Conveniently, this months “10 on the 10th” blog falls just two days after our return from a quick California vacation! So, I thought it would be a great chance to share a few favorite photos from our visit.

This trip has been planned for several months, but we only told Quincy about it on our way to the airport….he thought he was going to a dentist appointment! We spent two days at Disneyland, then drove down to the San Diego area to visit my family and spend Mother’s Day with my own mom, something I haven’t done in 17 years!

My initial goal was to post all Disneyland photos…but two things happened: 1) We rented a compact Fuji x100s to bring to Disneyland with us vs. our large DSLR – it was really nice to have something small, BUT the battery died after a few hours on both days we were there, so our photos were limited and 2) I was violently ill during our visit, I am pretty sure I got food poisoning. I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say – taking beautiful photos of our Disneyland visit was very low on my list of priorities.

The good news was we still had a great time, despite the sickness! And because the battery on the camera died, we spent that much more time just enjoying ourselves as a family.

Disneyland is such a magical place. Neither Dan nor I are the types to go all crazy for Disney-everything, but watching the joy in our kids eyes, made it an amazing trip.

After our Disneyland visit, we drove down the coast with a quick stop at Mission San Juan Capistrano. Dan and I had visited once before, many years prior, but this was our first family visit. We all enjoyed it so much, but the highlight for the kids was the huge coy fish in the fountains.

Finally, we spend the day with my mom. It had been ages since I spent a Mother’s Day with my own mother, and it was such a wonderful way to spend the day. Easily one of the best Mother’s Days I have ever had. It was a beautiful warm day and we sat outside on her deck eating brunch and watching the kids played in the dirt. My brother’s were able to come over and we had fun catching up, then we washed up and said farewell to California. I am so lucky that all of my family lives in such a gorgeous place, it’s not too bad to “have to” go visit them!

Now, as you know… this is part of a really fabulous “blog circle”! So, go visit the rest of my friends and see what beautiful 10 images they have shared this month! Next up, go visit my friend Jessica’s blog here!