California...Again...This is the last time this year, I promise.

So...Cali seems to be the destination of our summer...This time we went just for fun. Joe had a symposium he needed to attend and so we decided to follow him out and enjoy a week vacation on our own. 

We set out early on a saturday...General Conference in the car! We still find a way to make this a priority! It may not have been the most productive year we have had listening to conference, but we made it work!

There is a tradition in my family to enjoy Conference Cake (coffee cake) every year during the Sunday session. We had to make a few small adjustments this year since I didn't have a kitchen readily available. 

Took a fun little detour  on our way t down south! None of us had ever been to Zions National Park before. This was a great stop! We enjoyed the bus rides and a walk through the narrows. It was absolutely beautiful.

The next day was a huge surprise to the boys! Guess where we are headed....

Made surprise trip to California Adventures for the kiddos! What a fun filled day! We even got to meet up with Sharilyn and Scott for part of the day. Best choice we ever made was to bring our sweet little Alison along. What a life saver! Andy's favorite right was Guardians of the galaxy (this one even scared me a bit). Ajs was soaring. So glad we got this little day with Joe before his work symposium starts!

The best part was going at halloween time! They changed up so many cute things. 

Getting ready to go in!

Waiting for Cars

Ariana's favorite ride

We just happened upon Nick Wilde...

Maters Tractor Scramble

It sure was easier to have 3 adults. It made riding the rides much more enjoyable. Sometimes it payed off to be a single rider....

We were completely worn out after our day in Disney so we spent most of our day relaxing. We enjoyed a walk on the Hollywood walk of fame (the boys found Walt Disney and I found Tinkerbell!), some tv time, and tried our hand at swimming, but lasted no more than 5 minutes. It was a bit too cold. We also picked up a few disney trinkets to remember our trip. 

We ventured out into the city today to see our sweet Kylie at work. We then went out to see the Hollywood sign "like in the movies" aj said. We got blocked on a road while they filmed yet another movie. Walked into the Dolby theater (same building Joe's symposium was in). Alison wanted to attend the temple so we dropped her off while we enjoyed the visitors center. It was a nice break from the dirty and noisy city.

Beach day!!!! We spent 5 hours completely happy and entertained by the sand and the water! Andy's favorite thing was jumping in the deep waves with me. Aj enjoyed making sand sculptures and Ariana ate everything in sight.  And to end the day...nothing better than a hotel pillow fight!!!

The end of our trip is here and what a day!!! We made it all the way to sandy in time for us to attend the byu homecoming spectacular!! (another post on that...) We made an essential stop at the red Barn to get our Cider slushies and made it back to Sandy safe and sound!

Cracker Barrel

On our way into St George to stay the night we noticed these beautiful lanterns floating in the sky. It was completely magical. it was some sort of Indian reservation Spirit celebration.

What a trip. It was our last Hurrah with Alison before she leaves on her mission. What a great way to make wonderful memories.