Happy Choo Choo Spud!

  One year older and cuter too!  Our Spud man celebrated his birthday a few weeks ago.  He likes trains and whenever he sees anything that looks remotely like a birthday cake, he starts to sing the birthday song, "Happy choo-choo to you..."  So we made him a choo choo cake.

 We had a fun, simple celebration with Grandpa, Grandma and Paisley.  Homemade personal pizzas, cake, and playtime outside.  (By the way, this is our cute little apartment kitchen, dining, family, office, and laundry rooms)

 I am so glad we have this tubby, little guy in our family.  He talks all the time and asks his favorite question to everything you say, "Why?"  "Baca" (grandpa or grandma) is another favorite word and friend. He loves to rough house and cuddle.  He follows his big sisters around and loves to play with them.   Any type of faucet or spray bottle are his favorite toys.  I remember when we found out we were having a boy after three girls, I wondered if I could love a boy as much as I love my girls and now I can't imagine our family without him.

Wrapping up

 This year Curly and Lou took a ballet class with Lettie and Gracie.  They had a lot of fun together and sometimes got a little goofy (particularly Lou) but at the recital they were all grace and sweetness.  It was fun to watch these cute girls dance.

 Two days after their recital, we loaded the truck.   After about 15 minutes of loading, I looked at what was left and thought, "There is no way that this is all going to fit in the truck."  I even called U-haul to see if they had more trucks.. but apparently I had little faith because thanks to Fisher's meticulous and careful packing - everything important fit.   It was a long, exhausting day but we were energized by the kindness shown by friends and family who took care of the girls all day, and stopped by to help clean and pack.

 After a short night's rest, Fisher and his dad got an early start in the truck. We said goodbye to Tim, Sharla and their girls and it was sad.  I took the girls to the house to see it one last time - totally empty.    I was hoping it would be good for them to see that a house is just that - a house where you live for a while.  About the time I finished crying from saying goodbye to Lovells, the Hintons came down to say goodbye and the tears started again.  We have loved living on Irma Lane. 

 It's not goodbye, it's see you later!

Happiest Place on Earth

When you are in the middle of moving and things get crazy, there is only one thing to do - drop everything and go to Disneyland!

Waiting at the gate - the early birds get the worms

 In all reality we have been trying to plan a trip to Disneyland with Tim and Shar and Pika and Pato for about a year, but it just hadn't worked out.  So with the deadline of moving, we thought it would make a nice finale event AND get our kids minds off the move.

My most vivid memory of my childhood trip to Disneyland is of my dad with a determined grin on his face, spinning the teacup as fast as possible.  He loves that ride.  After hitting the Matterhorn, there was no one on the Teacups, so dad and Tim hopped on for a nostalgic spin.  The rest of us were wiser (and still remember my sister vomiting after riding with my dad).

 Berry was a big fan of Disneyland.  She was willing (and barely tall enough) to try everything and even braved Splash Mountain with the grown-ups.  She got pretty wet in the back with Uncle Paul and is still talking about "the boat that goes off the waterfall."

Splash Mountain

 

   My Aunt Pika is a master Disney vacation planner (she could do it professionally) and with her careful planning we never waited in line longer than 10 minutes. She also planned in food breaks and even time for an afternoon nap and swim each day.  With her planning and the help of Grandpa, Grandma, Pika and Paul there were plenty of adults which made for a very unstressed trip.

Goofy girls playing in Toon Town

Pika, Paul, Lou and Curly in Flick's Flyers

 Day one was spent at Disneyland and day two we hit California Adventure.  Carsland was the main attraction there and we couldn't believe how real it felt.  I am so impressed with Disney's creativity and attention to detail.

Headed to Radiator Springs

Berry was Uncle Paul's buddy for most of the trip

 

Most of the gang in Radiator Springs

The two days in the parks flew by too quickly!  It was a wonderful and perfectly timed vacation that took our minds off of the stresses at home and allowed us to just enjoy being with each other.

Waiting for World of Color

We said our goodbyes to everyone (including Spud who flew home with Grandpa and Grandma) and headed to the beach for a morning in the surf before heading home to pack like crazy.

Brave girls in the cold surf!

Staying safe and warm in the sand

 The beach was empty (probably because it was cloudy and a little cool) so we had lots of space to play.

I love my girls!

Cousins reunited!

Some Arizona sunshine arrived last night in the form of some of our favorite people!  Let the party begin!

Well, we did it.  We loaded the truck (with lots of good help).  We said many goodbyes (it was hard and very sad) and we drove and we drove (14 hours turned into 17 hours) until we made it to Idaho.  Fisher's kind and generous parents came to Arizona to help us with all the craziness. 

With more good help here, we unloaded most of our things into a storage unit and the necessities into a cozy apartment that we will live in until finding a house.  The apartment also happens to be in my kind and generous parents' basement. 

We are getting settled and in spite of the girls (and my) hesitations and fears about moving, the first few days have been lovely.   To kick off our inaugural weekend, my sister suggested a cookout.  So we loaded up food, people, and jackets and headed off to a beautiful place on the Snake River.