20th Anniversary Trip - Disneyland Day 1

Tony and I really wanted to do something fun for our 20th wedding anniversary.  We thought about going to Florida, but the budget didn't allow that.  So, we did the next best thing and went to Anaheim.  We were able to use our hotel points to cover the hotel and we also drove, so we saved money on airplane tickets.  

We left Sunday right after sacrament meeting.  It was the same day as the Primary Program, so we didn't want to miss that.  We went home, changed our clothes, packed the van and then headed on our way.  We drove a couple of hours before picking up some lunch.  We just ate in the car and continued driving.  We stopped in St. George for gas and a quick pit stop.  The traffic was good for most of the trip.  It was a busy and slow moving down the canyon outside of Victorville.  But we were able to get gas at the Costco in Victorville and we picked up some Mexican food for the road from a local Mexican Restaurant. 

We then got into our hotel about 8:00 p.m.  We unpacked the car and got in all in our room.  I got us unpacked and ready to go to Disneyland the next day.

The next morning, we got some hotel breakfast.  It was decent, price was right.  Then we got our stuff and drove to Disneyland.  The traffic was good, and Tony was able to get us there without any problems.  We parked and then walked down to the trams.  Best first ride of the day.  We then went to Disneyland for the day.

The weather was perfect.  We brought our jackets but didn't end of needing them.  When we bought holiday Mickey popcorn buckets for us, Margie, Suzanne, and Kim we then got a locker to store the buckets and our jackets.  That made the backpack a lot lighter to carry.  Tony was so nice, and he wore the backpack the majority of the time.

The park wasn't super busy, but we did have Genie Plus to help not have to wait so long in the lines.  We were able to get on every ride we wanted to at least one time, if not twice. We got Mickey beignets, tried multiple treats and the breakfast chimichanga this day.  We ate lunch at the Hungry Bear restaurant.  The food was okay, not the best thing every, but not bad at all.

We had wanted to eat at the Plaza for dinner this night, but they had a way long line, and I was too tired to wait for that.  So, we got everything out of our locker and went out of the park to get dinner at The Earl of Sandwich.  They had a longish line too, but we were able to get a table and enjoy our sandwiches.  

We then got back on the tram and walked back to our car.  We then drove back to the hotel and got some good rest.  It was a good day and we had lots of fun.  

November Happenings

It's been a fun November so far.  Josh got to go do baptism for the dead at the Saratoga Springs temple with the youth in our ward and he loved it, per usual.  Tyler had to work, so he didn't go.

Tony and I got invited to go to a Jazz game with a vendor and friend of Tony's from work.  We went with him and his wife and it was super fun.  We ate dinner at Tucanos before the game and then enjoyed the game where the Jazz won by almost 30 points. We had a great time.

Megan and Allie had their Primary Program.  They both did so good.  It was Megan's last program in Primary.  She had three parts, flipped the pages for the next speakers, and sang out loud and proud.  Allie did her part very well and also sang out proudly.  It was so fun to see them both and we were so proud of how well they knew all the songs and had no stage fright at all.  It's crazy to think next year we will only have one kid in Primary.  Our kids are growing up, it's very exciting and scary at the same time. 

We had the most amazing sunset this month and I just had to take a picture.  God blesses us with these special moments.

Josh got to go see the musical My Fair Lady at the University of Utah with his theater class.  He really liked it and had a good time.  

We also found out that Josh got the part of Javar in the upcoming musical Alladin.  He tried out for the Genie, Javar, and the Sultan.  He thought he wanted to be the Genie at first, but after trying out for the different parts, he decided that he really wanted to get the part of Javar.  So, we were all very excited and proud of him for getting the part of Javar.  

Tyler, Megan, and Allie have been enjoying singing karaoke with each other.  They have been singing a lot of the songs from Percy Jackson the musical.  It is so nice to see them doing things together that they like to do and getting a long while they do it.  

Halloween 2023

Another successful Halloween is in the books. 

We went to see the girls walk in the school parade.  It was a cold but sunny day.  The girls were so cute, and it was fun to see them with Tony and Lloyd and Margie.  

Allie found the red cape in our costume stuff and decided she wanted to be Little Red Riding Hood.  So, then we went to the DI to find the rest of her costume.  Megan was excited to be Hermione Granger again.  She still is really into Harry Potter.  I think they both looked so cute.

The boys both wore their Percy Jackson shirts to school as their costume.  I told Josh he needed to wear something else trick-or-treating because it didn't look like he dressed up with just jeans and a t-shirt.  Plus, it was cold, so no one would see the t-shirt.  So, he wore my old M&M costume.  It was nice because he wore his coat under it, and it kept him warm.  

We were able to get Tony to wear wolf ears for a picture, so he was The Big Bad Wolf, but then he quickly took them off.  But at least he humored me for the picture.  They went around the neighborhood and got lots of goodies.  Allie came back and then Tony took Josh and Megan around a little bit more.  They all had a good time and got lots and lots of treats.  Tyler enjoyed the evening at Grace's house where she had a Halloween party.  So, Halloween was a success all around.

Trunk-or-Treats

We got to go to two different trunk-or-treats.  We went to my parent's ward trunk-or-treat first and they served hotdogs and chips.  It was nice and they had a good number of kids and cars.  It was nice hanging out with my mom for a little bit more before she left for California the next day.  

After we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat and it was lots of fun.  Becky Okelberry sat next to us, and we had a good time chatting and handing out candy.  We all had a fun time and are excited for Halloween.  

Pumpkin Painting

The girls have been so excited to paint their pumpkins and they were finally able to do so.  Megan decided to paint a witch and Allie painted a cat.  Carving pumpkins is also fun, but painted pumpkins last a whole lot longer.  I love that they still like to do stuff like this.  

Frost Halloween Night

The elementary school had a fun Halloween night at the school.  They had face painting, games, little treats, and a spook alley.  Megan was part of the team that made the spook alley, and she was very excited to have us go through it.  I thought for a school run spook alley they did a very good job.  If you had a glow stick, then the kids knew not to scare you.  Allie and I had the glow sticks, and the kids were so nice and cute with us.  They waved and gave us high-fives.  It was super cute.  If it wasn't so busy, then I wouldn't have gone again without the glow sticks to see how it was.  But there was an extra-long line went we got out of the spook alley.   It was a fun night, and we were glad that we went.

Fall Happenings

It has been such a lovely fall.  The weather has been so nice, and the leaves are looking so pretty.  

We were able to help rake up some of our neighbors leaves and the girls really wanted to jump in them.   

My mom and I happened upon the haunted woods in Murray Park while we were walking.  We had to detour from our typical walking route and found some scary creatures.  Not so scary in the daytime, but I think it would be much scarier at night. 

We also walk at the Jordan River Parkway, and it has been so pretty.  First it was the sunflowers that were all blooming at the same time and then it was the bright yellow leaves in all the trees.  I love fall.  It is so pretty and such perfect weather.  I do enjoy my walks with my mom and am going to miss them when she goes back to California.

Allie got to eat the rest of the ice cream out of the container at Margie's house and she wanted a picture of it, then she wanted me to send the picture to Julie.  It was silly.

The girls got to go to This is Place State Park for Activity Days.  They were the only two girls who were able to go with their leaders.  Their leaders spoiled them the whole time and they had a great time.  The girls really are spoiled by Brother and Sister Jones, and we just love them.  

Fall Softball Tournament

The girls had their last game last Saturday.  The girls were invited to dress up in costumes, so our team decided to dress up as the red devils.  

The girls played hard, but they didn't win the game.  It was a good season and the girls really improved in their skills.  The team ended up fourth overall and I think they all had a fun.  

Megan is excited about moving up to the 12U teams in the Spring, but Allie says that she doesn't want to play again.  I guess we will see in the Spring if she changes her mind.  We will have to see if Tony wants to coach again, or if they need coaches.  I think that he liked it.  It was a good season.

Ward Pinewood Derby

The ward had a pinewood derby for the young men and the Elders. The boys each made a car and painted them.  Tyler ended up being in charge of starting the cars and Josh was in charge of putting the cars on the top of the track.  They liked feeling important and had fun with the cars.  Josh's car did pretty good and was one of the top winners in the first competition.  It was fun to see all the cars and how creative they all looked.   

Allie's Field Trip to Cross E Ranch

Tony got to go with Allie to her field trip to Cross E Ranch.  They got to do a corn maze, ropes course, bouncy things, and a little train ride to a pumpkin patch where they each got to pick out a pumpkin to take home.  He said that all the kids had a really good time, and he was glad that he was able to go with them on the field trip.