California

Danny and I went to California this past weekend with Danny's brother Matt, and it was such a necessary break from life. Not just from work, but from being in Utah and from everything that's been going on lately.  On the way down we stopped in St. George and stayed with Danny's good friend Jake and his wife Mandy for the night. They are seriously the most accommodating people ever. It was so good to see them.  I wished they lived closer, but we realized 3 1/2 hours isn't too bad! So we will for sure be going back down there for a weekend sometime later this summer.

Thursday morning we made it to California and we stayed with Danny's Grandpa David and Grandma Dee.  When we got there, Dee had a delicious home cooked meal waiting for us. So yummy! On Friday Danny and I went to Disneyland--my first time! I've always heard about how it's "the happiest place on earth", so being there was definitely an experience worth while. You have to go there to understand it, but it's much different than any other amusement park I've been to. You don't go there for the rides. None of them are super huge, or super scary.  They're all fun, but what was so amazing to me about the place was all of the details! Everywhere. There is careful preparation put into every little speck of that park! Everything was organized--they had fast passes so the lines aren't bad, and you don't have to wait more than three minutes for the shuttle that takes you to and from the parking lot. And, I'll have to admit... I loved seeing all of the Disney characters! I felt like a little kid when the parade came through. Every worker looked so happy to be there, even though I'm sure they'd done the parade hundreds of times.  My very favorite part (which of course my camera had died by this time) was a show they do every night called Fantasmic. I'm pretty sure the show is always changing and improving, but the night we were there it included parts of Fantasia being projected onto fountains of water, Mickey Mouse conducting, Pinocchio dancing, a giant fire breathing dragon, floats going across the water with Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Prince Charming, and Ariel and Eric dancing, Ursula and the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty, Ursula's eels swimming across the water, and Mickey saving the day in the end. Somehow, they put all of this together into a 25 minute story and it was so awesome! Then the fireworks started right after and Tinkerbell flew across the sky! So cool.  I don't know how you could not be impressed. The behind the scenes must be insane there every single second. Overall, it was an awesome experienced and I loved it!

Proof that I was there! (And sorry about the terrible quality--I'm way overdue for a new camera!.. if anyone's lookin' to get rid of one we are totally open to taking it!)

While we were in California we also went to the beach and I learned to wind surf! So much harder than it looks. But so fun! Matt tried first and before we knew it, he was on the other side of the bay! Whether he sailed or drifted there is up to debate...

The rescue team

Danny went next, and of course picked it up right away.  His grandpa taught him a long time ago, so it came back pretty quick and not only did he sail away, but he also managed to zigzag back against the wind! He has a tendency to make things look really easy. Especially water sports.

I went next, and since I'd never even been near anyone even attempting to wind surf, Danny's Grandpa David taught me on shore first so I could kind of get the feel for things.  When it came time to get in the water, I was a little scared to accidentally drift sail all the way across the bay like Matt, so I told them to not let me go past where I could stand. BUT, either way, I only fell in twice, and I successfully sailed across the shallow part right by shore!

 It's such a challenging sport though! Not only does it take balance in every direction, but you have to understand the physics of it all.  You have to know which direction to pull the mast and at what angle, where to put your hands, and you have to have the strength to hold the sail against the wind--while keeping your balance. And turning is a whole other story. So hard! But I felt accomplished and we're excited to go again next time we're in California!

Here are a couple of videos from the parade at Disneyland! I loved how they incorporated both old and new Disney movies. They even had Mary Poppins!

And here's the very beginning of Fantasmic! Right before my camera died.

We left Sunday morning, and of course I got sick so Danny ended up having to drive the whole way. It was kind of a rough trip back, and since Danny had work at 330am the next morning and I had work at 6am, it was a little stressful. BUT, we made it, and now we are just getting back into the flow of things!