California 2013!

We were able to spend a weekend in California with some of our favorite people.  We had a great weekend and although it wasn't long enough, we were grateful for the chance to get away and visit them!

This was Katelyn's first time flying so we were very excited (more than her!)!! We were also nervous because on Tuesday I took her to the doctor and found out she had a slight left ear infection, we were so scared that the flight would be painful for her.  She had 2 days of antibiotics in her system and routine doses of Tylenol and Ibuprofen (and lots of prayers) which helped her have a great flight.

The night before we were excited/trying to get ready to we didn't get to bed til 12:30 which wouldn't have been terrible except that we needed to be up at 2:30 (apparently when I booked our flights I didn't realize just how early I booked it for!). We set both of our alarms and fell asleep, Kate woke up crying shortly after we went to sleep so I brought her into our room so she would sleep better sitting up a little.  What seemed like minutes later she started crying again, I got her calmed down and looked at the clock...it was 3:46 am!!  We were supposed to leave for the airport at 3 am to allow sufficient time for check in, TSA, etc.  We raced out of our house, Kate was an absolute angel and was watching in awe as we ran about getting us out the door in record time! Haha!

The heavens aligned and we made it to the airport, through security and to our gate with 10 minutes to spare! We were so HAPPY we didn't miss our flight! Kate was wide awake and excited to be watching people/making friends at the airport and on the plane.  Once we started taxing she fell asleep in Ray's arms before take off and slept throughout the entire flight! She woke up just after landing! We were so glad she was comfortable and pain free!

Maturo's picked us up from the airport and we headed to breakfast at Flappy Jack's. I felt like we ate the whole weekend, Roxanna was so good to us..and our bellies! On Thursday we just hung out at their house, watched Pawn Stars, sat by the pool, took a long nap, had homemade meatball subs for lunch and we BBQ'd steak/corn/potatoes for dinner. Katelyn loves their puppies and was in heaven watching them all weekend.

On Friday we woke up to fresh monkey bread, bacon, biscuits and eggs for breakfast! We decided to spend the day at the LA county fair, which some may think is weird but we thought it was INCREDIBLE! The fair was ginormous, had tons of exhibits/booths/entertainment, lots of delicious food and was perfect weather!  There was a parade that came through the fair that was a "battle of the bands" type of deal with lots of music to listen to.

Roxanna and I tried deep friend snickers which were actually pretty good! We played a couple games.  Roxanna won Katelyn a minion but since she was terrified of it we traded it for a Hello Kitty doll which she likes much better! Ray and Kate went on the Merry Go Round.

I ate (or attempted to eat) a giant turkey leg that was the size of my head. I was unsuccessful and despite my best effort would not be a good candidate for competitive eating (even though most days I can eat more than 5 grown men!).  Katelyn loved watching everything all around us!

Ray rode the bull! I have begged him to do it for years and he finally did it!  It was so fun to watch, Kate wasn't sure what was going on.  He did great although he complained of being sore the next day!

The fair had incredible entertainment.  There was a "Circus" area where we watched Cirque de Soleil performers, a humorous clown act"Mango & Dango", fire jugglers and got to see a weird array of things. Kate couldn't take her eyes off of Dango--she may need therapy although she never cried...just stared.

By far our favorite thing was the giant steer...far better than the giant horse and alligator.  It was 6'6" to it's back.  We were seriously fascinated by it!  The funniest thing was Mike went in to see it, whistled for it, it went right over to him and let him scratch his ear.  The guy working the booth was a bit scared he would die but the steer was super friendly!

There were so many buildings with booths/displays to look at.  Kate tried to wrestle a mardi gras mask off of me! It is so funny to watch her reaction to different things around us! The fair was gorgeous with lights and fountains all around.

One of the buildings was dedicated to Disney Pixar and animations. It showed how things were made, had model displays from several movies with activities you could complete. It was really neat to see everything. Below is one of the most gorgeous carousels I have ever seen, it was breathtaking!

Saturday morning we had breakfast burritos and "Donut Man" donuts..which are famous via the Food Network.  We saw a line around the corner at 10pm!  Mike went at 6 am and waited in line so we could try them!  They were delicious! Then we headed to Redondo Beach and Pier.  We walked around the pier, had an ice cream then took Kate to play in the ocean for her first time.

 She didn't like the waves, the water was pretty cold and intimidating.  She kept grabbing at us to pick her up so she just dipped her toes a couple times. She kept watching the waves no matter what way we turned her, she wasn't about to let them escape her sight!  She did however love the beach, she played in the sand and loved digging in it.  She had sand everywhere!

Afterwards we headed to Downtown Disney and walked around for a bit.The Lego displays were pretty awesome but everything else was crazy expensive...we are way to cheap for Disneyland!  I loved watching them make their character caramel apples although I was not willing to spend $10 on them! Nothing looked good for lunch so we ate at Coco's just outside of the Disneyland area. Kate was pretty happy we gave her a giant wedge of bread to gum on, she was in heaven. 

Saturday night we had dinner at the house, we watched '17 Miracles' which was incredible and snacked on caramel apples from the fair.  On Sunday morning we went to church with Maturo's, Ray loved seeing several people he remembers from the mission.  This was by far his favorite ward on his mission, he speaks of the families and experiences he had there often. Even though it has been 10 years they all remembered  and loved him as well. 

Their ward is incredible, the primary program they put on as well as the lessons were amazing.  The time and dedication they gave was amazing to witness. I would love to live outside of Utah so that Kate would get to experience the church elsewhere.

After church we had lunch at Petrillo's Pizza, which was a favorite from Ray's mission.  The Maturo's took us to the airport, our first time going through Long Beach.  It was such a cute little airport! Kate had another great flight home, she was awake for take off and was very unsure about it but just snuggled into me and went to sleep.  She woke up shortly before landing! 

The Maturo's were so good to us.  We ate more than anyone should eat in a week and were completely spoiled.  Raymond first met this couple on his mission, taught them, baptized them, returned after his mission for their sealing and they have been "adopted" members of our family ever since.  They are Kate's "grandparents"! They credit Ray for being such a great influence in their lives but truly they have made such a difference in our lives.  They are the most loving, caring and optimistic people I have met.  They always make people around them feel uplifted and loved.  They are such amazing people and we are so grateful to call them family!