MasterCard has nothing on our California trip . . .

Tickets for Legoland and Seaworld:  $567.00

Hotel price from Priceline.com:  $70/ night (for a NICE hotel! :)

4 bags of junk to eat on the way: $24.86

Lane throwing out his back, (and thus riding to CA in the back of the car flat on his back), running out of gas on the freeway and coasting downhill 7 miles and rolling right up to the pump at the station, getting lost 2 times and driving through winding hills and valley to the hotel, having the 20 month old think it is time to get up and play at midnight 

when we arrive:  PRICELESS!!

OK, so everyone has their own Mastercard comparisons, but man, we had a couple of doozies (is that a word?)

We braved the California trip with the kids, and when all was said and done, we had a great time - although we readily admit the start was rocky.  I don't recommend running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, but if you are going to, run out where there is a steep downhill run for about 10 miles, because you can coast all th

e way to the gas station! whew!  Talk about luck, and probably a little blessing in there too.

My little sis Kaelyn and her family came, and because our kids are so similar in age, we thought it would be so fun to do CA together.  They went a day before us and did Disneyland, and we met them for San Diegio - Sea World.  We had a blast, and the kids absolutely loved being with their cousins - even Conner who was always telling Evan to go away or stop copying me, but the second Evan wasn't there, he wanted to know where he was and be with him.  He's such a girl - come here, come here, come here; get away, get away, get away.

We made the mistake of hitting Legoland the first day there.  Who said this was a good place to go?  Well, no one actually.  I've never had it recommended to me, I just knew it was there and thought we'd check it out.  First of all it isn't cheap - like $50 per person, whether child or adult.  Then, the park really is only for kids about age 3-9, and the lines were forever long for stupid little rides!  Truly, the highlight for us was seeing all the cool things built out of Legos.  The miniature cities and various famous sights were really cool, but did I need to pay $50 to see it?  No.

Next day was Sea World.  75% chance of rain.

 Hmm... we'll get some ponchos and be OK.  We hit Target where they were all out of ponchos, and opted for big lawn garbage bags instead. Good thing, because we didn't see a drop of rain!  yea!  We really had a great time there.  The shows are so good, the kids got happily soaked at the totally cheesy (yes, I'm sorry, but the movie voice man talking about a little boy dreaming, believing, all that crap is a little too sappy for me and Lane) Shamu show, and had a blast on Atlantis.  I'm glad I got to go on Atlantis this time too.  (Last time I was there, I had a 6 month old parasite in my tummy, which apparently is not allowed on the ride!)

Last day in CA on the agenda was the beach.  Again, high chance of rain.  It was pretty cold and windy the whole time we were there, so I didn't imagine we would be doing a whole lot of swimming in the ocean.  We made the mistake of hitting Denny's for brunch first.  What in the heck?  Since when is Denny's THE place to be?  There are so many places to chose, the food isn't great, it isn't super cheap, but apparently all of Southern California decided to be there the day we went!  1 1/2 hrs. later, we get ourselves and our entourage of 7 kids out the door and on the way to the beach.

We finally find a place to park - which was no small feat - and let the kids run around on the beach and see the water.  Do you think that is good enough?  Oh no, Conner and Evan have to get in - where it is soooooo cold, and the wind is blowing.  What were they thinking?  I guess they are 4 year old boys, and weren't thinking.  Anyway, it was fun for them to see, and we got on our way and made it home safe and sound without too many problems - just about 10 potty stops.  (Can little boys get UTI's?)  By the way - telling them to just go out the window while you are driving doesn't work - something about the wind blowing, swirling, etc.  Don't try it!

We had a blast, and I loved being with Kaelyn and Scott and their family.  We really hope they can move here - it would be so fun to be together more.  I've never lived by my family in the 18 years we've been married!  I would love to try it out and see if they can drive me crazy and make me wish I didn't live by family! ha!  We love you Wakefields!