Christmas Vacation

What an amazing trip we had! I have to state again, for the record, how big a fan I am of Christmas break! It is SO nice to have Aaron all to ourselves for a little while and this year we took full advantage. We left a very cold Deer Trail on Tuesday the 22nd (just before a snow storm hit) and flew into Las Vegas, where flights were much cheaper. On approach, we even flew over the football stadium that was to host the Oregon State vs BYU game that night. It was a match-up of Grammy & Dadoo's team vs Grandma & Popppa's team. Carter wasn't sure who to root for, but thought the Beavs would win - she was wrong.

After picking up the rental car and transporting 2 kids, 2 car seats, 3 suitcases, 3 backpacks and 1 double stroller, we were on our way West! We arrived in Anaheim late and had a good night's sleep at a hotel near Disneyland. We awoke, re-packed the car and hopped on a free shuttle to Disneyland. Carter was most intent on seeing Princess Tiana and anything that had to do with her. Luckily, we secured a prime viewing spot for Tiana's Showboat Jubilee, which Carter loved. Unfortunately, the line to get a picture with her was an hour and a half long - no way! Carter also really enjoyed It's A Small World, which she got to ride for the first time this year. About 1/3 of the way through, she looked at me and said "Mommy, I don't want this ever to end!" Priceless!

After a full day at Disneyland and California Adventure, we loaded back into the car and drove south the San Diego. We had booked a hotel downtown through priceline and were a bit concerned about parking costs adding up, but have to brag that we only spend $1.25 on parking the entire trip! Yes, that's one dollar and 25 cents - woo hoo!

Our first day in San Diego (Christmas Eve) was spent at Pacific Beach where Carter loved digging in the sand. We were all thrilled to be out in short sleeves and decided we are true Coloradoans now that 65 degrees feels tropical. We finished the day by placing a bit or Reindeer Food outside our hotel room door, in hopes Santa would find us so far from home.

We awoke on Christmas to stockings filled with goodies and then set out for the San Diego Zoo. We saw just about every animal and even rode the aerial tram. Christmas night found us searching (as always, it seems) for someplace open for dinner. We ended up with a pizza, which was just fine with all of us.

The final few days of our trip included a day and night visit to Sea World for 2 Shamu shows, another day at the beach and a long drive back to Vegas to catch our flight home. We even had an extra hour to walk around the Strip and show the girls the lights. All in all, an awesome vacation!