California/Disneyland

The Drive
Our family was able to have our first really big vacation (it should really be called a trip, because a vacation implies it's relaxing). We left on a Tuesday, after Mike was done with work. He came home and quickly ate and we left. We planned to stay the night at my parents house in St. George. Mike's sister Helene and her family came with us and my parents were nice enough to let them stay at their house as well. We got there late (obviously). We brought the kids in and put them to bed. Helene and Andrew were not far behind us, but my kids didn't come out of their room (to come see and play with cousins), so that was nice, they got some rest. Helene and Andrew struggled that night with their youngest, Daniel. He did not want to sleep (he cried and they felt bad for keeping the rest of us up). So, Andrew took Daniel out to the van and stayed their with him till 5:00 a.m. They had a rough start to their vacation.

We got up and out of the house at about 9:30 Wednesday morning. We fueled up our vehicles and made a quick stop at Walmart and headed out. We stopped in Primm, NV and made lunch. Between lunch, bathroom, and a shopping trip so that Andrew could get shorts, we stayed about an hour and a half. The travel wasn't bad and we made it into California. In Primm we did a kid swap and we had the girls and they had the boys. It went really well. It was funny to see the two girls competing for the conversation. When we got into populated area's they closed down a part of the freeway we were on. We had to use a Andrew's computer to get to our hotel.

The Beach
Once at the hotel we got ready for the beach. Helene thought her kids weren't going to get in the ocean and wasn't planning on taking her kids swim suits. I took some for my kids but not for me, and Mike forgot his (when we went to the beach). The water was cold, but the kids had a great time (all of the children played in the water). Both Ashton and Gavin got in the water and got their clothes wet before we got them in their swim suits. But it was fine.

My kids had never been to the ocean and loved it.



Mike and Ashton had a sand war

Emma and Brynn playing

The funniest part was that the boys got super cold - even before the girls and cried to go back to the vehicles.
The boys freezing

Disney Land
Thursday was our first day in the park. We really enjoyed it. We spent the day in Disneyland, and although there were a few issues (we wont' discuss the Finding Nemo incident), we had a good day. We went on Splash Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Big Thunder Railroad (Emma didn't), Matterhorn, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones (none of the kids could do that), Carousel, Buzz Light Year, Go Go Gadget Coaster, Roger Rabbit Ride, Mickey Mouse's House (where Brynn was lost), Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and more. We were trying to leave the park during the fireworks, bad choice. And right at the end of the night, our stroller broke. So much for making the fix (Mike tried to repair it before the vacation).

Mike pack'n Emma (we packed the kids a lot

Seeing Mickey (us and Gavin)

Pulling the Sword out of the Stone

California Adventure
Friday we spent the day in California Adventure. Friday was hotter than Thursday and definitely more busy. Our first stop was Playhouse Disney. I thought it was great and the kids liked it. Next we got fast passes for Soar'n and then headed into the Bug's Land area for all of the kids rides. Once done with those, we headed for Soar'n only to find out that Emma couldn't go (she was too small, if they we're serious about checking, she was about 1 inch too short). Helene, Daniel, Emma, and I ended up doing lunch while waiting for the rest to get done. Next we made our way to the far end of the park to do the Ferris Wheel but the wait was 40 minutes - Yuck. We went on the Carousel, and let Mike and Andrew do Scream'n the roller coaster.

Kids at Playhouse Disney

Ridding Flick's Invention


Kids on the Carousel

Emma wet after playing in Bug Land

Ashton too

Emma hugging Jasmine (the only princess we saw)

We left the park early that night to do dinner and swim in the hotel swim pool. The kids had fun, Andrew and I took them to the pool. The hot tub wasn't working, but the kids had a great time swimming.

Parks and Birthday Fun
Saturday was our last day at the parks, and Gavin's Birthday. We decided we would do the kids stuff that day. So, we first did Autotopia because Gavin wanted to. Ashton wanted to do Pirates (we did that later in the afternoon), Emma really wanted to do Dumbo, so our next stop was Fantasyland. We spent hours doing all of the kids rides, including Dumbo, Peter Pan, Tea Cups, and Pinocchio. We did the Haunted House again, took the train around the park, and did the Carousel again. We then meet Helene and Andrew in California Adventure, let the kids get wet (it was 96 degrees that day), did the Bugs Life 3D movie. Then, we had a birthday party for Gavin. Helene and Andrew had bought a cake for him the night before and brought it into the park. The kids thought it was great. It was a fun place to celebrate his birthday and have a party.
Mike & Emma on Dumbo

Me taking a picture of Ashton & I on Dumbo

Ashton & Emma in front of Hooper

Gavin's Birthday Party

We left the park around 6:00 and went to buy the kids gifts. My rule was that they could buy two things (one around $20-25 and the other closer to $5-10). Emma bought a Tea Set and an Aurora Doll that her skirt lights up and spins. Ashton bought a Star Wars Gun and a Pirates Sword. I felt bad for Ashton because we were told that everything in the park was sold outside too, but their Star Wars section left little to be desired. Ashton was happy with what he got, but I think he would have choose something different if given the choice. Next we went to find a place to have dinner. We ate dinner at the Carl's Jr. and it was great not to pay more than $20 for a meal. After we were done eating, Mike took me to my hotel, while Helene and Andrew got all the kids in their PJ's. Then they hit the road, all set to start the drive home that night. They ended up having to drive to Mesquite because Primm was all sold out. The next day Mike drove the kids to Price to stay with his parents.

Post Park Stuff
My conference was good. I didn't do much, but I saw a few good presentations, so that was nice. Mike drove home on Sunday night and spent the next several days working. Mike's parents were nice enough to drive my kids up on Wednesday (saving me the trip of driving to Price at about 6:00 that night). We did a quick dinner at JCW's with them and sent them home.