the bargeron explorers // 4 days in & around Anaheim.

 After spending two glorious days in San Diego, we continued our tour through California and settled in for the next 4 days in...

Anaheim & Los Angeles!

This particular day was extra special because it was our 13th wedding anniversary! It felt so special to spend our day making memories one of the most fun adventures of our lives, and we loved being able to celebrate with our kiddos. We always heard the same phrase over and over again when we first go married: "You better do it now, because you won't be able to do it after you have kids." Instead of accepting that as a fact, we accepted it as a reverse challenge. See as much of the world with our children, even while they are young? Yes please! Celebrating our anniversary while across the country with our kiddos is proof of our values, and that makes me proud. The best part: being together at the happiest place on Earth!

We ate a final breakfast and loaded up our rental car in San Diego, and then drove two hours north. This was our second stop during our two-week adventure, and we were really excited about the things we had on our agenda while there. We drove straight to our first two Anaheim must-dos upon arrival:

First, we visited the Anaheim Angels stadium and team store. Our baseball-loving family was excited about this, especially the two boys. I went to a game here back in 2010, and it felt surreal to be back again years later with my own family.

Second, we introduced the kids to the the best burger place there is: In-n-Out! We all got burgers, fries, and a drink, and it was delightful. The kiddos were instant big fans, and TJ and I were downright giddy to experience it again after so long. Fun fact: this was the first place I took TJ after he landed when he visited me in 2010. So fun!

The next thing we did was actually the thing that we spent the next two full days doing, as well...

DISNEYLAND!

We spent a total of 2.5 days between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
Oh, what fun!

Truthfully, it wasn't all fun, because the littlest boy got hit with a fast and furious stomach virus while we were waiting in line for the Snow White ride at Disneyland only a little bit after we entered the park. TJ went back to the hotel with him, and the girls spent the rest of the day trying to make the best of our time without our other halves. We still had fun, and we rode so many rides. We saw lots of characters out and about, too!

The next day, Bethany and I had another girls day while the boys hung back at the hotel with a still-sick kiddo. We lived out best Disneyland lives, and we were happy when TJ and Braxton joined us for about an hour. Our reunion didn't last long, but we were grateful to at least be in the same place at the same time for that hour. Our hotel was the Hyatt House Anaheim, which was only about a mile walk to and from the parks, so it made for easy coming and going (especially if you snagged an Uber). We would stay again here in a heartbeat!

Battling and recovering from sickness wasn't on our agenda for this trip, of course, but we made the most of it. Braxton felt puny and awful, and TJ felt sad to be missing out on the fun, but this little hiccup gave us grown ups an opportunity to serve each of our kiddos in ways that were unique to their needs at the time. I felt extra grateful to be married to a good man on these divide-and-conquer days, even though we would have rather been together. <3

Thankfully, after two days of rest, Braxton felt much better and stronger, and we were able to all experience another park together...

DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!

Long story short: we were all OBSESSED with this park. The vibes were amazing, and we seriously had one of the best days of our lives while here! Every area of DCA felt like it's own little world, which was so cool. Cars Land literally made us feel like we were characters in Cars, Avengers land literally made us feel like we were Avengers, and so on. The Pixar Pier was especially fabulous, and the World of Color made me cry. I think everyone should experience all that DCA has to offer at least once in their life -- it was THAT good. As bold as this statement may be, we all agreed that it's a strong contender for our all-time favorite Disney park!

One our last full day in Anaheim, we roadtripped through Los Angeles!

Our first stop was the Hollywood sign at the Mulholland View Point where you can see the Hollywood sign and downtown LA off in the distance. We weren't here long, but it was the perfect beginning to our tourist-tastic day!

Next up, we drove to Hollywood Boulevard to see the Walk of Fame.

From there, we went into Beverly Hills & walked along Rodeo Drive (baby).

And to round out our big day in LA, we went to the Santa Monica Pier.

This whole day was very nostalgic for me, because I spent a wonderful summer driving these iconic streets and making the most of all those glorious months gave me. As nostalgic as it was, it was, also, the most frustrating day we had. After big days in San Diego and at Disney and being sick, our kids were tired and grumpy this day. We had been going, going, going for a week at this point, so it definitely wasn't unexpected; but it was hard for all of us for various reasons. It was still a fun day, but the pictures don't tell the whole story so I wanted to make sure to fill in gaps. Family travel isn't immune to big emotions; no, we bring them with us no matter where you go. But it's worth it when you love who you're with and you're excited about where you are.

We felt like we spent just the right amount of time to do what we wanted to do for this leg of the trip, although it would have been nice to explore more of the beaches before leaving. Experiencing these fun things together as a family in Anaheim and Los Angeles was incredible, and I hope we get to do it again one day.

After those four days, it was time to pack up for an early flight to our final stop of our grand California expedition! Stay tuned for where we headed next.