2017 Thanksgiving Break

Day 1 Sunday November 19, 2017
This year for a Thanksgiving Break my family took a trip the Brentwood to visit our grandparents! We left on Sunday, November 19, 2017 about an hr. or two after a good, inspiring Stake Conference! It was nice to leave Camarillo on a good note. It was a very long drive to Brentwood; about 5 and 1/2 hours. It was especially hard after already sitting 3 hrs. in Stake Conference. We didn't have many movie options because it was Sunday but we ended up watching Sound of Music because it isn't loud and noisy and just had to draw and read the rest of the time! Finally at around 7:30 we arrived at Gram and Papa's. Since there was Daylight Savings Time just about a month ago it was pitch black when we got out. Gram and Papa were waiting out side for us to come. We had a nice dinner; macaroni and cheese, veggies, and some sour dough bread bowls! It was delicious!! Then we all found our rooms and went to bed! It had been a very LONG day!

Day 2 Monday November 20, 2017
Today was our first full day in Brentwood. It was an awesome day! We got up at 6:50 and had some  cereal while I taught my sister how to play the "Tang Game" - a game my great grandfather made up out of wood tangs that you lift up. It is really very fun. Then just me and my family left for a park, me and my siblings like to call "The Pirate Park". It is probably one of my top 5 favorite parks I've ever been to! My favorite part of the park was this thing were you sit in one of the chairs and everyone who is sitting has to work together to spin the blue circular thing that spins you around in your chairs. If you've gone to Disneyland before, you might of gone on the ride called 'The Teacups". Its kinda like that! This ride made my very dizzy!! James was probably the only one spinning. We were all to tired and dizzy!!

 When we were done we decided to hang out in this really awesome area near the park. It was a bunch of trees near a big field of grass but if you came, you wouldn't think it was grass. You couldn't see the grass because it was covered in leaves. It would be pure to torture to try and rake these leaves!  We stayed there for about a half of an hour. We threw leaves at one another and made big piles to throw in the air. It was so much fun!!

 Probably wasn't the best picture. We all had weird smiles on!!

Once we were all tiered out we drove back home. Gram and Papa were home packing. We all were going to head for a place called Angels Camp for 3 days. It was about 2 hrs. away and we were just staying there for 3 days. Then we would go back to Gram and Papa's and stay there for the remainder of the week! In about an hr. we were all done packing and were off to Angels Camp. Just then I realized I had forgotten my shoes way back in Camarillo and had only brought flip-flops. It would be really bad because this Angels Camp we were going to is known for its fun outdoor activities and hikes. If we were just sitting around the hotel it wouldn't be too bad but since I had forgotten my shoes I probably would have to miss out on some of the hikes. Anyway, we had to drive another 2 hrs. to get to Angels Camp. Elle and I played Hangman and the matching game. We arrived before the boys arrived. They took forever to finally get to Angels Camp. We took two cars. A boy car and a girls car. It was good we got here first because we got first dibs on our hotel room. Gram had booked 2 rooms because we wouldn't have enough beds or room for all of us. If we only booked 1 room half of us would be sleeping on the ground. Gram, Papa, Elle and I would all sleep in one hotel room and Mom, Dad, Calvin, and James. We had a perfect amount of beds for all of us. The hotel rooms were identical. There was a bedroom with 2 small beds next to each other for Elle and I in one hotel room and Calvin and James in the other hotel room. Then a small kitchen and a small living room, and a big upstairs for Mom and Dad, in one hotel room, and Gram and Papa in the other hotel room. Sadly the adults got their own bathroom and shower and all we got was a closet. The first few hrs. we spent exploring the hotel then we walked down to the clubhouse. Unlike other hotels this hotel was a kinda like a bunch of houses or mini apartments around a beautiful block, then there is this bigger house called the clubhouse! It has a big video game, (not that there was anything interesting in there) a pool game, a ping-pong table, a big lap pool, and a hot tub! It was really awesome we checked out everything. We spent most of the time in the pool but it was all  really cool!

 After we were all really tired we went home, took a shower, and watched Incredibles while trying to solve a 500 piece puzzle!

 Late at night trying to strain your eyes over a 500 piece puzzle late at night is pretty hard so we needed a light! 

It was an awesome day!!

Day 3 Tuesday November 21, 2017

Today was also a great but very jam packed day! We had so much fun, the beds were very comfortable, and we had a great nights rest!! At around 10:00 we left for a nearby place called Colombia State Park. Used to be a the village people who mined for gold in 1849 mined/panned for gold at! We stayed there for a while. Some of the activities there were...Panning for gold,

Here's some more pictures of panning for gold. This was the big hit of the park!

and this,

 and that,

 Stage coach riding,

and these really cool pictures called Western Pictures. Normally I HATE pictures but these were actually really fun! We got to dress up in really awesome clothes and had a lot of fun putting one after another dresses on and finding really cool hats to wear with them! The best thing about it was that we didn't even have to smile. To be honest I think the baby won on the best NO smile contest!! I mean everybody else looked sad or just faking their No smile! I mean, look at my dad! Papa and Gram look sad, dad is creepy, Elle is actually kinda smiling, I guess Cal looks real, I am staring into the distance, and Mom just looks like the person taking the picture is a zombie!

I had a really awesome time at this really awesome place, after we were satisfied with everything we had visited we got in the car and headed back to angels camp!! Before we went home we visited a really cute village called Murphys. Everyone says that Murphys is always decorated during Christmas, but when we went we hardly saw any Christmas decorations! We learned that Myrphys is a big tourist attraction place with a bunch shops all in a big circle. It wasn't super "kid friendly." The only shop us kids found interesting was a nice little ice-cream shop with surprisingly good flavors!

 Dad bought us all (What I mean by ALL is Gram, Papa, Mom, me, Elle, Calvin, James, and himself! Isn't he SO awesome! Once we were all full we walked back to our car. Along the way we saw a beautiful little stream, some very odd water fountains, and a very long way back!! Once we finally got back to our cars we drove home! It was a long way home although it was so worth it. The roads there are way more fun than the ones in Camarillo! The car ride was like a very long rollercoaster!! Once we got home we went to the pool again. We played tons of games and had so much fun!! When we came back we decided it was early enough in the day to play some more at the clubhouse, so we dried, took a shower, got into dry clothes, and went down!! We played some basketball but were only able to play for a small amount of time because Elle was being a ball hog! When we went back it was pretty dark, we hung out at the house and watched Despicable Me. It was really fun we even finished the 500 piece puzzle!! We decided to save the "big picture" for tomorrow so the boys could be in the picture, they had already gone to sleep! Soon after that Elle and I went to sleep after Gram's story, Oliver Twist by: Dickens!

It was a wonderful day!!

Day 4 Wednesday November 22, 2017
Today was our last day at Angels Camp we were in a big rush to get everything packed up and ready for the trip back to Gram and Papas house! I didn't get much sleep because I woke up really early in the morning hearing the loud door slam as Mom and Dad went on a walk together trough the camp. I was really impressed on the pictures they took. I was also very jealous, they saw the coolest stuff! I mean, look at this!

 Once we were all packed up we relaxed at the house. We didn't have to check out for another 2 hrs. Then Dad, Mom, Elle, and Cal left for a big hike down into a big cave deeper than the Statue of Liberty. They would walk down thousands of stairs into a really cool ancient cave! Gram and Papa didn't go because Papa could hardly walk without his cane and Gram's leg hurt like Papa's. James would't make it for the whole hike and I couldn't go in flip-flops the hike requires close-toed shoes and without my shoes I would be doomed. I just hung out with Gram and Papa while they went to this time share place. I thought I would be bored but they gave me another breakfast. It was really good! Pancakes, breakfast burritos, and fruit. The talking part with this random guy who was helping with their time share was real boring but I actually enjoyed the food a lot! I probably was having as much fun as the rest of my family! These were some pictures from their hike...

 Wish I were there even though I had a great time with Gram and Papa. Makes me feel better James wasn't there either!

 No idea what this is but it looks cool so I posted it!

 One time a girl fell all the way down, Elle and Cal said they saw her scull, or so they say...

I never really figured out what this was either... 

 Doesn't this look so cool

  Until Gram, Papa, James, and I got back to Gram and Papa's house we didn't get to see the rest of the family. We stopped by Costco so Gram could get some groceries and I could go to the restroom. Finally when we got home I was able to ask the rest of my family about the hike. It sounded so cool but I was also so lucky to spend some time with Gram and Papa! This afternoon Gram and Papa gave James a cute little baby phone! It played music and would talk to him. He fell in love with it!!

 Calling his friends!!

Gram and Papa also got out some trains and their little train station. James would never leave his little play station! So cute!!

 Nice way to come home!!

It seemed way too fast before we were put to bed! We all had a great day even if we were all split up for most of the day!

Day 5 Thursday November 23, 2017
Today was actually our first full day in Brentwood. Come to think of it the day we arrived in
Brentwood it was night and when we woke up we left at 10:00 for Angels Camp so this was our first full day! Also it was Thanksgiving Day! Happy Thanksgiving!! Today was so awesome! We woke up real early and got in our swimsuits! We hopped in the really warm hot tub and hung out there for a while till Elle and Cal ditched me!

Then Mom came in with James cause she felt bad I was all alone. ( I hope... well maybe it was cause she wanted to take a dip in the heat, but oh well, least I wasn't lonesome anymore)

Once I was nice and warm I hopped into the shower, rinsed off my hair and went downstairs to see a bunch of Thanksgiving crafts Gram bought! Dad found this really cool apple peeler somewhere around the house!

 We had so much fun decorating the crafts and messing around while doing so. We probably drove our parents crazy. Calvin's crafts...This one Cal made in his Kindergarten class but thought it would be cute to take picture of, because its Thanksgiving, thats what you do!

Cal made all the hat crafts, the one to the left is a bit hard to see but it is also a hat!

 This one may be easier to see

These are Elle's...So cute

 My favorite was either the farmer or the turkey.

These are mine...

Pretty proud of this! After that the day pretty much flew by! The Missionaries came for dinner and talked with the adults. When Gram was inside with the rest of the kids dealing with a few broken dishes I took Gram's spot at the adult table and talked with the Missionaries. They told a story about a seminary teacher who did a really cool lesson where he had a question contest. He would ask the teens questions about the scriptures or questions about their life like, what do you do when you are going through a trial to help you through your trial or how do you think Nephi gained his trust in god and gained a better testimony! He was teaching a class full of kids who didn't really listen to his lessons or were on their phones the whole time. Every time the teacher asked a question the kids would say pass, then the teacher would say something like absolutely correct. Later the kids found out they were actually answering their question, pass actually meant Prayer And Scripture Study! I thought that was a pretty awesome lesson! Once the Missionaries left we all had a fun family night together for the rest of the night, at least thats what we thought we were going to do!! Papa, Elle, Cal, James, Mom, and I all took a ride to the tennis court and played there while dad made pie! Yea, I know Papa isn't in the picture but he did come!!

 Mmmmm...

We all played there till dark, that was till about 6:00! Then we came home. Dad was working hard at his pie while Gram was just chillin' on the couch with her laptop! She told us the movie Wonder was on at 9:00. Us girls could have a girls late night out and just spend some time together. It took a while for mom to agree but she finally gave in. Even though mom didn't come it was still so much fun! We smuggled together and watched one of the sweetest movies I have ever watched! We came back at about 10:30 and then went strait to bed! It was a great Thanksgiving Day!!

Day 6 Friday November 24, 2017

Today was another awesome day we woke up bright and early. We had a small breakfast we were barley even able to eat! We were too exited! Gram had an extra spoiling day in mind for us! At 7:00 we left for Pump-it-up. We had a BLAST!! Before we got going we picked up Zach from his house to come along with us!! We played for the longest time, it was SO awesome!!!

Zach is the one to the right!! I was even to tired to smile! 

We didn't get as much pictures as I wanted to...There was the coolest things there! They had like 25 and 1/2 foot slides and glow in the dark obstacle courses! It was THE BEST! When we were all tiered out Gram and Gram Rox (Zach's Grandma) treated us all to McDonald ice-cream! It was the best outing ever! Then when we finally arrived home we took a ride over to the park to play basketball!! Elle even shot her first hoop, with a little help from Papa! Papa wouldn't leave till Elle made it!! I was really scared, with his bad leg and all!

We stayed till dark and then came home! James sure loves his Papa time!!

We ended the day just as fast as we started it! We actually had a really relaxing ending! We all spent time together decorating a gingerbread house while watching Little Woman! Decorating that House was PURE TORTURE for Elle and I! We are doing the candy challenge, thats were we don't eat candy for one whole year and once that year is completed we get $100 from our parents! I really think they had us even do the Gingerbread House was just to torture us so we quit! That way they don't have to pay us $100 at the end! We actually didn't end up quitting, we managed to get through the hard moment!

 another...

 and another

We went to bed earlier than usual, we would be leaving at about 7:00 bright and early to go home!

It was actually a really short day but a memorial one!!!

Day 7 Friday November 25, 2017

Today I slept in actually pretty late! All the bags were packed up and we were loading up!! I couldn't wait for Gram and Papa to see the surprise Elle and I left them! It looked so cute!!

We wrote down all the things they did for us, had everybody sign it, and then left it on their bed when we left! It was sad when we left but the fun was not over! We drove like an hour or two and then arrived at the Monterey bay Aquarium! It was so much fun! We saw the coolest sea animals and learned so much!!

 Small, But fascinating! "I think I've seen these clown fish somewhere!"

We all love these hands on activities! There is a reason they call them "hands on"

 Funny faces

"Goodness, how much is there to see?"" I can't believe I'm meeting Nemo!"

 "Is this real?"

The deep BLUE sea

 "Daddy, look!"

 "Do we HAVE to go!"

The ride home was surprisingly REALLY fast! We got In-n-out for dinner and then drove the last 30 min. home! When we got home we snuggled up in our beds and went to sleep! 

It was an memorial Thanksgiving trip!