Visits from Mimi and Papa

When Doug and Peg were here, we also attempted the Timpanogos Trail... but this time with the three wee ones and ME, so we only planned on making it to the lower falls- it was such a beautiful day and the mountains were glowing with gorgeous colors.

This picture was taken in our side-yard by the neighbor's apple tree- note Ryan's shaved patch- that would be due to mama who forgot to put the gaurd on and zipped him about three inches before noticing. (I think you may remember, this is not the first time it's happened either.) Nice.

One day, Peg took Madeline for an outing and they came back with a little dressup jewelry set for Madeline. She had dangly clip-on earrings and she thought she was in heaven... Don't go Mimi! We want you to stay forever!

Summiting Timpanogos

Shan and Bryce decided to hike Timp together. It is pretty much an all-day event and a pretty difficult hike, but these two are troopers! They left early in the morning and here they are about 1 mile into the hike at the lower falls.Middle falls... Here is the big bowl where they rested before climbing the last steep part.

Climbing up...On top of the world!They were so high, they saw mountain goats! Back in the parking lot and happy as can be- way to go Bryce!

Pictures from the First Day of School

I love how Emma is into accessories now- this is her new favorite pink scarf that goes surprisingly well with almost everything.

A Week of Fun

Bryce came to visit for a week just before school started and these are a few of the fun things we did:

We had to take him bowling at BYU...

And hiking the "Y"....

and fishing...

and Seven Peaks Waterpark...

where poor Bryce had jetlag from staying up too late before his flight and the time change...

where Ryan was a daredevil and rode the ultimate Yellow Slide for the first time...

and we all had a great time.

The "Lands"

Disneyland's new name should be "The Busiest Place on Earth." It's happy too. But I think it would be a lot happier in small increments, with fewer lines and lots of naps and peace in between attractions. They go all out. Don't get me wrong- we all thoroughly enjoyed the day and it is something you must experience at some point. It was just that watching parents intensely pushing strollers of crying, tired, and over-sugared kids made my head hurt and I wondered if our homes shouldn't be the happiest places on earth instead? I guess what I'm saying is that Disneyland is fun, but it's still just Disneyland. It doesn't make our kids feel nourished, confident, secure, and loved- all the main things I'm going for here.

Given all that, there were some pretty neat highlights. The first being the new interactive Jedi Adventure:Both Emma and Ryan were chosen to be Jedi Apprentices. The day could have ended here and they would have been happy!The great thing about watching Ryan up there was he kept helping the boy next to him whose light saber refused to release. They were trained by Masters, and then Darth Vader and his troopers rose up out of the floor in a cloud of smoke (Da, da, da, dun, da, na- dun, da, na). Pretty fantastic. And then, each child was able to duel Darth Vader. How cool is that?In the end, the Dark Side was defeated and Darth Vader and his troopers retreated. This is the triumph picture.

We also enjoyed a really fun Princess Party and learned how to dance with twirling ribbon.

It's a Small World is still one of the best attreactions at Disneyland- nice and long and cool after waiting in the hot sun.

Madeline's Disneyland goal was to find Ariel. We waited in the Princess line for an hour, but no luck-we encountered Belle, Tiana, and a very voluptuous and scantily-clad Jasmine instead. (Seriously?!) But on our way out, we noticed the princesses were switching shifts and I caught a glimpse of familiar red hair. You know we waited in that same line for another hour!

I really think it was the happiest moment in Madeline's life thus far. So cute.

This is the time in the afternoon where everyone is too tired. We decided to have ice cream sundaes and french fries at an indoor restaurant and that did the trick.

Favorite Rides: Ryan- Indiana Jones; Emma- Space Mountain; Madeline- Winnie the Pooh

The following Saturday, we hit Legoland and it was really neat.

Mini Town was totally amazing!

Face painting was a definite highlight for Madeline. She finally felt like a fairy (SilverMist to be exact).

This is Shan in the giant hurling Claw and it honestly made me sick to watch. I rode it too, but not on the highest "scare" level.

We loved the Pirate Water Adventure the most, but I have no pictures since I didn't want the camera to get wet. And boy, did we get wet!

Cabrillo State Park and Aquarium

On one of our last days in California, we decided to drive down and visit Cabrillo Beach State Park. It is a nice small beach and it has a great little aquarium, but the neatest thing about this beach is the location. It was right next to a huge seaport and my kids loved watching the huge ships passing and the cranes loading and unloading freight. After our daytime play, we ate a fantastic seafood dinner at a restaurant right on the shore and then drove the gigantic bridge across the port a few times just for fun.

So this picture of Ryan says it all for me. He is such a nut and always does his own thing for the camera. I am learning to stop posing the kids to make them look acceptable. Because it ruins their fun and spoils the moment. Plus, when they grow up and see these pictures, I want proof of how patient I was.

We all loved the touch pools- Madeline was a bit squeamish at first, but she got the hang of it!

Again...

We could stare at jellyfish all day. So beautiful, but so dangerous... hmmm, I'm seeing a life lesson here.

I have no idea how many millions of germs are on the nose of that dolphin, but Madeline had to kiss it. Our California adventure was perfectly exciting in the mind of a mermaid/dolphin obsessed four-year old.