Time Off for Good Behavior

So behind on my blog reading, but if I don't write something (anything) I am going to feel like a rat in a cage and probably start chewing on my own leg.

Well, hello! How are you?

The Blah Blah family has been (and continues to be) on vacation this week. It is Viva's Spring Break from school, and we drove down to Carlsbad, CA on Monday afternoon so as to be up with the dawn on Tuesday morning for the real purpose of our visit: to wit, LEGOLAND. (I write it in all caps because I think it is actually trademarked that way, not because I want to scream it with enthusiasm.)

At any rate, were I a bit more together, I would actually upload some photos of our visit to LEGOLAND, but given that it is Day Four of our vacation week, I think I am lucky to even remember how to type my own name. Nonetheless, I have to say, Mama and Daddy Blah Blah went in with very low expectations for our trip, and we were pleasantly surprised. We found a very family-friendly hotel right on the beach (without a reservation), two exits away from LEGOLAND, and since we had brought Viva's new bike with us, we were able to ride on the beach before the sun went down, and we were able to walk to a local pizzeria afterward, pick up a large pie, and gorge ourselves like little piggies in our hotel room before putting Viva to bed. The only down sides were (a) the excessive garlic on the pizza and (b) trying to get a 3-year-old to sleep between us in a king-sized bed the night before her first ever visit to LEGOLAND.

Oh, LEGOLAND -- how to describe the experience? We literally rode planes, trains, and automobiles all in one day -- oh, and helicopters. Oh, and a boat ride. Viva was giddy with exhaustion, thrilled with everything, and completely breaking down by mid-afternoon, when we packed her back in the car and she slept all the way back to L.A.

So, Wednesday. The Blah Blah family gets up, consumes some sort of cobbled-together breakfast, and goes to Travel Town Museum. Please note: when a museum offers free admission, it probably means you aren't going to be there very long. I think we were there for less than half an hour. The main attractions at Travel Town are the old locomotives, which you are supposed to be able to go inside and look at, and the train ride. We were only able to get inside one car of one of the old locomotives -- the rest of the train was off-limits. I guess you are supposed to just look at the exteriors of the trains and be happy in some sort of dimwitted way, but I thought the purpose of the museum was for kids to be able to explore the damn trains inside and out. Well, it matters not -- Viva was pleased as punch with the train ride, and I have to give a shout out to Howard, the engineer, a sweet old guy who really seems to enjoy his job. From there, we went to Shane's Inspiration to run around and play. Sweet William tried to teach Viva how to fly a kite, but the wind kept giving out. Nonetheless, a fun time was had by all.

I have to say, I am thoroughly pleased with our vacation thus far. We are all just enjoying each other, and it's been great. Viva has had a few ugly moments, but for the most part, she has been happy, sweet and affectionate. It's been nice to hang out with one another for an extended period of time.

And that's all she wrote. Viva is up from her nap with a vengeance!