Last Drive to Utah

We haven't drove to Utah for 2 years and I told myself I would never do it again after Alex got the flu on the drive home last time.  It's funny how we slowly forget those things and think it wasn't that bad, I can do it again except this time it was to pick up my Grandmas piano and hutch. We left around 4 that day and got to Utah around 3am.  Al loves to drive at night and always thinks the kids will sleep the entire time.  We stopped in Vegas around 8pm at the most ghetto play land I've ever seen.  We were desperate so they played and touched who knows what kind of germs.  They both fell asleep around 9pm and then Cole was awake from 11-2, it was nuts.  He was asking for snacks, watching tv, and giving me anxiety.  Thankfully they both went right to bed when we got to Liz's, phew.  On Friday morning we went to see my mom at work and took her to lunch.

We went to an amazing new Mexican restaurant across the street called Alamexo, yum.  These two were happy to see there Grandma.  When Cole saw her, he went running up and gave her a hug, so sweet.

That night Al's parents had a birthday party for Alex.  Here he is with his favorite cousin Briyler.

So happy to be with his family and having cake too!!

The cousins helping Alex open his new present!!

A new bike from Grandma and Grandpa.  Now we need to teach him how to ride it.

I talked everyone into going to Scheels to ride the Ferris Wheel.  We had so much fun, but it was crazy with a group that big.  

I always thought ferris wheels were completely safe, but I did not feel that way on this one.  Every time we moved I thought it we were going to flip over.

Uncle Al and Aunt Whitney

Group shot.  Thanks Ryan for taking the picture.

On Saturday we had a busy day eating cookies and drinking dirty diet cokes.  Al picked up the Uhaul trailer for us to tow back to LA and then we had dinner at good ol Shanghai.  My mom and I stopped at Walgreens on the way back to Liz's to get Cole some medicine for his mouth.  Our skin doesn't adapt well to the dry weather even if it's just for a few days. We tried on some sretchy shirts before we found the medicine :)  Too much Diet Coke for us.

Sunday was the big day for moving the piano and hutch and then towing it back to LA.  Am I crazy, yes.  Did we spend more in gas and renting the trailer than both of the items are worth, yes.  

My Grandma was so sweet to let me rummage through all her stuff.  I got a piano, hutch, beautiful blue and white dishes, lots of crystal serving wear, and the cookie kettle which reminded me of her house growing up.  I love heirlooms!!

We stopped at Al's grandparents on the way home to have dinner and say hi to everyone.  I always thought we would eventually move back to Utah, but as the years go on we keep moving further away and it makes me a little teary eyed to know my kids won't grow up living close to their relatives.  I love spending time with everyone and maybe that would be different if we lived close, just kidding.  No but really I would love Alex and Cole to be able to see their grandparents and cousins more.  Until next time Utah and that will be our last drive to Utah for a long time.  I don't think I will ever be driving from Texas, 20 hours, no thanks.  On our drive home we got awesome gas mileage.  I think it was 8 miles and we usually get 20.  We seriously stopped at least 6 times to get gas, yikes.  I also had the piano and hutch refinished before we moved and I LOVE THEM.   So all the time, effort, and money spent was totally worth it!!

Busy Week

Our last days at Disney were well spent.  Alex's request this day was to see Minnie.  Toon Town had just opened so the wait wasn't too bad.

Cole was loving on Minnie and wouldn't stop kissing her.  I finally had to pry him from her arms...lol

I think we went on 2 rides this day because the lines were so crazy.  We did see the Aladdin show which was new for all of us and a must do if you haven't seen it.

Another great harvest from my garden.  I may have found a new hobby I love!!

We met Ashlee and Justine at the Skirball Cultural Center one afternoon.  We hadn't been there since Alex was about 18 months so it was fun to go back.  Here is Cole pushing around some fake animal poop.

Party time at the Noah's Ark

It makes me sad to look at these pictures because I miss these two so much already.

Laura mentioned that she wanted to go to The Land of Nod to meet Susan the maker of Freshly Picked Moccasins.  I love the ones I bought Cole and heard she had them for $15 cheaper at her last event so I convinced Laura to go and get tacos afterwards.  Susan was recently on Shark Tank so apparently everyone watched that and was at her event.  I knew the line was long, but not 2.5 hours long.  We waited and waited and Laura asked me over and over if I wanted to go, but the longer I waited the more committed I felt.  The worst part was I forgot the snack bag, Cole pooped twice while we were in line, he almost went walking down the escalator while tons of other moms stared.  

When we finally got to the front of the line Cole had just pooped again and he was screaming because he wanted to run around like a crazy toddler.  Oh and did I mention they were out of the color and size I wanted, perfect!!   I think Susan felt sorry for me soooo she offered one of her Sprinkle cupcakes for Cole and then he stopped crying immediately and she told me she would give me free shipping if I ordered them online.  Probably not worth the hour drive, but oh well.

Then Alex was mad he didn't have a cupcake so he started screaming.  It was one of those moments where I wanted to start crying too, but luckily Laura was with me to laugh and take pictures.

Somehow we managed to stop for lunch on the way home and then drive to Utah that night.  It was one  of those crazy days I don't want to relive.

Last Beach Day

It's hard to believe that this was our last beach day living in LA.  The weather was fabulous so we left that morning and spent it at El Porto.  I was always waiting for the day where I could take my kids for the entire day without worrying about drowning and nap time.  Maybe we will live by the beach again someday and when I say live by I mean 10 min away :)

I tried to build a big sand castle with Alex, but they preferred stepping on everything I built.

I broke this cookie out for my Disneyland girls night hangover.  It's one of my favorite treats at Disneyland.

The two cutest boys that love to play in the sand.

They love dried seaweed.  Alex calls it sushi, but they both want it everyday.  Al tells me I'm weird, but he's the weird one that lives in LA and doesn't like it.  

We had a yummy dinner at a oyster bar in Silverlake.  We decided our favorite ones are from Canada.

You don't realize when you take things for granted and this was one of them.  We were so lucky to have weather like this for 5 years.  I kind of feel like its a mean trick to be moving to crazy hot humidity after this, but I'm sure I will survive.

Trying out the new outdoor playground at the mall.  We've been waiting for months for it to open so I'm glad they got to play at it a few times.  

This was the view I was greeted with when I left the mall.  It's hard to imagine living somewhere completely flat after being able to look at these beautiful mountains everyday.  I'm going to miss them.

Disneyland Girls Night

This was one of my favorite Disney trips and it makes me smile looking at the pictures.  I've been wanting to do this for a long time, but someone was always pregnant or had a little baby.  I decided to plan it and make reservations at The Blue Bayou.  Amber and I left around 2 to get a head start on the rides and it was the best decision.  We hit all the big rides in California Adventure and then headed over to Disneyland to meet the rest of the group for dinner.  Our first ride was California Screamin and this picture is classic.  

Expressing our joy to not have strollers, snacks, diaper bags, or kids with us.  

Cars was our 2nd ride and we had the funniest experience.  Amber saw the guy riding in front of us and said he looks so familiar, I think he works with Adam (her husband).  I told her she should say something after the ride so she went up to him and was like do you know Adam Ward and he said no who's that and Amber said oh nobody and we walked off laughing.  Then some girls said he's famous, do you know his name?  We lost it and couldn't stop laughing because he's famous and that's why he looked familiar to Amber.  A few days later Amber figured out he was on Sex and the City.  

On the way to our next ride I bought a churro.  It was fresh, hot, and amazing.  I enjoyed every bite and  then there was only a 7 minute wait to ride Tower of Terror.  Amber had never been on any of these rides, so it was fun to hear if she liked them.  This is one of my favorites and right before it started she was texting.  I said Amber put that away or it's going to end up on the ceiling...lol   

Our last ride at California Adventure was Soarin.  I love that ride and it made me nostalgic thinking about how incredible California is.  You have the beach, ocean, mountains, forests, outdoor activities and of course the weather.  It was such a fun afternoon and it only got better when we got to Disneyland.  We were starving so we got some popcorn to tide us over until dinner and guess what they had just popped it so it seriously melted in our mouths, YUM.  

Amber is allergic to gluten so it's always tricky going out to eat with her:)   Luckily almost every restaurant has something gluten free these days.  Randomly the waiter came out to meet her and discuss food options with her?  Hilarious.

It was such a fun dinner with lots of diet coke, yummy food, and we got the chef to come out for a picture.  

The lines were pretty crazy after dinner so we only made it on the Matterhorn and Indiana Jones.  We started waiting in line for Space Mountain around 10:30, but the line was an hour long so we decided to skip it and get ice cream on Main Street instead. 

Amber and I were so excited when we got out of our car that afternoon that neither of us paid attention to where we parked.   All we knew is that we came down an escalator..lol  We had to wander around for a good 10 minutes before we found my car and thankfully we didn't have a stroller with us.  We were also lucky since that a lot of people had left the park so the garage was pretty empty and made it easier to spot my car.  The perfect ending to an amazing day.  So glad we did this and I don't know if I will ever want to do Disney another way :)

Engagements

Al's cousin Brock asked me for some ideas on proposing to his girlfriend in California.  We decided it would be awesome for me to bury a bottle with a note that said Will You Marry Me and then have a picnic set up for them afterwards.

 Sarah had never met me so I was the perfect person to take pictures and set up everything.  I love doing things like this so I'm so glad Brock asked me to help.  

I had my video camera and camera set up and got so many great pictures.  It was such a special thing to be a part of. 

While they had their picnic I got in a little run and time to sit and stare at the ocean.  

We spent that afternoon at Jump n Jammin.  Cute little Cole made it up to the 2nd level, so independent.

He kept smashing his face against the netting, so funny.

A ride on the carousel, cutest brothers.  I love moments like these.

A trip to Disneyland with our favorite Disney pals Ashlee and Saige.

Al was in Texas for a work meeting and I ran into his coworkers wife, so random.

Alex got more demanding with each Disneyland trip we took.  This day it was to see Mickey and luckily that was one of the last characters we saw on our way out.  

Cole won Mickey's heart and I think everyone in the line was annoyed because the hugging lasted at least a few minutes.  Cole kept saying Mickey and I finally had to go pry him away.

These two melt me.  It's going to be hard not seeing them play together every week.  

Lunch at our favorite restaurant in California adventure.  We got our usual Diet Coke (on tap), a pizza for the kids, and their amazing lobster nachos.  It's seriously the best meal at Disneyland.  

and Al with all his colleagues.  I'm so proud of him.  He had an amazing year in sales, got promoted, and brought home 3 awards.  He's that amazing.