Use the Force!

We were back at the beach today.  The kids were so funny, they were trying to use the force to keep the tide from coming in.  Haha!


Ethan exclaimed that they had found a dinosaur bone and that they were famous because they were the youngest people ever to find one.  They worked so hard to dig it up but unfortunately their force was just not strong enough to keep the tide out and their "bone" was once again buried.

Ethan gave boogie boarding a second chance but ended up taking a little beating in the waves and came in.  Then Austin insisted on going out in the ocean so armed with his life vest and a boogie board he went out to play with Dave.  With daddy's help he caught a wave and rode it all the way in before being tossed at the very end.  Whoops!

We also had fun playing with Ali in the sand.  She was so cute just exploring how the sand felt between her fingers and toes and in her mouth...Yikes!  I looked away for one minute.

We ended the day by going to see Pets and eating dinner at Denny's.  Their pancakes are delicious!

San Clemente!

I just love coming to San Clemente!  I love spending time with family.  Going to the beach.  Going to the pool.  Walking up the street to go get yogurt/ice cream or visit Rocket Fizz. 

Today we hit the beach and had a blast!  The kids played in the sand and in the surf.  Ethan and Lincoln both gave Boogie Boarding a shot and did great.  The waves turned out to be a bit more powerful than they were comfortable with so they each did a few runs and were done.

They also spent about an hour just screaming at the waves coming in.  Hilarious.

Oh and another exciting thing...Payton spotted dolphins just off the coast.  Really cool!

Iowa's welcome...

Coming from an area in a record drought, imagine my surprise waking up in the middle of the night to the biggest thunder and lightning storm that I had seen and heard in a long time.  Then to further my surprise imagine coming down in the morning to find out that the basement had flooded and had over 12 inches of water in it.  Yikes!

It was quite fun getting to watch my dad and Uncle Richard work together to get the pump set up to pump the water out of the basement.

Once they turned the power to the house back on, I hurried to get in the shower and get ready so that we could get to the family reunion.  Well, the first thing I noticed is that the water pressure in the shower was REALLY low.  I figured maybe it was normal because the house is older and that is just how it was.  Well, as soon as I got the soap in my hair I heard the water start to sputter and then all of a sudden the water turned brown and then stopped.  Uh oh...

Called for Dad who was already on the way out to check the well so all I could do was wait.  With dripping wet hair.  With shampoo in it.  Haha!  After about 5 to 10 minutes my grandmother came back and told me to give up on the shower as it didn't look like they were going to get the water back on, at least right then.  "Hmmm, hey grandma do you have any water bottles?"  Yep, rinsed the soap out with bottled water that felt like it came straight from the fridge.  It was invigorating!

Turns out the pump to the well had become water logged.  So glad it was working again by the time it came to giving the kids baths after the reunion, they were filthy.

The reunion was fun.  It was at a park, which was nice because the kids could run around and play.  There were lots and lots of people I didn't know and lots and lots of people I hadn't seen in a really long time.  It was so nice to see and visit with all my dad's brothers and sisters (except Aunt Betty, who wasn't able to make it.)

Mom, Dad, Aunt Chantel, Uncle Richard, Grandma, Uncle Dean, Aunt Karen, Aunt Mary, and Uncle Kenneth.

  
Nice to see our cousins too!  I had fun getting to know them and their families again.  Talked to my cousin's wife about healthy eating for quite a while.  Very interesting!

My Grandma, her children, and their children, and their children...  Haha!

Cousins!  I wish I could find a picture of us all standing together when we were little.  It would be funny to see how old we are all getting.

Jennifer, Jeremy, Paul, Melanie, Tammy, Austin, and me.

Road Trip!

Road Trip!!!

It is no secret that my sister and I are horrible drivers when we are tired.  So it was understandable why Dave, Andy, and other family members were concerned about us making the drive.  However, I think we did great!

The original plan was for us to take turns driving while the other was napping but no one ever napped, except for the occasional child.  Haha!

We decided to put the girls in the very back despite Caeden's tendency to get carsick because they were the lowest maintenance.  This was probably the best decision.  Caeden never got car sick and they pretty much got in the car and disappeared.  They were content visiting with each other, watching movies, and eating.  The boys on the other hand were very high maintenance.  "I am hungry.  My Nook isn't working. So and so took my... etc."  They were really good it was just that the passenger was turned around half the time.

Pit Stop!

 

Dave had to say, "Hey, you should take a picture of Lincoln by a sign that says Lincoln." in response to one of our text updates letting everyone know where we were.

Well, we finally found one that wasn't on the freeway but saw it as we were passing the exit.  So we turned around to get the picture.  I am not exaggerating when I say that as soon as my sister opened the door to get out it started to down pour.  They were both soaked when they got back in the car.  And if you hadn't already called it, it stopped raining as soon as they got back in.  Haha!

We were on the home stretch.  Almost there.  Then just like that the road the GPS had us taking closed.  Detour.  Well this detour was going to add another 30 minutes to our drive time.  So we decided to check out an alternate route to get us back on course.

Yup, we did.  We took the road.  Haha!  And our adventure continues. Fortunately we made it safe and sound to our destination.  A and G's pizza.  So nice to finally be there.

Prepring for the Road Trip

Today was spent preparing for our 12 hour road trip to Iowa.  Caeden and Maddix went to school and the rest of use ran errands so that we would have all that we needed for the trip, like snacks.  :o)

The kids did really well being shuttled all over the place, but we had hoped to spend a little more time letting them run around and play.

We went to a wonderful restaurant called Wholley Strambolli (not sure how to spell it).  It was delicious.  The food was seriously so good. 

When we sat down they gave all the kids packs of sticky sticks.  I had never seen them before but the kids had a blast molding them into different shapes.  I thought, what a great change from the usually crayons.  That was until Payton somehow got two of them stuck in her hair.  Oh well.

Flying to Colorado

Today starts our journey to Colorado, with a final destination of Iowa.  This is going to be quite the adventure.

Mommy is flying by herself with three kids.  Yikes!  This is really only a big deal for me because I am a very nervous flier.  Fortunately, so far, it seems the kids have taken after Dave and show no anxiety when it comes to flying.  Keeping my fingers crossed that this doesn't change on this trip.

The flight was alright.  The kids were pretty good, thank goodness for electronic devices.  I am convinced that Denver is THE WORST airport to fly into if you are a nervous flier.  You know it is going to be bad when the captain comes on and says, "I have asked the flight attendants to pick up the cabin early and get to there seats as it is going to get bumpy.  So the rest of you buckle up and hold on."  Oh wonderful...

We were all excited to see Jen, Andy, the kids, and even Anthony stopped by to say hi. 

Before bed Jennifer set up a little activity for the kids.  I personally thought she was crazy.  Painting on the walls?!?!  She said, "Eh, it's washable right?"  The kids had a blast.  Maybe I need loosen up and let them do this in our house...nah, I will just let them do this at her house.  :O)

To Utah

And we are off Utah!  I am so glad the kids take after Dave and not me when it comes to flying because I am a nervous wreck.

The kids were so excited to see their cousins.  Not entirely sure how Lincoln ended up with a hose but he and Grace and a great time with it for quite a while and came in the house soaked.

Austin LOVES William, he is so sweet with him.  It is adorable!  In this picture he was singing to him.  Cute!

Fourth of July

We decided the Fourth of July needed to a more laid back day because of going to Disneyland yesterday.  Here are a few highlights from the day.

Pretty Pretty Princess.  I am not sure who brought this game but it was a popular game amongst all the kids...and Preston. 

There was one point this morning when I remember hearing Ethan crying from the bedroom.  When Jen went back to check on him I heard him cry, "I want to play Pretty Pretty Princess but Lincoln won't let me."  I had to try really hard to stifle my giggles.  :o)

Michelle brought this cute little romper to give to us for Austin to wear.  I guess this little outfit belonged to Dave when he was a wee one.  He had his one year old pictures taken in it.  So cute!  I would love to see the picture of Dave in the romper. 

 

It was evident when Michelle and I went for our walk in the morning that going to hang out on the beach was going to be a bad idea.  It looked like people had camped out all night to reserve their spots.  It was crazy how many people were out so early in the morning.  Fortunately, there is a pool at the condo that we can hang out and swim in.

 

After the pool and before dinner these planes flew back and forth right over the condo.  It was cool to watch them in such a tight formation.

 

After, dinner we decided to take a stroll down to the beach, just to see what was going on.  Payton spotted the cotton candy stand right away and asked if she could get some.  She was so funny and wanted to do all the talking and money giving.

After just a little while on the beach we decided to head back up the hill and head to the frozen yogurt place again.You can't have the Forth of July without ice cream.

 

 

The firework show was awesome.  I watched it from the balcony of the condo and enjoyed it a bunch.

 



What a great day!

Disneyland

Yup, you guessed it.  We went to Disneyland.  So.  Much.  Fun.  Once again I am grateful to have used the RideMax app to plan out our day.  Not only did it guide us away from the big crowds but gave us pointers like which line to stand in when the line splits.

We got to the park nice and early, about an hour before it opened and were able to get a jump start on the fast pass line for the Racers ride in Cars Land.  Last year Lincoln was just a little too short and was crushed when he couldn't go on it.  This year thanks to a few growth spurts he was over the minimum height requirement for all the rides he wanted to go on.

 

Lincoln LOVED the Racers ride.  Payton did not.  Haha!  On a positive note, with our fast pass we walked ride on.  Payton didn't have much time to panic.  So awesome!

The many faces of Lincoln.  These pictures crack me up every time I see them.

 

Did you know that Disneyland has a petting zoo?  It does! And it is the cleanest petting zoo I have ever been too.  We even got to meet one of the horses that pulls the trolleys around the park.  This is Eddie.

 

Funny story about Lincoln.  There was a hand washing station to use when your were done petting the animals.  Up until this point, all bathroom and/or hand washing stations were motion activated.  However, this particular hand washing station was old school.  You had to turn the knob for the water to come out and everything.  :O)   When Lincoln was done washing his hands he went up to the paper towel dispenser and waved his hands in front of it to trigger the paper towels to come out. Only nothing happened.  There was a moment of confusion before he realized you just pull the towels out the bottom.  It cracked us up.

 

They also had an Iron Man Display.  Lincoln was so excited to see the suits. 

 

As we were getting ready to leave Minnie Mouse came out and we were able to meet her.  She was so sweet and even came to the stroller to say hi to Lincoln.  Unfortunately he was all out of smiles.  Haha!

 

Each year we let the kids pick out one thing for a souvenir and this year Payton wanted Minnie Mouse Ears with a princess crown and veil.  Immediately I think, "No, you will never wear them after we leave today."  But she insisted that is what she wanted.  I think Dave was thinking the same thing because he came out of the store with a hat for each of the kids that they can wear again next year.  And let her pick out another souvenir.

Lincoln wanted the gun you see in the picture with Minnie.  Payton ended up getting a Plush Princess Dolly that turns from Ariel to Aurora. 

 

We had such a great time!