California Day 3, Disneyland

On Monday, we went to DISNEYLAND!  I was excited because the place was all done up in the Halloween decor.  

Seriously, how fun is that.



We started the day with Buzz Lightyear ride. We are so excited, can ya tell? (FYI this was about 10 in the morning. We grabbed fast passes for Space Mountain, which had a few changes for the Holiday. Our ride time was for 5:30 pm. WOW!)

Here's Ellie and Poppy DeVon waiting in line. She was so fascinated with the moving Buzz Lightyear. She loved it.

We then moved to the submarine/Nemo ride. This is Stefanie, Braden, and Jeff keeping busy while waiting in line. Ellie was so excited to see everything in the water though she did get a little scared when one of the "balloons" exploded and the lights flashed in the submarine.

Ellie loves riding on people's shoulders.  It allows her to do hair. The adults rode Matterhorn.  One of the nice thing with having kids that can't ride, we would love 2 adults to sit with the kids and when everyone else was done, they were either on the first ride or were allowed to walk the fast pass line.

We went over into Fantasyland and rode on Alice in Wonderland. Ellie loved seeing all the moving parts.

Watch out! Crazy drivers coming through.

Here's us riding the Teacups.  Ellie danced all the way through the line.  Uncle Jeff spun us a little fast but it didn't bother Ellie or Kelsey. (Ya, we had Ellie, me, Jeff, Stef and Kelsey in our teacup.)

We rode on Pirates of the Caribbean. Nothing even startled Ellie here.  She actually loved walking through the lines although everyone, including Grandma Bonnie, loved holding her.

 We also rode on the Haunted Mansion. This ride was really amazing as the entire thing had been transformed into the Nightmare Before Christmas.  The line was quite long. We entertained ourselves with a little people watching.

Of course, Ellie decided to take just a short nap before riding.

The details that went into transforming this ride must have taken a few days, but it wouldn't be Disney if it weren't for the details.

We went on a few more rides, don't ask me to remember all of them. One was Splash Mountain. Some how I ended up in front and got all wet. We would have the picture but my brother decided to lift up his shirt (which apparently is against Disney rules) so they deleted the picture. We were a little upset because other than that it was a great shot of me, Stef, Grandma Bonnie, Macy, and Kelsey.

We also made it over to Space Mountain.  It was supposed to be a scary ride with the changes but I didn't feel the ride did the hype justice. The planets weren't lit up and there was occasionally a fiery ghost that was seen on the walls.  It appeared to follow the cars around and grab at you but I don't think it would have been worth a 3 hour line.

After a few more rides, Ellie was beat.  We stopped to watch the fireworks and presentation at the castle. Ellie slept through the whole thing. We did manage a few cool pictures of the fireworks.

Overall it was a good first trip for Ellie and I enjoyed being able to share it with her.  I was surprised at how many rides she really could go on. That was one of the best parts. 

California (days 1 and 2)

So, Ellie and I went to California...without Jake. Ha ha ha. I know its mean but he couldn't miss classes. Besides he went to Alaska without us and leaving us to move so I only felt a little bad.

My family had been planning this trip for a while.  They started driving Friday but that is a long drive for Ellie so we flew out Saturday.  Before we left, we took daddy to one of Ellie's favorite places, the indoor playground at the Cherry Creek shopping center. 



 This was Ellie's first flight and she did it like a pro.  We had planned on her sleeping the whole flight but she had other ideas. I didn't let her nap that morning to make her extra tired even. We got on the plane and took a window sheet. The flight was booked so we had some nice people sitting next to us.  Ellie loved watching us take off.  She then continued to entertain herself for the duration of the 2 hour flight.  She played with the menu and safety guidelines; mostly dropping them and then saying "OOOOO" so the asian lady next to her would pick them up.

Luckily and unluckily the pilot was in a hurry.  The flight scheduled for 2 hr and 25 min arrived at LAX 25 minute early.  I called my dad as soon as we landed to let him know.  They beach house was about 25 minutes out.  Although, Ellie had managed to over-fill her diaper on the flight so we had time to change. (FYI, I listened to the same advice my mom gave me when I left for Ecuador.  Always pack a spare pair of clothes in your carry on. It saved me then too, but that's a different story. Thanks mom!)

Next was carrying Ellie, the backpack and carryon down to baggage claim to pick up our 2 bags and the car seat for Ellie.  I managed to drag everything to the doors but got stuck there.  Luckily for me, there was this very nice man who had been on the same flight waiting for his ride.  He helped move the stuff to the curb so we could be picked up.

 The beach house was awesome. Annie and Brian stayed on the bottom floor. On the second floor was the kitchen, living and dining room as well as Kelsey and Grandma Bonnie's room. The next floor was Jeff, Ellie and I, Stef and Macy, Calee and Devin, and my parents. (There were only 3 showers.)  On the roof of the place was a pool/hot tub. At first I thought it a little weird but as the days didn't get terribly warm, it was nice especially at night. Ellie and Braden loved being on the patios; they were short enough wind didn't bother them but it was surrounded by glass so it wasn't like a cage.

There was glass stair railings, table and windows.  Almost all of them were etched with sea scenes and most of that was Little Mermaid.

We just relaxed the rest of that day.

On Sunday, we went to church and then just hung out.  I wasn't informed of plans to attend church so I hadn't packed stuff.  Ellie's outfits included skirts but I ended up wearing a lava lava and a white shirt.  It was kind of fun.

This was a small playground just down from the beach house.  As you can see, many times it was a family activity to go there. Here we have Ellie, Kelsey, Macy, and Grandma Wendy on the swings and Poppy DeVon pushing. Stef and Jeff were walking around.

Jeff and Macy started on this tetter totter but they are hard to work when one side has a lot more weight than the other.  Although Jeff, Macy and Braden weigh about the same as Kelsey, Ellie and I.

 We took Ellie on a walk to show her the beach and let her feel the waves.  She absolutely loved it, until a few days later when she actually had a swimsuit on and we tried to get her in the water.

Jeff using all the muscles in his legs trying to peddle this bike back up the beach.  He did great until he reached the soft sand.

What a gorgeous end to the day.  It was so nice and relaxing.  It really made me miss Jake to sit with this sunset and not be able to share it with him.  Maybe after Law School.

Washington Park

Back on October 8th, we took our family Friday afternoon trip to the Old South Gaylord Street shops and Washington Park. The shops weren't that exciting. It was one block of shops down one street. There was a tandem bike shop and a consignment sports shop but other than that 1-2 art galleries and a few spas.

The park great though. It was a little cold that day but we got out and walked around some. The park appears larger than Liberty Park in Salt Lake. There are two separate gardens and two separate "lakes". (They are just large ponds like at Liberty only slightly bigger.) There were some awesome playgrounds though and Ellie is realizing how much she loves to be outside and play. She just wishes she were bigger so mommy will let her climb stairs and ride slides by herself.

I am trying to help Ellie climb through this tunnel. She wouldn't. Jake and I just took turns pushing her from one side to the other, which of course was fun enough for her.

I love tire swings. We did spin just a little. We weren't sure how much Ellie would like or could handle.

These were some of the crazy flowers we saw in one of the gardens. The other garden really looked like a vegetable garden at the end of the season.

Two or three different groups were wandering the garden taking pictures while we were there. The flowers were so great and diverse.

All through out were these little paths so that you could walk through. They were gorgeous. I wish I could take better pictures and had taken more to show off. Although it was a quiet day, it was for the best because Ellie and I were leaving for a great adventure the next day.

Birthday parties

Yes, parties. Ellie was able to celebrate her birthday twice. The week of her birthday, she and I were in California with my family so in order to celebrate with Jake and his family, we had another one the Sunday after. Although they weren't so much as parties as us sitting around anticipating Ellie smashing cake on her face and hair. She didn't disappoint.

Here are the pictures from the California celebration. We were in Disneyland on her birthday so we celebrated the next day.

Then on Sunday, we celebrated with the Watterson family via webcam. It was quite fun.

Funny Signs

Here are some of the funniest signs I have seen around lately.

I'll bet their marketing slogan is something like, "At least it won't cost you an arm and a leg." Maybe their competitors say, "Repair costs that get you in the end."

Or in my case football season, hunting (deer, elk, moose, etc.)season, fishing season, baseball championship series, MMA/UFC fights, basketball finals. . .

I don't think this needs much of an explanation. Adult store, "cheaper than dating."

Seriously!?!?! Who starts this kind of club? (Actually it's a nonprofit organization designed to help strengthen the bonds between people and animals.)







I have also driven on Dam Road.

I am always keeping an eye out for other great signs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE! This past Thursday (Oct. 14th), Ellie turned one. I couldn't believe it. People told me time would fly but it really is hard to believe that just a little over a year ago she was a little tiny baby and now she is walking around babbling about who knows what.

Here's Ellie on the way home from the hospital. Look at how little she was. She was born at 6 lbs 13 oz.

Look at that sweet little face.

Last year's Halloween; Calvin, Hobbes, Susie, and Mr Bunbun.

She even fit in a basket. What a doll!

Ellie in her blessing dress.

Her first Christmas wearing her new pajamas sitting with Aunt Stef and her cousins.

Look at that face. Ha ha ha.

Playing around after bath time, like a little cocoon.

Enjoying some sun with Aunt Calee.

Sitting with cousin Becca at the Watterson Family Reunion.

Watching the Oakley Rodeo with Grandpa Steve.

Ellie and her cute train engineer hat. She was a little preoccupied on with the train driving by.

What a cute little cheeser! How we love this girl and are so glad she is part of our lives. She is such a good happy little girl. From how small she started to where she is at now; wearing 12-18 month clothes, 8 teeth, walking all around. She loves to talk and shop with mommy. She loves to tease daddy. I am happy and blessed to be her mom.

Ellie, always know that mommy and daddy love you so much. We love watching you grow and learn. You are a special girl. We hope you had a happy birthday.