Southern California Trip

WARNING: LONGEST POST EVER :-)

Last Sunday we got back from a week long vacation with Jake's family to Southern California. We had a blast! Based on this experience I have decided that going on a vacation with a little one make's the trip 100X more exhausting, but 10000X more worth it.

Day 1 Sunday: Flew to the Orange County airport, picked up our rental vans, drove to Marriott's Newport Coast Villas and tried to check in at 2 but our rooms weren't ready so we went to lunch at this cute little deli, finally checked in at 4pm, went to our AMAZING rooms with an ocean view, ate pizza, walked around the grounds, and vegged the day away :-)

View from our room

Another gorgeous view from our room


Day 2 Monday: Drove to San Diego and went to Sea World. It was a blast! We went on almost every ride, watched a bunch of fun show's including Shamu, Sea Lion's Live, Pet's Rule, and a 4-D Sesame Street movie. If you are wondering how a 4-D show works it is a 3-D movie that has special effects (water squirts out at you, the wind blows, bubbles fall from the ceiling) worked into the theater itself and interactive seats. It was way fun. Hannah kept her glasses on the whole time and loved it. The funnest ride we went on was Atlantis. It is a roller coaster/water slide. Pictured below:

We got to the park at about noon and stayed until closing. We got back to the hotel at about 8pm and went swimming before heading to bead.

Family Picture

Looking at the Flamingo's with Uncle B's help

Having fun

Hannah drenched her shorts in apple juice so she walked around bear legged while they dried. Only someone this cute could pull this style off.

Playing with her hat

Watching Shamu

Watching Pet's Rule

After the Pet's Rule show

Riding Elmo's Flying Fish

Enjoying the Sea Star Spin

Getting Dizzy

Yet still having fun


The crew coming down the big dip on Atlantis

Thanks to our pancho's we didn't get that wet


Day 3 Tuesday: 1st day at Disneyland! We got to the Park before it even opened, although there were a TON of other people there for their "Magical Morning" as well. The first thing we did was go to Fantasy Land and ride Peter Pan, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and Snow Whites Scary Adventure. Those rides were mainly for little kids so I haven't ridden them in about 15 years. Having a little one gives us an excuse to be kids again. After those first few rides we got to be grown ups again an ride Matterhorn. The ride is a lot more jerky than I remembered. But way fun.

We then headed over to Tomorrowland where our nephew Trey lived out Jake's dream of being a Jedi. They have this cool Jedi Training Academy where over a hundred children are in the audience trying to get picked. Trey made a sign that said "Idaho needs more Jedi's" and he was lucky enough to get picked. He even got to battle Darth Vader while other kids battled Darth Maul. Way cool for Star War's fans. We also did Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, and Autotopia (which Hannah fell asleep on, so cute).

After lunch we rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, and the Winnie the Pooh ride. Hannah LOVES Winnie the Pooh, so you can guess which ride was her favorite. Jake took her on it at least 4 times. We are troopers and stayed until closing, quite the feat with 4 kids 5 and under.

Mimi and Hannah in line for Peter Pan

Trey battling Darth Vader

Scary Darth Maul

Asleep while riding Autotopia with Jake and I

Splash Mountain was a ton of fun

On The Buzz Lightyear ride. Jake beat my score, but on a similar ride I come out on top :-)

The cousins on the honey pots at Critter Country. Mimi bought the girls those cute little matching disney outfits.

Macy can't get enough of Hannah. Here she is kissing Hannah's head. I think I know where her sister Katelyn gets the affection from :-)

Having fun

They are stroller buddies


Day 4 Wednesday: We slept in and took it easy by the pool until around 2pm. Our original plan was to drive to Universal Studios to spend the evening there but we found out it closed at 5pm that day (thanks Cindo de Mayo) while we were driving there. So we turned around and headed back to the hotel. We decided to go to Laguna Beach and play around in the sun. That was hampered by the clouds that moved in making it kinda chilly. So we took our party indoors to Las Brisas, a very nice Mexican Restaurant.

The boys playing frisbee at Laguna Beach

Snuggles on the beach with mama

Family Picture


Day 5 Thursday: Disneyland Round 2! We started the morning off at California Adventure. I had never been to this new area of Disneyland so I thoroughly enjoyed it. We went on Soarin' Over California like 3 times (SO FUN), Grizzly River Run (a whitewater rafting adventure, Jumping Jellyfish, Maliboomer (it shoots you straight up 18 stories in 4 seconds and drops you back down and up...you get the picture), rode California Screamin twice in a row, and rode Toy Story. After having a bunch of fun for the older kids we took the children over to Bugs Land to ride some kid friendly rides. California Adventure was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me. We then walked over to Disneyland to eat some grub and ride Space Mountain. Jake had never been on it before, so it was fun to see how much he enjoyed it.

Hannah and Katelyn waiting patiently for the majority of the big kids to get off a ride

They are so cute together

On a ride at Bugs Land

Playing with the water at Bugs Land


Day 6 Friday: Disneyland Round 3 + Jake's Birthday! We slept in and hung out by the pool. We celebrated Jake's birthday with a late lunch at the Bluewater Grill. Wow. Best Mahi ever. We headed over to Disneyland in the afternoon. We went to California Adventure first to catch the last showing of Aladdin (Awesome) and ride the Tower of Terror. Loved both. After Tower of Terror we walked over to Disneyland to ride some more rides before the fire works. We took Hannah to Fantasy Land and rode Storybook Land Canal Boats and Casey Jr. Train. Then we met up with Jake's family to eat dinner and watch the fireworks. It was an amazing display. I loved how Tinkerbell was involved in the show flying around over the castle. Hannah slept through the whole show, which I'll never understand because it was LOUD. It was fun to celebrate Jake's 28th birthday at Disneyland. What a great day, and guy :-)

Mama and Hannah getting some pool time

Katelyn is such a love to Hannah. She is constantly giving her hugs and kisses. In this picture they are holding hands.

Hugs


Day 7 Saturday: Universal Studios. Jake took his parents to the airport that morning and afterwards the rest of us drove to Universal Studios. The first thing we did was the Studio Tours which was incredible. The only thing that was lacking is the King Kong part of it which opens up in July. Yup, we missed the fun by 2 months. Oh well, it was still awesome. Then we saw Shrek in 4-D which was way cool. Based on this trip I've decided that 4-D shows are awesome. They should make all movies 4-D :-) Then we rode Jurassic Park and Revenge of the Mummy twice. I Loved the Mummy ride. It really takes you by surprise. We were all pretty exhausted by this point and decided to eat some dinner before heading back to the hotel. We ate at Tony Roma's and Hannah fell asleep while we were waiting for a table. She was playing with Uncle Brandon's hat and the next thing we knew she was asleep with the hat over her face. Soooo adorable.

Katelyn snuggling Hannah while waiting for in line for Studio Tours

So Sweet

Hannah smiling at Daddy and Uncle B as they were finishing up the Jurassic Park Ride

Family picture with a beautiful background

Hannah asleep with Uncle B's hat


Day 8 Sunday: Flew back to Utah. Sad. I loved the trip to California. We had a blast. Thank you Aubrey and Mike for the fantastic accommodations and thank you Lanette and Jerry for the plane and park tickets! We couldn't have had a better time.

Spontaneous Trip Home

Hannah and I flew home to California to visit my family for 5 days. We left the 16th, which was the day after my birthday (I am now 1 quarter of a century. Wow). My little brother David was on a break from school, so he was home too. It was fun to spend time with my family.

Mom and David picked us up from the airport and then we ate some yummy Japanese food. There was this cute store next to the restaurant, so we went in and my mom bought me some cute necklaces, bracelets, and a sweater. (Jake broke my favorite bracelet so she was trying to replace it.) Yay for shopping. When we got home my nieces were there waiting to play. They stayed the night with us and we definitely played hard.

On Saturday I went out to lunch with my good friend Melissa while Hannah was napping. She is getting married in a week so not only were we catching up on each other's lives but we were discussing fun wedding plans. I am so excited for her.

Sunday we went to church and then Hannah and I met Melissa and her fiancé at Bidwell Park to play and chat. Later that evening David's cute girlfriend Alaina came over and we made funnel cakes. It was yummy.

On Monday David flew back to Rexburg for school. Punk. Hannah and I had the house to ourselves. We went out to dinner that night at the BEST steak restaurant in town, 5th Street Steakhouse. After dinner Hannah and I stopped by my brother Justin's house to see his family one more time before we left.

Tuesday we just hung out at home and then went out to dinner. The next morning we drove to the airport and said goodbye to Grandma. Hannah had a hard time saying bye to Grandma. They love each other a lot. But we will see them again soon. Thanks for the fun and relaxing trip Grandma and Grandpa!

Hannah with her cousin's Emma and Elissa

Hannah didn't feel very photogenic

Mommy and Hannah in front of the beautiful flowers at my parents house

"Look mom, a stick!"

Dan and Melissa with Hannah at the park

David and Hannah saying goodbye for now


Hannah eating a yummy lunch. She loved her first corn dog.

Grandma and Grandpa playing with Hannah after dinner

She loves eating with silverware and is getting pretty good at it

The CUTEST smile ever

Mommy and Hannah

Grandma and Hannah before heading to the airport

Car ride home from the airport. You can tell she was excited to see daddy again.

Recipe for Thai Lovers

My friend Ashley bought an amazing Asian cookbook and she let me go through and find some recipes to try. This one is a keeper. Jake loved it and started thinking of people we could make it for.

Stir-Fried Chicken with Holy Basil (Pad Kaprao Gai)

1/3 C Vegetable Oil
1/3 C chopped Garlic (I used less because that seemed like a lot and I'm not a huge garlic fan)
4 t chopped fresh Thai bird chiles (My hubs has a sensitive tongue so I didn't use any, it still tasted great)
14 oz minced chicken
2 T fish sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 C green beans cut in half and blanched
1 C Holy/Thai basil leaves (I used regular fresh basil)
4 eggs
1 qt steamed rice

1. Heat 2 T of veg oil in a wok or medium saucepan over high heat. Stir-fry the garlic and chiles until the chiles turn yellow, 1-2 mins.
2. Add the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until cooked, about 2 mins.
3. Remove the wok from the heat and season the chicken with the fish sauce and soy sauce.
4. Add the green beans to the mixture and stir in the holy basil leaves. Reserve warm.
5. Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat and add 2 T of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the eggs to the pan and fry until the whites are cooked through but the yolks are still runny, 2-3 mins.
6. Place the stir-fried chicken with the holy basil and fried egg on top of the steamed rice. (Serves 4)

Sooooo yummy.

Last night I made this with Indian flat bread (Naan).


4 C & 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t sugar
1 egg
1/4 C milk
1/4 C plain yogurt
2 T melted butter or veg oil
3/4 t yeast
1-1 1/4 C warm water

1. Mix all ingredients except water in bowl.
2. Gradually add water and knead until smooth, soft dough is achieved, about 10 mins.
3. Set aside for about 6 hours in warm place.
4. Make tennis ball-sized pieces of dough, and place balls in warm place until they rise again, about 1 hr.
5. Preheat oven to 475.
6. Flatten each dough ball and spread it with a rolling pin or by hand by tossing and slapping with both hands. Gently stretch each piece of dough into a round 7 inches in diameter, so that the center is 1/4 inch thick and there is a border 1/2 inch wide all around.
7. Place bread onto parchment paper-lined sheet pan and brush with a little butter.
8. Place the naans in the oven until golden brown and puffed, 4-5 mins.
9. Garnish with butter. (Make's 8)

For breakfast this morning I took one of the Naan's and melted butter on it and sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar. Wow.

Family Vacation

3 weeks from today we will be flying to California where we will stay in these lovely beach-side villas:

And swim in this scenic pool:

So that we can enjoy 3 days at the Happiest Place On Earth:

As well as a day here:

A day here:

And a day here:


We are going to Southern California on a week long vacation with Jake's family. Can you tell that I am excited? We have been planning this vacation for about a year. The only reason we are able to go is because all we have to pay for is most of our food and half of a rental van. Did I mention that Jake and I have wonderful families who are extremely generous? Cuz we do.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I am so grateful for my Savior and this holiday we have to celebrate Him and His victory over death. Since Easter Sunday was General Conference, Hannah wore her Easter dress to church last week. She looked beautiful in the dress Grandma Geri bought her.

On Easter Sunday Hannah woke up to Easter egg's all over the floor, an Easter basket full of goodies, and a new toy (pictured below). What a spoiled little girl :-)