Trips, Adventures and Disneyland!

This last month has been especially fun because Spencer and Celene have been staying with us!  These kiddos love their aunt and uncle!

Their favorite activity is dog piling Spencer.

On our way to California for our trip to Disney, we stopped for dinner at Panda Express.
Jayden's fortune cookie was spot on.
"A long awaited vacation will bring a great deal of pleasure."

Caleb's said something about taking charge.
He's got that down already.

So excited to sleep in a hotel!

Found a nice park.
Poor Carter.  Jayden is now taller than him and Caleb is catching up.

I guess we will bury him and tickle him until he starts growing.

Snack time.
We realized a few weeks ago that our kids didn't know what cheese whiz is.  So we thought a family vacation was a good time to learn.

They loved it!

We tried lifting a truck at the science center.  No luck this time.

Jayden found her brother!
(search past posts to find Jayden's sister).

Is this my grandpa?

Caleb built himself a little house.

Found some fish to look at.
Caleb doesn't look very impressed.

We were lucky enough to be around during feeding time.
Who knew these little fishies favorite food was scuba diver?

I spy with my little eye....
a giant, orange fuel tank.

I guess that fuel tank has to be huge to be able to get this thing off the ground.

An engine as big as our truck!

At the gift shop begging for gifts.

For some reason they think sad faces work.

Why walk on the sidewalk when there is a perfectly good wall available?

These trees are the coolest!

The night before Disneyland.
IHOP is a pretty quiet restaurant in the evenings.

We are here!
Even the parking lot is exciting!

Our first ride:  The tram.

We started our day riding Pirates of the Caribbean.  Caleb (and Jayden a little) was in shock when it ended.  We asked if he liked it and he shook his head no.  "That was not my favorite ride," he said solemnly as he just stared in a daze.  By the time we walked off the ride and got back outside, he was running around, "That was awesome!!"

Caleb's number one ride he was excited for was the Buzz Lightyear ride.
This probably would have been a better intro ride for Caleb.  Pirates and Haunted Mansion as ride openers was a little shocking for him.

That was awesome! Can we do it again?

Having a blast!

We finally got this girl back to the "ephant" ride.  When we came when Jayden was two, she LOVED this ride.

Big kids up ahead.

Let's fly!!

Time for Dad and the big kids to go on Space Mountain.

Mom and Caleb went on Autopia, and Caleb got to be the driver!

Hey, get out of my way!

Instead of going on another ride, Caleb decided it was time for a snack.

Merry-Go-Round!

A man and a mouse.

The first Star Wars ride we went on, Smugglers Run, Caleb was the pilot.  It was a BUMPY ride!  When we got to the second Star Wars ride, Rise of the Resistance, Caleb said to Craig, "I don't want to drive this time."

Oh no! We've been captured by the First Order!

Time to escape!

Another ride on the carousel for Jayden.

Toon town!

We are getting tired.  Is it time for lunch?

Waiting in line for Splash Mountain.

We realized it might have been a mistake to bring Caleb on this one.

[Caleb sobbing]  "That was NOT my favorite ride!"

Mom and Dad felt guilty so we bought some cotton candy.

And took him back to the Buzz Lightyear ride.
Unfortunately, the ride broke down and we ended up stuck sitting in these cars for about 20 minutes.  When we finally could leave, they gave us all 1 free fast pass.

These guys used theirs for Thunder Mountain.
They loved it!

Caleb and Mom used theirs for Haunted Mansion again.
However, we didn't end up getting to ride this one again either.  The fast pass line was still about a 25 minute wait.  Caleb was getting a little slap happy in the line, drawing annoyed looks for others in line.  We finally got right in front of the doors, ready to go in, when Caleb suddenly had to urgently get to the bathrooms (even though we had just gone right before getting in line.  Apparently he hadn't finished.)  So we had to ditch the line and run to the nearest restroom.  

Getting one last family picture before leaving the park.

Whew!  So much fun is tiring!

Less than a week after getting home from Disneyland, we were on the road again, heading to AZ to visit cousins.  Caleb was super excited to use the sleeping bag at the hotel.

Breakfast at Winco, our favorite store.

It was so fun hanging out with these guys!

We played with their lizard, Briar Rose.
(it's a plastic lizard.  The best kind in Craig's opinion.)

And their dog and his friend.

Games.

Parks.

And a few movies!

Our fun in AZ was coming to an end.
Craig drove the kids home, while Paige stayed in Phoenix for.....

....A Taylor Swift concert!!!!!!

Yes!!!!

It was soooo fun!!

Trips finally over, it was time to get back to work.
Carter rearranged his bedroom/office.

He loves when school includes cooking!
This is a Swedish recipe for appelpaj.
(The banana bread was just for fun)

Look who's a Rubik's cube solver!

Caleb had some projects to work on to.

Jayden needed to get back to school so she wouldn't miss all the fun.

And learning in her tumbling class.

Craig also needed to be home to try out his new smoker.
These ribs were yummy!

Hail!  What a weird spring it's been!
One day it will warm up, right?

Ok enough being home.  Time for another adventure with friends.

Toquerville Falls!  The drive up was SUPER bumpy, but a lot of fun.

A gaggle of kids on a boulder.

Caleb you're such a square.

Homeschool trip.
Carter hanging out with the big boys.

Caleb hanging out with the little boys.

Carter hiked the H with the youth in the ward.

Hiking the Three Falls trail.  No, this isn't one of the three waterfalls.  It's just a little bonus.
(This hike is usually bone dry, but with all the rain lately, there are falls to see)

Made it to the first fall (or third depending on your perspective).

Pausing to play in the water.

Made it to the third fall (or first if you prefer).
Well, we almost made it.  It's WAY back there in the background.

And with that, we are about to leave on ANOTHER trip.  Heading to California with friends.  We promised the kids no more trips for a while after this.