Melting

Jedi Training Academy

Disneyland!

I've been putting off this post for several days because I am SO overwhelmed at the thought of trying to document this vacation in a few blog posts.  I'm working on a shutterfly book that will include more detail, but for the benefit of my friends and family (mostly my mom) I'll do my best to give the short story and pick 8-10 pictures out of 1000.  

I'll start by telling you that Todd's mom has dreamed of taking her whole family to Disneyland for 50 years, so she did.  We had nearly all expenses paid for this week long magical vacation, and we got to do it with all of Todd's siblings and their families.  We had a 3 day hopper pass for Disneyland/California Adventures, and we also went to Sea World and the ocean beach.  

(In Washington, where Todd is from,  you go to "the ocean".  In California you go to "the beach").

We had such a wonderful time.  Disneyland is not a relaxing vacation, but definitely one where you will make memories.  I can't wait to go back next year with my family!

Here we are at the front gate.  There were too many people around to get the picture with the iconic Mickey head in the background.  You start to "feel the magic" the minute you walk in.  I love the music playing everywhere you go. The staff at Disneyland have their act together. Everything is kept amazingly clean and the parades and shows are so well organized.  I went to Disney World in Florida when I was ten, but you don't notice that kind of stuff as a kid.  I think it was more magical for me this time around! By the way, this was the first time in my life that I stepped foot in California.  Really. 

Donald Duck was there to greet us on Main Street.  Before this trip, I didn't realize that you'd have to wait in a line to meet all the characters!  I think Donald's is the only autograph the older boys got.  Justin was intrigued by the characters, and you'll notice in any pictures I post that he's looking at the character...not the camera.

 We started in Tomorrowland and our first ride was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.  The boys LOVED it and spent the next two days asking to go back. They have never really even ridden a ride at the fair, so imagine what it was like for them when the only comparison they had was the 25 cent horse in front of Kmart.  Yeah.  Their minds were blown.
(We went to Lagoon when Brayden and Caleb were 3 and 2, but they don't remember it).


Justin couldn't take his eyes off of Buzz while we waited in line...

 Brayden asked me to take a picture of him in front of this mural.  I laughed when I got it on the computer because I had no idea it was set up so perfectly.  The aliens are giving him a medal...

 After getting a fast pass for Star Tours, we attended the Jedi Training Academy.  I'll do a separate post for this, since Grandma wasn't with us at the time and I want her to see the video clips we took.  Brayden and Caleb were chosen to "train" and then had the chance to fight Darth Maul.  They loved it.

Brayden was tall enough to drive on "Autopia", so Caleb rode with him.  Dillon and I were partners for most rides, and Justin rode with Todd.  For the rides that Justin couldn't go on, we got a special pass that allowed one parent to go on the ride with the kids, while the other stayed with Justin in the stroller.  After the ride, the kids got to go again with the other parent without waiting in line again.  It's nice that they make accommodations like that.

 As hard as they tried, the boys couldn't pull the sword from the stone...

 On our second day, we took the train from the Disneyland entrance to New Orleans station. I wish we'd have ridden it all the way around the park just to see the other lands. Even with a 3 day pass there's so much we didn't get to do.  We never even stepped foot into Toontown, and we barely scratched the surface in Fantasyland.

 Our cousins watched Justin so the rest of our family could go on Splash Mountain together (which ended up being our favorite ride).  While we were listening to zip-a-dee-doo-dah, Justin got to meet Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Eyeore.

I think there were 18-20 of us that met up and went on Pirates of the Caribbean together.  The staff asked how big our party was, and when we told them, they just gave us our own boat.  If Brayden hadn't stuck his hand in the air at the last minute, you'd be able to see Grandma in the pink shirt in the middle :o)  This ride has been re-done since I saw it at Disney World, and it is really fun.  I loved it. 

We waited over two hours to see Fantasmic our first night. It was fun to be together while we waited, and the show was WORTH the two hour wait.

I don't have a good picture, but Fantasmic was amazing.  I would dare say it was my favorite part of the whole trip.  I was completely caught up in the magic of it all.  When it was over, we stayed for the fireworks, which were also incredible.  After the show I said to my mother-in-law, "No wonder people pay so much money to stand in line in the hot sun all day.  It's because of this feeling right now.  No one ever told me I would actually feel the magic."

Next up?  Jedi Training and California Adventure...

PS-  Did you know that Disney is going to build a third park?  According to the bus driver who chartered our trip to SeaWorld, Disney bought out marvel comics last year, and now they're going to build "Marvel Land".  I think it's going to require a month long pass to see it all...

Recovering from our Vacation

We just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime, week long, Disneyland vacation/reunion with all of Todd's family.

We had a marvelous time.

It will take me awhile to catch up on everything, but for now, here is a mosaic I created using our pictures. You probably won't be able to see them up close on the blog, but I'm having a 20x30 poster printed at Costco this afternoon (for 8.99!) to hang in one of the boys' rooms.

Happy Father's Day!

In honor of Father's day, I had my kids answer the following questions about their dad .

How old is Dad?
B- 38?
C- 36
D- I don't know
J- "Da-da!"

My Dad is really strong.  He could lift a ___________.
B- box full of stuff
C- computer
D- I don't know
J- "Car!"

My dad always says:
B- "Gentlemen! [come here!]"
C- "Boys!" and "I love you".
D- "I love you"
J- "Da-da. Bah-bye"

My dad's job is:
B- therapy
C- therapy
D- therapy
J- "Da-da"

What is therapy?
B- "When someone helps people with their problems; that's part of it."
C- "Doing stuff with kids that are like taking drugs and stuff like that."
D- "The same thing as Caleb"
J- "No no."

What makes Dad happy?
B- playing games.
C- "Us doing jobs."
D- Justin
J- "Baby"

My dad really loves:
B- Mom.
C- Sugar.
D- Being a therapist.
J- "this much".

I felt TERRIBLE giving Todd his father's day gift this morning.
He has strep throat and can barely swallow pudding, let alone all these snacks.
I guess it gives him something to look forward to.

And now it's my dad's turn:

How old is Grandpa?

B- 54 or something.  "I don't know when you get gray hair".

C- 50 something

D- 59

My grandpa is really strong. He could lift a:

"I've never seen him lift anything."

My grandpa's favorite color is:

B- Blue maybe?

C- Red

D- Brown?

My grandpa's favorite food is:

B- Sunday Dinner

C- Rolls.  "like every meal we have rolls."

D- Jello or rolls.

My grandpa is best at:

B- cooking anything

C- cooking

D- cooking

My grandpa's job is:

B- bakery

C- bakery

D- "he makes doughnuts, cookies, bread..."

If my grandpa had time, he would love to:

B- I'm not sure

C- do a puzzle

D- He only likes doing puzzles when he's been driving a lot and he wants something to do.

My grandpa really loves:

B- his family

C- puzzles

D- gardening.  "I know that he and grandma like to go shopping"

Happy Father's Day!

Zion National Park

On Memorial Day, we met up with Todd's best friend from from high school (and his family) and spent a few days camping in Zion National Park.  It had been five years since we'd gotten together with them and I cannot believe how their kids have grown.  Time flies too fast.  I remember visiting them when Todd and I were engaged, and they had two toddlers.  Now those boys are 15 and 13!  

Thanks for meeting up with us, Chuck and Susan. It was wonderful to spend time with you and your family.

Zion NP is absolutely beautiful.  I think Capitol Reef will always be my favorite, but Zion is a close 2nd.

The first evening, we hung out in the campground.  The kids entertained themselves by making bridges so the ants could cross the "river" without getting wet.  Such thoughtful boys...

The next morning, we rode the bus to the "top" and went on a gorgeous hike...but only after we closely examined the buses to see if the rear tires turned when the front tires turned.  Why does this matter?  I still have no idea.  I know you're all just dying to know (well, Papa and Uncle Michael are dying to know) so I'll tell you.  The rear tires did turn along with the front tires.

Whew! I'm so glad we all know that.

FYI- Todd drove a city bus for five years before and during grad school. His dream is to retire someday, and once again be a bus driver.

 The hike was perfect. It was beautiful, and easy.  We totally could have taken a stroller, if we'd remembered it.  Instead, Justin rode on Todd's shoulders for most of the time.

We saw this pretty little dragonfly among the bulrushes.

Here we have proof that I was there.  I think it's the one and only picture that Todd took. While looking through all the pics I took of this hike, I noticed that Brayden was guzzling water in about half of them.  That explains why he had to go to the bathroom so bad when we got to the top, and had to RUN all the way back to the restrooms.  It's a good lesson for our upcoming Disneyland trip.  I will be in charge of the water :o)

Hands down, the boys favorite part of Zion National Park was the squirrels. Really. Every time they saw one they'd yell, "Squirrel!"

 So pretty!

Can you spy the animal in this picture?

Our second hike was "Weeping Rock".  This picture is terrible and doesn't do it any justice.  It was absolutely breathtaking, and the rock really does "weep".  It's not your typical waterfall. I loved all the trees and vegetation that grew out of the rock.

I was more than a little excited when we saw (and got a picture of) a California Condor!  We attended a ranger class on the CA Condor when we were at the Grand Canyon a few years ago.  We looked and looked, but never saw any while we were there.  If I remember correctly, there are less than 75 CA Condors in the world, and they all live between California, the Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park.
Did I mention that their wing span is 9 feet long?  That's a big bird.

Caleb and Dillon worked diligently on their Jr. Ranger booklets...

 ...and proudly wore their Jr. Ranger badges for several days after we got home :o)

We have been really blessed to visit so many National Parks in the past few years.  Next on our list?  Mesa Verde.  And the South rim of the Grand Canyon.  And I'd love to visit Yellowstone again. Oh, and the Redwoods...definitely the Redwoods.  I hope our boys will continue to enjoy it as they reach their teenage years.  It's so nice to get away and get "unplugged" once in awhile.

Squirrel!

A mid-summer garden tour...

We planted our garden about 2 months late this year because of sprinkler system issues.  Now that we are hitting 100+ degrees every day, I hope we can nurse our vegetables through the heat of summer.  I am LOVING the better growing conditions here and am amazed at how much easier it is to grow things.  Our last house sat on a vein of horrible soil/dirt/sand/clay and I struggled to get anything to grow...even rhubarb! I am grateful that I kept trying, though, because I learned a lot.

I had several rows where only 1/2 of the seeds sprouted (look at the beets in the middle, or the lettuce on the right).  Any idea why? I'm wondering if there was too much compost in those spots.  

See that dark green strip in the lawn?  That's where the compost spilled over while we were turning the soil.

I think "baby" peppers are the cutest.

When I asked the guy at the nursery if I really needed 54" tomato cages I was pretty skeptical, but our tomatoes are already growing over the top of their cages.  

The pumpkins are beginning to grow "overboard".

I love the leaves on the watermelons.  Other things we are growing include cantaloupe, cucumbers (not doing well), zucchini, and strawberries.  I planted butternut squash but the seeds never sprouted.  Perhaps I'll buy some new seeds and try again because I LOVE squash.

The neighbor's pomegranate tree has quite a bit of fruit on our side of the fence :o)

I am training the morning glory vines to climb up the posts.  I'm excited for them to bloom, and hope I don't regret planting them if when they start to take over.  I already caught a couple of the vines trying to choke the zinnia's so I had to put 'em in time out on the post.

The pot on the left holds a dwarf lime tree, and the pot on the right has a dwarf lemon.  They will have to come inside during the winter (hence the reason they are in pots).

Our front porch has full shade, so I planted Impatients.  I couldn't figure out why the bottom pot wasn't blooming, and then I realized that the top pot was getting about 1 hour of sun each day.  It just occurred to me (this morning) that I could easily rotate the pots every time I water so they both get their "day in the sun".

Our neighbor across the street, an "empty nester", is moving.  She GAVE us her basketball hoop, and this set of monkey bars that her late husband MADE for their children several years ago.  All it needs is a coat of paint and we'll put it to good use for many more years. Any color suggestions?