got them to source a Cars 2 set for Brandon that we saw in Orlando. They found one at a mall not too far away and we got them to put it on hold. 


We walked back to the condo and the kids and mum stayed and relaxed while Steve and I ventured to get the lego. The mall was very nice and I made a stop to the GAP and picked up a few nice pieces for the kiddos. We went home to get ready to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.


Dinner was delicious! I had some sort of New Orleans style shrimp with rice. OMG sooo good! Mum had shepherds pie, Steve had steak, Brandon had corn dogs and Peyton had chicken fingers. We also ordered two slices of cheesecake to go, the original and the Dutch caramel apple. I loved the caramel apple one. It was amazing! It was definitely a sweet ending to a nice day.

Waiting...

Chicken Tenders

Shrimp dish

Shepherds Pie

Corn Dogs

Onion rings and fries

Steak

Look a little boring hey.....

This hit the spot!

Day 25 - DLR & DCA

Today was our first day at Disneyland. We also had plans to walk over to Disney's California Adventure for World of Color.

Sleeping Beauty Castle

We started off with a quick breakkie of cereal/toast at the condo then headed off on the short 10 min stroll to the Disney Tram. We got there before opening and exchanged our printed vouchers for tickets. Somehow we got an early entry pass and we waltzed on in.


We headed to Fantasyland and started our assault on the rides. But first we got a snack!

It was very fresh and chocolatey!

Carousel

Brandon's favourite, Peter Pan

Toad's Wild Ride

We found a monkey in the Casey Jr. Circus Train

We rode the Teacups

And tried to pull a sword from a stone!

This picture cracks me up. Anyone who's been on this ride would know why!

Then we headed over to Toontown for some more fun.

We posed for photos and rode Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin.

Then we went on Gadget's Go Coaster with Peyton probably 3 or 4 times. She loved it as it was the only rollercoaster she was tall enough for.

Peyton loved this

Brandon and nanny entertained themselves here while we rode the roller coaster

It was really starting to get crowded by then so we headed across to DCA to pick up our pre booked World of Color/Colour Picnic and tickets for the evenings show. The kids got the light up bracelets in their meal and we got a World of Color carry bag. We had the one with the fried chicken and salad and I quite enjoyed it. After we ate our lunch we headed back to the condo for a nap.

Picnic bag

Kids meal

Chicken Meal - chicken, coleslaw, potato salad and apple pie/pastry

Bracelet

We had something light for dinner and headed back to DCA for the World of Colour show. I wasn't fussed at all with our spot as I couldn't see much over everyone's heads. We did arrive early but the sheer volume of people meant seeing much was impossible for someone as short as me. We waited over an hour for the show to start and in the end it was sort of an anticlimax for me. Admittedly what I did see was amazing but I guess I didn't get the whole overall experience. Peyton fell asleep in the pram before it was even half over. I would attempt to see it again but gosh I wish they had seating so everyone got a decent view. 


The only photos of WOC are a few of the Mickey Wheel lit up.

After the show we headed back to the condo as we were all pretty tired.

Day 24 - First Day of LA

No idea when we woke up. Six days to go and on the home stretch my memories are becoming kinda jumbled up. 


Anywho, I'm pretty sure the plan for today was to take it easy. We had planned to drive up to Hollywood and walk around for the afternoon.


In the morning I know we headed for Target and got some groceries (no where near as good as the Super Target in Kissimmee). We made French bread stick sandwiches and then headed up to Hollywood. I fell asleep on the drive up and missed the Hollywood sign. Seriously, who goes to LA all the way from Sydney and doesn't see the Hollywood sign. IDIOT!!


We found a car park and wandered around. Hollywood walk of fame, Kodak Theatre, Graumans Chinese Theatre, Disney Store.... To be honest I wasn't all that impressed. Maybe it was the jet lag. It just seemed seedy. I saw some shady characters and what I'm sure was a drug deal taking place. Not what I'd expected. I suppose I dreamed about something more polished. IYKWIM. We had Johnny Rockets for lunch and then headed home. 

Pretty self explanatory

My hero ;)

'

Chinese Theatre

Ron Howard

Arnie

Tom Hanks

Clark Gable

Shirley Temple

John Wayne

Johnny Rockets

My tired boys

Cheesy fries

Strawberry Shake

Kids shake

Kodak Theatre

Disney Store

Kodak Theatre

Shrek outside Madam Tussauds

Tiffanys on Rodeo Drive

We took a side trip through Beverly Hills and Down Rodeo Drive. Anyway we got kinda lost and it took about 3 hours to get back to Anaheim. We drove through some seriously scary neighbourhoods and I saw the most interesting people of my trip. Hookers, transvestites, a woman wearing nothing but a small towel and people selling the strangest things by the side of the road and at traffic lights. Coconuts, fresh fruit, flowers, Mexican food.  It was a very interesting trip home and we were glad to make it back. 


Here are a few photos of the lovely 2 bedroom condo we had for the week.

Our gorgeous bed. Peyton slept in the porta-cot

Brandon slept up top and mum down bottom

Mum and B's bathroom

Mine, Steve and Peyton's bathroom

That bed was sooo comfy

Complimentary wine, popcorn plus choccies that I ate.

We didn't drink the wine as we aren't wine drinkers but our hosts were so very thoughtful. Each of the kids had a gift bag with a t-shirt, some activites, a small toy and snacks. The house also had snacks and basic meal ingredients, all cleaning/washing products plus there were toiletries to use if you wanted.