Family Vacation to Disneyland

This past Christmas, Ray and I surprised our kids with a trip to Disneyland as their 'big' present.

We finally got to 'open' that gift last week as we traveled to California with my parents.  

Ready for take off!

McKinley was so excited she was able to sit by Grandma and Grandpa on the airplane.

A dream come true.

After 4 hours of sleep on the airplane, it was time to head to The Wild Animal Safari Park in San Diego.

Ray had to head on to Utah for a family funeral after we arrived in LA.  He was able to rejoin us 3 days later.  He was not going to miss going to Disneyland with our children.

Can you stand like a flamingo?

The Wild Safari ride.  

The tour takes you around the park where all the wild animals live.

We saw giraffes, hippos, rhinos, zebras, etc.  The kids were fascinated by such wild life.

We're use to seeing moose, bear, caribou, fox and wolf in Alaska.  

This was a whole new world.

Rhinos are loving the mud bath.  Can't blame them.

It was a hot day….85!  

We had just left AK at 15 degrees.  

I almost jumped in with them so I could cool off.  ;  )

Riding the Rhino!

Hold on Stephen!

Oh yah!  We made it through the Safari Park.

Then we went out to eat.  I think the restaurant was called Borders.

Mom or Dad can correct me. 

I enjoyed one of the best meals ever.  A steak fajita.  Mmmmmm……

And, a balloon engineer came out and asked the kids what kind of balloon character

he could make them. 

McKinley said:  "Olaf."   Stephen said:  "A Penguin."

So fun for them!

We went to church on Sunday morning.

Then walked down to the relaxing La Jolla beach.

Can you spot the seal by Stephen's head?

We enjoyed watching the waves come in.

Stephen enjoyed the waves coming on him.

Splash!

Thumbs up for big waves!

This sand feels refreshing.  McKinley loved building sand castles.

And running away from the waves.

Watch out Stephen!  This one might get you!

More sand castle creations.

A baby seal came to visit the kids.  So cute.

It was great to see him up close.  The kids were very quiet so he stayed a while.

McKinley loves the beach and her new pink beach shoes.  

Good time to stretch and relax.

Look at me!  I love this!!!

McKinley

I just love her blue eyes in this picture.  

McKinley

Happy and free!

We went inside some rocks to explore.  

Always time for a picture of a cute little girl.

Look Mom!  It's Captain Jack Sparrow!

Darn…it was just a sea lion.  

This guy came right upon the beach and didn't mind people being around him.

Then he laid down and took a rest.  McKinley got pretty close, 

but we knew not to get too close.

Safety first.

Cave play.  We found a cool cave to walk through.

Pelicans love hanging around this beach.

Look at that beak.  

McKinley enjoyed climbing a few trees near the beach area.

More Pelicans

Flying high

Coming in for a landing

Another safe landing

The more, the merrier.

Going in the cave of wonders.

This is one brave bird.

Drove to the San Diego Temple grounds Sunday night.

I hope my little girl will always look up to the temple.

I told her that night (while we were in front of the temple), how

much Heavenly Father loved her and one way she could show her love to Him

was by going to the temple.  Then, I asked her if she would do that.  And, she said:  "yes!"

Made my Mommy heart happy for sure.  

One of the most beautiful temples.

San Diego temple.

One of the most happy boys going into Sea World!

If this face doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.  ;  )

Monday was our super Sea World day.

The dolphin show was amazing!  

Look at that dolphin fly!

And, he can 'walk' on water.  Wow!

McKinley and Stephen wanted to sit in the "soak zone"

for the dolphin show.  So, we sat about 10 rows back from the front.

We didn't get soaked.  

McKinley was very disappointed.

So, we went to the Shamu whale show and sat in the 3rd row of the soak zone and got 

totally soaked.  It was awesome!!!!  McKinley was so happy!  The whales would splash their tails at us to spray us and spray 

water out of their mouths with a big blast.  So fun!  Couldn't capture any pictures or my camera/phone would be ruined.  So, use your imagination on this event.  

The Sea World Tower.  Yes, we rode all the way to the top while spinning around slowly.

It was a great view of all the activities there.

Peek-a-boo!

I just hatched!

Feeling good!

Stephen loves Penguins and I mean LOVES Penguins.

He was so happy to see the Penguin exploration area.

Here they are.

There was around 300 Penguins there.

Do you know all the different kinds of Penguins there are?

Just ask Stephen.  

An Emperor Penguin strutting his stuff.

A shark swimming over us in the shark tunnel.  

Yikes!

Oh no!  The shark is right over my head!

Beautiful Flamingos

Pretty birds

Pretty girl!

I love this expression!

She was laughing at the Seal show.

A super cool seal that can do many tricks.

The Manta roller coaster ride.

McKinley was one inch too short for this ride.  

So, Stephen, Grandpa and I rode it together.

It was super fast and jolted us around quite a bit.

I came off that ride feeling very shaky.

But, realized it was a blast.  I just hadn't been on a roller coaster in years.

This ride prepared me for the California Screamin at Disney California Adventure.

Hooray, Sea World is celebrating 50 years!

I love these kids!

I love this man!

Yes, this is my Dad.

Always looking for ways to make sure everyone is having a good time

and well fed.

It was time for some Churros.  Yummy!

Thanks Dad!

Time to leave Sea World…..

But, not without a whale tail.

It's hard to see that Krispy treat, but it was huge

and covered in chocolate.  And, so chewy.

Are you drooling yet?  

Time to take a boat tour while waiting for Ray to arrive at the San Diego airport.

We didn't take this boat.  The Pirates wouldn't let us on.  ;  )

We did take this boat and went under a 2 mile bridge.

It was a nice, relaxing day on the water.  

Hooray for Ray! 

He arrived from UT and we took him to Sea Port Village.

He played tag with the kids and we all enjoyed sunset together.

We even got to enjoy a dinner for two on the ocean front

while Grandma and Grandpa took the kids out for a carousel ride, ice cream and 

shopping.  

Stephen's halo

Super sunset.

Take a deep breath and feel the peace.

Always time to climb a tree.

Cute banks purchased by Grandma and Grandpa at Sea Port Village.

One more time on the carousel with Mom and Dad.

Bird of Paradise.  It was so nice to see flowers blooming.

We will need to wait a few more months until we see such amazing color.

A fun windsock store

Beach time with Daddy at Seal Beach.

Karate kid!  

Stephen and McKinley were given kilted headbands from the President of 

the Sport Kilt store.  We spent an hour and a half looking for new Kilts there (since Ray and Stephen's kilts were stolen out of our Jeep a couple months ago.)  The President, James, was super kind and gave us a great deal.  McKinley and I got new kilts too.  Time to show some Scottish fashion.  Can't wait for the kilted mile run at the Highland Games this summer.  

Mommy and McKinley playing at Seal Beach.

It felt so good to run bare foot.

Karate kid #2

Run McKinley, run!

Faster….here comes the wild wave.

Want to see my clam?  A live clam was inside.

It was fun to see, then we put him back under the sea to be free.

Soothing sand

Sand Castle builder

Like Father, like son

What an artist!

I love this place!

I like warm hugs….want one?

McKinley's arwork

Wonderful work McKinley

DISNEYLAND!!!!

Of course, we started on Small World then, Dumbo, then to the carousel 

and we didn't stop after that….we kept going and going; especially since Grandpa knew how

to get the fast passes.  Way to go Dad!

For the first time in forever, Anna and Elsa are at Disneyland!

McKinley's dream had certainly come true.

This was a super show.  

And, she got to watch it on Daddy's shoulders.

One of our most favorite rides…STAR TOURS!

Stephen got a super high score at the Buzz Light year blasters!

Fun game.

Look who started off the parade….Yes, the ice queen, Elsa.

Balloons and more balloons at Disneyland!

Here comes Minnie and Mickey in the parade

Watch out for the Dark side.  We missed the start of this event or 

we would have tried to get Stephen and McKinley on the floor to be chosen for 

Jedi training.  It was fun to watch though.  

This kids loves to drive!  I rode with him at the Autotopia ride.

He was all smiles!  I kept encouraging him to push harder on the

gas so we could go faster…and he did!

Do you stick your tongue out when you drive?

Off to California Adventure 

Frozen Fun is now open there.  

Stephen wanted in on the Frozen fun too.

We got to see Elsa again at the sing-a-long.

So, here is the ride I had heard my Dad talking about for a while.  The California Screamin'

I knew it looked fast and there was a upside down loopty loop, but I had no idea how fast this ride would go.  I was screaming most of the ride and closing my eyes so I couldn't see what was coming up next.  It was intense!  But, oh so fun!

Stephen and Ray rode together while Dad and I sat behind them screaming in their ears.

It was a thriller!  I would even consider riding it again one day.

Thumbs up for winning the Radiator Springs Racers race.

Now this is one fantastic ride.  The design in incredible.  The scenery outstanding and the cars are fun and fast.  We all got to ride together and zoom around the red rock canyons.

Mickey's magical map show.

Mickey's ice cream sandwich for snack time.

mmmmmm….good!

Preparing for launch at Star tours.

Love those 3D glasses.

Let's do this!

Eating a Mickey Pretzel.  Pretzels always taste better with ears

or with cream cheese inside.  Oh my goodness…..Grandpa bought me a cream cheese filled pretzel 

that I enjoyed during the firework show.  I told Mom that we need to learn how to make them.  

So chewy and good.

Our last day before flying home.

We ate lunch at Trumps Golf club restaurant.

I couldn't believe we were going there, but the view was amazing and it was open to the public, 

so we went for it.  The prices weren't nearly as bad as I expected and we told our kids how good their manners had to be to eat there.  We enjoyed a meal on the porch overlooking the ocean.

It was a wonderful way to end our trip.  

Then, we took a walk near the beach.  So beautiful!

This trail is the end of my California tale.