Day 3/ Disneyland

 Our day at Disneyland was so much fun! We started out at California Adventure and rode a bunch of rides with the whole huge family.  We realized real quick that one day was not going to be enough for us and so we split off from everyone else and tried to hit as much as we could.  There were basically no lines, twenty minutes was about our longest wait all day.  Our kids were loving life! After getting our fill of Cars Land and The bug world, we headed over to Disneyland.  We were completely overwhelmed and didn't know where to sart. Neither Weston or I had ever been to Disneyland before.  After an hour or so we decided that we needed to meet back up with everyone else so they could show us the best stuff.  We were afraid that our kids were going to be too small to ride all the rides that everyone else's older kids wanted to do. We were very wrong.  Our kids were big enough and loved all the bigger rides.  There were very few rides that they didn't do. 

 The Matterhorn was at the top of their list. We rode that ride at least three times.  Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Carribean were also big hits.  We had so much fun and zipped from one ride to the next.  Even with thirty people in our group, we rarely waited in line, it was the perfect day.  I followed the wise suggestions of friends and carried a backpack with lots of snacks and drinks and so we never really stopped to eat either, and snacking gave us something to do in line!

 One thing that kind of dissappointed me was that with our limited time the kids really didn't get to meet any characters.  The rest of the family was staying another day, but we just had the one.  Cole was pretty excited when he saw Tigger, he wanted a picture real bad but we would've had to wait in line for at least ten minutes.  I love that he was completely content to just photo bomb someone else and get a picture with the back of Tigger.  (I know I am a terrible parent!)  Then we saw a stuffed Tigger in the window of a little shop, so the boys got a picture with it!

 The men saved us this great bench to watch the parade and the kids and I hit the Matterhorn and the Buzz Lightyear ride a couple times in the process.  The kids loved the parade and were able to see all the characters that they were hoping to.

 They loved spending the day with all their cousins.  I am so grateful that they all love each other so much.  The big girls were great sports about the little girls hanging on them all day too.  This was seriously a dream vacation for us!  Personally I was just glad to have my other half with me for this leg of the trip!

 We of course had to get a picture in the entry way when we left.  We were pretty sad to be getting kicked out of the park early, but we just finished our evening at California Adventure!

 We are so grateful for and love these two so much.  They planned this fun trip for all of us that we will never forget! Patti was sad that Braxton and Hagen were left out, I assured her that when Braxton got himself a little family we would be glad to come back to Disneyland with them;) Hopefully we can make that happen in ten years!

 By the end of the night the kids were soooo tired and honestly so was I, but there was one thing that I really wanted them to see and we hadn't made it to it yet; the Bug's Life Show.  It was well worth the wait and the kids were pretty excited with having that be our grand finale! While one day was definately not enough time for us, the kids were thrilled and didn't know what they didn't see.  I was also beginning to experience severe anxiety about my baby at home, so we were happy to be headed that way!

Day 2/ Coronado Beach

 

The second day of our trip was on a Sunday.  When we were planning the trip we tried to plan this day to be fun but still attempt to observe the Sabbath.  After a very rough night in our room with Cole being up all night sick, I figured we would forego the plans to go to church.  However Cole bounced out of bed at 7 am and was ready to go.  We used all the city driving skills we could muster and with the help of a great gps app we found ourselves a local ward to attend.  We were quite the sight all trudging in there during the opening song, but we were pleased to find out it was that wards Primary Program! We were all really glad we made it to church, it was a great way to start our day off!

After Church we had some excitement with our junky van which I regret to inform I didn't get a picture of! Peytan may or may not have earned herself a new nickname during the course of the morning also! After some chaos we finally got our hotel room packed up and had some lunch then we were off to the gorgeous Coronado Beach!

 We were still planning to observe the sabbath by not swimming so we didn't even bring suits for the kids.  We figured they could wade in the water a bit and play in the sand.  Play they did! They loved it and had a blast making handprints in the sand, finding shells and sand dollars, and jumping the waves.  It was my kids first time seeing the ocean and they were mesmerized.

 

After an hour or two of playing and splashing it was time to head out and meet up with Weston and Bruce.  I was excited to see Weston and very done being a single parent! I felt like I sent him a million texts and pictures and I felt so bad that he was missing so much.  My kids later told me that the ocean was their favorite part of the trip!

 

By the time we were done at the beach the kids were completely soaked and full of sand.  It was a lovely mess and in order to find their clothes we would've had to unload the whole van! So the boys rode from San Diego to Aneheim in their skivvys! I was dying laughing when I turned around to see these two have a conversation with each other using their belly buttons! Oh my gosh those to are funny!

Sea World

 The first day of our trip was spent at Sea World. We experienced a little bit of climate shock as the temperature was in the low 80's and we were used to 40's.  We were all so hot, and I was pretty happy that my kids and I had froze all morning in our shorts because we were pretty glad to have them on in the afternoon. It was amazing to see how talented the trainers and animals were.  The shows were the best part.  We saw the Shamu show, the Dolphin show (which was so awesome I didn't take a single picture because I was entranced watching it, and we were in the splash zone and I didn't want my camera wet!) We also saw the sea lion show and it was really fun.  The kids loved all the exhibits and animals and we were able to get up close and personal with the dolphins.

 That is the back of Kallie's head, the trainer was right next to us and that box is the dolphin treats.  I don't have any zoom on these pictures, and the kids were so excited to be so close to the dolphins until..... The trainer made the dolphins splash them! They were absolutely soaked and the salt water took them completely by surprise.  They were gagging and choking on it, but loved it!

The sea lion show was so fun! The sea lions honestly acted out the parts of characters.  It was amazing to watch! After seeing all the exhibits and going on a couple of rides, there was only one thing left to do, Atlantis. That is the big roller coaster and all the boys wanted to do it. Cole and I stood in line and he took it like a man! It was a pretty intense ride and he was a little shocked but came out of it happy.  He got pretty sick shortly after that though and slept through dinner.  I figured he was just really tired since we had had such a big day and it was pretty late. We got him to our room and in bed and he was awake by midnight crying.  This lasted most of the night and he kept telling me that his brain hurt.  I think he may have had a migrane.  After a couple of warm baths, some tylenol, lots of cuddles and a blessing from Uncle Coy, Cole was finally asleep by about 4 am.  The next morning he was roaring to go by 8 am, and totally fine.  We were grateful to have Uncle Coy there to step in and help us out when Weston couldn't be with us.  I am so glad that Cole was only sick during the night because day two held just as much excitement as day one!

Family Trip Part 1

Many months ago Weston found out that his he had some work meetings that he and his dad would be going to in October in Anaheim California.  In our wishing thoughts Weston's mom and I decided that we should take the kids down and meet up with the men and go to Disneyland.  I was thinking this was a pretty good idea since I had never been to Disneyland and my kids are at a great age for such a trip. 

The months went on and our wishful thinking turned into the reality of the ENTIRE family taking this little trip.  Everyone was included except Hagen, for my sanity I left the poor boy home since Weston was only going to be with us for 1/3 of the time and I wasn't sure I could take care of him and still make it a fun trip for the big kids. 

 

We all flew out of Salt Lake City bright and early on Saturday morning.  (The Rodericks drove down because they had to wait for Mataia's volleyball tournament to finish up) There was so much excitement among the kids.  They were thrilled to be with each other and excited to go on a trip and for a few (okay just my kids) it was their first time on an airplane!

 

We made quite the ruckus in that airport as we all trudged through there with all those kids and their luggage.  We made quite the scene while going through security when it was discovered that my nephew Nate had a pocket knife in his carry on.  We finally got to our terminal and the kids rowdily ate their breakfast and played a game of "Uno' in the corner.  We were a sight for sure!

 

 Cole was fascinated by the airplane and stared out the window the whole time.  I love this expression on his face as we are taking off.  Kallie was more interested in what her cousins were doing and insisted she sit with them. 

When we finally arrived in San Diego, we were welcomed by this beauty! Our lovely, smelly, 15 passenger van.  This picture was taken about five minutes before those black air vents fell out of the ceiling to land on some heads.  It was definately a junker but I think it made the trip all the more fun! Tune in tomorrow for some fun at Sea World!

Pull My Hair Out!

My Blog is experiencing technical difficulties and it is making me want to pull my hair out. I was just getting all caught up on my journaling and then I try to "pretty" my blog up a bit and all turned disastrous from there.  Apparently my Picasa Web Album (which I didn't even know I had) is full to its limit and I am told I will now have to purchase more storage.  Has anyone had this problem? I have spent an entire day trying to sort it all out. I can still upload photos to posts, however it takes eons and is very frustrating, but I can't upload any headers or pictures on my sidebar.  Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.  I am not totally opposed to purchasing more space but I don't want to pay month by month. I would rather just pay a chunk of money (a small chunk:) and get a chunk of space! Is this even possible???

 

Aside from my frustration from lack of technical skills, things have been wild and exciting around here.  We spent an evening carving pumpkins for Family Home Evening, it started out with a few tears from kids but when they realized that they are actually old enough to carve their own, they had a blast.

 

 Hagen LOVED digging the guts out of the pumpkin and humored us by saying "EWWW" over and over again in the absolute cutest voice possible.  That boy sure brings a lot of noise and laughter to our home!

 

I invited my mom and dad out for the occasion to have dinner and watch the Presidential Debate.  Hagen was instantly distracted from the pumpkins and used Grammy as his horse (His "yeeehawww") for the rest of the evening. 

 

I sure love these two and always love to have them over.  It's a rare thing though, my parents are home bodies for sure.  I guess I come by it honestly!

 

These two were in ignorant childhood bliss carving their pumpkins without a worry in the world, while the rest of us stressed over the debates and the election in general.  At least back then we had some hope mixed in with our worry and stress.  My dad thinks we should move to Canada, and I am going to be taking a serious look at my food storage, I'm afraid we don't know the definition of the rough times that we will all be facing soon! (Look at me being all doom and gloom!)