Three Magical Days!

This time last week, Jonathan and I were at Disneyland for three days with all of my siblings and their boys. This was the first time that all four of us kids went on a trip together without our parents.
We missed them, but we still had a lot of fun!

It started out with a long, long drive through the middle of nowhere.

We loved this bumper sticker! "My other car drives itself. Google"
Unfortunately, it was not one of Google's cars.

We made it to the hotel and had a great view of the park.

The next morning, we all met before playing.

I was perfectly safe thanks to Garrett's monkey leash.

Garrett and Seth were so happy to be reunited. They are best buds!

Everyone but Amy and Mike had early morning passes, so we took Garrett with us to play in Fantasyland with Seth, Kyle, Chris, and Andy.

Garrett was mapping out our morning.

My brothers are such cute dads!

Three happy cousins!!!

 Kyle wanted to go on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride after Dumbo. We got into line and Garrett wasn't very happy. As we got closer to being inside, he started saying "No, Mr. Toad, no!" Well, I didn't feel like traumatizing him so we went on the carousel instead.

We then tried out It's A Small World. It was quite the experience.
It started out with three happy boys all in the front of the boat.

As soon as we started going inside, Garrett started freaking out.

(A few months ago, Garrett saw an episode of Curious George about being afraid of the dark.

Now Garrett is afraid of the dark.) 

It got to the point that Jonathan grabbed him and helped him calm down by convincing him that we were going as fast as we could. Seth got a little concerned by how scared Garrett was, so he hid in the front of the boat. While that was going on, Kyle was loving it! 

Seth taking cover!

Jonathan and I took some time to go on some bigger rides without the kids in California Adventure.

We have a tradition of possing for pictures on the rides.
I couldn't help but blow a kiss to my sweetie!

After going on the Toy Story ride, Jonathan pretended he was Woody.

Jonathan and I were really boring that first night and went back to the hotel before 8, while the kids got back together for the night.

Right before this picture was taken,
Ty was bragging about how he wasn't even tired.

The second day was even better than the first. Everyone took naps, so we could actually stay until closing.

We started our day with Chris and Annie in California. They went on Tower of Terror while Seth almost said hi to Minnie Mouse. Next up was Bug Land. Seth couldn't decide to ride with his parents or us. He decided to ride with us.

It started out great but...

he quickly decided that it was too much to have so many adults with him.

Annie did some more rides with Seth while Chris, Ry, Jonathan, and I went on the big rides.

I'm still not sure who was more excited to be at Disneyland.

Jonathan gave me a loving look, while Ry was rocking out.

What made this second day at Disneyland even more magical and memorable was watching Endeavor fly right over us. Jonathan was really paranoid that we were going to miss it while we were on Splash Mountain with Ryan and Annie, but we ended up timing it perfectly to see it fly over us on the edge of Frontierland.

There was a woman loudly saying there it is! At first I didn't see it, so I didn't believe her.
You can see it just over the trees.

That huge crowd was gathered in between the two parks about an hour before the Shuttle flew over. It was really weird seeing that many people standing around Disneyland.

We did a little more playing at the park before heading over to the Rain Forest Cafe for a late lunch with my brothers and their families.

Ry is such a pro with younger boys.

A lovey group on the Jungle Cruise.

Seth got his Mickey ears! We kept telling him how good he looked in his ears and he would point his ears rather than the ones on his head. It was adorable!

This was my first experience at the Rain Forest Cafe and it was so neat!

The scenery and atmosphere makes it a fun place to eat. We were luck enough to be entertained by a very rare type of monkey, the Tyler monkey.This Tyler monkey loved climbing up the vines of the tree next to the table and annoy it's Uncle Chris. It would calm down and cuddle with Seth, but that was about the only time it sat still!

Climbing up the tree.

I'm not sure why, but the Tyler monkey started poking Chris in the eye.

I told you he could calm down. (It only lasted for a few seconds though.)

After lunch we all ended up going to the Lego store. It was so cool!
There were big huge lego sculptures outside as well as inside the store.

I really want this in my apartment. Do you think it would be too much though?

Jonathan freaked out when he saw that there was an entire wall with assorted lego pieces for sale.

This is how I want to store legos when we have boys.

Adorable Kyle and Gandalf the Grey.

Jonathan had to have a picture too!

I'm almost as strong, don't you think?

After the Lego store, everyone headed back to their hotels for naps so we could stay up later.
Amy and Mike saved us a great spot for Fantasmic. I forgot how amazing that show was. This was Jonathan's first time seeing it and I think it will now be a tradition for us to see it when we come to the park.
The boys had glow sticks and Garrett taught Seth to use his like a wiggly sword. Tyler got a long strand of them hooked together and used them like a whip. Garrett was swinging his little glow stick at Ty, and Ty ended up using his whip on Garrett. Garrett was stuned and didn't make a sound (weird), while Andy gave Tyler a look that our Dad used on us when we were growing up. It was hilarous!

Chris being a creeper.

Captain Hook fighting Peter Pan.

The view across the water after the show.

After the show, Tyler went on Materhorn and Thunder Mountain with us.

That boy LOVES rollercoasters!

One of these days, Ty will get that sword out of the stone!

Our last day was nice and relaxed even though the crowds swelled that day. Jonathan and I had done all the big rides that we wanted to the previous days so we didn't have to be in any long lines. We went ahead got fast passes for Star Tours, and then went on over to watch Captain EO. All I can say is WOW! It was unlike anything I have ever seen and is obviously from the 80s. WOW! I have seen it once and never need to see again.

Right after this picture, they announced no flash photography and
the people behind us teased us for just using our flash.

I still can't believe I actually sat through this.

 After that experience we went on Star Tours again. It is so cool and now you don't always go to the same place. We've gone on it 4 times since it reopened and have yet to have the same trip.

After our morning in Tomorrowland, we spent some time in Bug Land with Seth, so Chris and Annie could have an hour to themselves.

This kid is a climber!

No tears at all!

After going on a couple of rides, Seth was getting hungry so we went over to Cars Land and ate some snacks. While we were sitting at Flo's, Red (the firetruck) came out and Seth wanted to meet him. So, Jonathan got some good practice meeting characters with Seth. Red blew his horn right before it was Seth's turn and he did not like it one bit! They also went and met Mater and that went so much better.

We did a few more rides on our own like Soarin' Over California and the Tiki Room. We met up later with Andy and Amy and Tyler decided to come with us and go on Jungle Cruise and eat dinner.

I think if you can do a pull up you can go on the
ride even if you are an inch too short!

 After dinner we were going to take Ryan and Tyler on the brand new Cars ride, but as soon as we got there it was broken down and they didn't know when it would be fixed.

I just love all of the neon lights in Radiator Springs!

Well, we tried to keep our spirits up and tried to go on a different ride, but they closed it down for the World of Color show. We struck out with that park, so we went back to Disneyland. We met up with Andy and an old family friend, Jeff. He works at the front gate and when he heard about our story in the other park, he decided to call Mickey to see if he could work some magic. Mickey ended up giving us front of the line passes that work on any ride in Disneyland! That made us all feel so much better! So Andy and the boys headed over to Splash Mountain and we tried to meet up with Chris, Annie, and Amy.

This was their view for the firework show.

We tried, but couldn't find them. Instead of watching the show through a big tree, we went on Thunder Mountain. The fireworks were absolutely magical as we were on the ride! This is going to be my new Disneyland tradition! After taking the longest way possible, we met up with them and told them about our awesome passes from Jeff. Chris was so excited because there were a few rides that he wanted to go on but didn't because the lines were too long. The three of us headed to Star Tours while Amy and Annie took the littles boys on Dumbo. Then the entire group met up at the Haunted Mansion and went on it together (except Annie and Seth). I was surprised by how much Kyle loved the ride! He came off of it with the biggest grin on his face and said that it was so much fun!

Amy got to ride on Splash Mountain one last time with Ry and Ty while Chris, Annie, Jonathan, and I did some last minute shopping. Jonathan and I found a family ornament for our Christmas tree to remember our amazing trip. We also picked up some princess ornaments and Halloween decorations for my mom.

We got one more nights sleep and headed back home.

We came. We saw. We played.

 Thankfully, it was a gorgeous day and traffic was very smooth.

This was such a fun trip for us kids to be together. Next time it will be even better because our parents will be there and so will the little girls!

A Special Invitation!

This weekend something very special is happening and I want to invite you to join me.

It's not very difficult or strenuous. It mostly takes time.

I want to invite you to listen to the words of living prophets.

This weekend, the world has the opportunity to listen to the words of actual living prophets.

This has become something that I look forward to every 6 months.

It's not because I get to stay home and watch church in my pajamas and not have to worry about preparing a lesson. General Conference gives me the opportunity to reevaluate how I am doing and how I can continue to improve. There are no assigned topics for any of the speakers and yet somehow they all connect and all have value in my life. I think they all connect for me because the overall tone is one of hope. I tend to get bogged down with how crazy life is and all that I still need to do. For me to hear this repetitive message of hope from about a dozen different people, makes life so much more manageable and enjoyable. I sometimes can be slow at figuring out or managing my feelings, so for me the repetition gets me to a point that I start to really take these messages into my heart and allow them to lift me up.

I want to invite you because I know that the things taught and spoken of at General Conference are true. They will lead you on a path of joy. I am so grateful that there are prophets on the earth today just like in the Bible. The things they teach us don't always fit in with the world around us, but they always fit in with what our Heavenly Father wants us to be. You can watch by clicking right here.

I hope you will watch it with us!

Life Lately (according to my phone)

I feel like a total slacker, so instead of doing a bunch of posts all at once I'm just going to share a bunch of pictures. 

Jonathan and I have done a lot together lately.

We toured the State Capitol the week before school started.

Jonathan said goodbye to the first computer he ever bought. 

(FINALLY!!! Now we only have 3 computer towers instead of 4!) 

We worked on our archery skills for FHE with the Nelsons. 

We played tennis with Taylor and Kenzie. (We need to do that more often!!!) 

Last week Jonathan took me on a picnic date.

The three 2 year olds are doing great!

Seth tried shooting the rubber band and luckily didn't hurt himself.

Garrett was reminiscing about the old days when he was just a baby.

Mercedes, as usual, took off with my shoes. (Look at how long and curly her hair is!!)

 Clara, much like me, is so much happier after a nap!

While driving around I've seen classic cars and lots of traffic.

That brown-orange truck is almost identical to the truck my dad had back in 1979. 

Down to the home made rack.

I'm still working on the chest and it just keeps getting better and better!

I just got the knobs last weekend and they are perfect!!

While shopping for the knobs, I found some inspiration for some new projects!!

Last, but not least. One of our neighbors got saran wrapped.

I honestly thought it was a huge spider web at first.

This is just some of the highlights of what we've been up to.

More post will be coming in the weeks ahead.

11 Years Ago

Eleven years feels like a lifetime ago. I was an 11 year old in 6th grade and Jonathan was 18 starting at Sierra. So much has changed in those years. I remember the unity of this country in the aftermath. We were all unsure of what the future held and it made us cling to the things that are most important in life. 

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I sometimes wonder why those feelings have waned and have been replaced with increased contention. There seems to be a free pass to anyone who mocks and degrades things that most Americans feel is sacred. It's hard living in a country that I am regularly told what I believe and that I am a bigot.

I have been so blessed to be born into a country where I can practice whatever religion I choose, I can go to school every day and not worry about it being blown up by an extremist that believes women should not be educated. We all lived extremely comfortable lives compared to most of the world and yet we can't have calm and rational discussions on our disagreements. No, we have no choice but to run around calling each other horrible, awful names to get our point across.

When I started this post, I was planning on going in a different direction, but these are the words and feelings that came out. I have been feeling these things for about 4 years and it feels right that I share them today. These feelings will not go away over night, but I have hope that things will get better in this country. Everyone needs an added measure of patience and a lot less judgement. I trust that we can reunite like we did 11 years ago. I know that this can happen without another attack happening. I want to share a scripture from the Book of Mormon that one of my friends shared this morning on Facebook.

"Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

"Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever..." Alma 26:35,37 The Book of Mormon

I am so grateful to know that our Heavenly Father lives and his greatest desire is for us to return to Him. I know that He loves each and everyone of us equally. I love this country and the men and women who are willing to sacrifice all to protect our freedoms.

Need a Good Laugh?

Lately life has been a little extra crazy and it's been getting to me. Luckily, I saw this on Pinterest with the caption: This is hysterical...warning: don't read this if you have just done your makeup- j and I were laughing so hard we were crying! 

I was too intrigued to pass it up and trust me you will die laughing!

Come on you want to read it too!

I Love Labor Day

Labor day is a very special day to me. It's not all about having a 3 day weekend or awesome sales at the mall.

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It's special because an experience I had two years ago. I was using the extra day to catch up on some math homework. I was sitting at the kitchen table with all of my notes and books. As I was sitting there, I couldn't focus. I fought as hard as I could to get some work done, but my mind continued to wander. I decided to take a little break and leaned back in my chair. I let my mind wander and the thought came into my head you're going to marry Jonathan.  My immediate response to the thought was duh I'm going to marry him! At this point in our relationship, we had been dating for only three and a half months and yet I knew that Jonathan was going to be my husband. Just a few weeks later, Jonathan let the entire world know that we were going to be married.

For me, Labor day will always remind me of the day that I decided to marry my sweet and wonderful Jonathan. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I love waking up every morning next to my best friend.