California Dreamin'

School finally finished last Wednesday! 

The next morning, I found myself in a car, on my way to California, with my good roommates and friends. 

The first day we stopped in Vegas on our way to California. We went to the Bellagio and enjoyed their beautiful gardens. 

We also made our way down the strip to look at the water and make some wishes.

We also went to Steak 'n Shake. It was my first time ever, and I must say, their shakes were quite delightful.

That night we finally made it to California after some exciting navigation on the California highways, and some slow hills through Nevada and California.

The next day we made our way to the magical land of Disneyland. And I must say, I still believe in the magic.

Day two was my favorite day, because we got to do what I have always dreamed of doing. First, I got to buy my very own princess book to get autographs, and second, I got to meet my favorite characters. The first time I went to Disneyland, when I was 8 or 9, my mom refused to buy me one of the autograph books (they are pricey). And because I did not have an autograph book, I decided I was "too cool" for the characters and had to go do other big kid stuff. So I never really felt the magic of meeting your favorite characters. But this time, I got to experience it all as if I were five :)

We visited Pixie Hollow to meet Silvermist and Tink. Last Halloween we were all the fairies from  Pixie Hollow, so getting to meet the characters, was especially awesome. 

Who wore it better?

Cinderella has always been my favorite princess. Getting to meet her was so exciting! When we went in, we knew Aurora and Ariel were there, but the third princess was a mystery princess. I was hoping it was Cinderella, and lucky me, it was! 

And Minnie is just amazing. I was freaking out a little when she was about to sign my book. I told her that I was sorry for stealing her bow without asking. 

Absolutely worth the one hour wait for this shot! 

We also got to meet Merida, Pooh, Tigger, Mickey, Goofey, Donald Duck, Bell, Jessie (Toy Story), Alice, the Mad Hatter, Dug (Up), Chip and Dale, Cruella DeVille, Aurora, Ariel.. and maybe more? There were a lot.

The most important thing I learned from meeting all the characters, however, was that all of the nice, attractive, charming young men are to be found in one place, and one place alone: attending all the Disney characters at Disneyland! So ladies, if you are looking for a swell gentlemen, that is the place to look.

Also, when we were going to meet Jessie, an adorable little child ran up and hugged Jessie vehemently. The mother exclaimed "Girl! You need to calm down!" After that, we all kept reminding each other when we saw our favorite characters that "girl! You need to calm down" because we all got super excited at one point or another after finding our favorite character.

We also saw the World of Colors show. Some of the songs sounded like they should be on EFY cd's, but other than that, t was amazing!

Disneyland is one of my favorite places on Earth. I absolutely love the magic. At the end, my favorite rides were Pooh Bear, Little Mermaid, and Storybook. They were all so magical.




We also got to go explore tide pools at Corona del Mar. We saw lots of cool stuff like crabs, starfish, and hermit crabs.

There is a crab in there!

Hermit crabs. 

You could say I just wanted to bring home all the things from the beach...

We also found this gorgeous area by Corona del Mar. There was a fence, and so we looked, and found this area.

We also made our way over to New Port Beach and Balbosa. Sadly, it was overcast, but that didn't stop me from getting my shorts completely drenched.

It was a lovely day, and I am still madly in love with the beach. I gave it a great big hug before we left.

And...

The most exciting news of all came on our way home. My mission papers have finally been submitted!! I was expecting them to be submitted on the 28th, however, because there is 31 days in May and July, the date kept getting pushed back. Now they are finally in, and I will be patiently awaiting its arrival :)