Sitting in the back of our Sequoia before we drove away from Boring, Oregon.
We got up early on Saturday morning and and loaded up the last minute things at grandma and grandpa's house.
Our first stop was in Auburn, California. We stayed with Aunt Ann and Uncle Heber. Our 3 nieces traveled with all of us on Saturday to spend the week with Ann and Heber. This is the kids sitting down for breakfast.
Cousins messing around in the yard at Aunt Ann's.
Hayden on a swing that Matt swung on as a child.
Carter pushing Hannah or pulling Hannah on the swing. Which ever way you look at it.
Arriving at the Candy Cane Inn. An awesome place. Go there!!!
Eating dinner at a restaurant by Disneyland.
Here are the kids swimming the night that we arrived.
Before we headed out the first morning, we ate a breakfast at the Candy Cane Inn. This is the crew anxious to go to Disneyland. Matt read a book called the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland as we drove down to Anaheim. He had everything mapped our for each day. At least in the early morning hours. We left Candy Cane in 30 minutes before Disneyland opened it's doors so that we could all rush to our rides before all of the crowds arrived. This was pretty early in the morning. 
Here are the boys standing by the railing at our Hotel. The weather was so pretty each day. We were very blessed.
Ok, so Mom and I separated from Matt, and the 3 older kids and we went on all of the children's rides before the lines got crowded. It was a perfect morning.
Matt went with the older kids and this is Carter a little freaked out on one of the rides they went on. Look at the face of the girls in the back of Carter. Pure joy for her and pure terror for Carter.
Dad joined up with us a few hours later on our first morning in the park at it's a small world.
Matt and the older kids loved Thunder Mountain. Within the first 2 hours of the day, they had been on at least 5 of the favorite rides in Disneyland.
Here is grandpa meeting up with the older group.
In Fantasyland, Madalyn, Bailey and Paige met 3 princess. They also got their autographs. Bailey did not like waiting 45 minutes to see them. This is Princess Jasmine.
Here they are with Sleeping Beauty.
Here they are with Mulan.
We all waited a while to ride Buzz Light Year. This was one of our frustrating moments. The kids would start to get tired and so we would leave the park for a couple of hours and then return after they swam and ate some food. It was a very good plan.
Riding the Jungle Cruise.
Mom, Madalyn, and Paige heading down Main Street in Disneyland.
Taking an afternoon break at the pool.
All of us in front of California Adventures entrance.
Julie, Rich, and Isabella with Grandma and Grandpa.
The older kids on Splash Mountain.
The first night, Mom and I took the little girls for a short time and bought them a churro. Here they are eating it. I love churro's at Disneyland.
Carter, Paige and Bailey loved the carousel. One night Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Snow White also rode the carousel with them.
Ariel.
Snow White.
The Electric Parade.
This is morning #2. Bailey really liked the Peter Pan ride.
This is Madalyn with Mickey of course. We went to Toon Town and had a great time. We toured Mickey and Minnie's house.
Bailey loved Mickey Mouse.
Julie, Isabella and Mickey.
Minnie and Bailey.
Grandma and her girls with Minnie. Paige wasn't as excited about Minnie and Mickey.
The roller coaster at Toon Town.
Paige with her Mickey ears.
Pluto and the kids.
This was a special Star Wars training show. The kids loved it. So did Matt!!!
The Matterhorn.
Madalyn with her Mickey ears.
The Disney palace.
At California Adventures, we went to A Bug's Life and rode on several rides. This is Aunt Julie with Bailey and Isabella.
Matt, Rich and the kids riding the Rapids.
At night we waited for the fireworks. We all sat on the ground and waited for a very long time. The kids were troopers. The show was very nice.
Fireworks over the Magic Castle.
Buzz Light Year ride once again after we watched the fireworks.
Ok, one thing that we did as parents was encouraged or forced the kids to go on a ride at least once. Well, Tower of Terror (the name fits) scared the pants off of Hayden, Carter and Bailey. Needless to say, they didn't really care for it. At least we tried. Many times we make mistakes as parents~~
The boys with their Uncle Rich and Matt at Frontierland.
On the 3rd day, we slept in and went to California Adventures for the majority of the day. It opened at 9am and our first stop was Bug's Life.
These are the kids with Grandma on one of the cute rides.
Here is the catapillar from the movie A Bug's Life and I went on the that ride. Very fun.
Matt and Bailey riding a bug around to bump other bugs!!
Matt with all of the kids in this lady bug. Paige laughed her head off.
Mom and Dad with the kids getting ready to go to a 3D show underground with the BUGS!!
Walking down the path to the short movie.
All of us wearing our 3D glasses.
Waiting in line to watch a Disney animator teach us how to draw a character.
The boys ready to draw. I personally really enjoyed this activity. We could have sat in there for a good 2 hours.
......and they lived happily ever after.
Taking an ice cream break. Oh so good.
Our family picture in front of the Golden Gate Bridge at California Adventures.
The kids loved this ride. It was called Mulhollander Road, I think.
One of our last rides on our last night was the Ferris Wheel. Carter started dry heaving immediately as we waited to get on. We thought that he was sick from the roller coaster and he pointed up to the Ferris Wheel. We told him that we would get a non swiming gondila and we would all be together. When we finished, he said, 'I did it". He is afraid of heights.
Mom and Dad with the kids late in the night.
N for Newell. Right???
Our family picture in front of Disneyland entrance. It was very late at night. I think around 9:45 or so. Boy did we have fun!!--------------------------------------------
SEAWORLD
Our next adventure took us to SeaWorld. We took a day break with Matt's cousin's Craig and Susan in San Clemente. We had a great time visiting and laughing. They are a wonderful family. Thank you for everything you guys did for us!! After our day of rest we headed to SeaWorld on Interstate 5. As a young teenager I loved Seaworld very much. Our decision to go was last minute. I didn't want to regret not going, so we made a quick decision and went. The kids really loved it.
When we entered the parking lot of SeaWorld.
The Shark Tank. Carter and Paige loved the Sharks.
Don't eat us!!!
Hayden LOVES Penquin's.
A huge Wallruss.
The kids sitting in a polar bear cave.
We sat and waited for the Shamu show to begin. I was so excited I couldn't stand it. The sad news was that no trainers rode on the whales. I loved that the trainers interacted with the whales in the water. Well, that is no longer happening. The good news is the kids know no different.
Shamu the III. This is not really Shamu. He no longer lives. They just use that name for show sake.
Shamu again.
The water ride at SeaWorld.
This Sea Lion show was AWESOME. We laughed so much and had a wonderful time.
The kids standing by the flamingo's.
Nemo happened to make an appearance at the Aquarium.
The spectacular dolphins.
Our day finally ended at SeaWorld and we took a few family pictures.
Good-Bye SeaWorld. Time to head home.
As we were driving home from SeaWorld, we saw the San Diego Temple and so I was taking this picture as Matt was going about 80 miles an hour.
On Saturday, we stayed the night with my oldest brother Dan and his fiance Sandy. The kids loved being there and seeing all of his animals. They made us a great breakfast and their bed was incredible. I needed a good night sleep. Thanks you guys!
Dan showing the kids his horses.
Dan and Hayden getting ready to chop some wood.
