Shorts... In January!

Friday January 16th I jetted off towards a weekend of warmth, fun, and wearing shorts. My friend Kjersti and I made a sponatneous (it's only been planned since the week before Christmas) trip to sunny California. I feel the need to thank Martin Luther King, Jr. for having a holiday dedicated to him because I got to spend that day at the Happiest Place on Earth.
It was amazing to me what the sunshine and warm weather did for me. I felt like a completely different person. It was 85 degrees all 4 days we were there and I was actually wearing shorts in January! SHORTS IN JANUARY!!!!
We flew into the John Wayne Airport just after 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon and thanks to the GPS on Kjersti's phone we found our hotel easily in our cute little rental car (I'm officially old enough to rent a car! Although, for this trip Kjersti did the renting. But still, I'm old enough to rent a car!) Our weekend was jam-packed and I REALLY wanted to go to the beach, so Kjersti was kind enough to participate in the trek to the nearest beach. We left shortly before sunset hoping to get there in time to watch the sun set over the ocean. However, traffic and our lack of directions made it difficult to find a beach very quickly. As long as we could still see a little light we knew we were heading West, but after we stopped to eat we no longer had light.

We stopped for dinner at In-N-Out Burger. I have never eaten there and that's pretty much all Mason has talked about since he's been home from his mission, so we just had to stop there. It was actually really good. Kjersti got her meal "Animal Style" and I was brave enough to try it.

After we ate we continued our quest to find a beach. After 2 hours we finally ran into a beach. It was beautiful (pictures will come soon) and I just had to dance. I was at the beach in January! For anyone who knows me well, you know that I LOVE water, so keeping me out of the ocean wasn't even a possibility. I rolled up my pants as far as they would go, took off my shoes and spent some quality time jumping and dancing in the waves. You would think the Pacific Ocean would be cold, but it was rather pleasant. I totally would have played in it during the day!

Saturday January 17th we entered Disneyland! I haven't been to Disneyland since the beginning of high school, so I was as excited as a little kid. I was at Disneyland, wearing shorts in January! This is Kjersti waiting oh so patiently to be let into Disneyland.

Look at all those cars! Why can't we just cut in line? I AM a princess after all!

DISNEYLAND IN JANUARY WEARING SHORTS!!!!!

Yes, I DID take a picture of Kjersti paying the parking booth guy. I was going to Disneyland in January and I was wearing shorts! Anyone would have been excited.

Saturday Kjersti got priority seating for us at the Blue Bayou for lunch.

It was yummmmmmy! But I ate way too much, and I only ate half of it!

Why hello Mr. Potato Head! (Mr. Potato Head entertained us as we waited in line for the Toy Story ride.)

Stylin' 3D glasses! Kjersti and I got matching Mickey ears. They are Princess Pirate ears and we got "Ms. Parkes" and "Ms. White" embroidered on them so we can wear them to school. And yes, I did wear my ears all day.

Saturday afternoon we wandered over to California Adventure. Somehow Kjersti convinced me to go on the Tower of Terror. I should have learned from the California Screamin' ride that any ride Kjersti "loves" will be SCARY! I was a nervous wreck as we waited for Tower of Terror.

I don't know how it happened, but I survived. Kjersti got me on that ride 2 other times during our trip and every time I would stand in line and shake my head. "How in the world did you get me on this ride again?"

Sunday we worshipped at the church of Mickey. We took advantage of Magic Hours and got into Disneyland a little early.

Before we left on our trip Kjersti told me that there was no way she would go on the Teacup ride. It's Disneyland, you HAVE to go on the Teacup ride. I was able to convince her to go on the ride, and eventually she even let me spin a little. However, she never took her eyes off my nose. I didn't realize my nose was so cute. :)

How awesome is that picture? I took that Sunday night from the train that goes around Disneyland.

The rest of my pictures that I got from Kjersti are on my computer at school. As soon as I copy them to a CD and bring them home I will post them.

It was a fantastic vacation. I really needed time away, and this was the perfect trip for that. I can't believe what a huge difference a little more sunshine makes! For anyone who is feeling slightly down I would highly recommend a trip to somewhere warm and sunny. I was wearing shorts in January, who wouldn't be happy about that?!?!