Let's do that again!!!!

I have had this post written and saved as a draft for months - only to realize I didn't have many pictures to go with them. Over Christmas break, I got all the picturs on our computer and am so excited to post this from our vacation we took in August! Be forewarned - this is probably more pictures of our family than you care to see :)

Our vacation was pure bliss!! It started out with waking up at 3:00a July 31st to head for Vegas to help Michael (Daniel's brother) and Amy-Sue move. Daniel had a huge project that had to be completed before he left and didn't get home until 1:30a. So, we rustled the kids out of bed headed out on our adventure. We got there just in time to help unload. It was super duper hot and unfortunately, the air conditioning in their apartment wasn't working. The boys were big helpers bringing in smaller items and taking empty boxes to the dumpster. To pass some of the down time, they decided to "race" on Michael and Amy's excercise bike (remember the no air conditioning?). After Liam had taken his turn and had ridden over 5 miles, I heard him talking to himself....."that was really stupid to ride that bike. Now I am even hotter and can't cool down." I had to laugh out loud to that one. Faces bright red and super tired, Grandma took them to her house while Daniel and I helped get more of their things unpacked and furniture assembled. During Daniel's short stay in Vegas, he wanted to see some of his old stomping ground, so we went out to Johnny Mac's for dinner and then went to get some frozen yogurt (yummy!).

Michael & Amy-Sue's new place.


Daniel had a flight early the next morning (Sunday) and the boys and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Hales for the next 4 days. While we were there the boys LOVED going swimming at Aunt Lori and Aunt Terry's. Devan was always asking when we could go swimming next. Grandma also took them to the James I. Gibson Library (named after their Great-Grandpa Gibson).

Nevermind the bloody nose - it was a frequent occurance for Lance while we were in Henderson.

Preston's favorite pool toy was his crocs. He found it very entretaining that they floated.

Liam and Devan got braver and braver on the diving board @ Aunt Lori's. They were having contests to see who could jump the furthest.

Swimming with cousins @ Aunt Terry's.

Thursday morning we got up and headed for Raging Waters in San Dimas, CA. The boys were super excited (especially Daniel). When we got there I took Lance and Preston to the kiddie section while Daniel and the boys went to all the big slides.

The tram ride to the park.

Lance and Preston had everyone near this waterslide (which I am sure they went down at least 75 times) entertained. Lance would take Preston by the hand, each time, and go wait in line, being sure to tell everyone near him that Preston was his little brother. I got a kick out of watching them together. Lance NEVER let go of Preston's hand - he was very protective of him.

Devan braved the High Extreme, they say you reach speeds of 35 mph.

Please forgive the scantily clad girl of the left, didn't knotice she was there.

Devan shooting out of the High Extreme.

These two are best buds.

We finished off the night eating at an awesome Mexican restaurant (can't remember the name). Also, to top of Lance's night, there was a train right near where we parked. He got to get up close and was in awe.

Friday morning was Disneyland. Daniel's family joined us (Marv, Robin and Emilee). The boys favorites were Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribean, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Buzz Lightyear (definitely one of my personal favs), and Splash Mountain.

These pictures are in random order, sorry.

Autotopia was serious business for Lance. He could hardly stand it!

I'm taking it Devan was a scary driver - I think I will have that same expression in about 9 years!

Even the big ones got tired and needed a lift.

Just a guess, but I'm pretty sure that seatbelt wasn't on right if Dev is standing up!

I would say that Lance's highlight was getting to see Woody and Jessie. They were about to leave and we were a few people back in line so they said that Woody and Jessie would make their way down the line and to have your camera ready so you could just take a quick picture. Lance's turn comes and he is so mesmerized by them that when he tries to turn around and look at the camera, he trips over their feet and falls. They help him up, give him hugs, high fives, take pictures and as he is walking away, we look back to see Jessi chasing him down. She knelt down and gave him a big hug and kiss. He was speechless. I loved every minute of the day.

The boys lasted until about 10 - and everyone's steam had run out. The only ride we didn't get to go on was Space Mountain. Daniel and I had fast passes, but we couldn't get on until like 11:30 or something crazy. The kids chilling in the hotel - exhausted!


This one may have been the next morning - he is looking a little too chipper.

Saturday we headed to Menifee to meet our new renters, see the house, visit with one of Daniel's high school friends that ironically moved into the Menifee Lakes Ward (our old ward) and do the grocery shopping for our week at the beach house. Our renters were a dream come true - our house looks like a model home. It was really fun to see Dan and Carli, I have heard a lot about Carli over the years - it would be nice to be able to get to know them better. After grocery shopping there wasn't a spare inch left in our van and Marvin and Robin's car - we were loaded to the hilt.

We arrived to the beachhouse to find some awesome improvements - sliding glass door in the kitchen, granite countertops, new kitchen table and bench. We unloaded and settled in. Here are some of the highlights from the trip - picture style. :)

Sunday there was the annual sand sculpting contest on Imperial Beach. Contestants had a certain amount of time to create their sculpture and then they were judged. After church, we took a walk down the beach to take a look. There were THOUSANDS of people - no exagerating. As we were nearing the end of the sculptures, we were all walking in a line through the crowd, me in front the kids in the middle, Daniel picking up the rear only to find that we had lost Devan. Like, lost, lost - no where to be found. I took Lance and Liam back down the beach to the house hoping that Devan had decided to go back only to find that he wasn't there. Getting a little panicky by now, we had alerted the lifegaurds and were on a mad search. Eventually Daniel found him not far from where we were. Definitely scared me! This was just one of my favorite sculptures - they were amazing. The pictures don't do them justice.


Grandma and Grandpa gave our lesson for FHE about the Savior and how He is the great shepherd and his sheep know his voice. They did a great job - all of the kids were sitting and listening!

Marv made an awesome treasure chest so that we could do a treasure hunt for the kids. It just so happened the day we were going to do the treasure hunt I found a really neat seashell that we hid our first clue in. The kids were eating it up - Emilee and Robin were very creative with the clues. They had to go to the pool, the balcony, find one in the hole in the rock, and a bottle in the ocean to find where the X was. They dug ɡnd dug like there was no tomorrow - sure that they were going to find hidden treasure. It was filled with all kinds of fun stuff for them to play with on the beach.

Devan searching for one of the clues in the pool.

THE map.

We got to spend lots of time with these adorable cousins. The boys loved spending time with them and I love that they got a chance to get to know them better. With them living in Texas, it isn't often we get the opportunity.

Meet Waffleface :)

We also found out that we will get two new cousins next year from these fam dams!(woo-hoo)!

Swimming - and using our new camera (thanks Lance for giving our other one a wash in the sink) that takes pics under water - loved it.

Beautiful sunsets (the pictures don't compare.

Listening to this at night while falling asleep - very therapeutic.

Waking up and watching dolphins jumping in the morning - unbelievable how awesome that is! Oh and it is fun to make the kids think it is sharks.

The boys trying to boogie board. (Somewhere out there is Daniel's wedding ring :( )

Devan could not get enough of the boogie board. I didn't realize that a lot of the pictures we have of him he has one in hand. I think if we lived closer he would be my surfer boy.

Lance had a completely different idea of what the boogie boards were best used for. He spent hours upon hours loading a boogie board with rocks, making sure to place them just so - extremely careful not to make the boogie board sink. (The best part was the whole time he was humming.)

The "island" as we nicknamed it. The tides were strange - they pulled a bunch of rocks up onto the beach and created a sand bar about 5 feet out from the shore at low tide. When it was low tide, the kids could play in the shallow water and also go out to the sand bar a.k.a "island" and play. It was great entertainment.

Lots of this

Lots of blue skies and perfect ocean breezes to relax.

My baby's footprints in the sand - don't know why, but I love baby footprints.


Walks on the beach.

When Preston would dig into the sand it would make this cute star shape - you could always tell where he had been.

Jumping waves - never gets old.

Photoshoot by my great friend, Heidi (something I always wanted to have done when we lived in Cali).

We discovered that this guy does not need any coaching - he came up with all of his own poses and obviously found himself hilarious.

The one on the other hand - wanted nothing to do with it - that is why you only see him in family shots and even at that he is not amused!

We went to La Jolla cove to see the sea lions and tide pools. It was really neat. There were all kinds of sea creatures (don't know exactly what they were) between the rocks.

Randomness:

I love this tradition and can't wait to go again in a few years - I could live here and never get sick of it!