Family Vacation with the Billings

A couple weeks after Tyler and I returned from California, we headed right back. The Billings who used to live in El Paso, but moved to Japan two years ago, were on their way back to the States for the summer. They were flying into California and staying a couple days before heading to Utah to see family for a month. They invited us to meet them in California to hang out with them at the beach and Legoland. We were so excited to have this be our family vacation. I took our first picture at our dinner spot on the way. We love Red Robin and only get to eat there when we travel. They had this cute sign outside their mall restaurant, so I took a picture of the girls while Tyler paid for dinner.

Once in California, we had the rest of that day by ourselves before meeting up with the Billings. We took the girls to all the cool spots that Tyler and I had found when we were there a couple weeks earlier. We went to the The Baked Bear with their custom ice cream sandwiches because we knew the girls would love it, and they did! 

 We also drove to La Jolla Cove to see the sea lions that live there. We walked along the beach just like Tyler and I did and saw (and smelled) the sea lions. We walked farther this time to a different beach where the girls got their feet wet.

For dinner that night, we went to Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier in Oceanside. Tyler and I didn't go there this time, but we had been with the girls last year and remembered liking it, so we ate there again. We had an awesome waiter who was so funny, complete with his handlebar mustache. He didn't even mind that Aubrey ordered a hot chocolate in the middle of the summer, and brought it out to her complete with a ton of cool whip and extra chocolate chips. We took our pictures outside the restaurant at the end of the pier while we waited for our table. 

I was hoping to get the beach and building line in this picture, but it came out too bright behind us, but that is the ocean right there. 

The next morning, we drove to the house where the Billings were staying for the week. It was awesome because it was walking distance to the beach and unlike a hotel, it had a backyard where the kids could play. While they played Red Rover, I took my first picture of the kids. 

We spent all day at the beach. The kids made a ton of holes and sand castles and played in the water. We had to keep a close eye on the smaller ones in the water, because the waves were pretty big and the pull back was really strong. Every kid tumbled in the water at least once. I didn't take enough pictures because of all the water and sand, but I did get a couple. They had so much fun. The funniest story happened near the end of the day when one of the waves came up so high on the beach. The dads and kids had made a hole so they were hoping for water to make it to them, but this one wave made it and then some. It even went behind them and soaked me, Annie, and her baby Pepper where we were sitting on towels. We were so worried about how high the water was going, we didn't realize until afterwards that the little kids, Taryn and Grover, had really went under and somersaulted around inside their hole because it filled up so much with water. It was funny, but the kids had had enough. Taryn just kept telling everyone that she went under the water and she didn't get to hold her breath. I attempted another beach picture with the year marked in the sand, but the kids did not want to stand long enough for a picture, so this was the best I could get. At least it was something.

We found a Mexican restaurant near the beach we were at that was open late enough for us to eat dinner together. We had to wait while they put enough tables together for 13 of us, so I took a picture outside. The food was really expensive, but it was good to sit and visit while we ate. 

The next day was our beginning day at Legoland. The Billings had never been, so we took the lead on which rides to start the day with. We started on the Coast Cruise where we all got to ride together. My attempt at a picture of all us didn't quite work to reach all the little ones in the row with me and in row three. 

I at least took a picture of my row-mates. Aubrey was a like a little mother to Grey the entire trip. She was always holding his hand and making sure he was ok. It was pretty cute. I grabbed a close up of the kids behind me too as they started on their cruise adventure.

Poor baby Pepper was too little to go on most of the rides, so we did the rider swap on the bigger rides. I took a picture of us while the others rode the Lost Kingdom Adventure ride. 

I also took pictures as their cars came out of the ride at the end. 

The Beetle Bounce was a favorite of all the kids except for Abby. Since we had come last time, they changed their height rules and no one over a certain height could ride, so Abby was too tall to ride. She was not happy, but all the little ones loved riding it. 

On the Cargo Ace ride, everyone was excited to ride their own plane without adults. With their tiny bodies, they could squeeze in three to a plane. 

I took a quick picture of me and Taryn on her first roller coaster. The Dragon was Aubrey's favorite ride last time, and Taryn was tall enough to ride it this time. She loved it! And because she went on it and loved it, we convinced Tessa to try it too. Tessa freaked out while we waited in line, but she decided to give it a try and ended up liking it once it was over. I was so proud of both of my girls riding their first big roller coaster that day. 

On Flight Squadron, I took pictures of all the kids around me. With as many as we had, we almost took up the entire circle of planes. It was so fun. 

Annie and I split with Tyler and Ken for the driving schools since we had three who had to do the junior school. Taryn and Grover started right next to each other, but it was hilarious because Taryn's car was so much slower than Grover's. I think he lapped her twice during their ride. But they still had fun. Grey needed a little assistance during his drive, but he totally loved it too. 

We even had time to see the older kids drive after the little ones were finished, but I only saw Abby come close enough for a picture. It was Aubrey's first time on the older track and she really enjoyed it. I'm just sad that I didn't get more pictures of the bigger kids driving.

Our final ride together that day was on Sky Patrol. We were all able to ride it except Pepper. I rode with Taryn so here's our selfie picture. I took pictures of all the riders from our group, so it was a lot.

Aubrey was tall enough to ride by herself. She really had to have a blue one. Abby also chose to ride by herself. Aubrey and Abby were the farthest from where I was riding, so I had to zoom in on their pictures. 

Tyler rode with Ollie and Annie rode with Grey. The kids love to be in charge of the controls determining how high you fly and which direction you spin. 

Ken and Annie took turns holding Pepper, so when it was Ken's turn, he rode with Grover. Tessa and Stone rode together and I really liked this picture because you can see Aubrey and Abby in the background.

After this ride, the Billings headed back to their house for naps and quiet time. We kept on going with all the rides my girls wanted to do that they hadn't ridden yet. So the rest of that day and our following day will be in the next post.