Our first family vacation!

If you know us, you know that Justin and I do a lot of talking about taking trips and going neat places, but we never actually seem to do it. This time, with Justin setting the agenda and me making the few last reservations, we were pleasantly surprised to take a real family vacation with just the three of us! It was such a special treat. Jack loved spending so much one-on-one time with Daddy, and despite the vast amount of driving, we had so much fun!

We started our trip by driving down to Carmel, Monterey, and the Pebble Beach area. We drove through beautiful (and crazy steep!) terrain down to the coast and then walked around Carmel. It is a really nice, quaint little town right on the water. We stopped for lunch at a super neat pub that had huge fire pits to keep us warm. We gobbled down some lunch and then walked down to the water.

It is really amazing how different the west coast and the Pacific are from the beaches we are used to. It was rocky, cold, and truly breathtaking. Jack loved running up and down the beach, dipping his toes (and pants and socks) in the water, and getting sandy from head to toe.

I took this shot to show you the background...absolutely amazing!

Daddy was on Jack-catching duty on the beach. Note:
strollers are NOT beach-friendly :)

Family photo op!

Along 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach. SO pretty!

Daddy and Jack, 17 Mile Drive

Pebble Beach

Pop-Pop...how would you like to tee off there?? The wind was
gusting at about 45 mph too!

Gorgeous!

That night we made our way to the hotel. We stayed nearby so that we could hit the Monterey Bay Aquarium first thing in the morning. They claim to be the best in the USA...and it was pretty cool, but nothing like the Georgia Aquarium. It was tiny in comparison! Jack didn't know any better though, so he took in all the sights like the excited little kid he was :)

Touching the starfish, kelp, and snails in the Touch Pools!

Daddy helped me touch. My tongue also helped.

They had this awesome tunnel where a huge wave would crash
over the top of you every few minutes into a beautiful coral reef below.
Jack was a little terrified at first (see his face?) but then he kept saying
"we go back to waves??" :)

Most of the shots we got were blurry because he was always
moving or running around :)

We spent a few hours touring the Aquarium, and then had lunch at Bubba Gump's at Cannery Row before hitting the road to head to Los Angeles. Let me tell you something: California is a HUGE state!!

It was a solid six hour drive, and that was before we hit awful traffic in the rain in north LA. Here is what Jack thought of us being stuck in traffic after he was stuck in the car for 6 hours:

Mad little guy. Thankfully this was the only car meltdown he had!

We got to our hotel late Sunday night, and the boys hit the pool and the hottub to unwind. We got room service for dinner and crashed to get up early for our first morning at Disneyland!!

Hmm...what ride should I go on first??? It's so hard to decide!

I LOVE "It's A Small World"...especially when it's
decorated for Christmas!

Playing in the magic fountain in Toon Town!

Waiting in line with Daddy!

Waiting in line for the Bug's Life ride.

"Whoaaaaa!! Look up there!"

Riding the Catepillar train!!

The trains were arguably my favorite :) Although I rode
most rides with this look of consternation, until they were done.
Then I ran out yelling, "NEXT RIDE PLEASE!"

On the Monsters Inc. ride!

Waiting in line with Daddy to drive my very own car! I loved this ride,
but I think Daddy liked it more :) It was very bumpy!

After the parade...by the giant Christmas tree on Main Street.

With Daddy on Main Street!

Waiting in another line.

Riding a real life firetruck!!

Overall it was a great few days. We did things on our own schedule, headed back to the hotel when we needed a rest, and stayed up way too late at Disney! (Jack happily rode the rides until 10:30pm on Monday night! What a trooper!! Daddy even got in a ride on the Matterhorn, the big roller coaster.) We loved the trip and although it was very crowded because it was a holiday week, it was still worth the drive. Jack talks on and on about everything we did, all his favorite rides, and keeps asking when we can go back. :)

We explored Disney California Adventure on Tuesday morning (the smaller park across from Disneyland - a welcome break because it was less busy!) and then around naptime we hit the road. Having lived in both Atlanta and Boston, we thought we knew all about traffic. HOLY COW, we had no idea how bad LA's traffic was. It was stop and go on every major interstate at 1:30pm when we finally got on the road, and we slowly wound our way north through downtown LA.

Everything was going fine until we hit a HUGE pothole, and we popped the front tire on Daddy's car. We were in denial for a minute, and then we had to pull over in the left breakdown lane - yes, in downtown LA, in stop and go traffic. Justin's car somehow doesn't have a spare tire (?) so we called for a tow. They told us it would be 30 minutes, then another 30 minutes...as we sat and fretted about the dangerous position we were in. (Thankfully Jack slept through ALL of this!)

All of a sudden, a tow truck pulled up. He quickly assessed the situation and said "I can't take three of you in the cab of my truck so I need to call my partner to come with another car." We were disappointed - we had already been waiting an hour on the side of the road. Shortly (VERY shortly!) a California Highway Patrol car pulls up behind us, lights blazing. Apparently a passing motorist had called 911 for us, and they dispatched LA's Emergency Roadside Assistance program. The tow truck wasn't the one we had called (he was still miles away!) but one from the city of LA. It was amazing!

We strapped Jack's seat into the back of the state patrol officer's car (you should have SEEN his face!! If it was appropriate, I would have taken a picture.) He kept telling the officer that "you get bad guys!!" It was adorable. The policeman cleared the highway (literally, by blocking traffic with his car) so that our tow truck could drive over and get off at the next exit. He towed Justin's car to this little mechanic that had a new tire on in 20 minutes! The best part? The tow was free, and the tire was only $40! Overall it could have been a lot worse. We were very lucky.

This is the only picture we have of our roadside disaster.
Justin was trying to see the model number/type of tire to tell the
mechanic what he needed.

I don't know how people survived without iPhones, because Justin's saved us on the side of the road for sure. When we finally did get back on the road, it was about 5:30 pm and while we hit more traffic on the final way out of LA, it wasn't too bad. We drove until we literally couldn't drive anymore, and then we stopped at a Best Western in the middle of nowhere to crash for the night. I was expecting the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised! We somehow got a suite, and Jack had a pullout couch in his very own little alcove. The room was clean, quiet, and new. If you are ever on Highway 5 in the middle of central California, stop at the Best Western in Kettleman City! It was great - we even filled up on the free continental breakfast before heading back home this morning.

We drove for a few hours, and stopped at the outlet mall in Gilroy. Justin got some much-needed new clothes and we stretched our legs. From there it was only about 35 more minutes back to our house.

Even with our delay and bad tire luck, it was a wonderful trip. I am so glad that I got to spend so much time with my boys before our lives are thrown into turmoil with the new baby. It was relaxing, and Jack had an absolute blast. And overall, he was an angel! It definitely gave us confidence to do it again. We are already talking about our next ski trip to Lake Tahoe (luckily only about 2.5 hours away!)

As a side note, Jack has started doing a few things that are pretty funny. The first is saying, "It's gone!" with the most pitiful, sad look on his face. He says it about everything. If a commercial comes on for a show he's watching, he says, "It's gone!!" If he loses a toy under the couch, he says, "It's gone!!" I have no idea where he got this but it's hilarious!

The other thing is "open baby!" I showed him a video online of what the baby looks like inside my belly. Now, he loves (loves!) to rub on my belly, give the baby kisses, and talk to the baby or show the baby things. This means he lifts up my shirt randomly to do this. This is super awesome when we are at home...it's really cute and I really think he understands what's growing inside of me. However, when we are out in public, it's another story. Like at Disney, we'd be standing in line and he'd say "Open baby!!!" and try to lift up my shirt to show the baby something. Ahhh!! Not okay, Jack! How do you explain the idea of modesty to a two-year-old?? :) We do love, though, that he seems to adore the baby (and the idea of the baby coming soon!)

So that's it! We had a great time. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family far away - we miss all of you and you will be sitting around our table in spirit tomorrow. We are so thankful and feel very blessed this holiday season. Peace and love from our family to yours!