The Place Where the Weather Makes Me the Happiest

I would like to start by thanking our fabulous friends and family who housed us on this trip. First we have the Soules family, then the Brown family, then the Saunders family. Thank you for making it a great trip!


We stopped in Victorville and spent a night with Brian, Brooke, and Lana. Adelaide and Lana had a great time together. I think they remembered they were friends back in the day before they moved away.

We went to the mall and let them play in a sweet kids area. Then they got Kung Fu Panda toys.
They really had a blast.

The next day we ended up in Disneyland. How it happened again I'm not sure, I think we're addicted.






This was Adelaide's crowning achievement. She was finally tall enough to ride the Go Coaster in Toon Towne. It was her favorite ride ever. I held on to her while she kept her hands in the air and squealed with joy. My little daredevil.

When we went last October she didn't get any mouse ears. Now she has "Mimmie" ears as she calls them.

The Disney crew.

The next day we landed at our final destination, Jef and Robyn's house. I love La Quinta in March.

Addie surfed,

and played in the sand.

We made a short trip over to Joshua Tree National Park one of the days. There is a section of the park called Jumbo Rocks which totally rocked our California world.

It consists of gargantuine rocks towering in the middle of the desert. Super cool if I do say so myself.

We spent a few hours climbing our little legs off and the kids especially had a great time. They can roam, and hike, and feel on top of the world all at the same time.

Our next trip we are planning on camping at Jumbo Rocks because we loved it so much. The best part is that every woman I saw there roamed around in a bikini. I want to do that.

Last but not least, I stocked up at my favorite store (and your favorite) Trader Joe's. Can we please get one of these in Utah? I will beg, work, plead, cower, whatever it takes. This place seriously rocks. What are my favorite things you ask? Their Indian simmer sauces are delicious and their Joe Joe's are better than Oreos. I also love their selection of nuts and pastas. Oh, their dark chocolate pretzel thins are to die for.

Here's to wishin'...

A Lovely Day

I was loving yesterday more than I can express with words.
The first reason is that I was able to turn in this assignment I've been working on forever for my class. It was nice to get that off my shoulders.

Secondly, we got outside and enjoyed the fabulous sunshine.
We went to some courts in Grandview and played tennis. Adelaide LOVES to play tennis.
Me on the other hand, well, it's growing on me.


Addie got to play at the park for a while and was able to suck in not only sun, but some static electricity as well.

Later on, Addie enjoyed a nap while I cleaned up most of the old dead plants from last fall in the front yard. It felt so good to get out in the yard and get my hands dirty! There's still much to be done though.

Davey had to go into work for a little while but came home with awesome news, he passed his quality technician certification test! This is great news. It means that according to this test, he is now smarter and better qualified for his job and future jobs. What could be better than that?

Then we ended the day with a nice bike ride on the river trail. We love riding our bikes.

Now we are ready and prepared to go to California next week. I can't wait. I get so giddy and excited when we go to California. There's just something about it...

Things From Two Weeks Ago

So I've been a slacker on things we've been up to. These pics are from two weeks ago. Oh well, better late than never.

This is Adelaide with Jordan. Jordan's mom Genevieve and I go way back to the good ole PHS days (Payson High, not Provo people. Gross, I can't believe you thought I would have actually gone to Provo High.) I'm gonna be in trouble for that one. We've been getting together for some dinner play-dates. Our last rendezvous was to Chuck E Cheese. The kids had fun but man, that place is a mad house.


I think she had the best time on this ride. Her face is almost creepy she loved it so much.


Then, two weekends ago we went to my BFF Tamsen's little boy Owen's birthday party (does that make sense)? She lives in Bountiful and they have the coolest indoor rec center in the world! We went to the pool which is the coolest indoor pool I've ever been to. Adelaide was in swimming heaven. They also have an indoor ice skating rink, it was seriously awesome.


This is the kids half. The part of the pool you can't see is an olympic sized lap pool on the other side. It was awesome and oh so warm.



Look out Kade, she has another boy veying for her attention! Adelaide said something about making you jealous?

Suh-Buh-Suh

Last Sunday it was time for Adelaide's little church class ("sunbeams") to participate in the opening exercises of Primary. One child will give a prayer, two children will give talks and one will share a scripture.

It was Adelaide's turn to share a scripture. We chose Matthew 18:4.

Now whoever said, "Not everything is a competition" must have lost a lot. Everything is a competition. In this case its not against the other child. Its each child against themselves as to whether or not they can overcome their own personalities. Shy kids might whisper, silly kids will giggle and Adelaide, well Adelaide is a wild card. And on this day she chose to play the stubborn front.

She and I walked up to the pulpit and I opened the Bible. I said the first word of the verse in her ear. She folded her arms tilted her head up and looked off into the opposite direction from which I was standing. So I tried again, and again she turned with a "hmpf". Adelaide was not winning this competition. I had to try something else.

So I said, "Addie. Look. A microphone."

Slowly she turned her head to face the front. She took the mic in her two little hands and gently spoke. The first word was her own name. It was a barely audible whisper:

"Addie."

I think in that moment she realized where she was. She had an audience. They were waiting for her. It was her words and her message they wanted to hear. Summoning all her courage and her might she followed her name with a slightly more audible but still humble delivery:

"Suh-Buh-Suh"

That was it. Her message to her people was delivered and she warmed up with a smile and a sense of accomplishment. For those who don't know "suh-buh-suh" is her made up word she uses when she doesn't know what to say. Like when I ask her why she rubbed her macaroni and cheese in her hair, or why she is wearing her bikini swim suit in January, or why she pulls the sheets off of my bed to jump on the bare mattress, she will reply, "Because Addie suh-buh-suh".

After her break through with the microphone Adelaide read with me the rest of her little scripture. Its a sweet verse that talks about the humility of a child. I couldn't help but feel that her humility won out in that moment against her stubbornness (wonder where she gets that?).

And to describe it I would only say, "Davey suh-buh-suh."