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!!!

Family Vacation- Day One

Our day started at 3:20 am with the plan to load the kids into the car- asleep- and begin our trip. First off, they were ALL WIDE AWAKE. We thought they were going to be asleep so we hadn't antipcipated bathroom breaks at 4 am. Nothing is open. We finally stopped in Quincy, then Moses Lake... and then finally it was late enough to have potty/coffee breaks.

Then we coninued the trip... destination: Salt Lake City. ETA: 6:00PM.

Our first sign of trouble was when we tried to hook up all the electronic devices we brought and get a movie on for the kids. The adaptor that we had bought to plug in the laptop began to fry and within minutes the car smelled like melting plastic. Not a great way to start a trip. So... no movies.

THEN, we came to an abrupt stop in Oregon just about 30 minutes from the border into Idaho. About 40 cars in front of us was a huge plume of smoke that we had seen as we approached the hold up. A semi trailer had caught fire and apparently, since we were in the middle of no-where, fire trucks would not be responding. We were told to wait till the truck burned itself out. Great. About 2 hours later, we finally were redirected and they turned the entire traffic jam around. Now we had to back-track about an hour to get around the fire.

THEN Cohen decided he had to poop and he had to poop NOW. In the middle of no-where. With no rest stops or anything else. So, as we pull over, he says he already did but didn't finish. I ran him around a huge sage bush and found that he had maybe had *ahem* a little too much juice in our delay with the fire earlier. Now is the time I interject that I am not a litter-er. BUT THIS TIME... there was nothing else to do. In that sage brush lies his shorts, socks, underwear, and a box full of dirty wipes. Sorry... it had to be done.

Finally we were back on the road and after 17 hours of travel, we are finally resting in our hotel. *phew* hoping tomorrow is better!!!

A funny Ethan-ism side note: Mike said "Look at these beautiful rolling hills of green, guys! Aren't they beautiful?" Ethan replies "I would rather color..."

Later: Mike told Ethan to make paper airplanes with Danissa. He replied "I can't... my leg hurts."

Even Later: The kids were watching the movie "Cars" (after in an act of desperation I ran into a Walmart and bought a duel DVD player) Ethan misquoted the movie by saying "I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer fart" instead of "Happier than a tornado in a trailer park".

Baby Shower

I'm going to be an aunt again... I've got 4 nephews, and 3 nieces.... and we're about to add another tally mark under the blue category! My sister is due at the beginning of May, but we're all thinking it will be an end-of-april baby. My boys are the only boys on my side of the family, and my girls are the only girls on Mikes side of the family... so this will mix things up a bit, adding a boy to my side. Now only if Teri would have a girl.... ;)

Happy Birthday Mr. Man!

Ethan turned 7 this week, and along with him "at-home-party", he also got a family/friends party. It was somewhat "How to Train Your Dragon" themed.

Ethan with his friend, Mark. I just had to take a picture of their two missing teeth =D
Ethan was surrounded by love to celebrate his life. I hope he always knows how lucky he is to have such wonderful family and friends to share his life with. Happy Birthday Mr. Man! I love you!