Disneyland & Newport Beach

For our last big vacation before school starts, we spent last week in California at Disneyland and Newport Beach. This is the kids and I on the parking lot shuttle on our first day at Disneyland. Every night when we would take this shuttle back to our car, Rob and I had to laugh. On the way into Disneyland EVERYONE is smiling...at night on the way out, NOBODY is smiling. Most the kids are half asleep and the parents all looked exhausted. Our kids did really well this time and we stayed each night until about 11:30 pm. It was so much fun!!!It doesn't matter how many times our kids go on the Haunted Mansion ride, they are still scared. Brooklyn and Hunter most of all:) Brooklyn is always on the verge of tears before the ride even starts:) The second time we went on this ride, Hunter pretended like he was asleep as soon as we got in line. He was so convincing, I really thought he was asleep. He had his eyes softly closed and his head on Rob's shoulder throughout the entire ride. As soon as we were done, Hunter perked up smiling and said, "Done!" That's one way to not get scared in the Haunted Mansion:)

Ashley, Brooklyn, and Alyssa waiting for their mozzarella sticks...YUM!
I don't even know how Rob managed to take pictures of the fireworks because we never actually stop to watch them. This is the best time to ride all of the rides in Adventureland...Really short lines!

Hunter all ready to go to Disneyland with his Mickey Mouse ears and his Lightning McQueen shirt. "Ca-chow"!

Rob held up our Small World boat so that he could get a picture of us:) I love this ride!

We had a yummy dinner at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney. It was soooo nice to be in an well air-conditioned restaurant!

The kids all really thought they had a driver's license for the day! Alyssa still has her driver's license in her wallet:)
Autopia was one of Hunter's favorite rides. He drove the first half of the track until it got too crazy...then I took over. I don't even think he could see over the steering wheel, but he had a blast!

Brooklyn was nice enough to let Ashley steer while Brooklyn controlled the gas...She is such a nice big sister!!!

Rob was the lucky one to be the passenger in Alyssa's car this time (I was in it last time...WHIP-LASH!!!) Apparently she did better this time...no complaints from Rob:)

While Rob and the girls went on Splash Mountain, Hunter and I rode Winnie the Pooh over and over and over again. There was no line, so we just stayed on and went around and around. After 4 times, we got off and grabbed a treat at the candy store and did a little people-watching...well, I did...Hunter just stared at Winnie the Pooh as if he hadn't had enough:)

On Friday we ate at Joe's Crab Shack before we headed to Disneyland. The kids were fascinated by the employees dancing around the restaurant.

It is rare to have Rob and I both in a picture...It is nice to have kids old enough to take pictures:)

We spent all day Friday at California Adventures. Hunter was so excited to get his picture taken with Sully!

Another photo-op...Brooklyn is even covering her mouth pretending to be scared:)

This was the highlight of our trip from Hunter...LIGHTNING MCQUEEN:)

While the girls and I went on the Jellyfish Drop, Hunter polished off a bag of cotton candy.

The kids with their bug glasses on ready for the Bug's Life 3-D. This was the first time Hunter actually kept his glasses on the whole time...He loved it!

I love the little caterpillar ride!

Hunter carrying on his tradition of burying his cars in the sand. He wanted this yellow bus from the surf shop because it had a peace sign on it. Are anyone's kids obsessed with peace signs right now, or is it just mine? I took the kids shopping at Fashion Island Mall in Newport, and every time we passed a shirt with a peace sign, Hunter and Ash would point and yell, "Peace!"

The waves were so big at Newport Beach, the kids spent a lot of their time digging in the sand. I've never seen the lifeguards have to run into the water so many times to save someone from drowning.

Alyssa throwing a football to Rob

Since we were about the only ones at our hotel with children, we had the pool all to ourselves:)

The Hyatt that we stayed at had a glass elevator on the outside of the building. My kids were scared by this almost as much as the Tower of Terror:) Yet, every time we took the elevator, this is the one they wanted to go on.

I am sooooooo sad that school is starting in a week and a half:( Now I'm going to have to start keeping track of absences again:(

Alyssa's Baptism and Boating with Friends

Last weekend Alyssa made the decision to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are so proud of her for being such a good example to her little sister and brother. She looked so beautiful in her baptism dress!Alyssa was the first baptism this day and when it came time to go to the font for the baptism, a lot of the water had drained out. The drain was broken and it was emptying quickly. There wasn't enough water for Rob to stand as he baptized her, so he had to kneel:)
Afterwards, all of our family members in attendance came over to our house for lunch. It was a very special day for our sweet little Lulu!
Yesterday some friends of ours took us boating at Saguaro Lake. We had a blast! They have this tube that all of the kids could ride on (and Rob), and it never once tipped over...Very cool! Doesn't Rob look like a giant surrounded by all of those tiny kids?!!! I think he is having the most fun of all:) Hunter didn't like it very much...He only lasted a few minutes. He didn't leave my lap for most of the day.

The kids had a lot more fun after Rob and Hunter got off the raft. Derek couldn't drive fast enough for them:)...especially Sam!

Grace didn't want anything to do with the raft, but she sure loved driving the boat!

This is the closest anyone came to being dumped off the tube. Unfortunately the boat hit a bump at the same time, so this is the best picture we got of Alyssa's feet flying up in the air. Sam fell off right as the boat stopped...He says it was intentional:)

Studly Sam showed us all how to water ski

Alyssa was the only one of my kids that volunteered to learn. After her lesson from Derek, she gave it a shot. She was struggling with getting her skis facing the boat with the tips out of the water. A few minutes later she yelled, "Apparently this isn't working!!!" She finally got her skis straight and got up for a second or two:)

Right before she crashed:)...Look at that smile!

Rob was great at water skiing! He is still a little bent out of shape that he never got his water skiing merit badge because he couldn't slalom. I wonder if he could still get it???

I have NEVER been able to get up on water skis. I tried and tried as a kid and was never successful. Derek promised me he would be able to get me up and he did. I didn't stay up for very long, but I was definitely up:) Lucky for me, all of the pictures Rob took were blurry. He must not have been able to keep the camera steady out of excitement seeing me water ski:)

Our Trip to Utah

The first day of our Utah vacation was spent swimming and eating at one of our favorite restaurants, JCW's. For you Training Table lovers, it has the same cheese fries and ultimate dipping sauce. Doesn't my parents house have the best view of the mountains? Notice, there was still snow on the top. My kids loved having a slide and diving board to play on.The next day we all went to the Strawberry Days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove. I don't know what the kids enjoyed the most...the food or the entertainment. Nice nacho cheese on your face Kinzie:)
Hunter is drinking one of our few drinks that I didn't accidentally knock underneath the bleachers that we were sitting on. That is where all the baby cows were being held...it was a little stinky!

Alyssa and her cousins watching the rodeo close up. This lasted until a bucking horse came running right up to the fence:)

Notice the rider coming out of the chute...It is a boy no older than 5 that is riding a very irate sheep. Rob and my brother Ryan have vowed to enter our kids into this contest next year.

My brother and his friends entered this rodeo a few years ago to milk an angry cow...Maybe next year he will try this:) Happy 8th Birthday to Alyssa! Alyssa had some great helpers to open her presents...My cute nieces:)

Alyssa wanted a new camera for her birthday this year. This is her taking a picture of her birthday cake:)

Alyssa blowing out her candles

For Alyssa's birthday party this year, we went to Lagoon. These lines were typical throughout the day...It was fabulous!!!

Lagoon has the cutest kiddie-land. Hunter and Whitney had so much fun riding on all of the baby rides...So did my girls:)

After all of us yelling to Hunter to ring the bell, he finally did it after the ride assistant told him to pull the rope...Why didn't we think of that???

At 2 and a 1/2 Hunter is tall enough to ride the Tidal Wave. He was happy before the ride started, but horrified once we got going:)

As if the Wild Mouse ride isn't scary enough...Ashley and I got stuck on it in the hot sun for about 20 minutes. They sent a worker up the staircase next to us to comfort us...As if a 16 year old can comfort a 31 year old:) Once we finally got going, towards the end it suddenly stopped on us once again. Everyone in line behind us had to leave for repairs:(

Hunter and Whitney on the train

Rob and all of the girls took turns playing this guessing game. Rob won a prize because the lady incorrectly guessed his weight and most of the girls won because she couldn't guess what month they were born.

I was the only adult brave enough to go on this ride. Turns out I should have opted out of this one, because I took the kids on the new Wicked ride afterwards and I was sick to my stomach the rest of the day:( Is that a sign of aging??? I love roller coasters!

We bought this kids this cup to drink from while we were there...Free refills! It holds 100 ounces of soda, so I was relieved when we left the park without ever needing a refill.

The girls and my niece Mckinzie on the log ride

Grandma and Whitney

All of us that dared went on the Rattlesnake Rapids. Here we are headed for the big waterfall.

Here we are going under the waterfall...I got the wettest:( It was nice to cool off, but my shorts were very transparent.

I like the rides at amusement parks and Rob likes the food and the games. He won this Hunter this giant Elmo and many other stuffed animals.

Rob and my dad played this game for quite a while trying to break plates to win prizes. My mom was screaming for my dad to win and I was screaming for Rob...even the security guard came over to watch these grown men play for stuffed animals:) Rob did awesome, but my dad ended up winning the biggest stuffed tiger.

Brooklyn doesn't really like the big roller casters, so my mom went on the one in kiddie land with her:)

This pictures is so funny...Hunter is scared, Ashley is having a blast with her arms up, Alyssa is at least smiling, but Brooklyn and Kinzie are pretending to be too cool to enjoy the baby rides:) I didn't hear either of them asking to ride the big rides:)

Rob ended up winning enough stuffed animals to fill a while wagon. Good thing I didn't just rent a one-seat stroller:)

I keep telling my girls that they are going to make Hunter have gender confusion...

Rob took the girls on a camping trip to Flaming Gorge, so Hunter and I had a few days in Alpine alone. We went to the Lehi parade one morning to see my three nieces walking and tumbling for Utah Flash. Hunter had fun running into the street with Grandpa to get candy:)

Kinzie only lasted in the parade until she saw us...then she sat down and joined us.

Hunter loved all of the cute floats and the fire trucks. The Wolverine mascot for UVU even came up to him for a picture (for some reason I don't have it, even though I viewed it after I took it:(

Hunter's favorite float was the Star Wars float. He was so excited to be wearing his Star Wars shirt:)

After going to the BYU bookstore to update all of our BYU wear, we ate at Brick Oven and then drove up to Bridal Veil Falls.

All of the girls bought these blue wigs at the BYU bookstore and Rob told them he would pay them $10 if they wore it all day. Alyssa will do anything for money!

Earlier in the morning my sister-in-law Natalie painted Hunter's face like Lightning Mcqueen...His idol!

Rob and his girls Hunter and my niece Amber throwing rocks into the Provo river

Rob and I took the kids up to Park City to ride the Alpine Slides. Our half of the ski lift was excited!

The other half started out excited...

Half way up the mountain, Alyssa started to get a little nervous.

Brooklyn got very nervous!

Once we got off the ski lift and started to walk to the slide, Brooklyn got even more nervous.

Brooklyn and Alyssa were really wishing right about now that they we the younger kids in the family and would have to ride with mom and dad. Especially since I kept making sure they knew how to use the brake so they wouldn't go flying over the side of the slide.

Rob and Hunter went first, and Hunter had a blast!

Alyssa went next...Notice there is nobody behind her. Where's Brooklyn???

Oh, here comes Brooklyn:) with Ashley and I right behind her and two more sleds right behind me. I hope the people behind us weren't trying for a record:) Brooklyn applied her brake the whole way down the mountain:)

Finally at the end, she smiled:)

We ended with a stop at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for ice cream cones.

I will do my best at documenting the fishing trop to Vernal that I didn't go on. At the beginning of the drive up to Vernal, Rob told the girls that he would pay them $ .10 for each doe that they spotted, $ .50 for each buck, $20 for each bull moose (not commonly seen) and $1,000 for big foot. Brooklyn spotted the only bull moose.

However, they spotted a lot of these.

They visited the Dinosaur Museum as usual.

They found the "coolest park ever" and the girls had fun doing all of their tricks.

Brooklyn working on improving her sling shot skills

Every morning the girls ate cereal with Grandpa Bob at their campsite.

Alyssa's fish

Brooklyn's fish

Rob's fish

Ashley reeling in her fish

Call me crazy, but it looks as though Alyssa is aiming a rock at Brooklyn's head:(

The fishing total for this trip was 20. Rob's dad took home 10 and Rob brought home 10. My sister-in-law BBQ trout for us when he got home. It was YUMMY!

Rob and his dad

Cooper and Hunter eating one of the 3 birthday cakes that we had while we were in Utah. Karli, my niece turned 3. Hunter is smiling because ever time Cooper would look away, Hunter would steal some of Cooper's frosting.

Brooklyn & Gracie found this beautiful monarch butterfly on the flower pot.

On the hottest and most humid day of our trip, we decided to hike as a family up to Slide Rock in Alpine. I hadn't been up here since my first year of college when my roommate and I went with our ward. Remember Emily??? Rob was apparently there as well, but it was dark...sorry Rob, I didn't see you:( Anyway the only men brave enough to go down the waterfall were Rob and my brother Ryan. Adam gets a pass because he has a rod in his back:( I chickened out after watching Rob and Ryan go airborne after hitting a big rock...OUCH!

There is the big rock. Ashley and Gracie were the only kids brave enough to go down. They both went on their dad's laps.

The kids had a blast playing down river in the cold water.

Hunter may not have wanted to go down Slide Rock, but he loved going down the slide at my paren'ts pool.

He also loved jumping off the diving board. Although he never quite figured out the rule of not jumping until everybody was out of the way. We had many close calls, but no serious injuries.

Since we had tickets to the Stadium of Fire, we did our fireworks on the 3rd. We also celebrated my nephew Cooper's birthday this day. Hunter was thrilled to see his Lightning Mcqueen cake. These boys both kept climbing up on the bar stools in the kitchen to stare (and try to touch) the cake. Cooper was nice to let Hunter have Mater:)

Rob's firework show get better every year. The night before we did fireworks, Rob was in the front yard lighting off parachutes with the kids. Before long, the boys down the street we in front of my parent's house with their chairs. My mom told them that we weren't having the fireworks until the next night, so the boys mom told them to take their chairs home. They did, but by the next morning, they were back front and center. Their dad told us that night that they were supposed to be on a vacation, but there would've been a family fight if he didn't leave a day later so his kids could see Rob's fireworks show. So cute! I'm glad it was worth it for them to stay! Here are some of Rob's fireworks...

Here are more...Notice he even elevated some of them on blocks and plywood:) Also, notice the field across the street...My brother Dave (who is in Iraq) is usually Rob's assistant, so this year my other brothers helped with keeping this field from going up in flames. Luckily we had another successful year with no fire!

Rob and the kids doing pops and sparklers

Hunter driving his new car amongst the tanks that were about to be lit.

Sparklers are soooo dangerous!

Rob had all of the kids cheering for the tank that they thought would win the race.

Now that it was dark, Rob finally broke out the neon sparklers...The kids were so excited!

This year my sister-in-law borrowed her mom's sound system that she uses for cheer competitions. Natalie made us an awesome patriotic mix of music that played loudly as we watched the fireworks. Rob had impeccable timing...he ended his show right as the last song ended. My dad says next year he is expecting an F-16 flyover:)

Pictures don't do it justice, but here is one anyway.

The morning of the 4th, we raced down to Provo to watch the Freedom Festival Parade. My brother Adam got there at 5:00 am to save us seats. We were so tired we almost didn't go. The parade was supposed to start at 9:00, but Adam had found us seats towards the end of the route. At 9:00 I got in the shower, and by 9:40 we were in Provo. How's that for timing???

Hunter loved watching all of the military vehicles in the parade.

I love this picture with the little boy waving the flag out the window!

Not only did we get to see the old WWII tank, but it also fired of shots.

The night of the 4th we went to the Stadium of Fire at BYU. Here is the fighter jet flyover.

Apache helicopter flyover

This is the flag that was used in the 2002 Winter Olympics and has been rolled out onto the field for the stadium of fire for as long as I can remember. Later that night, we were able to watch a flag burning ceremony as they burned this flag.

SheDaisy was the opening act for the Jonas Brothers. They were fabulous! I love the Stadium of Fire because they broadcast live to the troops around the world. I hope my brother was able to see!

When the Jonas Brothers came out, the girls in the stadium went NUTS! I wasn't too excited for this concert, but they were awesome. I just might have to join the I LOVE THE JONAS BROTHERS fan club that we have in our family.

The girls all took turns checking out the Jonas Brothers with Rob's binoculars. Brooklyn was the most excited for this concert. A few hours before we left my mom's, my sister-in-law's mom stopped by and asked Brooklyn if she was excited to see the Jonas Brothers. Brooklyn sat down next to her and while smiling she said, "I brushed my teeth twice!"...My sister-in-law's mom said, "Your teeth will look nice and white for them." Brooklyn then said, "and I flossed". That was it. From then on it was perma-grin:) I LOVE YOU JOE JONAS!

The kids had so much fun! Alyssa didn't stop smiling or singing the entire time they were on stage.

There were a few bolts of lightning as the fireworks were starting. Luckily we were able to enjoy the fireworks without rain!

After the flag was burned, this torch lit up on the field. Very neat!