In the beginning of August we made a last minute trip to Southern California for 10 days! Paul & Kathy were doing some renovations on their
school, and Shaun had been talking for some time about going down to help them. My parents were also going to be gone on a
little book tour, and I was NOT interested in staying home for a long period of time with three kids and no help! So we decided we'd make it a family trip...and we found tickets at a great price!
The flight left out of Seattle on the 3rd of August. Our flight wasn't until 5:30pm, so I thought that leaving at noon would give us plenty of time to get there. Of course we didn't end up leaving the house until 12:45pm, and then when we got to the border crossing there was over an hour wait! Ugh. Because of that, we then hit rush hour traffic in Seattle. We finally arrived at the airport at 5:15pm--only 15 minutes before our flight was to depart! Needless to say, we missed the flight! They were able to get us on a direct flight out to Orange County, which got us in at about the same time we were originally supposed to, since that one was supposed to stop in Portland. However, we did have to fork out $100 per person in order to change the flight schedule. :( Boo!
Shaun spent five very full days helping his parents as they had new floors put in. The kids had fun playing at the school and seeing some of their old friends.
Koen likes the new carpets too! :)
Natalie helped Grumpa water the flowers...
Since we were already down there, we decided to spend some time at Shaun's...ahem...I mean THE happiest place on earth. One day wasn't long enough, and two days were actually more expensive then three, so three days it was! And three full, exciting, and awesome days of fun at Disneyland. (Yes, I know, we spend more time at Disneyland then the average person...)
On the tram...Koen is unsure of what's going on!
In line for the new Little Mermaid ride at California Adventure...
California Adventure...
Landon and his super cool shades...he had to squint because his nose isn't big enough to hold them up!
I finally got to see World of Color - a light and water show that is put on in California Adventure in the evening.
Someone was a bit tired...
In line for Jungle Cruise!
Dumbo!
Koen was so excited to watch his Gramma and siblings on the ride!
Posing with Gram.
And...more posing (where does she come up with this stuff!)
It was right around this time when we were giggling at the way she was posing and she said, "I feel like I'm a
Mennonite girl." Yup. Cause being a mennonite girl is so very trendy! HA!
I love the lighting in the Mexican restaurant in Disneyland...
Gramma watched the fireworks with the boys while Shaun and I took Natalie on the new Star Tours ride.
This is what we came back to...
Koen J's first time on the carousel...
My pretty girl.
Koen despised this hat...
Shaun on California Screaming...you can see him in the last row (sans glasses)
Landon and "Night-ning NaKeen"
We got to have a smoothie with Jonathon & Rachyl in Downtown Disney! Love these two...come visit soon!
I also got to see
Kristin one afternoon! xoxo
More waiting by the Dumbo ride...this time with three generations of Sawyer men.
Fantasmic...kinda a scary part of the show for kids but I love how this shot turned out!
Stopping for a treat...
Monkeying around...
Waiting for a show (which we never ended up watching)...
So good to see Danielle again!
Daddy's tickles are the best!
Checking out the underwater life...
Kellen...1 1/2 years old. He wasn't too sure why I was taking his picture.
Snow Leopards... with the eldest children.
...with the middle boys...
...and with the big kids.
We asked a girl to take our photo in a boat that says "Los Amigos" on it, which means "The Friends." As you can see she did a really awesome job (please note sarcasm!) of centering the camera. She definitely does not have a future in photography.
Finally we found someone else to take a shot, but at this point his daughter was playing in the boat with us. So there is an extra child in this one! Ha!
After a fun day at the zoo, we headed downtown to Rock Bottom Brewery. We ate outside...so much fun! Excuse the blurriness on this one...
Arranged marriage: done.
They love each other.
A cool shot of a sign downtown.
It is just so cool that you don't have to see good friends all the time to stay good friends. You know? We love you, Anderson's!
