California Trip

We just returned from a 9 day trip to California, and had a blast! We crammed as much as we could into those 9 days; Sea World, San Diego Zoo, 3 days at Disneyland/California Adventure, Six Flags for the boys and a swap meet for the girls, Pool time, Beach time, San Diego Temple and Breakfast Buffet in Las Vegas. And we did most of it with 3 infants and 2 toddlers in tow! It seems as though once we arrived in the parks, nothing could be accomplished without visiting the restrooms, getting sunscreen lathered on, and feeding babies. Half and hour to an hour later, we were all set to go! There are way too many pictures and stories to be able to include all of them, so I thought I would share some memorable moments from the trip in no particular order.

#1 The Bus ride at the San Diego Zoo. Treagan started to cry at the beginning of the tour which caused an irrational reaction from a lady sitting nearby. Riley then decided to have a major blowout turning one leg of her purple pants an entirely different color. She was screaming, yet there we were trapped on the top level of a double decker tour bus until the end of the tour. I can see the humor in it now, but at the time it was more difficult to do so!

#2 Watching Parker and Mckinley dance to the music of the first parade. Parker kept immitating what two older girls were doing. When they would do a cartwheel, he created his own version of a cartwheel which consisted of putting both hands on the ground, lifting one leg up and holding that position.

#3 Parker getting to meet some of the Disney characters. He was only 6 months old the first time we took him to Disneyland, and we didn't get a single picture of him with any characters. He was so excited when we got to Lightening McQueen and Mater that he kept cutting in line and just walking straight towards them. I had to run and pull him back into line several times. He was intimidated by Buzz and Mickey, seemed fascinated by Goofy, and ran right up to Minnie with arms wide open.

#4 Being able to do a session in the San Diego Temple. Although the outside was under construction, the Temple was still open, and absolutely beautiful. We were lucky enough to have wonderful family members help us out and watch the kids so that we could get away for a few hours.

Overall, it was an awesome trip! I am so sad that it is over with because now there is so much to get done before our move.