Sunny California

We just got back from a trip to California a couple of weeks ago. It was an much needed vacation. It definitely wasn't one of those vacations where you actually get some rest, but we had a blast!

The first day we flew into California and met up with Jamie's family. We all went to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The view up there was amazing, even with the smog. We stayed late enough to see the L.A. skyline at night. Very cool!

The next day, we attended Jamie and my old ward in Riverside, CA. We saw a lot of old friends and couple of friends from high school. Oh how we've all changed! One of Jamie's high school friends didn't even recognize him until he spoke. Jamie's distinctive voice gave him away. We also saw my oldest sister Debbie and her family there. They were in California (visiting from Iowa) to see her husband Clark's family. The fun part was--our kids and their kids didn't know we were going to be there at the same time. Boy, did we surprise them!!! After church we had a nice dinner at Jamie's dad's house in Rancho Cucamonga. Thank you Rose!

Monday we went to Riverside, picked up Jamie's mom and then headed to the cemetery to visit some of Jamie's family that has passed on. The flowers were beautiful and Sherree, the kids and I had a lot of fun taking pictures. We then went to Spaghetti Factory (mmmmmm!) for lunch. After lunch, we went miniature golfing at a park called Castle Park. Jamie and I spent many a dates golfing at that park. I was disappointed in the upkeep (or the lack thereof). Later that afternoon we drove around and showed the kids all the homes Jamie grew up in. I was amazed that he could remember where they all were! That night we had dinner with Jamie's sister and her kids at her house.

Tuesday we went to Disneyland! We had so much fun!!! We met up with Debbie's family (which was also a surprise for the kids). You might think we are crazy for taking nine kids to Disneyland, but they were all so well behaved. They were awesome! And we didn't even lose any of them.

On Wenesday, we met up with Debbie's family again and did Disneyland and California Adventure again. We were so pooped by the end of day two! We had so much fun though, and can't wait to go back.

Thursday we went to show the kids the L.A. Temple where Jamie and I were married. It felt good to go back. It was a perfectly beautiful day too, so we got some incredible pictures. After we left there, we headed for New Port Beach. We wanted to find the new temple there and also wanted to take the kids to the beach for a little while. We did a quick drive by the temple--it was beautiful, of course. The beach wasn't as pretty as it is in my memories, but the kids didn't care. They had a blast! We then had to scoot off to Anaheim to go to the baseball game. We met up there with Jamie's dad, his sister and her kids. I was really looking forward to it. The game would have been a lot of fun had we not been sitting in front of a loud and obnoxious drunk. Oh, and we lost. I love the ballpark though. I can't wait to go to another game.

Friday, we picked up Jamie's mom and headed off to San Diego. We spent the day at Sea World. It was the perfect day to be in San Diego, because it was 100 degrees in Riverside. Ugh! It was really hot! Even in San Diego! Waiting for the shows to begin was hot and miserable. But the rest of the day was great. The kids got to feed dolphins, see whales and sharks. They got to ride a water coaster. Kirsi got to see a pet show (she's our animal lover!) It was a great ending to a great vacation.

The next morning we flew out. The flights home were perfect. Much better than on the way out. I only had post-vacation blues for about a week. I'm already planning our next vacation. Who wants to go?!