We finally broke down and went . . . .

to Disneyland. 

So we have deliberately waited this long to go to Disneyland.  One, we didn't want to take toddlers.  Two, we wanted them to maybe remember bits and pieces of it.  Three, ugh, Disneyland.  Four, how was Trey going to do with it?

We timed it just right where the park wasn't too busy and where my wonderful niece could skip out on some school and come help us with the kids.  We knew that Trey wasn't going to get to go on a whole lot of rides so someone who need to stay with him.  We also knew that Brett and Ellie wouldn't ride alone on rides so that meant three adults, three kids.  It turned out great and Allyse was such a wonderful help and she taught Brett so many cool things in MineCraft while traveling in the van.

This was a total surprise to the kids, which frankly I'm surprised no one spilled the beans because some people in the ward and neighborhood knew that we were going and many of my family knew.  It all worked out.

Brett didn't even ask any questions when he saw me bring two big suitcases up stairs into my room and stacks of everyone's clothes around. 

So we told the kids we were going to Allyse's Graduation Luncheon Saturday morning.  (BTW, Allyse totally rocks, she graduated with a BS from SUU before she graduated from high school!  I could go on and on about how awesome she is.)

At the luncheon Paul told the kids we are so close to Vegas we might as well go spend the night there.  Oh and ask Allyse if she would like to come with us.

Next morning in Vegas Paul tells them we are close to L.A. (which I don't really think they knew what L.A. was) so we are going to drive there and check it out.  But first let's drive out to Hoover Dam.  The place where the US government was keeping Megatron frozen and the cube locked away. :)

 

 

Then we stopped in Baker, CA  for some strawberry milk shakes.

 

Trey at the tallest thermometer in the world.

 

 

From Baker, CA we had quite the adventure with heavy traffic, slow traffic, off interstate scenic route, helping someone else change a flat tire, very long dirt road, and back on the interstate.  That was fun!

 

We get into L.A. and the kids still have no idea.  As I like back I don't think that Brett or Ellie really knew where Disneyland was.  They have heard of it from friends, commercials, etc. but the location isn't really something that kids these ages understand.



Ellie in the lobby of the hotel with the Disneyland sign right there and she didn't even notice it.

The next morning we told the kids we where going to drive around and see what we could find.  As we got a little closer to the parking area I started dropping hints but they still didn't get it.

We are all on the tram from parking to the gates and they still don't know.



Not until Brett heard the recorded voice on the tram say a couple of times "Welcome to Disneyland" did he start to put it together, then I finally had to say "Guys, we're at Disneyland!"

Pretty cool to see the Iron Man suits

Riding the carousel

Riding the train

"My wheels are cooler!"

 

The Pixar parade

The Pixar parade

Trey loving the Buzz Light Year ride 

One Cool Dude

If only all that treasure was real

Trey meeting Donald Duck while stretching out in First Aid.

 

 

So all in all it was a good trip.  We did the three day park hopper which was perfect for us.  Disneyland one day, California Adventure the second day, then the third day was what we didn't see in Disneyland then the afternoon to hit our favorite rides again.  We left the park when the kids were done and so no meltdowns in that area!  The third day got to be a bit too much for Trey boy.  He was done with the stimulation, the being in his chair all day, and not being in his own bed at home.  He was a trooper though.

 

Well, we can mark it off the list now.  Thank goodness!  Don't get me wrong, we had a good time and I'm glad we went but honestly I think the family had a better time in San Diego in 2010.  Now the kids can say that they've been.  Now Paul and I can say that we've been and made it through with the kids!

 

Thanks again to Allyse for coming with us and helping out.

 





I have the best husband ever!

November 3-6, 2011

Jacksonville, FL

I truly have the best husband ever. I am so grateful to him and how well he takes care of me. He truly makes me happy in so many areas of my life and I to quote the Jerry McQuire movie "you complete me".

Paul set it up with his wonderful mom to come stay with the kids so I could go with him to Jacksonville for a few days of sleep and relaxation. Thanks Chris!

This was the second time we've been to Florida in 2011 and both times it was cold. Yes, it gets cold in Florida! That's ok though, it was still nice to getaway.

Paul has a customer out in Jacksonville who set us up to stay at a country club on the bleach. It was nice and quiet.

This is the spa there at the country club where I spent Saturday afternoon being pampered. A massage, manicure and pedicure.

View out our door.

Down the beach a little bit some boys were surfing.

While I was at the spa on Saturday afternoon, Paul and his buyer went golfing on this beautiful course.

Thank you sweetie for a great few days and letting me sleep for 14 hrs Friday night!

Northern Utah Trip

Sept. 16, 17, 18th, 2011
We took a little mini stay-cation. We went to the Layton area to do some fun activities. We didn't have a family trip this summer with Paul traveling for business so much but I thought we could get away with doing this trip and it was really wonderful.

Friday morning we went to the Gateway in Salt Lake City, the kids wanted to ride the TRAX train. So we took TRAX from the Gateway to Temple Square and walked around for awhile, went into the visitors center and then rode TRAX back to the Gateway where we had lunch.

After Gateway and Temple Square we headed down to Sandy to the South Towne Expo Center where the big RV show was going on. And we finally found it, the trailer of our dreams. It has exactly what we've been looking for for 6 years now since we sold our last trailer.

When we were done at the RV show we went to Layton to where our hotel was. We relaxed for a few minutes then headed out to dinner then came back to hotel where the kids played for quite awhile.

It was a rough night, but I won't go into that. :)

Saturday after breakfast we drove to Hill Areospace Museum. It was a great day, they were having some sort of family day so there was extra stuff going on.

Here are the kids giving the food donation.

3 kids and a Hummer.

That is one big plane!

That is some big wheels!

"Mom, this is where they drop Optimus Prime from at the begining of the second Transformers movie!"

Brett loving the big huge bay door in this cargo plane.

There was a couple of planes we were able to get Trey into because the entrances were ramps on the plane.

"Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?!"

This is the plane that Brett and Ellie were flying in the above picture.

There was a small (and retired) plane that was part of the Air Force 1 fleet at some point.

We are inside the hanger now and Trey is thinking that the heliocopter is really big.

When we were done we drove to Ogden to the Eccles Dinosaur Park. The entrance is cool, it looks a little bit like in the movie "Jurassic Park".

There is a small museum, which we didn't spend any time in, the kids wanted to get outside. This is what we walked out to.

Paul and the kids under the belly of a brachiosaurous.

Trey playing on the playground they had there.

Ellie and Dino

Flinstones, meet the Flinstones, their your modern aged family

This was a great place to go. Nice walking paths and fun little things for the kids.

We drove back to the hotel and Brett and Ellie and I decided to go to the swimming pool. Big mistake! The water was beyond icey cold. Wow! So we sat in the hot tub most the time, but we did get in the cold water a couple of times.

Then dinner and then bed. The second night was a little better but Paul and I were looking forward to sleeping in our own bed the next night.

Sunday we went to Lagoon! I haven't been there for so many years and neither had Paul.

The kids loved it. We started at Kiddyland and I was so happy to see the little boats there still. I loved those so much when I was young like Brett and Ellie.



Ellie loved this ride. It takes you up then drops you, then goes up and drops you.

So in the very back is Paul with Brett! I was so proud of him to go on Collosous. (I know I didn't spell that right, but oh well.) He not only went once but twice, the second time with me!

It was so much fun.

"Whew, I made it!"

Then at the end Brett got to play in the water, no one else wanted to! :)

Trey even got in on a couple of rides at Lagoon. Puff the magic dragon was the first and Paul got video of it. You can see him smile and tense up as the coaster comes around. He really had a good time.

Another ride we took him on was the Tidal Wave. He had a blast on that one too! He even went twice on it.

Everyone had fun at Lagoon and I was impressed with the new rides they have and the up keep is very nice of the whole park. There is a new coaster called Bombora, and it is a fun fun coaster. Ellie was tall enough to ride it and she absolutely loved it. I can't tell you how many times she rode it. It was a lot. Then Brett also found a fun one called "The Bat". He liked that your legs dangled.

It was a great three days and we all had a great time.