CALIFORNIA

Last weekend we flew to California so Tanner could focus on his finals at BYU and let me tell you, this kid was excited for some fun in the sun!

We flew out of Salt Lake on Friday but Parker would say, "We went on a BIG AIRPLANE TRIP!"

We flew UP up UP! High in the Sky! He gave the airport lady his very own ticket and ordered himself his very own ginger ale and pretzels on the plane. :-)


Parker was an angel during the flight- he, of course, pushed all the buttons he could. But then he settled down and watched a movie on my phone. My Mom and Dad picked us up in Long Beach and it was so good to be home! The salty sea air wrapped it's arms around me imediately and I knew I was home.

My mom out did herself with 2 beautiful baskets- one for Parker and one for me. The house was warm and charming and Parker had a blast running around and seeing all of Nanny's toys!

The next morning Parker woke up at 6:30am which was not ok with me. He didn't go to bed until way too late and so, even though it was light outside, I told him it was still the middle of the night and that he needed to go back to bed. So I got him a little snack and some juice and put him back in his room. Well, I could NOT fall back asleep but it was so NICE! I just layed there and thought thoughts! Wow! What a concept! And I read my book and then, at around 8:30am, both my mom and Parker woke up and let me continue in my laziness while they secretly made me breakfast in bed. :-)
Followed by some cordials from the Chocolatier in Laguna Beach- My favorite! This is the LIFE!



Later that day we went to Children's Orchard and I scored some cute new clothes and books for Parker. THEN it was my nephews 5th birthday party! My sister completely out did herself- being prego with #4 and all. Blue cup cakes, yummy food, super cute decorations, toys galore, and a PINATA!

Blue cup cake...


The kids had a blast destroying their first pinata. When the candy started to fall out they didn't know what to do! They all just stared at it in amazement. We all had to say, "Run! Run! Grab the candy!" But they were so cute and would pick up one piece and eat it and share with each other. Best cousins in the world!


Sisters xoxo



After the party Parker fell asleep for 3 hours and woke up at bed time. Sigh. That's what happens when you're on vacation I guess. We were spoiled and Nanny and Bebo took us out to the Spectrum for a night on the town! Parker loved having his mom, Grandma, and Grandpa all to himself.

He rode the merry go round.... and waved at Nanny and Bebo every time we came around.

My Dad helped Parker make a wish in one of the fountains...


Yes, the Spectrum is a pretty magical place. :-)

We ended the night with a little bed time reading at Barnes and Noble. I told Parker he could pick out whatever books he wanted. He was like a kid in a candy store!


On the drive home he said, "Nanny is my best friend and Bebo is my best friend." Ya, me too.



The next day we woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning! We decided to take Parker over to the park to play before church.
For some reason he wanted to be naked.... I guess he's not used to all this warm weather!

He fell asleep before church and it broke my heart to have to wake him up- we'd been going strong for so long but we couldn't miss seeing all of our friends and hearing from our wonderful Stake President at ward conference.


Here we are all ready for church


After church we played in the backyard for a bit- my mom really does have world's greatest back yard!


Then we went to go see Lisa and London- our BFF's. We love them!!!!!!



Whew! So the next day was Monday and we went to DISNEYLAND! In all reality Parker probably would have been content to just stay at Nanny's house and play at the park but I made him buck up and enjoy the happiest place on earth!

My brother met us after we'd been there for about an hour. Here's Parker and lil Kim waiting for the Jungle Cruise to pick us up. After that ride Parker told me, "Mommy, I like the Jungle Cruise." :-)
The my sister came with her 2 kids! Here's Parker and Tav.

You can't tell what they're doing!?
What?
Duh!
They are pretending to be rocket ships!
Sister #1 and brother #1
Here are the boys waiting for Its a Small World
My Sissy
Heck yes we went on the Rocket Ship ride!!!
We even became Space Rangers
Parker knocked... but no one was home. :-(
Towards the end of the after noon my brother and sister pooped out. Suckers! Parker and I went on Autopia and Parker got to drive! (So far this has been his favorite ride)

Tea Cup magic




Parker found this sweet ride in Toon Town...

And picked up some sweet chicks.



We had a super fun time at Disneyland! We never waited more than 10 minutes to get on a ride and had a blast with my brother and sister and Parker's cousins! We went on almost every ride that Parker was tall enough to ride... Awwww, I love Disneyland. :-)
Parker fell asleep before we even left the parking lot.

BUT! When we got home my mom had made me a BIRTHDAY CAKE! (It IS my birthday on Friday FYI) It was sooooooo sweet of her and the perfect ending to a perfect day!



Thanks Jon and Lau, for making that magical day one to remember.xoxo


Ok so I know this is a super long post but bare with me. I'm almost done.

Our last day in California we, of course, went to the beach. Sister #2 and her 3 kiddos met us and we had a sun filled, sandy day.

He loved to run up to chase the waves! It was so precious. One time he lost his footing and got a little mini crashed by some white wash. But I saved him and he was a brave surfer dude. Just a little apple juice to wash out the yucky salt water out of his mouth and he was back in the game!

Ummmmm ya, I don't know what it was about the being naked but Parker was really having a good time without his clothes...




Sister #2

BLUE CRUSH shot of the boys.






The beach was amazing. Just what we needed after being stuck in COLD cold Utah for 6 months.

It has always been a tradition to get ice cream cones after a nice, long day at the beach so I took Parker in to the ice cream shop and let him choose whatever flavor he wanted- ummm, of course he wanted the Cotton Candy flavored, make the biggest mess, ice cream. Oh well! He was so thrilled.

Who wants to kiss those bright blue lips? I do! I DO!


Tuesday we hopped in the car and made the trek back to good old Utah. My mom and her friend Kandy drove with us! Here we are passing Radiator Springs. :-)


Parker was, as usual, an angel in the car. We played games, worked in our little work book, read stories, watched a movie, and took naps. He was the BEST! I love my little man!!!!
Spring decided to come out and play while we were gone. Everything looks so beautiful! And we were sooooo excited to see Tanner! And he did so well on his finals! Great job Hun!

My Mom was in town for my cousin's graduation from BYU and my Aunt and Uncle flew out from Chicago too! We went out to dinner at Los Hermano's one night.

These are the things I do to entertain my child at dinner- churro anyone?

I love my Uncle Ronny!


Well, when we got back to Utah it was straight back to work for me. We had a booth at the Women's Expo!
Look! There's me on a poster! We scanned 75 people in 2 days! Whew! But it was a blast. Did I mention I love my job?
Tanner volunteered to help us at the Expo. He was quite the vein expert by the end of all of it.

Carole, my Aunt Marie, my mom and me at the Expo. I scored my mom some $250 wrinkle cream from another vendor! And the booth right across from us was a day spa offering free chair massages. I spent 3 breaks over there. Awww, good times. I also got Tanner and Parker matching ties. So cute!
Here's one of those ties now! This was a picture from yesterday as we were walking home from church.
Well, it has been a busy week and it's not really slowing down! Life is good and this is just the way I like it! :-)