Disneyland

We took the kids to Disneyland this year and had so much fun. It was all decked out for Halloween, and the Haunted Mansion was changed to the Nightmare Before Christmas theme. The great thing was that it rained all day, just a light drizzle (it poured a couple times) so all the lines were really short. We waited in maybe 3 lines, but otherwise we just walked onto any ride we wanted.

This was Grace's first trip to Disneyland and she was enchantated. And she lasted the whole day, 8am to 9:30 pm! We had to encourage her to stay just a little bit longer, because we wanted to watch the World of Color laser light show at the end of the night. She said it was worth it :)





This thing was cool... a giant ball sitting on a pedestal with running water. If you push hard enough, you can change the direction the ball is spinning. Ben really got into it.

Grace & Ember got to meet Tinkerbelle


We did all the classic kids rides for Grace, but we also talked Ember and Ben into doing the scarier rides. They did Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, and even Space Mountain! Ember said it made her feel very brave and grown-up to do such scary rides. Even Grace did the Tower of Terror and didn't cry, although she said she didn't like it.

Grace got to meet three princesses, which made her day.

Even waiting in line was fun, because there were no lines!
We basically walked onto any ride we wanted to.

We had a blast, but Mom and Dad are worn out. Because the steps were slippery on one of the rides I twisted my knee and I'm walking with a limp. Plus earlier in the week I got a bladder infection and a toothache (I think I lost a filling). I was so ready for this vacation to be over. I'm glad the kids had fun though, I'd do it all again just for them.

Grace-isms

In the desert, in the middle of nowhere, I hear a whisper... "I have to go to the bathroom."

Great.

Then she tells Grandma, "I can see your taste bugs."

First Annual Girl's Weekend in the Mountains

Vicki has six sons and one daughter. Her daughter and the wives of her sons all gathered at the cabin in Overgaard to spend a girls-only weekend. Not that we don't love those sons of hers, but it's nice to just be with the girls :) We spent the weekend talking and crafting, mostly making cute hair bows for ourselves and our daughters. Celeste was in charge of the food and did a FABULOUS job. She even made everyone a customized omelet on Sunday morning.

While we were there we also had the opportunity to drive up to the Stake Center in Taylor and attend the General Relief Society Broadcast together. The talks were inspiring, and I'm glad I could share that with the girls. I really do hope this becomes an annual trip, it was so much fun!

Celeste (holding Adria), Me, Noelle, Vicki, Cindy, Shelley, and Sarah.

This is almost all of the hair bows we made.

What do you call a cow with a twitch?

Beef Jerky!

Ha! I love Laffy Taffy.

WHY?

Why is it that I'm the one who has to scrub the black marks out of the carpet, vacuum all the floors, wash every tiny windowpane in the french doors, scrub the caked on grime behind the kitchen sink, pick up and match all the shoes under the kitchen table, put away the legos I find in every corner of the house, do all the shopping and cupboard & fridge organizing, plan every meal, wash every dirty sock, dust every corner and organize every pile? WHY?

And don't tell me it's because I'm the Mom, or I'll poke you in the eye.

School Pictures

School pictures came home today and they look awesome!
I especially like Grace's smile.