The last one...

We bumped into Malachi (my brother-in-law) and his three girls at the carnival tonight, and who can resist a photo booth when you have 7 fun kids around?! Not me! However, squishing all 7 faces in was NOT going to happen so we had to make due with separating them and then editing them into one sheet =)

Soooo... before baby number 8 comes along, here is the last photo of the 7 grandkids on my side of the family...

Birthday Card

Ethan was going around the neighborhood with a clipboard, pen, and paper today. I asked him what he was doing. He then showed me the piece of paper. He had been going around getting everyone to sign the paper- which had written across the top: Happy 23rd Birthday Mike! Mike turns 32 tomorrow. I wonder how old the neighbors think we were when we started having kids?! LOL

Easter

Ethan had his first REAL baseball game on Friday. He loved it so much and is so enthusiastic to play again! He was a little worried about the pitching machines but in the end, he stood up, faced them down, and got a piece of the ball in just the first couple tries. The one highlight of the night was when everyone on base was running into home. Ethan ran from second to third and then stopped, allowing the person on first to pass him by. By the time he got what was going on, he came into home plate behind the batter that was behind him. It was pretty cute! Classic first baseball game!

The world of watercolor

Before our trip, my mom gave all four kids a watercolor painting craft. The twins and the older two did the painting at different times and I didn't get to take a picture of the older two doing it, but here is my cute littlest kiddos painting theirs...

Last Leg of the Trip

Yesterday, we left Crescent City and traveled up Hwy 101 to Newport. We walked the boardwalk but most things were pretty vacant on a mid-monday. We saw the sea lions that are always perched on the docks and then headed north to Tillamook just in time to run in, see a bit of the cheese factory, and get a yummy scoop of ice cream.

Then we got the kids some dinner, got them in jammies, and had our last potty break of the night before heading home. We pulled into our driveway at 1am.

I think we are all so happy to be home and have the yard to run and play and see spring arriving at our doorstep. Awww... a great vacation and a great day to be home!

More plans a-changin'

We decided we're not coming home tonight. Last night we pulled into Crescent City, CA and found a hotel, and now have the plan to possibly make it all the way to Newport, OR to spend just a few hours before heading to Portland to spend the night. Then get up early tomorrow and be home by mid-day. Yesterday, we spent a bit of time getting out of San Francisco, seeing Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world), driving past a cathedral that was built as an exact replica of Notre Dame, and going across the Golden Gate Bridge. We then made our way up the California coastline, enjoying our first glimpses of the Giant Redwoods. We drove through the famous "drive thru tree" and stopped to let the kids climb into a few of the trunks that we hollowed out and large enough for all four of them to sit in comfortably. We stopped in Eureka, Ca at a Irish Pub for REAL seafood and it was such a cute place! Made me feel like I walked into a real pub in Ireland. Then we found a beach a little to the north to let the kids enjoy the cold windy ocean for about 8 minutes. It was just too cold to stay longer and we were dressed for California... not Washington beaches (which is what it looked like!) Our hotel here in Crecent City is a little on the downward side- as hotels go- but the room itself is the biggest hotel room I've ever seen, without adding a livingroom space. LOTS of room and the kids enjoyed a jacuzzi bath late last night. Then- off to bed, too late to have blogged last night. Now we're off for Oregon. Wish us luck!

Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair...

In San Francisco... Tonight we arrived in San Francisco. We left Anaheim (and not a moment too soon according to Chez-Chez who misses her Jazmine so much!) We have driven all day with a few stops along the way, including replacing our new dual screen DVD player we had bought for this trip about 7 days ago. Walmart replaced it and we were on our way. We did make a very brief drive-thru of Hollywood Blvd. to see the stars on the sidewalk and the Hollywood sign on the hill, but never stopped or got out. It's not as glitzy and glamorous as I had imaged. Sometimes I think it's best to just allow your imagination to believe what it wants and not visit reality ;) LOL We are now in the NICEST hotel we've been in on this trip and LOVING it. I wish we could stay longer just for the fun of having a full apartment to ourselves. Mike and I have our own bedroom/bath, and the kids all share a 2 Queen bedroom/bath. We also have a livingroom and full kitchen. Expedia had to cancel one of our reservations so they upgraded us to this. Super nice! Wish it had happened in Anaheim. =) Tomorrow: Golden Gate Bridge and the Redwood Forest!

Disneyland- Day 4

The day started off with a feverish Cohen throwing up at 6am. The poor kid had the flu and was feverish yesterday, too, but we went along with the day and he was a trooper. It got the best of him this morning, though, and he stayed in bed at the hotel with Mike. The rest of us quietly got dressed and snuck out so he wouldn't be upset. I took the kids to the princess line, as we had planned the night before, and got there about 10 minutes before it opened. Even so, we were about 20 minutes behind in the line but that was way better than 90! The 2 kids got to meet Belle, Ariel, and Tiana. Ethan was the fearful pirate (but warmed up to the princesses in the end...) and the girls were dressed up as Tiana. After that, I took the 3 kids on a few kid rides (like Dumbo, Caseys Circus, and Snow White) and soon after, Cohen and Mike braved the outside world. Cohen was feeling much better and survived the rest of the day just fine. We spent the rest of the morning going on the rides we liked the most and then split up- me with the twins to do naps- and Mike with the older two to hit some more rides. When we joined up again, we spent more time in California Adventure and then went to Disneyland to watch a slideshow presentation that they put on at the Small World ride. Ethan and Danissas pictures both showed up in it! To wrap up the day, we headed over to Fantasmic to claim our seats and watched the fireworks from there. Then Fantasmic started- which was.... well.... fantastic! It was a great way to end our time in Disneyland. As rocky of a time as it was, it was still worth it. Just a learning experience ;)

Disneyland- Day 3

Well, this trip has been a learning experience of what not to do at Disneyland. Don't get in line for a fast pass without the rest of your family having already been checked into the park. Don't come during spring break. Don't attempt any rides before 5pm. Don't expect to eat at the Blue Bayou without a 2 day in advance reservation. Don't plan on doing the "princess for a day" package without a day in advance reservation. Okay... enough complaining. =)

After a lot of back and forths across the park and confusion on where to go to do what, I finally bought the girls the complete outfits for doing our own princess for a day. I took them into a rest room and changed them and quickly put their hair up into a messy pile of fake curls. Danissa and Chezney both picked to be Princess Tiana. Danissa picked brown curly/braided hair extentions and Chezney picked one that was 2 shades of pink. We planned on doing a knights dress up option for the boys, but found that there wasn't one, SO while I did the princess day with the girls, Mike took the boys across the park to Adventure Land and bought them complete pirate costumes. We watched Cinderella tell a story about becoming a princess and Cohen was selected to "help in the story" by pretending to be prince and dancing with Cinderella. It was so cute! Later in the day we had a "Mickey and Minnie birthday party" where the kids got to wear hats, decorate their own cakes, and get their picture with Mickey and Minnie. Ethan was having an attitude problem so he wasn't in the picture (he was hiding behind me crying) but it was still fun. Cohen has had a fever since last night so he fell asleep wrapped in a blanket snuggled up to me in the park. We decided to head back to the hotel and get an early-to-bed so we can get up early and actually meet some of the princesses without a 90 minute wait! Here's to hoping that plan works!!!

Disneyland- Day 2

Day two, we decided on a new game plan. Get a few things done in the morning, go back to the hotel and sleep for THREE hours, and then head back into the park in time for the shows to begin and the lines to wear down. We actually were able to ride the pirates of the carribean about 5 times because it has the lowest lines that time of day, and at one point even got to stay on for a second ride (without exiting!) and had the boat to ourselves. Danissa got a chuckle out of that because earlier in the day, I had told her that getting a ride all to yourself would never happen in Disneyland. Just goes to show- never say never- or it just might happen.... even during spring break! We headed back to the hotel just after midnight and fell right to sleep. So far, Ethans favorite ride is definitely Pirates, Danissa and Chezney's favorite is Thunder Mtn Railroad, and Cohens favorite is probably Buzz Lightyear (I can't ask him because he's asleep)

Disneyland- Day 1

Our first day in disneyland was a bit rocky. Splash Mountain is closed, other things keep spiratically closing, and we keep on showing up late for shows. We really didn't accomplish much on this first day, but still got to see Disneyland and show the kids around. Then we frustratedly took a break from the crowds, had dinner, and tried again. This time it was much better. There were 3 shows going on (fireworks, Fantasmic, and World of Color) so lines were minimal and most things were actually operating! When we left the park, Mike was carrying Cohen and I was carrying Chezney. Cohen fell alseep on Mikes shoulder and Chezney fell alseep on my back, forcing me to walk the whole way back to the hotel hunched over. We got back to the hotel at about 11:30pm exausted and everyone was asleep within minutes. Such a better way to end a bad day!

The Farrs Do Vegas

When we were leaving Zion National Park 2 days ealier, we saw 4 of our friends walking down a trail. We knew that they visit Vegas every other year so we knew they were probably on their way there, as well. So, we text messaged them that we would bump into them in vegas and hang out with them for the day. Adam, Karalee, Brook, and Brian (and Adams brother, Matt) showed us The Strip in record time. I think we spent a total of 5 hours touring Vegas. The smells kind of got to me and trying to keep tabs on 4 kids in Vegas isn't exactly a vacation, so after 5 hours we headed out of Vegas and that put our trip back on schedule. We made it to Anaheim by 5 and were able to actually enjoy swimming at hotel finally AND have dinner! What a treat! ;) The hotel wasn't exactly what we were expecting and I really don't recommend it (Desert Inn and Suites) but it still serves it's purpose...

Day 3: Grand Canyon and more detours!

Day 3- we woke up and went to the Grand Canyon. Beautiful! The kids got to get out a few times but mostly we enjoyed the view from the car.

The next planned stop was Las Vegas. On the way, we saw a Flinstone Town and just had to let the kids stop and stretch their legs. We enjoyed walking through the buildings and sliding down a giant dinosaur slide. The "town" was a little old and uncared for but the kids didn't notice and it was a nice way to break up the trip.

Shortly after that, we saw a huge sign announcing that we were getting close to Bearizona. It looked fun and interesting so we thought we'd check it out. It was a drive through zoo, basically, with native animals. We saw White Bison, wolves, rams, bears, etc. The kids loved it and I have to say that Mike and I really enjoyed it, too. After driving through the "large" animal area, we got out of the car and got to walk through the "baby" animal area. The highlight of that was the 3 baby cubs that were just born in January. A man was in their enclosure showing them off and you could tell that they were hungry and thought he was mama. One of them was getting quite vocal that the mans finger wasn't producing milk and it began to scale his leg like a tree. It was SUPER cute!

This put us a bit behind so we ended up pulling into Las Vegas around 9 pm. After a bit of driving we found our hotel and then ordered take-out for dinner, since we hadn't had time to eat. It was about 11:30 by the time we had all eaten and headed for bed. Long day, but full!

Change in Plans

Today we set out- planning on running quickly by whatever we saw- but not detouring- until we reached Cameron, AZ, where we would stay the night. Instead, we took our time (somewhat) and had breakfast in Salt Lake with an old friend, and then started out south, stopping first in Bryce Canyon. It was a beautiful drive and a great way to kick off the day. Next we headed west to Zion National Park and took a drive through it's winding scenic route. We got some fun pictures and then headed on our way....

Cohen has become a pro at rest stops on the side of the road since

"when he needs to go... he NEEDS TO GO"....

Then we saw a sign pointing to "Coral Pink Sand Dunes" which we just had to see, so we took a 15 mile detour to see those and they just beaconed to be played in so we all stretched our legs and took it quite a bit of pink sand. Danissa collected some in a bottle and we headed out again...

About 2 hours later we finally crossed the Arizona border. FINALLY! But... we were just too tired and restless to continue on, so we are now in Page, Arizona at a Courtyard Marriot enjoying baths and cartoons! =) Tomorrow... breakfast and then the Grand Canyon!!!