We ended the school year with fun activities in May.
We celebrated Emma's and our niece Miriam's birthdays with the family in Williamsburg.
While the other kids played games indoors, Hallie dedicated herself to building a tree fort in the woods behind Grandpa and Grandma's house. She had a blast, but unfortunately took home a souvenir - a tick hidden in her hair. Thank you, Virginia! She found it a day later and we extracted it.
We watched Hallie and her class perform their spring concert.
Emma's Chorus group performed at school, at a nursing home, and at another private school.
We also attended a concert that Dan's sister, Robin, performed in and helped to coordinate. She's newly on staff at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Williamsburg, and several members and friends showcased their very different talents that night.
Emma had spirit days, and for Character Day, she dressed as King George III from the Hamilton musical. She can sing his entire song from memory, complete with the spittle.
She also participated in the middle school Field Day.
Hallie completed her botany project and made a beautiful snap dragon plant as her visual.
I attended a baby shower for my friend Holly, who is Fiona's mom (one of Hallie's best friends)
I also attended a bridal shower for a former co-worker, Maggie.
Once school ended and Dan's final responsibilities were finished, we flew to San Diego for vacation! We miss the weather, the food, and our friends there so much!
We were able to stay with our good friends, Paul and Ann, and they hosted a reunion with some of Dan's former coworkers from Calvary Christian Academy.
Hallie and Emma hit it off with our friends' daughters. Left to right: Emma, Lily, Eva, Hallie, and Coral.
Dan worked with Sue (center) and Jennifer (right) at CCA. Ann (left) is the wife of his former coworker, Paul.
We drove the girls to our old neighborhood and showed them the house we rented near Mission Bay.
We also attended our former church, Barabbas Road Church.
We ate lunch at In-N-Out Burger with our friends, Chris, Judy, Ian, and Jon Neynaber after church.
Then we drove to Burbank, CA, to spend a couple of days sightseeing in the Hollywood area.
We drove to a park near our hotel to see the famous Hollywood sign
The following day, we visited Universal Studios Hollywood!
We've been to Universal Studios Orlando a few times, but not to the new Epic Universe park. So, this was our first encounter with Super Nintendo World.
We were greeted by Bowser.
We rode Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge
The land was adorable, and made you feel like you were inside the video game. Paul and Ann's kids, Eli and Eva, let us borrow their Super Nintendo World Power Up Wristbands, which allowed Emma and Hallie to do the interactive games. They could "punch" blocks to collect coins and play an exclusive Bowser Junior Shadow Showdown game.
Another unique Hollywood experience was the Universal Studios Tour. The girls loved it!
Hallie knows exactly who's about to jump out at her ... (duh duh ... duh duh ...)
JAWWWWWSSSSSS!!!!
Emma thinks he's kinda cute.
The Harry Potter section was smaller in Hollywood than it is in Orlando, but for the first time, we had interactive wands and the girls had fun making magic happen inside shop windows.
Emma's wand was borrowed from Eli, and she had trouble getting it to cooperate for her. Just like when Harry Potter had to use Draco Malfoy's wand. She eventually got the knack of it, though.
We made sure to buy chocolate frogs at Honeydukes Candy Shop.
We all really enjoyed the Secret Life of Pets ride.
They did a great job entertaining us during the long line with scenes and characters from the movies.
We were transformed into puppies during the ride!
At the end of the night, all Emma wanted to do was ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey again. It's the one ride that makes Dan and I both queasy, and we were tired from the long day. But I rode it with her anyway, and then laid down on the ground outside until I no longer wanted to die.
On our last half day in Hollywood, we visited the Griffith Observatory parking lot to see the views of Los Angeles.
Dan's such an angel.
We also visited the highly recommended La Brea Tar Pits. It was cool in concept, but we were disappointed in the small size and lack of kid-friendly interactive features. We wouldn't really recommend it as a must-see attraction - save your time and money for Universal Studios instead.
La Brea Tar Pits are active paleontological research sites in the heart of L.A. These employees were busy cleaning prehistoric bones of animals that had fallen into the tar pits long ago.
The girls each made a dangerous friend at the tiny museum.
We found a good climbing tree outside
And this guy.
While we were riding roller coasters and exploring in CA, my parents were also having adventures in VA. Dad had scheduled Mohs surgery to remove a spot of skin cancer from his cheek the week we were away. And Mom fainted during church that weekend and was taken by ambulance to the ER! Thankfully, her test results were normal, and they think it may have just been dehydration. We hated being away from them during their medical events, but some friends from church took care of them.
Our next stop was Anaheim, and our top priority was buying treats from Joe's Italian Ice. Their Joe-Latti's are soooo delicious!
Next, we shopped at Downtown Disney
So many helmets, so little time.
No Padawans were harmed in the making of this photo.
Disneyland is celebrating their 70th anniversary this year
We got to spend the next two days with Paul, Ann, Eli, and Eva Hicok at Disneyland! Fun story - we had booked our Disneyland tickets before Paul and Ann reached out to ask if we wanted to stay at their house. When we told them our trip details, it turned out that they had unknowingly booked two days at Disneyland on the same days we had! It made our entire experience so much more fun!
Indiana Jones: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
Jungle Cruise
It's a Small World.
(Ann and I were the only ones who wanted to ride this. It was delightful - do not listen to anyone else in my family.)
The Disney Parade
Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Ann was so excited to try the Mickey-shaped raspberry macaron!
We rode the train around Disneyland park. Unfortunately, the behind-the-scenes lights weren't working, so the kids didn't get to see the Grand Canyon or Land of Dinosaur dioramas.
We spent our second Disney day at California Adventure park.
The gang hanging out in Cars Land
We were swept away by the Cars ride
The girls loved the cute Cars Land characters.
We rode the Ferris Wheel - a first for Dan and I!
"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?”
The Enchanted Tiki Room
Hallie had a cute stalker.
Emma made a friend, and then ate him.
Ice cream for dinner. It's one of our amusement park survival tips.
Nothing can top Disney's nighttime lights and shows.
When you touched these bubbles, they'd dissolve into smoke! It was so cool!
We spent our last afternoon sightseeing in San Diego. We took the girls to Mount Soledad where there's a cross and monument to local fallen soldiers, and a spectacular panoramic view of the city.
We visited La Jolla Cove, and saw lots of pelicans resting on the cliffs.
And we loved watching the sea lions on the beach!
Most of them just slept, but every now and then one would flop its way to the water. They were so cute!
We went back to Paul and Ann's house for dinner and swimming for the kids. We had the best time and loved seeing the people and places we miss in San Diego!
