California Thanksgiving

This year David and I, along

with the young Gibson family,

spent our Thanksgiving break

in sunny California.

Aaron enjoyed meeting his 2nd Cousin
Once Removed Christopher

We flew in and the young Gibsons
drove in on Sunday and
we were up bright and early on
Monday morning to visit
Disneyland.  Some of you may know
that David worked at Disneyland
when he was a teenager and
LOVES the place so it was
fun going with Caleb and Aaron
for their very FIRST visit.

They were beside themselves with excitement.
As we waited to get in, they could hardly
contain themselves.  I heard
Aaron say, "I can't believe it, I
just can't believe it!"  

We can't wait to get inside Mickey.

The first ride was Star Tours.
I wish I could have recorded this
little man's giggles as
he waited with excitement for the
ride to begin.
While "the big kids" were
riding Star Tours, Aaron and Ducca
(David) went on the Merry Go Round (twice), Alice
in Wonderland and Dumbo (twice).

It was sometimes easier getting
the boys' pictures while standing in
line than while on the actual rides.

What a joy-filled day!

Mr. Toad's Ride

Right up this Super Hero's alley

I just love that sweet little face.
Aaron talked a blue streak the entire
trip.  What a fun age 3 is!

Because David's mom lives so close
to Disneyland, we left in the middle of
the day to take a short nap.
Aaron needed one and so did
the rest of us.

But before we left, we had to have
one of the famous Mickey Bars.
They definitely lived up to their hype.

Yummy!!

I think David has found his
Disneyland Buddy.  Caleb, at 6 1/2
was the perfect age to enjoy every aspect
of Disneyland.  He rode all the "super
scary" rides and loved every minute of it.

We returned around dusk and got to enjoy
Disneyland at night, including a magnificent
fireworks display.

Aaron's favorite ride was the
Buzz Lightyear
ride and he got his own ray gun
for a souvenir.

He also liked It's a Small World.  He called
it the Dragon ride.  Yes, there are dragons
in the ride.

The young Gibsons had been reading
a book about Walt Disney in preparation
for the trip so we had to get a picture
of Walt with Mickey.

The boys' expressions are
a little strange in this picture, but
I had to include it because YES, we
closed the park down.  It closed at Midnight
and at about 11:30 the Big people were
all ready to call it a night when Aaron
said, "But what about Peter Pan?"
so Peter Pan was our final ride.

The park was all decked out for Christmas.
Look at this enormous tree.
Disney knows how to do
things right!

On Tuesday, we headed to Little Corona Beach
which was quiet and secluded.

Caleb found a starfish in one of the
tide pools.

Aaron loved digging in the sand.

Mandy and Caleb exploring 

Jeremy enjoying the sand.
Mandy had to leave on Tuesday
night because she had to work,
but Jeremy and the boys
went back to the beach
on both Wednesday and Thursday.

This little Colorado boy knows how to climb.
He's been doing it since before he could walk
(on his parent's backs).

Sometimes he just needs a little help getting down.

Little explorer

I have always LOVED the southern
California flowers.

And what a serendipity finding
a street named after my sweet daddy.

A California trip wouldn't be complete without
a trip to In-N-Out Burgers and yes,
David did get another shirt.

Caleb and I shared a drink.

Jeremy and Grandmother enjoyed
catching up on family news.

Caleb and Ducca playing
"Throw the Ball Over the House"

Indian Caleb on Thanksgiving Day

Indian Aaron always on the move

We even got to celebrate David's sister
Carol's birthday together.
That is Courtney, our niece, in the pink jacket.
She went with us to Disneyland but
I didn't get any pictures of her there.

As you can tell, we had a WONDERFUL California
Thanksgiving.  We missed our Rollett grandchildren
(who were in Pittsburg)
but hopefully they can do Disneyland
with us soon!