The Other Part of Our Trip to California

The first time we went down to California to visit my dear Grandma before she passed away, we decided to make the trip a little fun. First of all, the kids had no idea we were going. No idea! They were totally oblivious to the fact of any trips coming up. This was so fun because this trip was a last minute decision.....so it totally didn't kill Brett and I to keep it from them. The kids love, love, love road trips so we knew they were going to be so excited!

Second, we decided to take them to Disneyland!!! They've never been and have been dying to go, but we wanted to wait until they were the right age, to appreciate the park to make our dollars worth it. My SIL, Kim, found a great deal on tickets on ebay, so we decided to do it.

The kids woke up Wednesday morning. They were all sitting at the table, eating breakfast. I said, "Sorry guys, but you can't go to school today..." They all looked at me grief-stricken, and said, "WHY???" I non-chalantly said, "Because we're going to California today."

They freaked out.

And then I added, as normal as possible, "Oh, and we're going to Disneyland."

They were stunned.

After the stunning wore off, the kids were exstatic! They were beside themselves with joy. It was so much fun to watch them and see how excited they were. Bad new for us was, we still had a 6 hour drive ahead of us ! Crazy-excited kids, cooped up in a van for 6 hours was not our idea of fun, but they did great. The drive down went great.

Here are some highlights of our trip:

I've never understood those parents who were FREAKS about taking their kids to Disneyland like 4 times a year, but now, I do. In fact, I may become one of them......Disneyland really lives up to it's name as the "Happiest Place on Earth."

Connor with my cute brother Rob and my sweet SIL Kim with my cute little nephew, Jaxson. All my kids LOVED the Materhorn. I was very surprised. McKay's favorite ride was Space Mountain!

McKay in his "Jedi Training" moment of truth.....could he defeat Darth Vadar?

Yes, he could.
Connor fighting against Darth Maul. Could the skills he'd been taught spare his life?

Yes!

Connor was totally into this. He really got into the practicing the moves and was really doing well with the light-saber.

Kenna and Daddy on the Autopia ride, which by the way, really gives your quads a work out because you have to push those pedals down so dang hard! (Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?)

Me and the kids on Dumbo. I had to go on all these types of rides with the kids because Brett's tummy could not tolerate them.

EXCITED, HAPPY KIDS

We had been a D-land for about 2 hours when McKay turned to me and said, "This is the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!! Even better than Christmas!!!" It was so cute!

The worst part of our Disneyland Experience also became the best part of our experience. After dinner, we wanted to go to Adventure Land and ride all the fun rides over there: Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean. Guess what? They were ALL closed!!! Due to technical difficulties! We couldn't believe our luck! The workers said to come back later and they might be reopened. So, we decided to go back over to Space Mountain. The kids loved that ride. So we went over there and guess what? It was closed, too! Along with Buzz Lightyear and a few other rides over there. Some people were totally irate! And, I can see their point: you pay them an arm and a leg to get into the park, first off and then what if you flew or drove forever to get there, and what if you were only there for 1 day???? I could see being upset. But, the day, thus far had been so perfect I didn't feel to bad at all. We rode a few other rides that were open, and Buzz Lightyear did open up again. So, we hopped onto that ride, and then decided to go back over to Adventure Land to see if any other rides over there had opened up.

They were still closed.

So, we decided to jump on the Jungle Cruise, which was quite fun, I might add, and by the time we got off it was 10:45, time to go home. So, on our way out Brett asked, "Are you going to stop by Disneyland's City Hall and give them your 2 cents?" At first I wasn't going to, but then I thought, "What the heck...." So I did. A very nice lady greeted me and I told her how sad we were that those rides were closed. She said, "You know that man Murphy? He came to visit today." Anyway, she asked how long we were here and we told her only for this 1 day. She asked where we were from and how often we come. I told her, "From Utah, and that we never come out here." She said, "If I give you five, 2-day, park hopper tickets, will you come back and see us? Oh, and I'll make them good for 2 years."

I was completely and utterly SHOCKED!

I couldn't believe what she just said! We were so thankful and just can't believe our luck! We'll take technical difficulties any day!! Disney sure knows how to treat their customers right! We can't wait to go back and the kids are just thrilled to know we're going back soon!

In Loving Memory of my Grandma

Helen Morris Bell 1923 - 2009

This post is in memory of my grandma, Helen Morris Bell. She passed away Saturday, January 17th. My grandma was an amazing woman. She lived a long, fulfilling life that was full of love. These are some things that I remember and love about my Grandma:

Her sweet hugs
Christmas at her house when we were little-- I got my 3rd Cabbage Patch doll there-- a boy!
The way her grass (California grass) was different than Utah grass
The green cuckoo clock in her kitchen and the green hanging lamp in her living room.
The roses in her yard and the impeccable-ness of her yard
Her 'pink' bathroom and the 'jewels' on the back splash in her tub
The shag carpet in her bedrooms
The way she would ooohh and sigh hard, after a good laugh
Bubble gum in her purse every time she came to visit
Crossword puzzles- she loved them! I inherited this love of doing crossword puzzles from her and have a book with me every time we take a road trip
Her roast dinners every Sunday we were there to visit
Her being so proud every time we went to church with her when we came to visit
Her handwriting and her letters-- she always made cute little smiley faces
Her voice; and her saying, "Bye-bye sweetie" when we would leave.
Her and my Papa standing on the porch waving to us as we would drive away

A picture of my mom and grandma at my grandma and papa's 60th wedding anniversary


Makenna playing "Peas Porridge Hot" with my papa

My grandma was diagnosed with terminal cancer the second week in December. The doctors kept changing their minds about how long they thought she had, and they finally said 1-2 months. My dad immediately went out to CA and stayed with her. While she was out there she decided that she didn't want to do chemo. She didn't want to be sick the last months of he life from chemo and she had made peace with her plot and wanted to live the best she could with the time she had left, and get ready for the next step in her life. Over the weeks that followed, she had good and bad days, as to be expected. We decided to go out to see her the week after Christmas. It was a last minute decision, but I am so glad we went. My grandma was happy to see us and alert and we still herself. She was funny! She's always had such a great sense of humor and been very witty. She was just like that when we were there. My brother Rob, always teases her about being his favorite grandson, because he looks a lot like her brother. He was there, while we were there and she said, "Yes, that Morris line sure does have some good genes. They're all so handsome!" Then she looked over at Brett and said, "I'm sorry you didn't get any of those Morris genes." It was so funny. Then as we were leaving she looked at me and said, "You've always been such a beautiful girl; you look just like your grandma." At this time I was pretty teary, so I didn't laugh very hard. She took me by the shoulders and asked, "Did you get that?" Just to make sure I got the joke. It was so good to say good bye and tell her how much we loved her. She was so sweet with the kids. She waned to kiss them and touch their hair and faces. What a sweet time.

A week after we had visited she passed away. So, one week after her death, we drove back out to CA. The 2nd time in 2 weeks. The kids did great-- they love road trips. All we need is a little Harry Potter and they're good to go. Brett's brother gave him all the HP books on CD, so that is what we listen to and the kids love it.

The funeral was beautiful; hard, but so wonderful. The spirit was there and we were all comforted and so grateful to know of His plan. My poor papa was not able to attend the funeral. The first time we were there to visit my grandma before she died, he had 2 heart attacks within 5 days. They diagnosed him with congestive heart failure. He was not well enough to come. He was heartbroken. The night before the funeral my dad and his sisters were there. He became very emotional while talking about what was going to be said and done at the funeral and then said, "You tell them we had a wonderful love affair." Isn't that just so sweet? They had known each other since the 3rd grade....known each other for about 75 years of their lives! Can you imagine?

Papa had an angioplasty (his choice) this morning and did better than expected. He is still not out of the woods and we'll have to see what the coming days and weeks bring.

I wanted to thank all my friends and family for being so supportive and concerned during this time. I will miss my grandma. All 4 of my grandparents have been such a huge part of my life and I count myself blessed that they have been in my life for this long time.

Family Service Project

My sisters-in-law and I were talking.

I know; nothing unusual. But this time, we were on a mission.

We wanted to make Christmas different this year. We were all in the car together, along with my mother in law, and we decided that instead of giving eachother gifts for Christmas, we wanted to spend that money on a service project for someone in need. Not only did we want to do a service, but we wanted to involve our children. We wanted them to feel the joy that comes from giving and serving someone else. We wanted them to learn that Christmas is more than just getting gifts. And we wanted it to be as hands-on for them as possible.

This idea came a few months ago. We talked about a whole slew of ideas, and nothing really happened for a while. I found myself getting nervous that we were going to miss the boat because we (I) had procrasiand too long. But then, my great SIL Cherry, found out about a school in Provo, that is a Title 1 school. This means that 75% of their kids live at or below the poverty level. This school was short on everything. They were running out of all school supplies.

So, we decided to adopt a class from the 2nd grade. We wanted to gather as many school supplies as we could for them. We would take the money that we would normally spend on a Christmas present and put it towards buying school supplies.

There were also 5 kids that did not and would not have coats this season. Each of our families received the gender and size of a child who would not have a coat and bought one for them. We found a really cute puffy trench coat for a little girl. We hope she likes it!

Back to the school supplies idea. It was a great idea, but how to involve the kids more? Just going to the store and buying stuff didn't seem like enough. I wanted them to be invested enough that they could feel how much these kids needed and how happiness and joy comes from thinking of others, not ourselves.

So, we decided to type up a letter and send it around to our friends and neighbors. I emailed to some of my friends, while the kids went door to door to some of our close neighbors and friends. Connor, McKay and Makenna also had the idea to ask their teachers if they could have a donation box in their classrooms and ask the parents of their classmates to donate to another school in need, if they could. The kids helped me type up a letter to send home with their classmates.

We got a huge response!

We have such great friends and neighbors! Each day the kids would come home and tell me, "Mom, so-and-so brought in this, and our box is almost full!" Connor's teacher from last year also participated in the project and let us put a box in her room, too. As each day went on, the kids were more and more excited. Connor would remind his class every day to remind their parents to send in their donations. He really took ownership in this project.

By the time all was said and done, we got enough donations, that not only did we have enough to supply one 2nd grade class; we supplied the whole, entire 2nd grade! That is 85 kids, total! We had so many supplies; we were exstatic!

By the time of assembling the kits, we had enough for each kid to have:

• 2 Notebooks
• 5 pencils
• 2 glue sticks
• 1 pack 24 crayons
• 1 box of colored pencils
• 1 pencil sharpener
• 1 pair of scissors
  

These are the supplies we started out with. One problem we had is that the gallon sized zip lock bags were not going to be big enough to hold 2 regular sized notebooks. So, what kind of bags to put them in? We didn't want to do just a grocery sack from a store with the name plastered on the front. That seemed a little tacky. Then, Cherry came up with the idea to use Target bags. I thought this was brilliant! No name across the front, and the Target bulls-eye looks a little Christmas-y.....red and white......right? Now, where to get the bags? I had a couple in my cupboard.....but they were all smashed and wrinkled. I decided to call Target and they donated 85 of their plastic bags to us.

Thanks, Target!

In one of the donation boxes in the kids' classrooms, someone had given 2 pencil pouches from the restaurant, Sweet Tomatoes. This pouch included a pencil, a ruler, an eraser, stickers and tomato tattoos. It was pretty cute. We wished that all the kids could have a pencil pouch, but at at least $1/ pouch we were talking a minimun $85 more dollars. So, I called Sweet Tomatoes and asked them about these pouches. Was it a special promo? Were they still offering the pouches? The guy asked how many we needed and I told him....."Um, 83." He said, "Sure, we'll have them ready by tomorrow morning." I was speechless and shocked! They were so willing to give!


Here are the kids packing up the kits. They were so excited to finally be putting these together. You can see how excited they are to be with their cousins and to be packing things up. The fruits of their labors were beginning to be seen.


Here we are a Spring Creek Elementary. This is all the stuff we ended up with! 85 kits for 85 kids. 4 huge wicker baskets full of stuff for teachers, 20 pair of mittens donated by the Activity Day girls in my ward and 30 scarves also donated by the activity day girls. The little cousins are holding bags of candy canes to pass out to the kids. They were so excited!

Here are the kids, passing out the kits.

Some of the sweet kids, opening their kits. One little girl said, "Am I dreaming???" Another girl said, "I've never had colored pencils of my own!!! Thanks!"

It was so touching! They were so grateful.

Here are all our kids, with one of the classes.

As we left, one class gathered in the hallway and sang, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Here are all the proud cousins after a job well done. Both Cherry and I felt like we didn't even need anything for Christmas. Our hearts were already full.

Piano, piano, piano

My kids have the best piano teacher ever!

My mom.

She's been teaching for about 25 years and is the best around! We feel so lucky to have her as our grandma and as our piano teacher! Here are some pictures of the kids at their Christmas recital. This was officially McKay and Makenna's first recital.

Connor also recently graduated from level 2 in Suzuki Piano. To do that he had to play this song, Minuet 2, by Bach. He did a great job.

I tried to upload a video of his performance, but it wont work!

Temple Square and Snow Fun

Why can't those kids just stop growing? I think it's time for new snowpants and a new coat.

(Yes, those are her jeans hanging out of her snowpants...)

We went to Temple Square Wednesday night and the kids were totally thrilled. It was a brisk 28 degrees, but they were all smiles. Surprisingly, it was totally crowded.

I love temple square at Christmas time. I love the crowds. I have always loved the crowds. However, now that I am a mother, I am ok with less of a crowd. The kids did really good at staying close, most of the time. I love the sounds of the choir music. I love the Nativity. I love the reflecting pools and the visitor's center. This year we even heard bagpipe music! It was a treat!

When McKay saw this tree, he started to sing, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" It was cute.

I just LOVE this picture. This little Nativity Scene was in the middle of the main reflecting pool.

Fox 13 Cool School

Sorry for the poor photo quality-- this is the best it gets

Here is a link to Connor in his school choir singing for the 'cool school' of the week for Fox 13. The kids had to be to school super early (6:30am) and Connor was as happy as a lark! Wish every morning was like that.....maybe if I had a camera crew in my living room, he'd be a little more chipper for me....

Anyway, Connor is on the front row, right hand side.

Here's the link to the video. I can't figure out how to imbed this one. Hope the link works.

http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=8044635&version=1&locale=EN-US

I also have a picture of Connor with "Big Buddah", but this is not my computer I'm using and can't download my picutres. They'll come later.

From The Mouth of Babes

Here's another one from McKay:

Last night we had a movie night. We borrowed Karate Kid from my brother. Thanks Rob. I used to freakin' love that show! Even to this day Brett and I both quote things and do things from this movie. When one of the kids gets hurt what do we do? We, very seriously, clap our hands together and begin to furiously rub them back and forth, just like Mr. Miyagi does to heal Daniel-son's wounded shoulder. It works every time! When Connor leaves to school and he's riding down the sidewalk, what do I yell to him? "Bonsai"!!!! And then I've taught him to yell, "Bonsai!!!" back to me. Not quite as boisterously as I say it, but I've tried to teach him to say it with feeling.

Seriously. Love that show.

I probably haven't seen it for gosh........at least 15 years....Did you know that show came out in 1984? That makes me feel old! So, the kids have never seen it and I thought it'd be so much fun for them to watch. Especially since they are all obsessed with playing "Kung Fu" with daddy since Kung Fu Panda came out. I thought it was time for them to get some real Karate instruction from the best: "Wax on, wax off!" "Paint the fence!" And, the ever-awesome crane kick! Anyway, last night I realized how corny that show is! Wow! Seriously. But it was SO FUN to watch again with the kids. They LOVED it!

Well, throughout the show Daniel-son and Alli (with an "I") run into each other and begin to like each other and meet and go out on dates and all that fun stuff. Brett and I were interjecting ooh's and ahh's at all the appropriate moments during the show to exaggerate the point to the kids. During one scene, they hug each other and McKay said,

"I wish they would kiss!"

I think I have a hopeless romantic on my hands!

Then, after they did kiss at "Golf N' Stuff" and the show went on, McKay said, "I wonder why he didn't tell his mommy that he kissed his girlfriend....."

I can only hope that he'll be that open with me about who he kisses....