Disneyland.

The first week of November 2016 had been anxiously awaited for over a year. It was planned to be a week long reunion with all of our Spicer family in California. We were so looking forward to escaping the upcoming winter in Idaho and enjoying the warm weather and fun that would be awaiting us. We loaded up the car on a Thursday morning and made our way to my grandpa's home in St. George. He greeted us with dinner and stories. We spent the night at his house and the majority of the following day with him before hitting the road again to reach our final destination, Anaheim, California!

Daniel's parents rented a nice house for all of us to stay that was within walking distance of Disneyland. Each couple had their own bedroom and bathroom, but we were still able to be all together in one place. The cousins had endless fun playing together all around the house, while the adults got to visit and play the usual boys vs. girls Catch Phrase game. All of us are spread throughout the country, so time that we can all be together is so cherished and this vacation was no exception!

Two days were spent at Universal Studios, and it was a blast. Ellisyn was too short to ride really anything, but she still had the time of her life seeing the characters from Despicable Me, Shrek, Transformers, and Jurassic Park. Daniel and I were able to enjoy all the rides, several shows, Harry Potter World, and the back lot Studio Tour. We spent two whole days exploring the park, and it was so worth it!

We were in California for one Sunday, so we found a church nearby and attended Sacrament Meeting. After church, we went to Newport Beach and spent the remainder of the day enjoying the sand between our toes and watching the kids play in the water. The weather, the ocean, and the company was absolutely perfect!

We spent three days within the week at Disneyland! We were up bright and early each day in order to arrive right when the gates opened. The men ran around collecting all the fast passes to ensure a jam packed day of rides. We bounced back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure trying to soak in all the magic one can only find at the happiest place on earth.  We enjoyed Dole Whip and the famous Monte Cristo sandwich. We admired all our favorite princesses and characters. We watched the parade down Main Street. We marveled at all the Christmas decorations. We stayed until it closed every night. We had so. much. fun. Disneyland left us completely exhausted and completely wishing for more! 

The day before each of us headed back to reality, we had one more day at Newport Beach. Everyone loved having a relaxing day after so many days spent at Universal and Disney. The evening ended with s'mores right there on the beach. It was such a nice way to end our unbelievable Spicer reunion. This vacation will always be a favorite. Now that it is all over and the norms of life have returned, I would drop everything to do it all over again!