FaMiLy VaCaTiOn!!!!

My mom, my sisters, and I have talked about a great big family vacation for a long time now and last week we finally did it. The Dickerson crew took off on Sunday the 11th for Arizona where we spent a day and a half at the pool and hangin out with Grandpa and Grandma. On Tuesday, Brandon's 16th birthday, we headed to Newport Beach, California where we met up with Ashley, Todd, Berkley, Courtney, Brady, and my soon to be born niece! That first night we went to Huntington Beach, it was the first ocean sighting for all the grandkids, and it was so cool. Todd was flying a kite while we all had our toes in the sand/ocean at sunset. We went to a really delicious pier cafe for dinner called "Ruby's", I would recomend Ruby's to anyone who vistits that part of California. Wednesday morning, we all woke up pretty early to spend the day at DisneyLand. Thank you so much to Grandpa and Grandma for keeping track of all the little grandkids so the big kids could play. I love amusement park rides, and having all day to just have fun and not having to keep track of little kids was AWESOME!!!! Thursday we spent half of the day at the beach building sand castles, boogie boarding, and surfing. I am in total love with the ocean, it was my favorite part of the whole trip. If I had it my way, I would have spent the entire week at Huntington Beach. I am obsessed with the water; swimming pools, the ocean, the lake I love it all!!! We spent the rest of Thurday at Balboa Island, having lunch and walking around to the shops and the all-famous ferris wheel. Friday was our day to do "our own thing," my family chose the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. I'm sure this animal park is very cool, but we didn't experience most of it. We got there around 11:00 a.m. and it was already 104 degrees. We spend two hours walking around and going on a jungle safari before we decided to call it quits. It was just too hot, I felt really bad about wasting so much time and money there. If it were up to me, we would have spent the day on the beach!!!! We got back in time to have a nice dinner with everyone at a mexican restaurant. Living in New Mexico has given me, a once total hater of mexican food, a new found love for tacos and enchiladas! Saturday morning we woke up and gave our goodbyes to my sisters and their families, which was sad since I know that I won't be back to Utah anytime soon. To end our vacation, my parents took my family out on a boat ride around Balboa Island. My dad drove the boat, thanks to the help of three co-captians, and we got to see all the nice houses and boats that call Balboa Island home. This was such a great vacation, my parents REALLY went all out and everyone had a great time. I can't wait for the next family vacation!!!!