Southern California...Been there, done that!

September 5th (Friday)~We loaded the car at 3:00 AM, that's right AM, drove to the Virgin River Restaurant in Mesquite, NV for breakfast. David heard they had a $4.99 steak and eggs breakfast to die for....NOT! No $4.99 breakfast and not fantastic. The kids were appalled by the cigarette smoke and Bren was confused by all the games that we could not play. After breakfast, we loaded up and drove to Barstow, CA for lunch at the McDonald's build in the box cars of a train. Then on to San Diego, we arrived around 4:00 SL time (3:00 SD time). We checked into the hotel and unloaded the swim gear and hit the pool. David's brother, Jayme, his girlfriend, Sabine and their daughter, Cori live in nearby San Marcos. We asked they to join us for dinner and by the time they arrived at the hotel we were in for a very late night dinner. They took us to a local Mexican restaurant in Old Towne San Diego, Mexican Cafe Cantina. The food was good and the atmosphere was fun. Brenaya fell asleep at the dinner table.

September 6th (Saturday)~We invited my mom to join us for our trip. My sister, Teresa, her husband, Chad and daughter, Jastyn and Chad's niece, Destiny decided to join our little adventure after finding out our sister, Tonya and her children, Christian and Alexis, were moving to Anaheim. They arrived by plane today. We, my mom, Christian, Alexis and Jastyn went to the San Diego Zoo. We took the 35-minute guided bus tour around the zoo. We regret the time spent on the tour. By this time we decided to split up, I had to nurse the baby and the others were headed towards the panda and polar bear exhibit. After nursing I headed towards the panda exhibit, no one in sight. I went to the polar bear exhibit...again... no one! I spent close to an hour and a half looking for the rest of the group; They got lost after the Ape exhibit. We toured the Panda exhibit but we were disappointed when we got to the polar exhibit and found they closed the exhibit for a private party....uggg. We wondered around the cat exhibit, never saw, tigers or lions or even a cougar. Went to the Skyfari, a sky ride over the park, it was closed.....uggg (again). We did see the elephants and giraffes, meercats and flamingos.

September 7th (Sunday)~I had previously located a LDS church in the area of our hotel; however, I left the directions in SL. I remembered the street name, so my sister, Tonya, map quested the directions. We loaded up the car and started driving, OOPS, I left the directions in the hotel. Satan is really at work. I figured I could remember the names of the streets and if we prayed we would make it. We found the first street and the second, we kept driving and driving, but the third street was not in sight. We looked like the lost tourist!?!? I asked David to pull off to the side to let those behind us pass. Lo and Behold, a mini van with a BYU alumni license plate cover, a driver in a white shirt and tie. AAAAAA, our prayers were answered. We attended sacrament in San Diego. The kids were eager to see a chapel that was different then what they see here. After the service, we drove to Jayme's house in San Marcos and he took us to Oceanside beach. Jayme's daughter, Cori and my girls LOVED being together. We have not seen her for nearly 5 years, Jayme usually travels to UT alone. We enjoyed a splendid day on the sunny beaches of California collecting sea shells, basking in the sun, swimming and boogie boarding the waves.

September 8 (Monday)~Today we went to Sea World. This was probably my favorite day!! With a group of 13 people, we needed to make sure we were all on the same page. We decided before hand who, when, where and what attractions we would go to. We started off in the Sesame Street 'Bay of Play' (even the older kids had fun!) Jumbo sized jumping pit, tunnels, punching bags and giant climbing tower with nets and bridges. Water fountains and smaller amusement park rides were also a hit! The Shamu 'Believe' show was spectacular!!! We sat right by the stage where they bring the whales, the kids loved getting wet! At one point, I looked over at the kids and saw the pure excitement in their faces and I started to tear up. 'This IS what it is ALL about....family!!!' Elmo 4-D was fantastic (more than we expected.) The dolphin show was a splash...literally! One of the lady volunteers fell up the stairs and then moments later tripped again and fell into the dolphin pool!?!? Later to find out, she was a part of the training team. 'Wild Artic' is a stimulated helicopter ride touring the artic. The 'Navy Seal' show was FUNNY! I sat in the front row with the older kids. At one point, the trainer drove past us in a golf cart with a Seal on the back. The kids thought that was cool. After the show, we split the group, men vs women. The men took the older kids on the 'Journey to Atlantis' water coaster and finally, the Wootton women got to hit the water coaster. (ROCK ON, MOM ;^) Then it was time for the park to close, we headed to the hotel and enjoyed a quiet night.

September 9th (Tuesday)~We left San Diego today and headed straight for Universal Studios. 'Water World' show was wonderful, the highlight of my day! The rest of the day was a bust for me. My mom and sisters decided not to travel down to the 'lower' lot. The outdoor escalators seemed trying for some of the strollers and we could not ride the elevators, handicapped only! So without back up I spent the day tending to the baby while David and the kids hit some rides. U. Studios has only had one small ride in the lower lot and several larger rides and Bren did not want to go on those, so she was really bored and wanted to go elsewhere, but David got confused by some of the lines and ended up in a show that he was not planning on attending and therefore got lost from us. However, in the show Taylan and Andi got to participate in demonstrating some of the equipment used to make 'Hollywood Magic.'

September 10th (Wednesday)~The first day of DISNEYLAND!!!!!
September 11th (Thursday)~The first day of CA Adventure & a little of DISNEYLAND!!!
September 12th (Friday)~Repeat day for DISNEYLAND & CA ADVENTURE!!!

Since a lot of the things we did on these three days are the same I am just going to combine them.....D-Land's Fantasy Land, including Fantasy Faire was fun for all the kids but this was Brenaya's favorite place. This is where all the little rides and the Princesses can be found. Dumbo's flight, Mr Toad's wild ride, the Peter Pan flight, Snow White Scary Adventure, Princess lessons and storytime with a princess. Andi enjoyed the Tower of Terror, an elevator that takes you straight up 12 floors and suddenly drops to the bottom, at CA Adventure and the Matterhorn, a roller-coaster through a mountain with abominal snow men, at D-Land. She is our adventuerous child, not too many things scare her. Taylan really enjoyed the Scream ride, a fast moving roller coaster, at CA Adventure, the Matterhorn and Space Mountain, a roller coaster driven in the dark, at D-Land.

CA Adventure had a parade which featured the 'PIXAR' side of the Disney Corp. Cars, Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille, Robots and more. The outrageous floats, delightful costumes and fabulous acrobats made this parade a HUGE hit. The High School Musical street production was also there. The cast invites many members of the audience to come on the floor and participate with them. The girls were so excited!!! They first taught them how to 'help in the kitchen' then 'Wild Cats' theme dance and last but not least 'employees pool party.' (even mom was able to get out there for the limbo line...YA!) Disneyland had a parade with many of the characters including, Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan. The vivid colors, the fantastic costumes, and the dancing were wonderful. On Friday, we also enjoyed the firework display in which 'Tinkerbell' flew across the spectacular lighted horizon. It was set to music and truely made the last day memorable.

At several moments during our trip I was touched by the pure joy of the children. I have said it before....These are the moments to treasure; The moments that wet the eyes, warms the soul and melts a heart. Life should be enjoyed with family and friends surrounding us. They are who we should laugh with and live for.

All in all, we had a wonderful vacation. Filled with many memories to cherish for a life time.

(But, I still have not figured out why I can not down load pics....sorry!?!?!?)