Universal Studios Hollywood - Take 1

Today we spent the day at Universal Studios Hollywood!  We started the day in Hogsmeade - a town from the books Harry Potter that was recreated.  The Hogwarts school looks very cool!

We rode a couple of rides, visited Olivander's wand shop and the kids picked wands.  

Then we got the kids some frozen butterbeer.  And we had to visit Hogwarts Express!  The conductors were a lot of fun!

After lunch we went to the Water World show and then we hopped on the studio tour.  We had an amazing view of the City!  

If you haven't see it, the faux buildings and tricks they use are very interesting to see up close!  

Then we went past a bunch of the "picture cars".  

And went through some of the sets from Jurassic Park.  And yes, I didn't get all of the dinosaur!  Oops!

And here is the set they can use for filming a flash flood.  

The rain has started from the sprinklers before the flood hits.  

We then went past the western sets.

More town sets.  

Then the set they use for earthquakes!  Of course I only got photos before the massive earthquake...  This I kind of remember from visiting as a kid... kind of...

And the one thing I remembered more was how Jaws scared me.  It is funny looking back on it now but I also understand how I would have been scared of this as a kid!  

Then we went past the set from the War of the Worlds.  

 

We then went down to the lower lot and checked out the Transformer area and ride.  And we watched the characters talking with visitors which was cool!

We then went back to Hogsmeade for another trip on the Harry Potter ride.  It broke down a couple times but thankfully we didn't have to be rescued!  

We then went to the City Walk for dinner.  They had this cool setup for photos but I didn't quite look like what we were expecting but still a cool photo.  

And Anna and I wanted to pose with these beautiful wings!

On the drive back to the rental house we saw the beautiful strawberry moon.  It was big and slightly pink colored.  This photo does not even come close to what it was really like!

We made it!

Vacation day 1 - we made it to our vacation rental.  There were a few hiccups checking in (note - don't rely solely on a smart lock because if the batteries go bad...well it isn't good).  But we made the best of it since we still had access to the pool and Matt got a bit light headed by blowing up an inflatable that Anna had gotten but had been unable to use.  A giant pineapple!  

 

Last day of school after a really big year!

The end of the school year marks the end to a chapter in the kids schooling but also an exciting start to their next one!  Anna has wrapped up middle school and will be starting high school in the fall and Mason and Olivier will be starting middle school!  Wow!  

Last night they had the 8th grade dance and Anna got dressed up and enjoyed the 80's themed dance with her friends!

She had a half day today so we picked her up and headed off to the elementary school promotion ceremony.  We got to hear the band play before the ceremony.  

They then called the kids up and they said a little something about school.  Mason was first alphabetically.  

Then Olivier went.

The teachers also shared the Three Bears song that they sang when they were in 1st grade.  Very sweet!  

Here is Mason's:

And Olivier's:

So fun to see their personalities even at that age.  

And since two of Anna's 6th grade teachers still teach 6th grade I asked them for a photo with Anna since we didn't get to do that two years ago!  We are lucky to have had such a wonderful group of teachers!

We came home to a decorated house and gifts!  So excited to see what the future has in store!