California Adventure (AKA Cars Land)

Tuesday, was Cars Land Day! At least according to Henry. I tried to explain to him a few times that Cars Land was in California Adventure, but he just said "yeah, in Cars Land." That works. :) He was so excited about his shirt for this day: we made Cars shirts for everyone, green ones. Henry had Lightening McQueen, Derek had Mater ("because Daddy and I are best buds like they are"), and John had Guido. We put Mickey ears on them. They turned out awesome!!

It was another early-ish day for us, but perfect timing to get us out the door and to California Adventure. We were inside the park before it officially opened, so we were able to snag great Fast Passes for the World of Color that evening. Then, we headed straight for Radiator Springs!

Walking into Radiator Springs was another magical moment for us, especially Henry. He was pointing out Fillmore's house, Sarge's house, and the Cozy Cone right away. I showed him Mater's House and guess what?! Mater was driving down the street right when we got there! It was so fun to see the look on his face. "Oh Mama, we're walking on the road Lightening made, huh?" and "Sally must not be home, cause I don't see her at the Cozy Cone." He also told us that he wanted to talk to Lightening and Mater and tell them hi.

We waited in line for a little bit to talk to Lightening first, which was cool. He was parked right at the Cozy Cone. Henry loved the fountain, "just like in the movie!", and told Derek that he wanted to build one for our house as soon as we got back home. When we finally got to Lightening, he was feeling a bit shy, though, and was nervous about touching Lightening or talking to him. But oh, did he grin and grin! After we walked away, he said "Mama, Lightening talked to us, huh? He's real, huh?" That, was awesome.

We went on Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters nest, as there was basically no line. Johnny was too small, so Derek and Henry waited and took pictures. I must admit--if I had known what kind of ride it was, I probably would have let Derek take Henry. It's a spin around teacup style ride, and by the end I was feeling a little queasy. Not too bad, thanks to my Mommy enthusiasm, but I was ready to walk around and breathe in and out deeply for a while.

So, we went and saw the Stanley Statue at City Hall, where Henry and Johnny enjoyed playing in the fountain. Derek reminded Henry about the time Lightening made Stanley fly, and Henry said "Yeah, but he's back here now, huh Daddy?"

We looked at Lizzy's store with all the signs and the gas pumps, before we went and saw Mater at the Cozy Cone. Henry had warmed up a little bit at this point, and was more willing to talk to Mater, but we were hungry. So it was a quick hello. Henry gave him a headlight high five (Mater turned on his light to high five him!) and then we headed to Flo's for a snack and watched the Radiator Springs Racers go by.

Our one disappointment for the day was that Henry wasn't tall enough to do the Radiator Springs Racers. He didn't seem to care at all, though, which made it a lot better. I was sad, though! I had really been looking forward to taking him on it. I've never been on it, as this was also my first time in Cars Land (Derek's too, for that matter). We put two layers of cardboard and some folded up socks in Henry's shoes, but making up an inch and half was just a bit hard. Next time!

Derek and Henry then decided to go on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree--another teacup style ride. Johnny and I hung out while they waited in line and then watched as they laughed and laughed through the whole thing. I guess Henry likes spinning around a lot--almost all his favorite rides spin and spin!

We took a quick break from Cars Land after that, running through the Bug's Life area. Henry and I played a little bit in the water area, where we ran through the dripping water from a GIANT hose! Henry was pretty excited about the hose, especially because we could sit on it. He kept talking about it for a while after that. :)

Johnny fell asleep shortly after that, and I was ready to get some lunch. We learned there was only ONE place in the whole of California Adventure that you could get chicken nuggets and French fries. LAME! It's the grill over by Soaring Over California, so we went there and got our lunch. It was a nice break. One thing we've learned about our family--being well fed makes for happier people and a LOT more fun. Especially with Henry's diabetes, we need to make sure and take snack breaks and sit down and eat. Not eat on the go like I'm used to at Disney, but that's ok. While it does cost a little more, happiness is worth it!

After lunch, we went back to Cars Land and did a little shopping! Henry was SO excited to pick out a toy at Sarge's Surplus Hut. It's an entire store dedicated to Cars toys! Henry was in heaven. I quickly found a toy I thought he would like and--sure enough, he wanted to get it! He reminded me that he had some "Mickey Mouse Monies" that he had saved up, and that he had enough for this one. "It only costs two Mickey Mouse Monies, and I have that much!" It was a little more than he had saved, but he was so excited about it. It had a Mack, a Lightening McQueen, a Francesco, and a little mat of Radiator Springs to drive them on. He has been wanting his own Mack to play with for a long time, which is why I picked it up in the first place. He insisted on carrying it around the store while we looked for something for Johnny (we didn't end up getting him anything there, however.)

We gave Henry some cash, and he and I went to the register to pay for his toy. He handed the lady the money, telling her "Here's two Mickey Mouse Monies" and then insisted that he was going to carry the toy all day! They put it in a bag for him, and he was on his way. It was a bit big for him to carry, but it took us quite a while to convince him to put it in the buggy. He was just so excited!

Our shopping excursion led us over to Buena Vista Street, where we went on the Monsters, Inc. ride. Henry hadn't seen it yet, but he really liked the ride and asked to watch the movie when we got home. Which we did, and it has become one of his favorites.

John fell asleep again, which was good because he was SO tired! Henry and I decided to go on the Little Mermaid ride--there was no line! We walked right up. That was awesome! I hadn't been on it yet, and that was my favorite movie as a kid. Henry loved the "Under the Sea" song and pointing out all of the clams. He thought they were "so so so silly!" When we came out, he said he wanted to go right away again. We found Derek and John was awake, so we all went together again. Also no line, so we walked right up and got in our clam.

Derek and I were pretty tired from walking around at this point. Two days of walking and walking and carrying heavy kids meant we wanted to rest more often. Derek and I both went to bed the night before with very sore arms and woke up a little stiff. We carried the boys a bit too much the day before, I think! We found a bench right in front of the pier where we could see everything and let the boys just play for a minute. Just play and take a bunch of pictures. They are some of my favorite photos from the whole trip. We were just relaxing and enjoying the sunshine, laughing and playing. Henry was hilarious and John was so smiley. We had fun.

After that, we walked across the bridge to go on Toy Story Mania, another ride I'd never been on before. It was a long wait: almost 50 minutes. The longest wait in California Adventure. Henry found some leaves to play with and had his favorite snack of the trip: Mini Oreos. He LOVED those. I put a few in little baggies for him, and he had 3 or 4 baggies of them each day. Between the Oreos and the pretty green leaves, the line didn't seem so horrendously long. And it was such a fun ride! Henry loved the 3D glasses, and thought it was so cool we all had matching ones. John was pretty frightened of the way it spun around so fast and was a little loud. He gripped my arms again so tightly. Henry and Derek went together, and they had a fun time shooting their guns at everything. It's definitely a ride I enjoyed and would love to do again. I wasn't even super bothered by the 3D. But the wait was always quite long!

Toy Story led us to the Ferris Wheel. Henry wanted to go up high and see "all of Disneyland". I told Derek I would go if we could get in a stationary cage, not the ones that swung around. Which was good--I don't think John would have liked the swinging one anyway. The line for the stationary cages was 45 minutes though, as opposed to the 5 minutes for the swinging ones. But it was worth it! Both the boys loved that ride. We let Henry take his blanket on it (the only one Blankie was allowed on), and we enjoyed the beautiful views of Disneyland and California Adventure for a while.

When we were done, we headed back to Cars Land. We read some of the history of Radiator Springs, which was hilarious and so detailed. It's another bit of the magic of Disney. Henry loved looking at all the cactus and standing up on the ledge to look at the desert vegetation. We said hello to the Stanley Statue again, before Henry and Derek waited in line for Luigi's Roadsters again. John and I played outside Luigi's. He liked the tires a lot, and even stood up by a few of them! Unfortunately, Henry had to use the bathroom halfway through the line, so Derek never made it on the ride. Oh well!

Hunger struck again, so we headed out to the main part of the park to find a snack. I got a frozen banana, as is tradition, and Derek snagged a favorite of his: frozen lemonade. John fell asleep, again, as we were walking so we found a quiet spot over by Grizzly Mountain to have our snacks. It was another lovely moment. John slept for almost half an hour, while Derek, Henry, and I ate and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Henry fed Derek some of the lemonade, which was hilarious. He kept sticking his tongue out as he tried to scrape some onto the wooden spoon, then said "mmmm" as he placed it in Derek's mouth.

Henry decided to clean up all the leaves in that area and throw them away. He spent a good 10 minutes scampering around collecting leaves and throwing them in the bin while Derek and I relaxed and John slept. After John woke up, we headed back to the pier to go on the Ferris Wheel again. On the way, we stopped and enjoyed the Green Army Men street performers. Henry wasn't really into it, however, so we left before they finished.

We spent a little money to play a boardwalk game: Bullseye's Racers! Derek and Johnny won! Henry and I were a close second, though. Mostly, it was just fun to play. John won a little Mickey guy, which he loved. That ended up being the only toy we got him on the trip, which was ok because he loved him!

We wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel again, but it was almost dinner time and Henry started getting a little crazy. He wouldn't stay in line, so we did that hard parent thing and left the line. He cried a little and was sad, but Derek and I just weren't in the mood. Dinner time!!

We went back to the grill again (Henry LIVED on French fries the whole trip. Oh well). And that was just what we needed before going to wait for the World of Color.

The wait was long--we almost 2 hours for us, really. We sat and played with our little light toys (so glad I bought some before we got there) and watched the Ferris Wheel change colors. But oh! World of Color was amazing! And the boys LOVED it. Both Henry and John were transfixed on the lights and the water. Henry especially liked the bits with the fire exploding. John just loved the lights.

By the time the show ended, we were all exhausted and ready to go back to the hotel. We walked by Radiator Springs to see all the neon, which was beautiful, but headed straight for the hotel and our beds. Both of the boys were asleep before we got back to the hotel, and went straight to bed. Which was good, because boy--Derek and I were exhausted, too!

Disneyland Day 1

The boys woke up pretty early (for them) Monday, which was fortuitous, since we wanted to get to Disneyland just before it opened. Henry was so excited that we were all wearing our matching Mickey shirts. He helped us cut out the Mickeys with the vinyl cutter, and he kept telling everybody that he made them. :)

We got the buggy loaded up with snacks, drinks, jackets, a few little light-up toys for the parade, and finally the boys. Our hotel was just across the street from the entrance to Downtown Disney, which was SO nice! It was less than 10 minutes for us to get from our hotel room to the gate of Disneyland!

We waited in line for about 20 minutes, putting on sunscreen and giving Henry a snack since was "so, so, so hungry!" Johnny was just happy to be there, smiling at everybody and playing with his little "Mousekesinger" (a toy that I thought would be so obnoxious, but I knew the boys would love. They did and still do!) When we finally made it to the gate, they took our pictures to associate with our 3 Day Tickets, and we were finally in Disneyland!

There really isn't anything that can describe how I feel walking into Disneyland. Walking beneath the sign "Here you leave today and enter the world of tomorrow and fantasy" really is the truth--we can leave our cares behind us and just enjoy the magic of Disney!

First thing when we walked in, we headed to The Mad Hatters. We got John a pair of traditional Mickey Mouse ears with his name on them, and Henry picked out an awesome Lightening McQueen hat. It looks like McQueen is wearing Mickey Ears. Henry loved it. (incidentally, he wore them basically every minute while we were there!)

We waited around the entrance to Main Street, USA for a little while, hoping to see Mickey. We looked at the windows in the Emporium, which was fun. Henry especially liked the Toy Story Window. It didn't take long before we saw Mickey heading onto main street though! We were some of the first in line, which was wonderful.

John LOVED Mickey. As soon as he saw him, John started kicking his legs and reaching out for him. The whole time we visited with Mickey, Johnny was kissing him, grinning ear to ear, and showing Mickey his own set of Mickey ears. I think this was the highlight of the trip for me with John. He wanted to stay with Mickey all day, and was sad when we had to leave him. Henry was a bit nervous around Mickey, and though he did smile, he wasn't interested in talking to him or anything. Which is ok!

After talking to Mickey, we said hello to Goofy which was another bit of  John giving kisses and loving the character. Henry stood with Derek and watched. :) After that, we headed straight to Fantasyland! In the past, Derek and I have gone on the Peter Pan ride first, but the line was already so long. Henry spotted the Dumbo ride and said "Mama, what is that?" So we parked the buggy and got in line for Dumbo.

Henry and John both LOVED it. Henry went with Derek in a Dumbo with a green hat, and John and I sat in the dumbo just in front of them. Henry used the little lever to make the elephant go up and down, which he really liked. As soon as we got off the ride he asked to go again, and continued asking for the rest of the day!

We quickly jumped King Arthur's Carousel after Dumbo. It's one of my favorite rides! I love the Sleeping Beauty paintings all around, and of course because I get to sit on a horse I have fun. :) Both Henry and John loved going up and down and were smiling and laughing throughout the ride. While we were on the Carousel, Henry noticed the Casey Jr. Train and asked to go on it next.

We only waited in line for a little while, which was nice. The boys played with Derek and laughed and giggled, before we finally got to get on! Unfortunately, they had miscounted and didn't have enough room for me and John. They sent Henry and Derek around, and then let us on the next ride--so Henry and Derek got to go twice in a row! So really, it ended up being a really fun thing. We sat in the caboose, which Henry really enjoyed.

 Following Casey Jr., we grabbed some lunch at the Village Haus Restaurant, which is Pinocchio themed and right in the middle of Fantasyland. I have a lot of childhood memories eating here, and they had fries--so it was perfect! While we ate, we talked about our favorite rides so far and Henry kept going on and on about how much fun the Dumbo ride was. We ate our fill, then Henry took a million drinks from the drinking fountain nearby. He was so excited that there were drinking fountains he could reach without help! We spent a lot of time stopping at the fountains throughout the park.

John fell asleep shortly after this, so he and I went to the Walt and Mickey statue in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, while Henry and Derek went on the Buzz Blaster's ride. Another one Henry loved! He was so excited when they came and found us-- "I got to shoot and shoot! And I turned our car all around!" I was glad Derek went with him and not me--I probably would have ended up sick! Meanwhile, John slept while I enjoyed watching people. When he woke up, we sat on a bench in the sunshine and just enjoyed the Disneyland atmosphere. Can't beat that.

We headed to Pirates of the Caribbean after that. I was a bit nervous that Henry wouldn't like it, especially the drops. Boy, was I wrong: the drops were his favorite part! After the first one, he kept asking if there were more "big dips" and if we could do it again. He liked singing the Pirate song and Derek pointed out all the cool stuff for him. Poor Johnny though--he didn't like the dark and was definitely not sure about the loud noises in the attack on the fort. He gripped my arms SO tight when we went down the dips and cried when we got splashed a little. For most of it, he had his fingers digging into my arms and his eyes wide with fear. Poor fellow.

After Pirates, Derek and Henry decided to go on the Teacups. John and I watched. :) Derek told me Henry giggled through the whole thing and LOVED spinning it around himself. I enjoyed watching and John snacked on puffs while we waited.

We made our way to ToonTown next, hoping to go into Mickey's house without a long line. Luckily, he wasn't there! So we scampered through really quick. It was so fun to see Henry in there. He kept talking about how Mickey likes to sit in his chair, listen to the radio, and even answer his phone. He just knew that Mickey REALLY lived there! We took a quick pit stop in the shade and rode in the toon car for a minute, but everyone was getting pretty tired. When we came out, we realized we were just a little bit away from a show starting in the theater in Fantasyland. It was Mickey and the Magical Map! It was just perfect for a break. Henry loved watching Mickey and singing to the music. There were a bunch of fun songs he knew and some he didn't, but both he and Johnny had their eyes fixed on the stage. It was a perfect opportunity for Derek and I to put our feet up.

One thing that was a little sad for us: Henry had been talking for WEEKS about getting a special Mickey balloon. We'd looked for the vendors all day and couldn't find one. Finally, we went and asked at the information booth on Main Street when Henry started crying. We asked, I turned around...and Henry was totally zonked in the buggy. Both he and John! Yes--the crying was definitely from a busy morning/afternoon! We picked a bench on Main Street and let the boys sleep. Finally, the balloon vendors came out! As soon as Henry woke up, we went and got him a balloon. Success!!

The balloon led us to Snow White's Wishing Well, where Henry threw all my change in. :) He loved the plop plop noise the coins made falling into the water and said he was "making tons of wishes for us." Then he said he wished "that we can go on the Dumbo ride again!" So we did!

After Dumbo, we braved the long line for Peter Pan. It was definitely the longest line the entire time we were at Disneyland. Henry had to go potty half way through, so he and I escaped and jumped back in line. Whew! That helped break the long time up, which was good for him. It was fun "flying over London" with him. He recognized Big Ben and the river. He also knew some of the characters, as we watched Peter Pan not that long ago. That was fun.

After Peter Pan, we got some dinner in Tomorrowland before it started to get dark. We hadn't planned on the parade, and Henry was asking to go back to the hotel and rest, but we found a great spot by Matterhorn Mountain and decided to stay. I'm SO glad we did!

The Paint the Night Parade was amazing! The most amazing part though, was seeing Henry's face when he spotted Lightening McQueen and Mack in the parade. "Mama, they're real!" he said, and just kept grinning and grinning. He said "whoa!" and "wow!" so many times, pointing to the lights and dancing to the music. Yes--true Disney magic right there!

We walked back to the hotel with two very tired little boys, but the day was a complete success! The magic was truly there for both of them, making it magical for both Derek and I, too.

On our Way to Disney...by way of San Diego and Huntington Beach

We finally made it to Disneyland! Ok, I know--I have been to Disneyland far more than most people can even dream of. But we've been scrimping and saving since we got home from England so we could take Henry, and then when Johnny was born I knew IT WAS TIME. So, I did some babysitting, we did lots of saving, Henry did odd jobs for Nana and Papa, and we finally got enough together to go this last week!

We drove straight through Saturday, starting at about 8:00. The boys were SO good. We brought Derek's tablet and a little DVD drive, and Henry was so excited to watch movies in the car. I had also collected little prizes and wrapped them up. He got to choose one every couple of hours. That was one of the best ideas ever--it really helped when he was having a hard time. I'd say "are you ready for a prize?" and it would keep him happy for at least another hour. Whew!

Mickey looking out the window "cause he's so excited!"

We made a few brief stops, but really, we drove and drove. We had a good lunch stop in St. George where we played at a playground near the Temple for about an hour. That was wonderful. Henry ran around for a bit, used the potty (after much negotiation), and then we jumped back in the car and headed on down to California.

We stayed with my Aunt Kim that night in San Diego. We visited, Henry and Johnny had a great time petting and playing with her dogs/puppies, and relaxed. Sunday morning we took it easy--too easy, really. By the time we left for church, we were all really excited to get out and DO something!

Church was WONDERFUL. Derek and I both felt so much peace attending Sacrament meeting in the Del Mar Ward. The boys were restless, but it was just so nice to take the Sacrament and sing and listen to some great talks about the gospel.

After church, we headed up to Huntington Beach to meet up with Derek's Aunt and Uncle who he hasn't seen in 17 years! We met at the Pier and walked around, then headed down to the beach. Henry LOVED the sand. Unfortunately, we sent Derek and John to put the buggy back in the car, and they missed out on the beach because...Henry got smashed by a wave! He was just dipping his toes in, but a big wave sent him straight on his back. Surprisingly, he wasn't upset by it at all. He just got really cold. i took his wet clothes off and let him run around in his undies, but he was still shivering.
By the time we got back with Daddy and Johnny, he was shivering and turning blue. We said good-bye and headed to Anaheim and our hotel.

We really had a lovely visit with Char and Tom. I've been wanting to meet them for years, literally. They were just as friendly and wonderful as I knew they would be. I'm sure that if we lived close, we could be such great friends. It was fun to see them, even if it was only for an hour.

When we arrived at the hotel, we went and got some dinner (at McDonald's, of course) and then gave the boys a much needed bath. They both went to bed very quickly, which was wonderful because we were all so tired. And the next day we had a busy day because....it would be our first Disney Day!!

Easter Eggs

We dyed Easter eggs today! I was so excited to mine all green! Mama wanted to make hers pink, of course!

I liked putting the stickers on my eggs before I put them in the cups with the dye. I used my crayons to draw a little bit, but the stickers were my favorite. Mama said we could eat them, but I don't really like eggs. I would rather have French fries!



--Little Brute

Easter 2016

It was my first Easter this year! My brother, Henry told me about Easter and how much fun it is to hunt for eggs. He said the Easter bunny fills them with candies and prizes! Mostly, I'm just excited to play with the eggs.

On Saturday, Nana had her special Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. There were SO many kids! That was a lot of fun. Henry ran around gathering eggs. Mama brought some to me so I could play with them on the grass. I loved chewing on them and knocking them together. I also liked seeing Nana's friend, Sister Baird--she dressed up like the Easter Bunny!

It was a fun hunt, but we were all really tired when it was over. 

On Sunday, we woke up to find the Easter Bunny left us a trail of eggs to some new books! Henry got a Franklin book, Franklin's Blanket, and I got The Giving Tree. It was so fun to follow the eggs! 

For church, we wore our matching outfits to church. Nana bought them for us and Caleb. I liked the bow tie the best. Henry was really excited, because Nana made him a green bow tie--that's his favorite color. Mama and Aunt Sam tried to get us to take some pictures in our outfits. We didn't want to do that. 

After church, we took naps while Mama and Daddy had their Easter Egg hunt with everybody. Aunt Chelsey got the golden egg this year! But Daddy found the most eggs, Mama said. 

Henry, Caleb and I had our own Easter Egg Hunt after we woke up. Henry hunted for green eggs, mine were blue, and Caleb's were orange. I really like playing with eggs! I think we should have Egg Hunts every day!

The best part about Easter was being with our family. Uncle Dallon came down from Logan, Chelsey and Jeremy came from Salt Lake, and Greg, Sam, and Caleb came over from Springville. It was so great to all be together.

--Little John

Update on the Boys

Henry:

* Just turned 3! He's 30 pounds and 38.5 inches tall. 

* Still likes to play with cords, but no where near where he was at Christmas. Lately, it's been all about his Thomas Trains, which isn't really anything new, only now he's creating stories with them. He has a few trains that are Thomas, one which is a little mini thing. He likes to pretend his "Big Thomas" is "Little Thomas's" daddy. Daddy goes to work on the other side of the ottoman, and then Little Thomas is sad. It's quite sweet.

* Potty trained! Henry did SO well with potty training, I can hardly believe it. He really only had accidents for two days, and then a few night accidents for about a week. We started potty training on the 10th of February, and by his birthday, he was already telling us when he needed to go with only a few tiny accidents. We are so proud of him!

* Still loves wearing his Wellies all over the place. 

Johnny:

* Trying to crawl! He gets up high on his arms and almost onto his knees. Mostly he pushes himself backwards and spins around in a circle. 

* Saying a few words! So far, clear words that he only uses for specific things are: Edie (Nana's dog), kitty, Mama, Dada, Baba, Yay (with clapping usually), and some sort of  "heh heh" for Henry. Mostly Henry gets a lot of smiles and excitement. 

* Mama's boy! 100% It's kind of hilarious and sad all at the same time. He'll be totally fussing, crying, and Derek will try everything he can to soothe him. As soon as I pick him up, he lays his head on my shoulder, stops crying, and relaxes. Like, presto! 

* Cuddler. Like I said, he loves to lay his head on my shoulder and cuddle lately. After every bottle, before bed, and usually right after he wakes up, he lays his head on my right shoulder and sighs, then cuddling. 

* 2 1/2 teeth! His two bottom teeth are all the way out, and one of the top has finally poked through. You can barely see it, so I only count it as 1/2 a tooth. :) But any day now, we'll see white when he smiles. 

* Loves the sandbox just like his brother. He wasn't quite sure the first time I put him in, but as soon as Henry got in and John saw him digging around, Johnny was so excited. He loves to play in it now, especially with the trucks.