Disneyland...it's not for wimps

Here we are, we finally reached Disneyland, and with a little too much pushing by mom all day, about 7 p.m., we were tired. Sam suggested we sit down on some park benches (below) and take a rest. The little urgent voice in me screamed no, but gave in to watch out for the kids. Sam was inspired! Shortly after we sat down, a cute little lady sat by us and said "Your family looks like you need some magic". Turns out her title is "magic maker". She gave our family 4 fast passes to our favorite rides...AND front row VIP seats to the parade the next afternoon.

Just above, there sits our magic maker, what a nice lady! Below, here we are in our VIP spot just by the teacups...to watch the parade. Not only did we get a shaded front row seat, but the princesses and characters came up to the little girls and shook their hands. I thought Heidi might have a heart attack, she was so excited...she was practically singing!

My baby is 7...where did the time go?

Happy Birthday Heidi Anne. How did my baby turn 7? Here she is, the day after her birthday (which is Aug 9), complete with a sand castle cake. Recently Jack and I were joking that she is, as always, the perfect child. She is a peacemaker, a sweetheart and a sensitive child. She cares very much about making her parents happy, probably too much. I remember when she was much younger, just learning English, she became attached to words like 'indeed' and 'certainly'. She would answer me with these words instead of a simple yes. I remember thinking how could a 3 year old act so refined. Heidi was born feminine (from the way she held her hands as a baby) and refined. I'll stop my gushing, but needless to say, we're not joking Heidi, you are the perfect child! Happy Birthday.

BEACH FUN!

The older kids hit the waves with Dustin all day long. The did find a live star fish while out in the deeper water, that was exciting. Towards the end of the day, the activities turned to digging for sand crabs (the kids probably put over 30 in a bucket before letting them all go) and climbing the rocks to search for pincher crabs. Throughout the day, I probably buried Heidi and Camille three times! I tried to get into my book "Breaking Dawn"...but I couldn't bring myself to do it, the beach was too exciting!

Lucky Find

Well, we made a lucky find on our trip. We got up Sunday and decided to go to just Sacrament meeting at a local Newport chapel. Turns out we had to choose the later time due to our sleeping in and having a slow morning...which ended up being very lucky, due to it being the church building right across the street from the Newport Beach temple. There are two church meetinghouses in Newport, and we were lucky enough to attend the one by the temple...what luck! Oh...and if you're wondering about Dustin's church attire, he was so busy taking care of other details while we packed, he forgot his church clothes! While we went to Sacrament meeting, he ran home to the house to get our camera, so that we could snap this shot in front of the temple. I guess things all work out one way or another in the end, huh?

YES! We made it to Newport Beach!

The same night that we reached our rented beach house after 12 hours of driving...we did make a little trip to the beach! So what if it was 10:30 p.m.? The water was surprisingly warm that night and there was enough sound of delight to please any parent. What fun to watch the kids have fun....now here comes beach fun!

Perfect Primary Activity

Thanks to the former Primary President and her good preparations...we recently had the perfect Primary activity at the Museum of Church History. I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed with this new calling, and to have this already planned was a beautiful thing. The Museum of Church History runs like a tight ship, keeps the kids interested with costumes, skits and crafts, and they learn fantastic information about church history. We had a ball...and we had a great turn out. I learned about the sacrifices of our early church leaders and loved it! (in case you're wondering...that is in fact, my Joshua as Brigham Young!)

More Summer FUN!

How does the saying go? "Snakes, Dead Beetles, and puppy dog tails"? I think I didn't get that one quite right...but it is a pretty good description of my boys interests this summer. We were able to nourish old and new friendships this summer with this kind of fun! Sam with his buddies from the old neighborhood...Nate and Jack, what good kids and friends. Collecting dead beetles..what could be more fun?

How about ice cream sandwiches and watching "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"? That is my kind of summer leisure! Simultaneously with all of the critters being collected outside, we were having a girls day inside. I find so much joy in my children! Their dear friends are some of our greatest blessings. Summer is now over (I'm posting this after the fact), and as I sit at home and cry...since my last child is now in 1st grade..I am grateful that I have these precious summer memories and other summers to come. I loved our summer...and I love these funny kids!