Day 8: Are We Going to Cars Land Today Mom?

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A day of rest before heading to Disney was on the plate today, so we spent the morning at a great museum that was recommended to us, the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, California.

Our family really loves science museums and this one was fantastic.  We really enjoy a museum that has a ton of hands-on exhibits as it keeps us engaged and learning in a fun way.  This museum had some cool things - like feeling the magnitude of an earthquake in the Shake Shack.  We felt how big the Anchorage, AK earthquake in 1964 was - that was pretty cool as we actually had family members survive that one!

We really enjoyed the Science of Hockey exhibit where we learned that having a puck fly at your face as a goalie is a pretty frightening job.  Neither of the big kids want to play hockey now....

One of our favorite exhibits was the Discovery Market.  You grab an interactive shopping cart and take it around the market while learning how to shop eco-friendly.

And the exhibits kept getting better! We finished with the Dino Quest, a fun scavenger hunt with a wand around the dino yard.  The Discovery Science Center was great - I would love to have one close by us that is this well done - a family pass was totally reasonable and with interchanging exhibits, I could see us coming multiple times a year.

After checking into our home for the next few nights at the Ayres Hotel Anaheim, we relaxed for a few hours and did some laundry (glamorous, I know).  I was thrilled to see this comfy bed, as I know first hand how tired and achy you are after a long day at a Disney Park.

Life of a road tripper - laundry in the hotel.  Thought it would be nice to pay it forward to fellow road trippers by leaving some quarters and laundry detergent when we were finished.  I haven't posted that many examples of how we are doing Paying it Forward on the road, but the kids are really getting in to it - picking up trash, holding doors, letting someone else have our table in the busy restaurant - even the 4 year old is noticing things to do!

Lastly, we couldn't hold back any longer and had to pop over to Disney for dinner at Downtown Disney.  The excitement is in the air - you can't help but have a big smile on your face as you see all the Disney shops and memorabilia!

Our little guy spotted this right away and asked, "Are we at Cars Land now?  Is this it?" Don't quite know how we will get him to wait until Tuesday to go to California Adventure, where Cars Land is.....

And one last thing we did this evening while at Downtown Disney.  Have y'all heard of Ridemakerz yet??  It was a really cool store to build your own remote control car - think Build A Bear but for boys! And of course we were lulled into making some new cars - but honestly, I haven't seen a bigger smile on my 10 year olds face.  He thought it was the coolest thing.  At that point, I didn't care about the price - it was such a fun experience to see him build his own car.  Fun times at Downtown Disney!

And now, we are all tucked away in our beds - busy day tomorrow as we tackle Disneyland!