part 3: California dreamin.

Straight from Dallas we flew to California where we met up with the whole Dickson family: all the spouses, siblings and grandbabies. There were 14 of us total. We had an amazing time in California as a family. We had so much fun together every day that we were there and did so many cool things. I'm so glad that everyone was able to come because it would not have been the same without each person. Paul's parents were so generous and all the planning and preparation was completely worth it. I (of course) took entirely too many pictures so here they come:
Day 1: Several people were still coming in town so before everyone was officially together Paul, Caitlin and I along with Jeff, Melissa and Madison met up with Morgan Taylor and his family at the San Clemente beach and the boys went surfing. That night we met up with Mike and Jenna and went to dinner at "Big Boy Burger" and then got to go to a tennis match! The Taylors were so nice to invite us and it was fun to go since we had never been to one. We saw (professionals) Pete Sampras and Martina Hingis play. Apparently they both aren't as good as in their glory days but i didn't know any better... it was just fun to watch everyone playing.

 

  Day 2: Happy Birthday Rebekah! She turned 17. We spent the day with extended family (Stewart's Aunt & Uncle Betty and John and also his brother Dave's family) who live in Laguna Beach. We went to church with them and then had a delicious lunch at their house. Later that night we all went out to dinner.  Rebekah is really the whole reason we planned this trip. Through her FCCLA class at school, her and her group came up with a presentation and campaign against texting while driving. They put a ton of work into it and presented it to win state, regionals, and were able to come to California to compete in nationals. They have done an awesome job with it and we are all really proud of her for being so dedicated to getting us all to Disneyland :)

Day 3: We headed to Disneyland. I think I was just as excited as any of the kids. I don't care who you are.. when you walk in and start walking down Main Street and see the castle, you just get excited. We weren't sure what Caitlin would think of everything and maybe she won't remember it but she definitely LOVED it. She just loved looking everywhere and seeing so many fun things. She also loved the rides. She would just watch and be so focused the whole time we were on one. They have "baby passes" where they will give a baby pass to you so you can stay outside a ride with your baby while one person goes and then when they are off you can take our baby pass and get to the front of the line. Of course we totally took advantage of the system and got baby passes wherever and whenever possible so we only had to wait in one line all day. And a lot of rides we got to ride twice in a row. It was sweet. So we hit all the big ones and a lot of the little kiddie rides too for the babies. I showed Paul how to really ride the teacups. The babies were SO good. They had little cat naps in the strollers and were just so happy to be at Disneyland. My highlight of the day was probably going to see Mickey. I've been putting on "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" in the morning for Caitlin trying to get her geared up for it. We only had to wait like 5 minutes to see him and as soon as we walked in that room with Mickey her eyes were GLUED to him. She totally recognized him it was so cute. They were so nice and let us take a ton of pictures. By the end of the day, Caitlin was zonked. She fell asleep on "Finding Nemo submarine ride" and was out for the rest of the night.

 

 

 

 

Day 4: California Adventures. We went straight to the Soarin' ride and then hit all the other big ones: Tower of Terror, the Grizzly Log Ride, California Screamin', etc. Caitlin got her first taste of Cotton Candy in the line for Little Mermaid and she definitely liked it. (That's the life... Minnie Ears, cotton candy, and the Little Mermaid) We went to House of Blues that night for an early Happy Birthday dinner for Mike and then went back to see the "World of Color" water/light show at California Adventures. It was amazing, my pictures don't do it justice. They had tons of fountains that would spray and then they would project pictures on it and do different lights and lasers and colors all with music. It was awesome, a great ending to our Disney visit.

 

Day 5: We went to the Crescent Bay beach and played for most the day. Paul sadly had to leave to get back to work. Mike and Jenna also had to leave for work. I have discovered that Caitlin likes the beach, but for all the wrong reasons. I'm positive that she ingested way to much sand and debris. But, she didn't mind the cold water too much. She would put her toes in. Even i got out in the water and body surfed with Paul for a little while (emphasis on little). That evening we went back to a clubhouse pool with our extended relatives and swam a little more, hot tubbed and ate dinner.

 

Day 6: Our last day together. Rebekah had an awards presentation that morning where she got a gold medal for her presentation and I watched the babies. Caitlin fell asleep in our bed and she looked so tiny in it! Afterwards we got lunch and went to Balboa Island. We walked around town and of course had to get a frozen banana (SO GOOD!) and explored the shops. Caitlin was happy as a clam and was waving and trying to touch all the flowers and checking out everyone from the stroller.  We went to "The Crab Cooker" by Newport Beach for dinner. That night Chris, Christine and I watched the babies while the others went to the Harry Potter movie. We talked and played phase 10.