Legoland California

Since this was a trip for Madelyn's birthday, we decided Legoland would be the park we would spend our time at during our stay. Legoland is a fascinating place where you can look at little miniature cities made entirely out of Legos, and you can go on lots of rides. If you recall form previous posts, Madelyn is a dare devil in its truest fashion, so this part really excited her.

The first ride Madelyn picked was the boat ride. This proved to be a good choice because it gave us a chance to see many parts of the park.

Once the boat ride was over, we were off like a flash to see just how many rides we could squeeze into this day!

We saw lots of great Lego displays along the way, too!

Some rides were a little too scary for Madelyn. This one in particular, Lost Kingdom Adventure, had her in tears by the time she was at the end. She went on this ride with Daddy, but she tells quite the story: "...tears were falling on my cheeks because I didn't like the ride so much."

But, the tears would soon be all dried up as she saw the next ride, the Beetle Bounce. This ride was probably among her very favorites for the day. Since we were at the park on a day that had very few visitors, she was able to ride it 4 times....in a row. The man working the ride was so generous. There wasn't a big line, so he let us keep getting on one after another.

Here's a little video of the ride. I really wish I could bottle up her laugh. It really makes me smile!

Click below to watch the YouTube video.

Then it was off to Dune Raiders, a fun slide where we could race each other to the bottom!

Click below to watch a short clip (from YouTube) of the big slide.

The day seemed to be getting better, and better! We saw lots more Legos, panned for gold, and discovered the most amazing play structure.

We spotted the boats, and couldn't resist taking our turn at driving them. Daddy decided Madelyn drives like her Mommy, and well, he's probably right. These boats were self-powered and steered. Madelyn and I laughed A LOT while driving. Daddy waited patiently because it took us a long while to get around the short waterway.

 

 This Lego officer reminded us of Uncle Rick.

 Our little Tinkerbell...

This ride brought on more tears, but not because it was scary. Madelyn couldn't reach the controls, and that frustrated her because she wanted to do all the flying by herself.

 Wet or Dry?

Madelyn and Daddy took a little safari ride and found lots of Lego animals... giraffes, alligators, elephants, and more!

Then it was off to the rollercoaster! This was definitely Madelyn's favorite! She loves to do "no hands." We got to go around the track twice, so we were able to get this great family picture!

 

Then Madelyn got a bucket, shovel and brush so she could dig for dinosaur bones! How fun!

And, of course, what would any good Legoland trip be without buying some Legos! Madelyn insisted on carrying the bag, which was just as big as her! 

We are looking forward to our next day at Legoland when Grammy is here...yippee!

 

Carlsbad, California

For Madelyn's third birthday, we decided to skip creating a themed birthday party. We packed our bags and headed west to Carlsbad, California for a week-long celebration instead. Great plan, by the way.

We were on the road Saturday morning, and arrived in Carlsbad in the early afternoon. Once we got everything unloaded and unpacked at the condo, we decided to check out the resort's brewery. This was a perfect idea after a long drive. No cooking. No cleaning. Just eat and then relax. :)

We didn't make any plans on Sunday, other than to stock the fridge and cupboards. This was intentional because it was after all, Super Bowl Sunday, and our Packers were playing!

However, before we headed out to do our grocery shopping, we let Madelyn play in the "heated" pool. Daddy didn't last long, or get very deep in the pool, so we let her play in the hot tub for just a little bit.

Then she wanted to test out the water play area. Chris and I were thinking this would be fun. After all, the pool is heated, this area will be as well. Not so much. The water "park" was freezing cold. For an adult. Madelyn however, had a fantastic time. ;)

Once she had her fill of the water toys, we took a little trip to Costco and then made a quick stop at the local Redbox. We were hoping that a few new movies might help entertain Madelyn while we were glued to the game.

Madelyn did pretty well for an almost-three-year old whose parents were ignoring her every plea to play Littlest Pet Shop. She jumped a little when we'd scream for a touchdown, and she would often peek into the living room asking, "Are they winning?"

I am happy to announce that our Packers are the new Super Bowl Champions! We are so excited!! So excited, in fact, that we decided to put on our favorite jerseys and go have some family pictures taken...

This one really makes me smile!