California: Recap

Well, our journey continues on. After a final goodbye to my family in Utah we sent Cache on a plane with Patrick's sister and the other boys and I jumped in the car (yet again) and drove to Cali. We had a few more people to see and things to do. We were lucky enough to see all of Patrick's family in one place! We did so many fun things and his family takes great pictures too! We of course went to Sea World. It's a P. Larsen family favorite. We have many fond memories of living in Cali and visiting Sea World often. Sometimes we would go just to see the fireworks at the end of the night. This time we said hello to the turtles:

We also got a chance to see Santa! You know, one of the only problems with having 4 kids is that someone always gets left behind. Poor Kai was in bed at this time so Santa only got to meet 3 of the Larsen boys. It's ok though since Kai would have screamed his head off. Santa would not have liked us then.
This was at a house in a nearby neighborhood. It was decorated to the hilt by the owners of the house and they hire a Santa every year to come night after night to have kids sit on his lap. And its all free. They do it because they love it. Going here was the moment when I truly felt Christmas for the first time this year. With everything going on it all was lost on me, until this night. Being reminded that you can do things for others just because you have love in your heart... thats the real meaning of Christmas for me. And these people helped me enjoy it! (the hot chocolate and cookies didn't hurt either ; )

I love this picture because Ronin really looks like he is thinking hard of what he wants. The picture taken after this one was of he and Santa having a laugh together. Its quite funny. Cache was sure to let me know that this was not the real Santa. It's just a guy dressed in a Santa suit. The real Santa lives in the North Pole.

We also got to go to the beach. One of my absolute favorite things to do. I love watching the kids play in the sand and explore. I love that after three weeks of freezing in Utah I could come here and feel the sun (it was REALLY sunny!) and put my feet in the sand.

California really has the perfect sunsets. The colors are amazing. All a rainbow with the brightest fireball burning as it goes down. Breathtaking.
I got to see a dear friend while I was there as well. What a delight she is. We have known each other since we were 3 and that, is truly priceless. California was refreshing and so much fun. It has been too long since we have been there and I'm glad I got to share a part of it with the boys before leaving the U.S.