California Road Trip.......

This Thanksgiving the kids had planned to come to Utah to visit with us. We decided to surprise them with a visit to California to see their grandma and to visit Disneyland. We have not had a chance to get together very often and thought this would be a wonderful way to make some memories and have fun together.

Heather and Spencer flew into Utah and we planned to take a road trip to California the next day. We picked up the kids at midnight from the airport and decided to just begin our trip then. That way we would be traveling through the night and we wouldn't have to worry about traffic. We stopped for some goodies and some last minute things and then we were off.

The boys in the parking lot showing off thier "STUDLINESS" My man is definately the most studly of them all. Kylan's pecs are bigger than my thigh! WOW! He is sooo buff!

Time for a quick little boxing match between brothers before we go....

We rented a van for the trip and we had it all rigged up for videos and games to keep us entertained for the 9-10 hour drive to Steve's sister's house in Hesperia.

Spencer stayed awake the majority of the night playing video games on his gameboy.

But he finally crashed out.......

Before long the kids were zonked out and Howie was driving in silence.

It was actually a pretty pleasant drive. I switched off and on with Steve. We stopped for breakfast and the kids were energized again for the rest of the trip.

Ashlee had lent us a bunch of videos for the trip and they were great! We were able to watch them on Steve's laptop. They really helped pass the time.

Las Vegas.......

We had made pretty good time so when we got to Vegas we decided to stop and take a look around. The kids had never been there and so we walked around for an hour or so. It was so different than how it is at night. No glittery lights, no crowds, no traffic in fact, NOBODY was around. It was sooo deserted.

We stopped by Ceasars Palace and looked around inside for a while.

That place is so gorgeous. I kind of liked having it all to ourselves.

We did a little window shopping at the expensive shops. They were all closed for business though.

There was a restaurant opened that had this Rocky guy out front. The guys had fun pretending to fight him.


Rocky is one of Howie's favorite movies because he loves boxing. His sons also enjoy boxing.

Kylan landed a great left hook!

Ouside Ceasars...... The boys are still boxing.

Hey be nice to your daddy!

Next we went to the Bellagio. I wish the kids could have seen this place at night. I absolutely love the fountain show they have each night put to music. It amazes me how much they put into these casinos to draw visiters in.

The inside of the Bellagio was so cool. They had it all decorated for the fall season.

There was this cool archway with water spraying over the top of it.

Very AWESOME!

Say CHEESE!
There was this really cool animated tree in the center of the lobby area. It was neat to watch as it's eyes opened and it made facial expressions. Then all of a sudden it talked. I was videotaping just at the right moment and caught it on tape.

Check out the talking tree......

I also loved this giant scarecrow that was at the end of the tunnel.....

Me and my man!

This tree was neat. It was raining just on this tree. It is hard to tell unless you enlarge the picture but the raindrops came out of the branches and landed in this little pond around the tree. VERY NEAT!

This is a new area at Vegas that I have never seen before. We decided to head out and get back on the road so we did not go see that casino. It was a great replica of the Eiffel Tower and I guesss you can go to a lookout way up on top. I also think there is a restaurant up there as well. I want to visit it when Howie and I pass through Vegas next time.

When we arrived in Vegas and we parked our car we noticed that each cement overhang had foot prints on them. If you zoom into this picture you can see in the background that they all have hundreds of shoe prints on them.

So as we left Vegas we decided to leave "our mark" to go along with all of the others that have visited that place. Who thinks of these things anyway???

Heather's was by far the prettiest shoe print there.

Little dainty flowers!

On the road again..... Almost there!

Grandma's for Thanksgiving.....

It was nice to finally arrive at Debbie's house. Mom is living there now and it was great to see her again!

And of coarse she was prepared for a hungry crew. Homemade sweetrolls and homemade bread! YUMMY! She is an amazing cook!

We spent the rest of the day just visiting, veggin' and playing games.

We picked up Hayley at the airport late that night. We had a big day planned for the next morning so we didn't do much visiting with her that night.

Bright and early the next morning we were headed off to DISNEYLAND! I think it was a little too early for Spencer. If you zoom in you can see him 'zoning out' in the back seat.

In a matter of minutes he was gone!
Kylan getting all set up for the hour and a half trip to Disneyland

It is so nice to have all of the kids together. He are hoping we can form some fun, fun memories together on this trip.

Such beautiful girls....

Disneyland...We made it!

I loved how everything was decorated for the winter season. Even the Cinederella castle was covered with snow

I loved looking at this castle close up because this castle was made with he same design of the castle I visited when I was in Germany with April and Shawn.

I have a new love for castles since that visit last year to Germany.

Even the haunted house was decorated for the Christmas Holiday.

New Orleans Street....

Disneyland was not crowded AT ALL! We basically walked on to most of the rides.

The kids decided to head to Splash mountain as one of the first rides of the day. Not sure what we were thinking because we got drenched and we had to walk around the rest of the day WET! BUT IT WAS WAY FUN!

Heather was very smart to wrap her hair under that hat and hoodie for protection. I think she's been on this ride before! She knows just what to expect!

Ky got pretty soaked but not half as bad as Spencer. Howie needed wipers for his glasses. He was also drenched!

You can't tell from this picture but Spencer had water just drippin' off him. Dripping off his hair, his earlobes and his pants were soaked.

I wondered how Heather stayed so dry and it was not until I downloaded these pictures that I found out her strategy. The hat manuever worked perfectly.

The soggy Crew!

My shoes were so filled with water that it took most of the day till they finally dried out a bit!

The guys wanted to go on the Tea Cup ride. I always thought that was for the younger kids but I was amazed how many adults were waiting in line.

The brothers paired up as partners......

Sisters......

It was actually tons of fun. Howie and I paired up and we tried to see who could spin them the fastest. I think this round of people were all adults and the guy announcing said that Howie and I were in second place for SPEED! We were sure whipping that little cup around FAST!

Here is a short video of the boys trying to use their BRUUT strength to pull this sword out of the rock. Come on you guys.... With all those muscles bulging you should be able to pull that measly little sword out don't ya think?

Christmas Parade....

I love how everything is so magical at Disneyland. These toy soldiers were really neat to watch as they marched down the street.



I had to take a picture of Woody and Buzz for my grandson, Brayden.


He loves them so much and is always talking about BUZZ

Dancin' Reindeer.......
The star of the Parade.... Santa Claus!

Parking Lot Picnic.....

Before we left home this morning I had packed up some lunch out in the van so we headed out to eat. Everyone needed to take a pit stop in the bathrooms so I hurried over to the van and decided to set out our picnic in this empty area of the parking lot as a surprise. I drug out the coolers and blankets and tablecloth. The parking lot attendant thought I was a bit nuts until I invited him over for some food. I just thought there was no way to prepare it all and eat it all crammed up in that van of ours. Besides.... exhaust fumes make for a wonderful auroma for a picnic.

YUMMMMMY!

Open Wide!



After lunch the girls headed back for more fun in Disneyland and California Adventure.

The boys on the other hand needed a nap to digest some of the food they just ate

Spencer was just content playing his video games
We hooked back up with the girls and went on lots more rides and visited the California Adventure Park as well.

We went to some 3-D show but I was wasted and I don't remember a thing. I think Howie and I slept through the entire thing. I honestly could not even keep my eyes open!

I went back to the van to sleep while the kids stayed and played till it closed at midnight. We had a very enjoyable time together and made some fun memories as a family.

Thanksgiving Day........

Debbie had to work on Thanksgiving so we planned to eat later on in the evening. The boys got up and started to have their own version of a Turkey Bowl!

I enjoyed watching from the kitchen window as they played. I love seeing Steve interact with his kids. He is such a great dad. So much fun to be around.

He's always such a good sport! Even when they gang up on him and tackle him. HEY....Be careful with my Man. He's getting up there in age :)

It was also funny watching Spencer try to manuever around out there at the same time he was trying to keep his BAGGY pants from falling down. He was runnin' bull legged!

He finally gave up trying to keep them up and just stripped down to his shorts and played the rest of the game with his pants propped up on this log. FUNNY GUY!

Kylan and Howie made a great team! It was so nice to hear their laughter and see the smiles on their faces. They were really enjoying themselves.

After they finished this game they invited me to come out to play kickball. Steve and I were a team and Spencer, Sam, and Kylan were the other team. We had a riot. It was also nice to watch Sam interact with his cousins. I think he had a great time with them visiting.

Mom slaved all day long on the Thanksgiving dinner. We helped out a bit but she worked on her feet for hours preparing the most delicious meal. She is the BEST!
Howie making the appetizers.....

Once Debbie returned home from work we sat down as a family and had a wonderful dinner together.

Sarah and her husband were able to come over for dinner too. The last time we have seen them was at their wedding. It was great to visit with them again and catch up on what they have been up to lately.

After dinner the cousins got together and looked through photo albums. Hayley and Sarah enjoyed looking at pictures of them when they were small as well as pictures of their parents.

Debbie modeling her snazzy PJ's

One last photo before we head off to bed.

We have had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving Day!

We were quite disappointed with the way our trip ended. Definately NOT the way we had planned but we feel blessed to have been able to spend time together and will cherish the fun memories made with the kids this week.