Disney Trip 2024 - DCA & Disneyland in the Rain

Today was the day we suited up and went out into the rain to have lots of Disney fun. We all had a poncho, or waterproof jacket, and we had waterproof shoes and a couple umbrellas, and we were ready to go.  

We started at Disneyland.  We had no problems getting in and just missed rope drop.  We went straight to Indiana Jones and then went on from there.  

There was a good amount of people, but not too busy.  We think that a lot of people stayed away seeing how much it was supposed to rain.

The weather was really rainy all day.  But sometimes it would let up for a little while and then start again.  The tricky part was trying to find places to sit for lunch where the seats weren't all wet and we had a little cover over our heads.  We did finally find a place that sort of worked.  We ate at the Jolly Holiday, and it was so good.  Most of us had the beef birria sandwiches.  

After a while we switched parks and went into California Adventure.  We had a great time there too and really just did mostly what we wanted.  We all stayed mostly dry, and our preparations did us well for a very rainy day at the parks.  

After eating dinner and doing a few more rides we decided that we were ready to go back to the hotel.  It was wet fun day and quite the adventure.

Disney Trip 2024 - Rainy Sunday, Eating, & Monday Swimming in the Rain

On Sunday we got dressed for church and then had some breakfast before leaving for sacrament meeting.  This is the day that the heavy rains started.  The news told everyone to stay home the next few days because of the amount of rain that was expected to come down.  They even declared it a state of emergency in some parts.  Lots of flooding expected.  So that was super fun to hear.

We made it to church just a few miles away and enjoyed a lovely service.  It was fast Sunday, and we heard a lot of really good testimonies.  After church we went back to the hotel to change.  After we changed, we went and got some lunch and then came back to hang out at the hotel.  Allie, Margie, and I decided to take a walk around the hotel.  Allie liked the little gym and taking pictures there.  This hotel has a scavenger hunt for the kids to do and then they get a little prize. Both girls like to play this game.  The boys always sleep together and usually Tyler steals the blankets from Josh, poor kid.  Tyler is lucky Josh is such a chill guy.

We later got dinner and ice cream at Joe's, but we mostly relaxed and let the kids get some homework done.  We had originally had our reservations to go to the parks Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday but since the rain was supposed to be so heavy on Monday and Tuesday, we switched Monday for Wednesday.  So, on Monday we went to the Disney Store, out to lunch, and Costco.  After all the errands were done, we let the kids swim, and we relaxed in the hot tub.  It was raining, but not too bad and the hot tub was kind of under the roof.  The swimming pool is in the middle of the buildings, so it is kind of protected.  It was a fun, rainy day of relaxing before our fun in the park's days. 

Disney Trip 2024 - Driving & Downtown Disney

We got to our hotel without any problems, way better than the day before.  We checked into our hotel and got everything unpacked.  We decided to walk to Downtown Disney for dinner and to walk around.  We had yummy sandwiches at The Earl of Sandwich and then walked around the stores.  We got some goodies from Marcelien's and then went on a tram ride.  It was fun to hop on the tram to the parking lot and then we got right back on to go back to Downtown Disney.  Then we walked back to our hotel to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Disney Trip 2024 - Red Cliff Temple Open House

We started our trip yesterday after the kids got home from school.  We drove to Cedar City to spend the night.  The weather was a little scary at times and at one point the rain turned to freezing rain and the road was instantly covered in ice.  Tony handled it very well, but others did not.  We saw many cars slide off the road and at one time we saw a car from the other side of the freeway go off the road into the median grassy dip area and flip his car multiple times.  It was like it was a stunt from a movie.  We pulled over and called 911 to let them know it happened and where it was.  We did see that the people were able to get out of the car that had rolled, so that was good.  Many other cars had stopped as well to help, so we were able to keep going.   

We got to our hotel without any more problems, thankfully.  We then got some dinner and then relaxed for the night.

The next morning, we got on our church clothes, ate breakfast, checked out of our hotel and then drove to St. George.  

The Red Cliff Temple's open house just started that morning and we really wanted to go.  We didn't have reservations and we didn't know how busy it was going be, so we wanted to be there first thing.  

Turned out perfect because it wasn't busy at all, and we got right in.  It is a beautiful temple and we all loved going through. We then changed our clothes in the bathrooms and drove to Anaheim.

Shopping Trip

Tony and I took the girls to Costco to look for some new shoes for Megan to take when we go to Dinseyland next month.  While we were there, we walked around the store as part of our walking/standing training.  The girls liked sitting in all the different seats and getting their pictures taken.  They are growing up every day and we love soaking up this little amount of time that we have with them still being "little".

All Things Josh!

Josh had his first Volleyball game yesterday. The girls team played first, so we were all able to go over to the school after the girls were done with their school.  Lloyd and Margie came, and Tony came straight from work.

During the first game Josh was a line judge but the second game he played.  He did really good serving and got a lot of points for his team.  His team won the first two games, so they didn't have to play a third game.  
Josh has also started working at the Rec Center.  He refereed one day of basketball and now he has been refing little kids' indoor soccer with Tyler.  He says that he likes it and likes that he is using his time to make money.  I am proud of him for going out for Volleyball and wanting to work. 

Temples and a Talk About Temples

The kids have been blessed to have four opportunities to go to the temple already this month.  The boys of course love the temple, but Megan especially has been loving this new experience.  

They have gone three times with the ward in the early hours on Friday mornings (they meet at 4:30 am) and then they got to go on Saturday morning with the Scarber kids and Tony.  Tony was able to do the confirmations, Tyler did the baptizing, and everyone else were baptized and confirmed.  Tony then took them all out to donuts after.  They said they all had a good time.

During mutual last week, the bishop asked for four volunteers to speak in church on Sunday.  He then said that the topic was about your love for the temple.  Megan shot her hand straight up and volunteered to speak.   The boys kept quiet and did not volunteer.  Tsk tsk.

So, on Sunday, Megan spoke in sacrament meeting for the first time as a young woman.  We sat down with her and talked about what she liked about the temple and the different feelings that she has had while she was there.  With that and some suggestions from us, she was able to put together a nice talk.  She didn't seem nervous and did a great job of not just looking down at her paper but speaking out to the congregation while referring back to her notes.  Julie and Sherri took screen shots of Megan talking while they watched her from their homes.  There are a few things that are good that came out of Covid, and that is one of them. We all think that Megan did a great job, and we are very proud of her. 

New Year Happenings

It's only been a couple day of the new year, but we've been having fun during the kid's school break.  I was able to go to the temple with my mom and Sherri.  We did a session at the Jordan River temple, and it was so nice to be in the temple with family.  After we went to lunch at the Village Baker. That is always a yummy lunch.  After, my mom and I stopped at Costco. 

The Sunday before we had a family dinner at my parents' house.  They were here for a week after Christmas from their house in California.  Sherri's family and ours had dinner at my parents' house.  Kevin's church was later in the day so, they didn't come.

Josh was loving playing and picking up the chickens while we were at my parents' house.  He really does love animals.  We all had a good time at family dinner.

Allie decided to write a story.  I thought it was very creative and I was very impressed.  Sad the dad died in the story, but I am glad that the sisters make up in the end.  It has been a great break, but the kids are excited to go back to school...and so am I.

Christmas Eve Jammies & Christmas Day 2023

The kids all opened their jammies together.  It is a fun tradition that everyone looks forward to each year.  The kids all loved their jammies that Margie got them, and they all look so good.

Christmas day was great.  Allie was the first awake on Christmas morning.  She woke up at 5:00 am and just watched some shows waiting for us all the wake up.  

Tony made a yummy breakfast casserole that he started in the oven while we waited for everyone to wake up.  We were all awake except Megan and she got woken up at 7:30 per her request the night before.  

We decided to eat breakfast before we opened presents.  After eating our yummy breakfast, we opened stockings and then opened presents.  The kids were all very grateful and that warmed my mama heart.  

The kids played and got dressed before we had a Clark family Zoom session.  It was nice chatting with everyone on Christmas.  Teagan announced that her and Sam are moving in together.  That is exciting.

After, we went to Margie's house where we ate lunch and then opened more presents.  Everyone loved their gifts and felt spoiled.  We hung out there for a few hours when Allie fell asleep on Uncle Tim since she was so tired.  We didn't let her sleep too long before we went back home to relax the rest of the night.  It was a great Christmas, and we are all very loved and blessed.