Our Redlands, California Trip...

I know that in my last post I said that I had plotted and planned the best road trip ever but thanks to a company that K's husband owns, we were able to fly down to California. We were so excited to surprise the kids!

That morning we woke up, got dressed, packed the car, and went on our way towards the airport without the kids knowing. As we drove toward the airport, Carter questioned why we were entering the area. They almost died of excitement when we told them the news!
...and then even more so when they were invited up to visit the pilot!

We flew into Los Angeles and went straight to the Santa Monica Pier. The kids could not wait to get to the beach and the sand. It was so fun to see them getting so excited!

It made me think of the first time that I had been to the beach. It was when our family took our first trip to the Prince Edward Island. That summer my parents had found a cottage that was right on the beach. We spent hours exploring the beaches, the jelly fishes, the caves, the sand dunes, and the many "Anne of Green Gables" tourist sites. I was in heaven since that was my favorite book! That was also the summer that we ate our first 7 course Lobster dinner put on by most of the local Churches. It was delicious!

That is one of my favorite family vacations and one that is full of many memorable adventures!

Knowing that we had about 65 miles to drive to get to Redlands, we were on our way. In Utah time, that would be about an hour drive but in California time, it was more like a 3 hr drive. I'm not lying. It was killing me and made me so frustrated so once we got to the hotel, we went right to the pool to have some fun!

My first race, which was on Thursday, was just a time trial so there was not a finish line for the kids to wait for me so I let them sleep in and play in the pool.

When I got back to our hotel room, this is what I found all over the room! It was the perfect ending and exactly what I needed after a very difficult and exhausting time trial!

I took Trevor and the kids to drive the route of the ride that I had just done. There was this hill that was at the last third of the race that just about...no that did kill me! I had to take pictures of it to try to make you understand exactly what it was that I had to ride up! I promise that it does not even truly show just how hard and exhausting that it was. I am so proud to say that even though I did it slow, I DID IT!!!

So here is a funny story...As we were driving around, the kids wanted to go back to the hotel and swim and they were starving and just acting miserable. Trevor said quote..."When I was a little boy, I use to watch a TV show called Fantasy Island. On it there was this little guy who whenever he saw an airplane, in a really silly sounding voice, he would say "da plane...da plane" but if it was you two in charge, it would sound more like "complain...complain" so please stop!" I looked at him in amazement that he had actually just said that! What the??? That is so the type of joke that my Dad would have said. Yak! The kids thought it was hilarious and still are talking and laughing about it. It will be one of those "family" jokes that will go down in history!!! Oh boy.

The next morning was my marathon race and it was so cold and windy. That always makes it that much more difficult. Again, I did not know what to expect! The weather conditions and the race course can always make it a completely different race than one that you've previously done so it's almost impossible to know for sure how it will turn out! Plus I was nervous about there being more "death hills"!

...and we're off!

It was great and it brought me to tears seeing my family there cheering me on as I crossed the finish line!

The best part was that I medaled!!! I took second place!!! I was shocked but was ecstatic!!!

That afternoon we took off to Newport Beach and looking back, it was the favorite part of our trip! We had a blast and the weather was perfect! The kids were in heaven and had been waiting for this day to happen for a long time!

They were laughing so hard as they were running from and chasing the waves!

Very proud of their sand-castle accomplishment...

Now I want you to all know that I had to mentally prepare myself for this day, for this event because I tend to get overwhelmed with these places. I have a mini anxiety attack because I don't want to miss out on something or to forget something and I want to make sure that my kids have oh so much fun! I know. Simmer down and relax, huh?!?

Kindra almost had a heart attack because of all of these "horse things" that she was seeing :)

Kindra was so funny during these dark rides. She would get so nervous and jumpy!

Finally I got Carter to calm down a bit and give me one of his smiles that I love so much!

This ride was hilarious. Carter had to ride on this so we got in and ready to go but when he reached out his foot to push down the pedal to move forward, it wasn't long enough so down I went. I had to bend down the whole ride pushing the pedal with my own hand. We were laughing the whole time at how silly that we must have looked!

Carter's favorite ride = 1)the cars in "Tomorrowland 2)the roller coaster in "Toon Town" 3)the raft over to the island

Kindra's favorite ride = 1)the horse carousel 2)the tea cups 3) the "Haunted Mansion"

Time to go home :(

Uh yeah. This was who I got to meet and to chat with on the plane ride home. The infamous "David Archuleta"!!! He was so humble and sincere. It was the best random surprise!

I'm so thankful that I was able to make it to this race and also that my family could come with me. I learned so much both about handcycling and about my family/life. I've had alot on my mind lately and have had some questions about some decisions that it's time to make. I needed this trip in more ways than I even knew. For that I am extremely grateful to my Heavenly Father and the promptings that he continually allows me to receive.

My favorite 1) The first and best "Fake Family Vacation" ever!!! hehehe :)