The Last Disney Days of the Year

After a full week of cleaning, organizing, sanding and painting the piano, and Thanksgiving, I was ready to escape to the beach. I was dying for a beach day and even though we made it on Friday night 2 hours before sunset, it was perfect. We went to Strands and the kids sand sledded and we ate our packed dinners and watched the sunset until we got too cold. Then we went to the clubhouse and enjoyed the steamy hot tub all to ourselves! We brought comfy changes of clothes and got dressed in the nice bathrooms before heading to my parent's house for some wiggly worm noodles. I was able to see Robyn, Mont, and the girls when I dropped off the FOB and I cannot tell you how happy it made my heart! I just love them all so much and it means the world to me to know there are friends out there who love me too. It was the perfect Black Friday.

Saturday was so fun because I was able to attend Sophie's bridal shower in San Juan with my mom! We enjoyed brunch together and chatted with good friends while we celebrated cute Sophie. I spoke briefly with Paige about her trip to Scotland and now I'm dreaming of a road trip from London to Inverness....

When I got home, Parker had executed all of the exterior illumination and Tanner cleaned the pool/hot tub from all of the debris due to all of the recent wind. We watched a movie together that night and it was a nice day.

Sunday was horrific. Tanner and I got into a HUGE fight. Parker tried to step in and protect me and got into a physical brawl with Tanner. We screamed at Tanner to leave and cried for an hour. I jammed my thumb trying to help Ella try on her MCO attire and I thought I broke it.  It hurt so badly. We were all a little traumatized on Sunday. Tanner is grieving the loss of Steve and I think tension had been building all week. It took a few days to clear the air but as I'm typing this now, things are good and Tanner is truly trying to be better... and I'm forgiving because that's what we do. We are a family forever despite wanting to kill each other sometimes.

Anyhoo, Monday, I was glad to take the kids to Disney all day. Parker stayed home because he had to work. But we got to see Santa and it was the sweetest thing. We couldn't find Ella when it was our turn to meet the big guy so I said a quick prayer that she would show up (we were at Redwood Creek so she was just running around playing- not lost) and she DID! It was a perfectly timed miracle and I know Heavenly Father wanted this moment for our family- especially for Ella. Santa was so good and so sweet. Ray asked Santa for a huge axolotl, Jack wants a VR headset (or a hover board), and cute little Ella asked for kindness. She melts my heart. Me too, girl, me too.

I know it's weird, but Disneyland is so comforting and relaxing for me. It's a magical place where my worries truly do fly away and I'm present and delighted with my children. I just love it so much and I'm so thankful for our passes and the opportunity to go as often as we do. We used some of my Starbucks gift cards to get treats and sip/skip our way through Disneyland. One highlight was getting stuck on Thunder Mt and having the rare opportunity to walk off the ride. That was pretty cool! All in all, it was a perfect day, as usual.

Tuesday was a hard day for Tanner. It was Steve's funeral and Tanner felt compelled to be in the details of the services. He sang a beautiful song with some fellow friends of Steve. I sat in the back and enjoyed hearing stories about Steve and witness the absolute love people have for him. I was able to give Vangie a hug and share my condolences. I'm glad she has Tanner because he will certainly rise to serve her and the company in any way he can. Tanner stayed for the wake and I went home to take Jack to Activity Days and the girls to dance. We snuggled up together that night and read Percy Jackson.

Wednesday I took ALL the kids back to Disney and I told them all I wanted was for them all to sit for the silhouette guy and make me each a new cut out. And they did! I was sooo happy! We all got Starbucks again and Jack and Ray spent some time in the magic shop while I waited in line. We don't usually spend too much time on Main Street but it was so fun! We rode a couple of classic rides before heading home so that I could prepare for hosting our annual Christmas Relief Society Dinner. The kids had swim and Tanner came home in time to help keep the kids quiet upstairs. It was a great night and I'm happy with the way it all turned out. (I didn't take any pictures!) I was disappointed that April, Haley, nor Erika showed up- I'm still trying to realize that they are not the friends I thought they were. Jill texted me and asked me to go to breakfast with her in a couple weeks when she's in town but I soon realized that she's coming to town for Erika's annual Christmas party which I'm NOT invited to. That stung and I'm trying to read and pray and gain insight as to how I should handle that..... Angel thinks it's very odd that I get to hurt by these women who don't really matter but I can easily forgive Tanner. I know Heavenly Father is trying to help me see the path He wants me to take so I'm working on my humility to see that path more clearly.

In the meantime, I am SO thankful for this wonderful life, for my beautiful, perfect children, for the abundance of gospel resources I have at my finger tips to learn and grow daily, and for this time of year to slow down and simplify. I love my Christmasy house and the music ringing through the halls and the yummy smells of my holiday candles and wearing jammies well into the morning and comfy socks. We are seriously so blessed and I'm hopeful for the future.