Everyday Life

We were blessed with a fairly mild spring.  We were able to enjoy being outside a lot more than I remember in the past. Here is an assortment of pictures worth sharing from the last part of spring..  

Sometimes Addy just can't make it through a trip to Walmart.

Playing at the "Sand Park".

Abby and Kent cuddled up on the couch playing the iPhone.

Who needs a double stroller?

Sometimes we have so much fun Kent doesn't make it through dinner.

Feeding the ducks.  The ducks by Lee's are super friendly and would probably eat out of hour hands if we tried.  

 I told Kent to put his arm around his sister...this is what I got.  

One day I got out a bucket of water and some rags for the kids to wash the Little Tikes car and these three moved on to bigger and better things.  

Disneyland - Miscellaneous

This is just a modpodge of pictures that didn't fit into any of the other categories.  And I must mention that we missed Lance and Robin.  I have promised Lance we could go back as a family as soon as his oldest child is old enough to ride all the rides the little boys could.  That gives us a good 4 years.  

This is how we traveled around everyday.  I am just glad we weren't the only big clan pushing double strollers everywhere.  

The whole gang in front of Goofy's kitchen.

Kent picked out his souvenirs the first night there, a stuffed Bolt and  stuffed Pluto to add to his already large stuffed dog collection.  

Kent with Brett, Rachel, and Cade in Cars Land.

Naps were taken in the stroller.  

Kent happy to be reunited with his grandpa.  

Just the family.

One night we looked over and saw Kent crouched on the ground, if you look closely you can see an Iron Man sign in the back that he was copying.  

On the way back to the hotel, he was one tired boy.

At a shopping center where we ate dinner after everyone arrived in Anaheim.  I am sure at this point my parents were wondering what they got themselves into.

Just our little family, Kent has been into being really cheesy in pictures lately.  

Dancing the day away!!!

Disneyland - Rides

Considering how many people we had in our party, I think we did well getting on as many rides as we did, not to mention taking turns with the girls when they couldn't ride.  We were all grateful for the rider switch passes which we used all the time.  We made Kent go on every ride at least once, perhaps that was mean of us as parents, but we like Kent to try new things and we knew he would survive no matter how scared he got.  Addy wasn't so fond of any of the rides and would often cry or hide her head, it didn't matter how happy and cheery the ride was, she even cried on It's a Small World.

Rachel and I with the girls while we waited for our turn to drive the cars with the boys.  

A typical Addy while on a ride.  

Tower of Terror, which Kent was not fond of. 

There is a few things I love about this picture.  One is my husband, I don't think any explanation is needed.  Two, is my mom who loves rides and is always one to put her hands up.  I love that only one hand is up because she is being protective of Kent and holding on to him.  And three, is how much fun Kent looks like he is having.

Look how scared Kent looks, this was his second time on the ride.  Ammon was pretty good at convincing Kent to do things again.  My dad and I each got sick on this ride.  

Ammon and Brett waited in a fast pass line for about an hour to make sure that we all got a chance to ride the main attraction in Cars Land.

Kent on the swings.

Again, Addy is not a fan.  

This was by far the most ridden ride.  Everyone loved it, even the adults, and most of the time the lines weren't too long.  

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

More than once I got the chance to stay back with both girls while everyone else was on a ride.  They were good troopers for the most part.  We occupied ourselves by playing with anything and everything we could find, AND...

electronics.  

Disneyland - Characters

Back in April, we went to Disneyland with my brother Brett's family and my parents.  It was so much fun and exhausting at the same time.  As much as I would love to just direct you to my sister-in-law's blog for a rundown of our trip to Disneyland, I know I should probably blog about it for my own family's journaling purposes.  One of the highlights of our trip to Disneyland was meeting the various characters that we have been watching for so long in cartoons. 

One of the best places to meet characters was at the restaurant Goofy's kitchen.  Of course you pay an arm and a leg, but if Ammon says something is worth the money, you know it's money well spent.  

The characters were great with the kids, this is just a sampling of who we got to meet, but nonetheless the kids' favorite.  I am sure Kent would marry Minnie if Abby wasn't in his life.  I wish I had a picture of Addy with Minnie.  She would follow her all over and at one point Minnie grabbed her hand and walked her back to our table from clear across the restaurant.

Chip and Dale were also a favorite.  

One morning we were even able to catch Mickey at the front of the park, which was a huge relief since no one wanted to wait for an hour in Toontown at his house.  Unfortunately Ammon had already taken off for fast passes and missed the whole thing.  

Meeting Mater

Mickey and Addy

 Kent couldn't have been happier when we ran across Pluto.  Our kid has a dog obsession if you hadn't already gathered that.

Easter Weekend

On our way to Disneyland (in a future post) we got to spend a few days in St. George with Ammon's parents.  It just so happened that that weekend was Easter and that Ammon's sister and kids from St. George were there too.  We had so much fun, besides the kids and I getting the flu that I reported on a while back.  Here is the photo diary of what we did...brace yourself, we can pack a lot of stuff into only a few days.

There is a family that leases land on the Pendleton Plantation for horses, pigs, chickens, goats, etc.  They also have a few dogs that run around.  Addy didn't hesitate to sit herself down and make friends.  

We let the kids play in irrigation water.  I was a little concerned (coming from Pullman we never played in irrigation water), but my grandpa said it was all he used to play in as a kid and it didn't kill him.

After swimming at the Washington City Recreation Center we all tried our hands at the climbing wall.  

Kent even got in on the action.

Rock climbing is what Ammon and I did on our first date and I can say that 5 years later I am significantly less fit then I was when we were dating.

The Easter Bunny came.

We went to the Ivins Easter egg hunt.

While Addy was a liesure hunter, 

Kent clearly dominated.

They also had an adult hunt that Ammon and his sister participated in.  It was hilarious!

Grandpa Mills in his element teaching the grandkids to fish.

Great-grandpa Pendleton being a trooper while Grayson contemplates pushing him in.

And of course, a trip to Pendleton Park, where the kids love the tire swings.

Thanks for a fun few days.