CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP

We just returned home from a fun family road trip to California. We could not have asked for better travelers or maybe it was the minivan equipped with a DVD player! The kids were better than I anticipated. We were able to drive 6 hour stretches at a time without stopping.
The weather was not as warm and sunny as we hoped for, but there was no snow to be seen. The kids were thrilled to not need their big winter coats for awhile. Sydney kept commenting on how beautiful and warm spring time is in California. We stayed in Newport Beach and went to Disneyland for 2 days. Thank you to Grandma and Papa Devlin for our Christmas gift (tickets to Disneyland) and for driving down to spend the weekend with us!
Waterfalls were definitely one of Austin's hi-lights!

DISNEYLAND

Newport Beach

Having fun at the resort!

The life size checker board was quite fun for the kids!

Saturday we spent a short time at the beach before it started to rain. My grandparents lived near the beach in California. When I was growing up we had a tradition of going the donut shop with my grandfather and then walking the pier at the beach. I had shared that with Sydney and she insisted we do the same!

We drove home on Sunday, but not before making a stop at the Newport Beach Temple.

Happy Valentine's Day

The kids had a great time putting their Valentine Cards together! We also made sugar cookies for our friends and neighbors. Although the day did not go exactly as planned it was enjoyable none the less.

The night before the kids and I got stuck in a blizzard on I-15 and could not get home. The point of the mountain was a mess and many people were in their cars for 3 hours trying to get over. Thankfully my sister lives on the south side of the mountain, so after waiting one hour, to go only one mile, we finally made it off the freeway. Since we were not prepared with pj's, Austin's required blanket for sleeping, we had a very sleepless night. Valentine's Day for us was a napping and relaxing day. I even cancelled the dinner reservations I had made for Greg and I a month in advance because I was too exhausted from my sleepless night.

Bubble Bath!

I am not sure how this started. All I remember is that Sydney was cold after coming home from the indoor swimming pool on Saturday night. Greg told her that she could take a bubble bath in the big tub in our bathroom. The next thing I know her dad had not only filled the tub with water and bubbles, but turned on the jets to make those bubbles really big. Then he was getting out candles to lite and putting on some soft music for her. Who named her princess for the night?? She said to him over and over, "Wow Dad this is amazing!" "Isn't this the best?"

When I asked what the fuss was all about, he said, "I wanted her to have the total experience!"