We hit the road on Friday, July 16th for our long anticipated family vacation to:
Thankfully, we were able to rent a very comfortable Toyota Sienna for the 2000+ mile drive (round trip). Our little CRV would never have made it! The temperature gauge in the van read 108 in central California - we would have baked!!! Marc was a great driver and the girls were wonderful little passengers...well, most of the time.
Our first stop was in northern California to see Marc's family. We stayed with his mom and dad and had a nice BBQ dinner and a fun time swimming at his brother's place. It was a quick stop, but we hope to see them again before long.
Next, it was on to Bakersfield. We spent a night at Marc's Uncle Kirk and Aunt Pamela's beautiful new house and the girls had a good visit with their Great-Grandma Mouser.
Our ultimate destination was the Los Angeles area and The Happiest Place on Earth: Disneyland. We met our very dear friends, the Stimacs, in Valencia and then all drove down to Anaheim for one jam-packed day at the park. Our kids were fast friends! They walked around holding hands all day, which was nice because it was not easy to keep track of 7 small children in the massive crowds. Sierra and Ally surprised us and tried all the "big kid" rides like the Matterhorn and Space Mountain. Their favorite was probably still Small World, but the whole day was one thrill after another. I will never forget walking out of the park and watching Ally try to keep her eyes open for the fireworks as she was draped over Marc's shoulder with a sweet smile on her face.
The day after Disneyland we drove over to Newport Beach for some relaxing in the sun, sand and surf. All three of the girls loved the ocean ... so much so that we planned another beach day in Ventura later on in the week.
We also got to spend a couple of days in our old stomping grounds in Santa Clarita. Some of the high-lights were attending Sunday morning services at Placerita Baptist Church, playing with the Stimac/Redin gang, going to see Toy Story, Mommy's pedicure, and swimming in the Stimac's neighborhood pool.
We are so thankful for the special memories that this trip gave us and for the dear family and friends that we got to see at each stop!!!
And, of course, no trip to southern California would be complete without a trip to Dodger Stadium!!!! Marc and Josh took the older kids to a game against the New York Mets. Unfortunately, the Dodgers lost, but the kids and dads had a great time together.
We are so thankful for the special memories that this trip gave us and for the dear family and friends that we got to see at each stop!!! 
