Disneyland--It's the Happiest Place on Earth D@#$ It!

And this picture sums it all up. Just kidding! For Christmas, my parents took the grandkids to DL. We actually went a couple of weeks before the 25th to avoid the crowds. We had a wonderful 5 days together. It was so fun watching the kids together.



We saw Mickey as soon as we entered the park. Spencer loved him and was blowing kisses to him as we walked away.



We rode Dumbo first in memory of Auntie Lauren.



We caught Parker and Haylee holding hands while walking through the Haunted Mansion. Hopefully they will out grow this in the next couple of years or else we may be moving to the South.



Meeting Chip and Dale



Watching the Parade



Seeing Mickey in California Adventure



Riding the Tower of Terror





Parker's favorite rides were Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and California Screamin'.





This is the castle all lit up at night. The fireworks show was absolutely magical. Afterwards, it started to snow. It was a great way to celebrate the Christmas Season!

Would You Like Fries With That?

Spencer's latest favorite: Ketchup. Never mind french fries or nuggets--they are merely a tool to get the ketchup into his mouth. It is gross. I am pretty sure I could fill his sippy with it and he would be one happy camper.

Happy Halloween!

We had a frightfully fun week of Halloween this year. Our ward had their annual Trunk or Treat on Tuesday, the school parade and class party was on Friday, and we went Trick or Treating on Saturday.



Parker insisted on a scary costume this year, so he went as a skeleton.



Spencer wore Parker's old lion costume. We practiced all month long on, "What does the lion say?" He roared all night at the ward party but refused on Halloween. It figures!





We made special stops to Grandpa and Grandma Lloyd's house, Marty Rudd's, and to Papa Tom and Grandma Vicki's.













When we got to my parent's house, Spencer pulled up a chair and started eating his candy. He refused to leave, so we left him with Papa and Grandma.



On our way home, we found a house with a bubble fogger machine--it was the coolest thing! The bubbles were white and filled with fog. When they popped, the fog came out. Justin had fun imitating a cat playing with the bubbles. I think the owner of the machine thought we were crazy.




We ended up with too much candy and a ton of great memories! It was a great Halloween!

Half Moon Bay

Two weeks before Halloween we made a trip down to Half Moon Bay. Each year there is a big Pumpkin Festival there and it is fun to drive through town and see the pumpkin fields before getting to the beach. We usually go every October to HMB, but we try to avoid the festival because the traffic can be crazy. Well this year, we decided to go on a whim. I am not a spontaneous person, but I thought I would live on the edge for once. The trip down was going smoothly, that is until we were just outside of Half Moon Bay. What should have taken us maybe 20 minutes took almost 1.5 hours. Traffic was crazy! But we survived!







The weather was beautiful. We found tons of shells, sand dollars, a crab, and a real live starfish! It was definitely worth the trip!

AZ or Bust!

We just got back from our trip to Auntie Jill's house. It was a week of fun, laughter, sleepless nights, and tons of memories. Here are just a few of the most memorable moments.

Parker dressed up as a Mexican wrestler, while unknowingly wearing the girls' Hannah Montana boots.




The Conference tent the kids built to listen to the Prophet like the people did during the time of King Benjamin. I called it the great and spacious building.



Oh, and just so I don't qualify as Mother of the Year again, this picturesque scene of the kids all sitting and listening lasted approximately 2.7 seconds. It was more of a conference chaos day with Jill and I shouting,"Sit down and listen to the Prophet!" LOL!

This is Spencie on the phone with Justin. He missed his daddy while we were gone and would blow kisses to him over the phone. It was so sweet!




We spent Monday at the Phoenix Zoo. Haylee and Parker posed by the gorilla statue they labeled as "Papa Tom."



The highlight of the zoo trip was feeding the giraffes. They have black tongues that are 18 inches long, rubbery, and rough like sand paper.







These pictures are of when Haylee got pooped on by a bird while posing for a photo op. It was awesome!







One afternoon, I caught Tyler reading to Spencer. It was so cute!



But check out Tyler when he saw that I had taken their picture. Classic!



On Tuesday, we took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum. Jill got us free passes through her library. It was awesome! Parker loved every minute of it!



The kids in front of the T-Rex.



Parker holding fossilized dino poop. We got to hold fossilized eggs, brains, toenails, teeth, horns, and skulls. The kids were in awe.



Spencer's favorite part was playing with the plastic dinosaurs. He liked to "Roar!"



My favorite part was panning for gold. Jill was calling me a "gold digger."




On Wednesday, we headed out to Gilbert to Mother Nature's Pumpkin Patch.




The boys got into a hay fight.



Tyler loved it! Anything Parker did, Tyler wanted to do too.







The 3 boys in their matching t-shirts from Grandma Vicki.



Check out these 2 nearly identical faces.



Parker and Haylee in the hay maze.



Thanks Jill and Mark for the wonderful trip! We love you!!!