We had the opportunity to go with Grandpa and Grandma Hawkins and all the Hawkins cousins on a California/Disneyland Trip in October 2015. It was a BLAST! Ryan decided we were driving instead of flying. Which worked out great. We rented a suburban and were able to take all we needed with us and fit all the souvenirs the kids found home.
We left on Saturday, Oct. 17th at about 9 pm after the volleyball tournament and headed as far as Ogden, UT. We spent the first night there and spent all day Sunday traveling to Las Vegas, NV where we met up with Tara's family, who also drove, and later that night everyone else flew into Vegas.
Monday morning we were up and headed to California early. We were a mile from the CA boarder when Rhett reminded us that we left the kit kats in the fridge of the hotel. Which also meant we had left Oakley's insulin for the entire week in the fridge as well. :( We had no other option but to turn around and go the hour back to Vegas. We made it to Disneyland a couple hours after our cousins. It was fine. We still had plenty of time to play. We did however happen to lose Rhett in the first 15 minutes of being in Disneyland. TERRIFYING for him and his mom!!! Rhett is the one we lost at Lagoon one year so he was smart and knew what to do. We found him pretty quickly with the help of answered prayers.
They had a wheelchair rental right in our hotel which worked out great for this poor little crippled girl. That darn ankle didn't slow her down thanks to her wheels and many drivers, especially her cousin Macady.
We only stayed at Disneyland for a few minutes the first day because we had tickets to Medieval Times that night.
It was a great meal and a great show. I always get nervous about what Rhett is going to eat at things like this, and when the meal started with tomato soup I was really worried. But....the chicken looked enough like a chicken leg and so he chowed down. Yay!
Two hours was a little long for Memory so I took a turn holding her and when she got bored I opened up one of the wet wipes they gave us for our hands. She used it to wash Uncle Ryan's face for a good 30+ minutes. Hilarious!! It was great entertainment for her and me.:)
Laiklie was one of the lucky ones who got a flower thrown to her by our Yellow Knight. She loved it!
Tuesday morning we were off to Disneyland for two days of pure fun! Linn got us all matching green shirts and they were SO NICE in keeping track of everyone. If we would have had these on the first day we would have been able to spot Rhett right off after he got lost. We ended up wearing them both days because it was so much easier to keep track of each other. We were able to skip to the front of most lines because of Oakley in her wheelchair. That was a lifesaver! With 21 of us not having to wait in line was SO NICE! Sorry about the hurt ankle Oakley, but we sure appreciated you!
Rhett sent this picture to his class at school. It was so fun to be in Disneyland with gorgeous weather, especially knowing it was cold and nasty at home.
The kids loved the Tower of Terror and we rode it both days. It was a crazy ride. So fun!
This was our Happy Birthday picture we took to send to Uncle Dale who wasn't with us. Wish he could have come.
One of our favorite things to do since our hotel was across the street from Disneyland and the pool was on the roof was to watch the fireworks each night from the pool.
Wednesday night with feet that ached like crazy from two days of non-stop walking we headed to San Diego. We spent Thursday at Sea World seeing the animals. It was only open from 10-5 so we weren't able to see so much of it. We were bummed, but loved all that we did get to see.
Sea Lions Show
Tunnel under the Sharks
The Whale Show
We also saw a pet show and the dolphin show and most of the kids left the dolphin show soaking wet! It was amazing to see the talented animals and all the training they have had.
We did some souvenir shopping then headed back to the hotel to hit the beach for a minute before it got dark.
OH MY WORD, I LOVED THE OCEAN!! And the ocean at sunset was breath taking!
I absolutely loved the feel of the waves crashing on my legs and the sand washing out from under my feet as it pulled it back into the ocean. 36 years old and I FINALLY made it to the ocean. The kids could not get enough of it either!!
Friday morning we started out at the BEAUTIFUL San Diego Temple. Ryan's grandparents, Max and Ramona, came on this CA trip with us. What a blessing! We had decided we wanted all the grandkids that could to do baptisms. Max wanted to baptize them. What a special thing that Oakley and Dallin will never forget!
Oakley and Dallin with Great Grandpa Romrell.
"The Greats"
We love these two so much. They are so much fun to travel across the country with us. Dallin and Rhett even got to share a hotel room with them in Disneyland and those two little boys just giggled and giggled and Max and Ramona giggled right back at them. I love that my kids get to have such a great relationship with two such amazing people!
After the temple we headed to the Mormon Battalion. We took the tour which ended with the kids panning for gold. They LOVED it!
Then back to hit the beach. Friday was windy so the beach wasn't as fun as the day before, for the adults atleast. I don't do cold. :( The kids still had a blast! We did some sea shell gathering outside of our hotel room before we headed to the beach with the waves.
So grateful for Stan and Linn for taking us on such a fun trip! We are very blessed!
We loved our hotel in San Diego. It was a family suite and fit up perfect, plus it sat right on the bay so the view was amazing and it was so nice to go put our feet in the sand.
The hotel also offered a free ride on their guest boat. The kids got too cold on the upper deck so we spent most of it down on the dining deck just letting Rhett, Laiklie, Sage and Violet run. Oakley didn't want to ride the boat and Dallin had a stomach ache so they both skipped out on it.
Saturday morning we headed back to Las Vegas for a show that night. We went to the show Zarkana. It was a variety show and was so good. It had some of everything and some incredibly talented people.
After the show those that were flying home headed to their hotel and those driving home headed to St. George. We got to St. George just after midnight and were exhausted. About 2:30 am Oakley sent me a text that her blood was high and she was going to throw-up. Her, Laiklie and Tara's girls were in the hotel room next door to us. I went over and we got her pump changed and a shot of insulin and then every half hour for two hours I snuck back into their room to check her blood to make sure it was coming down. It was a long night and we both were exhausted on the drive home the next day.
We had an amazing trip with amazing people.....but we were excited to see the sign that meant we were home! It always feels good to be home! And seriously the thought of eating out at another fast food place after 7 days of it in a row made my stomach turn! We made it home in time to unload the rental car, unpack and even start laundry before we drove into the airport to pick-up those that flew home.
What a great experience with so many memories made! Loved it all!
