California 2009!!

So this summer my whole family and me went down to California for Max's baptism and a DISNEYLAND TRIP!!! When I say everyone I mean everyone, mom came down too :o). Mandi and I drove down while my parents flew. Mandi and I left a little earlier and made it a good looong trip, AWESOME! But Mandi and I did not drive to have a longer vacation. See Mandi was already down in St. George for a Senior Trip. The only way to get her down to California would be for me to drive down to get her and drive the rest of the way. We had tons of fun together, THANKS Mandi.

We went down three days before our parents so we hung out around Valencia. We played with our nieces and nephew, saw Kimi and Ryan's new digs, and went to the BEACH!!

Gwen was trying to eat the sand so we were trying to get her to be interested in other things.


Trish and Kimi are going to kill me for this picture but it's so cute!

Then on Saturday our parents arrived just in time for the baptism. Max is such an awesome kid and I am so happy that he made the decision to become baptised. After the baptism my parents went to their hotel and Mandi and I decided to stay until the next day and go to the Heyborne's sacrament meeting. After their sacrament meeting Mandi and I headed down to our parents hotel by DISNEYLAND. Then dad, Mandi, and I went to DISNEYLAND!!!!

Our first day of DISNEYLAND we decided to do some reminiscing. We watched the fireworks (which may I say is AWESOME!! Not only do they have Tinkerbell fly over they have Dumbo fly over. AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME.), saw Fantasmic (which is a classic and must see), and rode some rides. It was so much fun!! The best thing is we were on the Haunted Mansion and some family asked us if we wanted their fast passes for Splash Mountain which could be used in the next twenty minutes. The only answer to the that is heck yeah! We rode the Haunted Mansion and then Splash Mountain which is one of the best rides ever! After our full day we went back to the hotel and passed out!

The next day Mandi and I went to the park early and tried out our first time at Disney California Adventure. We went to go on Soarin' and while we were on there Trisha, Max, Sadie, Kimi, and Dad met us there. Guess what ride the kids wanted to go on, yep Soarin, so we all went on it again. Then we spent the majority of our day in California Adventure. Here's a side note I do not recommend going to Disneyland on a Monday. There was so many people there that they had to close Disneyland to all new visitors. Needless to say that all the lines were looooong. But we had Max and Sadie so it was all worth it. One of the best things we did was go on Tower of Terror with Max, Sadie, and Trisha. Sadie was so funny. She screamed the whole entire time. In fact before it even started Trish looked over to me and told me her ands were sweating she was so scared. But we got off the ride and Sadie said it was the best ride ever, go figure. Then we went and rode some other rides and then we waited in line for the Toy Story Mania ride for two and a half hours. Almost not sure it was worth it. I'm not saying it wasn't a fun a ride, I'm just saying I can't wait in line for that long for a ride. But it was fun to go on it with Max and Sadie. Then we went on Grizzly Rapids, soooo fun and we got super soaked. Poor Sadie got the brunt of it but she is such a trooper, she never complained. Then we went into Disneyland and rode some rides there. Then the kids got too tired and so Trisha, Kirby, and dad took them back to the hotel for the night. While Mandi, Kimi, and me stayed in the park. We rode a couple rides together and then decided to get something to eat. MISTAKE!! The park was so full that every place we tried had an hour wait. Oh, well. Our dad met back with us while we were eating. Then we rode some rides with him and then Kimi decided she needed to leave (being pregnant she was really tired!). Then Trisha met back with us and we rode some rides with her and then all of us decided to leave.

So that penguin Sadie is holding was actually bought for Gwen (get it Pen-Gwen, family joke ;]) but Sadie said she was "protecting" it for Gwen! She's more and more like her mom every day ;).

The sisters!! I think this was the first time we were all in Disneyland together for something like 15 years!Dad and me on the tea cups. We both don't like going around too fast so we opted being on a different tea cup then Trish and Mandi ;)
The Heyborne's Traditional Picture

The next day Mandi and I decided to hang out with the family at the hotel while we still could. I took my dad to the airport so that he could return their rental car since him and my mom were heading home. Then we went back to the hotel and had lunch with the Heyborne's before they headed back. Then I took my parents to the airport. Mandi and I decided to rest up and then headed down to Downtown Disney. We shopped and dined and looked around. It was so much fun.

The next morning Mandi and I packed up the hotel checked out and went back for our last day at DISNEYLAND. We went on all the rides we wanted to and did the repeats of all the best. We also went back to California Adventure and explored everywhere since it was our first time there. We also bought our souvenirs and just had tons of fun together. Then we drove back up to Valencia and stayed with Kimi and Ryan for the rest of our stay. Driving back was no fun for me though. It was late at night and so California decided to do some construction. Now their highways and freeways are not as simple as Utah's. So they had me go on a detour but then did not warn me when I needed to get off my detour. I missed the off ramp and had to pull of at the next one and figure out where I was. Not fun. Eventually we figured it out and got back on the right highway. We then had three days to hang out with Kimi and Ryan and the Heyborne's.

I look a little ghoulish with this lighting, but I couldn't pass up taking a picture in a giant C.

On our last night Kimi, Ryan, Mandi, and I decided to go and explore LA's Chinatown. It was so much fun to see all the nifty things you could buy. We all came away with something. Then on our way home we decided to have what else but Chinese. Not just any Chinese we had PF Chang's. This was my first time going there and it was YUMMY!! Thanks Kimi and Ryan for the adventure!

This is a little dark but it is an alley in Chinatown.

Mandi and I then hopped in the car the next day and drove all day until we got home. Then I woke up the next day went to work!! Back to reality!!

A special thanks goes to my parents for planning and paying for a lot of this vacation. They made sure that everybody that could go were there. Also a special thanks to the Californians for letting me and Mandi hang out with them for a week. Also thank you to Kimi and Ryan for letting us stay with them. Also I would like to say that we really missed Ryan at Disneyland and wish he could have come. We will definitely need to plan another trip where everyone can go!