Every Trip Has It's Own Drama!

Earlier this year, we thought we had taken our last trip to Disneyland for a long time. We had free tickets that we got to use and that was that. Since Brett's been in school, it just wasn't in the budget. Well, enter Mark (my fabulous brother) and Kim (my wonderful sister in law). They called us up a few days before Thanksgiving and said, "We're planning a last minute trip to Disneyland the day after Thanksgiving and we want you guys to come with us. It just wouldn't be the same without you." They found a really nice place to stay while we were there and wanted to cover that. All we needed to do was get our Disneyland tickets and get there!



How could we refuse? We talked to the kids about
it and they decided that they wanted Disneyland for Christmas! So, we decided to do it. Our trip there was the most RIDICULOUS trip to California we've ever driven. We stayed the night on Saturday at Kim's grandma's house in Mesquite. We woke up the next morning, ready to go to early church and then were planning on leaving right then. As we walked to our car after the meeting, we noticed our front tire looked a little flat and upon closer examination, noticed a nail in the tire. So, we drove over to Wally-World to fix it up. We drove up, dropped off the car, told the guys in the shop the problem and then proceeded to the waiting room.

One of the mechanics came in and said, "We need your keys." I said, "Oh, the keys are in the car."He said, "Well, the doors are locked."

Silence.

"Uuuuhhhh, are you sure?" I asked. "Did you check the other side?" He had. Sure enough, our keys were locked in our car. Lucky for us, I had just by chance (truly a tender mercy) grabbed my set of keys. So, in my purse, I had a spare set. My purse was still at Kim's grandma's, so my brother had to bring them to us.



Little did we know that this would set us back just enough and we would not see beautiful CA for some time. $100 later our new tire was on and the car was ready to go. We got a quick lunch at Grandma Diane's and headed out. The drive to Vegas was smooth and uneventful. Somehow (in the midst of all our excitement) we forgot about the traffic going home to CA from Vegas every Sunday afternoon. I know. How could we forget? That is the one thing Dad drills into our minds every time we go down there. Anyway, right outside Vegas. The traffic started. It was horrendous. It was worse than we've ever seen. It

took us 3 hours to get from Vegas to the little city of Jean. From Jean to Primm (where that big Roller Coaster ride is) which is only 13 miles, took us 1 HOUR! I am not exaggerating. It was insane! In Primm, there were lines a mile long to fill up on gas and to go to the bathroom. We decided to go ahead, but then I saw a frontage road off to the south of the freeway. I convinced Brett to take it. I should have known, because a lot of my ideas for short cuts end up being 'long cuts.' We drove on that road for about 3 miles and then came to a sign that read, "Road Closed Ahead." It was a sick feeling. So, we had to turn around and get back on

the freeway which was moving at a snail's pace! After Primm, it took us 7 HOURS to get to LA. NOT FUN!!! But, if you ask the kids, they had a blast. We listened to books on CD and watched a whole bunch of movies. Thank goodness for that! After getting to Newport, we were all in heaven. That place is divine. We loved the place we stayed. It was just perfect and right by the ocean. We spent Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Disneyland. The weather was cool, but not too cool for us. Southern Californians went home because they were too cold, but we enjoyed the mid 50's to lower 60* temps while it was in the single digits back home. We enjoyed very short lines and 

getting to do everything we wanted to more than once in those two days. It was our best experience at Disney yet! But, every trip has to include a bad mood by either mom or dad, and this trip happened to be Brett's turn. Even though this picture is hideous of me, I just had to include it because it shows the kind of sour mood Brett was in. I am a free spirit when it comes to amusement parks. I sort of become a kid again, running to and from different lines to see which one is bigger or smaller leaving everyone in a trail behind me....wondering what I'm doing....which may or may not be annoying to other responsible adults. And Brett is the sometimes paranoid, over-protective parent who freaks out about almost everything and by being so concerned, puts a damper on the trip.


Well, this was one of those moments. I was trying to "lighten the mood" while we were riding "Winnie the Pooh" and Brett would have nothing to do with it! We all have those times, don't we?  I just had to document it! I'm so grateful that Brett loves me despite my childish tendencies to be . Well, that day Brett found relief in an early ride home. After a long, exhausting day with Wyatt, Mark and Kim decided to go home early. Brett jumped at the chance to join them and he got to go home with Wyatt to go to bed. We missed him, but I knew he felt better and so we just decided to enjoy the night! Another great thing about Friday was that my brother Tyler and his new wife Ashley got to join us. It was a fabulous time! We stayed at Disneyland until about midnight! The kids were troopers! What a blast!

In between the days we went to Disneyland, we visited our favorite beach in Dana Point. SO RELAXING! The weather was perfect. While we were there, I noticed some fins poking out of the water by a cove we like to play at. That first, split second, I thought they were sharks, but then I realized they were dolphins! Then we saw 3, 4, and 5 fins and some we even think were babies. It was awesome. Mark was our there surfing and was probably 20 feet away from them. It was really cool and really fun! we saw a pod of dolphins swimming in a little cove.

Beautiful California

Brett and I being goofs

Beautiful Sunset!

All the cousins at sunset-- right outside our place

Right outside our window. BEAUTIFUL!!!!


Thanks, Mark and Kim!!!! We had an AWESOME time! You guys are the best!!! 

A trip with a Purpose

WARNING: LONG POST WITH LOTS OF PICTURES AND A FUNNY STORY

I didn't think we'd be taking a trip like this any time soon....atleast for the next year or two. With Brett in school and not working, the vacation fund is a little bit low.

Ok, it's non-existent.

This trip was not part of 'the plan.'

So, when my dad asked if we wanted to join him and our extended family on a trip to California, I was pretty hesitant about going, but my mom and dad so generously offered to pay for all the kids lodging, I couldn't refuse!

This trip, however, would be more than just a trip for good old California fun.

This trip was about saving souls.

My grandpa, my grandma and my dad and his siblings.

Both of my dad's parents passed away last year. My grandpa wasn't a member of the church. My grandma and grandpa we not sealed in the temple and my dad and his siblings were not sealed to his parents.

It has been about a year since my grandpa passed away. As a family, we decided to provide him with the opportunity to accept the temple blessings and to be sealed to his family.

What a great reason to visit sunny California!

The only drawback would be that Brett would not be able to come with us. He had finals the days we would be gone!!! Boo-hoo!

On the way down, we stopped at our favorite bargain-hotel-with-a-roller coaster, Buffalo Bills. The most I've every paid for a room there is $28. It's just like any Motel 6-- it's clean and the A/C works, it has a nice pool, and......let's see.......that's about it!

McKay, Jaxson, and Makenna in our room.

Connor and cute little Wyatt (with his eyes closed).

Little Jaxson got to celebrate his birthday while we were on our trip. Here, Makenna and McKay are"helping" Jaxson open his presents in the dining hall at Buffalo Bills.

FYI- I do not recommend the evening buffet. Not that great.

The kids in a trans watching TV on our new DVD player in our new van. The kids were so excited about this feature in our new car! They couldn't wait to test it out. Much to their dismay, I made the rule that in order to watch the DVD, the trip had to be more than 6 hours. This trip finally qualified! They were in "the zone."

Finally out of "the zone" and able to enjoy eachother, Harry Potter on CD, and our surroundings.

My Grandparents grave stone

All the Bell grandkids by their great-grandparent's grave.

Connor up a tree at the cemetary.

We decided to go to the Newport Temple. One of the reasons we did is because all of our extended family was staying in Newport Beach at a beautiful place called Newport Costal Villas, by Marriott. Let me tell you, these places were NICE!!!! Slept us all totally comfortably. Very clean and very upscale; very nice pools and lots to see and do. I had no idea the neighborhood of Newport Beach was so exclusive. You are hard-pressed to find any type of fast food or big box store there. We tried to find a Walmart or a Target and our GPS systems found one about 7 miles away, but ended up leading us on a wild goose chase!

This brings me to a story some would call.........funny.

I, however, find it quite embarrassing.

We set out on a quest for goods for our families. GPS in hand, we thought we had it made! To our utter disappointment, we ended up lost on a CA freeway. The freeways in California are not like UT freeways: one, straight, wide road running either north and south or east and west. I have been to California plenty of times, but let me tell you, visiting there doesn't give you any sense of direction for their freeway system. You simply have to live there and learn it.

So, we were lost for about 1 hour trying to find a non-existent (we found that out later) Wal-mart and/or an existing (but very well hidden) Target. Finally, after driving around trying to follow my iphone directions and Kim's Droid's directions, we just decided to head home. We located our destination on the GPS and then started following the directions home. We got on a freeway and felt pretty good about where we were going. After a few miles, 'Toll Ahead' signs started to show up.

Crud.

How much would the toll be?

50 cents? $1? $5?

We had no idea...and the smallest bill we (KIM) had was a $20. I had a few quarters....Alyssa had some dimes.......What to do, what to do? Veer off this freeway to another random freeway and take our chances that our GPS would be able to "recalculate" and send us on our way back home?

Or stay on the freeway, hoping that we'd have enough change to make it through the toll?

We decided to stay on because we had had enough of being lost.

The freeway was eerily not busy. It was only 9:30....but we were in Newport. They don't drive that late at night. They're all at their mansions or condo's partying the night away, or taking a stroll on the beach.

Not driving around trying to find a Wal-mart.

Only tourists do that.

So, we slowed down and drove for a few minutes, and sure enough, straight ahead, was the toll booth. We saw the toll fee.....

It's 2 dollars.

Ok. I have quarters, Alyssa has dimes.

Total sum? We have $1. 50.

That is it.

Wait!!! Kim has a $20-bill, but they don't take any bills bigger than a $5 dollar-bill.

The booth is automated and they don't take debit cards or checks.

Ummmmmm........what to do, what to do????

To the left of the fee area, I see a warning sign stating if I skip the toll I will receive a $100 fine.

Ok, that is not an option.

What to do, what to do??!!!

After about 2 minutes of sitting there, stumped, not knowing how to get out of this, a super-nice, silver Mercedes pulls up behind us.

It reminded me of one of the Cullen's cars.

In a matter of about 10 seconds I realized I'm going to have to approach that car. I'm going to have to talk to whoever is driving that car.

Funny? No.

Embarrassing? Yes.

Oh well. My motto is, "It never hurts to ask."

At that point, I know the other driver was probably wondering what the problem was and wondering why I'm was not proceeding through the toll station. This was a small freeway and only one lane to pay the toll through. So, I slowly got out of the car. I walked back to the nice Mercedes and the window began to roll down. A very nice looking man was behind the wheel. I told him of our predicament and how we were lost and without enough change to pay the toll. He asked if he can help. "Are you even supposed to be on this road?" He said. "I'm not sure...." I responded. He then gave me a dollar and said, "I wish I could help you get to where you need to go." I mumbled something dumb, profusely thanked him for his kindness, paid the toll and sped away.

We exited the freeway hoping to get home another way. No such luck. As far as we could tell (which isn't that far) taking that freeway was the only way to get home. We'd have to pay another 2 dollars to get home. So we found a local Vons, bought what we originally set out to get and got some cash dollars for the toll. We went back the way we came, got home and told our tale to our family. By then, the funniness of the situation had set in and I could laugh about it.

Arch at the Newport Temple

Entrance into the temple

Tyler and Alyssa in front of the temple.

Temple from the street

My cute mom

I am really disappointed that we didn't take pictures of all of us at the temple. We had a wonderful day and the Spirit was very strong. It was an experience I will always remember and cherish.

McKay ready to hit the pool! I think the pool was the funnest part of the vacation for the kids.

The fam hanging at The Strand beach in Dana Point. Remember all those cool tide pools we saw at our January visit? They're gone!!! Tide was too high and they weren't even visible!

Connor being a cheese ball!

McKay playing in the sand with X.

Newly returned missionary, and newly married Tyler trying to get some color. Oh, and did he get some color. He was pink, not brown.

Kids at a gas station on the way home. Beautiful sunset!

Thank you mom and dad and extended Bell family for a WONDERFUL trip! We love you all!

And thanks to Alyssa for driving with me and keeping me awake!

We love the Beach!

Here we are at the beach house getting ready to leave.

The kids are thrilled because:

1)- They're with the cousins

2)- They get to wear their summer stuff in January

3)- They're with COUSINS! (Can't you just see the excitement in Wyatt's face?)

This walkway down to the beach was right across the street from our beach house. Talk about awesome. We LOVED IT!

How come boys always find a stick to sword fight where every we go?

The cool think about this beach in Dana Point is that it's great for swimming and it's full of tide pools. The kids love exploring and finding shells and all sorts of sea animal life.

Mickey being crazy!!!!

Jaxson being crazy!

When do we go back?

California Dreamin' and reality! DISNEYLAND!

Yes.

We agree.

Disneyland IS the happiest place on Earth!

We feel so lucky to have been able to visit Disneyland again!! When we visited the Magical Place last year, we scored major tickets because of a huge malfunction the day we were there. They gave our whole family 2-day park hopper passes.

Saying we were thrilled is an understatement.

We went again with my wonderful brother and his wife, Mark and Kim. (Yes, she's the one who invented the temple pictures......I know.......such talent.) Anyway, we were there over New Year's Day and we couldn't have asked for better weather: 70's one day and 80's the next. It was beautiful, magical and just SO MUCH FUN!

Thank you Disneyland!

Thank you Mark and Kim!

So happy to be here!!!

Connor insisted on taking this picture of us! Pretty good skills!

All the Christmas decorations were still up since we were there on New Year's Day. I am convinced that everything Disney does, they truly go ALL-OUT! The Christmas decorations were no exception. One night, they even made it snow on Main Street. Yes, in Southern CA, they made it snow! Thousands of California kids were in 7th heaven.

I absolutely love McKay's face in this picture! It simply says it all.

Here's all the monster's in Disneyland!!!

Connor testing his strength in Toon Town

Such a happy face!

Ever since Connor saw one of these turkey legs, he had to have one. It was $8, but if kept him full and the other kids got a snack, too.

Kenna in her own personal heaven-- a barrel full of jewels-- in the store right after the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

The lighting is a little off in this picture, but I still just LOVE IT! This picture captures the whole trip!

McKay before riding the Tower of Terror. He wouldn't let us take a picture of him after riding the Tower of "Stinkin" Terror.

Our fun little cousin Jaxson and Mickey on the Ferris Wheel.

Me and Wy-Wy on one of the funnest rides ever: "Toy Story Mania."

Kenna blasting away!

Beautiful sunset while awaiting the ride, "It's a Small World."

"It's a Bug's Life" 3-D glasses. Kenna was not happy about being squirted by 'acid' and having termites climb underneath her. I, on the other hand, loved this ride!


I had to include this picture. Brett took it as Kenna's pig-tails were flinging as she spun around to try to shoot Zurg!

I love this picture of Brett-- so funny! Connor's face is pretty funny too.

The kids all saved their money for months and each bought a special treasure-- Mickey bought the sorcerer hat. Makenna bought earrings, a baby doll, a pen, a key chain and some rocks. Connor bought this little Tigger.

The kids were out the second we pulled out of the parking lot. A FULL, FUN two days!!!!!