Disneyland (version 3)

You don't need to tell me that for non season pass holders and non CA residents, going to Disneyland 3 times in one year is a bit excessive. I am well aware. That said, we planned this third trip before we even had the 1st and 2nd in our minds. The plan all along was to meet my brother and his family for a surprise trip to Disneyland in October. We don't get to see Uncle David and Aunt Katie very much since they live so far away. So that's exactly what we did last week. We had a hard time for the last 10 months keeping it a secret from the kids. We nick named it "Spring Cleaning" (thanks for the idea, Katie) so we could discuss it in front of the kids and be sneaky. Katie did the same thing with her kids and those poor children were under the impression that they were going to Utah to clean my house. HA! So funny. I love playing tricks on kids. We knew our little struggling miniature mini van (there is NO storage space in the back behind the seats) would not do very well on the trip or accommodate a stroller, port-a-crib, and various suitcases, pillows, toys, etc. So the first plan we put into action was renting a monster Suburban. We actually reserved a midsized SUV, but found to our delight that they had upgraded us to a 2013 Suburban with two pull down DVD players, tons of room, every whistle and bell available, and hardly any miles on it. I can't even tell you how much fun it was to drive. Greg and I both wanted turns, so we added both our names to the rental contract as drivers. I learned to drive on a humongous 10 passenger van, so I'm well acquainted with large vehicles. LOVED IT. When we decide to get a new family car, I'll be lobbying hard for a gas guzzling, non economic, environment killing suburban. Here we are stopped for lunch in St. George. Pretty, no?

But I should probably share the story of how we revealed the trip to our kids. We rented the Burb the day before we left, so we hid it on the street up from us. Then after the kids went to bed that night, moved it into the garage and packed it all up. The morning that we left we had the kids get up, make beds, get dressed, eat breakfast, do some chores, etc. We had a treasure hunt set up all around the house with puzzle pieces as each clue. We asked what the kids wanted to do that day and then handed them the first clue in the treasure hunt. Each clue led them to a puzzle piece. Once they had all the pieces, they had to put together the puzzle.

Under the completed Mickey head it, said "Go get in the big car in the garage! We're off!" And we were. Nathan started to cry, David asked why we painted our old van, and Andrew was speechless. Pretty satisfying results.

(Above)David is asking why our van turned black..

Packed and ready to go! We drove all day and got to Anaheim around 7pm. Dave and family had flown in earlier that day so we met them at the hotel and got some dinner together. Dave's family had never been to Disneyland and we felt like such pros showing them around the park and being tour guides. When we lived in California early October was usually a pretty good time to go because school was back in session and it wasn't quite Halloween yet. This year, however, because of the new Cars Land in California Adventure, there were crowds like I hadn't ever seen before. It was insane there. But we knew how to work the FastPass system and had three days to do what we wanted to do between the two parks. California Adventure has some cool stuff in it, but it just doesn't compare to Disneyland to me. It's more magical, more detailed, more picturesque, and more fun in my opinion.

(Above)The Magic Kingdom, Halloween Style.

(Above) Sophie and Tinkerbell

(Above)Everyone on the Astro Orbitor. Except me. I don't love round and round rides.

(Above) Small people on the road! Watch out! Autopia

It's a Small World

Spectacularly decked out Haunted Mansion. Each October they completely redo the ride. I can't imagine the time and work it must be to haul out all the original ride stuff and then switch everything around for "The Nightmare Before Christmas" decor. The whole ride is completely different. So much work! But it's Disneyland and they don't do anything half way. We love the Nightmare Before Christmas at our house. Fun show.

(Below) Andrew at the Kozy Kone Motel in Radiator Springs.

(Above) My brother Dave on Luigi's Flying tires. Small picture, sorry. (Below) Getting ready to ride Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.

Radiator Springs at night. It looks and feels exactly like you've stepped into the movie. They've recreated it down to the tiniest detail. Amazing!

Holding on for dear life on the Radiator Springs Racers. Fast and fun. Thankfully all my kids were tall enough to ride it. As were the cousins. Everyone was happy. We switched off watching each others babies, in case you're wondering.

(Below) Head first! Splash Mountain.

(Below) Sunny Teacups

(Below) We only know the guy with sunglasses and lady in blue shirt. They're kin. And the little people, too.

(Below)The whole gang enjoying an ice cream cone from the Gibson Girls parlor. Except Uncle Dave who was photographing.

(Below) David didn't want an ice cream. He only wanted the very characteristic lollipop from Disneyland. Elizabeth did too. Thief!

I thought these carousel horses that Bert and Mary Poppins were riding were so clever. They actually went up and down like they do in the movie during the horse race. So clever.

Elizabeth has not put this Minnie Mouse down since we've been back. She's never really taken to a stuffed animal before, but she sure loves her Minnie.

We're home now and I'm still trying to get caught up on laundry. We had an amazing trip and it was so much fun to go with our family that we don't get to see very often. Guys?? Let's start making plans for next time. We'll call the next trip "Yard work" or "Flu Shots."

Lagoon

We promised the kids we'd do Lagoon this summer and it just never happened. We had baseball for so long that took up most of our free nights. And, of course, we had to coordinate around Greg's work schedule. But school started and the kids were quick to remind me that I hadn't made good on my promise. Greg, very coincidentally, brought home a Walgreen's Employee discount pass for Lagoon. It allowed 8 people to get into Lagoon at half off prices. So we called up our friends Sara and Richard and invited them to come along. We actually had 10 people in our group, but we didn't count our 2 babies. So we all got in for half the price. Now I do like Lagoon a lot, but I mean come on! Who do they think they are, Disneyland?? They charge so much. I remember when I was a kid you could get in for $12 with a can of Coke. Anyway, we went. On a school night. We picked the kids up from school on Wednesday and headed north straight from there. We got there around 3:30 and met up with the Haralsons and had a fun day. I was trying my hardest to convince the older boys to do some more adventurous rides with me, like Wicked and Colossus. But they were not up for it. STILL! I certainly have cautious kids when it comes to amusement parks. Now, ride down the hill of our street with no hands on the handle bars or trying to stand up on the seat all without a helmet seems to be no problem for them. So we spent a good chunk of the day doing the kiddie rides, much to my annoyance. But finally Sara and I had had enough and left the kids with Daddies and went for some fun. Thanks for coming Haralsons!

Candid moments with Sara and Richard.

Greg trying to convince Nathan that "The Bat" isn't as bad as he thinks.

YES more teachers, YES more books!

Good riddance hot summer!! I apologize to anyone who loves summer, but it's not my cup of cocoa. There are good qualities to summer, don't get me wrong. I enjoy family hikes, sleeping in, vacations, summer nights, and spontaneous trips. But by the end of the 3 months of all that luxury, it's time for routine and structure. I had a friend discuss the benefits of year round school that her kids do. They have 2 six week vacations in the year, with longer holidays. I thought that might just about be the perfect amount for my kids. Six weeks together is more manageable. At the start of summer we're all excited to be home and have a break from school life, but the novelty wears off. Fast. I'm accepting responsibility by saying I could do more on my part to entertain the kids and keep a more peaceful home. But having three boys quickly in succession inherently leads to competition and (often) contention. Anyway moving on.... School started on August 21 this year. A tad earlier than usual, it seemed. We got our school shopping done in the nick of time. Andrew is starting 4th grade this year with Ms. Grant and Nathan is starting 2nd with Miss Westover. And David couldn't bear to be left out of the pictures. He starts preschool in a couple weeks.

Yes Nathan is 2 years younger than Andrew but is noticeably taller than his big brother. It doesn't sit well with Andrew.

After the kids left, Elizabeth and I got down to some serious girl time. She sucked on my toes while I took a million pictures of her trying to walk. Later, Greg and I took the kids to the Cougar Kickoff on the soccer field. Just one big pep rally to get everyone fired up for upcoming sports. LONG, LONG lines to stand in if you wanted to meet the coach and players. We arrived a little late, just as Bronco was being driven past us out the gates in a golf cart. Hi, Coach. I was eager to get home and get kids to bed until I saw the Eric Dowdle booth. You might know that I am a huge Dowdle fan and own WAY too many puzzles of his artwork. I like puzzles and his are so fun to put together. He's a talented artist and it's like a huge where's Waldo picture. He adds fun, hidden things in his paintings and it's fun to look for them while doing a puzzle. Anyway, he just finished his newest one of BYU stadium so I guess that's why he was invited to the Cougar Kickoff. He signed my puzzle for me and we shot the breeze like old chums. His brother happens to be my parent's bishop up in Idaho. When I confessed my obsession with his work, he gave me his personal email address and told me to send him a picture of my family in funny poses that he'll include in his current painting of the city of Baltimore. He's almost done with it, but needs more random people to fill it in with. After all that, they raffled off a very large framed print of the stadium signed by himself and LaVell Edwards. My ticket number was off by ONE STINKING NUMBER. Oh well. Not sure where I would have hung a huge Dowdle portrait of the LaVell Edwards Stadium in my house.

One

She's one. Really? Yes, her birthday was yesterday. One year ago Greg and I welcomed this precious daughter into our lives.

And for the last year we have lived in a constant blur. It has gone faster than any other year of our lives. Not a day goes by that I don't look at her and marvel in the miracle of forever families and feel so blessed that she's mine for eternity.

The chocolate melt down. Stripped down for a reason..

Happy Birthday baby girl.

Also, having too much fun with a time lapse camera...