California... Day three & four

I have got to get this vacation done! Okay, day three and four were relaxing days, since we did not go to Disneyland.

On day three after eating our marvelous wal-mart cereal in our hotel room, we took the kids to a 10:30 am showing of The Princess and the Frog. Josh likes to show the kids movie previews on the computer, and they have been watching the Princess previews for months! Claire is especially into Tiana, but Levi had a good time too. By the way, 10:30 am IS the time to go to a movie! Only $6 a person!

After the movie and another fabulous lunch provided by wal-mart (pb&j sandwiches) we decided to go swimming again in our hotel pool. The weather was great, but not great enough for outdoor swimming! Josh and I mostly stayed in the hot tub, while the kids ran from pool to hot tub and back again.

We decided to eat dinner that night at our hotel, rather than venturing out to the many restaurants in the area. It turned out to be a mistake. Dinner the previous night was amazing with great margaritas. This one did not come close. Oh well. But we did discover from our server, that we were within walking distance to a bowling alley. We thought that would be a fun way to cap off the evening.

We get there, get our shoes, our balls and get all set up. The kids had a blast. Josh and I had a great time. There was music and a great atmosphere and things were going perfect. We even contemplated playing another round! But, it was getting late and we decided it was time to start walking back to the hotel. Josh went to pay the bill while I changed the kids shoes.

When Josh came back, he looked a little worried, or concerned. I asked what was the matter and he then told me how much we just spent on bowling one game. Forty-two dollars. That is right: 42.

Nothing is wrong with the number 42, in fact, for all you Hitchhiker fans, you know it is THE number. However, it is not a good price to spend on a 30 minute bowling game. Especially a game where nobody broke 90 points. For the record, I am a WAY better bowler on the Wii.

Here is our one video from the bowling alley. It was super dark, and this was all I could do so you can actually make out the people. I just thought Claire was cute and funny.

Each time after they bowled, both Levi and Claire would lay on their stomachs and watch the very slow progress that their ball made. It was really cute.

So the next morning, day four, this is how we found the kids. Levi is reading the building manual to a Lego set that my brother James gave him, and Claire is looking at her Princess and the Frog coloring book.

We had good plans for day four! Our good friends from Seattle, Shauna and Brannon, are in LA for Brannon's residency. Shauna came to pick us up in the morning and spend the day at their house. Their daughter is only a couple months older than Claire, and Claire, as you can see in the next picture, was ecstatic to have somebody dress up with and dance with.

Levi chasing Rio.

Near the Orton's house there is a small aquarium dedicated to rescued sea life. A big bonus is that it was free the day we went! Even though this was our one day of rain, the kids still loved the hands-on exhibits and the enthusiastic and attentive staff.



After the aquarium, we drove by the beach (they are within walking distance to a beach!!) and checked out some fancy houses in their neighborhood. We took the kids back to their house to play and Brannon got off work early to hang out with us. Shauna was able to rope two girls from their church to babysit all four kids, so the adults went out for a night on the town! We had dinner at a Thai restaurant and then dessert at a French one. They even took us to Trader Joe's to pick up some snacks! It was wonderful seeing friends, and hearing our husbands talk "doctor talk!"