Disneyland: Beach Day

So we told the kids YEARS and YEARS ago that when we finished the Book of Mormon as a family we would take them to Disneyland.  I think we had 2 or 3 kids when we first said that.  We knew we had a lot of time before it would happen given that each person would read 1 verse aloud a night.  The week before Asher was born, we finally finished!  And of course out of Lacey's mouth immediately comes, "So, are we going to Disneyland tomorrow!?!"  Um, no my dear.  Mommy is having a baby in like 2 days.  No, no we're not.

So they had to wait a little longer.  After talking to some friends, Dan and I decided to bite the bullet and just do it while Asher was still young enough to sleep everywhere we went.  So in February we looked at school schedules, park schedules, work schedules, etc, and chose the first week of May for our trip.  We wanted to avoid the crowds if possible.  (Ha . . . ha . . . ha.)

We stopped in Vegas on our way. (Jossy gets carsick, so we can never drive too far in one day, and that was pushing it.)  After visiting some friends, we drove to California the next morning.  We picked up our tickets, checked into our hotel a mile from the park (which we walked to and from every day) and went to Huntington Beach for the 2 hours left of daylight. 

The kids had so much fun playing on a warm beach as opposed to the freezing (but gorgeous) Oregon coast they'd been to.  Lacey was the only one who has a GIANT fear of the ocean and wouldn't even touch the waves with her toes.  There was a lot of crying that day on her part when we wanted a group picture.  She just couldn't do it. 

Our "group" photo

This was Asher's first beach trip.

He loved the noisy waves . . .

. . . but did not appreciate the feeling of them.

 Our kids had more fun that day and there was less complaining than any day at Disneyland.  

Recreating the Past

Taken when each boy was about 4/5 months old.  

Matty on top, Asher on the bottom.

Ashy

Asher's nicknames around here are usually Ashy or Ashy-pants.

Sometimes, you just can't make it to nap time.

(This NEVER happens to him.)

He has never been short on attention around here,

not with that cute face.

 As we got ready for our trip to Disneyland, I made him a Star Wars onesie.

"Too cute I am"

Random April

 In April, Matty graduated from the NOVA program 6th graders do in our area.  I honestly didn't understand what this was or why is was a big deal worthy of a "graduation," but the more he told me about it, the more awesome I thought it was. It really taught these kids principles to succeed in life, some seriously great skills.  I'm really thankful for the program.  

I believe this was his first over-nighter with the Boy Scouts (not just the 11-year-olds.)  They hiked up the mountain behind our house.  Dan went with him.  Matty faired much better than his dad on this trip.  He looked so little with that huge pack on him though.

Sweet Asher just grows and grows.  

He was about 6 months here.  

Lacey turns 6!

 We had a little joint birthday party for Lacey and Grandpa on Easter Sunday.

Lacey got to celebrate turning 6 while Grandpa celebrated turning "29 again."

There was a quick egg hunt and some presents.

On her real birthday, we opened gifts as a family.
She had requested a panda cake, so I made one for her.

Easter Crew

Someday some of my kids will look back on certain pictures and say, "How come everyone else is in this picture but me?  Where was I?" 

And the answer will always be the same:  "You were throwing a fit and refused." 

Yummy Toes

Dying Eggs 2017

Just 2 quick comments on these.

1.  I'm DYING seeing that huge gap in Jossy's front teeth!  I remember it being really big as we were using an expander and creating space in her mouth, but I forgot just HOW BIG it really was!!

2.  I can always tell when Matty needs a haircut by the height of his crazy hair on the top back of his head. 

Why Not Give Up?

I would love love love to be caught up on this blog again. When you find yourself somehow 8 months behind, it's easy to want to completely give up.  But here's the thing: Years ago we had all our pictures on a hard drive off of our computer. And I tripped on a cord. . . and we lost a whole year's worth (maybe more.)  The only surviving photos from that time are the ones I put on this blog.  I am so GREATFUL!

It seems most people have abandoned family blogs, at least all but a rare few of my friends have.  Facebook, Instagram, those are easier ways to keep up on others.  But man, I value my family blog.  Our whole story is here!  It is a back-up of our memories and one day I hope hope hope I'm able to finally figure out the best way to print this so my family can have it! 

So I will keep plowing forward, doing my best to catch up! 

(Kind of like every day with 5 kids . . .)

The Easter Hunts 2017

The Easter Bunny came on Saturday for us, like every year, so that we could focus our Sunday more on Christ.

The kids got to hunt for their baskets in the basement.

 Then we emptied baskets and headed off to the city egg hunt.