Finally...our vacation! Yes, I realize it's now been a good month that we've been back! I've been working on this post for a while now; so long in fact, that I don't want to admit just how long! Read as much or as little as you like. You can click on the pictures (the very many pictures!) to see them larger!
Day 1: Was spent mostly driving. We drove to Capitan, New Mexico (about 45 minutes east of Roswell) to visit my Uncle Mike and Aunt Diane. Capitan is a very small town up in the mountains and I remember as a kid never wanting to go there. As an adult I loved it! Maybe because I've gained more of an appreciation for nature itself, and there really is something to be said for small towns. I actually find myself gravitating toward that lifestyle more than the big city life. Anyway we got in around 7 pm and my aunt and uncle and cousin Mikie and his new wife Karren were waiting on us to eat dinner. Here's day one's highlight: We had just gotten our plates and went out onto the porch to eat when Ava picked up a large candle (I think it had just been blown out) and poured it down her chest. Noone saw it happen, we just heard a thud and then her screaming. I thought she hit her head. Dave and Uncle Mike went to her and started getting her clothes off. I couldn't figure out why until I went over and saw the hot wax all down her front. My heart ached. It was on her chin as well. It looked like she was maybe trying to take a drink out of it. Luckily it didn't make it in her mouth before the spill. I'll admit; I freaked out a little. But she was okay and was lucky enough to just have a very small burn on her chest that disappeared completely less than 24 hours later. We then enjoyed dinner and visiting some more before going to bed.
Day 2: It was so nice to sleep in a little! Dave (being the good boy he is!) got up and went to church with Aunt Diane. I thought a week off might be nice! The girls and I stayed at the house with Uncle Mike and while Ava was napping, Uncle Mike took Ella across the street to the Smokey the Bear museum. She loved hanging out with him, and several times referred to him as Papa (that's what she calls my dad.) I took my precious time getting ready for the day and then went and sat on the front porch to enjoy the cool breezy weather and try to figure out how to use my new camera. We spent a lot of time that day on the porch; it was wonderful! They have a large front porch with a nice big swing.
Day 2: It was so nice to sleep in a little! Dave (being the good boy he is!) got up and went to church with Aunt Diane. I thought a week off might be nice! The girls and I stayed at the house with Uncle Mike and while Ava was napping, Uncle Mike took Ella across the street to the Smokey the Bear museum. She loved hanging out with him, and several times referred to him as Papa (that's what she calls my dad.) I took my precious time getting ready for the day and then went and sat on the front porch to enjoy the cool breezy weather and try to figure out how to use my new camera. We spent a lot of time that day on the porch; it was wonderful! They have a large front porch with a nice big swing.
We went to Ruidoso for lunch and to drive around and see the big flood that was major news for their town. I also got to see some of the houses my cousin had worked on (he's in construction) and then we went to visit my other cousin Danielle and her kids at her house. It was lots of fun! When I think of country, I think of my cousin's family! Her oldest is very into the rodeo and has won and is very proud of the large belt buckles he has to show for it. Her husband and son are big hunters also. Their house depicts this well! They proudly display the large animals they have killed and have them mounted in their living room. I thought it was kinda funny when Danielle said "And here's our bear" and sure enough she pulled out a bear skin that was folded in a box. They hadn't yet mounted that one. They also have 3 horses and are raising some pigs for the fair that was going to take place the following week; they have a few dogs too. Ella wanted to go to the barn to see the animals. Turns out it wasn't as cool as she thought it would be. She didn't like the smell and didn't want to get to close to any of the animals. Dave did finally convince her to feed the horses a little, but that ended when one of the pigs splashed her dress with mud! They had had a lot of rain and the pig pen was pretty muddy. Ella probably is more of a city girl herself! She thought it was pretty gross; I thought it was funny! (I have some pictures of it all somewhere, but can't find them right now and just want to get this post done!) We spent the rest of the evening visiting and Danielle and her family came back by that night. The highlight of Capitan for me was just getting to see my family and hang out on the porch with them.
For Ella, it was sleeping in the princess bed that her 2nd cousin sleeps in when she visits, and hanging out with her Great Uncle Mike.
For Dave, it was visiting with Uncle Mike. It was his first time there; he loves the country and mostly enjoyed talking about cars and seeing all of Uncle Mike's old cars.
Day 3: We left Capitan at 6:45 am to head to San Diego. I wish we could have stayed for a couple more days. It was so peaceful and relaxing. But we were excited for the next part of the trip. We drove the entire day and arrived in La Mesa (just outside San Diego) at 10 pm. The girls did awesome! It helped to have a DVD player in the van (thanks Connie!) and to have new toys. Travel tip I learned from a friend: For long road trips, go to the dollar store before hand and stock up on toys. Periodically throughout the drive, the kids get to pick out a new toy. It's amazing how long a $1 toy will occupy them (even Ava!) So at 10:00 we checked into a motel and went to sleep.
Day 4: We got to go visit my grandma! We haven't seen her since Ella was a little baby and she's never met Ava. She lives in an assisted living home. It was a little sad for me. She has changed a lot and didn't quite seem the same to me. Nonetheless, we enjoyed visiting with her. We had lunch with her and then Ella and I enjoyed painting her fingernails. We didn't want to exhaust her and she is in a very small room (we couldn't convince her to go for a drive with us) so we left after a few hours. The thing I love about Grandma: she loves pink and everything in her room is pink! Ella liked that too! We even all wore pink for her!
After we left her, we drove around downtown San Diego. It was cool to see the USS Midway. 
I love this statue! It's huge!
I love this statue! It's huge!
We also went to the San Diego temple. We walked around for a bit and took lots of pictures. The girls enjoyed running around the flowers. I was surprised how long we stayed. We did go inside for a few minutes; Ella really wanted to see the inside. It's such a pretty temple.
I don't think Ava has ever really gotten to just sit in the grass like this. There are just too many bugs in Texas. She was pretty cute playing it!
Then we headed to my Aunt Carol's house back in La Mesa. This is my mom's only sibling and I hadn't seen her in almost 11 years. It was fun to visit with them for a few hours as well and catch up.
We had big plans for the next day and decided to go ahead and drive to our next destination that evening. So we needed to gas up and I think this is where we paid the most for gas the whole time. $4.59 a gallon! Anyways, it was only about 2 hours until we arrived in Anaheim. At 11:00 we checked into a hotel on "Disney Way" (I thought that was so cool!--I know, I'm a dork!) and went to sleep.
I don't think Ava has ever really gotten to just sit in the grass like this. There are just too many bugs in Texas. She was pretty cute playing it!
Then we headed to my Aunt Carol's house back in La Mesa. This is my mom's only sibling and I hadn't seen her in almost 11 years. It was fun to visit with them for a few hours as well and catch up.
We had big plans for the next day and decided to go ahead and drive to our next destination that evening. So we needed to gas up and I think this is where we paid the most for gas the whole time. $4.59 a gallon! Anyways, it was only about 2 hours until we arrived in Anaheim. At 11:00 we checked into a hotel on "Disney Way" (I thought that was so cool!--I know, I'm a dork!) and went to sleep.
Day 5: Disneyland!!! MAGICAL! There is no other way to describe it! Not just for the kids, but for mom and dad too. Cliche, I know, but so true! We were there for 13 hours and holy cow our girls were good and worn out at the end of the night! I don't even know where to begin. Next time we will have to do at least 2 days there. Even after 13 hours, there was so much that we didn't see or do.
Ready for some fun!
We spent the majority of our time in Fantasyland (it was all about the princesses!) and Toon Town. It may sound silly, but I was star struck! We got an autograph book for Ella and it was so fun to see the different characters and get their autographs and take pictures with them. So when we first got there top priority was to head over to see the princesses. And after Ella saw some princesses, she wanted to dress up as a princess like some of the other little girls running around. Sure enough, you come out from seeing them and there is a gift shop where you can pay to get dressed up from head to toe as any princess you want. We settled for face painting instead!!
We spent the majority of our time in Fantasyland (it was all about the princesses!) and Toon Town. It may sound silly, but I was star struck! We got an autograph book for Ella and it was so fun to see the different characters and get their autographs and take pictures with them. So when we first got there top priority was to head over to see the princesses. And after Ella saw some princesses, she wanted to dress up as a princess like some of the other little girls running around. Sure enough, you come out from seeing them and there is a gift shop where you can pay to get dressed up from head to toe as any princess you want. We settled for face painting instead!!
Ava wasn't too sure what to think about Ella's face painting!
Here are some pictures of just a few characters that we saw and took pictures with throughout the day...
I was a little bummed that we missed the shot of Ava grabbing Mickey's cheeks! I was too busy oooing and awwing!
Minnie Mouse was so cute! She would strike a different pose every time you snapped a picture; she was really kind of prissy! It was fun!
After waiting in line for about an hour, we didn't know which princesses we were going to see. When we finally got in and Ella saw Belle, she RAN and threw her arms around her! I didn't think she was ever going to let go of her!
So Belle just held on to her. She was so sweet! She talked to Ella for a few minutes and the whole time Ella stood there up on her toes, stroking her hair and smiling. I think she was star struck too!
Belle even fanned out her dress and invited the girls to sit on it. Ella thought that was great!
Mary Poppins and Bert were my favorites! Dave saw them right as they came out and got Ella first in line. The line piled up quick, but even so, they talked to Ella for about 5 minutes (Ava was passed out during this). They asked Ella if she had seen Mary Poppins and what her favorite song from it was. Then they sang parts of a few of them to her!
I'm not sure what Ella was whispering in Mary's ear, but I thought it was sweet!
Ella loved them! Of course, it didn't hurt that Mary called her "lovely" and Bert drew a picture for her in her book!
We rode just a couple of rides before Ava passed out for a good long 3 1/2 hours! She really missed a lot! So Dave and I took turns going on rides with Ella.
I'm not sure what Ella was whispering in Mary's ear, but I thought it was sweet!
Ella loved them! Of course, it didn't hurt that Mary called her "lovely" and Bert drew a picture for her in her book!
We rode just a couple of rides before Ava passed out for a good long 3 1/2 hours! She really missed a lot! So Dave and I took turns going on rides with Ella.
Train ride before Ava passed out!
And she's out...
Alice in Wonderland ride
Waiting in the long tea cups line..
Wha-hoo! Neither Dave or Ella could walk straight after getting off this ride!
I was glad when Ava finally woke up and the whole family could enjoy a few rides together!
The storyland boat ride
Snow White's Scary Adventure! And it was scary! I sat in the front with Ella and Dave sat in the back with Ava. They wouldn't let him hold her; she had to be seated next to him. I figured, how scary can it be? Well, you are in the dark and can't see where you are going and imagine this scary witch popping up in your face over and over again! Ella buried her face in me a couple of times and Ava didn't respond much. I thought for sure there might be nightmares after that one! It was still fun though!
Several people have asked Ella what her favorite part was and I've heard her give a few different answers. Her favorite rides were Alice in Wonderland and the teacups, her favorite characters were Belle and Mary Poppins, and she LOVED the parade. In fact, we all liked it so much, that we watched it twice!
Several people have asked Ella what her favorite part was and I've heard her give a few different answers. Her favorite rides were Alice in Wonderland and the teacups, her favorite characters were Belle and Mary Poppins, and she LOVED the parade. In fact, we all liked it so much, that we watched it twice!
High 5's with Goofy!
Ava really liked Goofy too!
Giraffes from the Lion King
Pinnochio!
When it got dark, Ella and Ava both lit up with lots of glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces that we got from the dollar store at home.
I finally asked someone to take a family picture of us before we called it a night. We were all trashed by this point!
It really was an awesome day! We went to the Fantasmic show at the end (it's a show that's done on the water). Ella was beside herself with excitement and couldn't have been more ecstatic when she said "I didn't know there was real magic in real life!" For those that know Ella, I'm sure you can hear her enthusiasm in that sentence! If I'm being honest, I teared up as soon as she said it (remember, I'm pregnant so I have an excuse!) I just love her innocence. The fireworks show was immediately after that and it was just as awe-striking. At that point the battery in my camera died (I was so disappointed). I loved looking over and seeing Ella sitting down with her daddy, sharing popcorn with him, minnie mouse bride ears on, and a look of pure joy and excitement. That very kodak moment made the whole day for me. At this point it was a little chilly; luckily we brought jackets for the girls. As soon as I got Ava's on her, she snuggled in and fell asleep on me (during the fireworks!) The fireworks ended and Ella exclaimed "The fun just never ends at Disneyland!" It sure doesn't! It was so sweet! Oh and we found a Kodak store that had docking stations to charge camera batteries. I was really happy about that! Most of the little kid type stuff was shut down by that point so we walked around a little more and then decided it was time to leave. I think Disney was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was so satisfying to me to see my girls so happy and enjoying it all so much. If you get the chance, GO! It's so worth it!
Ella was tired of walking by the end of the day so she hopped in behind Ava. Ava loved it and snuggled right up to her.
One last visit to Minnie on the way out. Ella couldn't believe that she got to see her in 3 different outfits throughout the day!
For some reason this picture won't turn either. But as we were walking to the car, Ella had fallen asleep in the stroller. Ava kept turning around and kissing her; it was precious! I love how much my girls love each other.
One last visit to Minnie on the way out. Ella couldn't believe that she got to see her in 3 different outfits throughout the day!
For some reason this picture won't turn either. But as we were walking to the car, Ella had fallen asleep in the stroller. Ava kept turning around and kissing her; it was precious! I love how much my girls love each other.
We got back to our hotel around midnight and Ava got her second wind. She finally calmed down and went to sleep around 1:00!
Day 6: Was more of a sightseeing, driving around day. Dave use to live in LA and worked as a tour guide and therefore was able to show us around some.
Traffic in LA at noon on a Thursday...
We went to the Observatory and had a great view of the Hollywood sign. It was kinda fun to see that.
Ella didn't look out of place at all with her Minnie Ears on (which by the way, got worn EVERYWHERE!) She fit in with all the other freaks we saw that day (not that I thought she looked like a freak, but some people certainly did and well... like i said, she just didn't look out of place!)
Check out this homeless lady. She was cruising along with her cart overflowing with stuff when all of a sudden she busts out a cell phone! I hesitated taking this picture which is why it's not the greatest and is more of her backside, but I decided you just had to see it!
Cool socks dude!
Let me tell you...LA is SCARY! There were all kinds of interesting people and things all over the place. And it was so dirty too. There's so much hype and it's so glamorized in the media, so maybe my expectations were a little high. But overall I was a little disappointed.
We did take a trip down...
There are just way too many pictures to post, but a few things we saw...the Jimmy Kimmel theater, the Kodak Theater, The Chinese Theater, a couple of film sets, all kinds of people dressed up including these 2 characters I took a picture of for Ella...
...and of course, LOTS of stars! No, not the people themselves, just their stars. Did you know that they have to pay for them?! Anyways, I was a little excited to see this one... :) I love Love LOVE him!
Through all our driving around, we found a fun playground; the girls were happy to run around for a while.
But after driving around LA, Hollywood, and Burbank I was ready to head out. From there we headed up the road and decided to stop for dinner. We checked into a motel shortly after that (I can't remember where...we were somewhere between LA and San Jose). We took the girls swimming and got to bed a little earlier that night.
Remember how I mentioned that California was really dirty? Well, after Ava's bath that night she went right to bed. The next morning we got up, got dressed and headed out. So less than an hour later when we got in the car, I was a little disgusted when I saw Ava's feet. She wasn't too happy about it either...
Okay so really she was crying about having to get back in her carseat, but how gross are her feet?! I've noticed in looking through several pictures that you can see how dirty the girls' feet were (or even the bottom of their shoes) the whole time we were in California.
Day 7: We finished the drive up to San Jose. We arrived there around 4 pm. We pulled up to our hotel at the same exact time as Richard and Lisa's family (Richard is Dave's brother). Shortly thereafter Jennie and Dave arrived (Dave's sister) and also his parents. The girls all went to dinner together and then we went over to Emmer's (my new sister-in-law!) grandma's house to help set up for the reception. The guys all went to dinner together with Jim for his last night of bachelorhood.
Okay so really she was crying about having to get back in her carseat, but how gross are her feet?! I've noticed in looking through several pictures that you can see how dirty the girls' feet were (or even the bottom of their shoes) the whole time we were in California.
Day 7: We finished the drive up to San Jose. We arrived there around 4 pm. We pulled up to our hotel at the same exact time as Richard and Lisa's family (Richard is Dave's brother). Shortly thereafter Jennie and Dave arrived (Dave's sister) and also his parents. The girls all went to dinner together and then we went over to Emmer's (my new sister-in-law!) grandma's house to help set up for the reception. The guys all went to dinner together with Jim for his last night of bachelorhood.
Day 8: Wedding day! Somehow Dave's white dress shirt didn't make it to San Jose with us (he thinks it got mixed up with the linens in our hotel after we had gone to the San Diego temple.) We were supposed to arrive at the temple by 10:30. We were rushed trying to find a store and get him a shirt and arrive on time for the sealing. It made for a crazy morning! And let me tell you something else...the freeways in California are a mess! There are no service roads; there is no hopping on and off the freeway. I don't know how many times we wound up driving around like we were in a maze trying to find our way out! We made it though. The sealing was beautiful and Jim and Emmer were so sweet. I was so glad that we decided to make the trip and that we got to share in their special day with them. The Oakland Temple was so BUSY! I heard someone say there were 13 brides that day! While it was wonderful and beautiful though, I have to share with you a few things that shocked me. There were at least 2-3 crowds of people right outside the temple entrance doors waiting for newlyweds to come out. It was loud; and people were clapping and yelling and cheering so loudly every time a new couple came out. It made me a little sad because I felt like it took away from the spirit there. I was amazed at the bride that came out of the temple, took pictures, and then changed into a HOT PINK (and it was either strapless or spaghetti straps) wedding gown and then went back for more pictures in front of the temple. I wish I had taken a picture; it's definitely one of those "you'd have to see it to believe it moments." And then there was the bride that was practically molesting her new husband and kept grabbing his bum in front of everyone. He kept saying "stop" to which she replied "we're married now! It's okay!" Him: "Stop!" Her: "Why?" Her friend: "Um I don't know, maybe because you're in front of the Lord's house!" It was crazy! So amist all the craziness, it was nice to look over at Jim and Emmer and see the simplicity and to be able to tell that they kept the focus on what was really important. They were beautiful!
This isn't the greatest picture of the MacKillop family, but it was the only one I already had in my files. The photographer got a really good one.
Ella was a flower girl. And she reveled in every second of it! She was Emmer's shadow that day and took great pleasure in following her around and holding up her train. After we were done with pictures at the temple, we went back to the hotel and let the girls take a much needed nap before heading to the reception that evening. It was fun to watch Ella make new friends; she especially clicked with one of the other flower girls named Sydney that is her age. They had so much fun dancing around and giggling together. Ella was also quite fond of the older boys there that played and danced with her as well. So here are lots of pictures (because I really can't just pick a few...)
Ava really was not very cooperative; I can't even tell you how many pictures I had to take to get these few! Ella was patient for a while but really was getting tired of it and just wanted to get back to Emmer!
She's just such a cute little stinker!
At the reception...
Ava with her cousin Sarah
After Jim and Emmer left, everyone started taking everything down. For Ella, the party was just getting started...
With her new friend, Sydney. I love these next pictures of Ella dancing. This is my Ella truly in her element. She dances around all the time and was thrilled to find a little friend her age to join in the fun with her.
Day 9: We left San Jose around noon. Ava was perfectly content to hang out with her cousin Richard while we packed everything up...
...and then we left, with going to 2 places in mind. The beach and San Francisco. Sure enough we made it to the beach. Ella was all set with her swim suit and sand toys. She was a little disappointed though when we got out of the car and it was 58 degrees outside! Obviously much too cold to get into swimsuits or anywhere near the water, although she did get her feet wet once. We walked around the beach a little, until it was too cold to stay any longer.
I don't know why I can't get this picture turned right. But I had to put it in because I thought it was so cute!
And then we headed to San Francisco. We toured around a while and went to the Golden Gate bridge. It was soooo cold outside!! I loved it! It was such a nice break from the 100+ Texas weather! We slept in San Francisco that night too.
I'm no photographer, but I thought this was a cool picture.
I'm getting hungry. I'm not sure, but I think there may be a McDonalds not too far away.
Check out these houses right on top of each other! You can get one in any color you want...
Day 10: Drive to Salt Lake City! The thing that stands out in my mind the most...while we were driving Ella was playing with this little ball and paddle toy. She was having a hard time playing with it and thought it didn't work. She was getting a little crabby and I realized she probably wanted a snack. She ate it pretty quickly, but also very quietly. I watched her afterwards put it away and could tell she was in a hurry to do something. She folded her arms and said a little prayer. Then she took her toy out again and kept on playing. I asked her what she was praying about and she said she asked Heavenly Father to help her toy work better. I love that she knows she can pray to Heavenly Father about anything! And even more that she shows such faith in doing so. I know we're not supposed to be proud...but I was. She's such a good example to us.
The girls were so patient with all the driving. Here they are when we stopped to gas up.
We also stopped somewhere in Nevada to let the girls get out and play for a while.
We got into SLC right around sunset, had dinner, drove around a bit and decided to call it a night.
I've been to SLC many times before but this was the first time I've actually seen the temple at night.
Day 11: First we visited the church history museum. And then we went to Temple Square. We missed getting to see the new Joseph Smith video and didn't want to wait for the next one so instead we walked around the visitors center for a while. It was really neat to show the girls the large Christus statue. They were surprisingly reverent while we were there too!
Day 11: First we visited the church history museum. And then we went to Temple Square. We missed getting to see the new Joseph Smith video and didn't want to wait for the next one so instead we walked around the visitors center for a while. It was really neat to show the girls the large Christus statue. They were surprisingly reverent while we were there too!
We peaked in one of the videos playing in the visitors center. We watched for a while until Ava got too restless and we needed to leave. So then we walked around the temple a bit.
Time to hit the road! We headed to Colorado from there. I loved driving through Colorado; it was beautiful!
On the road again... such troopers!
We only made it to Grand Junction that night. We decided it would be best to go ahead and get a good nights sleep and get an early start the next morning. This was our last night in a hotel.
My sleeping beauties...
Day 12: This was it, the final stretch! At this point we had spent a lot of time driving, sightseeing, driving, sightseeing, driving some more, and we were all getting restless. It was time to just get home. Plus Dave was pretty adament about not having to unload and load the van up again at another motel! So we drove all day...
Diaper changes, ice cream, and talking to a few good friends along the way...
I'm so proud...she's multitasking!
...and we finally made it back to our house around 1:00 am! Whew! It was a whirlwind of a trip that took us a good week to recover from!
...and we finally made it back to our house around 1:00 am! Whew! It was a whirlwind of a trip that took us a good week to recover from!
