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My Baby Turned 5 Years Old at Legoland! (Giveaway!) CLOSED

logo_legoland_ca

My sweet (HA) boy turned 5 years old on Saturday.  I have no idea where the time has gone and I just can not fathom how my screaming, colicky baby turned into this handsome and very bright young man. spongebobI asked Mr. A. the all important question of “what do you want to do for your birthday?”  He usually picks to go somewhere (as opposed to having a party at home).  We have done both Sea World and Disneyland,  so this year I suggested Legoland California and he eagerly agreed.

The wonderful people at Legoland California were nice enough to set me up with a family 4 pack of passes so we could check it out.

One bummer thing right from the beginning was the short operating hours.  We went on a Saturday (although, I think it’s the “off” season) and they were only open 10am to 5pm.  Not nearly enough time to fully enjoy the park.  We felt like we were in a hurry to see it all and were disappointed when it was time to go.  Poor BoBo had the major of all melt downs because we had to go and he was having so much fun!  I wish it was open longer!!

Legoland is awesome!  They are targeted to the younger kids so there are lots of rides that are perfect for 3 and 5 year olds.  There was never a ride (until the end) that the twins had to sit out, and that was nice.  Of course, there is a section of more exciting fare that Anthony got to enjoy, but the babies didn’t…so I fed them ice cream instead.

While I’m sure the food at the park is great, they didn’t bat an eye at our collapsible cooler full of drinks and lunch.  I can’t tell you what a money saver bringing your own picnic lunch can be with a large family.  I really appreciated being able to bring it.

Something else I noticed about the park, was all the greenery.  There were so many trees and lush vegetation.  There was always a shady spot to sit and it made it very beautiful.

grandparentsThe Grandparents

darthvaderLego Darth Vader!  He was very cool.  NayNay did not like the sound effects!

familypumpkinLego Pumpkin.  Our attempt at a family picture.  Never works so well with 5 of us…

houseThe play area with lego stations and play houses.

pirateshipPirate Shores was our favorite!  The boys loved getting wet on the hot day.  I was SOAKED.

There is a section called Miniland USA.  They have just about every major US city constructed out of legos.  We had a great time strolling through and looking at everything.  The detail was amazing.  I imagine this would be a little kids dream job – just building cool stuff out of legos!

trickortreatingMiniland USA is all set with Trick or Treaters.

holdupNow this was in “Las Vegas.”  Do you think it’s a tourist taking a photo or a hold up??

Our passes included admittance to the Sea Life Aquarium, but we ran out of time and didn’t get to see it.  Again…wish they were open longer! :)

So I think that Legoland California is a great place to take kids under about 10 years old.  But really, I don’t know what 10 year olds like…so I can’t say for sure.  But I can definitely say it’s awesome for 3 and 5 year olds.  It was a wonderfully beautiful family park and I can’t wait to take the boys back again really soon.

ETA – October is full of spooky fun at Legoland’s Brick or Treat event.  Every Saturday in October (5pm-9pm) the park will be hosting the best Halloween party in California!  Check it out if you are looking for something different, safe and fun to do with your kids!  We will be there…will you?

giveaway titleLegoland California is offering one of my readers a family 4 pack of passes that will include admission to the park and the Sea Life Aquarium!  These will be great for my local (SoCal) readers or anyone that is planning on visiting the area soon.  I’m really excited about being able to offer up something special for my local peeps!

First Mandatory Entry

Visit Legoland California’s website and check out all it has to offer.  What attraction would you most look forward to experiencing if you visited?

Check here for Additional Entry Opportunities and my Official Rules

This contest will close on Tuesday October 13th at 10pm Pacific Time.  I will then choose a winner by random.org and email the winner.  They will have 72 hours to reply.  Good luck!

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Back to Normal

crazyDid anyone miss me??

Last week was C.R.A.Z.Y.  Here is a recap as to where I have been:

Tuesday – We had our first ultrasound for the surrogacy.  The clinic is about 1.25 hours away.   Me and my mom drove up and met with Shannon and Mike.  The ultrasound was of course, fantastic!  We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory and then did a little shopping.  After I got home, I had to finish packing for my early departure to New York City.

Wednesday -  I was up at 4am to make a 7:30am flight to New York City.  I went to my first ever invitation blogger event and I was so excited to go to NYC for the first time, too (lots of firsts today!).  I will have LOTS more on the actual event and my whirlwind trip later, just for now know that it was a very long day of flying and traveling and exploring.  I didn’t get to the hotel until 7pm and never really got to sleep that night (not for a lack of trying).

Thursday -  As I mentioned, I never really went to sleep Wednesday night, so I just got up out of bed at 7am to get ready for the Euro-Pro Event.  There was lots more walking and fun times.  Got to meet Robin Miller from the Food Network…again, there will be lots more detail on this later.  But it was great and I had such a nice time meeting so many other bloggers.  I went directly from this event back to the airport for my long return flight home.  I arrived back in San Diego around 9pm and into bed around midnight.

Friday -   Since my oldest son was turning 5 on Saturday, I had a lot of shopping to do.  We headed out to Fry’s Electronics, Toys R Us, lunch, grocery store and something else….?  I spent over an hour at Fry’s so that I could get my laptop serviced since it took a crapper on me the week before.  Turns out that the hard drive is failing and the power supply is dead.  So, I am working on a loaner right now.  Got all my shopping done in time to come home, wrap it up and have a pizza party with my brother and some friends.  Another long day.  I actually felt hung over all day just from my lack of sleep.

Saturday – Took Anthony to Legoland California for his birthday.  The tickets were actually provided for review and I will be giving away a family 4 pack !  So be on the lookout for the “official” post on this, too.  We had a LOT of fun.  Legoland was a blast and the boys loved it.  BoBo actually had the only melt down of the day when it came time to leave.  He wanted to stay.  But, as with any amusement park day, long hot day of walking around.  After Legoland, I took Anthony out for a crab dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack.  I had lots of family meet us there and we had a great time.  Joe’s is FUN!

Sunday – Finally went truck shopping.  We ended up at Perry Ford in Poway where a nice man named John (I think) sold us our beautiful red 2008 Ford F150 Supercrew!  I love it!  It’s so pretty.  I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am to be able to have a vehicle that will carry my entire family somewhere.  Getting around in a 2 door, 4 seater sucked eggs.  So I am thrilled with my truck.

Monday – Well, Thank God it’s Monday!  We are back to normal!