Beach, Disneyland, and a Baby Blessing!

Tyler and I took our first vacation of the summer this past week! We had a great time! We left Salt Lake on Tuesday morning and flew to Las Vegas where we had a two hour lay-over. We used that time to catch up on some reading and 30 Rock but mostly we were just enjoying each other's company. Mom picked us up from the Burbank airport around noon and we decided to go have some fun at the beach!

I love this saying; it's great advice! We ate at the Crab Cooker which Mom and I loved and Tyler hated. He's not much of a fish eater. Mom and I had some of their jumbo shrimp and shrimp cocktail and Tyler ate some clam chowder.


After eating, we went down to the beach (Newport) and had some fun in the sand. I was so happy to be out of the cold weather! It was perfect down there!

Mom and I made some hearts in the sand for aesthetic purposes. I think I want to frame a couple in black and white and put them in the downstairs bathroom. I don't know which or when, but we sure had fun making them and taking their pictures. Tyler looked kinda bored during the whole process, but he's a trooper.



A ladybug on the beach! I thought it was precious and we just had to draw a heart around it!

This cute little boat was just sitting there and we saw an opportunity for cuteness. I wish the big truck wasn't in the background. Oh well. We had fun.

Our hotel was in Buena Park and we checked in right after the beach. Mom's boyfriend, Steve, was nice enough to score us a sweet room at the Holiday Inn. They first put us in a room on the second floor but Steve insisted that they upgrade our room. We ended up on the "executive" fourth floor. We had to swipe our room key in the elevator to even get up there. The room was the same size, but the beds were nicer. I spent the rest of the day reading Jane Eyre, Tyler watched the NBA Playoffs and Mom went swimming. We ordered room service that night, which was a first for me.

Wednesday morning we went over to Disneyland as soon as we were up and ready. We got there about the time that the park opened (10am) but spent the first hour shopping, much to Tyler's dismay. Soarin' Over California was our first ride of the day and Mom's last. She went back to the hotel and went swimming while Tyler and I continued on at Disneyland. We had lots of fun and got to ride all of our favorites.

We even rode the new "Finding Nemo" ride. Last time we went, in August, the line was three hours for this ride. We only waited about half an hour this trip! The lines were really short, half an hour was about the longest we waited for any ride. Most of the lines were around 10-15 minutes!


We ended up taking the shuttle bus back to the hotel when Disneyland closed that day. When we got back to the hotel we went swimming and sat in the hot tub for awhile. It felt really good after being on our feet all day! We ate ice cream for dinner and went to bed very happy.

The next day, Thursday, we checked out of our hotel and trucked back on over to Disneyland for our second day of the Magic Kingdom.

We rode the train first, all the way around the park and then got off in New Orleans Square where we ate (with reservations made the day before) at the Blue Bayou. Tyler had never been there before and I was really excited for him to have that experience. He and I both got the Monte Cristo sandwiches and Mom got the pork chop. Our waiter loved to tease and he found his equal in my mother. He told her that the pork chop came in a lemon-sherry sauce and she said, "You won't believe it but that's my name." He said, "Oh Really?" She replied, "Yes, Lemon." She's a funny one.


The second day at Disneyland was great but we ended it early to drive home to Tehachapi. We arrived in town around 8pm and spent the night at my Dad's house. We didn't stay long, we left Friday afternoon for Las Vegas where we spent the night at my Grandparent's house. It was so good to see them! I missed them a lot since we haven't been able to get over there too often lately. We also got to see Tyler's friend, Andrew. We dragged Bree along and watched "Made of Honor" which I liked and Bree did not. There's something about seeing old friends that feels so good! We just love Andrew.

We didn't get to stay there long either! The last part of the trip was like a whirlwind. We left Las Vegas on Saturday, but luckily not before I got to play piano and visit with Grandma and Grandpa a little. I hung out with Dan, Choka, Sam, Danny, Zayaa, and Ariunaa that night when we got into town and Tyler went to a bachelor party. The next morning was Ariunaa's blessing day and it was beautiful. She's such a precious little baby.

I'm so glad that we live close to them and I get to be a part of their lives. It was really fun to have (almost) the whole family here. I forget how much I really miss them until they're here. I wish Cory and Katie could have been with us too!

Dan and Choka had some excellent food at their luncheon afterwards. The brisket sandwiches were delectable and Sam made some killer cookies.

Mom really wanted a picture of her girls but Sam fled as soon as the camera was brought out.

She's a funny one.

After the luncheon, we all (Mom, Dad, Dan, Choka, Sam, Bree, Danny, Zayaa, Ariunaa, Tyler, and I) went on a walk up the canyon. It was so beautiful and the kids had such fun throwing rocks in the water. The weather was just perfect as well.





Dad, Bree, Sam, and Mom left this morning and now it feels kinda empty around the house. I'm sad. I guess life has to return to normal sometime.