Park Hoppers!

The next day we met up with most of Rex's immediate family at Disneyland. I quickly learned that I am a Disneyland amateur. The Kimball family knows how to do Disneyland! We went on so many rides in one day...I could hardly believe it. A lot of it had to do with the fact that Rex's nephews get disabled fast passes and we got to tag along. We hardly waited in any lines! This was my first time to California Adventure. I loved it! My only regret about the whole day was that I didn't take very many pictures. These will have to do for now!

Our Road Trip Begins...

Becky's family left on Monday morning and we packed our bags and headed south on Tuesday morning. Our first stop was Valencia, California where we went to Hurricane Harbor (a water park) and Six Flags.
Rex and I loved the Tornado ride. This picture doesn't do it justice, but you can kind of get the idea. The tube shoots out from a tunnel and then goes up the side of a tilted bowl-shaped tunnel so it feels like you are about to fall off, then you go up the opposite side. You continue back and forth until you fall out the whole at the bottom. I'll go on all of the roller coasters with Rex but he had to go on the scary water slide by himself. I did it once at a water park in Las Vegas and decided that was enough times for me. I couldn't get very close to get a good picture, but Rex is going down the super steep black slide on the right.
When the water park closed we walked across to Six Flags to continue the fun (season passes are great!) This time the new X2 ride was open so we waited in line to try it out. It had been closed to add some cool stuff like music and a spot where fire shoots out at you. It was really fun and Rex decided it is his new favorite ride.
I agree that it was fun but my favorite ride is still the Tatsu, which we got to ride 4 times that night! We were there right before closing and the workers let us stay on and ride it 3 times in a row (I think they all wanted a ride before going home from work). It was awesome!

Visitors

I haven't had the chance to post anything new for awhile and now I am way behind. Sorry! At the end of June Rex's sister, Becky, and her family stopped by our apartment as one of their stops of their huge summer road trip. We had a late dinner together and then the adults played Settlers after the kids went to bed. Here are the cute kids sleeping in our living room!

Close up!

The next day we decided to take it easy instead of going into the city. We went to see the new Pixar movie, WALL-E. It was fun to go to it with a bunch of kids!

Return With Honor

Yesterday my siblings came home from their missions! We were super excited that they ended up coming home on the same day. My brother Brandon served in the Porto Alegre North Mission and my sister served in the Knoxville, Tennessee mission (even though none of her areas ended up being in Tennessee). They were both amazing missionaries and I am so grateful for the blessings they have brought to the lives of others, including mine. I love you guys! Welcome Home!!!

Tree Hugging Neighbors

(You'll have to pause my music playlist to hear the sound on the video)

So I left for my run this morning, turned the corner, and then I saw the sidewalk barricaded with a bunch of policeman on one side and a bunch of hippies on the other side. Across the street there were news crews staking out a chunk of the sidewalk to park their vans. One of the protesting hippies held a sign saying "Save the Oaks" with a website so I checked it out when I got home. As is turns out tomorrow is the day the court is deciding whether it is legal for the university to cut down the trees to build a new sports complex. The Berkeley Grandmothers for the Oaks are inviting everyone to a candlelight vigil tonight and a slumber party at the oak grove tomorrow night . Just another bit of Berkeley for ya!

Happy Birthday Rex!

This is a random picture but I like it. Today Rex turned 27 and we celebrated by going to see the Indiana Jones movie and then going out to dinner. I made Rex a Chocolate Texas sheet cake because it is the only kind he really likes (and he LOVES cookies and cream ice cream). Rex is such a great husband and I'm so grateful to have him. He likes to tease me and he always makes me laugh! Right now he is enjoying somewhat of a break from podiatry school for the summer. He has a simulation lab on Mondays and Fridays and some research to do over the summer. Rex loves to watch movies (right now he's really into watching all of the Stargate TV shows) and he really likes to play board games, especially Settlers of Catan. He also enjoys basketball and most other sports. He loves kids and I love to watch him play with them. Rex is definitely a kid at heart and I love when he gets really excited about something and a huge smile spreads across his face. I love you Rex!

Dillon Beach Part 2

Rex and I were rained out of our honeymoon so last weekend we got to go back and enjoy the cute beach house at Dillon Beach. My camera's battery was dead so I missed taking a picture of an awesome starfish that I found while we were walking on the beach. We had a great time relaxing in the hot tub on the deck, watching movies by the fireplace, and enjoying the beach view. This was a last minute picture we took right before we left.

Rex taking a nap.

The view from the deck. Not bad eh?