Universal Studios

Universal Studios with the nieces was wonderful proof that Tony and I are super fun and our kids are missing out!  We spent two fun days with Kolby, Evalie, Maren and Millie in southern California with the added bonus of Eliza joining us.  The girls made it all so fun with their excitement about Harry Potter (They even dressed up!) their gratitude and their enthusiasm.  Eliza picked up the girls and took the to the hotel where Tony and I met them.  We stayed at the Sheraton right next to the park and it was totally worth the money, although quarters were a little cramped with 5 girls and Tony and I (Eliza stayed the night).  All the girls were good sports about sleeping on air mattresses and tiny Kolby stayed on the couch.   As is inevitable,  Kolby and I were recovering from terrible colds.  Thankfully Tony didn't get it until we were headed home, but he ended up taking a couple of days off of work-it was a bad one.  

On Friday morning we were first in line at the gate.  This was the best part of the trip for Tony!  We headed straight to Harry Potter rides and got to go twice without even using our fast pass.  Our next stop was wand shopping.  This was my favorite part.  It was so cute to see the girls pick their wands and really labor over which one fit their hands and personalities.  

After a full morning of Harry Potter rides, butterbeer, and eating lunch at the "Two Broomsticks," we rode the Jurassic Park rides, Transformers, Mummy's Revenge and ended the day with the Universal Studio tour.  That was my favorite!  We had In n Out burgers for dinner and Eliza was our expert on that.  Back at the hotel, the girls swam in the pool and we watched a movie and were crashed asleep by 11:00.

On Friday we had a yummy breakfast at the hotel, then headed for the beach.  It was Evalie's first time at the ocean.  We started at the Santa Monica pier and loved the fun vibe.  Everyone got in the ocean, especially Tony.  We had a picnic in the park and played, "Whose Dad is most likely to..." and lots of stories of the girl's dads growing up.  We found a yummy icecream shop and then spent some time burying ourselves in sand and walking the beach.  Late afternoon it was time to head to the airport.  The girls were tired and sunburned and happy.  We got them Panda Express and sent them off!  

Compared to last year's Spring Break trip from Hell in Florida with our boys, this trip was a dream.