Washington to Arizona! I have to drive how far!?

It was the end of December and it was time to pack for my move to Arizona to complete my student teaching! The drive was 24 hrs, the car was stuffed, and the weather was fair. ... My family and I celebrated my birthday a little early with a yummy dinner at Gustav's, so then on my real birthday I got to pack and pack, and then pack some more! Packing for school is definitely one of my favorite things! NOT!

I drove down to AZ on I-5 with my Dad. We stopped in LA on the way and went to Disneyland! It was awesome! We went there on New Years Eve. We spent the whole day there and boy oh boy! was it packed! There were so many people that you couldn't move around. Next time I go to Disneyland I hope it is not on a holiday like New Year's Eve! One great memory from the visit was bringing in the New Year while riding on Space Mountain!!!! 

We arrived in LA and found a Happy Birthday surprise for my Dad!

Mmm... Fresh Lemon! Really just any fresh citrus fruit is great! For breakfast I got to have a fresh orange from an orange tree!

This was one of my favorite rides!

No lines here!

Disneyland was decorated for the holidays! It was really cool! Even some rides were redecorated for the holidays! Like It's a Small World and The Haunted Mansion!

The new Little Mermaid ride!

More adventures!

Let the Memories Begin!

Sleeping Beauty Castle! :) 

The princesses taught us a dance during lunch!

Minnie Mouse in holiday garb!

It's a Small World with Xmas lights!

Everywhere was a dance party!

Happy New Year!

My temporary family!

My dad and I went to visit the LDS Mesa Temple.

They were taking down the Xmas decorations! We arrived one day too late to see them lite up night!

My favorite part of AZ is the cactus!

The capital building in Phoenix. 

The capital building is now a museum becasue it is not big enough to accommodate all the political people.

Replica of the Liberty Bell! I hope I get to see the original someday! 

Petrified wood! 

<3

I went back to the temple later and took some night pictures! I thought they turned out pretty nice! I used my new tripod I got for Christmas.

This is the replica of the Christus Statue, created by Danish scupltor Bertel Thorvaldsen in 1821, in the Mesa Temple Visitor Center. The original statue is in the Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke) in Copenhagen, Denmark.