California, Part 1 (The Temple)

So begins, part 1 of my California trip. There will be a part 2 posted shortly after this, then a part 3 once I collect pictures from everyone else (since my camera died at Disneyland and we lost the charger).

(as always, Cadence is behaving for the camera)

We left our house bright and early Saturday morning. Like... 4:30am early. It could have been earlier, I suppose. I was up at 3:30, or at least, the alarm went off and I got out of bed around 4. The girls did extremely well on the 3 1/2 hour plane ride. Megan fell asleep for the first hour or so and Cadence was content to sit quietly. They read their new books, played with new dolls, and kept each other entertained. Other than a brief meltdown when I left Megan behind to accompany Cadence to the bathroom, the girls were great.

We hit Bakersfield later Saturday, because we stopped for a visit at Tejon's Yogurtland (to see Robyn and Nicole at work, where Nana and Poppa joined us for a quick reunion) then headed up to Taft to visit family there. We visited with family for most of Saturday and Sunday. The girls acted as if they'd never left, happily playing with Nana, Poppa, and their aunt and uncles as if they'd been down the street all along.

Monday morning, we headed down to San Diego, stopping for a visit at Old Town and the Mormon Battalion before we checked into our hotel for the night. The girls got to pet a donkey and enjoy the interactive tour of the Mormon Battalion.

We had a pizza dinner with family at a park/beach that night, then everyone tucked in for the big to-do the next day. James and I snuck out early Tuesday morning for a quick temple session in the San Diego temple. It was amazing. The interior of the San Diego temple may be the prettiest interior of all the ones I've been to (thus far, only totaling 4, so not saying much). I still prefer the way the Los Angeles temple conducts theirs, but San Diego was beautiful. Afterward, we returned to the hotel to pick up the girls (and Chad), check out, and return to the temple for the big event: Seth & Nicole's temple sealing.

Before we left, Cadence was pleading to go inside the temple, so I took the girls in through the front doors so they could see the pictures and look around without going past the front desk. They thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Then it was a late lunch with the family and off to Anaheim for the next leg of the trip!