Too Much Fun . . .

Clayton and Mekenna had been asking when we could go to Disneyland for a few years now. Well with a lot of planning and saving they got their wish and then some. In July we drove to California and spent 10 days in the fun and sun. Well 8 if you don't count the two days in the Uplander driving. By the end of the trip we were exhausted, but we had a great time and made so many great memories. Don't get me wrong we got tired and crabby, but that is to be expected with all that we squeezed in this vacation.

We started the trip by leaving at 4:30 in the morning for California. We spent 15 hours in the Uplander with only a few stops and many movies later. Once we arrived in Anaheim we realized the Google directions we had to get to our hotel were wrong and confusing. Lucky for us we happened to take an exit where a tow truck driver was parked and he helped lead us in the right direction. At that point and time everyone wanted out of the Uplander so bad. Our first evening in CA consisted of dinner and a evening swim in the hotel pool. We also were able to see the Disneyland fireworks from the pool.

Side note: You know you live a rather sheltered life when the kids found great awe in taxi cabs. Also while driving around to find our hotel Mekenna asks "Why are all the people brown down here?" What do you say to her?

The next two days were the adventures of the great Disneyland. We fit a lot in two days, we did everything on the list that we wanted to do. We took an afternoon break each day and returned to the hotel to swim. Except on the second day when we were headed back to the hotel for an afternoon swim Shawn noticed we had a flat tire. So the kids and I went swimming while Shawn proceeded to find a place to fix the tire. An hour of so later we had a fixed tire. A couple of our favorite things at Disneyland were the Parade of Dreams and the firework show while in the park.

Clayton and Mekenna loved coming back to the hotel at night and swimming. They also started a collection of smashed pennies and continued to collect them through out the trip.

Day three was California Adventure and we were all excited to move on to a new adventure. California Adventure has some of the best rides. We had fun on California Screamin', Toy Story Mania, and Soarin' Over California. The Pixar Parade in the evening was a favorite also.

Day four we ventured to L.A. to go to Universal Studios. We drove by the Hollywood sign, so now Mekenna can say she has been to Hollywood. Which is somewhere she has wanted to go since she was little. The first four rides at Universal scared Mekenna in one way or another. Her comment to me was "I am so over the dark" and this was after 4 days of going on rides that in one way another go in the dark. The kids favorite ride at Universal was the new one The Simpson's, however, it was Shawn and my least favorite. It was a simulation ride and those rides tend to make Shawn sick and this one made me sick also.

When you leave Universal you walk through an outside mall area called City Walk in order to get to the parking garage. While walking to the parking garage we saw the restaurant Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and decided to have dinner there. It was by far the best meal we ate on the whole trip. It really put everyone in a great mood and we had a great evening.

The idea of driving on the California highways stresses me out and I told Shawn he would have to drive the whole time we were there. Which he doesn't have a problem with, but even sitting in the passenger seat on those roads stresses me out. But that night I drove us back to Anaheim. It wasn't bumper to bumper traffic which was good and I kind of enjoyed driving.

The next morning we packed up the Uplander and left for San Diego. And surprisingly there is some beautiful scenery the closer you get to San Diego. This being the fifth day of our trip and fifth day of some kind of park we were kind of getting tired of the people and heat. But our agenda was to go to the San Diego Zoo. We enjoyed seeing all the exotic animals, but were tired and only spent about 4 hours there. We left and checked into our hotel and from there we went to the Ocean. Mekenna and Clayton were both excited to swim in the warm ocean and try out the body boards we bought before we left. The kids have seen & swam in the cold Oregon ocean, but not the warm ocean. What a great moment to witness and experience!

The sixth day was the day we all were looking forward to the most. . . . SeaWorld. We had a great time at SeaWorld. The favorites being Shamu the day and night show and also the dolphins. We got to touch star fish and stingrays. There is a ride called Atlantis that we waited 50 minutes to go on, but after the ride we decided it was worth it. Without a doubt SeaWorld lived up to our expectations.

By the seventh day we were happy to be going to the beach all day. It was fun and most relaxing part of the trip. Mekenna made a sand castle, which she worked on for a couple of hours. Clayton worked for a couple of hours on perfecting body boarding, but not without a small accident. One time the waves got the better of him and he hit his nose and ended up with a bloody nose out of both nostrils. Nothing a little resting and an ice pack wouldn't fix. We buried the kids in the sand, played in the waves, and enjoyed the sun.

On the eighth day we left San Diego reluctantly. We drove to Vegas and drove down the strip to show the kids what Las Vegas is all about. Once again they got a kick out of the different kind of taxis. As most of you know Vegas is where Shawn and I were married. We stayed in the Stratosphere when we were married. So for the kids and memory sake we went to the top of the Stratosphere. After a stroll down memory lane we continued our track home. We stopped in Mesquite for the night. Had dinner and let the kids swim once again.

The next day we arose to finish the trip home to the great state of Wyoming. We were sad our trip was over, but happy to be back home. Plus we missed our puppy.

Like I said. . . a trip we will never forget. We made so many great memories and I only wish I could retain all of it like it was yesterday.