California Trip

The Thatchers decided to take a trip to California this summer to see family and the wonderful sites :) Here goes:

First day of the trip.  We started at 3:15 in the morning so the girls slept for about five hours before we stopped.  Made the drive there seemingly much shorter.  Here they are at a gas station where we stopped for breakfast.

 And that's where the order of these pictures end, so bear with me.

The best fajita salad I've ever had in my life from a cozy little hole in the wall Mexican food place in Little Rock, CA.

 Zac's cousin Dylan took us to Disneyland which was amazing.  It really is as cool as everyone says.  We all had an amazing time.

First day on our way to Disneyland

 So excited!

 Dylan bought the girls some cute accessories to start the day :)

 How Sarah spent most of the time there.  We were blessed with the best weather ever.  Overcast with a slight breeze.

 We did lots of waiting...

 and more waiting...

 and then some more.

 Boat ride through the jungle.

 After dinner the girls got up and danced for the jazz players.  The band was so impressed the girls got some beads!

 The parade!

 We got to go for two whole days.  The girls took a bit of a nap the second day so we stayed at the park till midnight when they closed the place.  Anne really really wanted to go on the Submarine Nemo ride just ooooone more time :)

 We did some remeniscing (sp?) while driving around Zac's hometown.

Zac's high school

All the names of these places where Zac lived will be coming here in the short future.  He is just asleep now and I can't get them all straight.  So they're coming.

 The main reason we went to California was to see Zac's Grannie who is not doing so well.  But we had two great visits with her.  She spoke to Anne and told her she could have a stuffed bear that was there.  She also played with Sarah's feet and held onto her which was very special.  Sarah is named after her Grandma and we realized while we were there that she and Grannie both have blue eyes (which Zac and I don't so that's pretty special as well).

 Pool time with Grandpa and Pat!

 Back to Disneyland.  Sarah's cute Minnie Mouse hat

 After Anne getting lost in the crowd within literally the first two minutes we got to the park we decided to get each kid a stroller.  Came in handy for napping as well.

Carousel

 Rachel and I on Dumbo which was by far her favorite

 All three were asleep till we took this picture then Rachel woke up.

 Watching the water show...Fantasmic...something like that.  Needless to say it was awesome.

 Ready for day two!!

 Train ride.

 The girls were soooo excited to see the princesses where they lived in the castle! Too bad the pictures didn't turn out better.  Especially with Cinderella, they love her :)

 Watching the Tangled play.  The girls really got into it!  Anne asked "Is this story time?" If only.

 Some other characters the girls were very excited to meet and snuggle with.

 The big kids too :)

 Rachel didn't want to let go.

 All the girls with Pooh

 Dumbo again!

The girls actually did really well waiting in the long lines.  They entertained each other.  By 10pm on the second day Anne finally understood that even though the people in front of us disappear on the ride, another one would come and take us on the ride too.

At the fireworks show the second night.  It was one of my favorite firework shows ever.  You can't beat Tinkerbell and Dumbo flying above a castle.  I got teary when they played Baby Mine and watching my three girls just watching everything in awe.  

 Lots of love...this was taken about about 11:45pm the second night I might add.

 And then they crashed on the way out of the park.  Zac had to put each one on the seat next to me so they wouldn't fall over they were so out.

 We couldn't really carry all three to the car after the tram so they had to share.  They didn't mind.

 After Disneyland we headed up to see Dawn in Santa Barbara and the beautiful beach.  We all loved playing in the water, sand, and soaking up the sun.

 The water was a little cold ;)

 Dawn and Sarah (and little baby William soon to be here in a couple weeks! :)

 Anne loved playing with the sea crabs.

 Zac out trying to learn how to paddle board.

 Sarah loved the nice warm sunshine.

 I did some boogy boarding.  It had only been about 20 years or so, but I got the hang of it.

You can't really see, but that's me on that wave.

 Hanging out at the pool with our awesome nephew Luke and Grandma.

Breakfast at Grandma's watching the hummingbirds.

 Visiting with Great Grandma and Grandpa Brock and Aunt Dennise (again sorry for the spelling if that's wrong)

 (Picture courtesy of Anne)

 Grandpa took the girls out for rides on his tractor which they were thrilled about.

 After about three seconds Anne decided she had the hang of things and wanted to drive.

 They also had fun with all the creatures in their backyard.

 And then she felt she was ready to drive it solo.

 Sunrise in Palmdale

 We decided to drive to Mesquite and stay the night to help split up the journey home which was our first stay in a hotel with kids.  The girls loved the pool and sleeping in a big bed.  All-in-all in was a very memorable trip that I hope we and the kids will never forget.