Home away from Home

I didn't get photos of the yummy dinners Susie and Teresa brought or of the comfy accommodations Stan and Teresa arranged for us, but here a few fun moments at the condos.  We spent the first few nights in Anaheim and then the rest of the week in San Diego near Old Town.

sleepovers, breakfast, and caught in the act :)

playtime and meeting cousins :)

Michael put together his souvenir "Lego Mech."

Jared took the kids swimming with their cousins one day.  Then I enjoyed a bit of the sun later with Tess and Leisel while the boys were at Legoland.

California Adventure

Day Two of our adventure was spent at "the other Disney park." 

I looked forward to all the Classic Disney things at Disneyland, but didn't know what to expect or didn't expect much at California Adventure Park.  But we "loved it!" the kids said. 

I love that the park showcases the geographic and cultural areas of the state like Hollywood land, Spanish Buena Vista Street, Paradise pier and Pacific wharf.  My favorite was the nature/outdoors area called Grizzly Peak.  It looked like we were walking through a national reserve complete with a scout camp and old pioneer logging mill. 

The Soaring Over California ride was spectacular.  I could spare you the description, but for the sake of my journaling....  We were suspended way up in the air, simulating a hand-glider ride.  A film was projected on the enormous screen that made it seem like we were gliding above and through the beautiful natural and man-made wonders of California.  We saw Yosemite, the Golden Gate Bridge, Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, San Diego harbor, the lights of downtown Los Angeles and others and then finished back at Disneyland.  The special effects were exhiliarating, like smelling oranges as we flew over the orange groves and feeling the wind rush past.  The whole thing was accompanied by an amazing musical score.  One of my favorite things as a mom is to experience and show the beauties of the world with my kids.   It was a natural high!

We hopped on the trolley car to go meet Jared after Soaring Over California.  Our tag team for rides with height restrictions usually worked pretty well.  I visited Ariel's Grotto with Tessa while the boys splashed through the Grizzly River Run.

This is a goofy picture, but I was so excited that we got to "meet" the Incredibles! :)  When Susie said she was making shirts for us with a Disney character.  I joked that Jared had to be Mr. Incredible.  And he came right back that I had to be Elastigirl. 

When we saw "Jake (?)," Jordan just had to say Hi.  

Car's Land.  Many of the attractions in California Adventure are made to get you to step into the movie.  fun. and funny feeling :)

Tessa and Daddy are riding in one of Mater's junkyard trailers.

A few of our other favorites without photos included the Turtle Talk with Crush, the Animation Academy, and the Pixar parade.

Here's a video of the whole family in the Ferris Wheel.  --one of our last rides of the day
 

3-D glasses at Toy Story Mania

Michael took this photo waiting for the light show.

an incredible finale for our Disney adventure

Disney

We got an awesome up-to-date Clark family photo by the Disney castle that I will post here....

The two Donald's on our morning walk to the park.  Susie made the spiffy shirts!  We each got to chose a character. :)

Michael loves Mickey!

The penny arcade.  The only thing at Disney that really costs a penny and Michael was looking forward to it. :)

Fairy Godmother was the first character Tessa met.  After that she got the hang of it and ran to hug them like they were the most special friends. 

I love this reaction to the princesses too!  Adoring...  or in awe...

Jedi Training Camp

Trainride around the park while Jared took the boys on rides.

We didn't stay together with the Clarks, but we were pretty lucky to run into some of the group 5-6 times throughout the day.

Beckah loves Tink!

Disney knows how to make moments.  We pay an arm and a leg to go, but everything there is beautiful and magical.  

A favorite ride.  I loved that I got to go with the three big kids.  

"It's a Small World" is my favorite attraction that I remember from when I was a kid.  Jared was impressed that I know the song by heart.  I was happy that Tessa loved it too.  She stood up and waved to the figures almost the whole ride.  I think Michael kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but he caught on to the theme by the end.  Jordan just liked that our boat was floating in the water. :)     

Meeting Mickey was the only "long" line we waited in to meet a character.  We went to Mickey's house in Toontown and then afterward raced to meet the group for dinner.  

Disney Parade!  I loved walking into the park and seeing Mary Poppins there to greet guests or Peter Pan and Wendy waving to the little ones. 

On our way

A very important event each morning...  Susie made these cute countdowns for the kids :)  Meanwhile I prepared for our trip in March by planning and packing up the gear and food for nine days of adventure in Southern California.  The family van was bursting at the seams.  

We made it through an unforeseen snowstorm before stopping in St. George. 

Yea! We made it to the Las Vegas temple before meeting up with my cousin Courtney.  The temples were definitely some of the highlights of the trip!!

The Venetian gondolas.  The story goes that the waterway was drained three times for repainting before the hue was just right. 

The Water show at the Belagio.  The spring themed botanical garden in the lobby was very impressive.  There was a glass greenhouse with hundreds of butterflies and hatching cacoons.

The replica architecture was fun to see, but mainly we were glad to see Courtney.  As a side-note, this was my first visit to Vegas and now we can say that we don't really recommend it....  

Little Ben is in the middle with the boys piloting the plane Matt flies for work.

Matt always has lots of fun stories.  They were great hosts!  We enjoyed visiting them on the way to California and on the way back home. 

Field Trips with Fisher

Tessa gets some one on one with Candy after a field trip and cupcakes for Fisher's birthday. 

We look forward to field trips with Fisher and Candy.  This year we fit in visits to a Doctor's office, the Museum of People and Cultures, the Gale Center Museum, Uncle Tim the computer guy, and Shine Brite.

Chris Douglas is a programmer for Shine Brite Kids who taught us about web development and illustration.  So awesome! 

Asher and Pickle came along for Mexican mask creating.

Winter

Champion Skaters

Video of Sledding with Dad (if it works)

snowforts

1st tastes of food

Michael took this photo on a late Sunday night visit to Dr. Grandpa... At least one member of the family was sick in turns during January and February.

Birthdays with Cousins in Hyrum!

Math

Lego The Hobbit

Another lego craze for the boys -- Bionicles

and Mechs

Tessa's "friend" one afternoon after bowling

more friends .. a photo to send to Ella

Jordan's awesome new gymnastics class at Gymcats

He's on the rings hiding behind the bar

Michael loves playing all the songs he learns at piano lessons

meeting reptiles at Halea's birthday party

Michael noticed that giraffes have blue tongues at the zoo.  

last but not least..  Tessa got to take her first dance class!