Musical Theater Camp

While Rylee was away at Girl Scout camp, Tatum took part in a musical theater camp through Childsplay.  They do a new musical every week, but the only week that fit our schedule happened to be Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

She went with her friends Audrey and Lauren, but she also met a new friend, Molly.  She had such a great time.  She was reluctant to go at first, but after the first day, she was excited every morning.

Tatum was chosen for the role of Mrs. Gloop, Augustus's mother.  Today was their performance.  It was really hard to snap some good pictures, because they were moving around so much, but here she is with Willy Wonka.

As part of the program, they wanted the kids to learn that acting didn't necessarily involve props.  If you were good enough, you could draw your audience into the story without a bunch of fancy props and costumes.  The only costume they had was a colored shirt.  For example, the Gloop family was orange.  After each child's part was over, he/she was "recycled" into the other parts of the play.  Here's Tatum being part of the machine that makes the gum Violet eats.

It was really a cute play.  They all did a wonderful job, but I'm a little biased.  I think Tatum did the best!  She had such a good time, she cried all the way home because she was sad it was all over.  I guess we'll have to sign our budding little superstar up again next year.

Rylee's at Girl Scout Camp!!!

My brave little Rylee decided to go to Girl Scout camp this year at Camp Maripai in Prescott.  She and her best friend, Taylor, were so excited to sleep in cabins and be away from home for the very first time.  The Camp Maripai Blog just posted some pictures from the past few days.  I was excited to spot Rylee in a few of them.



Here she is with her group.  She's in a turquoise shirt there on the end.  She gets to ride horses, learn archery, cook and camp outdoors, geocache, and all kinds of other great activities.  I'm sure she's having a ball, but we are all looking forward to having her back tomorrow.  We really miss her!

My Favorite Six Flags Rides (by Connor)

My favorite ride was Tatsu. It is the tallest, fastest, and longest flying roller coaster. When you ride it you feel like you’re flying, and you can see all of Six Flags. My favorite part is when you just start, because you can see everything as you pick up speed. Even though I waited over an hour to ride it, it was still my favorite.

My #2 favorite ride was Scream. It is so cool because the floor falls out from under you when you first start, and your feet dangle the whole time. It has seven inversions and 4000 feet of track! It was really fun and was my favorite ride for a while--before I rode Tatsu.

My #3 favorite was Riddler’s Revenge. Riddler’s Revenge is a massive roller coaster where you stand up instead of sit. It has a ton of loops and a giant drop right in the beginning of the ride. It is even the tallest stand up roller coaster in the world!

If you ever visit Six Flags, you absolutely HAVE to ride these rides. They are the best rides in the whole park, and you’ll love them.

THE END

Home, Sweet Home

Well, we are officially home.  We made great time this afternoon.  We only made two stops in 6+ hours.  The first one was a pit stop, and the second was an ice cream stop...

We stopped in Quartzsite, Arizona for "dinner" at Dairy Queen.  This was one meal we didn't have to coax Tatum to eat.  She ate every last bit, and then she licked the cup clean.  She's going to need some serious detox after this vacation.  Dinner put us $1.64 cents over budget, but after 10 days on the road, it was worth every penny.

We rolled into the driveway at about 8:30pm, after 10 days of vacation and 2,407 miles of driving logged.  The kids can now claim Eureka, California as the furthest north they've been (instead of Anaheim).  They've seen some beautiful country, some amazing national parks, northern California beaches, major landmarks, adrenaline pumping roller coasters, and the craziest city in the West, San Francisco.  It was a wild ride and tons of fun, but it's nice to be home.

The City of Angels

Last stop on our vacation--Los Angeles.  We started off the morning with the place the girls have been looking forward to the entire trip...

Tatum and Rylee have been wanting to visit American Girl Place since they started collecting American Girl dolls about 3 1/2 years ago.  Their favorite dolls, Mia and Ella, even made it on vacation with us especially for this trip.  The girls had saved their money so they could make some fun purchases while they were here.

Rylee has had her doll, Ella, for the longest.  She wanted to make sure Ella got some pampering, since she's been with Rylee so long.  First, Ella got treated to a facial scrub.  They cleaned Ella's "skin" and made sure she was all pretty and dirt-free.  Then she got some nail decals and cucumber stickers for her eyes.  Way cute!  Rylee also got Ella's hair styled.  The girl who was taking care of Ella commented on how well Rylee has taken care of her.  She still looks new, and Rylee plays with her almost every day.  To complete her make-over, Rylee got her a brand new outfit, complete with a commemorative American Girl Place: LA shirt, and matching earrings.

Tatum and Mia decided to add another member to the family.  Tatum has been wanting the new girl of the year, Kanani, since she came out in January.  Each year, American Girl comes out with a new doll of the year.  Each doll is from a different place, like Hawaii or Belize--or even California!  They each have their own stories and accessories.  That doll is only available for the year, and each year a new one comes out.  Once the year ends, they are gone, and you can't purchase them any more.  When Kanani, who is from Hawaii, came out, Tatum was in love with her beautiful, long hair.  So today, we picked her up to add her to the group.

We even found a display of the Girls of the Years dolls from the first one in 2003 to last year's 2010 doll.  Tatum's own Mia is actually the doll of the year from 2008, and Rylee has Lanie, the girl from 2010, tucked away safely at home.  The girls also own Felicity and Elizabeth, best friends from the Revolutionary War era, from American Girl's historical collection.  Those dolls are no longer available, so they are now collectors items.

They went in empty-handed and came out with two big bags of loot, so I'd say it was successful!  After we finished shopping, we called Connor and Justin (who were hanging out in the "manly" Apple store), and hit the road.  Justin took a little detour on our way out of town.  He wanted to make sure the kids got to see The Hollywood Walk of Fame...

We didn't actually get out of the car, but we could see the stars lining the sidewalks.  We could even read a few, although we didn't recognize any of the names.  At the end of the street, we passed the Mann's Chinese Theatre...

Where we saw The Incredible Hulk, Darth Vader, and even a few stormtroopers hanging around.  We really wished we'd had a few hours to spend walking around Hollywood, but we are also a little anxious to get home.  Our car is packed back up--with a little more cargo than we left with, thanks to our shopping trip--and we are on our way once again.

We Came, We Saw, We Conquered...

...and now we are thoroughly exhausted.  We woke up at about 7am to shower, eat breakfast, and get to the park gates by 9:30am.

We started off our day on the big coasters.  We rode Apocalypse and Ninja, and then I was DONE!  I'm not a big fan of the coasters, but the kids kept riding.  They headed to the new coaster X2, which was crazy scary.  I couldn't believe my little Tatum rode that thing!

Justin said that Tatum was on the ride saying, "This is TOO extreme!" the whole time.  But she got off and was ready to go on the next one!

They rode Goliath...

And Viper...

And Colossus...

And Scream...

And my personal favorite, The Gold Rusher.  I was not a thrill-seeker, so I liked the rides that didn't turn my insides out.  We broke for lunch, and started all over again.  The girls and I split off from the adrenaline junkie boys and went off to ride Jet Stream.

Jet Stream is one of the few rides I remember riding with my family when I came here before I was married.  The girls rode this ride over and over, partly because it was a water ride and a cool break from the heat, and partly because the line was so short.  The boys headed over to this insane ride...

It was a 90 minute wait, but I hear it was worth every minute. Those boys talked about this ride for the rest of the day.  They did several other coasters as well, but this one was the hands-down favorite.

And what would the day be without some $7 cotton candy?  By the end of the day, these kids were wiped out.  We stayed until the park closed at 8pm, and I think we did just about everything there was to do.  We considered it a successful day, so we went back to the hotel, ate some dinner, and the kids are all chillin' out in their pj's.  When we get home, we are each going to write up a blog post of our favorite rides, so watch for those.

We head home tomorrow.  We're all kinda of sad this little adventure is coming to an end.  It's been a lot of fun, though.  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

We Made It!

About 3:30 pm we pulled in to Valencia and were greeted with this sign!

Six Flags is right across from our hotel.  We can see the coasters across the street!  The kids are really excited--and by kids, I mean Justin, too.  They are already trying to plan out their day of fun and which coasters they'll ride first.  I have a feeling I'll be holding the bags and waiting at the exit lanes.  I am the only one who is not a big fan of coasters.

After checking in to our hotel, we hit the pool.  The kids have been craving some sunshine since we hit California a week ago.  Northern California has been pretty cold, but the weather here in So Cal is perfect for swimming, especially in a heated pool.

We wrapped up our day with the hot tub, showers, a nice dinner, and some iCarly on tv.  Now the children are nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of roller coasters dance in their heads.  Goodnight.

On the Road Again...

We're back on the road again. We packed up and headed out of Pleasanton, and we're driving out to Valencia. We've got the road trip thing down. First we gas up, then we stop at Redbox.

Then we plug the kids in to their individual technological devices, and we hit the road.  Today we drive for about 5 hours until we hit Valencia.

Usually, there is some nice scenery, and they'll look up every now and then to see where we are.  We've passed vineyards, forests, and beaches throughout our trip.  Everything has been amazing.  Today, though, we are driving through flat grassy plains.  Not a lot to see around here, and not a lot of places to stop along the way either.

Around lunch time, we knew we needed to make a stop and grab a bite to eat.  We figured we'd pick Kettleman City, California, since it is the halfway point between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Apparently, everyone else had the same idea.  There were about 10 fast food places in Kettleman City, and they were all PACKED with people, to the point that they were spilling out onto the walkways outside of the restaurants.  It was a little crazy to see.  We grabbed a quick bite, and we're now back on the road.

Alcatraz

After our "interesting" walk back to Pier 33, we picked up our tickets and boarded our ferry for Alcatraz Island.

There it is...  way off in the distance.

Pretty cool, isn't it?

Once we got on the island, we decided to do the cellhouse audio tour.  We each got a headset device that gave a really good audio tour of the prison.  There were interviews from former inmates and officers, too.  It was very interesting.  We got a really good inside look at Alcatraz.  First stop, the showers.  Tatum wasn't very thrilled with the prospect of public group showers.

Those cells were really small, and the prison seemed pretty inescapable.  We did learn, however, that there were several escape attempts.  One attempt was even successful, however, no one knows what happened to the escapees.  They just disappeared once they escaped the prison.  Most think they drowned.  We were out there in the cold and wind, and I can't even imagine swimming across that bay!

Next up, solitary confinement.  These were the small cells they used for the inmates that required harsh discipline.  There was no light or anything.  One inmate told a story about how he kept his sanity in solitary confinement.  He would pull a button off his shirt and toss it on the floor.  Then he would attempt to find it in the dark.  Once he found the button, he'd throw it across the room and start over again.  Not my idea of fun.

Here's another view of "the block."  Those numbered doors down at the bottom are the solitary confinement cells.  On the audio tour, one of the inmates told the story about how, from their cells, they could hear the sounds of San Francisco and the yachts that sailed the bay, especially during New Year's Eve.  They could hear the sounds of parties and laughter and told how infuriating it was.  Civilization was within sight and sound, but not within reach.

From the windows of the prison building and just outside in the yard, there was a pretty neat view of the city.  Man, was it windy, though!

Just to give you an idea of how windy it was... this is Rylee out in "The Yard."  The Yard was where the inmates got their excercise every day.  It was basically an asphalt court.  It was so windy on the steps of The Yard, that we couldn't even see Rylee's face.

Another view of The Yard.

The kids were totally engrossed in the audio tour.  I think it was the highlight of the trip. If you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend it.  It was definitely worth it.  Once our tour was over, we boarded the ferry again and headed back to Rustyn's house.

It was time to hit the road once again, so we packed up our car, said goodbye to Uncle Rusty and the city of San Francisco, and headed out to Pleasanton, CA.  The kids donned their pajamas and turned on Disney Channel for a few hours of relaxation.  Tomorrow, bright and early, we head out to Valencia.  See ya in the morning!

Pier 39 and Some Craziness

So on our last day in San Francisco, we knew we needed to have a typical San Fran experience.  So we got up early and headed to Little Italy for breakfast with Auntie Jenny and her boyfriend, Benny.  After breakfast, we headed down to Pier 39.  First stop, the sea lions.  Tatum has a huge soft spot for animals, and we could have watched these guys for hours.

So cute!  And so crowded there on that pier.

After the sea lions, we headed down the pier to shop a bit.  Tatum has had her heart set on a pearl from the pier ever since her cousin, Kamryn, brought one home.  So, she took her hard earned money and headed over to the pearl store...

She picked out her oyster, and they cracked it open to find her beautiful pearl.

She had it set in a charm setting so she can wear it back home.  By this time, Jenny and Benny had to leave, so we said our goodbyes.  It was so fun to see Auntie Jenny and meet Benny.  We were sad to see them go.

We had reservations for Alcatraz, but we still had about an hour to kill.  The girls have been dying to see Ghiradelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf, so we hoofed it down that direction.  I can only say that San Francisco has been nothing if not an eye-opener.  The kids saw all kinds of panhandling.  Tatum was caught off-guard by the "bushman."  He's basically a guy who has been there forever, hiding behind a bush and scaring people.  Weird.  But we made it to Ghiradelli Square in time for some shopping, sampling, and pictures.

And then we realized we needed to get back for our Alcatraz tour.  So we made our way back to Pier 33, and we were lucky enough to encounter the San Francisco Naked Bike Tour.

Yes, there were about a hundred naked people riding down the street next to us.  I'm tellin' ya, I think the kids are scarred for life.  They were horrified to see all these naked people riding down the street.  They were even unlucky enough to pass a few of them walking down the street in front of us.  Ah, San Francisco....

Mountain Lake Park

Connor went back to the ISB conference to hear the Gary Karr concert with his friends and teacher.  Since we didn't have tickets to go, we took the girls to a little park near Rustyn's house called Mountain Lake Park.  It is literally 5 minutes walking distance from Rustyn's, and I think it was the girls' favorite part of San Francisco.

There was a cool little playground there, and the slides are actually built into the side of the hill.  Kids take cardboard and slide down them.  Our girls thought that was awesome!

It was a pretty fun slide to begin with, but a local girl showed them how to put sand on the slide and make it go even faster.

Even Dad got in on the action!

What a rush!  The girls didn't want to go back.  There was also a huge playground!

This is Tatum's best Romeo & Juliet pose.  But her favorite part, was this sign...

All in all, it was the perfect end to a hectic day in the city.  I can imagine this little park provides a welcome break for most SF city kids.  I know my girls sure loved it.