Yay! My spring break pictures are saved from the evil corrupt memory card! Here we are at California Adventure. As you can see, Matthew is thrilled at being in the stroller. Other than this moment, he was very willing to be pushed around the parks. OUR California adventure started at Laguna Beach on Monday afternoon:
The kids found out really quickly that the ocean is cold and it feels really awesome to lay on warm towels and soak up the sun!
Our freezing Jacob waiting for the next wave:
Ryan and Jared loved the waves:
Brrr -- cold!
Salt water in the eyes and mouth:
Beach happiness:
Exploring the rocks, crabs, and other little ocean creatures:
Disneyland. One of our first stops was Indiana Jones for Jacob. (Should have used the other camera, this one just doesn't cut it in low light!) Last time we were there, he was like 45" instead of the required 46" and didn't get to ride it. No problem this year! We used a stroller pass and Jacob rode twice in a row.
While Jacob rode Indiana the second time, Jared, Matthew, Ryan and I headed to the Jungle Cruise.
Matthew says his favorite ride was Winnie-the-Pooh, even though we only rode it once!
Gotta love Matthew's "smile".
He also really really liked Jedi training, although I'm not sure why -- he didn't get picked to be a padowan. He actually cried over not being chosen the first time. The second time we tried, we left after he didn't get picked. Matthew could have taken Darth Maul in a second. Just ask anyone who knows this child's fascination with all things Star Wars. So really, jedi training would have just been a waste of time anyway!
Silly boy.
At King Arthur's carousel:
Space Mountain is probably my favorite ride of all. At the very end of the ride, they snap a picture of the riders and then everyone finds themselves on the little tv screens outside the ride and snaps a picture of their picture. So here's Ryan and Jacob in the front of the car:
And this is me (green shirt) and Jared (hands up) in the third row of another car.
Matthew wasn't quite tall enough to ride Grizzly Rapids, but a fabulous play ground is just across the pathway and Matthew loved climbing around on stuff:
Jacob, Matthew and I waited at the bridge while Jared & Ryan ran over to see if Screamin was open. It wasn't. We had to do other stuff for a few hours, but the boys and Mark got plenty of rides on it later in the day. That's one of their favorite rides.
These are my favorite pictures. Matthew and Jacob got to meet Brother Bear. Matthew was so excited that he ran past all the kids in line to get to Brother Bear. We had to call him back to take his turn.
But waiting your turn is SO worth it!
Jacob even decided it would be OK to get a bear hug!
As much as Matthew loved Brother Bear, I feel bad now that we didn't take the time to meet some of the other disney characters. I especially feel bad that we missed the pixar pals -- I neglected to look at my park schedule :( Another of Matthew's favorites was of course, Buzz Lightyear. We rode it a bazillion times.
Another favorite stop for the boys is the Lego store.The big boys just can't resist a good lego climb!
A good time was had by all!
The boys played in their piano recital and did very well. They had a learned a lot this year. Jacob played Star Wars and Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Ryan played the theme from James Bond.
Jared played Great Smokey Mountains and Pink Panther. They all had their music memorized and really did an awesome job!
We spent Easter in Idaho with my parents and a lot of cousins. After Mike & Mandy's reception on Saturday evening, we colored eggs -- fun for all ages! We had about 5 dozen!
My parents have a little "treehouse" in the backyard that the kids love to climb up on. Here's Colton, Stephen, Trevor, and Matthew.
It wouldn't be Easter in Idaho without a ginormous egg hunt! We had like 280ish eggs hidden all over the yard.
Matthew's "smile" just cracks me up! Here's Jacob running for the eggs!
We LOVE spending Easter in Idaho with G&G Brady and all the cousins!
Another nephew married off! Mike and Mandy were married in the Logan temple on April 23rd. They are such a cute couple.
We enjoyed a delicious wedding lunch at the Coppermill following the ceremony and pictures. Jared got very brave and tried the chocolate cake:
We had to take a picture because we know nobody would believe he actually tasted it! The kid has never liked cake and until today, never wanted to try it. He decided it tasted alright, but still just doesn't like the texture and therefore would continue to NOT be a cake eater. He left 75% of it on the plate and refused to try the cream cheese frosting.
That's how much Mark lost to win this! Wahoo! Of course, at the awards ceremony all I had was the camera phone and the pictures were really awful. So, you'll just have to settle for a picture of the fake check. Now comes the hard part -- keeping it off and trying to lose the last 10 or 20 pounds. He's been working out a lot. I'm proud of him.
Yay! My spring break pictures are saved from the evil corrupt memory card! Here we are at California Adventure. As you can see, Matthew is thrilled at being in the stroller. Other than this moment, he was very willing to be pushed around the parks. OUR California adventure started at Laguna Beach on Monday afternoon:
The kids found out really quickly that the ocean is cold and it feels really awesome to lay on warm towels and soak up the sun!
Our freezing Jacob waiting for the next wave:
Ryan and Jared loved the waves:
Brrr -- cold!
Salt water in the eyes and mouth:
Beach happiness:
Exploring the rocks, crabs, and other little ocean creatures:
Disneyland. One of our first stops was Indiana Jones for Jacob. (Should have used the other camera, this one just doesn't cut it in low light!) Last time we were there, he was like 45" instead of the required 46" and didn't get to ride it. No problem this year! We used a stroller pass and Jacob rode twice in a row.
While Jacob rode Indiana the second time, Jared, Matthew, Ryan and I headed to the Jungle Cruise.
Matthew says his favorite ride was Winnie-the-Pooh, even though we only rode it once! 
Gotta love Matthew's "smile".
He also really really liked Jedi training, although I'm not sure why -- he didn't get picked to be a padowan. He actually cried over not being chosen the first time. The second time we tried, we left after he didn't get picked. Matthew could have taken Darth Maul in a second. Just ask anyone who knows this child's fascination with all things Star Wars. So really, jedi training would have just been a waste of time anyway!
At King Arthur's carousel:
Space Mountain is probably my favorite ride of all. At the very end of the ride, they snap a picture of the riders and then everyone finds themselves on the little tv screens outside the ride and snaps a picture of their picture. So here's Ryan and Jacob in the front of the car:
And this is me (green shirt) and Jared (hands up) in the third row of another car.
Matthew wasn't quite tall enough to ride Grizzly Rapids, but a fabulous play ground is just across the pathway and Matthew loved climbing around on stuff:
Jacob, Matthew and I waited at the bridge while Jared & Ryan ran over to see if Screamin was open. It wasn't. We had to do other stuff for a few hours, but the boys and Mark got plenty of rides on it later in the day. That's one of their favorite rides.
These are my favorite pictures. Matthew and Jacob got to meet Brother Bear. Matthew was so excited that he ran past all the kids in line to get to Brother Bear. We had to call him back to take his turn.
But waiting your turn is SO worth it!
Jacob even decided it would be OK to get a bear hug!
As much as Matthew loved Brother Bear, I feel bad now that we didn't take the time to meet some of the other disney characters. I especially feel bad that we missed the pixar pals -- I neglected to look at my park schedule :( Another of Matthew's favorites was of course, Buzz Lightyear. We rode it a bazillion times.
Another favorite stop for the boys is the Lego store.The big boys just can't resist a good lego climb!
A good time was had by all!
