Our final full day in California.  We started off the day by sleeping in.  Then we drove a few miles from our hotel to the Huntington City Beach and Huntington Pier.  We rented some umbrellas and chairs and then sat back for the next several hours and watched the kids (and Jerry) play.  After dinner and pie at Marie Callender we took the kids to see the movie Brave.  As we contemplate the end of our vacation there is a bit of sadness that it is finally coming to a close but what great memories we've built together.

Wednesday Report. Today we visited Disneyland's California Adventure.  When I was a kid, this used to be the parking lot but now it is like having Magic Mountain next door to the happiest place on earth.  Still not quite as "magical" as Disneyland but we took in lots of rides, saws lots of cool "scenes" and had a great time. 

Tuesday's Report.  We started the day early since we had "early access" passes to get into Disneyland.  Normally the park opens at 8 am but we were able to get in around 7.  First on the list - the Matterhorn (at least for the big kids).  Mom and I took the rest on some of the Fantasy Land rides.  Later we managed to squeeze in Indiana Jones, Pirates, the Haunted Mansion and the Jungle Cruise.  Buzz Lightyear and the Autopia were huge hits too.  Patriot & Liberty joined Grandpa on Space Mountain.  We had hot dogs and pizza for lunch in Toon Town.  For dinner we had pretzels (we were having so much fun we kind of forgot to eat).

After fond and grateful farewells to our wonderful hosts we traveled to Disneyland.  With a 3 day pass to explore the park we took our time this first day getting to know our way around.  First up was the Finding Nemo submarine ride.  After some lunch in Tomorrowland we watched recruits at the Jedi Training Academy and then shot agents of the evil Zur on the Buzz Lightyear ride.  We checked in to our hotel rooms, rested for a minute, and then returned to watch a very colorful and musical parade and go on some more rides.

On Sunday, after we attended the Ventura 3rd ward (the ward I grew up in) we went to Uncle Ron and Aunt Sue's for a barbecue.  Cousin Chris helped smoke and grill the meat - which was fantastic.  And of course the kids were able to enjoy a typical Californa swimming pool

On Saturday night, after our arrival at Uncle Don and Aunt Marsha's house, we decided to go to the beach. Because it was late and kind of cold, the children were all given strict instructions about the water.  "You can dip your toes into the water but under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to go into the ocean".  Yeah, right!

On Saturday the whole clan left for California.  The kids did great during the long trip - the drivers on the other hand, once we hit the traffic in LA, were more than glad to see the 9 hour drive end.

We left on our grand adventure on Friday morning (June 22).  On our way to Queen Creek we stopped at a cheesy petrified rock shop in Holbrook, AZ.  Jason was so excited, he got out of the car and exclaimed, "Is this Disneyland"!