Easter

I have to admit that Easter snuck up on me this year.  I had kind of forgotten how soon it was coming up until I saw a sign in our neighborhood advertising a community Easter egg hunt on Saturday....agh, that was just the next day!  Since Jeremy was working in the morning it was a great little activity for the girls and me.  When I told Cambrie to get dressed, she said that she wanted to be colorful like an Easter egg and found the brightest clothes in her collection.  I kind of like the effect. 

The only problem was that it was snowing!  Yes, it was freezing during our egg hunt, and my stubborn girls won't wear gloves to warm coats.  Oh well.

But the girls were tough and had no problem finding their six eggs each.  I was very glad when those twelve eggs contained toy rings, aliens, and bouncy balls instead of oodles of candy. 

McKenzie was such a pro little egg finder that when she wasn't looking I had to sneak the extra eggs out of her basket and throw them a little farther away for the other kids to have a part of the excitement.

My Easter morning started out with a youth sunrise fireside at the park.  It was still overcast, so we weren't able to see the sunrise, but the fireside was very nice.  One of our ward members is an expert about the period of time when Christ lives.  He knows a lot about the customs, lifestyle, society, traditions, etc... that really help the stories of Christ come to life.  It was a great way to start the day.  When I got home the girls were awake and were excited to see what the Easter bunny brought them.  Every year they get new dresses, and usually some type of toy.  But I've decided to start a new tradition where they will also get something Christ-related to help remember the reason for all he celebration.  This year they got a picture of Christ holding a little boy's hand.  I hope when they look at it they can feel how much Jesus loves them and cares for them. 

Once they saw their big gifts it was time to look for their Easter baskets.  Even after much hint giving, McKenzie still couldn't find hers for a long time.  She just thought I wanted her to play on her slide, not look under it. 

When Cambrie found her basket, she ran all around the house calling out, "Best Easter ever!" 

She got "Toy Story 3"...and chocolate. 

Then it was time to get ready for church.  I always have my doubts whether Cambrie will wear the dresses or not...she's very picky.  I was very glad when she wore it without much fuss.  Yea! 

Even though McKenzie's turned out too big (cute petite child) and I ended up safety pinning it on her, I still think they turned out all right.  With the girls' smiles, they turned out great. 

I just have to say that I love this holiday.  It is so nice to be reminded to think about Christ all the time and what he did for me.  The resurrection validates Christ's whole life.  It is why he did what he did.  He taught us, loved us, and showed us what we should do to return to Heavenly Father but without a resurrected body, we can't return to Him or become as He is no matter how hard we try.  I am grateful for his sweet love for me and for his role in my life.  He is my Savior, he has risen, and he lives. 

Newport Beach

After two days at Disneyland, we needed a chill way to spend out last day in California.  Our friends, the Griffitts, are living in California while Trevor finishes up his oral surgery program and it was a great excuse to say hi.  So we headed down to Newport Beach (ironically this is where I spent the night before my race), and enjoyed our time together.

While living in Philadelphia we all spent a lot of time together at Ocean City, and this was just like old times.  The girls rolled around and got dirty.  They dug holes.  The splashed in the water.  And just enjoyed the freedom.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Disneyland, "Let the Memories Begin"

Well, I guess the main question is, "Where to begin?"  After Ragnar, my family flew out to meet me and we spent the next few days at Disneyland.  Cambrie has been waiting for this trip for so long, and I was soooo excited to introduce her to all of the Disneyland magic.  Before we left the hotel that first morning, Leesa gave both the girls a small gift.  Cambrie got an autograph book for all of the characters we would be meeting.  Her neighbor's daughter, Jamie made it for her and she did a really cute job. 

So once she was armed and ready, we headed into the park.  We took a nearly postcard perfect picture (for our family) right inside the front gates.  And then we were off to find some fun!

Because we ended up booking our tickets as a package, we were able to go to Mickey's Toontown Madness for a little show and to become Honorary Toontown Citizens.  We weren't sure what time it started, so we were about ten minutes late and missed the parade which was too bad.  But we made it in time to see some of the show.  What a way to start a trip to Disneyland!  Look at all of those Disney superstars we were able to see first thing in the morning! 

Cambrie couldn't believe her eyes. 

After the show, the characters spread out a bit and we were able to put some pretty signatures into Cambrie's book.  First we found Chip. 

Then Dale. 

Then we got in line to see the man himself, Mickey Mouse.  We didn't have to wait too long since it was still early.  And the girls were so cooperative it was a breeze.  I love how this family picture turned out!  Yea for happiness and Mickey Mouse. 

After we left our pal Mickey, we wandered through his house and Cambrie thought all of his furniture was just silly.  But she did comment that Pluto's bed was not very comfortable. 

Once we walked out of Mickey's house, we headed next door to Minnie's.  Smile girlies! 

Inside Minnie's house we had a little tea party, checked out her cheese supply in her fridge, and Cambrie baked and re-baked a cake in her oven. 

Our first ride of the trip was on the Gadget Coaster.  When Cambrie noticed that the roller coaster was made out of giant toothbrushes, thread, floss, and match sticks, she mentioned that "everything in Disneyland is silly."  It was a great ride to get warmed up on, and after that Cambrie was done waiting in line to see the characters, she just wanted to go on all the rides. 

But before we did that, we took a few minutes for some cute photo-ops in Toontown.  Smiling up on the Miss Daisy.  

Breaking out of jail. 

Under the gazebo, trying to get Cambrie to smile. 

And who's idea was it to give Cambrie the wheel? 

Nana and McKenzie sitting by the fountain. 

By this time we were realizing that McKenzie was not feeling too well.  In fact, she had a fever and was acting miserable.  So she spent most of her morning in someones arms asleep. 

While she was sleeping, we headed over to Tomorrowland for some Autotopia driving.  I thought Cambrie would love being able to drive, but since the steering wheel was so stiff it was jerky and hard to keep straight.  She decided that it was too bumpy for her liking. 

Her next request was the Matterhorn.  There's no fast pass for that ride, so we had to do it the old fashioned way by waiting in line.  While we waited Jeremy ran to get fast passes for other rides for later in the day.  We finally made it to the front of the line, sat down in our sled, and were told that there were some mechanical problems with the ride and we would have to come back in about 45 minutes.  Bummer!  We went to Space Mountain only to find out that it was also temporarily shut down for mechanical reasons....hmm...I guess it was time for Alice in Wonderland.  Half-way through that line they had to shut it down for about 10 minutes while they retrieved a lost purse...we were definitely on a roll.  We eventually made it onto that ride and Cambrie had fun.

To keep with the Alice in Wonderland theme we headed to the tea cups.  After an intense Gravitron experience a couple of years ago, Jeremy and I just haven't been the same on rides.  I knew getting onto this ride that I would walk off feeling sick, and I had every intention of just waiting by the exit.  But can you really say no to a three-year-old at Disneyland?  Here is our "before" picture while we are still happy with settled stomachs. 

Here is Cambrie's "during" picture while on the ride.  Doesn't she just look dizzy to you? 

And I'll spare you the "after" picture.  To give our stomachs a break we headed into the Mad Hatter's shop and tried on all sorts of silly hats.  I think this picture is my favorite. 

For more calm rides we stayed in Fantasyland and went on Peter Pan's adventure.  Before we left Colorado I had promised Cambrie a swirly lollipop.  She has had two unfortunate experiences with swirly lollipops in Logan...they always seemed to break on her.  So I picked one up while we were waiting in line and it was the perfect entertainment for a long wait time. 

After our stint in Fantasyland, Leesa and McKenzie met back up with us (they had gone back to the hotel for a nap).  And we were able to use all of those fast passes Jeremy had picked up.  We were able to combine those with stroller passes too and managed to fit in eight rides in just under two hours.  It must have been some sort of record.  In fact, we were flying through Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so quickly that I don't have a single picture to prove we were having so much fun.  But before we left the park, we were able to get one final parting shot of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and two very tired girls.  Luckily for them we just get to do the same thing again the next day!

Disneyland "The Happiest Place on Earth"

Growing up I've been to Disneyland several times, but have never done a character meal.  While planning this one, everyone told me that it was a "must do."  And I have to say that it was definitely a "must do."  We woke up the girls bright and early again (sorry sleep deprived children...you have to go have fun), then headed to the Goofy's Kitchen for an AMAZING breakfast.  Before you sit down to eat, or spill on yourself, you get to meet the Goofy-man himself.  Awesome?  Yes. 

Then they sit you down at a table and tell you to help yourself to the awesome buffet and wait for characters to come find you.  There was the typical scrambled eggs, fruit, yogurt, and Mickey Mouse pancakes, and to Jeremy's delight there was also everything else under the sun.  New Orleans hash, salsa, ham, potatoes, peanut butter and jelly pizza, hot dogs, salmon, soup, croissants, chicken nuggets, eggs Benedict, brownies, dirt cups, ice-cream, banana foster...what a meal!  The girls ate their Mickey Mouse pancakes then headed straight for the dessert, mainly the gummy worms in dirt cups.  Delicious!  Who knew four teeth can successfully chomp a gummy worm? 

However, when the characters started to call, McKenzie's happiness turned to terror.  She wanted nothing to do with these friendly giant stuffed animals. 

While we ate we were visited by Captain Hook. 

Cambrie gave Pluto a big kiss on the nose and he was super flattered. 

And Snow White was there representing the princesses. 

Chip and Dale were there, so we got to see them again.  And Baloo would periodically lead all the kids in a dance party in the middle of the floor.  But for some reason Cambrie didn't want to get too close to him and we never got his autograph.  After we were stuffed to the brim we walked outside to get a picture of the giant sorcerer's hat. 

Before we got started on all of the rides, we went for some more character meet and greets.  Number One on the list was Tinkerbell.  The line didn't look terribly long but it still took us awhile to get through.  So we looked at the pond. 

We tried to distract Cambrie while secretly taking her picture. 

And we played Rind Around the Rosie. 

Finally it was time to see the fairies at Pixie Hollow.  Iridessa was first, and she considered Cambrie a fairy expert because she actually knew her name. 

Then we made it to Tinkerbell's house.  Yippee.  Cambrie was a little shy at seeing her favorite fairy, but dutifully handed over her autograph book and smiled for pictures. 

When Tinkerbell took the autograph book to sign it, she turned over the cover to look at it and when she saw that it was one made especially for her, she gave Cambrie a great big hug.

When planning our vacation, I knew that McKenzie would probably like just a few select rides.  There is so much singing and music in It's a Small World that I thought she would love the ride.  O contraire...she was terrified of the singing and dancing little robots.  She was clingy and grabbing at me the whole time.  She could not get off that ride soon enough. 

All of the princesses hang out at the Fantasy Faire.  We stopped by to see how long the meet and greet line was, and were appalled when we found on it was at least a 90 minute wait.  Yikes!  I went and stood in line while Jeremy took Cambrie to a show that was going on.  They caught just the last few minutes of it and danced around a May pole. 

After the show, three princesses were standing down on the stage so we rushed down to get in line for their autographs before they left.  We hopped in Cinderella's, but she had to go before we got to her.  So next we got in Aurora's line.  We made it through just in time before they stopped that line too.  She was the honorary last entry in Cambrie's book. 

While we were there, a princess story telling was getting ready to start.  So we took a seat in the front and sat entranced while Cinderella told us her story.  Even McKenzie sat still to enjoy it. 

 Afterwards the girls sat on the story telling throne pretending to be princesses. 

McKenzie had basically had her fill of fun by that point and went back to the hotel for a nap.  The rest of us went to Adventureland.  We went to a show at the Tiki Room, another show I thought McKenzie might have enjoyed.  We went on a jungle cruise, which Cambrie thought was awesome until a school of piranha's attacked the boat right next to where she was sitting.  Then she jumped up and tried to run to the other side of the boat, all the while grabbing at me and tripping over the other passengers' feet.  We even explored Tarzan's tree house. 

By the afternoon Cambrie was ready for some down time so we went to Tom Sawyer's Island and explored the pirate's caves.  Cambrie thought the skeleton climbing gym was pretty awesome.  And I love this picture just because it's kind of gruesome that she's climbing on bones. 

With McKenzie gone, Cambrie didn't have a stroller and had to walk.  I don't blame her for getting tuckered out by the end of the day.  Having fun is hard work.

We saved the Dumbo ride for McKenzie when she woke up.  It was her first real ride and she loved it.   Too bad the wait was so long or else we could have done it a few times. 

Rapunzel was gone by the time we found her tower, but we still took a picture next to her golden hair spilling out of the window. 

And the last ride of the day was the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We went on this ride the most because of the ease and convenience of the fast pass.  Cambrie also thought it was a hoot.  After we got off she'd always ask if we could do it again, and again, and again.  She started out timid, but by the eighth ride she was a pro.  On the last ride her hands were up in the air and she was screaming with the rest of us.  There was a row of super screamers behind us so I couldn't hear how loudly Cambrie was screaming, but when I asked how loud she was, she just told me that her screamer was sore.  She must have been really screaming then.  Can you see her little hands sticking up next to Jeremy?

By the time we went to get dinner we were all worn out so we decided to stake out seats for Fantasmic that night.  We ended up getting pretty great seats that we could sit and watch the show the whole time.  McKenzie was a little nervous about the whole thing, but learned to tolerate it.  Cambrie really enjoyed it but fell asleep by the time the fireworks started.  I guess that's a sure sign of a good time though.  So it was a quick two day stint in Disneyland, but that's all my girls could handle.  They were just exhausted by the end.  And honestly, I was too.  What a great trip though.