California Part 1

I decided since I have a little bit of time right now, I will update you on whats going on with us Gardiners. The time has come where we have been finally able to take a much needed vacation this year. We have been enjoying some R and R (most of the time) in California since the 10th of this month. We usually go on vacation in May, but this year since my mom wanted the whole family there at once we waited until now, Paul was smart and took advantage of that time and did summer school, completed his Associate program, and will now be able to start the U in the fall. I didn't bring my cord to upload our pics, so they will be posted as soon as I have a chance once we are home. I'll give a brief update or at least try to of some of our highlights. We got here late Tuesday night and enjoyed being able to see grandma for a couple of hours. Wednesday we got up early and went and spent the day at NewPort Beach. Some of my cousins came with us. This trip had a lot of FIRSTS. This was my niece's first time here and it was so much fun to spend it with her. This was Halle's first trip and first visit to the beach. My cousin Aubrey loved Paul and wanted to play with him. They were out in the water forever jumping waves and just having a good time. Paul was chasing after her and got stung by a bee. That was a FIRST for him. We had a lunch and just had fun and enjoyed each others company. Thursday was DisneyLand! I loved being able to be there with Halle. We did some rides that Paul and I havn't done in years. Because we spent more of our time with the family Paul and I went back on Tuesday after my family had left. We did all of our rides and Paul finally was able to get his picture with Tigger. We also saw Aladin at California Adventures. That was one of my highlights. They put a great show together. Friday, we celebrated my cousin Porter's 4th birthday at Chuckee Cheese. They put a cool party together for the kids. Saturday was spent at Laguna Beach. The water was freakin cold. We also got to go see our cousin Katie. She is doing a lot better than earlier this summer. We were able to take a family picture and have all the grandkids and great grandkids together for the first time. My grandma loved that. We also went to Balboa for frozen bananas. They are my favorite. My family left Sunday and that left Paul and I here to have some more vacation time here. We lounged on Sunday. Monday, my grandma let us take her car and we went to Downtown Disney. Wednesday we just lounged around since we stay at DisneyLand til closing. We didn't get home til 1:30. Today we went to San Juan Capistrano mission. It is so fun to go and do that tour. Its a lot of history. This summer they had a Zorro exhibit and Paul loved it. I did too. My cousin Garrett went with us then we went to lunch at Rubys. I love coming here and spending time with my family. Its been super hot here and thats something I'm not that use too. Of course we have grandma's pool but that water is too cold. Its so fun though, i'm sad this trip is coming to an end. At least I'll be able to post the pics. Hope everyone had a good summer.