Sisters Vaction With Mom

Last week I got a much-needed vacation. I went to Disneyland with my three sisters and my mom. Do you remember last year when I blogged about a similar vacation? Well, we decided to do it again; only this time Mom came along, and we didn't tell Ashley (my youngest sister who lives in Fullerton right now) we were coming. We worked with Ash's husband, Derek, to make all the arrangements; and then we showed up and surprised her. It was the perfect surprise!!! We showed up at 10 pm and informed her we'd be leaving the next morning at 8 am for Disneyland.

Here's a picture of all of us just after we arrived at Disneyland (Alyson, Mom, Ashley, Me, Linz):

I realize I am posting a blackmail picture here, but this is me and Aly riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. In my defense, I was screaming because I was imitating my dad and the noises I remember him making when we rode this ride 25 years ago. That's actually one of my favorite memories from Disneyland when I was younger -- listening to how excited my dad got on the rides!

We couldn't resist a picture with Indiana Jones when we were in line to get on that ride. My sisters tell me it was just a worker dressed up as Indiana Jones, but I know the real thing when I see it! :)

Here's a picture of me with Ashley. We're thinking of moving to Montana together...

In the middle of the day we took a break and went for a ride on the Mark Twain riverboat. Here are pictures of each of us on the boat:

There's no such thing as Disneyland without a break for some yummy ice cream!

Mom was the martyr on Splash Mountain. We were all very grateful that she was willing to sit and front (where you get the wettest on the ride). Looks like Ash got a little wet too. :)

Derek and Marshall (Ashley's son) joined us for part of the day. I just love this picture of Marshall and his mom.

We were actually in Disneyland on Derek's birthday. He was nice enough to spend his birthday watching Marshall so Ash could spend all day with us. While Derek was there, though, we made sure that he had plenty of fun. We also took advantage of his willingness to be our second martyr on Splash Mountain:

This is the picture they took of us our first trip down Splash Mountain. We were all trying to look sleepy. I remember screaming and thinking, "Okay, I have to close my mouth before the picture takes; then I'll be able to scream again..." It appears I didn't quite get it shut in time...

And here was another time down Splash Mountain (Mom, Ash, Linz, Hil, Aly):
It was a long, fun day. Here's a picture of all of us on our way home at the end of the day...

The fun didn't all end there, however. On Friday, we got to just completely relax. We took turns going to the temple and watching Marshall. Then we spent Friday night relaxing in the hot tub and watching Psych episodes. Here's Alyson and me in front of the Newport Beach Temple.

Ashley will never be able to say we didn't take good care of Marshall while she was at the temple. Here he is enjoying a "ride" on Alyson's feet. (Then he went on to help me make dinner and requested I take him into the backyard to see the birdies...)

Bright and early Saturday morning we had to wake up and head home. Since we didn't get a picture of Ashley being surprised when we first showed up, we posed this picture as we were leaving. :)

I will admit that the vacation was a little too short, but it was loads of fun while it lasted! (And a SUPER BIG THANKS to my friend Denise and all my neighbors who helped watch my girls while I went and had fun!)