California Vacay!

The California/Disney vacation is one of my favorites!  We've been counting down the days for over a year....seriously. The weather was HOT, but we weren't about to complain about that!  We stopped in St. George for the night, then stopped in Vegas on the way so the kids could walk around Caesar's Palace and drive down the amazing Strip.  The car ride actually wasn't too bad.  We found a cool ward to go to on Sunday, then walked around the beautiful San Diego Temple, then went to Old Town San Diego to check out the Mormon Battalion tour.  It was awesome!  So fun for the kids.

We had a relaxing day at the pool and had a birthday party for Dreya the next day.  (Tammy and BRAND NEW baby Decker stayed home).  

The next day was DISNEYLAND!  Some of our favorite rides were closed for refurb :(  Pirates, Small World, Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones, Ariel, Nemo and a few more.  We still managed to have a great time!  It was a little tricky with Calvin, but my parents were always willing to sit with him if there was no other option.  Nixon and Daniel rode the Buzz Lightyear ride ALOT (no line, perfect for littles) while we were on Space Mountain, Star tours, etc.  Cam did NOT enjoy Splash Mountain and screamed the whole time (see pic).  We went to California Adventure the next time and enjoyed every moment until we couldn't walk anymore. Kendyl even rode the Tower of Terror...she was probably a bit young :)  Cars Land, and the Radiator Springs Ride, was our ULTIMATE fave!  Especially when we got to race Holly and Clark's car at the end.  Nixon was especially cute when he couldn't stop waving to Minnie Mouse from outside her house, "HI MINNIE!!!!"  over and over.  My heart melted and I was glad she waved back at him.  He did the same thing when he saw Mater in the Pixar parade...couldn't stop waving and helloing :)  I can't wait to go back in a few years when Calvin is bigger!

We had a couple beach days but my favorite was when we drove to La Jolla beach on our last day.  It was perfect weather, perfect beach and we had a blast.  Even stopped at VG's donut shop on the way and had some amazing donuts.  We were also able to leave the kids at World Mark with Mom and Dad while we went to dinner and icecream with Quinton and Tiff.  Wish they lived closer!

It was so awesome to be able to take the kids on an amazing trip and we're so grateful to my parents for making it possible.  We missed Scott's family and Tammy and Decker, but we enjoyed the company that was there.  Who knows how much longer this tradition can continue, but I hope we can keep it going for a long time!

When I had everyone line up for a picture and a wave took them out :)  whoops.