California!

We're back!  Did you know we were gone?  Yeah, I've been pretty slack about blogging ... sorry 'bout that.
Well, this year we were blessed to be able to go on a family holiday to California!  Along with Dustin's cousin Lonny, his wife Cheree, and their 3 gorgeous girls, we had a blast!!  I could leave it at that but hey, since I'm actually sitting at my computer (and not on my iphone...I blame the iphone for lack of blogging!) I'll elaborate.  Chances are if you're taking the time to read my blog, you're interested enough to know more details anyway, right?  Right. Well, grab a seat, maybe a drink or two, because I'm in the mood to write! Oh, and I know I added a lot of pictures, but with over 500 to chose from, 29 really is only a few ;)

We left on Wednesday, January 25th, and drove to Minneapolis.  It's about 6-8 hours away, depending on the road conditions and the driver.  Cheree had suggested an airline based out of Minneapolis when we were looking for deals on flights, and they had, by far, the lowest price.  We still saved money despite the drive and an extra night before we left.

Brad doing his homework during the drive to Minneapolis.  I sat in the back and helped Zach with his.

Thursday morning started early, around 3:30am.  Our flight for LA left at 7am, so between checking out and getting a shuttle to the airport (we left the truck at the hotel for the week - super convenient!) we had only about an hour to wait once we checked in.
Flights were good, all the kids did great, and we even managed to get seats all in 2 rows so we could hang out already.

He looks the way we al felt that morning!

Once we landed, we took a shuttle from the airport to get our rental vehicles (Ford Escapes.  Gutless, but comfortable.) and headed straight for a Walmart for bottled water, snacks, and car seats for Lonny and Cheree's younger two. Renting them was just ridiculously expensive!

We found our hotel in Anaheim (and had our first taste of California freeways!) and spent the afternoon relaxing around the pool and hot tub.  In the evening, we (my family) checked out downtown Disney, which was pretty cool, and totally got us in the mood for DisneyLand the next day!

Relaxing by the pool in Anaheim.

 

Mmm, Churro GRAND in Downtown Disney!

The Lego Store

Friday morning we got to DisneyLand just after the park opened (9am) and spent a fun filled day doing rides, meeting characters, and just enjoying the beautiful weather!  We stayed right until 8pm, when the park closed, hoping for fireworks, but due to high winds, they got cancelled.

On the shuttle from the parking lot to DisneyLand!  We were so excited!

The Castle

 

Zach with Pluto just as we were leaving the park.  Great timing!

Saturday, we headed out to Palm Springs, stopping to check out the Crystal Cathedral on the way.  That is one crazy church!  Google it if you haven't heard of it!
 The whole reason I was excited to go to Palm Springs was a flea market I read about online that boasted 300+ vendors every weekend.  Those of you who know me well know I LOVE garage sales and Thrift stores, so this sounded like heaven!
Unfortunately, it was not.  Most items were new, and were home-based businesses that had set up to try and sell their product or recruit team members.  When i emailed home about it, I told my parents that it seemed to have 3 classifications; useless, expensive, or junk.  It was very disappointing.
The weather in Palm Springs was AMAZING!  Hot, dry, and just enough of a breeze to make it comfortable.  We spent a lot of time around the pool.

The Crystal Cathedral

 

The hi-way to Palm Springs.  Gorgeous views!

Lonny tossing the kids into the pool

Quick lunch before we had to checkout.

Monday we went to California Adventures, the other Disney theme park.  Again, it was a  great day!  You just cant beat Disney for family fun.  We took in a Broadway like play of Aladdin, and met more characters and rode yet more fantastic rides.  We were all exhausted by the end of the day, but it was SOOOO worth it!!

All 5 kids with Mickey

California Adventures

I love this picture.  Goofy kept "petting" Dustin. lol!

Exhausted after a fun day.  Grabbing a bite at Denny's.

Tuesday, Lonny and Cheree decided they wanted another day at Disneyland, so we went our separate ways.  We drove around Hollywood and checked out things like Rodeo Drive, Sunset Blvd, and I got my picture with the Twilight Cast's handprints on the Walk of Fame. 
We drove out to the Santa Monica Pier as well, and it was love at first sight!  The beach was gorgeous, and the pier was SO entertaining!  Artists and musicians lined the edges, all friendly and engaging to the people walking past.

Bugatti Veyron. A million dollar car, parked on Rodeo drive.  It's the fastest production car in the world.

Twilight Cast on the Walk of Fame

Santa Monica Beach

I'm framing this one :)

Wednesday, we did pretty much the same thing, but with Lonny and Cheree this time.  The weather was even better at the pier, so the kids spent more time running in and out of the water as it lapped the land, and finding more shells to take home.
After the pier, the guys wanted to see how close to the Hollywood sign we could get, and after 2 hours of freeways, winding roads up a mountain through residential areas (and Porches honking at us in frustration! lol!) we came as close as could without hiking.  Unfortunately, it was pretty well dark  by then, so the pictures didn't turn out well.

Coolest bird ever!  I want one!  He said "hello", "pretty wings" (and then spread his wings) and gave kisses.  I got a bunch of kisses from him!  It was SO awesome!

 

Goldie doing "pretty wings" for Brad.

Zach was unsure about holding him until the owner just plopped Goldie on his arm.  Then Zach loved it!  Such a great bird!

The best picture I could do and  still see the sign in the background.  It was just too dark :(

And Thursday we flew home.  That was the week!  It went by slowly enough to enjoy, but also too quickly.  There are a bunch of things we talked about doing that we just didnt have time for.

Playing with the Camera Effects on my phone on the flight home.

As always, coming home was probably the "best" part of going away.  It takes leaving and dealing with another place for me to really appreciate home. 
I am absolutely in love with my fellow "friendly Manitobans" after dealing with the rudeness of LA for a week, and I am in love with our 2 lane hi-ways because that means our traffic is totally non existent!

Now, if we could add the Palm Trees and get rid of the snow, home would be perfect!!