4th of July fun!

Brett, Jenny & kiddos came for a visit 4th of July weekend.  They got here Friday night & we were all so excited to see each other.

Here are some crazy kids all squished on the couch, so happy to be together!

Saturday we attempted Multnomah Falls but there was no parking so we went to Marine Park to play & go for a walk.

We thought we'd attempt a kids group shot.  Not too shabby, no tears.

The kids played so well together all weekend long...

 Coloring

 piano playing

 A group slide run

 The boys visiting

 Cohen LOVED the slide

of course Adalyn did too

Sunday night my Grandpa came for dinner but aside from his great presence it was play time as usual for the kiddos.

the parachute is always a hit

 We got to skype with Jordan & Tessa

And make s'mores

And of course there were a few fireworks that night to celebrate

Monday morning our ward did a 4th of July breakfast.  Honestly the best breakfast!  There were pancakes, eggs, hash browns, sausages & so much fresh fruit that I was quite the happy camper!

Brett & Jenny left for home after the breakfast.  The kids played so well together & we had such a fun weekend with them!  We are so glad they came down & can't wait for the next visit!!

That night we went to Thayne & Brandy's house.  They put on a fireworks show that lasted several hours with a finale that was over 3 minutes long & required 2 men to carry it out to the street because it was built on a sheet of plywood.  It was crazy fun!

 Luke & Matthew enjoying the show

I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July!

Graduation & Choir

Thursday June 9th was Matthew's Preschool graduation.  This was his second year there & he just loved the teachers & all of his tutors.  They had a really cute "hoppin' on" theme with frogs & lilly pads.  It made me think of my grandma, she loved frogs.  Here's a few pics...

 Their cute little stage all decorated

 Singing with friends

 Getting his certificate

 Eating snacks with his good buds J & H

 Matthew & teacher Deb, who is such an amazing teacher!  She went a few nights before to Matthew's last T-ball game & cheered him on.

This is Miss "K" (her last name is too long to pronounce or even remember).  She is the teacher over the high school students (aka tutors).  She is such a great teacher too.  Unfortunately this was her last year, she's moving back to the Midwest to be with her family.

That night was Savannah's choir performance.  Her choir teacher is so dedicated, it was such a great program!

 They all dressed as clowns.  Did I need to state the obvious?

 Singing her solo

 This is Miss Nina, Savannah's bus driver.  She wanted to come & support some of her kiddos who ride her bus.  Such a nice lady!

And this was the sky when we got home.  What a beautiful way to end a fabulous day!

Orlando, FL Days 3,4 & 5

Alright, I'm really behind on my blogging & it's been a good number of weeks since the trip & I'm starting to forget things.  My memory is similar to Dori on Finding Nemo - so sad.  But I'm just going to throw pictures on & make captions for them.  We visited all the parks; Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom & Hollywood Studios & even Downtown Disney.

 Cinderella's castle

 There were a few days with thunderstorms nearby & the skies were awesome.  There was even one day we got drenched waiting in line for Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.  This pic above is of Thunder Mtn. RR.  I don't know how to "doctor" pics so this is the real deal.  LOVE those clouds!

The electric parade in MK

 This is the Dinosaur ride.  You ride in a vehicle similar to Indiana Jones & you go back in time to when dinosaurs existed.  This is an awesome ride & Judd screamed like a girl too many times to count!

 This is also in AK as you head into Asia

 lunch at the Asian restaurant

This mountain is a ride called Mt. Everest & it's AWESOME!  Nothing like running out of tracks on a roller coaster & going backwards in the dark.  Definitely a top 3 favorite ride!

 This guy was outside of Africa in AK.

We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride in AK.  Such a great ride; elephants, giraffes, gazelles, rhinos, hippos, etc.  But of course the only pic of that ride I show you is of this tree.  They call it an upside down tree because the branches look like roots & it only has leaves 3 months out of the year.  I was so fascinated with it.

The vehicle you are in for the safari ride.

 Back at Hollywood Studios now....If I remember right this is the day we got poured on.  The clouds were so creepy around TOT.

This was part of a back lot studio guide/ride.  They were showing how they film fire & water scenes in movies.

 This was a car stunt show, so fun!

 Epcot is a fun place to walk around & see. We had lunch at a very yummy Chinese restaurant.

Over in Japan (in Epcot).

We had such a great time!  We now know why people spend 10+ days out there.  There is so much to see & experience, it's great.  However, we don't think we'll be taking our kiddos for quite a few years.  We gotta get out of the stroller & nap phase first.  Oops I forgot the Lego pic...

This Lego dragon was at Downtown Disney.

Orlando, FL Days 1 & 2

Judd & I were able to take a "Big people only" trip in May to Orlando.  It was too warm for me (mid 90's) & WAY too humid.  The best way to describe it is to shower & NOT dry off, just toss on your clothes & you're set for the day.  Ick!!  Before I get too much whinning in I will say it was a FABULOUS trip!  That's what I will focus on from here on out.  Judd had to be there for a few work meetings (oops, he missed a few) & so did many other EFS's so Tom & Deb (EFS & friends from AK) were there to hang out with too.

We stayed 2 nights in the Orlando JW Marriott before moving to Disney World. 

 The hotel entrance

 Outside by the pool

 A close up of the floating river.  We grabbed an inter tub & just floated along, it was so relaxing!

The backside of pool chairs & the cabana in background.

So we spent Day One at Universal Studios. 

 Captain America & Judd

 We saw the Blue Man Group that night, very entertaining.

 There is water everywhere down there, even in the middle of the parks.

 Dinner was at the NBA Restaurant

 Me, Betty Boop & Deb

Day 2 started at Hollywood Studios, which is where we discovered our #1 favorite ride, Aerosmith's  Rock 'n Roller Coaster.

 Judd outside the great ride

This is a bad picture of the inside of the ride.  You ride a "limo" down I-5 to the Aerosmith concert. 0 to 60 in 2.6 seconds, oh yeah!! 

We then went to Magic Kingdom where we saw an electric parade that night & rode Space Mountain.  Just for the record DL's Space Mtn. is so much better than DW's.  BUT their Tower of Terror & Thunder Mountain RR are better than DL's...Ya win some, ya loose some!

This is what an 800 passenger ferry looks like when there are only 2 confused & lost people riding it back to Magic Kingdom to catch the shuttle bus, which they thought was somewhere else.  When really the way back to the resort was where they were.  Can you say tourist?!  Oh & it was 11:45 pm when we caught the 20 minute ferry back.  It was a late night.