California with the Family

So my family all met up in California to meet and bless my new niece--Riley Paige.  She was 6 weeks old when we blessed her and she cried the whole time! :)  For the first few days, we helped Lisa & Matt move into their new house and set them us (aka, we spent a lot of time shopping for house stuff for my sister and babysitting Riley).  On Wednesday, my family randomly decided to go to Disneyland for a few days.  My parents and brother stayed a day and a half.  My sister and I stayed another day together.  It was really fun and we even got my mom to go on a ride (which is unusual for her)!

My family (minus Matt who had to work) after riding a water ride--I was soaked!

Lisa, my mom, and Riley (not the most flattering picture but I don't feel like downloading a new one)

Riley Paige in her mouse ears

When we went in to get Disneyland badges, the ladies thought Riley was so cute that they gave her a ton... I was kind of jealous

Mommy and Baby

Mattie boy

We also went to Medieval Times while we were there.  My brother went when he was like ten and loved it.  Now, every time we've been in the vacinity of a Medieval Times, he begs to go.  We've never gone until this time though.  We secretely bought tickets and told him we had to go to Mrs. Shirley's (Lisa's mother-in-law who lives in Long Beach) house.  Then, we pulled up in Medieval Times and his face was flabbergasted.  He had a blast...

My Mom, Matt, Lisa, Riley, and Dad

Surprisingly, Riley didn't appreciate Medieval Times...

She was pretty much like this the whole night b/c she was so upset she had to be there

My brother... can't you see the excitement

We had to support the blue knight... ironic he had fluer de lis all over him

I'm not sure who this is but Mattie wanted  a picture with him

So after Medieval times, Lisa and I stayed a Disney another day while my parents and brother took Riley home to babysit.  It was pretty fun and it was the first time we had really spent one-on-one time together in a long time (probably since she graduated high school).

Lisa and I outside of splash moutain

We went canoeing :)

Fake moose we saw while canoeing... I thought the ducks on their backs were a nice touch 

The castle as we walked past... it was really busy that day

Lisa and I on teacups... I look like I want to throw up

Lisa

So I made Lisa go on "It's a Small World" and she hated it.  It was sort of like a personal form of torture for her.  It was pretty entertaining for me though.

We also got stuck on Big Thunder Mountain right as it is about to go down the first bigish hill.  After like fifteen minutes of sitting at the top and wondering what was wrong, some guy in a yodeler suit came and announced that there was a goat/turtles on the tracks.  At first, he was like, there's nothing really wrong... ya'll can just sit tight and we'll have you on your merry way really soon (and this was hard for me to believe from a guy in a yodeler suit... no matter if he did work for Disney).  But then, after a few minutes of tinkering with the car, he was like, "Just kidding, ya'll have got to leave."  So we got out and walked down those little paths you always see on rides.

When we got stuck

I'm walking off the cart... it's really dark though b/c we were going through a tunnel thing

The tracks

Matt, Lisa, and I also went surfing b/c Mattie wanted to try it really bad.  My parents generously provided us with equipment and an instructor for two hours.  For the first hour, it was pretty fun (well, as fun as swimming in cold, rocky, and seaweedy water can be while getting smashed on the head by waves).  The last hour, I was so tired from jumping on and off of the board, trying to swim further, and falling down (which I did more frequently than not).  I did, however, get up and ride a wave for like 1.5 seconds so that was pretty cool.  But I've got to say--I was very sore the next day in my core from trying to balance for so long.  Matt had a blast and rode a ton of waves (apparently, he has naturally good balance and was very good according to our instructor... he didn't say as much about my sister and I).  Mercifully, my family only got pictures when were finished... otherwise, I'd have pictures of me flopping around in the ocean I'm sure...

I also bought a car (which I'm not sure I've ever posted about).  Her name is Marcie and she is a Nissan Versa.  I had to drive her home from California (LA area) to Provo... and it was a long drive to make in one day.  Plus side, I did it without dying.  I'll probably post pictures of Marcie eventually but for now, I'm too lazy to go get my camera from upstairs.  So now, I'm just back in Provo working and playing.  Since I've been back, I got to go Owling with Weston.  We went up and hiked around Rock Canyon--we heard a bird that we are deluding ourselves into thinking it was an owl.  I need to go again, though, and soon so I can find a sure owl!