For all my sisters

If you are uncomfortable with public displays of affection you should stop reading right now. (That means you Shalece.) I just read an article ( I will try to figure out how to link it some time so you can all cry as hard as I have) and it made me want to thank my own sisters. Not just my two blood sisters, but the sisters of my heart. While I have never even come close to anything as horrible as what the Nielsen family is going through, my life has not been without it's own struggles. And always I have been blessed enough to have "sisters" come to my aid countless times; Help with my children, cook meals for my family and I, visit me in the hospital (and by visit I mean hang out for long periods of time when I may or may not have been coherant), stay with us to help me and the kids, take our horse of a dog for a few nights, drive me to the ER in the middle of the night, work my shifts at the hospital, even vacuum out heat vents (at the ridiculous request of my dear mother). I don't know what I have done to deserve all the love and service that my "sisters" have given me over the years but I guess that is the thing about sisters. You don't have to deserve it, to get it. I love you! T

Grace's Greatest Disney Moments

Grace... wanted to get right back in the line to meet more princesses after she met three; wanted a balloon everytime we saw one; obsessed about how much money she had left to spend; loved Splash Mountain all but one time we rode; worried about getting wet more than I did (no easy task);wiped her seat after we went down one time so the person next in line wouldn't have a wet bum; loved being with her cousin, Sadie; liked all the rides we went on except the roller coaster type...had a great time in Disneyland. I loved being her "buddy"!

Details of Disneyland- Top seven

I don't know why the details are always what get to me, but they are. The thing I loved most about DL (aside from the delight on my children's faces and the little jolt of adrenaline I got from some of the rides) are the intricate details at every turn. No matter where you look there are amazing works of art. Even the bathrooms are a work of art in my opinion, it's downright amazing how clean they stay when there are like billions of flushes per day. Everything is so clean and safe and no detail is to small. The expressions on the pirate's faces, the bugs under the bum at the Bug's Life show, the smell of oranges on Soarin', the half eaten donut on Grizzly River, the possums hanging upside down on Splash Mountain... you probably get the point. Every ride and show is amazing in it's own right. I get a huge smile on my face just thinking about it!
McCade & Katelyn straight into the whale's mouth.

One of the many lights I found fascinating at "It's a Bug's Life."

Matt & Tana's top seven favorite rides

(not in actual order of favoritism but in order of frequency ridden)

Splash Mountain

Pirates of the Caribbean

Indiana Jones

Grizzley River

Soarin'

Tower of Terror

Screamin'

McCade's fav's

McCade loves to be Matt's "buddy". The reason this trip was so much fun for him could be because he got to hold Matt's hand 8 hours a day for 6+ days.

McCade's pants kept falling down because they were so wet. He said, "Whose pants are falling down? Raise your hand."

That radiant smile is because he is having a cupcake for breakfast, complete with chocolate Mickey topper and enough sugar filled icing to meet his quota for the day.

"Dad, we are buddies, huh?"

"I MISS MY BUDDY! Call Dad and ask him to come home. When is the next "Daddy stay home day?" McCade cried the day after we got home.

McCade checking out the ocean from our hotel room in San Diego. (I thought he looked a little like Peter Pan, hands on hips, seeing all he could see)
I know it's a horrible picture of a picture, (this isn't the one we bought) but check out the expression on McCade's face. He was so amazing on all the rides. He is an adrenaline junky already.

He LOVED getting wet. He didn't even cover up when we were in the Soak Zone at Sea World, he walked straight into the ocean nearly to his waist, he sat as far forward as they would let him on Splash Mountain (one of his only meltdowns on the whole trip was because he was so far towards the back one time on Splash.) A couple of times he was literally soaked through and through. He never complained. All he said was, "I love getting wet!" (with that cute little grin on his face.)

Disneyland- The happiest place on earth

This is no joke, Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. At least it is officially my happiest place. Here we are, the first day of our trip. Me, Grace, and McCade's first time to Disneyland. Our first day we got to the park EARLY (6:30ish.) The weather was beautiful, we couldn't have asked for a better day. Sunshine, slight breeze, mid 70's. We hit all of Fantasyland (rides geared more for the younger rider) the first half of the day. We were way ahead of schedule (a special thanks to Val and Tami for booking the trip and showing us the ropes.) I won't bore you with every last detail of our trip. (Because believe me, I could go on and on and on.) I will just hit the highs and lows. There were a few times when I wondered what in the heck we were doing with all those people. (So much for the theory that it would be less busy in October.) But after the second day we started getting more into the flow, by the 5th day, I never wanted to leave. One of the best things about going with Val and Tami is they are practically experts. Just when we were hot, tired etc. We would go to a show or eat, sit in the air conditioning and come out refreshed and ready to...get in line. Strangely, I actually kind of liked the lines by the end. It gave us a chance to get out of the throng, have a little snack, visit, and never be disappointed with the ride at the end of the line. The bottom line... we can't wait to go back. We drove to Salt Lake the first night of our trip to save some time. Matt got us some sweet rooms at the Grand. When we went to Val and Tami's room before going swimming Val answered the door in a robe. It was pretty hilarious, he was trying to get the slippers on but wasn't fast enough. The next morning we set out for Anaheim.
Matt and Val, decked out, notice the slippers.
Katelyn. Sadie, McCade, and Grace waiting for the awesome Bug's Life 3D show to start.

More on the trip later...

Happy Un-birthday to me

We always get together for either a birthday lunch or dinner. Obviously it gets a little tricky with scheduling conflicts, since this was my birthday lunch and it is October. Oh well, the food was yummy (Rustic Moose) and the company is always fantastic, no matter how late we may be. One excuse to do lunch is as good as another, Lucky for me this excuse comes complete with a gift. Me, Michelle, Mindy, Shalece, and Jenn

The previously mentioned gift. A few years ago we started this compilation gift giving thing. The best thing about it is that we always give/receive things that are frivolous and fun and that we would not necessarily buy ourselves. No gift is complete without a homemade tag and a lot of cellophane. Thanks girls! Sure do love ya!