California, Here We Come!

One thing I've missed while living in a brand new city is the feeling of nostalgia.
I get a glimpse of it, though, whenever I drive past this marvelous old zephyr.
{Plus, I love the Zephyr Song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers}

I've wanted pictures of it ever since we moved here.
I noticed a few weeks ago that it is a California Zephyr, so then I knew it was just meant to be!

Only in movies? I guess not.

The kids are finally partial to the idea of moving. Hooray!

I think this is supposed to be his gangsta face.

Huge amounts of gratitude to the ever talented and uber-fabulous Miss Karen, our photographer!

Sand and Sea

The Best Part

Did you like the beach? Yeah.
Did you enjoy Disneyland? Yeah.
What was your favorite part of our trip? Room service!
Each morning the hotel would set a table up in our room and bring us a feast.
Apparently that was the winner.

Disneyland Magic

The perfect day!

Toontown with Pluto

That scared the HECK out of me! Xander pulled the door handle and it was rigged to a loud noise & flashing lights.

The LONGEST line we stood in was @ Pixie Hollow to meet Tinkerbell. Courtney wanted to meet Tink instead of the princesses!

We had such a great time. Miss Courtney is tall enough for all the rides now, so we rode like crazy! Fastpass rocks!

La Jolla Beach

We found the most perfect little alcove along the seaside. The kids explored...Created...
Celebrated...
Dashed away from crashing waves...

All while Mom & Dad relaxed, inhaled the salt air, and relished every moment.

San Diego Temple

We'd never been to this temple before, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to stop here on our road trip.

It is truly breathtaking!
Angel Moroni, on the perfect summer day.
It was so tough getting good pics of the kids this trip-- Dramamine does wonders for car sickness, but kinda ruins any photo ops. They were pretty drowsy.

Our eternal family.

Huntington Beach

Oooh! That water's cold!!! The Pacific Ocean waves are much bigger than the Atlantic Ocean waves we're used to. Woo! We kept getting knocked over.
Check out this cool cave Xanderman dug out of the sand! He worked at it for at least an hour.

It was the perfect day for relaxing at the beach. We sure do miss being close to the ocean. Darren found another great way to recycle an empty lunchables box!

Courtney loved the beach and kept discovering shells and running back and forth to add them to her collection. The last summer she spent at the beach (in Maine) was when she was just one year old, so this will most likely be her first memory of the ocean.

Here is our attempt at a sand sculpture (it's a turtle).

Disneyland!

Our little family had a marvelous time in Disneyland. Darren thought the vintage Mickey t-shirts were a bit much, but I thought they were cute, don't you agree? (Yes, I am a match freak, I know)

Darth Maul is so creepy... but he's Alexander's fav Star Wars character. Xander gets excited when he's sleep-deprived because his red eyes lead him to believe that he's turning into Darth Maul-boy. Defeat him, you must!

Ho....Pah.... he is quite intimidating...

At the Jedi training.... Alexander was thrilled when he finally got picked to become a Padwan. He was so serious and paid attention like his life depended on it. Courtney, from the sidelines, gave him some sound advice: "Xander, use the FOREST!"

Courtney was all smiles when she got to meet other REAL princesses. Cinderella was thrilled that Courtney was dressed just like her (minus the pink cowgirl boots). They practiced some princess twirls together.

It was a bit of a let-down meeting Prince Phillip. She was expecting Sleeping Beauty and instead some weird guy in tights shows up and tells us that Sleeping Beauty was... still sleeping.

Little Miss Courtney tells everyone she meets, "Did you know that I am a REAL princess?" (Just FYI)

Pee Wee's Big Adventure--Flashback!!

Do y'all remember that movie hit of the 80's.... Pee Wee Herman? Well, on our way to LA we drove past these very random dinosaurs & I knew them from somewhere in my childhood. On our way back to Phoenix, we saw them again and drove 15 minutes to the next exit just to go back and see them. Sure enough, when I asked the lady there if these were, indeed, the famous dinosaurs, she said yes! They are actually opening a museum there... apparently a big part of Holywood history, LOL! This is where Pee Wee notices his wallet is gone and has to work off his meal at the diner. A waitress, Simonne, befriends him and they watch the sunrise from the inside of this T-Rex's mouth. She is making excuses why she hasn't gone to Paris and Pee Wee says"Everyone I know has got a big BUT..." ring any bells? (To get an idea of this dino's size, look close and you will see Alexander standing on its right foot.)