We are leaving Sunday for a trip to Southern CA - Mike and I are sucking it up and doing the "theme park" thing - not our idea of a "vacation" but the kids are SOOOO excited! We are doing a day at Legoland (before the boys outgrow this interest!) and 2 days @ Disneyland/CA Adventure...we came in under-budget for Wyoming so we decided to work it in - it is the tail-end of Disney's 50th anniversary celebration....we are staying in a cheap off-site motel - but one w/a fridge so we hope to avoid most of the amusement park food (generally crap, and tough for GF!) I've heard you can bring in a reasonable amount of snacks/water without catching much grief - so that is the plan. My oldest lives for thrill/roller coaster rides, and my middle is Lego-obsessed! Elyse is at just the right age to appreciate the *magic* part of Disneyland, and in the past few months has become quite a "princess" fan! Mike and I, on the other hand, get annoyed by crowds and pushy tourists - so we'll see how it goes

I am actually looking forward to some of the shows (fireworks etc.) that are supposed to be spectacular, as well as "It's a Small World", which was out of service when we went 5 years ago...we figured if it's another 5 years before we go again, the older 2 will be teenagers, and not into "hanging out with mom and dad" so much on a traditional family vacation. I'll pack tylenol for myself, and hope they sell beer in the park, as Mike will need one at the end of a hot, crowded day!
We do hope to get a brief visit with my brother and some college friends on the way down and again coming home, so that will be fun!
I got lucky with my gut behaving on my last trip - I sure hope it holds out

What would be worse than D at a theme park!?!?
Mary