Disneyland

For my dad's retirement, he wanted to take all the kids and grandkids to Disneyland. We decided it would be easier to take each family separately. So in May, it was our family's turn. We left on Monday. After we got to our hotel and settled, we went to Downtown Disney for dinner at Rainforest Cafe and then we walked around for a bit before heading back to our hotel. We started out on Tuesday at Disneyland, then went to California Adventure on Wednesday and did a little of both on Thursday. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but some highlights include:
--my dad being called up to be part of the Golden Horseshoe show. What a ham!
--the girls loving to find the characters and get their autographs--even Ruby wasn't too scared of any of them
--I may or may not have fallen one morning as we walked to Disneyland. My knee still hurts if I kneel on it the wrong way.
--my parents rented scooters for themselves--the kids took turns (and sometimes more than one at once) riding on laps. It actually was pretty handy as I was holding Ezra as he slept or ate on the go.


The crowds weren't too terrible, but we have been there when it was less crowded--like in the beginning of November and December. The weather was PERFECT though. A couple of the days were overcast which was so nice not having the sun beating down on us.

Ezra

Ezra is now six months old! Time flies. He is adorable and so sweet and fun. He gets a ton of attention from his sisters. At his six month appointment, he was 27.5" long and 15.1 lbs. He's packed on some pounds since he four month visit which is good since he was pretty scrawny. He is on formula now, so I think that helps. He's rolling all around and sits up pretty well. Our offical family photographer (Eliza) makes sure she documents our life through pictures...

(how'd that one get in there?!)

Youth Conference

A couple of weeks ago was our stake youth conference up at NAU. It was a TON of work leading up to it since it was the stake young men and young women's presidency who planned it and carried it out. There were many nights without much sleep getting everything ready, but I think it ended up being a success. One of the best parts was having Alex Boye come and do a concert one night and then a fireside the following morning. He was such a fun performer! Everyone loved him. He sang "Peponi", which was amazing! He also sang "The Churchball Anthem," which I was happy he did because it's so funny.

His accompanist came with him and come to find out, he served his mission in Phoenix. I remember him having come over for dinner and spending time at our house. We reminisced about that a bit and tried to catch him up on some people he remembered. The next morning Alex did a fireside with speaking and singing. He basically told his conversion story which was really incredible. He sang a neat song called "I'll Believe in Him," but perhaps the highlight was him singing "How Great Thou Art." It was the most powerful, touching performance of that song I've heard. We just had our wrap-up evaluation meeting for the conference early this morning before church, so I'm glad it went well, but also glad to have a break from all that work!

Easter Party

Each year we try to get together with my family to have an Easter party for the kids. The water slide was such a hit last year, so my parents rented that again. The kids had a blast on that and then each of us planned a game or an activity. Dan and Chris did running charades and Brian and Kamille colored Easter eggs with the kids. We did the limbo and a game that we probably won't repeat again because it got poor reviews from some of the kids--we won't mention Dallin and Luke's name too much. :) It was a relay where you hold on to your ankles and then run/walk/hobble to a certain destination and then turn around and go back. It sounded fun and was pretty fun to do/watch, but not everyone agreed with that! The kids also got to hunt for Easter eggs. We had pizza and wings for lunch and plenty of sides and sweets to go around!

Waaaaay Behind!

I think my number of recent posts is directly related to how busy I have been lately. I can't seem to hardly come up for air! It's overwhelming to think about catching up, so I'll just go a little at a time and maybe I'll be able to catch up. It's a lot though as I need to post about Disneyland, end of school year, youth conference, Ezra and the girls, and more I'm sure!

Chicago

A couple of weeks ago, Brian went to Chicago for some training and Ezra and I got to tag along. We flew in on a Wednesday and that night we went to Gino's pizza. The crust was different than I was used to, but we did enjoy it. When we ordered, the waiter said that it would be about 45-55 minutes for the pizza and I thought he was just pulling our leg. I realized he wasn't kidding! Ugh! It went pretty quickly though and we munched on breadsticks and wings. On Thursday, Brian had classes most of the day, so Ezra and I hit the town. We did some shopping along Michigan Avenue. Our hotel was hooked to a shopping mall that had the American Girl store, so that was fun to go to. My girls would have gone crazy in there. I couldn't believe how big it was and everything they had! After Brian was done with his classes, we did a little shopping together, then we went to the top of the John Hancock Building. Brian listened to a guided tour that he enjoyed. When we came down, we grabbed dinner at Cheesecake Factory and brought it back to our room to eat. Then Brian went out and found a yogurt shop for a treat. On Friday, Brian had some morning classes. I took my time getting ready, then Ezra and I headed out to grab some breakfast and to do a little more window shopping. I stopped and got us a treat at Sprinkles. I had the s'mores cupcake--it was so good! Brian snuck out of his meetings a little early because we went to opening day for the White Sox. We lucked out and got some tickets from a friend who is a pitcher on the team. We had a great time, Ezra got a lot of attention at his first baseball game and we got to see Matt pitch--and help win the game. We rode the train there and back, which was an experience. After the game, we went to Navy Pier and walked around for a while. We had dinner at Corner Bakery and then took a boat tour on the Chicago River and learned about all the different types of architecture that is there. We really enjoyed the tour--it was one of our favorite things we did. It got really cold, but we had bundled Ezra up and he just slept most of the time. We may or may not have gotten another yogurt before heading back to our room. On Saturday morning, we went to Fox and Obel, which is a fancy grocery store. There was a bistro there where we had lunch. Lunch was so tasty. I also discovered the best caramels--Bequet is the brand. Oh my--they were amazing! They had different flavors, but all the ones we tried were melt-in-your-mouth incredible. After lunch we went back to the hotel and grabbed a taxi back to the airport. I would love to go back and see more of the city.

at the game

Navy Pier

on the river tour

a huge statue of Marilyn...

river tour

walked through a fancy car showroom

dinner

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taken from the top of the John Hancock building

first baseball game

there were tulips all along the sidewalks

lunch at Fox & Obel

smores cupcake

Bangs

Ruby has "bangs" now thanks to Hattie. Hattie was in our den doing some sort of art project when Ruby came into the kitchen where I was and said, "Hattie cut my hair." I was like, "Uh, oh." So I went in there and saw little tufts of silky blonde hair on the floor. Ugh!! Luckily it's wasn't too much and I can kind of blend it in with the rest of her hair. I was so sad though! Ruby still talks about it (usually when she sees a pair of scissors). Let's hope that was an isolated incident!

Hattie's 5!

Hattie turned five at the end of February. She had a little party with some friends and cousins. We played games, decorated cupcakes, open gifts and let the kids play. I can't believe she is 5! At this age, Hattie...
--loves to be fancy--fancy skirts, jewelry, shoes, etc.
--loves to change clothes.
--loves preschool
--LOVES to draw and is quite good at it
--loves her friends
--loves to hold Ezra and make him smile
--she is very passionate about things, which can lead to much drama, but we love our Hattie!

Human Ice Cream Sundae

In January, my girls' school had a read-a-thon. Libby and Ellie won in their grade for the most hours read for the month. They got a certificate, coupon for a free meal at Rubio's and got to turn their principal into an ice cream sundae.