California Through the Eyes of my iPhone

We headed for sunny San Diego on Christmas night. It was awesome because the airport was DESERTED! There were zero people there which was super great. The kids were a dream on the flight, especially consiering we didn't get to my parents until 11:30pm our time. The only one that didn't fall asleep, of course, was Preslee. Those who know her well just mumbled "of course" to themselves while reading this.

While we were there we went and did EVERYTHING. Seriously. Ran my poor kids ragged. It was great. We probably won't get out there for another 18 months (unless something falls out of the sky) and we haven't been there for about that long so we needed to make the most of it.

That being said, here are exactly a million and one pictures from the trip. They are all from my phone so they are small and just kinda crappy. I have a million and one MORE pictures on my camera which I am slowly going through.

Heading out! Addilyn got a suitcase from Santa and while Bryan and I tried our hardest to get her to leave it at home she would hear nothing of it. So, it came with us... completely empty. :)

1. Disneyland. It was Awe.Some. Because of Carter we got to go on the fast lane on every ride. It worked out well because I have never in my life been to Disneyland on such a psychotic day. January 2nd. Don't ever do it. The stroller barely fit. The kids couldn't let go of our hands. And Pres? Well, she peed her pants TWO times because she was scared of the self flushing toilets which flushed while she was sitting on it once. (Finally a nice stranger gave me a diaper.)

If you look really closely you can see my dad in the upper left hand corner being a total goofball. We did space mountain with the two older ones and they both LOVED it. Addi laughed the entire time (reminded me of her Gigi) complete with arms in the air and screaming in sheer joy.

Carter was chosen to be a Jedi Master and got to fight Darth Vader. It was the highlight of his day. Correction: It was the highlight of his life.

My cousin Lisa (Neal's wife) met us at Disneyland with her kids. This is us on the carousal.
What kids don't love Toy Story? Pres LOOOOOOVES "Yeehaw". She know every word to "You've got a Friend in Me." Not kidding. She really does. When she saw Jessi I thought she was going to pee her pants in excitement. (She didn't... that was NOT one of the TWO times that day she peed in her pants.)

Carter and Addi getting ready to ride Star Tours. They've changed it and it's now all 3D. So cool.
We also got to spend a lot of time with my Grandma. She is seriously one of the most amazing women I know and her positive outlook on life has really helped me through the past 10 months. I have countless memories of her from my childhood (from Space Mountain to perms, to shopping, to learning to gamble) and I'm so grateful my kids are getting to know her. Because they have two Gigi's (one is Gigi Meacham and one is GG Christensen) they refer to this one as Granky and Gigi. Granky is what they called my Grandpa. Man, I miss him. But, we had a BLAST visiting with her on a few different occasions.




We also went to the beach a few times. We spent an evening there roasting hot dogs and s'mores. We also went once during the day. Silly me; I was thinking that since it was chilly my kids would only run from the waves and not get in deeper than their ankles. I should have known better. They all got SOAKED (Preslee's hair was even drenched) and drove home in underwear and sweatshirts. Note to self: ALWAYS wear bathing suits under clothes... even if it's cold outside. My kids are tourists. How embarrassing.
This picture just makes me happy. I love Pres's hair blowing in the wind. I love how one pant leg is up and one is down. I love how her little crack is hanging out. I love how she's heading for that water with zero intention of stopping.


S'mores!

Sea World! My kids love Sea World. Addilyn has had a life long love affair with Shamu. Not real sure what sparked it but she adores the silly whale. I couldn't begin to tell you how many stuffed Shamus we have hanging around our house. No less than 20 I'm sure. From bath toys to ones that are bigger than Addilyn. It's quite ridiculous.

Mmmmm... cookies....

This beluga whale came right up to the glass and pushed his nose against it, right up to our kids! He was there long enough for me to get my phone out of my pocket, open up my camera app and take a picture. It was so neat! Literally pressing his nose against the glass watching the kids.

We all touched the starfish.

Pictures with Shamu. (My kids and the Ladies.)

My parents have recently purchased a little cabin about an hour from their house in Julian. We went up there to check it out (they hadn't closed yet) and went and got some apple pie afterwards. Here's Carter with Gig and my Uncle Craig and Aunt Susan. They got such a kick out of Carter. And he loved them, too!

Preslee wondering where the heck her ice cream was. She wasn't real into the pie but, boy, was she sick of waiting for her food!

Preslee and Addilyn outside at the cabin. My parents told them we were going to the mountains and when we arrived, Addilyn got out of the car, looked around and said to me, "Mom, where's the snow? I thought we were going to the mountains." She was not impressed with these Californian "mountains". Hehe. I think it burst my parents bubbles a little bit. But they do have wild turkeys running everywhere. (I wasn't rude by mentioning that we have deer and bears in OUR mountains. ;))

This is Runkin (my brother Ryan) spinning the kids on the hardwood. Why we never thought of this is beyond me because it was the funniest thing EVER.

We also went and got haircuts from the best hairdresser ever. KELLY! She did Addilyn's hair all straight and pretty with every color of tinsel imaginable. She walked away thinking she was a princess.

As I mentioned previously, I took the plunge. I chopped 11" off. It wasn't just for fun. In fact... almost cried. But I'm donating it to Locks of Love. I wanted to for SOMETHING for Carter since he had to be bald for 8 months. I like it short... but I'm growing it out. :) Here's a picture of the back.

We had a wonderful time out in San Diego. It was a VERY fast 10 days full of pictures and countless memories. I can't wait for next time. I love my family and can't wait to see them this summer at Aspen Grove!!!!!