{California Adventures}

This past week we did one of our bucket list goals for travelling this year and hit the road for a trip to Cali!  

The trip was inspired by our Hawaii friends, the Aubrey's, who were visiting family in California.  They were kind enough to find us some friends to stay with and we had a really nice time!

We met the Aubrey's at Disneyland... I LOVE going to Disneyland at Christmas time!  Something extra magical.  Rachel and I are both pregnant again, so we had to sit out some rides, but since we both have little ones it all worked out quite nicely! 

Grandma Reynolds gave Calvin this sweet little Mickey Mouse outfit - he was a hit all over the park! 

Rachel, Glenda & Jordan on "It's A Small World."  Our first ride of the day!

Calvin was ready for a nap but this ride entranced him!

This is Eva K!  Calvin's potential future wife :) She has the sparkliest blue eyes and most expressive face (obviously, look at this photo).  She is DARLING and such a mellow, sweet little girl!

This is Calvin & Daddy in the New Orleans sections... we enjoyed some tasty gumbo for lunch, one of my new favorites :)

Cute Mickey Mouse tail... so much fun.  Waiting in line for "Pirates of the Caribbean."

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Love this picture!  Taken at the Haunted Mansion... At Christmas they turn it into "The Night Before Christmas" and it's pretty neat!

Calvin was a little concerned by what he was seeing inside the Haunted Mansion.

Of course we couldn't pass up on the "Star Tours" ride!  Mike was even the Rebel Spy on board the ride which was pretty funny!  It made me a tiny bit motion sick but it was a fun ride! 

Vinny loved looking out the windows of Nemo's Submarine! 

We ended the night by eating ourselves into a food coma and getting "Tigger Tails" as our last treat.  Marshmallows dipped in white chocolate, caramel, and orange sugar crystals... I found a copycat recipe on pinterest and can't wait to try it!!  They were the bomb. 

The next day we went to the Santa Monica Pier and strolled around.  I really like it and when Calvin gets a little older we will definitely go back to enjoy some of the cute rides they have there as well as the arcade and aquarium! 

Tender kisses from my sweet little man are theee best!  He is such a loving boy. 

Beautiful, breezy beach day!  Love these handsome men!

Looking up to Daddy.  He is such a little peanut.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and watching football games, as we are known to do at this time of year.  We watched Alabama beat Florida for the SEC title, so our day ended on a happy note :) 

Our last day in Cali we met up with the Aubrey's at Knottsberry Farm.  During the month of November/December they do a Veterans discount so we were able to get in for free (SCORE).  

Trying to get a picture of these two together AND smiling was nigh near impossible!  

The Aubrey Clan

Clearly Cal wasn't too enthused on this train ride ...  :)

This was a boat ride that rocked back and forth.. Calvin started laughing and enjoying it after a while but Eva K obviously had cause for concern!  

So sweet... Cal's first ride on a Merry-Go-Round.  It was a great last ride for him to experience.  

We ended the night by eating at the fabulous "Chicken Dinner" restaurant just outside Knottsberry.  

It was a fun escape from the daily grind and it was wonderful to catch up with Rachel as well!  

Can't wait until Harry Potter World opens in California in April 2016!! :D