The Happiest Place On Earth

Last month the stars aligned and we met up with the Fjeldsted clan for some memory making at Disneyland. Neither Parker nor Kate had ever been before and it was so exciting to introduce them to the magic that is Disneyland.  As excited as they were, though, I think I may have been more excited.  I love Disneyland.  I love the thrill of the roller coasters, I love how nostalgic I feel when I'm there- remembering past visits and how enchanted Disneyland felt when I was young, and I love that everyone is just so happy there.
Two days before The Day: We met up at the beach.  The cousins played in the sand while the adults chatted. We got lunch at a local taco joint and then headed our separate ways.  John and Trudy rode the train from Oceanside (where they had been with Peter and Amber) to San Diego.  Paul picked them up from the train station downtown and they stayed the night with us.

Kate surprised us all by loving this Mexican style corn. 

Look how popular Grandma and Grandpa became with all these churros in front of them!

The day before The Day: Paul went to work while John, Trudy, Parker, Kate and I caught the train downtown and rode it to Anaheim.  We picked up Chloe, Mae and Simon on the way.  That evening we walked through Downtown Disney and had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen, which is an awesome buffet-style restaurant in the Disneyland Hotel where various Disney characters come say hi to you while you eat. It took a few minutes, but Parker really warmed up to the characters.  Kate, not so much.

The Day(!!!): We got to the park just a few minutes after it opened and we hit the ground running.  And so it can be recorded: the very first ride that Parker and Kate ever went on at Disneyland was Snow White.  We filled the day with kiddie rides, and threw in a few adult rides here and there while grandma and/or grandpa watched the grandkids. The "scariest" ride Parker and Kate went on was Pirates of the Caribbean.  We took the kids back to the hotel after dinner and had Paul's cousins who live in the area watch them so the adults could Disney 'til they dropped (we dropped just before midnight).  Of course I love our kids and was so excited to share in their magical first experience of Disneyland, but I'm SOOOO glad we got to ditch them and ride the roller coasters to our heart's content!  Honestly, it would have been a sad day if we had only been able to ride Dumbo and the like all day.

So to sum up, we went to Disneyland and it was the most awesome thing ever.

Halloween

In our ward, the Primary presidency is in charge of planning the Trunk-or-Treat.  I'm sure planning any ward activity is stressful, but it was especially so for us since we're all newbies and it was only two days after the Sacrament Meeting Primary Program.  All our hard work paid off and it was a hit!  We had a chili dog potluck, followed by the actual trunk-or-treating, and then everyone came back inside for carnival games.  We had a bingo table, a cake walk, a bean bag toss, a witch hat ring toss, pumpkin bowling, donuts on a string, pin the face on the jack-o-lantern, face painting, a photo booth, fishing for toys, a coloring station for the little kids, a raffle and a "guess how many candies are in the jar" table.  We had some of the youth man the stations and they did such a great job.  And I was so impressed at how many people stayed until the bitter end to help us clean up.  I love our ward!

On Halloween night we went to our friends' house for a party.  We all went trick-or-treating then came back to their house for dinner and games for the kids.

Pumpkin Patch With Friends

Happy Birthday to Me! #29

I had a wonderful birthday and was thoroughly spoiled.  I got my nails done, Paul made me dinner and a cake and I got lots of fun presents and babysitting offers.  September and the beginning of October has been uncomfortable hot and in honor of me, I turned down our AC three degrees on my special day and it was heavenly!

We had our friends over for cake.  All the kids took turns blowing out the candles before it was my turn.

 Paul made me a beautiful almond cake that we served with fresh raspberries and whipped cream.  Mmmmmm...

I had to act especially surprised about this gift.  It's a cutting board and something that I told Paul I wanted. A few days before my birthday the kiddos and I were at Target and I said, "Oh! we should go look and see if they have any cutting boards while we're here," to which Parker responded with a whisper, "But Mom, we already got you a cutting board for your birthday!"  I said, "Parker, you're not supposed to tell me.  It's supposed to be a surprise!"  I think he knew that, which is why he whispered it, but me saying that really embarrassed him.  He wouldn't look me in the eye for the rest of our shopping trip.

 Kate loved the cake and presents, but by the time we were done it was way past bedtime and she was one tired girl.

Thomas and Angela Visit

Thomas and Angela came for a quick weekend visit.  We loved having them!  It was a wonderful vacation for us too and we didn't even have to travel anywhere.

On Friday we went to the zoo and in the evening just the adults went to Old Town San Diego for dinner.

On Saturday we did a little garage sale shopping (Parker scored a scooter for $2) and then the boys (minus Parker) went on a fishing voyage on the ocean.  The rest of us watched a movie while Kate took a nap and then went to the mall for some retail therapy.

Thomas and Angela responsibly left Sunday morning so they could make it back to Arizona in time for church.  The weekend flew by and we hope they come see us again soon!

(Thanks for these awesome pictures, Chomas!)

This monkey was so funny and kind of freaky. It kept smiling at us and raising its eyebrows and just generally acted quite human.