There's No Place Like Oceanside, There's No Place Like Oceanside....

If I could put on my red flip flops, click my heels together and go back to Oceanside, California I would do it in a heartbeat. We had so much fun this October on our family trip to California. All of the Van Wagoners were there and that made for a fabulous time.

Our family left a little early and made a stop in St. George to stay in Sand Hollow. We stayed at a primo house there. Shawn got to golf, the kids got to watch TV all morning, and I got a burger at In N Out..that made for a perfect morning.

The golf course was so beautiful.

That afternoon we headed to Las Vegas to stay a nite there. We got together with our good friends the Teeples. The kids had a chance to reconnect, and we got to go out to dinner with Matt and Amber. It was so fun to see them. I wish they lived here so we could get together more often.

The next morning we were off to the West Coast. The drive was pretty quick, we had a fabulous dinner, and then we headed to our pad that we were sharing with the Sorensons. The condos were beautiful and right on the beach. We enjoyed watching the sunsets at night and the surfers in the morning.

The first day we were in California was Sunday. In attempt to keep in holy we headed into Old Town San Diego to see the Mormon Batallion Museum. There were lots of people out.

Mom, Shawn, and Kendyll

Some of the Kids...

Unfortunately when we finally made it to the Museum it was closed for remodeling. So all we got was this picture in front of a locked building.

So we walked around for a minute, and headed out of there.

On the way back we stopped at the San Diego Temple. It was fun to walk around, take pictures and let the kids talk to the missionaries about what it looked like inside. It is such a beautiful temple.

And this is such a beautiful man...

The next day we headed into Anaheim to go to Disneyland. The Santa Ana winds were blowing and it was fierce. As we pulled into the dust cloud of a parking lot, we considered turning around and coming another day. But we perservered. And mysteriously as we entered the gates of the Magic Kingdom, the winds calmed and we had a beautiful day.

Buzz Lightyear...so fun.

Autotopia..Jackson was an awful driver...

Britta, about to be lunch...

The highlight of the day was the Tower of Terror. My kids have been on the tower of terror three years ago. They were tricked into going with the mom, by their Dad. They were so scared and Britta who was then three, called in the Tower of Tears. Emma was the only Catmull kid brave enough to try it again.. and she loved it. I also went on it with some coaxing from Jacki, from the picture below you can tell I loved it.

Some more Tower of Terror Survivors! Emma, Coop and Dakota

Other than the Tower of Terror, my next favorite part of the day was listening to Collin squeal like a girl when he got wet on the rapids ride. What a wussy. Shawn looks a little wussy too here in this picture.

Of course we didn't fit everything in the first day so we had to go back the next day for more...This was Kendyll so happy because she didn't have to go on any rides. She was very scared of Disneyland, and whined about every ride she went on. And she is right, Disneyland is scary. Almost every ride, except Winnie the Pooh, has a scary element to it. But she did love Pooh, and that made it worth it.Notice her scared face waiting for this ride...

This was my favorite part of Disneyland...the Princesses. We waited in line forever but it was so sweet. Each of them took time to talk to Britta and take pictures.

Belle was my favorite. Kendyll of course was scared of the princesses, so she did not want her picture taken with them. Belle told her, in her most perfect princess voice, that she hoped that she could come back and take a picture with her, so that they could curtsy...so, so, so, cute. We loved it.

We were beat by the end of the day...we had such a great time!

The next couple of days we got to spend at the Beach... I have decided one of my favorite things to do is sit in the sand and watch my kids play on the beach. I don't think I have ever seen them happier. This time was even more fun with family around.

Jackson catching waves on the boogie board.

Corey..preparing to catch some waves of his own... you are one bad A surfer bro.

Shawn, heading out for the fun. He did great for his first time.

The fam on the pier.

The kids on the beach
Mom and Dad..thanks so much for the awesome trip!

To Shawn..our love is as beautiful as this sunset.

Our last day there we headed into Irvine to Nikken Headquarters. This kids thought it was fun to see Dad's big office. It is quite a place, they have filmed serveral movies here it is so unique.

We love Nikken!
It was also Kendyll's birthday, so we went to the Cheesecake Factory to Celebrate.
Kendyll is such a sweet spot in our lives, what would we ever do without her?
Happy 3rd Birthday Little Kendyll.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the great trip we loved it and we love you!