California Trip

I'm finally getting to writing about the trip we went on June 1 - June 7 this year. (I finally got the pictures downloaded onto my computer.)

Dana (Andrea's sister) and Bryan, Maria, and Tate S. (Aaron's sister's family) came with us to California during the first week of June. Our family and Dana arrived on Friday night and got settled into the hotel. The S. Family didn't arrive until Saturday night, so we spent Saturday going down to the beach (no swimming, it was too cold!), riding the carousel, and going over to Balboa Island on the ferry.


Anson didn't like the water much! Rebecca burried Daddy's legs!


I was surprised at how much Anson absolutely loved the Carousel! He was all smiles the whole time!


The carousel again! Aaron and I on the Ferry.


Dana and Rebecca on the Ferry. Anson kept leaning over the boat trying to touch the water.

On Sunday we went to church and walked around the resort. Newport Coast is beautiful!


Anson by a fountain. The view from our balcony.

On Monday we all hung out at the resort and relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Maria, with a little help from Aaron at the end, grilled steaks for dinner while I helped set the table and get things ready inside.

We all went to Disneyland on Tuesday! We found out early on that the M. side and the T. side do Disneyland very differently. Dana and I are used to being there when the park opens and rushing to the main attractions first while the lines are not as long as they will be later. In the afternoon we can relax and be a little more leisurely. The M. family likes to take it slow the whole time. They don't mind getting there an hour or two after opening. You will often catch them all standing around trying to figure out what to do next. I have done both ways, and so has Aaron, and we both still prefer the way we grew up with. We did determine though that Disneyland is the only amusement park that I am set on doing this way. If we were at any other amusement park, I wouldn't care as much, though I still don't like standing around trying to figure out what to do next. I'm all about planning ahead and standing in line as little as possible. I think it keeps everyone happier anyway. So there is the explanation of why our family and the S. Family split up, although I think it worked out well for them because Maria couldn't go on the big rides anyway. I may have a slight bias for my way of doing things, so I hope this doesn't offend anyone. I offer it only by way of explanation. In any case, we had a great time with the kids. Here are a few pictures.


Becca, Dana, Anson and I outside Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. Anson, Dana, and I on Dumbo.


Daddy and Rebecca on Dumbo. Rebecca watched the movie before we left, so we just had to go on Dumbo!


Winnie the Pooh!


Anson loved the costumes. He kept patting Pooh's and Eeyore's soft heads. Rebecca was kind of scared, though she did give Pooh a little hug. She wouldn't even think about going near Eeyore though.


Rebecca and Anson on It's A Small World. This is one of our favorites because the really little ones love to look at all of the dolls. Lots of time for mom and dad to enjoy the kids' reactions!


It's A Small World again. Rebecca during the Parade. This was one of the highlights of the day for us. We were in the front row and all of the characters interacted with us a lot. We all really loved it.


Aaron and Anson went to Toon Town while Dana and I took Rebecca on Alice in Wonderland.

Dana and Becca were the only ones who wanted to go on the Tea Cups. The second picture is cool - only Dana's and Becca's cup is in focus.

Trying on hats at the Mad Hatter's shop! Aren't they cute!

What a fun trip!

Our family in a tea cup. No, we did not go on the ride!