Disneyland Day 1

On Monday we went to Disneyland for the first time for all of us! It was a bit chilly so we wore long sleeve shirts and jackets and walked to the park from our hotel. From the weather forecast it looked like this would be our coolest day for the week with a slight chance of rain. We brought our umbrella stroller for Baby K and packed a few sandwiches, snacks, water bottles, umbrellas, 2-way radios, camera, diapers and a change of clothes for the younger two (just in case). I was a little bit worried about Kitty who was recently potty trained, but she had no accidents at all on our whole trip.

Since we were staying on the block just south of the park and on the west side, the hotel worker told us that the quickest way to get to the park was to walk up the street for 3 traffic lights and at the third one you walk through the Disney hotel and out the other side which puts you right in Downtown Disney - which connects you to both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. So as soon as we figured out which way to go and found the entrance to Disneyland, we took a couple of pictures at the entrance and then headed for our first ride.

We decided to go on the Astro Orbiters (similar to the Flying Dumbo ride) because it was close to the entrance and there wasn't a very long line. Since Baby K couldn't go on the ride, DH got in line with the kids and I stood off to the side with Baby K and the camera. Well, as soon as they got in line it started to rain! When they made it to the front of the line, M&M and Blondie got in one orbiter, Luke got in another one and DH and Kitty were supposed to get in a third but the attendant counted wrong and they were all taken. So DH and Kitty had to wait off to the side for the next ride. While the kids were on the ride it really started to pour and the wind was blowing pretty good as well. Then they got off and DH and Kitty rode. I felt so bad for them because it was pouring rain and they were freezing!

Unfortunately for M&M we had a small mishap with jackets on this trip. The night before we left I laid out all the jackets that we were going to take on the living room floor. When we were loading up everyone into the car on Saturday morning I told all the kids to grab their jackets and get in the car. Well, M&M just grabbed her fleece pullover and left the jacket there. Normally I would have seen it there and grabbed it before we left, but DH got to it first and thought that since all the kids were in the car that this was an extra one and he hung it up in the closet. Thankfully the jacket that I took has 2 parts to it that can be taken apart so I took out the liner part and that's what M&M had to wear - but unfortunately it didn't have a hood on it so she got a little wetter than the rest of us.

After our first soaking wet ride we decided to do a couple of inside things and hoped that it would stop raining in the meantime. So we did the Astro Blasters Buzz Lightyear ride and then went to see the show "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" which was incredibly LOUD!! After that it was still raining a little bit but we decided to split up into two groups so DH could take M&M and Luke on some bigger kid rides and the three little girls and I went over to the FantasyLand area to do a few rides.


After that we met up again and went on a few rides together, including Dumbo's Flyers, Carousel ride, Matterhorn Bobsleds and It's a Small World. At this point we went to find some lunch over in Toon Town. The sun was finally trying to come out and we were able to dry off a little. It felt so good having the sun shine on us! Next we visited Minnie and Mickey Mouse in their houses - Kitty was terrified of Minnie and wouldn't go sit with her. She finally warmed up a little before we got to Mickey and we got a cute picture of her with him. Then we took the kids on the small roller coaster ride in Toon Town because even Kitty was tall enough to go on it. The kids loved it! I think that one ended up being one of their favorite rides in the whole park.
We then went over to try and go on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride but it was closed. So we bought a few churros to eat and walked around a little bit (and DH was asked to play the washboard in a New Orleans street performance). Then we went back to Pirates and it was open this time. For some reason that ride just wasn't terribly exciting for any of us...

The only ride that we didn't get to that day that the kids really wanted to do was the Teacup ride which was closed the whole day because of the rain. It rained pretty much off and on all morning and we were absolutely soaked and freezing! Luckily I had brought an extra jacket for Baby K and I also brought my baby carrier sling which really saved my arms and back while we were waiting in line for rides. I also brought a fanny pack so that I could put all of our valuables in it and always have it with me. This allowed us to leave the backpack with food and clothes with the stroller and not have to carry it on all of our rides. We also were really impressed with the 2-way radios that we bought before the trip because they worked great for finding each other when we split up.

When we went on the Matterhorn Bobsled ride we tried using the kid swap feature - where one parent sits out with the kid(s) that can't go on the ride and then as soon as they get off the ride the second parent can go immediately to the front of the line to get on the ride. I had mistakenly thought that all of the kids would be able to go with the second parent, but they only allow 2 people to go to the front of the line with the pass so we ended up just waiting in line again since the line was pretty short - how can you pick only one of your 4 kids to go on the ride a second time with you while the other kids sit and watch?!?

We were a little frustrated with some of the rides at the park because we would go on it once and then the next time we tried they would change the rules on us and so we had to do things differently. The worst one was the Peter Pan ride. I went on it with the 3 younger girls when we split up for the first time and the operator let all four of us on the side boat. Then when we split up a second time after the Pirates ride the girls wanted to do the ride again after we got off the Alice in Wonderland ride. Well, we waited in line and when we got up to our turn they wouldn't let us on because the operator said that only 3 people were allowed per boat. I told her that I had just ridden it earlier that day with the same group of kids and she told us to wait off to the side and she would call someone to ask. Well, we waited for a few turns and then the ride broke down! We were getting tired of waiting for the ride to get fixed and for the lady to call someone when DH called on the radio and said that they were on their way over to meet us, so we left. Then on our last day we took the whole family on the ride and they made me take Baby K out of the sling... There were also a couple of rides where the first time M&M was allowed to ride with Blondie so that Kitty and DH could ride together, and then the next time they wouldn't let her so DH had to do a threesome with himself and Kitty and Blondie.

We left the park before it closed because some of the kids still had wet clothes and we were getting cold and hungry. All in all we had a fun day and the kids were excited that we had two more days to spend in the park. After we walked slowly back to the hotel, DH, M&M and Luke went out to Subway to pick up some dinner for all of us and stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items. Baby K was excited to finally get down on the ground and crawl around some while we enjoyed eating dinner on our beds and watching some Dirty Jobs and How It's Made shows.

When we were first toying with the idea of making this trip to Disneyland my parents had talked of coming with us but because of a couple of siblings of mine that ended up expecting babies the first part of this year they weren't able to make it. It would have been really nice at times though to have had an extra set of adults to go on rides with the little ones or to sit out and watch the little ones while DH and I went on rides with the older kids. It was very challenging trying to manage 3 small kids by myself plus a stroller and all of our gear and try and find rides that we could all go on without another adult.

Trip to California!

**This is just a general overview of our trip. I will write more details (with lots of pictures) on the various activities in subsequent posts.

After my husband and I went to Disney World last year we decided to make a goal to take the kids to Disneyland in the next year if possible. Since our kids are in year round school we have several opportunities to go during the year and not miss school instead of having to limit ourselves to a summer trip. We decided to go during their February break since it would be less crowded at that time and the tickets are cheaper as well. My husband is not the type that likes to do the planning for our trips so not long after Christmas I began looking for hotel rooms and started to plan the specifics of our trip. We knew that it wasn't going to be a cheap trip with 5 kids, but we wanted the kids to have the experience and this was really our first trip as a family that didn't involve going to visit extended family. There are a lot of families in our ward that go to Disneyland fairly regularly so we had lots of advice on places to stay and things to do while there. We decided to go drive down there on a Saturday and then return the following Saturday. Since this was our first trip to Southern California we decided to spend 3 days at Disneyland and then go to San Diego for a couple of days.

We left on Saturday, February 7th at about 7 in the morning and it took us about 11 hours to get there with stops for lunch and bathroom breaks. The kids did pretty good in the car and the only bad weather we had was some rain in Nevada and California. (The only problem we had on the drive down was that Baby K had a bad cold with a cough and runny nose.) Since we were staying 5 nights in Anaheim we got a really good deal on a hotel that was within walking distance of Disneyland. The hotel was an older one but it was clean and met our needs - just a place to crash at night, a working shower/bathroom and a small fridge and microwave. The hotel room had 2 bedrooms - one with 1 queen size bed in it and the second one had 2 queen size beds. So all of the kids with the exception of Baby K had beds to sleep on. For Baby K I just set up a makeshift bed on the floor next to my bed with a lot of blankets and padding.

On Sunday we drove across town to attend church with DH's aunt and uncle that live in the area. They were very gracious hosts and fed us a great dinner afterwards. We had a great time visiting with them and their kids that live in the area. They have a very kid friendly house and our kids kept commenting on how nice their dad's Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Matt were.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we spent the whole day at Disneyland!!

Thursday morning we checked out of our hotel in Anaheim and drove down to San Diego to spend the next two nights. When we got there we spent some time at the beach and then checked into our hotel and just hung out/relaxed there for the rest of the day.

On Friday we spent the day at SeaWorld San Diego and then we left Saturday morning for home. We were a little concerned that we were going to run into bad weather in Utah because the forecast was calling for a good-size snow storm on Saturday morning, but by the time we drove through most of the snow was gone - thankfully! Baby K had a really hard time in the car on the drive home because she didn't want to be strapped in her car seat anymore - poor thing!

Kid talk

Kitty: "Mom, Baby K wants to play with me, but I'm not a toy!"

Ready for scouts!

Luke went to his first den meeting yesterday and was super excited to go! We have already been working on trying to earn his Bobcat before the next pack meeting on Feb. 17th. Last night he was reading his Wolf book in bed and he kept coming downstairs to show me the cool things in it.

Mini dad

Yesterday was Luke's 8th birthday! He has been so excited for his birthday to come! One of the presents that we gave him was a suit for church. This is his first suit that he has worn (DH's parents gave him one last year but one piece was too big and the other almost too small and we couldn't find a replacement that would fit him). The pants on this suit are a little big in the waist but I should be able to take them in a little so they will fit better. The suit coat fit just right and the length on the pants was good. After he showered and put it on he kept remarking that he looked like a mini dad. After primary when I met up with the kids in Sacrament meeting I told Luke that he looked good in his suit. I asked him if he liked wearing it and he said, "Yes - especially the coat because I think I look really good in it." He wore the whole outfit with suit coat and tie all the way up until bedtime!

During fast and testimony meeting, as soon as the bishopric member who was conducting sat down, Luke immediately stood up and walked toward the end of the bench. I asked what he was doing and he said that he wanted to go up to bear his testimony. So DH and I let him go up and he said a great little testimony at the pulpit. I can't believe that he is already 8 and will be baptized here at the end of the month! Even though Luke can drive us crazy sometimes with all of his energy and obsession with certain things, he is a really good kid who tries hard to do what is right.

My parents and Marilee & Roger came over for dinner and cake and ice cream. I just made a very basic cake because he will be having a friend party this year that I will make a fancier cake for. The other presents that he really enjoyed were the Star Wars Clone Wars movie, Star Wars lego set, and his cub scout uniform and book - he gets to start cub scouts this week and he is super excited about it!! Unfortunately he won't be in my den for another year - that is if they keep me in my calling that long...

Determined girls...

Back on Martin Luther King Jr. Day we spent the morning cleaning the house. The kids really wanted to play some video games since they were out of school for the day, but I told them that no one was playing anything until the house was all vacuumed and the bathrooms cleaned. At one point I was sitting on the couch in the living room nursing Baby K when I heard a thumping sound coming slowly up the stairs. Then I saw Blondie and Kitty's heads slowly coming up - they were both using all of their strength to slowly pull the vacuum up the stairs step by step so that Kitty could vacuum her bedroom - and it's a pretty heavy vacuum! I quickly called out to my husband and we sat and watched those 2 determined girls take the vacuum all the way up to Kitty's room. It was awesome!

Another year, another family calendar

After a couple of late nights and unanticipated computer/printer issues I finally got my family calendars finished and mailed out yesterday. Among the issues that sprang up this year was that the paper that I have been using up to this point is no longer being made by the company and I can't find any other companies that make it - double-sided photo paper with matte on one side and glossy on the other. So this year and probably from here on out I will be using double-sided matte paper. It was quite the operation though because I had some left over paper from previous years that I used for some of the calendars and then I used matte for the other half of them - so I had to keep really good track of what I had printed so far and what I still needed to print (and on which paper).

This was my 8th year of putting together calendars for my family and I think this was one of the better ones that I've done. The kids really enjoy looking through the old calendars and it's fun seeing how much the kids have grown throughout the years. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Where's Baby K?

This is where M&M found Baby K this afternoon - in the front closet. I had left her in the living room while I was making dinner and someone had left the closet door open... and the fun is only just beginning!

Computer woes

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been working on family calendars again for my family. They run February thru January so I can work on them after the Christmas rush each year during January which is usually fairly uneventful. Being that my husband works with computers, we have several around the house. The computer that I usually work on is an older Macintosh and really my only complaint is that it is old and getting slower every day it seems. The other problem with the computer is that the printer drivers for our printer are not very good. For the most part I can print just fine from the Mac to our printer, but with the high quality photo pages that I need for the calendar, I prefer to use the computer downstairs in my husband's office.

My husband is very anti-Microsoft and he tries to do everything possible to avoid using Microsoft products. My husband's computer runs FreeBSD and all of the open source freeware he can find. One of the problems with this is that to get things to work the way you want them to takes a lot more time and effort. One thing that we haven't gotten working quite right from the FreeBSD computer is the printer. We can print from it, but usually the margins are off and it's hard to get it the way you want. Our FreeBSD computer used to be setup to dual boot on either FreeBSD or Windows if you needed it. Since I printed the calendars last year my husband did away with the dual boot and thus Windows - he did find a Windows Emulator for FreeBSD though so if we absolutely need to use Windows we can. I have some Windows software that I have used for printing my calendars each year and with the unsurety of printing in FreeBSD my husband agreed to help me set the software up with the Windows Emulator.

So, things were working just fine and on Saturday I got a lot of the printing done - probably a little over half. Then I didn't work on it on Sunday, but my husband got the computer set up so it would be easier for me to run the windows emulator. So Monday morning my husband told me that I should be all set for printing that day. Well, after he left for work I went downstairs, launched the windows emulator and couldn't contact the server where my files are located. At first I thought it was just a windows problem but then I couldn't access the internet from FreeBSD either - yet the Mac could do it just fine. I called my husband at work and he had me try a few things, but no success. It turns out that while my husband was getting things working for me for printing, he was also updating and building a lot of other things on the FreeBSD box and as of right now things are still not up and running. So my calendars that I wanted to have finished today so I could mail out tomorrow are still only halfway done...

And then they still need to be bound and hole-punched...

Hopefully he will have more success tonight...

Another first...

On Saturday I was busy all day printing out family calendars and preparing a lesson for Relief Society on Sunday. I was excited because Baby K went to sleep early and the other kids managed to be quiet so that she stayed asleep. Well, just when I was getting ready to get to bed myself, Baby K woke up and decided to be wide awake for the next several hours. At one point I was holding her while watching some T.V. and I stuck my finger in her mouth to feel her gums. Much to my amazement I discovered that she had a tooth poking through her bottom gum! She hasn't been particularly fussy or out of sorts lately - the only thing that has changed recently is that her appetite hasn't been as big as it was a few weeks ago. We could tell that her gums were a little tender yesterday though because she kept biting down on things during Sacrament Meeting and then crying because it hurt...

And Baby K finally went to sleep at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning - thankfully DH decided to let me get some sleep and he stayed up with her - he was quite tired the next day though...

It is really cute watching Baby K crawl around. She is really starting to get the hang of it and we have to be really careful where we set her down now.