AZ, CA, and the Mouse

We just spent a fabulous month traveling. It was wonderful! Of course, as with any long vacation, we were thrilled to get home, too. The kids and I spent about 3 weeks in AZ with Joe's parents and all of our friends. I have never done so much visiting in such a short period of time in my life! As an introvert, my "chatting" maximum was reached, but I loved every minute of it! My in-laws spoiled us sufficiently with numerous movies, dinners, trips to DQ and Starbucks, and so much more. We stayed with them the entire time, so the fact that they weren't booting us out by the end shows what a tolerant pair they are! :)

While we were in AZ, the kids participated in Choir Camp at Faith Church. The program was "First Action Heroes" about the heroes of the Bible. Lindsay and Nathan were leads, with Lindsay playing a present-day character and Nathan playing Joshua. Kaylee was in the chorus, and Brad (who was too old for the camp itself) was a stage hand and really enjoyed that. Lots of pictures to follow.

Celebrating Dad on Father's Day

Celebrating Grampa on Father's Day

Lindsay (in the blue flowers) as "Taylor"

Lindsay and Nathan (Joshua)

Grammy with our newly adopted bunny, Corbin (who will be coming to UT with his Grammy and Grampa in August)

Because he had to work, Joe joined us in AZ for Father's Day and the performance. After two weeks apart, we couldn't wait to see him! We stayed a few more days in AZ and then headed off to CA to stay with Joe's brother Kenny and his wife Celia. They graciously hosted us for four days while we did the touristy southern CA stuff, like visit the Mouse (twice) and the beach. Our friends, the Torlas, joined us for Disney and the beach, which was extra fun. Despite the magnanimous crowds, the time we spent in line was surprisingly short thanks to The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. If you are ever planning to visit the Mouse during the busy seasons, BUY THIS BOOK! It will shave hours off of your standing around time. You just have to be willing to follow their plans, and be willing to WALK because you zip back and forth over the park to avoid the cattle herds of people milling around staring at their maps.

Kenny and Brad

Jessica, Lindsay and Kaylee

The Infamous "Ear" Gang

We seemed to be amidst a budding romance between Christopher and Hannah. The two were inseparable! They were like this when they were younger, but we thought with the move it might change...apparently not! Won't it be funny if they end up married? :)

There were countless more pictures like this one- arm in arm!

Lindsay and Hannah



Kaylee in the Blue Bayou restaurant, overlooking Pirates of the Caribbean ride



Cap'n Brad


Aaargh!


The littlest cuties

We also spent a glorious day at Newport Beach. The weather was perfect, and no one got burned. Yeah!

Kaylee and Hannah building...um...blobs?


Lindsay, Brad, James and Nathan

Look closely, you'll find a crab that Brad and James caught. With some coaxing from the adults, he was set free.

There are many, many more pictures from our wonderful trip, but those will need to be posted tomorrow. I'm off to bed!