Family Fun

This weekend, we took a mini-family-vacation to San Diego (1 hour away).  Priceline gave us a great deal on a nice hotel where we stayed Friday and Saturday night.  On Friday, we walked to Seaport Village along the waterfront, had a fun Hawaiian dinner and bought way too much candy afterwords at a cute little candy boutique. To get back to our hotel, we took a Pedicab...a definite highlight for all of us! We hoarded our candy back in the hotel room while we snuggled in bed watching "The Sound of Music" on TV.  

Saturday, we slept in (I love the dark, black-out curtains in hotel rooms).  We had a yummy family breakfast and then walked the streets of downtown San Diego.  There was an Easter bonnet competition and parade next to Petco stadium with booths set up as well as a bouncy house.   Dallin and Claire had fun running and bouncing around in the beautiful 78-degree weather.  After some naps, swimming and escalator riding, we met up with our good friends, the Lowes at Mission

Beach.

The kids rode the carousel and some other rides on the pier, Peter won Claire an inflatable pink dolphin by using his muscles on the high-striker, and we had a picnic dinner together.

The Lowes claimed a fire pit on the beach and the kids had a blast

playing in the sand, sword fighting and roasting marshmallows. Our friends, the Scotts, met up with us a little later and it was fun sitting around the fire chatting it up.  The fire eventually burned out and so did the kids.  We left around 10 p.m. and 

were so grateful to have a close hotel to go back to.

Easter morning, we woke up and were happy to see that the Easter Bunny had found our hotel room and left some fun things for the kids.

We went to the pool and relaxed for a little bit, changed and went to a local sacrament meeting...they had a wonderful Easter program.  We then headed back home with a car full of sand, wet swimsuits and tired kids (and parents).  It was a wonderful weekend, and we are happy to be

home! 

Tennis Tournament

Last Saturday, Peter and I went to the Tennis Pacific Life Open in Palm Desert.  Merrill Lynch was a sponsor, so we had an amazing box suite with delicious food and an incredible view.  We don't know much about the professional world of tennis, but we had a great time hanging with the Johnsons (James and Gale) and watching the incredible athletes play.  We forgot our camera, so you will have to imagine how relaxing the event was, how beautiful the flowers looked, and how great the tennis players were.  It was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon!

Cherry Cheer

I love when my family is on a schedule (doesn't happen very often).  I love spontaneity, but I also love predictability.  Recently, we have added something to our week that has become such a wonderful part of our schedule.  Every Thursday afternoon Dallin, Claire and I walk to the Cherry's house.  They are fabulous people, friends and members of our ward.  There is a trail that goes from our house to theirs and the kids love running up and down those hills (getting really dirty).   We arrive at the Cherry's home where Donna has prepared a wonderful afternoon for my kids.  She was an elementary school teacher years ago and I can tell from our visits with her that she was an incredible one.  Each Thursday has a theme...last week she taught my children about Noah's ark.  She mentioned the beautiful rainbow at the end of the account and we then got to watercolor our very own rainbows.  We then proceeded to have our traditional "tea" party with orange juice (spiked with Sierra Mist:)) and animal crackers to follow the Noah's Ark theme.  Yesterday, we learned about farm animals.  Donna (ie: Sister Cherry) read us an "Old McDonald had a Farm" book, we then sat around the craft table and drew a specific landscape of the farm.  Dallin colored a vegetable garden and a place for the dogs to run wild.  Claire was in charge of coloring the horses trough and chicken coop.  I made a field for the sheep and goats, and Donna made a great place for the pigs to roll around.  We then placed a whole bunch of plastic animals in their correct "home" on the farm.  The kids sure loved this.  It was then time for our "tea" party (Claire adores this part with Donna's little tea set).  We had jello jigglers in the shapes of cows, ducks and chickens with some goldfish crackers on the side.  Our "tea" was chocolate milk (from the chocolate cows of course :)).  Such creativity and I am so grateful for the time and effort she puts into helping my kids enjoy their Thursday afternoons.  It is a part of our schedule that we all look forward to!

*As you can see, Claire also adores the Cherry's dog Shadow!

Freedom Flyers

This morning, Dallin's friend Trevor came over to play. They ran around, watched a movie (sort of), made me "pizza", hid from Claire, played the Hungry, Hungry Hippo game, became Superheros and blew bubbles outside. Just when you think two little boys couldn't think of anything more fun, they did. It was time for Trevor to go home (he lives about 10 minutes walking distance away) and they had the great idea to run to his house all by themselves. I agreed and followed them in my car going about 1 mph with my emergency lights on and window rolled down so they could tell me things. These little boys had more fun just running free (on the sidewalk of course :)). The happiness and excitement on their faces made this extra long trip to the Crumps so worth it! I have to say that my favorite part of this freedom marathon was when at one point, Dallin pulls the hood from his jacket over his head, looks me square in the eye (still running, mind you) and proclaims "just livin' the dream, baby!!." He then laughs hysterically at himself as I laugh uncontrollably as well. I am so glad that these two little freedom flyers were able to live out a small (but super exciting) dream this afternoon.

Disney Days

I went to Disneyland last week with Collette and Sarah (friends from college (right)) and their kids. We had a great time catching up, riding rides, and chasing kids (mostly mine). Sarah (cute blonde on the right) and I did a college internship at Disneyworld together and we realized that it was exactly 10 years ago this month that we started. I decided to scrounge through some old photos and post some of my favorite memories from my time there. Here is a 10 year reunion shout out to my year at Disneyworld (thanks for indulging me)...

<- My first nametag (don't you love the misspelling of BYU... 'Bring'ham Young was actually more appropriate for me since I WAS so young)

I won a contest while I worked in a shop on Main Street (Athletic Club). My prize was being able to drive one of the Disney trains for a day (and got paid for it!!) It was actually quite difficult since it was a real locomotive! ->

<- Me as Chip at a Polynesian Resort character breakfast. I am hugging my Grandma Eileen and my Grandpa Bill took the picture (they lived about 3 hours away from Orlando and would come and see me often... I sure loved being by them!)

This position was so kindly called "Rope Hoe" since we would hold the rope at the end of the parade (to keep the crazies from attacking the characters :)). This part was really fun! ->

<- Me as King Louie (the monkey). He was my favorite character to play... I was even trained how to do somersaults in this costume (not easy)

Me as King Louie giving Aladdin some love in the breakroom :). Aladdin (Aaron) and I were great friends! ->

<- One of my "famous" somersaults

That's me as "Happy" in the Day Parade. My brother Scott and friend Rachel came to Orlando to visit me. They took this picture (and I am sure laughed at me dancing giddily down the street) ->

<- That's me as "Doc" in Spectromagic (the night parade)

These were some of the only female characters I was able to play. I am the blue fairy, Merriweather. We had buttons inside our gloves that we would push to change the color of the lights on our dresses. We would listen for our music cues throughout the parade. I loved being able to have some feminine movements (and ride on a float)! ->


So I am staring at a large stack of more pictures, but I am sure this will suffice for my 10 year "shout out." This was such an incredible journey that I wouldn't have traded for anything in the world. I made such great friends, learned a lot about myself, gave my posterity (and maybe you) something to laugh at :), and worked in one of the most amazing places. This was one of my dreams checked off the list.

Sarah... I am tagging you to post some pics from your time at Disneyworld! Can't wait to see you working it (cause you know they worked us)!

Deodorant Dilemma

I am very diligent about putting deodorant on every day. I take a shower whenever the opportunity is available. I wash my clothes on a regular basis. I shave my legs (when I have to :)). I brush my teeth quite often. I even spritz on perfume before I walk out the door so why in the world is everyone around me moving??? Here is a breakdown of the people in my life (and ward) who have moved in the past year or so:

One of the first families to leave me (yes, I am making this personal :)) were the Munoas. They only moved to a different part of town, but I don't see them as much as I would like to. One dinner group member down.

The Simkins moved to Orange County and this was so sad for my Dallin. He sure loves Merrilye and I don't know who is going to teach me the ways of Martha Stewart now!

The Fains moved and so did the Snyders... this is quickly becoming an unfortunate trend.

Next to say farewell were the Larsens. They had a darling baby boy and then took off to Kansas. I love and miss this family so much and, even though we talk on the phone, I wish Lindsay were here to witness how nice my perfume smells. Another dinner group member gone :(.

My visiting teacher, Janet Kehne, was the next to leave California... is it just me, or is it ME!

The Burr family took off and I was just getting to know Christina (such a darling family).

Another really sad farewell was to the Lowe family. We all loved hanging out and Krissy was (and still is) so much of my sanity. Dallin lost his best little buddy, Ethan to the state of Idaho and he now wants to move there. Maybe we should leave since everyone else is (no I'm not bitter :)). We really miss having the Lowes close by... and yet another dinner group member gone (maybe it's not my stench, maybe it's my cooking!?).

So just when you think my ranting and raving should be through, alas I have more...

The Lawrence family moved to Hawaii rather quickly and I really didn't get to say goodbye. Jule is so fun and we miss her musical ability in our rapidly depleting ward!! Come back Jule... my cooking isn't that bad and I just put a double shot of deodorant on!

A couple of Sunday's ago, the Benedicts were a wonderful part of the Chaparral ward and now they have decided to move into a beautiful new home and become a part of the French Valley ward. Yep, they moved within a matter of days. Such a great family that will be missed (I did see her at the baby shower last night, so maybe all is not lost).

The other night when I was driving home from mutual, I passed the Johnson's home (7 houses down from us) and saw their couch being put on a truck and a "For Rent" sign on their lawn. They landed their dream home last week and are moving in as you read this and yep, you guessed it, they are no longer in the ward. I will truly miss their girls stopping by on their bikes for some fruit snacks and a chat. I will miss our casual drop-ins to each others houses. They have been so much fun to have as neighbors... why, Why, WHY!!!

So here it is... my sadness and confusion written for all to see. The Chaparral ward is quickly becoming a branch and I am quickly becoming friendless. These friends who have left me were not apartment dwellers that could be expected to move at some point, we don't live in a dangerous or unfortunate looking city, there have been no threats of a major environmental catastrophe here and the housing market is horrible to sell in right now. The only plausible explanation in my mind is that I am somehow responsible... maybe I should try a different brand of deodorant...

(p.s. Randles and Wankiers, come and smell my new deodorant and lets see if I can change your mind! :))

Pros & Cons of Paradise

I have decided that there is no such thing as the perfect place to live. I love the east coast for it's beautiful autumns and rich heritage, but am not a fan of the fast pace and intense winters. I love Washington state (where I grew up) for its lush surroundings and kind people, but there is a lot of rain. I love Utah for its beautiful mountains and four seasons, but I am not sure I want to raise my children there... and here I sit in Southern California, thinking of it's own pros and cons. I am not a fan of how people try to out-do each other. I don't like the extremely hot summer weather here in Murrieta (desert). I'm not sure how I feel about a 16 year-old driving a brand new Hummer. There are a lot of people here and the traffic is crazy. Although there are many reasons I hesitate staying here, I have to say that being so close to so much is really a "pro" for me. We are within an hour to 3 different temples and the beach. There is so much to do within our grasp and great weather (the majority of the time) to do it in. I mention this because I took Dallin and Claire to Disneyland yesterday (an hour away). For me, Disneyland is a definite PRO of living here. We are fortunate enough to go a lot (Peter says too much :)) and my kids love spending the afternoon running around and riding the rides. We had a great time yesterday and spent the day riding rides, looking at toys in the stores, racing down "secret" pathways, making crowns at the Princess Festival and saying hi to all the princesses as they would come and go from their break. We met up with the Draeger family (friends from our ward) and spent the last hour playing with them. It was a great day. I have to admit that I especially love our little adventures to Disneyland because it wears the kids out. I can always count on my kids having a GREAT night's sleep... and that is a definite pro for me!