Disneyland Part 1

We hadn't taken our kids on vacation for 3 years so we decided to plan a trip to Disneyland and Sea World. When we found out that Nate had baseball tournaments in St. George and Las Vegas we decided that since we would already be part way there, we may as well continue on to California. We were joined by Ryan and Jen and Guy and Judy (a lot of and's). We spent 4 days in Disneyland and 4 in San Diego followed by another 3 in St. George for the tournament. It was a lot of fun and I loved being able to spend that much time with Justin and the kids. We are all so busy now that it isn't very often that we are all together anymore. To me, that was what made the trip. I was worried about the drive because we have always flown. The kids did great! I was so appreciative of the effort they made to get along. Kate and Ella started to show signs of missing their routine about 8 days in, but all in all, a very successful trip.

Gotta have the token Mickey flower picture.

When we took Nate to Disney the first time, he was 4 and was scared to death of this whale. This time it was Kate's turn to be afraid of him.

All the girls except Mikaela. We had so many kids with us that I had to keep counting all 9 of them to make sure we weren't loosing any. I had a couple of people ask me if they were all mine. Ha! Thanks to Justin for wearing BYU gear everyday.

Alexa and Addy. Our kids LOVED having Ryan and Jen's kids with us.

The Tea Cups. A favorite ride with a blessedly short line. Wednesday and Thursday were great for lines. Friday and Saturday were a bit more crowded, Ok a lot more crowded.

It's a Small World. It is our tradition to always make this our first ride (not sure if our next visit will keep that now that our kids are getting older). Kate and Faith's favorite ride.

Bug's Land at California Adventure. We would take turns watching the kids while the others went on Tower of Terror and California Screamin (I hadn't ever been on either, but loved both).

We ended the second day with the new water show at California Adventure. Pretty impressive.

Kate's "Hair Fixing Place"

I love having people play with my hair. I am often trying to convince my girls that it would be fun to fix my hair. My older girls don't fall for it anymore, but I can sometimes get Kate excited by that idea. One afternoon, I was taking a break and had reclined back on my couch arm. Kate was being cooperative and was fixing my hair. I wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing, but she had run to the bathroom and back several times. She often goes back and forth to get brushes, combs, clips, etc. so I hadn't noticed her go into the kitchen. I hear her from behind me say "Don't cry mom K". This, of course, gets my attention and I turn to look and she has the kids scissors that Ella had used for her homework earlier and was about to take a chunk of my hair off right at the top of my head. That would have been a nice look huh? We had to have a little discussion about how at our house we don't cut hair, just fix it. (She was with me at my hair appointment when Laurie cut 10in. off my hair.) She said "Oh so this is the hair fixing place". Now whenever she fixes my hair she asks "Now, what place is this?" and I have to tell her "Just a hair fixing place."
Last night, we drove home from a long 11 day vacation. After unpacking and getting groceries etc. Justin and I sat on the couch to watch the BYU game. As usual, I asked if anyone wants to fix my hair. Kate comes running in "I do!" so she goes and gets a brush and starts "braiding" and putting into "pony tails". She asks me if I want a bun. I say "sure", so she pretends to do a bun then turns to Justin and asks him if he wants a bun to which he replies in the affirmative. Kate pauses for a second, looks at Justin and says, "I am not sure if you have hair". Ha!