Avoidance

While preparing my YW lesson for tomorrow,
I turned on this computer here
with the intention of going to lds.org to look up a talk.
As you can see,
I did not make it there.
I am here.
Because apparently I have a theme for the week:
Avoid.
Avoid all things that make me think too much
or work too much
or accomplish anything.
I've turned into the laziest bum this week.
I've thrown all my To-do lists right out the window.
I've found lots of ways to put off doing laundry and dishes.
And even more ways to stay away from the boys bathroom.
I only went to the grocery store because our fridge was completely bare
and we were all a little tired of peanut butter sandwiches
and no milk.
And then I layed around in bed all day yesterday.
Seriously.
All day.
In bed or on the couch.
I was having terrible cramps but I milked it for all it was worth
just so I could read the last two books of the Hunger Games series.
I couldn't stop reading.
So I ignored everything around me for a day.
Call me selfish.
But I enjoyed every minute of it.

And this has nothing to do with anything
but today I overheard Kacin telling Kyler
that we should drink our tears.
Really, Kacin?

The Reason for our Trip

Marriage

is what brings us to AZ today.

Natalie and Cheston

were married in the Gila Valley Arizona Temple.

It was just lovely.

We are so happy for them.

However, I find it pretty lame that I never took a picture of them.

But we snapped a few before the reception

with some of E's family.

Grandma Mary (Allred side)

 More Allred's: Us with Grandma Mary, Aunt Velda, and E's parents

 Grandma Merrell

 The boys buddy, Aunt Adele

 Stuart, too



Congratulations, Nat and Cheston!

Where All Our Dreams Come True

We didn't tell the boys about our 3 day stop on the way to AZ. We wanted to have our "Disneyland Moment" at a time when they would truly be surprised. And I learned from our trip to Texas not to reveal  exciting news too soon or I will end up answering the same questions over and over. I'm afraid my boys have memories that are way too good though. They recognized the area and the hotel from when we went over 2 years ago. We even avoided all signs Disney, except for a few buses that went by. But they knew where we were and asked if we could just go to Disneyland since we were so close. We wanted them to sleep well that night and not get up too early, so we convinced them we couldn't go by telling them how we needed to get to AZ and how expensive Disneyland is (Oh, who am I kidding? We basically lied, ok?).  In the morning, we pulled out the video camera and Eric asked what we should do that morning, go swimming or go to Disneyland? They answered quickly and were both so excited, which equates to Kacin screaming and jumping around the room like a mad man and Kyler sitting in his chair smiling. We explained to them that ever since we knew we needed to make the trip to AZ, we made plans to spend 3 days here. They loved the surprise.

We all got another surprise Wednesday night. My parents and Aline knew the plans, but the rest of us were surprised to find Macie, my 5-week old niece, at our door late that night. Kacin thought someone abandoned a little baby, but then Jacqui and Josh popped out ready to spend our last day at Disneyland with us. What a great surprise!

I love Disneyland! I could spend more than 3 days there easily. But we made good use of fast passes and child swap passes and my parents as babysitters, and we did just about everything we wanted to do. We stayed at Disneyland all day Tuesday. After the fireworks, the boys went back to the hotel with my parents while E and I rode a few more rides. Wednesday was our shortest day. We went to California Adventures at 9:30am and went strong until about 6pm. Thursday we started at Disneyland at 7 am. Eric and I ended our day 16 hours later! The boys went back to the hotel in the afternoon to nap and swim with my parents while we stayed at the park. They came back with us for a few fun hours in the evening, which included riding the rapids 3 times in a row, getting completely soaked and pretty cold. Sometime around 9 we tucked two exhausted boys into bed and then ran back to the park until 11pm.

Kacin could ride every except for California Screamin'. His favorite rides were Autopia, Goofy's rollercoaster, and Soarin' Over California. He went on Tower of Terror again this time. He didn't like it, but he wasn't as traumatized this time--unlike last time, he was speaking after it was over. Though, I had to carry him off the ride in my arms.

Kyler was tall enough to ride everything. He loved Tower of Terror, California Screamin', and Star Tours. This little boy has no fear. And his little logical mind had to figure out how the magic of some of  the rides worked. He knew right away that the stretching room in the Haunted Mansion was an elevator. I think I was like 12 when I figured that out, certainly not 7.

 

San Fran

On the side of a bus,
we noticed a list of all the tourist attractions
of San Francisco.
Check 'em off,
saw that, and that, and that . . .
All in a few hours of an afternoon.
We were pretty satisfied with a drive by
the cable cars and pointing out Alcatraz.
Mostly because we knew our next day's destination
was going to be the happiest place on earth
so why spend money and time on a place
that couldn't even compare?
It was neat to see,
but definitely
the fastest tour of San Francisco.
We drove down Lombard Street

and up to Coit Tower
(just didn't go up it. A view is not worth $25)

We saw a few shops at China Town and ate dinner.

We did a quick walk through Fisherman's Wharf.

San Francisco.

Golden Gate Bridge

We crossed by car

and we crossed by foot

on this 1.7 mile

symbol of San Francisco.

Really, Really Big Trees

Our first real stop was an afternoon
in the Redwood Forest
with trees the size of China.
We were in awe.
So amazing.

Up a tree . . .

One comes down . . .

One keeps going up . . .

One gets stuck . . .

Daddy to the rescue . . .