On the Road

We were so happy to take off on vacation last week! Months ago, we planned this trip for the Fall Break. The kids had two days off school Thursday and Friday, so we left right after school on Wednesday. It was so gloomy and dark out, we were happy to hop in the car and take off!

For days it had been cold and overcast. This was the scene as we drove through Southern Utah... somewhere between Beaver and Cedar City. The kids did really well. After dinner in Cedar City, they played and colored, then watched a Madagascar DVD as we neared Las Vegas. I was so glad that they didn't beg to watch DVDs the whole time. Of course, they got restless every now and then, but overall they did great.

It was nice to stop in Vegas and relax. The kids were stir crazy once we freed them from the confines of the car. I cannot believe I didn't take a picture of them jumping around the hotel room! Argh! It was because I had the video camera out trying to capture it all. They were hopping from one bed to the other, screaming and laughing hysterically. I was sure that someone was going to complain or send an employee up to tell us to quiet down. We let the kids get it all out of their system. About an hour or so later, however, we did have to tell Ashley to stop b/c she was going crazy and I was worried she was going to smash her head on something. She has zero inhibitions when it comes to stuff like that- she throws her body around without reserve. Eventually, we got them settled down and we watched a few episodes of Top Chef before going to sleep.

When we reached Barstow the next day, I was excited to stop for lunch at the old railroad station McDonalds, since it brought back so many memories of driving from So Cal to SLC when I was younger. We lived in Fullerton and would drive up for Thanksgiving with my Mom's family. Unfortunately, those old nostalgic memories deceived me, as they so often do. It was stinky, humid, and full of tourists. I felt claustrophobic in there! I couldn't wait to get out. But the kids thought it was cool, of course. Ashley kept asking, "When is the train going to move?" "Mom, why isn't it moving?" "Are we going to ride the train to California?" Ah, don't you love 3 year olds and their incessant questions? Her favorite was "When are we going to Disneyland?"

She knew that we were going there on Friday, but couldn't wrap her head around it. Every

time we stopped for gas or food, she would say, "But I thought you said we were going to Disneyland!?" She seemed to think it was all a big hoax or something.

The station was full of touristy shops (since all the coach buses stop there). Cheap imitation purses, shot glasses that say Barstow, personalized flip-flop keychains... you know the type.

It was such a fast drive from Vegas to So Cal. We were so happy to arrive at Jeff and Brittany's house in Huntington Beach. The kids were SO excited to play with their 3 adorable boys. Here is Olivia with baby Crue and 3 year old Finn.

Austin and Asher played Star Wars ALL weekend long! It was so much fun for my

sweet Austin who is always saying, "I wish I had a brother." Awww. If you know his history

you understand why this always brings a little tear to my eye. I was happy watching him

play all weekend with Asher b/c I knew how much he loved every minute of it.

We had a great lasagna dinner with Brittany and the boys. When Jeff got home

Jared surprised him with a special gift. In return for putting us up for 5 days,

Jared brought Jeff a LOAD of Canterbury gear. It was all packed into a duffel bag,

so you really couldn't tell how much was there until Jeff opened it

(the items were folded flat in plastic since they were straight from

the warehouse). It was a ton of stuff! Jeff got set up nicely with track suits, pullover

jackets, button down shirts, workout tops and shorts, etc. Once again they smiled

at each other and said, "Stick with me, Mate." They've been friends since college (circa

1995) and have always hooked each other up. I think this recent payment to Jeff

might make us even after Jeff hooked us up with free accommodation on our trip

to Paris in 2003. The four of us (Jeff, Brittany, Jared, and I) stayed at a 4 bedroom 2 bath apartment owned by Jeff's sister's best friend. It was fantastic!

Olivia could not get enough of little Crue. He is about 7 months old and such a doll. He

reminded me alot of Austin at that age. So blonde and cute chubby cheeks. Olivia was

the little babysitter all weekend, constantly holding him, entertaining him, giving him

toys, and even feeding him. Brittany was so good about humoring Olivia and allowing

her to smother him. It was good for Olivia in a house of 3 boys!

After dinner and settling kids down, we went to bed since we had an early morning

planned at DISNEYLAND! We knew it was going to be a long day. Everything was

laid out and ready to go. Cameras ready, batteries charged, hats, sunscreen, snacks,

you name it. We couldn't wait for our big day!

PS I don't know why the text is so messed up on here. In the Compose mode it looks perfectly aligned and normal. Does anyone know why it puts the "div" in places where I didn't enter spaces? Kind of annoying format, sorry.