Midway Ice Castles

After a few years of hearing about the Ice Castles I finally snagged some tickets and decided we would go.  We were able to find a date that included the time that our friends from Texas the Haight's would be taking their daughter to the MTC in Provo and would be here in Utah.  We also invited the Lundin's who knew us all in Texas and live here in Orem now.  It was a fun reunion in cold, icy Midway.  The Ice Castles were beautiful and almost hard to comprehend how much time and work it would have taken to make the huge ice castles and sculptures.

There were caves and domes, and even a slide at the Ice Castles.  We explored them all and then headed into Heber to get some hot chocolate and food before saying our goodbyes and heading home. It was a fun, chilly, different evening with good friends.

California vacation; Day3: Beach

One of the best parts of being in California is visiting the beach.  It is one of our favorite places.  There is just something about the sand and the surf that makes you happy!

We were able to visit Newport  Beach this time.  It was pretty warm, but not overly warm, and the water is cold!

Ethan was feeling the need to get some homework done, so he's on the beach with his AP Physics book, catching up on some reading.  But also working on his tan.

Evan was resting...something he seems to be doing a lot lately.  We think he's going to grow a foot or two these next few weeks.  He's been eating and sleeping A LOT!

And McKinley...well,...she's always doing gymnastics and enjoying herself.  She is usually upside down or in the process of flipping around.  So much fun!

I enjoyed putting my toes in the sand and also in the water.  It was a perfect day of relaxing after 2 days of running around.  I tried to take in the warmth, so I could bring it back home with us.  The end to a perfect vacation!

California vacation: Day 2 - Disneyland!

 So day two was our Disneyland day.  The park was open from 8am until midnight and we were ready to conquer it all!  We had a plan of what order to do the rides and make sure that we got the Fast Passes we needed to when we needed to so we could get on everything with as little waiting as possible.  Boy were we surprised when we realized we didn't need fast passes for much of anything in the park.  Between 8 and 10am we walked on to most of the rides...even the big ones like Indiana Jones (scared McKinley) and Big Thunder Mountain and even Pirates of the Carribean.  Everywhere we went we just got right on...except for Peter Pan and the Matterhorn.  Pretty amazing!

 Our favorite ride was probably Hyperspace Mountain...which everyone except me rode twice.  I have to say that that was the first real rollercoaster I have ridden in about 15 years.  I know it's not one of the biggest ones, but it was pretty intense for my brain and my tendency for vertigo!  But I enjoyed it.  I really liked a lot of the rides at Disneyland because they are more about the atmosphere and the surroundings than the up and down of a ride.  I was able to enjoy many of the rides with the family and usually I am waiting at the end of the ride for them instead...so it was great.

Again we found ourselves finished with the part about 4pm and ready for a rest before the night time fun.  We headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the pool and hot tub and even got a quick nap before heading out to dinner.  That night we were excited to see the fireworks show and also the Paint the Night parade.  Unfortunately the fireworks show was cancelled due to wind, but the parade was on and we really enjoyed that.  After the parade we rode a few more rides and then called it a wrap for the night!  We had survived (and even enjoyed) Disneyland!

California vacation, Day 1: California Adventure Park

Last November Evan and I got bumped on Thanksgiving Day on the way to his soccer tournament and Delta airlines gave us each $600 vouchers to fly later.  Since we hadn't used them yet we decided that we could use them to fly to California as a family and Dave and McKinley could go to Disneyland.  The boys and I would enjoy the beach and hanging out in the warmth.  Well, about 2 months before the trip the boys decided that they would like to see what Disneyland was all about and so we decided we would all go.  And off we went for 4 days...

The first day we spent at California Adventure park.  The park hours were shorter on a Thursday in early February, so we didn't think we would have enough time to do Disneyland that day.  We really enjoyed California Adventure park.  We got really lucky and didn't have to wait in lines really at all that day.  We rode all the rides that we wanted to and enjoyed some food and fun in the park.

After 4 hours we were pretty much done with the rides and headed back to the hotel to rest and grab some dinner out of the park.  Luckily our hotel was walking distance from the park and so it was nice to be able to go relax for a little while before we came back for the night.  We wanted to see the World of Color water show commemorating the 60th anniversary of Disneyland!  It was an amazing show and we enjoyed front row seats for it.  I'm so glad we got to see it!

 The park was closed after the show and so we headed home and enjoyed the evening, resting up for Day 2:  Disneyland!!

Two down...two to go. Adult children!

Somehow it's been 18 years since this amazing kid came into the world.  Ethan is an amazing kid...well, now he's officially an adult.  We had a great time celebrating his birthday with presents and cheesecake and friends and family.  He truly is a blessing in our family.  He is the peacemaker and can always make us laugh.  He's determined and disciplined and still fun and spunky at the same time.  I'm so proud of the person that he is becoming and can't wait to see all that lays in store for him as he begins to take on the world himself.  Happy Birthday Ethan!!

Reach for the Stars!

Ethan and Evan were part of a great fireside at the church last night with a guest speaker, Scott Anderson.  A lot of work went into the fireside beforehand as Don Wilhemson photographed every youth in the ward and added backgrounds to their photos that represent one of their dreams.  Both my boys dream about soccer and love playing it.  I love how the photos turned out.  It was such a great night with a great message...dream the impossible dream!  Reach for the stars.