Our trip to California

The end of April we took a family vacation to Solvang, CA with Jane Ellen, her family, and my parents. We flew into Los Angeles on Saturday and met my parents at the airport and drove to Solvang together. We checked into our condo and waited for Jane Ellen to come. The boys were so excited to see their cousins. That night we relaxed from our long day of flying and got ready for our fun week ahead.
Sunday we went to church. Andrew, Jared and Justus thought it was very fun to go to the same primary class.
Later we went for a walk around Solvang. (Solvang is a little tourist town. It is centered around the Dutch. The food and buildings are all from Denmark)
Here the kids are at the Little Mermaid waterfall.

Jacob was excited to see the horses.

The kids were all so excited to hold grandmas hand. Danny and Elaina love their grandma!

Jared's feet got tired after awhile of walking so Andrew said he would give him a ride...they didn't get to far.

We brought a stroller for Danny, but he wanted to be like the big kids and walk everywhere too.

But walking didn't last too long for Danny and Dad got to carry him. Elaina wanted a ride too.

Sunday evening we went back to our room and played games. Justus and Jared brought apples to apples Jr and we had to play that everyday.

Monday morning we got up and headed to Santa Barbara. We were hoping for some great weather, but it was a little cold. We walk a long the pier and looked at some shops.

(John, Elaina, Andrew, Grandma, Jacob, & Jared)

We headed for the beach. It was VERY cold but, the boys had a great time running away from the waves.

(Jacob, Jared, Justus, Grandpa, & Andrew)

John brought a boogie board and helped the boys try to catch a wave. I think Justus, Jared and Andrew did it once and were good with how cold it was. John and Doug went out farther and tried a little bit until they became numb.

(John & Andrew)

Jacob thought it was too cold and started to find shells. This was his favorite find.

Danny had a great time playing in the sand and throwing the football.

After the boys were done running away from the waves, they played in the sand.

(Danny, Jared, Andrew & Justus)

Elaina, Danny and Emma had fun playing in the sand.

In the afternoon we went whale watching which turned out to be just a boat ride because we didn't see any whales.

Once we got going, it was a little cold with the wind.

Andrew didn't really like the boat ride so he went to sleep.

Danny also went to sleep. Doug sat at the back of the boat and watched for the whales that never came. I tried not to throw up the whole time. I usually don't get sick, but I had a hard time that day. I think I should have eaten lunch before we went.

Tuesday we went to the mission there is Solvang. We all enjoyed the tour through the building. It was amazing to see the clothes that were hundreds of years old.

After we went to lunch at the Red Viking Restaurant. I'm glad the restaurant wasn't very busy because 7 kids is a lot at one restaurant!

Andrew and Jacob had a great time playing in the toy store.

Grandpa was the favorite of the day when he bought everyone ice cream.

Solvang is also know for their great bakeries. We stopped at 2 of the bakeries and all got yummy treats. The boys loved swimming at the condo and also playing in the game room. There was a pin pong and pool table that grandpa took the boys to while the little kids were taking naps.

On Wednesday we drove to Santa Maria. In the morning we went to a park and let the kids run and play. Then we took Grandma and Grandpa to the airport. We headed to Jane Ellen's house in Visalia.

On our way we had to stop at one more beach. It was REALLY windy which made it cold, but the waves were amazing to watch. The boys had a great time again running away from the waves. Doug was the only brave one this time and went out in the water.

When they were done playing in the water, all the kids covered their feet in the sand. The boys were worn out and ready to drive the rest of the way to Visalia.

Morro Bay

We had a wonderful time in Visalia. I love how Andrew, Jacob, Jared and Justus have so much fun together.

One night we went mini golfing. Jacob hit a hole in one on the first whole...way to go Jake! We also rode go carts and raced each other. I enjoyed the boys playing in the backyard all day and I was able to sit and visit with Jane Ellen. Why oh why do we have to live so far apart?

On Saturday we headed to Sequoia/King Canyon Nation Park.

As we were driving up there we saw a bear with her baby cub a long side the road. (The cub is the little ball below the mama bear.) What an exciting thing to see. (For weeks Jacob has said, "Mom I'm still thinking about those bears".)

4 silly boys!

Inside a huge hollow tree.

Here we are at the oldest tree. It was HUGE! We loved how at Jane Ellen's it was beautiful weather and then we drove one hour up into the mountains and there was snow everywhere. Although, being from Minnesota, snow is one thing we don't need to see on vacation.

As we drove over the other side of the mountain the snow was gone and the scenery was BEAUTIFUL!

We were able to see 2 different waterfalls.

At the second waterfall the boys had to see who could throw the rocks into the water the farthest.

Jane Ellen's great looking family at the second waterfall.

As we were heading home another bear crossed the road into a campground. Doug turned into a little boy or a scout again and started trying to get closer to the bear. It was amazing that we saw 3 bears all in one day.

While Doug and John chased the bear the boys stayed in the van.

FOUR CUTE BOYS!

We had a wonderful time in California and can't wait for John and Jane Ellen to come out here some day:)