The Yankees were really the whole reason for our trip. Everything else was just extra. Jason's dad is a huge Yankee's fan and for a while we have wanted to take him to California to see them play the Angels but it seemed like every time they were in Anaheim we always had conflicts. The Yankees were scheduled to play in Anaheim last weekend and although I felt guilty taking the kids out of school we finally decided we just needed to do it. It was a great trip and I'm so glad that we went! We had a great time with Jason's dad and really appreciated my parents putting us up.
In front of Angels Stadium before Friday's game.
My dad and brother, Spencer, joined us for Friday's game. It was a little strange watching my two favorite baseball teams play each other. We love the Angels but Jason convinced me to be a Yankees fan shortly after we were married. I was excited to see the Yankees for the first time in person. (Sometime when you have time ask me why I skipped out of college classes to drive to San Diego so the Jason and the rest of my siblings could see the Yankees win the 1998 World Series while I watched it on TV. So, I'm still a little bitter about that...) Anyway, I was excited to see the Yankees but have to say I was a little disappointed in them from the two games we watched. The Angels ended up winning both Friday and Saturday night's games. Not that that is a bad thing. Our kids are huge Angels fans since they have grown up going to Angels games every time we go to see my parents during baseball season. It was easy to get caught up in the excitement Friday night when it was a tie game and the rally monkey came out! Here's Kaitlyn with her rally monkey!
We loved spending the weekend with Jason's dad. It was hilarious to watch my dad sitting next to Jason's dad at the game since they were cheering for opposite teams. They were both giving each other a hard time and my dad really got into the game.
Last weekend was the 10 year anniversary of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Towers. It brought back a lot of touching memories and gave me time to reflect on the wonderful country we live in! God bless America and thank you to all those who have and are protecting our freedom!
Notice you can even see the jets flying overhead on the score board!
A trip to California is never complete without a trip to the beach. We pulled out all the sand toys we've been taking to the beach for years but the kids were more interested in body boarding and digging for sand crabs this year than building sand castles! I guess it's just another sign they are growing up.
Saturday my mom and I took Kaitlyn to the American Girl store in Los Angeles. Kaitlyn was so excited to take her doll, Kanani. She was in heaven in the store! She just ran from on thing to the next. Jason called while we were getting Kanani's hair styled. He said, "You're doing what?!" Kaitlyn thought it was lots of fun though and my mom and I thought it was awfully cute. It made for a fun girls outing.
The American Girl Doll Salon
Kaitlyn with Kanani in front or the American Girl Store
The last few times we have gone to Disneyland it has been on a holiday break from school and it has been so crowded that we stood in line all day. We decided since the kids were already missing school we would stay one more day and surprise the kids with a trip to Disneyland. We did have a wonderful day with light crowds and short waits. The down side was that some of our favorite rides were closed to get ready for Halloween. The weather was perfect and the kids loved having Grandpa Earl with us as well as having my parents join us for the afternoon.
Jared, Jason and Andrew on Autopia
Kaitlyn and Sleeping Beauty. I can't believe I forgot her princess dress!
It seems like summer went by too fast. There were several things on my list of things to do that just didn't get done. However, the last couple weeks of summer vacation it was obvious the kids were ready to go back.
Jared's first day of 3rd grade.
Andrew's first day of 6th grade.
Kaitlyn had to wait until the next week before kindergarten started. She was so excited! I had a lot of people ask me if either she or I cried. That kind of surprised me since it was a happy day for everyone. You can see from the pictures she was all smiles! And as far as I go, half day kindergarten is only 15 minutes longer than her preschool class so it still doesn't quite feel like real school yet. In fact, I keep accidentally calling it "preschool" and Kaitlyn doesn't like that at all! It does seem like I just sent Andrew to kindergarten though. I'm not sure where the time has gone!
Kaitlyn's first day of kindergarten!
Jason came home for lunch to walk Kaitlyn to her first day of school.
In front of the school. It was so bright it was hard to open her eyes!
