Monday - Disneyland Rides

Monday morning as soon as we got into the park we headed over to sign our kids up for Jedi Training.  Once we got that done we checked our "agenda" (from The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2017) and tried to hit the rides it told us to go on - but each ride we went to was closed.  I was so frustrated.  So we ditched the plan for a while and just went to rides that had short lines.  Our first ride ended up being Indian Jones - which was sad becasue Madison couldn't go on it.  Our first ride - and she couldn't go!  Not a great way to start the trip!  

But it did end up being one of my most favorite rides.  Brock and Noah were quite scared - especially Noah - he sat out of a few rides after that being a little shaken. 

Megan ended up being our fearless one.  She loved every crazy ride - even more than the boys.  While we were riding and going so fast and crazy we would hear here yell, "This is amazing" over and over.

While we were in Indian Jones Jason took Madison over to walk through Tarzan's tree house.  It all worked out because this turned out to be one of Jason's and Madison's most favorite memories.  

Madison loved reading all of the books around (Madison has recently learned to read and she thinks she is very special and smart that she can read) and at the end they get to a play area set up like the campground.  Jason said that Madison just thought it was another display and didn't play with anything and just looked at it so Jason picked up a stick and hit a pan to make music; and she looked at him with huge eyes and said, "just like the movie" and started playing with everything.  Little kids are the best.

Jason and Maddie on Winne the Pooh.  Look at her look at him!  These girls LOVE their daddy.

The kids loved Tune Town and all the little things to discover.  They went around and tried to open ever door.

The shooting games (Buzz and Toy Story) were Jason and Brock's favorites.  Brock likes anything that has competition and wanted to ride them over and over again.

By 3:00 the rain had turned into a light sprinkle/drizzle so we took off our ponchos!

The best part of the Jungle Cruise was the narrator.  Jason is a sucker for "lame" jokes and laughed the whole time at the ride full of puns and dad jokes.

The kids had done some chores and another babysitting night and each earned 20 dollars to take to Disneyland to spend it on what ever they wanted.  Megan was ADAMANT to spend the whole thing on snacks.  She kept saying, "take me to a snack shack".  Since in rained all day all the the treat vendors were closed so she never got to buy anything - so on our way out she insisted on buying a sucker from a gift shop so she at least bought something that day.

We stayed in the park until about 6 and headed back to the hotel to have dinner.  I intended to come back later for the parade with whoever wanted to come back - but we were all wet and tired we just went to bed - a little discouraged that rain was in the forecast tomorrow.

THE RAIN!!

Five days before we left for Disneyland the weather was supposed to be wonderful.  There was a rainstorm a few days before we got there - but we missed it by a day or so.  The closer we got to our trip the more that storm kept getting pushed back.  My southern California friends assured me it was nothing to worry about - even if it did rain it NEVER really rains there, and never all day, and never several days in a row - after all they are in a drought.  Well all of that proved to be wrong.  We got there right in the middle of the "storm" and it rained pretty much the whole day for 2 days.  

We were soaked before we even got in the park.  

This is the crowd of ponchos and umbrellas waiting for the park to open.

We all tried our best to make the best of it.  Obviously the plus side was short lines and no crowds.  The down side was a lot of rides were closed and there was no "magic" - meaning no characters, shows, bands, or anything just going on around us.

But nobody really complained and we were able to have a great day and looking back on our trip we hardly remember the rain.

Jason wrote a book!

My cute husband - Jason - has finished writing a book! He has been working on it for the past few years and now has it published with Amazon! I am so proud of him. If you are looking for a book to read or are into fantasy/fiction novels you should look into it. You can buy a book on Amazon, get it on Kindle, or an audio book on Audible.com. If nothing else - check out his sexy photo on the author page! (note: he published it under "J Andrew Herbert")

https://www.amazon.com/Gregor-Durkshire-J-Andrew-Herbert/dp/1542717876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489372847&sr=8-1&keywords=j+andrew+herbert

Downtown disney

We got into Anaheim at about 3 o clock on Sunday.  Now, you have to understand, this was SUPER BOWL Sunday.  Brock has been very into football this whole season - checking stats and teams every morning when he wakes up and talking football to anyone who will listen.  He was pretty upset that we were going to be driving during the big game.  Luckily we got to the hotel not too long after kick off and he headed straight to the TV.  I wanted to get a good sense of the Disneyland ticket, security, and turn-style procedure for Monday morning so I took the three younger kids (who could care less about the game) down to Downtown Disney to look around.  It was a lot of fun and got us excited for our upcoming adventure for the next few days.  Our hotel was about a mile away (12 minute walk) and we just walked it back and forth every time.  The kids were troopers and I think (know) that Ashley and I complained about it more than the kids did.

Also - as you can see - I bought everyone bright orange matching jackets.  Best thing I could have done.  A lot of families buy matching shirts - but then the kids wear jackets over and it nullifies the point.  I went with matching jackets.  Our kids were so easy to spot at ALL times and they could easily find me in a crowd.  It doesn't make for the cutest pictures - but hard choices had to be made. :)

Funny side story:

When Jason and I were first married we lived in Provo and went to a married student ward.  We became very good friends with Heather and Cordel Braley, they (like us and a few other choice families) stayed one (or two) too many years in Provo.  Anyways, Jason was also their home teacher and one day he came home and told me how much Heather LOVES Disneyland (at this point they didn't have any kids).  He said she talked about it all the time and she goes every year and wants a season pass.  Over the last 10 years or so we often talk about how funny it is that Heather likes Disneyland so much and always joke about how they always go.  We have kind of lost touch but Jason kept bothering me to call Heather before we went to Disneyland to get advice and tips.  I never did and assured him they really don't go that much.  Well, as we are walking to downtown Disney... who do we run into?... of course... The Braleys.  It could not have been more fitting.  I found it completely hilarious.  Out of all the weeks in the year, out  of all the people we could have seen - it was the Braley's - it was like we had come full circle.  I loved it.  We saw them several times and kept meaning to get a picture with our families together - we never did.  Boo.

Vegas

The Foster family moved to Vegas 10 days before we moved to Denver.  It was sad to be so far away from our only cousins (at the time).  This is the first time we were able to visit them in Vegas as we usually just meet in the middle at our mom's house.  It was fun to spend some time with them and see their cute house and their life in Vegas.   We didn't get to spend a lot of time there - a day on the way there and a day on the way home - but I am glad we got what we got.

Sadly this is what they did together 90% of the time.   But that's ok - I guess.

We did play some checkers

And played with their cute guinea pigs

We also got to go to church with them and get to know their ward and friends - looking back we should have gotten a picture of all the kids together!

Me and my sista

Driving to Disney

We left at 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday.  We were driving for 11 hours straight to Las Vegas.  We left so early to avoid the skier traffic that is CRAZY here in Colorado.  We have been stuck in it before - you HAVE to leave before 6 am or it will be bumper to bumper, stop and go for 4 hours.  

We still failed.  As soon as we got onto I-70 we saw this for 2 hours.  It was ridiculous.  I keep thinking I want to start skiing again, or maybe teach the kids - but then I think about the reality of skiing in Colorado and just want to move back to Utah.  Anyways... back to Disneyland.

Only Brock went back to sleep once we transferred them into the car.  We spent our time listening to musicals (Wicked, Into the Woods, Le Mes, and  Phantom of the Opera) and our book on tape, "The Dark is Rising".  The kids were in very inquisitive moods this early in the morning and started asking Jason and I all sorts of deep questions.  This is Jason's bread and butter and we talked about religion, life, ethics, and morality for a good hour or so. I include this for memory purposes as Jason has said this was his most favorite part of the trip.

Jason drove the whole time - I offered - but he did it.

Once we were in Vegas we stayed at my sister Katie's house that night.  The next day (Sunday) we went to church, picked up Ashley from the airport, and drove to Anaheim. 

Disneyland

Get ready for A LOT of pictures and posts about Disneyland.  We had so much fun.  Truth be told Jason and I didn't really want to go - we went only out of parent guilt.  We said this was going to be our one and only time going.  But Disney exceeded ALL expectations and before we left I was already planning our next trip.  We brought my little sister Ashley with us.  Originally we asked her to come becasue we just thought it would be fun to bring her...our kids are old enough... we don't need help.... or so we thought.  Turns out she was a wonderful help and it wouldn't have turned out as great as it did if she weren't there.  

She even made these adorable shirts for us!  She is the best aunt and sister!

To start off my slew of Disneyland posts (hopefully one a day) I thought I would post the "iconic" Disney pictures.

The sun was in the kids' eyes - ha

This one was at the very end of our day on the last day - we are looking quite tired and worn out!  On one hand you should get this picture first thing in the morning - on the other hand we wanted to be the first in line at some rides.

Preparing For Disneyland

Jason and I have decided to take the kids to Disneyland.  While Jason and I don't have strong feelings about taking our kids to Disneyland (we really didn't go as children) - our children however do.  We live in one of those communities where everyone seems to go once a year as well do most of our friends from Utah.  They have been asking to go for about 3 years now.  With all 4 of them being between the ages of 5-9 we thought this was our "golden year".

We are driving, staying at a hotel across the street, and taking my sister, Ashley, with us.  We will get to stop in Vegas on the way there and back and see my sister and her family.  We hope it all comes together.  We intend to make this our only Disneyland trip - but we will see.

I have been in planning mode for a few months. Everyone says to get the book, "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2017" (or what ever year you are going) - they swear by it.  We got it and both read it.  I guess you could say we are going to do it - it is a very strict planning guide that tells you exactly what to ride and when.

We are really excited.  I hope its awesome.  Right now I can't see past the end of my to do list.  It might kill me.

Winter Scooter ride

When it isn't below 20 degrees it is usually 60 degrees.  On one of those 60 degree days we took several scooter rides.  Well, I was on my bike.

Brock got a flag football set for Christmas and he has LOVED it.  He rounds up kids from school, church, and the neighborhood to get a game going as often as he can.

Icy River

We have a river, bridge, and pond not far from our house.  We have had a lot of fun going down there and playing on the icy river (NOT the pond - I have been very clear about that).  They literally worked for HOURS excavating the ice out from under the bridge and bring it up in big sheets.  It is really cool.  In this day and age of technology, instant gratification, and constant "fun" and "easiness" it was so fulfilling to watch them work really hard - their hands would be so cold and red they couldn't move them - but they wouldn't stop they just kept dipping their hands beneath the icy surface into the freezing water and trying to pry the ice up.  I was very impressed.

The river goes down hill and it had frozen which made them into awesome ice slides!