Beating the Desert Heat

Although we did several fun activities in Arizona, the highlight for our kiddos (and probably their parents) was spending a lot of time in Uncle Ken and Aunt Marge's pool. With afternoon temps around 105 each day in Tuscon, nothing felt better than spending some time in the pool!

Wild Wild West

You can't take your kids to Tuscon without introducing them to the Wild West, so we spent one afternoon showing them the sights at Trail Dust Town. Highlights included checking out stage coaches with cousin Jackson, introducing Lexi to a real cowboy, and transforming Conner into one. An unexpected perk was the opportunity to lock up Conner and Lexi for a little while when they became unruly towards the end of the day!

On Wednesday, we hopped a short flight from LA to Tuscon to spend some time with even more of the Ahlstrand fam. Steve's brother Ken & sister Kris both live there, as do all of their children and their families. We got to see all of them several times, including Grandma Alice, who got to see Lexi for a second time and meet Conner for the first time. 

Hollywood Penthouse

We were fortunate to stay at a couple of really nice hotels in CA, including a Radisson in Newport Beach.  We're not sure which aspect Conner enjoyed more... the fact it was just a couple miles from the beach... or the fact it had Sleep Number beds which Conner thought were telephones.

Final Day in SoCal

During our final afternoon in California, we toured the golf course at which DJ is a superintendent, and then got some dinner with all the Ahlstrand clan afterwards. We weren't sure the activity would be the most kid-friendly of our trip, but Lexi and Conner loved playing on the greens, and loved riding around in the golf carts even more!

Newport Beach Day

Disneyland

We decided since we were in LA, we might as well take the kids to Disneyland, since they loved Disney World so much. We were right...they had a blast. We had a little longer lines, but Lexi did great waiting her turn and walking along. It helped that she could watch her cousin's behavior in line. Conner was the most entertained with popcorn, so we let him have as much as he wanted. Both kids seemed to love the rides and parade. Laura even got to ride the majority of the rides, as they were pretty tame and didn't have pregnancy restrictions. She just had to miss out on the big kid rides. We had perfect weather, and was at the park for 12 hours, so the kids were troopers!

Sunday Afternoon at Angels Stadium

The day after the wedding, we drove down to Anaheim and caught a Sunday matinee between the Angels and Rangers. The kids started the game full of energy, but after a couple hours in the heat, neither the excitement of a Nelson Cruz 484-foot homer nor the sugar-high of an endless supply of cotton candy could keep them awake. Both kids saw enough to know the visiting Rangers were going to get the victory, but both tuckered out in bottom of the 8th before seeing the game's final pitch.