Our Christmas/Spring Vacation.... California 2011

We decided this past Christmas to ask Santa if we could take a trip to CA at Spring break time & save our $ to help finish paying for the trip... as we almost had enough from saving up to that point.

Well we made the trip! Many have asked what did the kids like best about your trip & they really haven't said - so I posed the question tonight at the beginning of Family Home Evening that by the end we would all report on our favorite thing we loved most about our vacation... anything!! Well that is what I got!! Before I forget (& since I still don't have all the photos organized yet) I will post those comments here:

Brady - Loved the 2 days at Disneyland/California Adventure park & his favorite rides were: Jungle Safari, the Swings, driving the cars. (He did not like the elevator ride!! Tower of Terror!! LOL)

Madison - Said just being with her family. But if she had to choose an activity - she enjoyed Disneyland the best.

Tyler - Couldn't tell us anything he liked. (Deep down I think he enjoyed almost anything that wasn't in the dark & unknown.) As if he didn't know what to expect or what would happen he hated it - so Space mountain, Tower of Terror, & the Matterhorn - we not on the top of the list as something he will ever try again. He didn't care so much for the Wild Rapids at Sea World as it made him (& everyone so uncomfortable to be so wet after we were done & we all got really cold.) He did do almost every ride - except the BIG Roller coaster at California adventures after going on a roller coaster that had a hidden loop/upside down - he wasn't up for that anymore. But was quite a trooper to try everything else, at least once!

Garrett - Only really enjoyed the plane ride to & from Vacation. (I think if he'd thought deeper about it he really enjoyed flying over California at the California Adventure park too... as it was a pretty cool flying simulation ride.) But for the most of it - Garrett commented several times that instead of wasting time standing in line to see a show or ride a ride - he much rather would have sat in the hotel room watching it on YouTube. {Hence my comment: Take your children to Disneyland between the ages of 6-11. Before that they are miserable & won't remember & after that - they complain & have lost the magic & imagination of what Disney stood for.)

Dave - Absolutely loved the Roger Rabbit Ride at toon town!! As it was the biggest waste of his time & life ever spent. Little did I know, when I suggested it was the only ride for all members of our family & we should try it at Toontown before it closed (as ALL of Disneyland was so PACKED we had to wait for every ride!) But this one was miserable.. what looked like a 20-30 minute wait probably ended up being 170 minutes!! In the dark, dreary hallways winding inside the musty building.... all for a 2-3 minute ride that was of course very, very basic/child like. SO DAVE HATED THAT RIDE - but everyone was quite the troopers to have hung out for that long... probably the longest we waited & SO NOT WORTH IT!! Really his favorite ride he claims that will always be his favorite is "It's a small world." (The teens made fun of the ride the whole time & it was disheartening... but we enjoyed it & relived wonderful childhood memories of visiting it in our past!) But OUT OF The whole vacation - he said the Mormon Battalion Museum was his Favorite!!

Myself - I loved watching each of my kids smile at different times during the trip. No matter how much they'd argue or tease each other - there were special times just watching them chase each other on the beach, or bury each other in the sand, make a joke at dinner, laugh uncontrollably after a scary or wild ride, talk over & over about how awesome a ride was that they loved, etc.... for the most of it - I too, just loved getting away & showing my children the ocean & being able to take them back to a time in my childhood that had such magical memories for me - sad it didn't come across that way for the older 2. But Madi & Brady loved watching the animals at Sea World & seeing the "Magic" at Disneyland.

It most likely will never happen again & I realized that, so I made sure to take lots of photos. (Which I will post soon) I hope to make an album that we can all look back on & remember what a great trip it really was for many years to come. I am grateful for the opportunity we had to do it & for the time we spent together (even when many were grumpy, Madi got really sick, & sometimes conditions were miserable.... we did it!)

Our Schedule of what we did & where we went (I'll try to post more memories later.)

Friday night after Dave got home from work & the kids were home from School - We drove to SLC & stayed the night in a hotel that cost $20 more than Park n'fly (We were able to stay the night in a family suite with enough room for all to sleep, were safe in case of a huge snow storm so we didn't miss our flight, & continental breakfast was provided - then if you stayed one night they allowed 10 days free parking & free shuttle to & from the airport for us!! So that was a no brainer!)

Saturday - woke up & ate a great & full breakfast. Flew out at 11ish & arrived in CA around 1ish. Got our rental van (kids loved it, it was a pretty red, but no different really from our van! LOL) Went to our Hotel - it wasn't ready for us. So we went to get groceries (as we got a suite w/kitchen so we could cook some meals & save $.) Had lunch at a little place that was fun. Then we chose not to get groceries till we had our luggage & the kids unloaded. So we used the GPS & toured around San Diego to see the sights we'd see that week that I had already plugged into the GPS. That was awesome!! We saw so much more than we would have trying to find stuff on a map. (Plus I used google earth/maps before we went & had already scouted out so much of where to turn, what was available, etc. So we drove to the San Diego temple, out past a couple beaches, then back to our hotel. (Every day in San Diego - it was overcast & light sprinkles in the morning. The sun would peak out around noon for 2-3 hours & then it would be drizzly & gray again.)

We got checked in & all unloaded, then I headed off to get groceries & food to have a picnic at the beach for the evening! (This hotel was suite - as it was like a mini apartment - 2 room, 2 bath, 3 tvs (the boys liked), kitchen, eating area, & family room.) So after I got back it was getting dark - but we still ran to Mission beach & let the kids play in the sand, collect shells, & ate. Then the kids played at the playground & played a good game of tag.... Luckily nobody was terribly injured as it was pretty dark & we had a few crashes!!

Sunday - Got up & went to church. To keep this short - I was appalled at the non-hospitality on the West Coast!! Let alone at church! There were about 50 in attendance in Sacrament meeting & out of those we & 1 other family visiting from UT was there & 6 Missionaries!! (Dang we have 2 that cover 2 hours worth of land!)

Then to have lessons on Missionary work & none of them "got it"... We walked down the hall to start to find our classes & out of all the people in the ward - the bishop put his arm around his wife's back & they both looked past us & walked all the way down the hall towards us, never blinking, acknowledging, or saying a word & walked right on past. I then found what looked to be the Primary room... stood inside the room (no children really sitting down & adults all standing around visiting) for 15 minutes before anyone even acknowledge we were alive. I have to say it is the one person I 2nd guessed in Sacrament meeting all due to the Tattoos she had covering her arms... she was the ONLY PERSON who ever said hi or helped us to find classes for our kids! By far the friendliest in the whole building. (My heart was breaking as to how unfriendly the people were! I did want to leave & it made me realize what investigators or non-members must think & feel when they don't feel welcomed! Especially on uncharted territory.) Then Dave feeling the same after trying to find a Sunday school class for the older 2... we decided to buck it up & get to Sunday school... how odd it was. So many times I wanted to comment - but they seemed so out in left field on how they were thinking & what they were saying. The Lesson was on Repentance & forgiveness & some of their thoughts were quite contradictory to what I have learned & how I feel.... BUT OH WELL!! Then for RS... I was about shocked when a sister approached me after another 15 minutes from behind & tapped me on the shoulder - Low & behold it was a senior sister missionary - Guess what: she was from American Fork!! She hadn't lost her friendliness & we visited for quite a while. Then she invited us to attend the museum that evening while they worked - which was already on our list of things to do!!! SO in the end - the building was absolutely beautiful!! (Would be beautiful for taking bridal photos or wedding photos there.) But the members were not much to be desired!!! UGH

So after church - we ran home to eat lunch. Then we set out to visit the San Diego Temple Grounds. What a Great experience & got to visit with a gentleman, & for his calling he stands on the grounds visiting with everyone & teaching them about the temple. We got to welcome & visit with a family from India & welcome them to the temple & introduce them to this Man who visited with them more. It was fun to see people so excited about coming to the Temple grounds & wanting to go in... I hope that the desire burns enough for long enough that they will take the steps to actually do it!!! What a beautiful Temple!!

After the temple & many photos there we ran over to the Mormon Battalion Museum... which I'd have to say is one of my most favorite Church Museums by far!! We were so lucky to have our GR Elders over one night & were visiting about our upcoming vacation & they both happen to be from CA & they recommended it - or we would have never known it existed!! So I looked it up online, found out the hours, address, etc... & mapped it!!! It was an amazing time!! So interactive, neat presentation. At the end the kids were able to do several activities along with panning for gold.

Then we returned home to eat & then I took the little kids & Dave back to walk along a different beach & collect sea shells.

Monday - we woke up & attended Sea World. It was just right! Had a great time. It got crowded quickly! We got to see all the shows & made it to almost all of the viewing spots. About 3 hours before closing due to being on that side of the park we went on the raft ride... not willing to pay $15 per water poncho, we toughed it out!! I think now we would have just skipped the ride!! It was funny as everyone would comment "Wow - you all sat in the slash zone"... well we did - but actually never got wet there!!! LOL - so our last 3 hours we were exhausted & tired of being wet as we just never could dry completely as it was quite humid & overcast there. About that same time of riding the raft ride - Madison all of a sudden was having to go to the bathroom every 5-10 minutes. It was quite annoying, but we didn't think much about it.

Later that night about 2 am... we realized why!! She had a severe bladder infection happening by then & the rest of the night was miserable for all!!

Tues - was luckily our OFF Day to go to the beach & travel. So we were able to finally after 4 attempts find an urgent care who'd take her due to being a child. So Dave & the boys packed while I got her to a Dr. Then realized we weren't going to make it - I ran to pick them up from the hotel to check out before we were charged another day. So we loaded up, & then it took about 2 hours & many (20ish) attempts at finding a pharmacy that actually had the medicine available that the Dr. prescribed. After about 8 attempts I begged the store to call the Doc & see if he's alter the RX so we could get it filled & in her system as she was in so much pain & just screaming!! (He wouldn't do it! I was in fear of having to start all over & take her to an ER & get another dr to see her & get a different med.) Finally after traveling across San Diego to another 4 Pharmacies I was about in tears. That gal said she'd call others in the area for me to cut down on time & SHE found one about 3 buildings away(after calling 6) & it even ended up being the cheapest of them all!! So we got the meds & got her started on them. From there - we were all about frazzled! We made our way to Lajolla Beach - not knowing what we'd find, but what the possibilities were. We lucked out!! Ended up having a beautiful day. Landed on a beautiful section of the beach with beautiful sand, we could see Children's cove - where the seals have made their home, had a rock island out in the water by us where a seal sun bathed & watched us, it was pretty slow & we had a huge section to ourselves!!! Spent a good amount of the day here - then traveled up to Anaheim to our next hotel.

Wed - Woke up bright & early to head to Disneyland!! It was great - seemed busy - but nothing as to what we would experience hours later & the next day. Decided to hit a couple rides as we had reservations to dine with Minnie mouse & friends for Breakfast that day. It just so happens that on Tues. night while I was laying everything out & preparing for our early get away - I was prompted to write our breakfast reservation on one of our tickets. In hind sight I realized it was a prompting & I thought It was just going to cut down on the papers I'd be carrying & save time finding the spot. Little did I know that on the 1st ride that morning the tickets would slide out of my pocket & land on the floor of the ride & I wouldn't notice until our check in at the restaurant. "THANK-GOODNESS" for the WONDERFUL & honest person who rode the ride after us - who deep in their heart read where the tickets were going to be used at & what time & turned them in immediately for us. As one of the workers frantically saw me going through my bag, my pockets, & about to go into tears .... ran up to me saying "Mam - did you have reservations for 6 at 9:30?" ... Um, yeah ... how did he know? Someone turned in 6 tickets a bit ago & they said #13 on them at 9:30... our names weren't printed on the tickets at all... SO in all - What a blessing!! Our huge breakfast & being able to actually see the characters (without waiting in an hour line) & being able to laugh & giggle.. pretty Fun & memorable!! The blessing of an honest person - Priceless!! I wish I knew who it was - I wanted to find them & give them a huge hug & kiss!!! The day was long, filled with standing in lines for well over an hour. Luckily only 1 time the ride got shut down 1/2 way through & we all had to leave & come back later - I heard that happened to all the rides!! Thank-goodness for the Fast Passes. We only got 4 a day - but they were well worth it!!! It was fun taking the kids on rides I loved & enjoyed as a kid. I was a bit disheartened to see they have changed so much over the past 17 years since we were last there on our honeymoon. Many things I told them I'd end up saying... Oh, they changed this! The Fantasia show at night was awesome! We were so tired that night - many sore feet & achy legs. We debated sleeping in the next day & doing our pool day & then doing our 2nd day at Disney on Friday - but decided to go with our main plan.

Thurs - up bright & early. I wasn't feeling so well - so Dave took the kids off to breakfast & we met up to go to California Adventures. It was a drizzly day & not many came to the park as early - which ended up being nice on our part. We got to ride a couple rides 2 times without getting off or standing in line. Not as much to do here. But got fast passes for the few BIG rides. The Roller coaster was amazing!! WHEW!! (I really haven't been on many "carnival" rides since High School... so I am so grateful I didn't get really sick - as Dave wasn't feeling so well by this day after 1st day at Disney!) Then we had special "Preferred" passes at this park from our Travel agent & after seeing how those worked - We didn't want to miss our opportunities to not wait in line & be the first to enter & have wonderful seats - so we went to the 4 shows/activities. One we got to learn how to draw Minnie Mouse & everyone did great!! Brady really loved this!! Then we went to many 3D & 4D shows while on Vacation... I have to tell you I was pretty tired of having water spit at me during shows. Then before we left .. thinking we had 1 more animated show to watch, were pleasantly surprised to watch Aladdin the musical with real live actors - it was awesome!! The special effects were sweet too! Then it was about 3 & the kids were done!! So we decided to hop back over to Disneyland & eat lunch & waste the rest of the day trying to ride a few rides we hadn't had a chance to ride yet. We split up. The boys went with dad & Madi & I went to the Disney Princess park - to see what was happening there. Well there was a line to possibly see 1 princess - it was a 170 minute wait... she chose NOPE - it wasn't worth it! So we walked around looking at shops. Then she saw the Dumbo ride & really wanted to wait 60 minutes to do that... (REALLY?) SO we did!! Then we waited in line probably another 60 minutes & called the boys & told them we were holding their place in line on the Matterhorn. So we did that. Split up & I took the younger two back over to Adventure land to take them on a few rides they had missed the day before I went with the boys... the Haunted Mansion, then we went on the Jungle Safari in the day & then we hit the Magical Tiki room (didn't even know it existed) That was AWESOME!!! Then we had tickets to run back over to California Adventure park for the World of color show. The wait - 1.5 hours. It was a beautiful show - but we were so stinking tired & sore... we were all ready to be done! I wish there had been seating or everyone would have sat - but the little kids were so heavy & the boys were getting so sore & tired of holding them on their shoulders - it was all we could do to get back to the room & get to bed. Madi & I put our feet in a cool bath tub first & soaked... She was feeling much better by today & wasn't having to go to the bathroom nearly as much! (Another blessing!)

Friday - we all vowed to sleep in!! We did!! Then we went to the pool, played, sun bathed, & rested. The boys headed back & watched Tv for a few hours - then we all got ready & headed off for our final "outing" of our trip. We drove up to Buena Vista & toured around a bit (this is where Knotts Berry Farm is - they have a water park now too!) & then we went to Medieval dinning as a family. The boys had done this last summer while at the BSA Jamboree & enjoyed it! It was interesting. The dinner was lovely - ate with our hands & watched the show. Not sure the 2 younger kids really understood what was going on - but the 2 older boys seemed to enjoy it with Dave. They were having a good time cheering on our Knight who lost in the end!! It was a nice evening!!

Saturday - we woke up, packed, headed off to the airport where we flew home to find our Van's battery dead. (We are suspicious that someone tried to break in? Or set the alarm off & it drained the battery - as everything was all locked up - the radio, the clock, etc... ) We were lucky to finally get in as it wouldn't unlock with the key fobs - then we paid the hotel/shuttle driver to come & jump the van. When the cables were put on... our alarm started going on & wouldn't go off... so fun!! But we made it to Evanston in shorts & flip flops in the middle of a snow storm - nope, we weren't ready to come home yet!!! Then made it home by around 8pm!!

It was a nice break!! More to come as we remember!!