Day 4 - What happens in the Kid Car....

...STAYS in the Kid Car!

We decide 4 days together is enough family bonding time and chose to split up. We were told early on in our California Adventure that checking the Aquarium in Monterey Bay was something we should do. So Sunday, the Kids head toward Monterey Bay.

And it was a LONG drive. A VERY long drive scrunched in the backseat with my siblings. By the time we arrive, we're tired, hungry and completely over fish. And we're not thrilled that apparently 4,000 other people were told to check out the Aquarium and thought Sunday would be a good day for a drive. (Side note: I think it's very inappropriate for an Aquarium to serve fish - it just seems rude to their inhabitants.)

We shove through the exhibits and head home and in to more traffic. Lovely. By this point, The Sisters have reached their breaking point with the Talky Boys and Tami announces that unless everyone shuts up - she's going to have to start counting $#!* like she's OCD to calm down. Then proceeds to tap on the back of the chair chanting "1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5." It made me laugh...a lot. Still does! She's hilarious.

We finally make it back to the hotel only to get back in to the car and head out for fireworks. We traipse through a neighborhood that I'm sure looks lovely in the daylight - night, not so much. Our band of Merry Men finally make it to the park in time for a beautiful firework show. Good job David! No matter how old I get - fireworks are simply magical. :)

Highlights of the day:

Attempting to take pictures of the El Camino Real Bells up and down the freeway - they fly by REALLY fast!

Daniel rolling the back window down EVERY time he tried to roll down the Drivers window - Tami and I laughed EVERY time.

Tami arguing over the pronunciation of "Cannery Road" - Poops, it's NOT Canary.

Somehow the interior lights in the car got turned on and no one knew how to turn them off - we rode like this for a while:

Think our nerves are fried now? Imagine Day 5! Stay tuned....

Day 3 - And they lived happily ever after....

David and Kristl had a BEAUTIFUL wedding and a fabulous reception. I was so excited for them! :) The ceremony took place at Ardenwood Historical Park in Fremont, California under a very lovely Gazebo.

Kristl and her girls were gorgeous!!

We had a blast at the reception where we danced and drank and had a great time!

It was a beautiful day and an amazing start to Kristl and David's new adventure. :) Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Mayes!!

Up next, day 4 and trust me - it's entertaining!

Until then...

Day 2 - Won't you save me San Fransisco

Just so you know, that's a song off of Train's new album. I love Train. :)

Friday the family headed in to the big city with steep hills. We started with Lomard Street. Daniel was driving and while we mentioned the road was very curvy, we had no clue how curvy it was. We take the first turn on the brick road and my husband exclaims "Jee-sus!!! This is just LUDICROUS!!" And everyone but him started laughing. We parked on the steepest hill ever - I'm pretty sure I couldn't live in San Fran, the roads are just outrageous and the parking is stupid.

Here's Lombard St.:

From there we ventured to the Golden Gate Bridge which was cold and windy but absolutely beautiful! We took lots of great pictures! Here's one of the family:

By this time we were hungry so we headed to Fisherman's Wharf for some food, Sea Lions and ice cream. This being a holiday weekend, there was a crowd but we managed to find a table and have a lovely lunch. We walked around Pier 39 and had hot chocolate from Ghirardelli chocolate factory (YUM!) while we waited on our Cable Car. We got to see how they turn the cars - they put them on a big Lazy Susan and spin them by hand! This is us on our Cable Car:

The Bride enjoyed hanging off quite a bit! After a very busy day, we headed back to the hotel. The Kid Car took the direct way home while the Grown Up Car took the scenic route. After we got back to the hotel, Aunt Kathy needed to visit CVS so we headed out again. And even CVS was an adventure. Who knew you could find Jack Daniel's next to the razors?!

San Fransisco was lovely! We got to see all the touristy things we wanted to see and laughed a lot. I think Kristl enjoyed her day in the city with her family and I'm so happy we got to spend the day with her.

Next up is the wedding!

Until next time...

California Adventure Day 1 - We Land!

My Aunt Kristl and her beloved David are finally married! They were married over the holiday weekend in Fremont, California and we all got to go! We spent several days in BEAUTIFUL California with a LOT of Family Bonding time. :) It was amazing so I'm going to give you the day by day adventures. So here's Day 1 for your enjoyment.

The Family (me, Daniel, my Mom, Travis, my Grandmother, my aunts Sue & Kathy) all get on a plane - sounds like a joke only there's no punch line. :) We fly Southwest so none of us sit next to each other. I end up next to a woman traveling with her husband and 4 kids. Yes - 4. God bless them! The baby in her lap is in the "grab and slap everything" phase. Fun times! His mom did a great job of attempting to keep him from touching me with his sticky fingers (why do they ALWAYS have sticky fingers?!) but it's an airplane so there was touching. :) The flight was fine and we picked up our rental cars. The Kid Car belonged to Daniel, me, Josh, Tami and Travis. The Grown Up Car held The Others. This is what the back of the Grown Up Car looked like:

Later that night, Daniel and I picked Tami and Josh up from the airport and headed to the Rehearsal Dinner at the Father of the Groom's house. The food was fantastic and everyone got to visit. It was a relaxing start to a busy weekend.

Day 1 was dedicated to travel, checking in and catching up.

Day 2 - SAN FRANSISCO!! Watch out California - here we come! :)

Until then....