Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Our Vacation!!!

Gallie couldn't get enough of playing with the seaweed
This is all of our sand covered clothes, the sand now resides comfortably on the floor in the laundry room.
This was the sign at our campground. If only I had seen this on the first day and not the last. Seriously...Canyon RV was fantastic and rented us a site when other campsites, who shall remain nameless (Anaheim RV) refused because we had too many people.
The beach wouldn't be any fun without someone getting buried
Does anyone else see that scary dinosaur in the back ?Nobody move a muscle it can't see you if you don't move...Yeah Right!
Chillin in the beautiful sunset
Suprisingly, the kids were not afraid to meet Frankenstein
Lunch at the beach with my cousins Loren and Sherry
Newport Beach. John and Josh jumping through the waves.

Does this look familiar to anyone? It is Skull Island from King Kong! Little does anyone know that it was all filmed with miniatures. This boat is a little bigger that one you would take into the bath with you.


Apollo 13. The Shuttle and crew members. At least the actors that were in the movie
ZOINKS!!!! We ran into the Mystery Machine and it even came equipped with Shaggy


Got Jaws? That's right the kids found Jaws hanging up. You might notice that John and Zach are absent from the picture. I think the shark ate them...(just kidding Zach was too scared to get close and John was taking the picture)
Thought you would all like to see the famous Hollywood sign...
Flash Flood Anyone? It comes right down the road and even gets you wet at the Studio Tours in Universal Studios
Oprah's got nothin on Access Hollywood.....We are on the red carpet being interviewed AGAIN! Our life is so rough
Did someone need a good motel? Here is our recommendation. It came complete with a charming owner named Norman.



Zach lost a tooth and was so happy to be riding in the stroller
Tinkerbell...need I say more?
C3PO at Star Tours at Disneyland. That was great fun. You were shot through outer space like you were in the Star Wars movie
Universal Studios turning world. This was day 4 of our trip.
The cast of Waterworld. It was a fantastic show full of explosions and getting wet. The cast was so great.
This is at California Adventure Day 3. This is at Bug's World. We found this fantastic waterpark and the kids loved it.
Great photo of Ben! He was so happy to cool off in the water
Soakin wet! It took the tennis shoes a few days to dry out.
The end of our 3rd day. Our 2nd at Disney. We are getting ready for the Pixar parade.
The best guides around. They are cheap too. Just make them an extra sandwich and some treats and they will call it good. Thanks Kelli and Josh!
Waiting in line for Pirates of the Carribean.
Day 2 of eating our lunch on Main street.
The kids were sitting so good that a couple of women went and bought them these suckers and passed them out and told them how fantastic they were.
F is for Family.
This is an A but the kids just thought it was a giant candy corn
Disneyland gave us coupons for free ice cream considering there were 17 of us and ice cream ranged from $4 to $5 this was an amazing blessing.
We lucked out and literally ran into goofy at Toontown
Minnie was by her house and the girls were so excited the boys...not so much but they were willing to take a picture with some gentle prodding.
Cinderella's castle at night.
Katie enjoying the 100 acre woods.

Buzz Lightyear ride quickly became a favorite. You get to shoot at Zurg and all sorts of things and earn points. They also take your picture while you are playing.
After the ride guess who we ran into...Yep! Buzz!
Katie was finally tall enough for a roller coaster.
I am not sure that Dumbo was prepared for all of these kids
Getting ready to watch Honey I Shrunk The Audience. It was 4-D and so funny. All of the kids loved it!

Our first view of the Magic Kingdom
Waiting in line for the jungle cruise
A rare smile from Josh
Kodey
Outside of the Haunted Mansion. This was a great ride the kids loved it and so did we.



Well, I ran out of time to finish the pictures but I will get to them I promise. We had a great time and didn't even lose anyone. We really enjoyed our first family vacation. They were some long days but there was so much to see and do. You will see more from Universal Studios too.


Pulling out of our driveway...can you see the excitement?
Can we go yet? Not until we yell louder how excited we are to be at Disney
Jonathan getting syched up in the parking lot
Riding the tram, who knew it would be one of the funnest rides they have...Just ask John!
We walked in the park and saw Goofy dressed up in his costume.











6 comments:

Mom in Michigan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mom in Michigan said...

What a great time you had! Can you imagine the memories you just created in the kids minds for the rest of their lives. Fantastic! I wish we could have been there, too.
Love the pics of the kids and the characters!
Are you sure you did a head-count when you got home? - Love, Mom

Whitaker Family said...

So fun!! I am so glad that you had a great time. We sure missed you though : ).

Mitsy said...

Wow! I bet you had so much fun!! Your pictures are all so cute and your kids are adorable! You sure are super mom and your kids are lucky to have you! Way fun post!

MHB said...

Dear Thills:
It was so exciting to get the BYU magazine and find out what you have been up to. I think your next vacation should be to New York! Your family sounds so great and we'd love to meet them all sometime. David & I are home alone now with only Nicole not married yet.
Thanks for all you've done for our family. David & Maryelen Brown

Michelle said...

What a fun trip! I just had to comment about the Buzz Lightyear ride. When Jon and I went on our honeymoon to Disneyworld they offered us a special pass that would let us and only 998 other people into the park after hours. They had the most popular rides open and there were no lines. It was great. Our favorite ride that we just had to keep going on was the Buzz Lightyear ride.