Disneyland - Days 3 & 4

Since this was our last day in the parks, we tried to hit the rides and attractions we missed the first two days. 

 

Steve and I were really bummed that Small World was closed - they are renovating and expect to open it this holiday season. Cole didn't care at all - he was just happy to be there.

We also caught the Disneyland parade - big floats with characters and decorations larger than life. My favorite was Lion King (it is also my favorite

 Broadway show!!!) 

By this point in the trip, Reagan had tired of standing on the step of the stroller and wanted to either be in the stroller (with someone holding Cole) or be held herself. This worked out well for Cole who loved to be out of the stroller and able to get around a bit more. Lucky for us, Steve was happy to carry either of them or both of them all day long.

Again with the driving theme, Reagan went on Autopia (Steve said it wasn't as fun as driving our golf cart in the yard). This was one ride where the fast pass line ended up being longer than the stand by line.

Our last night, we watched the Electric Parade in California Adventure. It was really cool with lights, action floats, music and our favorite characters. Check out these videos of the lights... 

We left before the fireworks, but still got back to the hotel pretty late. Three days filled with fun and adventure was enough time (for our babies) without pushing it. Day 4 consisted of getting up, breakfast, packing up and flying home. Despite a good night's sleep, our babies were still tuckered out and both slept most of the flight home. Thanks Disney - we had a blast!!!! (Same time next year????)

Disneyland - Day 2

Day 2 of our Disney trip, we decided to start at California Adventure during the day and then head back to Disneyland for fireworks. 

We went to see "A Bug's Life" in 3D, which actually scared Reagan. Then we saw Flick from the movie - again, she was scared. 

By far, our favorite ride at California Adventure is "Soarin' over California". Many of you have taken this ride, but if you haven't, it is a must see!!! You feel like you are in a hang glider or helicopter as you soar over different and beautiful parts of CA. The seat lifts up to help you clear a mountain top and the wind blows in your face as you fly over the waves crashing on the shore. Since our babies can't go on this ride, we had to trade off, but Disney has a "parent pass" that lets only one of you stand in line, then you switch and the other goes right on - similar to the fast pass type deal. We LOVE this ride!!

 

Steve and Reagan splashed around to get cooled off and we spent a lot of time in Bug's Land - by the little kid rides. 

Consistent with her love of driving, Reagan had to go on the bumper cars several times.

 

In the Beauty and the Beast Library, we took a "test" to see which Disney character we were most like. I was most like Ariel, again, and Steve was sad to be compared now to Jiminy Cricket, instead of Gaston, like last year. (I don't know why he is sad - Gaston may be big, strong, handsome and quite the ladies man, but he is dumb and ends up being the villan- ???) Steve now swears that he was answering the test on behalf of Cole, not himself - Right!

We finally got to see Mickey Mouse (Reagan had been asking every hour where he was) and Woody and Cinderella. 

We also went on the huge ferris wheel - scary for me while Reagan was less than impressed. Cole was just happy to be there, looking around and taking it all in.

Reagan's favorite was playing on this boat - no ride, just pushing buttons, ringing the bell, climbing the stairs, shooting water out of the guns, and just horsing around. Go figure, huh?

 

Steve got in on the fun too, although he predicted that if I post this pic, his Mom will say "Steven, that wasn't very responsible, you could have dropped one of the children". Sorry Nancy, you know how he is :)

 

We left California Adventure and went to Disneyland for dinner and fireworks. 

Another late night, but with only one day left on our Park Hopper, we'd better get ready for tomorrow!

Disneyland - Day 1

In Utah, we celebrate Pioneer Day on the 24th of July (our out of state family and friends may not know this). It is the day that the pioneers came into the Salt Lake Valley. Many people have the day off and the state celebrates with breakfasts, barbeques, parades, and fireworks. 

Like most people, Steve had the day off, so, last week we decided to use the long weekend to leave town and visit our friends at Disney. 

Yes it was hot, but it was lots of fun. Plus, compared to our trip there last August (when I was 7 months prego in comp- ression hose), it was a walk in the park - literally. 

We flew out early Thursday morning and headed straight for the park. 

Even after talking with Reagan for days about meeting Mickey, Minnie and the gang, she FREAKED OUT at every character we ran into, unlike Cole who loved every one. 

We hit Disneyland the first day and tried to just take it easy and see whatever interested the babies. That meant spending most of the time in Toon Town or in Fantasyland. Our favorite ride, though, is still Pirates of the Caribbean - gotta love it. 

By the time we watched fireworks (9:30 pm) and headed back to the hotel, we had 2 very tired babies (and 2 very tired adults). Get some sleep kids - we hit California Adventure tomorrow!

Draper Days Part 2

As I said in Part 1, we hit both nights of Draper Days.

Saturday night, we were joined by Steve's daughter Rachel and her son, Stockton, as well as Steve's daughter Shannon and her husband Matt. (Rachel's husband and daughter were camping.)

We had more food, more bouncy bounce, more reptiles, more pony rides and more music. With more of our family there, we had more fun!! 

Stockton kept up with the big kids just fine. He was at the bottom of the pile in the bouncy bounce and getting crawled on as he climbed up the slide, but he was first to climb right into the next inflatable. Way to go Little Man!

   

We put Reagan and Stockton on the pony rides, but Reagan chickened out so, we put Cole on the pony. He was loving it, although Stockton wasn't too sure about this horse thing.

The concert for Saturday night was The Stars of Beatle mania (yeah for Steve!) Nothing like spending the evening playing games and having fun while listening to Beatles songs.

The weather was hot, but we had a great time and enjoyed spending time with the kids (we missed you Kevin and Annie!)

The kids weren't the only ones getting in on the inflatable fun. 

Perhaps the best part of the night was Steve and Matt playing gladiators. Check out this video...

Draper Days

This weekend was Draper Days. (For those of you who don't live locally, Draper City is contiguous to Sandy City.)

Draper Days is basically a big carnival with games, inflatables, food, music, kids' stuff and booths. 

It was Friday and Saturday nights and we went both nights (with babies this young, you can only see so much and stay so long).   Friday night, it was just us with Reagan and Cole and we really had fun. 

Reagan loves the "bouncy bounce".  They had slides (big and small) and her favorite - the princess castle bouncy bounce. 

Reagan was excited about the face painting booth, until she saw the paint. We tried a pink star on her hand, but even that made her nuts; she wanted it off ... NOW!

They also had pony rides and a big tent from the "Reptile Rescue"... think turtles, snakes, etc. The main guy brought out this yellow python for the kids to touch (Reagan wanted nothing to do with it while Cole was fascinated). After a couple of minutes, the guy asked the kids to step back because the snake was getting mad (wonder how he knew that). No problem, we'll give him all the space he needs.

 

We sat on the lawn and watched Friday's concert which was Peter Noone & Herman's Hermits. Steve was excited and I was, well... whatever. (I swear that the only time our age difference surfaces is when we are talking music - think Beatles vs. Police). 

Thanks Draper City - we had a ball!

Bell Canyon Reservoir

We decided to hike up to Bell Canyon Reservoir last night. There are two ways to get up there - one that is shorter, but much, much steeper and one that is more of a trail. Well, the street leading to the longer, more leisurely trail was closed (uggh!). So, we decided to try the steeper one. 

I am pleased to announce that we made it - there AND back. Yes, it took us about double the time that it usually does, but Reagan walked (or was lifted) the entire way!!!!

 

We started out with Cole in the backpack carrier on Steve's back and thought we would see how long Reagan lasted. We brought the front carrier to put Cole in once we had to put Reagan in the backpack carrier, but it wasn't necessary.

 

She was a little trooper. She had to be lifted up some of the big steps and she almost fell or slipped a few times, but I had her hand the whole time and she didn't bite the dust once. 

We are so proud of her. She was so cute, stopping to touch leaves, flowers, and rocks, spotting an ant and having to watch it for a second and picking and blowing a dandelion (although I'm not sure she understands the whole "make a wish" thing).

Once upon a time, we took two girls (who shall remain nameless) on this hike. They were in their early twenties and swore that they were going to pass out because it was such a difficult hike. Well girls, your two year old sister just showed you up (so much for remaining nameless). 

After we hiked to the reservoir, we sat by the water and fed the ducks. They were so used to people, they swam right over and actually ate out of Steve's hand. Reagan and Cole loved it. 

Cole didn't fuss or cry at all, he just looked around and took it all in. It was hot and we were sweaty, but it was really beautiful and we had a great time.

Our Backyard

We've been spending lots of time in the backyard and we were talking the other night about how much went in to getting the yard to the way it looks now.  Between mining the backyard for granite rocks, hauling away the 53 semi trucks of rocks, notifying the neighbors of using dynamite to blast some of the rocks, having the crane bring in the sandstone and the 20,000 gallon tanks, choosing deer-proof (hopefully) flowers and shrubs, and watching the whole thing grow and fill in during the years, it has been quite an experience. It started when one of the landscapers said "have you ever thought about putting in a water feature?" We asked what a water feature was and the rest is history. When it was built, our yard had the largest, residential water feature in the western US and we were featured in Utah Home and Garden magazine. The scale of it was huge, mostly because the rocks that were in the yard were huge (the guys never did find the bottom of one of the rocks, they just went off of that one to place all the rest of the rocks). We used to laugh because Steve's parents and their neighbors would come sit on the deck and watch the workers -- seriously, just for fun. It really was quite a project, but we love it and use it constantly. So does everyone else; we have had weddings, bridal portraits, anniversary parties, family pictures, Easter egg hunts, campouts, graduation parties, and barbeques galore in this yard. It has been such a fun place for us to go and for our kids (grown and babies) to play. Even though it was a huge project and gave us many headaches, it has been so worth it. Take a peek at this slide show of the yard from beginning to now...

Happy Birthday Part 2

I was sick on my birthday and we didn't get to have our nice dinner, so, we made another attempt tonight - it was great. 

My sister Amber, her husband Jared, and their daughter Mikkena were kind enough to watch our babies and we headed to one of our favorite places - La Caille at Quail Run. 

Many of you are probably familiar with this place. It is such an experience. 

They have beautiful grounds with gardens, streams and vineyards and peacocks roaming around. 

Just as when we went there for Steve's Mom's birthday, they were kind enough to give me a sparkler to help me celebrate. By chance, we were seated at the same table that we sat at the first time we went there together, twelve years ago (the second week we were dating and also on my birthday).

We had such a nice dinner and enjoyed a walk around the grounds. Thanks Amber and Jared for taking care of our babies and thanks Steve for creating two great birthdays for me this year.