Los Angeles & Santa Monica - April 24th, 2011

Well we left Colorado Springs Saturday morning at 10 and drove for the next 24 1/2 hours to get to church in Los Angeles.  We drove through New Mexico which was very interesting, the landscape was beautiful and the houses were very different from what we are use to.  We stopped in Albuquerque at the Costco and continued on through the night.  I was very sad though because I did not get see any of Arizona in the daylight.  We drove through the night again and missed all the scenery there.  I was thinking I could probably look up some pictures on the internet of what we missed.

In the morning we woke up to beautiful sunshine and palm trees in California.  It felt so different, the weather was beautiful and finally the scenery was green.  We continued to drive and arrived in Sun Valley California (north of Hollywood and Burbank) in time to get changed and arrive at church.  We went to Grace Community Church, the pastor there is John MacArthur.  Mark and I listen to him on the radio most nights before bed.  We thought it would be special to be in his church for Easter morning.  The church was amazing, one of the largest churches we have been in.  There was about 3000 people, an unbelievable choir and an orchestra.  It felt so neat to be sitting there seeing John MacArthur preaching instead of listening to him on the radio, is was a very beautiful service.  We were so glad that we made it to his church.

After the service we went for lunch and decided to drive to the ocean.  We went to Santa Monica and walked on the 3rd Street Promenade and down the pier.  I took George and the girls down to the ocean so they could put their feet in the water.

After we left LA we drove to Indio to the resort we are going to be staying at during the week.  We are really looking forward to have a relaxing week by the pool and enjoying our last week of vacation.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!! - April 22, 2011

This was a very fun day for the kids.  We got to see a lot of different animals and even got a little red from the sun.  We had one scary part of our day though and thank God that it turned out fine.  

You have one guess as to who we lost.  Not Juli.  Mattias.  It was interesting because the night before Mark commented on how Mattias would be a kid we could lose easily.  He is on his own schedule, he likes to do things in his time and on his terms.  Not always easy to deal with when we have 5 other kids to deal with.  He has no fear and will talk to anybody.  But I think today he got a little scared.  We had to take an elevator up to see some more animals and I remember him getting off with us.  Then we just kept walking and came to a little area where there were otters swimming and I assumed Mattias was with Mark and Mark thought he was with me watching the otters.  We came back together to move on and noticed that we did not have Mattias.  Mark ran one way and I sent the three older kids the other direction and I stayed with the stroller praying that we would find him.  The zoo is quite big and there were a lot people there.

Mark did find him sitting on a bench with a lady, thankfully she had noticed that he was lost and thought to wait and see if someone came looking for him.  I think he was a little scared.  I just thank God we found him.

Here are a few things we did at the zoo:

the kids got to fee the giraffes, Mattias was a little afraid of the big purple tongue coming towards him to grab the lettuce

The boys got to go on a carrousel ride, this carrousel was made in the 1920’s for traveling fairs, there is only 3 of them in the country.  It even played the original music.

The best part of the zoo was the Gorillas and Orangoutangs, the kids found them very interesting.  George even got one trying to kiss him through the glass.

It was a wonderful day, the weather wasn’t too bad and the kids could burn off some energy.  

We went for supper at T.G.I Friday’s and then back to the hotel to go swimming.  It’s amazing how a simple swimming pool can be so fun for the kids.  Mattias is learning to swim quite well and again with him we really have to watch him because he has no fear and will just jump into the water thinking he can swim on his own.

Tonight we have to start packing all of our stuff.  Not an easy task when we have been at the hotel for a week and everything is unpacked.  It would be easier if we were just heading home but we are going on to California and I need to keep everything organized.

Tomorrow we leave Colorado Springs and head to California!!

This and That!! - April 21, 2011

The last days have seemed busy but nothing overly interesting to report.  We did a bit of shopping and found a few good deals.  We took the kids to Focus on the Family for the last time.

Ashley and I were able to go and watch a radio broadcast recording.  This was really neat, we got to see what goes into making their daily Focus on the Family radio broadcast.  I am now able to put faces to the people that I listen to on the radio.

We also attended an Easter service at Focus on the Family.  This was very special and even though we are on vacation, we are still able to worship with other Christians and remember what Jesus did for us on the cross.  It was very interesting, there was singing, painting and dancing.  A very beautiful service led by H.B. London.(James Dobson’s cousin)

I missed this part of the service because I was out dealing with the kids but I guess this picture was painted right on stage in about 5 minutes by 3 people. (wish I could have seen it)

We have been having supper at the hotel.  We have had pasta, hot dogs and hamburgers, and sub sandwiches and salad.  We also went to this neat restaurant for lunch called Rudy’s.  We had half a chicken, pulled pork, sausage and potato salad.  The closest we have come to a good home cooked meal all week.

Tomorrow we go to the Zoo!!

Till then.

Garden of the Gods!

A quote I saw today read, "Memories are more than just a link to the past....sometimes they're all we have that will last."  We are definitely making memories that will last us the rest of our lives.  Today we took a little hike in an area called the Garden of the Gods.  Here we saw many unique rock formations and landscapes.  The kids could run around and enjoy the outdoors.  It was so interesting to see how God created our amazing earth, here you look one way and you see large mountains and then you look the other and see beautiful plains.

We got so many great pictures that can show you the beauty we experienced today!!

Focus on the Family!!!!

It is so nice to know that so many people are praying for us, God is definitely blessing us on our trip.  We are having such a great time and the hotel we are staying at is great.  We are so amazed at all that is included in our stay.  We start the day with an amazing continental breakfast, there is free laundry facilities, free internet and three nights in the week they offer a free supper too!!  We could not have picked a better place.

OK, so enough about our great hotel.  We finally got to go to Focus on the Family today.  This is quite a big deal to us because I think Mark and I started talking about coming here when we were still dating.  FOTF produces a kids radio drama called Adventures in Odyssey that I think I started listening to when I was about 12 and Mark would listen to FOTF radio broadcasts when he was young too!  So we always thought it would be neat to come here.  They have a whole centre set up for the kids that is based around Adventures in Odyssey.

The kids had such a great time, they even got to record a short Adventure in Odyssey broadcast to take home.  There is a huge bookstore that I could have spent hours in and a lot of money too. (it is a good thing we have limited space in our vehicle!!)

We are planning on going back another day and taking a tour to see where the radio show is broadcast from.

There were even costumes of the characters that we could try on.  Mark is Whit, I am Connie and I think the kids are the Barclay family.(for those of you that know the characters.)







Colorado Springs is a beautiful city, we also did a little bit of driving around today.  I really enjoy going into the stores and seeing what different things they have here, we went to Costco and it's amazing the different things they carry, I even saw chocolate Cheerios.  I'm not much of a cereal eater but the chocolate sounds great!!!

Tonight we went for a nice supper at the Olive Garden.  I am not sure how we are going to make another 2 weeks of eating out though, Mark and I are both looking for a good home cooked meal already!!

 A few more pictures at Focus on the Family.

Until tomorrow!!

A Day at Castle Rock!!

We arrived in Colorado Springs yesterday after being on the road for 23 hours straight.  Mark drove most of it except the 1.5 hours I drove and the 2 hours we spent in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  It was a very long trip and I am glad that we are not going back that way.  Wyoming was beautiful but very boring, it is like the drive from Calgary to Wetaskiwin only longer.  Once we left Cheyenne there was a lot more traffic and things to see.

We were so happy to arrive and see that our hotel was indeed as nice as the pictures online.  You never know what you are going to get when you book ahead.  But our room is great, the kids have their own room and Mark and I have our own room with a living room and kitchenette in between.  It is like a mini apartment.  There is a free continental breakfast every morning that was amazing this morning. (can't wait till breakfast again!!!!!)  We also have the most amazing view out our window at Pike's Peak.

All ready for church, thought this would be a good time for a family picture.

You can see Pike's Peak behind the girls' picture better than the other two pictures.









We went to church this morning in Castle Rock.  We had met the pastor 2 years ago at the home school convention and thought it would be neat to go to his church.

After church we went shopping at the Outlet stores in Castle Rock.  It was alright, it was very windy and the kids didn't feel like shopping much.

We came back to the hotel and thought we would really tire the kids out and took them swimming.  A perfect end to the day.

We are all very excited for tomorrow.  We are going to go to Focus on the Family.  I will upload more pictures tomorrow so you can get an idea of what we are all so excited about!!!

On the Road!!

Well we are on the road.  I am just sitting here enjoying the beautiful sunshine in Montana.  The scenery is beautiful here.  There are rolling hills and snowy mountains in the distance, feels a little like we are on our way to Banff.

We left last night at 7:13 and made it to the border crossing just before 1 am.  Mark felt like driving so he drove all night and we are now almost at the Wyoming border.  We are going to stop in Sheridan for breakfast.  

It is much nicer to drive when the kids are sleeping, more relaxing for me.  

Just read the sign "Welcome to Wyoming, Forever West".  It is so amazing how far you can travel in 12 hours.

It feels so good to be on the road, yesterday was a very busy day trying to get everything packed.  I wasn't sure how I was going to fit everything in our van.  It looks like we could fit a lot but there is not much luggage room in the back, especially when we need to take a double stroller.  But we fit everything in and all the kids too!!!

We have been on the road now for almost 13 hours and I have not thought of anything yet that we have forgotten, thank goodness.  I am sure there is something that I left at home and wish I had with me.

This is at Hobbema (10 minutes from home)

Yes, that is Mattias sleeping already!!

I will post more pictures tomorrow.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Getting Ready!!

It is Monday morning and there is a lot of excitement in the Reiter house.  Only 5 days until we leave on our trip to Colorado Springs!  We have never really taken a family vacation before.  Our family trips have always been to Kelowna to visit Oma & Opa.  We love traveling to Kelowna but Mark and I have always wanted to take our kids to Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs.  So this year we are celebrating that Mark completed his fourth and final year of plumbing school. (he is officially a journeyman plumber!!!)

We are not sure how our holiday will go, it will definitely not be overly relaxing but it will be nice to have a change of scenery.

I wanted to start this blog so that I could share some of the memories that we have as a family.  And what better time to do it then when we are going on a trip.

This week is going to be busy getting ready, I have started making a to do list and it is almost a page long.  So I better get started!!!