Sunday morning we got up, dressed in our church clothes and headed out hoping to find a sacrament meeting we could attend on our way. We pulled into the first church in Saint Goerge to find it had started 45 minutes earlier. We were told we could attend a spanish branch in another 45 minutes. Didn't think that would work so well. We hit the road and thought maybe we could find a meeting in Las Vegas. We hit trafic and got there too late. Anyway, we just couldn't seem to be in the right place at the right time to attend church. Kade suggested that we all bear our testimonies, keep driving and call that good. Chris and I about fell off of our seats to hear Kade volunteer to bear his testimony!! We thought his idea sounded wonderful, so that is what we did. I think it actually turned out better than attending church. It is a memory and we got a chance to discuss some things with the kids while they were all trapped in a moving vehicle and had to listen to us!! It was actually an accidental hightlight of our trip!!
We arrived in California about 4:30pm and found the rental house that we were staying in with Bill and Marci and their family. It was a great house that accomodated us so comfortably!! We will be forever indebted to Bill and Marci for letting us stay with them. It was so fun.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday we went to Disneyland. The crowds were crazy (I would never recommend Christmas break) but I do not regret going at that time. We saw things that we could have only seen during Christmas time and it was such a fun Christmas surprise for the kids. And soooo heavenly to leave Utah weather and escape to sunny California!!
This is the first ride we went on the very first day we got there. Brinley was a little nervous about the whole thing. As you can see, she loves her Uncle Bill. 
Brinley and Chris on the flying mushrooms!! She got braver as we went. We took her on splash mountain the first day and she wasn't sure she liked that much. By the end of the trip it was her favorite ride! She got very brave!
This was probably the highlight of this day. Wednesday rained the ENTIRE day, and it was extremely crowded. Bill bought us hot chocolate that tasted absolutely divine! It was definately my least favorite day of our vacation, but we still managed to have a good time. This was the day we saw the Aladdin musical, rode the tower of terror for the first time (I thought I was going to die) and did everything we possibly could inside of buildings!!
We have arrived at a different stage as a family to vacation at Disneyland. Kylee and Emilee went with their cousins Karl and Alecia on their own!!! Of course, with cell phones we can know in an instant where they are and what they are doing. They quite enjoyed being able to do "big kid" rides instead of having to take turns doing what Kade, Quincy and Brinley wanted.
It really was fun to be in Disneyland during the Christmas holiday season. The park was all decked out in Christmas decor and the music playing in Disneyland was a mix of disney songs and christmas songs. If all of China, Japan, and the United Stated didn't vacation there for Christmas, it would be the ideal time to go!!!
On Tuesday we went to Sea World. It was fun. We all stayed together this day!! 
Quincy and Brinley touching starfish at Sea World!!
Thursday we went to Universal Studios. They also had some different things for Christmas. Here is who-ville and the Grinch!! The first ride we went on at Universal was the Simpsons ride. We took Brinley and she absolutely hated it. She screamed through the whole thing and for quite awhile after we were done! Hopefully it gave her a bad taste for the Simpsons!! What a dumb show. The ride wasn't a whole lot better. We should have known.
At Universal Studios they have a place where there are a million balls that you vaccum up, shoot out of guns, etc. My kids love this place. They could spend the day there. It is incredibly loud but they love it.
Saturday we headed for the beach. We went to Crystal Cove at Newport Beach. It was absolutely wonderful. The perfect way to end our vacation. Quincy collected many sea shells and then we found out that it is against the law to take them home with you. She settled for lining them up and having her picture taken with them!
When the tide went down, tide pools formed. They were awesome. We all spent hours finding sea creatures. We even saw several star fish. They don't look anything like the ones in the aquariums!!
The older kids and Dad's surfed the waves!! The natives thought we were crazy to be in our swimming suites out in the water. Us Utahns are used to snow this time of year, we can't pass up a beach with the ocean on a 70 degree day!! It was a great trip. We drove 12 hours home on Sunday! Not our favorite part of the trip, but we made it!! We love a good trip to Disneyland!!
1 comment:
We had such a great time with your family. It was a lot of fun and it was good for the cousins to get a chance to "hang out" in California. Thanks for the invitation and the chance to "hang out" with you adults as well!
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