Vegas & Cali here we come! Our First Family Vacation

Besides going to Grandma & Grandpa's houses, this was our first family vacation. And really it couldn't have been better. First we went to Las Vegas to be apart of my big Brother's special day. We had great food and partied at Kimmie's parent's house the days leading up to the wedding. Mike & Kimmie were married on May 15th at the Paiute Golf Course & Club. Brielle was the flower girl, though no flowers were thrown. She got to push a lawnmower next to her cousin Jonathan (ring bearer-though not officially) down the isle. It was so cute!! They just about stole the show! (I got this on video so sorry no photos) Brielle had so much fun dancing the night away with Grandma & sleepy Jonathan.When we checked into our condo, Brielle was so excited!! I asked her if she was excited and she put her hands on her face (she could hardly contain herself) and exclaimed Yes!!! Not sure if she was excited to be somewhere new and on vacation or just to be out of the car. We spent one afternoon swimming in our condo pool and a few hours on the Strip.Sunday after the wedding we headed with Grandma & Grandpa Stilson to California!!! We drove instead of flying, but Brielle was great! I have learned that with a portable DVD player anything is possible! We checked into our condos and then went to dinner in Downtown Disney. I have never been there and thought it was a lot of fun! We got back to our condos just in time to watch the fireworks over Disneyland. All night Brie kept saying, "fiyawoks mummy!" We went to Venice Beach & Hollywood the first day. We toured the famous houses in the Hills and saw them roll out the red carpet for the Prince of Persia Premiere.Tuesday we headed to Disneyland!! The forecast said rainy for the morning but sunny in the afternoon. The rain thankfully scared off the crowds. The longest wait was 20 minutes for a ride.Brielle was so excited to see Minnie Mouse. For over a month now we used going to Minnie Mouse's house as her reward for being good. If she was ever having a terrible-two spell we would just claim that we were no longer going to Minnie's house and Brie would stop crying. About a week before I think she stopped believing we were ever going.I think Disney was a little overwhelming for her in the beginning. She just stared at everything showing no emotion. By mid-day she gt her giggles and smiles back. Her favorite rides were Small World and Tea Cups! I think I may have been just as excited as her. I haven't been to Disneyland in almost 20 years. I had not seen California Adventures until this trip either. I still love Thunder Mtn Railroad & Space Mtn. Though Soarin & Indiana Jones are really fun too! We left the park at closing filled with all the magic of Disney, hopefully to last us another few years but hopefully not 20! The next and last day of California we went to Laguna Beach.The sun finally showed up long enough for us to enjoy the beach...but just the beach not the water.Brielle and I built sand castles which of course washed away shortly after. Jeremy explored some sea caves and gathered sea shells on hard to get to beaches. Laguna Beach is so beautiful and the houses along the cliffs were amazing.I could easily live in a beach town. I love the ocean and the laid back attitude. It really made me miss Hawaii. Maybe that will be our next vacation!!! Brielle and I were walking along the beach and I told her "Brie we are going to start driving home tomorrow," her reply; "Yeah!!!!" Not quite what I was expecting.We drove from Aneheim to St. George to stay with my parents before continuing on home. As we were pulling into our neighborhood Jeremy announced, we're almost home! Brielle's reply, "No home, Grandma's." I guess we weren't the only ones not ready for our vacation to be over.