Sunny California

Last week we hopped on a jet plane and headed out to the west coast for the Pepperdine Lectures and a little vacation!! We had a blast. I will admit that the lectureship part of the trip is never my favorite and usually involves me getting mad but we made it through those 4 days and then had a blast being tourists with our besties, Daniel, Jennifer, Laney and Kolby!!! The lectures ended on Friday night so on Saturday morning we packed up our stuff and moved to a hotel right by LAX airport and began our adventures. We started out by heading to the Santa Monica Pier. It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed walking down the pier and looking at the fishermen. The kids loved the little amusement park. Laney and Kolby both won a stuffed animal at one of the games and then both got to jump on one of those trampolines that you are harnessed to and can go really high. We also enjoyed a yummy mexican food lunch at the end of the pier!! And after lunch we walked down to the beach so the kids could feel the water...they said it was FREEZING!!

After Santa Monica we went to Hollywood Blvd. to see the Walk of Fame and the hand/feet prints at the Chinese Theater. There are always a lot of sketchy people out on Hollywood Blvd. but we had a fun time none the less.

We then headed to Rodeo Dr. to check out all of the fancy shops. We just drove down it because there isn't really much parking over there. We were hoping to see someone famous but no such luck. The kids were really begging to go swimming at the hotel so after Rodeo Dr. we headed back and all went swimming. Maddox LOVED it!! He loves bath time so I wasn't the least bit surprised. Since we were already back at the hotel we took advantage and got Maddox to bed early for the first time the entire trip (poor guy). On Sunday we got up and went to church at Mosaic in Beverly Hills. We have gone to this church the 2 other times we have been to Cali and just love it. The other times we went to their downtown LA campus which is a completely different atmosphere but we still enjoyed the Beverly Hills Campus. After church we headed to Dodger Stadium to watch them take on our own Colorado Rockies. We all had Dodger Dogs and enjoyed our time. Unfortunately, the Rockies lost. After the game we headed to Anaheim to check out Downtown Disney. It just a bunch of shops and restaurants but is free to go to. It was fun and we got the kids souvenirs there. After that we grabbed a quick dinner and headed back to the hotel to get rested for Monday's full day at Disneyland.

On Monday (our last day) we headed back to Anaheim for Disneyland. It was all of our first time except Collin. I have been to Disney World 3 times before but never Disneyland. It was a lot of fun. Although, I will say that I was very disappointed with the size of the castle. It is MUCH smaller than the one at Disney World. We spent the entire day there riding rides and meeting characters. It was a blast and everyone was wiped out by the time we left!! There were even a bunch of rides that Maddox could ride so I think even he had a good time!!

We had such a great time being in Cali with the Cox's. We were all sad to come home to the yucky, cold, snowy weather in Colorado. Hopefully, we can all go on vacation again sometime!