California Vacation

I am really late posting about this trip. My mom's stroke happened just a week and a half after we all got back from California, and so I am just getting to it now.

Any way...

During the 1st week of June, most of my side of the family went over to California. My brother Brian lives there with his family, so we got to see their gorgeous house and where he lives (thanks for letting us stay there!), and have a fun family vacation. My other brother Justin couldn't get off work to go, so he was missed, but everyone else was able to go for at least a few days. My kids were thrilled to spend so much time with all of their cousins from my side of the family! Of course, all the adults had a good time too!

Our 1st full day there, we went to Knott's Berry Farm. Brynn and Collin weren't too into the rides, but they had fun at the shows and arcades.


Watching the gun fight show...
Brynn was very unsure about it, but Collin was staring intently the entire time.
Later, the guys wanted to take their turn at perfecting their aim...(yes, this picture is both cute and scary at the same time)...
My cutie niece, Camille...
After a long day of play, we were all exhausted. All of the younger kids slept during the drive back home.
Before we left Knott's, we got all the kids a Snoopy sugar cookie. It is a tradition for Trance and MaJesta to get one each time they go there, so we all joined in on their little tradition.
The following day, we went to the Redondo Beach Pier for the morning. We watched seals swimming in the ocean, did a little shopping, and had some lunch.
The edge of the pier was lined with dozens of people fishing. I didn't see many people catch anything, but they were pretty serious about trying.
My mom suggested that Collin pose for a picture on these rocks--right next to a sign that said not to stand on the rocks. Oops!
Little Miss Eden enjoyed being outdoors and in the cooler weather!
That Friday, we all went to Disneyland. I don't know why I didn't take many pictures, but here are the ones I got. As we waited to get in, Collin got a talk on the wonders of Disneyland from his Uncle Travis. Can you tell we love the Buzz ride? (One of the only rides we could all go on)

Collin picked a Buzz laser gun as his souvenir that day.
Lunch there was much better than I remember it being as a kid.
I think the kids had as much fun playing with this water sphere thing as they did on any of the rides.
On our last full day in California, we went to Seal Beach. It was a pretty chilly day, so I didn't have Brynn and Collin get in their swimsuits. I thought if they weren't dressed to get in the water that they wouldn't. Yeah, right. I should have known better.

My mom immediately began her paparazzi duties.
While my dad took Collin for a closer look at the ocean.
He was cautious and unsure at first, but it wasn't long before my dad had to pull him back from getting in too deep.
Think he had fun?! I think the beach was one of the highlights of the trip for them.
My poor dad kept asking if Collin was ready to take a break from the water, and go rest on a towel or build a sand castle or something. No way! Collin didn't want to be any where else. Once he wore my dad out, he simply took someone else's hand literally dragged them into the water.
Brynn was the same. She started off not sure if she was having fun, but only moments later, she was completely soaked and having fun!
Brian and Camille had different plans. They took a nice nap on the beach while everyone else was in the water.
After playing in the waves, Brynn built a sand castle. She took that task very seriously, and was very proud of the final product.
Our trip was so much fun! Everyone got along really well (which is saying alot with such a large group), we had fun seeing Brian and his family, and we created some really fun memories!