California Adventure

with Mr. Incredible
The boys favorite ride.the fam.
Posing by the "L".
Here are just a few pictures from California Adventure. Our favorite parts were the Tower of Terror, Soarin' over California, Bugs Land, California Screamer, and Toy Story. Braxton did the Tower of Terror 3 times. That kid isn't scared of anything. We had a great time there.

Old Town San Diego and Sea World

The grandkids playing on the wagon.
Braxtons inspiration for a new look - the Climax Golden Twins.they boys playing on the Sesame Street things.
Dylan and the penguins.
Natalie having a chat.

Our first official day in California was set aside for Sea World and Old Town San Diego. We spent the first couple of hours walking the old streets and going in some of the old shops. Dylan and Braxton thought it was cool. We went into an old barn that had some wagons, indian items, and Braxton found a set of guns. He was so excited about it. There was a toy shop close by that had sheriff badges to buy so of course we got one for him. It was the best $4 we spent. He wore that badge the entire trip. Then at the hotel in Anaheim he found a LAPD hat. So between the two he was set as an officer. When we stopped in Mesquite on the way back home a couple different guys commented on his gear and he was so embarrassed/excited that someone noticed. My camera wigged out at Sea World and stored some of the pics in a different spot so of course I can't get them to download. They're there, just stuck. Anyway, we saw Shamu, the dolphins, sharks, penguins, sea lions, touched the starfish and played on the Sesame Street area. It was all great UNTIL as we were walking around that last half hour I started to not feel so hot. We were done anyway and headed back to the hotel and by the time we got back I was so sick. I had the chills, started coughing, and the cold came and hit full force. I felt like crap. The next day, the day of the Princess Lunch, I felt a tiny bit better, but not much. What do you do? I tried so hard to make it fun and just make sure that the kids were having a great time. It was a hard 3 days, and sad to say I still have the cold part.

Princess Lunch with the girls

Natalie & Cinderella.Natalie & Sleeping Beauty.
Natalie & Snow White.
Natalie & Belle.
Maddi, Grace and Natalie with Ariel.

Jason's mom reserved spots for all of the girls to have lunch with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto. I have to admit that I was really looking forward to it. Each of our little girls had a princess dress on, Natalie being Sleeping Beauty. They met Ariel first then we sat down to eat. One by one the others came out - Snow White, Belle, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. I didn't know how Natalie would react to them because she is so funny around strangers and usually won't even say "hi" but she totally shocked me. She went right up to them and had them sign her book and let me take pictures. They were so cute with all of these little girls going crazy over them. It was amazing. Such a fun experience for her and I. I can't wait to do it again and hope that I'm a little more coherant next time.

A day at the beach

after a fun day.
Braxton riding the waves.
Natalie in her own zone.
the kids having a fun time with Dylan and the sand.
Mr. Sandman

Wednesday we all went to Huntington Beach. It was a perfect day. All of the other times we have been to the coast the weather has been bad so the kids haven't been able to play before like this. The big boys (Jason, Dan, Cam & Jesse) bought knee boards for the kids to ride the waves on. As it turned out "the big boys" had more fun with them. The kids played in the sand, buried eachother, and tried to keep up with "the big boys". After being sick for the first 3 days of our trip I really enjoyed this day. Just to relax and soak up some rays. It was so much fun!

Wild Animal Park

The one good shot of all three.
looking out from the bus before we took the tour. I think they said that there was about 2000 acres developed. It really was neat.
taking a turn petting with Grandpa.
Soakin' up the sun.getting ready for the tour.

On Thursday we all went to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. Aside from the extreme heat that day it was pretty cool. There was an area that the kids could go in and pet some animals which they thought was awesome. We walked through a small part of the park, then got on a small bus to take a tour of the rest of it. They saw everything from giraffes to gorillas. There was a small water area that the little kids got soaked in - fully clothed. It was a hot day, but fun. The rest of the family went back to DisneyLand that afternoon but we took a break, swam at the hotel pool and I even got to do a load of laundry.

Our last day there

Doesn't get better than Goofy.Natalie and Alexa in front of the castle.
Randi, Brady & Alexa, us, Jesse and Jasons parents in front of the Walt Disney statue. Jason's dad was actually there for the original unveiling of it - kinda cool.us with Minnie
minus one person with Mickey.

This was our last attempt to see it all before hitting the road again. We weren't able to see very many of the characters before so we started out in Toon Town. Goofy was right there and the kids were 2nd in line for him. Then we moved on to Minnie, and while Jason took them on the kids roller coaster I got in line for Mickey. Long story short, Jason didn't know that I wanted all of us to get a picture with Mickey so he sent the kids in while he stayed outside. I was a bit sad that we all didn't get a picture, but there is always next time. Later that afternoon we saw Mr. Incredible, Handy Manny, Stitch, Mater and Lightnin' McQueen. We stayed until after dark and had a good last day together.

She's a Survivor!!!

Mom, Dad and Natalie.
me with mom.
her and her two best friends from high school- Linda and Kathy. They still get together for dinner once a month. Gotta love good friends.
Grandma Beth reading a poem she wrote for mom.
mom and Beth.

We had a party on the 2nd to celebrate my mom being cancer free. She finished her last radiation treatment that day and we all were so excited. She agreed to let us do it for her but she (much to our dismay...we wanted to invite everyone we know) only wanted her family and a few close friends there. It was a simple cake and ice cream party with PINK everywhere. Danny got 50 pink balloons to put all over the house, I made a pink banner, Beth made pink cookies, and Kellie made pink cake and pink ice cream. That morning, with all of the kids gone to school, I went in to see her at work and couldn't get through the door without crying. Such a long, hard road but she did it. I am so blessed to have her here, healthy, and to her joy - getting hair. Life is full of hard and trying things. I couldn't see any blessings from this back in January, and although I still wonder why at times, I know that we have been blessed as a family and it has brought us closer and made me stronger. I have the best parents ever, 3 wonderful brothers, a fabulous husband and 3 great kids. Life is good!!