A Wonderful Trip

Our 15 day California trip was about as perfect as it could have been. In all we traveled 2,572 miles, drove through 6 states, and stopped at 9 temples. We saw lots of animals, went on a bunch of awesome rides, met lots of characters, and took over 500 pictures.
We left on February 9th and drove 12 1/2 hours. We left early and the kids slept off and on while we drove through the corner of Oregon and into Nevada. We stopped at the Reno temple, then the Sacramento temple (picture at left), then crashed at the hotel in Fresno.

The next day, we went to church in Fresno at the ward where Stephen served his mission and then wandered around the Fresno temple before driving to the LA temple (below) and on down to San Diego. We stopped at the beach, but it was dark and scary.



Monday was Sea World where we saw the dolphin show, Shamu (the killer whales), and petted lots of ocean animals, like dolphins and rays, and starfish. We also tried to feed the flamingos, but the ducks were faster and stole most the food. The weather was beautiful most of the time we were there-- from high 60's to 70's. A really nice change from the Idaho snow.






Tuesday we went to the San Diego zoo where we watched a baby panda playing and climbing a tree, polar bears playing, and grizzly bears wrestling, hippos, monkeys, tapirs, and along with lots of other animals. The weather was cool enough that they were out and active. My new favorite animal is the okapi (below). It's related to the giraffe, but has zebra stripes and just looks like you took a bunch of other African animals and shook them up together.

The kids loved posing with all of the fun boards that let them look like someone else.

Wednesday we went to the Wild Animal Park which was AMAZING. The park has 1800 acres, so the animals are in big enough spaces that they can run and play. Did you know baby elephants wrestle with each other? My favorites were the 7 lion cubs and 4 African elephant babies. You ride on a tour bus out "Into Africa" and get the see all of the animals living in a mixed species environment, lots of different antelope species, rhinos, giraffes, gazelles, etc. just roaming across the plains. (some, like the lions and elephants have their own exhibits).

They also have a petting zoo area where you can pet deer and gazelles and antelope, which the kids enjoyed. It was fun to be that close to wild animals--well, tamed wild animals.








Thursday we went to the Natural History Museum and Science Museum and saw dinosaurs and fossils and enjoyed a slower pace day. We spent the evening walking along the beach collecting shells and testing the waves. What better Valentines Day than a sunset walk along the beach, right?j

Friday we visited the San Diego temple, then went over to the La Jolla Childrens Pool, and area of beach that was made for kids to play protected from the hardest waves, but has been taken over by the seals. We watched a mother seal teaching her new baby (3 hours old) about the ocean. It was AWESOME. She would shove him out into the ocean, then swim out past him and shove him back onto the beach. They are in the center of the photo, touching noses.

The boys were more intrigued with the waves than the seals, and A just slept through it, but J thought it was fun!

That night we drove to Anaheim and went to Medieval Times where the boys watched "real" knights and sword fighting. What was I thinking???? They don't need any encouragement. :) But they absolutely loved it and both chose swords as their souvenir at the end of the trip.

Saturday was our first day at Disneyland. We avoided most of the crowds and rode a lot of rides and met a lot of characters. At first J was a little nervous, but once she realized we always get off at the end, she started to enjoy them. One of the favorite rides was the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which is like riding through a video game. You have a gun and you are trying to defeat Zorg by shooting "Z's." You get points for how many you hit. The boys enjoyed trying to beat mom-- I was easier to beat than dad-- especially since I was usually holding a baby. J liked the gun, but also liked the little lever that let her spin the car around in circles. Try hitting a target when you're spinning randomly every little bit. :)

That night (and Monday) we watched the Electrical Parade, which was amazing!!!! There were hundreds of thousands of lights on the floats and the dancers. J's eyes would light up with every princess who passed, and of course, they were all waving and blowing kisses straight at her!

Sunday we went to the Newport Beach Temple where the kids loved the fountain. Then we went to the Santa Anna Children's Museum where they met Clifford and tried a bunch of science experiments.

Monday we went to the other Disney Park, California Adventure, that has some bigger rides and roller coasters and a fun area dedicated to Bugs Life. The 3D show was lots of fun and the kids, and Stephen, really liked their bug glasses. J liked the carousel and the fact that she could ride "no hands" like the boys.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we spent time in both Disney parks. We collected lots of character autographs and it was interesting to see who J would approach and who she was afraid of. She loved JoJo and ran right up to give her a hug, but she was scared of Clifford. She liked any of the princesses or anyone in a frilly dress.

At one point, we were able to get pictures with characters from Star Wars. I think Stephen's grin was bigger than any of the kids as he met Jedi Knights and Darth Vader and Darth Maul. J was a okay with the Jedi's, but almost cried when she met Darth Maul and told Stephen, "he is a bad, bad man."


Mr. Incredible was another character who brought out the kid in Stephen. Look at that grin!




Another one of my favorite things was going to see the play Aladdin at Disneyland. It was the best play that I have ever seen. The sets and acting and stunt work were incredible!!!! There were 11 genies for the scene where they are all dancing, and a "real" flying carpet, and a huge snake, that burst to have the Genie Jafar inside. It was so good we went to see it twice!!!


I was impressed with how many rides A was able to go on and how much he enjoyed them. He did get a little tired of the stroller at times, but overall he was a great sport. Having 5 days at Disneyland made it easier to take a break in the afternoons and go back to the hotel for a little while some days.



And here we are with Mickey Mouse on our last day at Disneyland. We left Anaheim about 6 and drove to Las Vegas, getting in around midnight. The next day we drove to Clinton, stopping at the St. George temple and Visitors Center. We stayed the night with family in Clinton, then drove on home the next day. It was a long time, but it was so fun, I'm so glad we were able to go!!!!!