On Three....We're going to Disneyland (a few months ago)!!!

Nothing like 5 kids chanting from the back of a minivan, "We're going to Disneyland" for a half an hour before you arrive at the most magical place on earth to get you mentally prepared for the day ahead. This dichotomy sums up my feelings about the place (at least with young kids) - parents paying dearly (monetarily and mentally) for everything, trying to appease, and ultimately putting up with a lot of obnoxious behavior to enjoy brief moments of tremendous joy and excitement bubbling from their little ones. It is definitely worth it, but it is an exercise in patience for even the sweetest parents and kids.

The picture below sums up the range of emotions we felt during the day, but all in all we had a great time. No major meltdowns (only me at the end of the night after trying to suffer through a terrible cold all day), and even though the lines were pretty long (just a tip to steer clear of the place during both Utah and California spring breaks), we were able to tackle some of the rides that were closed the last time we went like Pirates and Small World.

I'm a bit embarrassed that the picture below represents the first time I figured out how to take a self picture with my phone. This little feature would have come in handy in Paris. Perhaps the BK and I could have actually taken a decent picture together. My beautiful sister-in-law and niece. If you didn't already know better, you might have a hard time figuring out which child belongs to whom. As we like to say, there is a light side and a dark side in every family. In ours it is clear who belongs where.

Though we waited in line for the princesses thinking that this would be primarily of interest to the Rooster, the PoPo was enamored with the Princesses and was flashing his flirtatious smile at every turn. The Rooster was in heaven, and wasn't disappointed in the least by the new princess set up. A vast improvement I must say. Good work Disney.

A little alone time with the Rooster.

Aside from Disneyland, we had a fantastic time and are always grateful to my brother and his family for being such amazing hosts and putting up with us. We took a day trip to Descanso Gardens near Pasadena, which was an amazing place. The kids wandered around the gardens for hours, and put on numerous plays at the amphitheater, including one where the PoPo chased his siblings, cousins and strangers around growling like a bear. I would highly recommend this place if you are in the area. Unfortunately, the plays will not be available.

Lastly, we were going to go to the beach, but with traffic and spring break, we opted for staying in and eating the largest pizza in the world. Okay, probably not the world, but it took 4 kids to hold it. It was also delicious and disappeared pretty quickly. 

Southern California is definitely growing on me. Hopefully we will make it back soon.

Brotherly Love

Most days, it would really be pushing it to say that the LG even took responsibility for himself, let alone his siblings, but he has been showing some promising signs as of late. The other night, PoPo was having a very hard time going to bed. He was howling in his room from underneath the door. The BK suggested to the LG that he help put PoPo in bed. When they opened the door, PoPo was sitting there with a tear-stained face and bawling. The LG took his hand and said, "PoPo, if there are any bees (mosquitos), I will smash them, if there are any clowns, I will bop them, and if there are any robots, I will punch them in the face."

Clearly enough said. PoPo immediately stopped crying, stood up and climbed himself in bed, never to be heard from again (until morning). Sometimes, the BK and I are clearly at a loss for what these kids really need.

Summer of Fun

Okay Farmington/Salt Lake area friends, we have finalized our plans for a Summer of Fun. For anyone interested, we will generally meet on Thursday mornings at 10am at the site so account for travel time. Plan to typically bring a lunch. The following is the schedule of events:

June 13 - Golden Spike Museum ($7 per car so load up)

June 20 - Wheeler Historic Farm (Free)

June 27 - Get Air Sportsplex, Kaysville ($10 for 46" and over, $5 for under 46", if there is enough interest, we could book a party room for 10 or more kids which is $140)

July 3* - Utah Museum of Fine Arts (Free on the 1st Wednesday of the month, please note this is a change from the typical schedule.)

July 11 - Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point ($10 Adult / $8 Child)

July 18 - Liberty Park Seven Canyons Water Feature (Free)

July 25 - Hogle Zoo ($12.75 Adult / $9.75 Child)

August 1 - Hill Air Force Museum (Free, donations encouraged)

August 8 - Living Planet Aquarium ($9.45 Adult / $7.45 Child - we can get a $1 discount per ticket ; ) if we have a group of 20+)

August 15 - USU Botanical Gardens (Free)

August 22 - Tracy Aviary ($7 Adult / $5 Child or $1 discount with group of 10+)

If you have any questions, let me know. Hope you can join us at some point!