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| Another photo slideshow by Smilebox |
Day 1, Saturday: We drove to St. George, checked into our hotel, played a little 3D glow in the dark minigolf at a local arcarde, went to the St. George temple grounds, ate at the cute cafe, 25Main, did a little outlet shopping, went for a dip in the pool and called it a day!
Day 2, Sunday: Our day started with breakfast at a local place, The Bear Paw, which was recommended by tons of friends and was super yummy. We got on the road and left UT into Arizona, Nevad and finally California. After stopping for lunch at the first IN-N-OUT we saw (it was Doug's first time eating at one), we headed straight to El Segundo, where my cousin Amy Jo and her family live. She took us to the beach, where her hubby is a lifeguard, and we had a picnic, while Doug swam in the ocean. We went back to her place and visited for a while before heading to Anaheim. It was so fun to see Amy Jo and see where she lives and works, it's so different from little Blackfoot.
Day 3, Monday: We got up nice and early and hit the IHOP right across from the Disneyland entrance before getting in line for CA Adventure. We got our Fastpass for the World of Color water show and then went on all our favorite rides: California Screamin, Soarin Over California, Tower of Terror, Bugs Life 4D show, and Grizzly River Run. We also watch the Musical Spectacular: Aladdin, which we've seen before and was amazing as ever. That afternoon we went to Disneyland and went on all sorts of rides, our favorite's Indiana Jones and Space Mountain. We watched the Holiday Parade and the fireworks before heading to the World of Color show at CA Adventure, which was amazing. They spray water in the air from the lake and then project a movie on it. So cool, we didn't hardly blink during the 30 minute show! We went to Dowtown Disney and had a late dinner at Tortilla Joe's before heading back to the hotel.
Day 4, Tuesday: Exhausted from our first day at Disney, we took it easy, took a different route through Downtown Disney, grabbed some breakfast and headed to Disneyland. We hit some rides we had missed the day before (Nemo, Small World) and went on our favorites again. And again. And again. There were hardly any lines and if there were, we grabbed a fastpast and would come back later. We walked through the Innoventions building, and saw all sorts of cool things. Doug now thinks that if we build a house someday, the curtains should be controlled from the lightswitch panel. We hopped back over to CA Adventure, did a few more rides, and went to dinner at the ESPN zone, and then came back for the World of Color show again. Disneyland is always so much fun. I swear it's magic there. It was exhausting just watching all the moms push around their strollers with their little ones, but I can't wait to go another time and take our kids. I know they would love it, who's kid doesn't?
Day 5, Wednesday: We sorta kinda slept in and left the hotel at 8:15 to make it to the 9:30 session at the LA temple. Did we make it? Nope. We ended up getting there too late, so we went to the visitor center, met a sweet Sister missionary from Idaho and went to the 10:30 session. The LA temple is so big and very pretty. It totally stands out up on the hill in a city that is so busy. I loved the warth of California, but it was so nice not to have any traffic or chaos for a couple hours. We left LA and made our way to Vegas, stopping again at IN-N-OUT burger on our way. So yummy and so glad they have some in UT now! :) We walked around the strip a bit, ate at the Hardrock Cafe, and stayed at the NY NY hotel, which was very nice!
Day 6, Thursday: We were anxious to get outta Vegas and to get home, so we grabbed McD's and then headed for home. We stopped again in Brigham City to have dinner at Maddox, another place where Doug had never eaten. The boys were anxiously awaiting their gifts from Disneyland so we went out to Doug's parents to see them and give them their toys, got them in bed, and then headed to IF to see the midnight movie premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1! :) Becki scored some free tickets and invited us to tag along! Thanks Becki and Pablo for taking us! The 9 hour drive plus the midnight premier had us exhausted by Friday a.m. but was all worth it!
Of course, I can't talk about our trip without mentioning how thankful we are to our families for keeping the boys while we were gone. We never would have been able to go on this trip if it wasn't for them! They did all sorts of fun things with the kids while we were away and the boys were spoiled rotten, literally! :) Doug and I both agreed that when we do take the boys to Disney, we're bringing Grandmas and Grandpas to help! Thank you all!
