I'm still trying to catch up. Our last hosts in Arizona were our good friends Paul and Molly and their children Houghton and Mary. We played some trivia games and card games and took turns winning. Then the next day we went hiking. I don't remember the name of the park.
We got going and discovered it wasn't as easy a hike as we thought, so we just went up to a saddle than climbed back down. We did get to see a good view of the city and saw a coyote in the distance!
The last day in Arizona we attended Megan's baptism. It was a beautiful simple service. It was sweet to see and we are grateful we could attend. After the service we heard about a storm headed New Mexico's way so we packed up quick and left a day early to be ahead of the storm. Our drive home was uneventful, which is the way we like it. We had a fabulous trip, saw many friends and we feel loved with how many people welcomed us into their homes for a couple of days each. But we are glad to be home, it's nice to come home after a good trip.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Park Day
We had a park day on New Year's Day with our friends Ben and Sara and their children Julia and Michael.
Arizona!
Next we drove to Arizona to visit with our friends there for a couple of days. First we went to ride the new metro train to Phoenix with our good friend Calvin and Julie and their three children, Kylee, Megan and Tyler.
Walking to the station
On the train
Downtown we had a yummy lunch at Hard Rock Cafe.
After lunch we walked and explored a little. We found several weird statues to play on.
Trying to get home was trying... The train was extremely crowded and was delayed at several of the stops. This made for a uncomfortable ride, especially since it was nap time and Abigail was screaming a good portion of the ride home.
The next day was Megan's eighth birthday party. She had a makeup party with makeovers, decorating purses and a lipstick cake that Julie crafted!
Post-makeover
the cake
Playing with more make-up later
Walking to the station
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| From 2008_12_29 |
On the train
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Downtown we had a yummy lunch at Hard Rock Cafe.
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After lunch we walked and explored a little. We found several weird statues to play on.
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Trying to get home was trying... The train was extremely crowded and was delayed at several of the stops. This made for a uncomfortable ride, especially since it was nap time and Abigail was screaming a good portion of the ride home.
The next day was Megan's eighth birthday party. She had a makeup party with makeovers, decorating purses and a lipstick cake that Julie crafted!
Post-makeover
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the cake
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Playing with more make-up later
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Two more days at Disneyland!
After Christmas we drove back down to Anaheim to enjoy two more days at Disneyland. The park was really busy but we managed to have fun anyway. Gordon and I would take turns staying with the younger kids and going with Lily on the bigger rides. We did take advantage of the stroller passes and the fast passes a couple of times. Eve and Abigail took naps in strollers. Something we really enjoyed was the parades. The parades in the Disneyland park were crowded and hard to see. But the parades in the California adventure park were not and lots of fun. My favorite parade was the Electrical Parade. I think the girls liked the Pixar Play Parade the best.
A fun thing that Lily got to do was be chosen out of the crowd to talk with Crush. He asked her questions about where she was from and how big her family was.
Our last day we spent almost entirely at California Adventure, because it was so much less busy. We loved the Bugs land and played there for quite a while.
(This is for Tyler)
At the end of the third day we had dinner at Ariel's Grotto and got to talk with several princesses. We had to wait for quite a while to be seated so all of the kids (and parents) were hungry and grumpy. Our turn to visit with Ariel was right as we walked down and couldn't be postponed until after we ate. Ariel was great with the girls and let them show her all of their Princess clothes and talk about what they had seen that day. It really helped us all be in a better mood for dinner after the kids were cheered up talking to Ariel.
We loved Disneyland and are already talking about going back, although that probably won't be for a couple of years.
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A fun thing that Lily got to do was be chosen out of the crowd to talk with Crush. He asked her questions about where she was from and how big her family was.
Our last day we spent almost entirely at California Adventure, because it was so much less busy. We loved the Bugs land and played there for quite a while.
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(This is for Tyler)
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At the end of the third day we had dinner at Ariel's Grotto and got to talk with several princesses. We had to wait for quite a while to be seated so all of the kids (and parents) were hungry and grumpy. Our turn to visit with Ariel was right as we walked down and couldn't be postponed until after we ate. Ariel was great with the girls and let them show her all of their Princess clothes and talk about what they had seen that day. It really helped us all be in a better mood for dinner after the kids were cheered up talking to Ariel.
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We loved Disneyland and are already talking about going back, although that probably won't be for a couple of years.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve we drove back up to Gordon's aunt and uncle's home to spend Christmas with family. It just didn't feel right to try and spend Christmas day at Disneyland (even though they are open). I personally love visiting with this family because they are so open and welcoming. I have always felt like I'm family not just an in-law. When we attended church with them Aunt Marla introduced me as her niece, and that just feels nice.
We had the big dinner on Christmas Eve where some friends, neighbors and extended family also attended. After dinner we went to enjoy a street not too far away that goes all out in their Christmas lights. Santa was there too, handing out candy canes! You'd think he'd be too busy for that on Christmas Eve! After coming home we gathered in the living room while Great Grandpa read the bible. He would pause when a new character was introduced and the kids would have to hunt to find that piece of the nativity. This helped keep the kids engaged, but they surely weren't calm :). Aunt Marla has a collection of hand bells and we tried to play a few Christmas songs with them. It really ended up sounding like ringing in my ears but the kids were having fun.
We were a little worried about spending Christmas morning with so many other families. So we had lessons everyday for about a week before Christmas where we'd read a verse of scripture on thanksgiving or gratitude. Then Gordon and I would role play scenarios until the kids knew all of the answers by heart.
Our scenarios often went like this:
Mom: Here is a gift for you!
Dad: Hey! I wanted two of those and you only gave me one!
Mom: kids was that nice?
Kids: NO!
Mom: what should he say?
Kids: Thank you!
We twisted it up several ways but it actually worked, the kids did remember to be grateful on Christmas day and I never heard any comparisons between any of the kids if someone got more or less. Wahoo!
Christmas was a relaxing lazy day where we stayed in our pajamas the whole day. We ate leftovers for our meals, we played some games, watched a movie, it was really nice.
One funny tradition we did was that the kids have to line up in the hall, in age order and walk in backward! Apparently this family has been doing this for decades.
We had the big dinner on Christmas Eve where some friends, neighbors and extended family also attended. After dinner we went to enjoy a street not too far away that goes all out in their Christmas lights. Santa was there too, handing out candy canes! You'd think he'd be too busy for that on Christmas Eve! After coming home we gathered in the living room while Great Grandpa read the bible. He would pause when a new character was introduced and the kids would have to hunt to find that piece of the nativity. This helped keep the kids engaged, but they surely weren't calm :). Aunt Marla has a collection of hand bells and we tried to play a few Christmas songs with them. It really ended up sounding like ringing in my ears but the kids were having fun.
We were a little worried about spending Christmas morning with so many other families. So we had lessons everyday for about a week before Christmas where we'd read a verse of scripture on thanksgiving or gratitude. Then Gordon and I would role play scenarios until the kids knew all of the answers by heart.
Our scenarios often went like this:
Mom: Here is a gift for you!
Dad: Hey! I wanted two of those and you only gave me one!
Mom: kids was that nice?
Kids: NO!
Mom: what should he say?
Kids: Thank you!
We twisted it up several ways but it actually worked, the kids did remember to be grateful on Christmas day and I never heard any comparisons between any of the kids if someone got more or less. Wahoo!
Christmas was a relaxing lazy day where we stayed in our pajamas the whole day. We ate leftovers for our meals, we played some games, watched a movie, it was really nice.
One funny tradition we did was that the kids have to line up in the hall, in age order and walk in backward! Apparently this family has been doing this for decades.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Our First Time at Disneyland Ever!
Even Gordon and I had never been to Disneyland so all five of us were really excited. We were not disappointed. All of the kids were in different stages and it was really fun to enjoy each one. Lily loved going on the medium roller coasters, she really liked rides that were fast or exciting. Eve believed all of the magic. She was so excited when she saw Minnie Mouse, knowing that that was the REAL Minnie Mouse and the same with all of the princesses. Abigail just loved seeing characters she recognized from our movie collection and being with our family.
Our Surprise Vacation!
Gordon had some extra vacation days at the end of the year and we needed to use them up or lose them. We bounced around a few ideas of maybe camping or just relaxing at home, when I threw out that we could take the kids to Disneyland. That idea stuck and we decided to not tell the kids, and hardly anyone else our plans. We packed up the car and headed for a visit to Daddy's cousins. The kids were not suspicious at all, since we had driven to visit these very cousins before and never even drove by Disneyland.
After one night of playing at our California cousins home, and a day at church we drove to LA to have dinner with a friend. Driving by the park, trying to find our hotel I asked Lily to read a street sign for me. Imagine her voice climbing an octave and raising in volume as she read "Disneyland Way!" All three girls were really excited as we could finally talk about princesses, Mickey Mouse and fairies out loud.
The weather didn't cooperate on the first day though. We tried, but we were pretty soaked just walking to the gate. So from just outside the gate, where our kids could see Disneyland, we turned back and found other entertainment for the day.
We went bowling (since it's indoors) and back to our friend's home that's near the park. Later on, after the rain died down, we went out to a pier.
After one night of playing at our California cousins home, and a day at church we drove to LA to have dinner with a friend. Driving by the park, trying to find our hotel I asked Lily to read a street sign for me. Imagine her voice climbing an octave and raising in volume as she read "Disneyland Way!" All three girls were really excited as we could finally talk about princesses, Mickey Mouse and fairies out loud.
The weather didn't cooperate on the first day though. We tried, but we were pretty soaked just walking to the gate. So from just outside the gate, where our kids could see Disneyland, we turned back and found other entertainment for the day.
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We went bowling (since it's indoors) and back to our friend's home that's near the park. Later on, after the rain died down, we went out to a pier.
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| From New Folder (2) |
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