California-this is super long...

So I don't really have a clever introduction for this post...I'm feeling under the weather. But be warned this may be the longest post I've ever done. So I'll just dive right in. We went to California with Alex's family a little bit ago and it was super fun! It is so nice to be able to go on a vacay and just hang with the fam. PLUS, Sullivan was glued to Alex's dad the entire time, and Tessa doesn't really care for us, so we basically didn't even have to watch our kids the whole time. JK, we watched them...while other people held them and fed them. Alex took like 500 pictures, so I'll just get to it.

Mindy's sister and her kids all live in Cali, so when we go we get to spend time with them. Alex's cousin's in laws (are you following me) are building a house in an area that has access to a private beach, so on the first day we were there we got to hang out all day. It is seriously the best. I mean, when I go to the beach I don't usually get in the water or get up to walk on the sand, but it is really nice to be able to sit and watch everyone else when it's just your family to watch. I just really hate strangers...

Our family picture. Sullivan was dying to get away from me and eat sand...so was Alex. Tessa and Ella-and a starfish. Obviously, this is Alex and me. It's just a cute picture.There is a little cove with a bunch of sea urchins and starfish stuck to these rocks, so Sullivan had the time of his life just poking them. They would squirt water as they closed up, so it kept him entertained for a long time...Until he inevitably tried to eat them.Jordy and Sully. The kids LOVE Jordy...and he's single ladies...I think.Tessa made Jordy bury her, but she wouldn't put her head in the sand, so she used her kickboard.Am I overloading people with pictures of this kid? I don't care...he's just so darn adorable.
There is a swing set there that is high enough for adults...so I jumped from it. Sorry about the cleavage shot...this was be preparing to jump. There isn't a picture after I jumped because I was rolling down the hill in the sand. I totally nailed it.The kids with the grandparents.

I don't know what is going on with his face in the picture, but it is funny. That shovel is really freaking him out.Me and Sully on the swings. I never wear waterproof mascara, but I figured I'd do it on this trip...so glad I did, or these pictures would be horrifying.Again on the swing.Alex, Sullivan, and his cousin Parker. Parker is going to film school right now, so he's probably going to be famous one day...and I know him. But I call him Porker, because it's funnier that way. So TMZ, come find me when you need a cute anecdote about him.

These are all the cousins/in laws. Me (in a hat...weird, but you should have seen my hair. It was nasty) Alex, Bill and Shawni (they are my faves), Leslie and Doug, then Parker, Lance, and Jordy. I seriously love these cousins-I told Alex that the only place I'd ever move outside of Utah is Southern California just because I'd be able to hang out with these guys...plus their kids are the cutest. They rival my own kids.

We also went to Disneyland while we were there. I think we all figured it would be fun for the kiddos, but Lance put it well-in theory, amusement parks should be fun, but when you get there, the reality of it is that it's so hot, you wait in line forever, naps are thrown off, you have to walk a long time, it's so crowded, and everything is expensive. So Tessa had an off day. She was actually ok, but she had more than a few freak out moments. And you better believe she got to buy anything she wanted. Except a Sleeping Beauty dress, because it was $65 dollars. I checked Disney.com when we came home, and on there it is only $35, so I'm glad we didn't give in on that one...plus Alex would have flipped if he'd bought it then found out we could have saved $30...that was a random tangent...onto the pics:

Jungle Safari-Sully loved it, except the piranhas-they freaked him out a little. I should have prepped him by renting Piranha 3D before we left. My bad.
This was when Tessa was good-we went on a lot of the smaller rides like Mr. Toad and Snow White, and she loved them. Plus she didn't have to walk at all since the boys all took turns doing this. Sleeping Beauty's castle. This was Tessa's favorite part, because all she wanted to see was Sleeping Beauty. And she did! Tessa on the Bug's Life 3D ride. She still is talking about how the grasshopper spit in her face. She loved it. We didn't have a hat for Sully, so we bought this one...money well spent, wouldn't you agree? It definitely brings out the red in his hair. This was our method of transportation. Tessa hated it though, she wanted someone to carry Sullivan the whole time. So Trace pretty much did. We have other pictures, but Alex hasn't gone through and edited them yet, so I can't find them. One thing that we did that was amazing was the World of Colors show. If you are going to Disneyland anytime soon, it's at California Adventure, and it is seriously the most amazing thing. I almost cried about 7 times while watching it. It's like the Bellagio fountains on crack. And they show snippets of Disney movies in the mist of the water, which is so cute. It was my favorite part of the whole day. That and when a stilt walker winked at me...he was dressed as a monkey, so it was a big deal.
One night we walked down to the pier to eat at Ruby's. It's always fun to see all the fishermen and surfers at night, and the kids actually really liked it. Except there was one point that Tessa gagged because of the strong fish smell...she doesn't do smells.

The family-Alex said that I'm definitely the weak link in this picture, but I think someone must have said something funny right then, because I'm obviously laughing at something...
Sully and Jordy again. Our little family on the pier. Sullivan was probably about to cry because he saw Trace. It was seriously amazing.

We went to San Diego one of the days. We visited Old Town, which also held the Mormon Battalion Museum thing (I'm not exactly sure what it's called, but they had free parking! JK. It was cool). So we went on a little tour. It was cute because it had this thing where the pictures actually come to life and tell the stories, and you walk around an old building and then outside you can do things like pan for gold or pump water or brick lay. It was actually super cute and fun. But I did realize that I need to probably brush up on some church history, because I had no idea what it was or anything about it when we got there. So I felt out of the loop!They had this little wagon out front that was perfect for photo ops. Obviously.Me and Jordy outside in the area where you could do stuff. So this is what we were doing.Tessa and the boys bricklaying. Then they would knock it down.Sullivan loved this water pump. It would have kept him entertained for hours.Tessa and her ice cream. Just chocolate.I let Sully share mine, which he loved and I thought was so cute...until this happened...He also bit my lip. Multiple times.

Proof that Doug and Leslie were there too! This is just a cute picture of the two of them...

There was a lot more beach time and pool time and eating time and shopping time, but we didn't get those pictures, or they are awaiting the editing process. But we did manage to do some family pictures, half of which are not edited, so I actually only have a few of them, but here they are.Not this one, this is just Sullivan with sunglasses on.

Cute, right?Trace is obviously telling Sully something really important. And this is what Sullivan's reaction is.When Alex was going through the pictures, he made me explain to him what was going on in this one. So I was telling Jordy that sometimes when Alex sets up the camera and tries to find where everyone should stand, I know that he takes pictures just in case there is a candid moment that's super cute. So I always try to pose while he is doing it and I make sure that I always do different faces. Jordy obviously was impressed with this...
This is just one of many cute ones. But I think this one turned out awesome. Cute family, right!? It was seriously so much fun. I have an awesome in-law family. I'm not just saying that because they read my blog, I really do love that I married a non-crazy, non-annoying family. And even when they do fight on family trips it's the best. That's probably what I love the most! The End!