Picking Up Koda

Koda got to stay with Yvette while we all went to California.  Her house is like a doggie Disneyland with all the land and other dogs that she has.  The only down side is that she lives in Logan.  So after Tyler's school we all headed up to Logan.

Tony's brother, Derek, lives there and so does my brother, Kevin, with his new wife.  So we stopped at Derek's first to check out his new place.  He only lives around the corner from Yvette so we all just walked there after see his apartment.

Koda was HAPPY to see us.  I don't think happy is a strong enough word.  He barked with excitement and jumped up and down all over the place.  We couldn't believe how excited he was.  It took a good five or so minutes for him to calm down.  After Koda settled down we went in the back yard and saw the puppies.  Six supper cute puppies.  I couldn't get enough of them.  I thought we would stay for maybe a half an hour or so...like two hours later we were still there holding the puppies.  The kids all loved them too.  Tyler liked that he could pick them up himself and hold them.  Josh did better if we helped hold the puppies while he pet them.  Megan didn't know what to think, she was pretty mellow about the whole thing.
After Kevin got off of work he stopped by to see the puppies.  Then we walked backed to Derek's house to get our car and then drove to Kevin and Betsy's home.  He gave us a tour and then Tony helped him move a couch.  The boys really liked playing with their cousins.
Then we decided we had better head home to get the boys to bed on time.  We picked up some dinner and drove home.

Koda was so happy to be home.  He was so antsy to get in the car and go while we were at Keven's.  You could tell that he just wanted to be home. I guess even dogs like to come back from vacations.  It was nice having all the family back together again.  We sure do love our Koda...and we love to hold puppies. 

I love me some puppies!!!

On the Road Again

We enjoyed sleeping in a little bit on Saturday.  We got up, ate some breakfast and then packed up the car.  It was suppose to be another hot one there so we were glad to go somewhere a little less hot (St. George).
My ear and head were still really hurting, so I was really glad to get going.  I figured once we got to St. George I would go to an InstaCare and get my ear checked and see if I needed more/different drugs to help it feel better.  The 800 ml IB Profin I was taking wasn't even touching the pain.  I just couldn't believe how painful an ear infection is.
We made pretty good time.  We stopped and ate some lunch and Del Taco and then headed back on the road.  Josh threw up after eating some crackers.  He wasn't sick and didn't do it again (thankfully) so it was kind of random.  Luckily I had some extra clothes for him to wear.
We got into St. George about 5:00 pm (we lost an hour) and Tony dropped me off at the InstaCare.  The RNP told me I had a pretty bad ear infection and gave me an oral antibiotic to go with my ear drops and some pain meds to help with the pain.  After seeing her I walked to the Harmon's and filled my prescription.  Tony came and got me then we got the boys from Nana and Papa's place and headed to check into the hotel.  We picked up a pizza for dinner and checked it.
We enjoyed a very low key (yet painful for me) evening.  We got the boys sleeping and then we watched the BYU vs U of U football game.  I only stayed up for half of it, but BYU lost.  Megan kind of struggled, but that was pretty much her sleeping the whole trip.
When we woke up I felt like death.  I had taken two of the pain pills at about 4:00 am when Megan woke up to eat and those pain pills were making me feel so sick.  I was dizzy and light headed and nauseated.  I told Tony that I didn't think that I could do church that day.  So Tony got us a late check out and we just met Tony's mom at his grandparents house after their church.  We ate some lunch (I didn't feel like eating) and then headed on our way home. 
We were all just ready to be home.  The weather was nice and clear and everyone did pretty good on the drive home.  We pulled into our drive way a little after 5:00 pm and unpacked all our crap out of Margie's car and dumped it in the house.  Then we all just enjoyed being home and in cooler weather.
We all had such a great trip (even with Megan and I getting sick).  A big Thank You to Margie for planning everything and taking such great care of us and to Lloyd for working so hard to fund such amazing memories for all of us to have.  LOVE to go and LOVE to come home.  Tyler is already talking about going to Disneyland again and the beach...they sure loved those places.

The Beach

To say that my boys loved the beach would be a huge understatement.  They had so much fun at the beach...I'd say almost comparable fun to Disneyland.
We started our Thursday off with some breakfast and then we hung out a little bit before heading off towards the beach.  We decided to stop at a WalMart for some beach toys.  We found some good ones that happened to be miss marked for $2.00 instead of $12.00.  So we took advantage of that mistake and got lots of fun beach toys.

We drove down to the beach and picked up some Subway sandwiches for lunch.  We parked and then headed towards the water.  We had some beach towels we put down to sit on, but only the adults actually sat on the them to eat.  Once we got by the water the boys didn't want to eat, they just wanted to play.
We dumped out all the toys and let them have at it.  Josh was in heaven.  He LOVES himself a good sandbox and this was the ultimate sand to play in.
Tyler was the first one to want to get some water for his sand hole so Tony helped him to get it.  He put Megan's feet in the water and she wasn't too sure what to think.  She didn't cry, but she didn't really smile with delight either.  Josh didn't want anything to do with the water at first.  He was happy to play with the sand.  
It took a little while, but Josh finally touched the water.  Once he figured it out he was all about playing in the water.  The tide even made him fall once and he got sand all over his cloths and in his hair.

We decided since it was overcast and not super warm that the kids probably wouldn't play in the water and just stick to the sand - we were wrong.  They played in the sand the first hour, but then slowly got more and more wet.  Even Tony's shorts got pretty wet.
Megan was tired after about an hour so I went back on the towels and put her down for a nap.  Everyone else stayed close to the water building sand castles and having fun.  I think Tony and Margie had just about as much fun as the boys.  The weather was perfect and not too many people, a great day at the beach.  Tyler keeps asking if we can go to the beach each day.  He doesn't understand that we don't have a "real" beach any where close.  Both boys totally feel asleep within a couple minutes of leaving the beach .  Totally wore them out.  We talked about the next time we go maybe we do Disneyland three days and the beach two days - honestly SO MUCH FUN!!!

After the beach we went to Costco to pick up an ear drop prescription for me because that is the day that I started getting my ear infection - AND we picked up an eye drop prescription for Megan because she had green boogies in her eyes.  Gotta love getting sick on Vacation.

California Adventure

We went to California Adventure first thing on Monday morning to check out the new Cars Land.  It was super busy, which we had expected.  We decided that Tony and I would stand in the single rider line and check out the Lightning McQueen ride.  It took us probably 20 minutes or less and then we ended up in the same car sitting right next to each other.  So that was nice.  It was a fun ride but we didn't understand why smaller kids can't ride it.  So that meant that Josh wasn't tall enough yet.

Margie had taken the kids around to see Cars Land and then we all met back together.  The lines got pretty big fast for the new ride so Margie ended up riding it a different day.  Tony ended up taking Tyler on the ride a couple days later.  Tyler liked it - he liked that their car won the race.  I think that Josh would have liked it too since it was outside and nothing was dark or scary.  It's too bad he wasn't quite tall enough to go on it.

Since Cars Land was so busy we decided to do a couple rides at Bugs Land before we headed over to the main park.  Bugs Land is nice because the whole family can go on most the rides.  There were a couple that Megan couldn't go on, but Josh and Tyler could do them all.  I am pretty sure that they liked the bumper cars the most.  Something about hitting into people that is just so much fun.

We didn't go back again that day, but went back the next couple of days.  We did all the rides in Bugs Land and even let the boys play in the water.  It was still pretty early in the morning but since the temp was in the high 90's we knew that they would dry off quickly.  They loved the water.  I thought that it felt nice too, still can't believe how hot it was while we were there.  Over 100 degrees almost the whole time.  Steamy.

We saw the Aladdin Show and we all really liked that.  The genie is super funny.  Megan was fussy through it so Tony had to stand up with her, she feel asleep for him though.  I was glad that she wasn't fussy through the whole show.  That wouldn't have been fun for Tony.  We also went on some more rides like Monster's Inc, Woody's Roundup - which is probably the longest line that we waited in.  It is just such a fun ride.  We did the big Farris Wheel (Margie didn't, she's not a fan).

Tony and Margie did the single rider line for the Screaming roller coaster and we also got to do Soarin' Over California.  We did end up going on the water ride a couple of times and that was really fun and none of us got too wet.   A little wet feels good, lots of wet doesn't. 

They had a little water show during the day, but we didn't stay for the water and lights show that they have at night.  We figured the kids would get bored of it fast and we just wanted to get back to the hotel by then.

On Friday night Tony and Margie went back to the park after taking me and the kids back to the hotel and getting the kids to bed and they got to see a little of the show (I think).  They got to enjoy some CA fun and Disney fun as a Mommy Son date.  I was glad that they were able to do that.  They have a neat relationship.
We also got to ride the new Areal ride.  That was cute and we got on super fast.  They have made a lot of changes to CA Adventures, so it was neat to see all the different things. 

While Tony, Margie, and Tyler went on Tower of Terror I enjoyed a street performance with Megan and Josh.  Mickey came out at the end and we were right in front to see it all.  It was really fun.  I love that kind of stuff.
We all really like CA Adventures and enjoyed seeing all the new things. 

Disneyland

We decided to do four days at Disneyland.  At first we were going to go Monday through Thursday and then Friday at the beach.  Then we saw that a couple big rides were going to be closed earlier in the week, but open on Friday.  So we did the beach Thursday and Disney on Friday.

Monday started off our Disney fun.  We had a couple cute Minnie shirts for Megan and Mickey shirts for the boys.  It was fun to dress them up in their Disney attire and get pictures with the characters on their shirts.  Tony and Margie even found Megan some Minnie ears to wear when she met Minnie.  She was super adorable.  Megan LOVED all the characters she met.  She loved Minnie and even tried to eat her nose.  All the people waiting to see Minnie thought Megan was super cute.  Okay, everyone at Disneyland just LOVED Megan and she got lots of attention.  She is a very friendly baby and smiles at anyone who will look at her, so she got lots of attention.
We tried to go on Pirates of the Caribbean first, but the ride was down so we went an did Splash Mountain and The Pooh ride instead.  These quickly became a favorite of Tyler and Josh.  We must having gone on those rides at least 20 times while we were there.  We would take turns between Tony, Margie, and my self on going on each ride.
Josh measured just under their 40 inches sign, so he didn't get to go on Splash Mountain.  When we measured him with our tape measure, he was 40 inches with shoes - but Disney must account for the shoes and they make there requirements a little taller.  Tony and Margie went and found some shoes for Josh that would make him a little taller, but he still was too short.  Most of the time he didn't want to even put on the shoes to try to see if he would be tall enough.  He was being a pill about the whole shoe thing.

Josh LOVED The Pooh ride so much.  He would say "Pooh" after every other ride we would go on, even if we were in California Adventure.  So when we were by that ride we would take him a good five or six times in a row.  He would get so excited to go.  When it was our turn and they opened the gates and he would literally run to get into the bee hive boat thing you ride in.  Then he would point out Pooh each time that he saw him.  It was so fun to see it through Josh's eyes.

Now Tyler LOVED Splash Mountain.  While Josh was going on Pooh so many times, Tyler was going on Splash Mountain.  He would tell me how to get in line and exactly where to go.  If people in our boat would touch the water he would make sure and tell them, "hands and feet inside the boat."  It was pretty funny.  After he would go on the ride and get wet he would always say that he was soaked.  He loved it.  He would scream on the down drop, it was super fun to go with him on that ride.  Luckily when we went there weren't any long lines, or we did Fast Passes or Baby Passes and that helped get us through much faster. 

Megan wasn't too sure about all the rides.  If she was really tired, she would just cry through the ride.  Even on Pirates.  The boys always fell asleep when going on that ride when they were little.  She did fall asleep once on that ride.  Josh was really scared of Pirates and didn't want to go.  He went the first time and didn't want to do it again.  Tony made him on the last day.  The rest of us love Pirates.  Nice and cool and you get to sit down for a long ride.  Josh will just have to come around on that one.

Josh really didn't like anything that had a scary theme to it.  He didn't like Snow White or some of the other rides that were dark and had bad guys in them. He mainly liked the really bright happy rides.  Josh really also liked Small World.  I took him a second time with Megan while the rest when on The Matterhorn.  Josh just sat there looking at all the different dolls.  Lucky for me the line wasn't very long so we didn't have to wait too long.  Josh also like the Merry-go-round.  He liked sitting on the horses.  I did it once, but then didn't do it again - too much spinning for me.  He like Dumbo, Buzz, the rockets, Autotopia - anything bright and/or outside.  Josh also loved the train.  We only road it two days and he loved being on the train and seeing all of Disneyland. 

Tyler loved all the thrill rides.  Matterhorn, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the roller coaster in Toon Town, anything with speed and ups and downs.  He just couldn't get enough.  Almost every time went on a ride we could all go on, Tyler would whine that he wanted to go on something else.  He did like the littler rides, but LOVED the thrill rides.

Tyler would talk to anyone too.  He would talk to people while waiting in line or while on the train.  He would tell them how old he is and his brother and sister.  He would tell them all about his school.  He even invited one person to his next birthday party.  I'm pretty sure he didn't get that outgoing friendliness from his dad.  It was really funny to hear what he would tell people.  

Megan loved all the characters. She would get really close and she even tried to eat Minnie's nose.  She wasn't afraid at all and seemed excited to meet them.  She met Minnie, Mickey, Tigger, Daisy Duck, and Pooh Bear.  Tyler liked Mickey, Tigger and Pooh, but didn't much care to meet anyone else.  Josh didn't like anyone but Pooh.  He would stay far away from them and he only went up close to Pooh.  We didn't have to wait too long to get pictures because most of the time we happened to be there at the right time.

Josh, Megan, and I got to do a lot of hanging out while waiting for the thrill riders to come back.  We didn't really mind most of the time.  Josh always got some juice and a snack while he waited, so he was a pretty good sport about it.  Megan did pretty good to just hangout in the stroller.  There were many times that she was tired of the stroller (and probably hot), so Tony would carry her.

We brought the front pack carrier, but since it was SO HOT and HUMID Tony didn't want to wear it (don't blame him).  Lucky for him she is light and so it wasn't too bad.  Tyler liked when Tony held Megan because that meant that he got a break from walking and got to sit in the stroller. I am very glad that we took two strollers.  It is a lot of walking and these kids need a break.

We decided to buy an umbrella stroller before we came to push Josh around in and we were very glad that we did.  We got a nicer and more expensive one then we first thought we would but we liked that the seat came back for if he fell asleep (and he did) and also that it held a heavier weight for if Tyler wanted to ride (and he did) and that it had the five-point harness for if Megan wanted to ride (and she did).  So it worked out really good and we were glad that we had two strollers.

The food was really good there.  We would generally have a big meal at around one or two and then just have a lighter snack or ice cream later in the day.  On Friday since it was 105 degrees, we decided to leave the park early and go swimming and the hotel.  Before we got to the hotel, we stopped at Cold Stone (it's across the street from Disneyland) and got some ice cream.  We all got big bowls of it and gobbled it down.  Megan even got some and really liked it.  Tyler got the blue cotton candy cone and Josh slept through the whole thing - which was sad because it was his birthday that day and he loves ice cream.
I think that it goes without saying, but we really loved our time at Disneyland with Grandma Margie and can't wait to do it again some day.  Tyler and Josh still talk about their favorite rides.  Maybe they are right...It is the Happiest Place on Earth!

We Have Arrived

We made it safely to California.  I am sitting here at the hotel only minutes away from Disneyland.  I am enjoying the quiet while the children are sleeping and Tony and Margie went to the store.  For some reason it didn't dawn on me to bring any Binky clips for Megan's Binky's and I totally forgot to pack our little back pack that has a leash on it for the little ones.  Josh likes to just run on a head of us, so we wanted to make sure we don't loose him and we didn't want to be loosing Binky's all day...thank goodness for Walmart's all over.
This morning after we ate breakfast and packed up our things, we checked out and then started our drive to CA.  Josh got restless really quickly this morning.  He just wanted to snack on all the treats the whole time.  He was telling us he was hungry over and over and it got real old real fast.  I think he was just bored and snacking helps pass the time - I totally know how he feels their. Tyler and Megan did really good.  They were both ready to be done by the time we got here.
We decided to try and make the 11:00 church in Victorsville but then when we got there the parking lot was empty so we figured they had Stake Conference today.  We thought that was okay because we could still drive over by our hotel and pick up that ward at 1:00 (even though it was a Tongan ward).  So we had time to get some lunch and then everyone changed into their church clothes (except me, I already had mine on).  We headed to the ward building and saw that that parking lot was pretty much empty as well.  A couple people were there so we asked about sacrament meeting.  He told us that they had Stake Conference today so no regular church.  What are the odds of us trying to go to two different wards in two totally different parts of California?  So we didn't get to go to sacrament today, I hope that we get points for trying.
Instead of church we decided to head to Costco and the Disney Store (only on vacation).  We got some bottled water and found Tyler a cute Halloween costume.  We found cute ones for Josh, but decided against buying it...we may change our mind and go back and get it.  We found some cute shirts at the Disney Store that we all plan on wearing tomorrow at Disneyland.
By that time we figured we could check into our hotel so we went and got our room.  Then it was a lot of unloading and unpacking.  It is kind of sad, but I really like the unpacking part.  I like organizing and getting things settled for the week.  Margie and Tony took the kids to play at the park while I unpacked everything.
When everything was put away we all went and checked out an outside shopping center that is really close to our hotel.  There weren't many open shops or people around.  We decided that we didn't need to visit that place again.  After walking around there we decided to walk to Tony Romas and have some dinner.  It was really good food and we all had a good time.  It was really hot today (like 90's) so it was nice to get out of the heat.
After dinner we came back to the hotel and got ready for bed.  Tyler did some homework and then after stories and prayers the kids all went to sleep.  Let's hope for a good night sleep for everyone because tomorrow is going to be a long busy day of having fun...lots of Disney fun.  Can't wait!

Chillin in Vegas

We have made it Las Vegas.  We started our day off with packing up Margie's Van and then going to the boys soccer games.  The grass was really wet so Josh's shoes got soaked before the game even started, so he didn't play so well today.  Tyler got his first goal of the season today and had many close ones and shot the ball a lot.
After the game we changed the kids, went potty and then headed south.  We had to stop like four times for Josh to go pee before we even got to lunch, but he didn't have one accident today - I saw that's success.

We had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant in Beaver and then headed down to St. George.  All the kids did pretty good.  Megan ate, slept, and played well in her car seat.  Tyler did really good at watching the movies and coloring - pretty much taking care of his own entertainment.  Josh watched the movies pretty good, but got kind of bored.  Josh needed more treats and snacks to pass the time so it's a good thing that we had plenty for everyone.
We got to spend some time with Nana and Papa.  They had some popcorn and root beer floats for us when we got there.  Tony was able to help Nana with a couple things and then we packed back up and headed down to Vegas.  Margie had Tony drive after we got to Nevada and that is when Megan decided she was no longer happy and she was going to make sure we all knew about it.  After what seemed like hours (probably only like 40 minutes) she finally feel asleep.
We got to our hotel and unloaded our things in our room.  Margie and I went and picked up some KFC for dinner and then got ready to go swimming.  The water was a little too cold for Megan, so she and I went back to the room for a bath while the others played.  After swimming it was bath and then bed time.  Now the kids are all sleeping and Tony and Margie went to get gas in the car.  One day down just seven awesome more days to come - we can't wait to get our Disney on...yeah for Mickey!

Kevin's Wedding

My brother got married the end of June to his high school girl friend, Betsy.  They got married in the Draper Temple, had lunch at Golden Corral, and then had a reception in my parents back yard.
It was a really nice day, hot but nice.  Margie watched the kids for us so that we could go to the temple sealing and then lunch.  After we ate, Tony went to take care of the kids while I went to my parents to help get ready for the reception.
Tony then came with the kids all dressed and ready for pictures. I think that the pictures turned out really cute and I can't wait to see more.  We love having a new sister in the family and we are super happy for my brother and his new family.  

It's official...We have a Kindergartener!

Tyler started Kindergarten today.  I can't believe that he is already starting "regular" school.  He has been asking all summer if it was a school day yet, he just loves school.
Tyler didn't have any problem leaving me and going right into his class all alone.  When his teacher opened the door, some parents went in to the class room with their child, but I just let Tyler go in by him self.  I asked him after his class if he wished that I went with him, and he said he was okay.  I was glad that he wasn't sad that I didn't go with him.
Tyler had to fill out a little folder-like book thing with a picture of him and his family and also his favorite color and food.  Tyler and I did it together and then I put it in his back pack.  I forgot to remind Tyler that he had it in his back pack for his teacher, so when his teacher asked for them Tyler thought that he didn't finish it and it was at home.  So when Tyler came out of the school he cried to me that he didn't finish his folder.  I then showed him the folder book in his back pack and we gave it to his teacher.  Tyler was still upset, but started to calm down.  Tyler seemed to really like Kindergarten and I think that this is going to be a great school year. 

Labor Day at the Cabin

We decided to spend Labor Day up at the cabin.  We went to church on Sunday and decided to leave after sacrament so we could spend more time at the cabin and beat a potential storm (that ended up not coming).
When we got there Julie and her family were already there and Sherri and Rich had just pulled up.  We unpacked the car and then decided to go for a four-wheel ride.  Megan wasn't too sure she liked it, but seemed to enjoy it alright.  The boys loved it of course.  We even saw a Momma mouse and her baby.  They were super cute.
Then we checked out the new water fall that was being put in.  The boys liked playing in the water.  After a couple more hours the rest of our party came and we got dinner started and then we all ate some yummy food out on the deck.  After dinner we had cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday" to Josh.  Then he opened a couple of gifts and then the kids played some more with the cousins.
Then we all got ready for bed and said good night.  Josh had a hard night and woke up like five times and I ended up just letting him come into our bed (mainly so I wouldn't have to keep going and laying with him in his bed).
The next day was Labor Day.  We had some breakfast and then decided to go for another four-wheel ride.  At first Tyler didn't want to go with us because he wanted to stay and play video games with his new cousin, Logan.  But after telling him that we probably wouldn't go on another ride, he decided to come with us. 
After the ride we decided to feed the fish in the pond and take a little walk around.  The fish loved our food and were totally jumping all around for the food.  My brother caught some of those fish later that day - but then put them back.
Tony decided to work on a project with the waterfall to get the water to go over a rock a certain way and ended up getting pretty wet.  Tyler and Josh also played in the water and got totally wet and dirty.  They had a great time playing in the waterfall with the other cousins.
But all good things come to an end.  It was time to start heading home.  I figured Josh would fall asleep on the way home, so I didn't want to stay too late.  Josh did fall asleep and so did Tyler for a little bit.  It was nice to be home again, even though I had three load of laundry to do.