Disneyland Surprise!

We told the kids we were taking them on a staycation for fall break.  But we lied!

Instead, we packed up the kiddos and headed to California! The boys were so surprised!

We started with a beach day. The boys loved swimming and collecting shells, while McKenna loved jumping and playing in the sand.

They were seriously faster than me! We buried McKay in the sand, made sand castles, and ran races.

Then we headed to Disneyland! Pin-trading kept McKenna happy while the boys rode the 'big' rides.

Whenever there was a more slow ride all three would go on. I think my favorite was the Matterhorn.

The boys got to do Jedi Academy.  They both fought Darth Vader and won!

It's serious business, this Jedi thing.

McKenna loved the carousel the most.  Which is both awesome and disappointing. 

When there was a little line we had to stand in line to give her a chance.

It was UHEAA weekend, so there were a lot of Utah/BYU fans wandering around. One of them happened to be Logan's very first friend (Daniel) from BYU!

McKenna loved Mickey--although she was too shy to see him at first (and tried to climb me to get away from Goofy). 

By the time Minnie showed up she was confident enough to just go with Logan, but refused to go by herself. 

We rode this ride countless times while waiting for McKay to ride the Tower of Terror (which he loved). 

By princess time she was all warmed up! She said "Bye, Princess! I love you!"

We just missed Mickey on his way out the door. 

Next, a stop at Universal Studios to go to Harry Potter World.  We brought the boy's robes and they got to pick out a new wand. They loved doing magic around the park. 

It happened to be Loren's birthday when we were there, he chose a big donut from the Springville section. 

The kids enjoyed it as well!

COOOOUUUGGGAAARRSSS!

We woke up early to head to the Cougar vs. Arizona game!

These kids have been holding on to their tickets since Easter. They were so excited for their first live game.

So they could really enjoy the game McKenna went to sleep at Julie's house.

After some traffic and parking snafus we made it to the stadium.

McKay got super into the game.  We led the whole way just to lose the lead in the last two minutes.  Then we got a field goal to win in the last 30 seconds! It was so fun to watch McKay through the game, his expressions were hilarious.

We wore them out!

Halloween

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Halloween is awesome in Anthem.  We had a three-ward trunk-or-treat, a city business trick-or-treat, and then the neighborhood trick-or-treat.  My cute little Hogwarts boys loved collecting the candy.

McKenna was a cupcake for two of the events, and a fairy for the last, but was being really shy.

We had a block party with some friends on Halloween--it was great fun!

Butterflies!

McKenna loves the Butterfly Pavilion! We learned to wear white, which draws in the butterflies. 

It was hard keeping her from running around, but she loved to see them. 

McKay's Baptism

(*I'm not really sure why these are sideways--they are ok on my computer.)

We are so proud that McKay made the choice to be baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

Loren and McKay look so handsome and happy!

We are proud of the commitments he made and the sweet boy he is. McKay is such a sweet, sincere boy.

And such good looking kids!

I sure do love my family.

It was also great to have all of our loved ones with us to celebrate McKay and his special day.

Although he is but little, he is spiritually a giant. He is very black and white when it comes to morality questions.

We even had special visitors from Idaho!

School's In!

School starts in early August here in Arizona.  We love, love, love Anthem Prep.  This year Logan is in the 4th grade and McKay is in the 3rd grade.  They will be doing the code club, art club, exploratoreum (STEM programming), violin (Logan), and piano (McKay). We're taking a break from soccer. 

And McKenna started co-op preschool! There are four two-year-olds that meet once a week for two hours.  I take a turn once a month.  She loves it!

Grandma came to hang out as well.

Since the boys went back to school we hit the splashpad! The boys are kind of too cool for the splashpad now, but McKenna loves it!

Staycation Year Two!

Loren traveled a lot again this year, so he didn't want to go on a big summer vacation.  Instead, for the second year in a row, we got a hotel room in Phoenix and hit all the places on our Pogo Pass.

Rock climbing didn't work very well for McKenna.

The boys, however, were little monkeys.

Both boys regularly made it to the top.

With practice we might actually have something.

McKenna couldn't climb, but she sure loved helping.

Next, we went to the Lego Center. 

This was a HUGE hit with the boys. They would have stayed all day if we had let them.

McKay used his imagination and built many different objects.

Logan, however, was more interested in designing and racing cars.

We just tried to keep her occupied so the boys could have fun.

What can't he build?

This poor cow.

Then we picked up a new gun for Loren, since we were by Bass Pro. McKenna got bored.

The next day we hit Golfland Sunsplash! Logan randomly lost yet another tooth.

Again, McKenna and McKay had no fear, and went on anything they were tall enough to ride.

Finally, we hit the IDEA museum.

McKenna spent the time in the toddler area, but missed the boys.

And her Dad, of course.

Somehow they still found Legos!

It was hard work plotting his next build!

Most people built cars with these parts.  My family built a catapult!

I just love how McKenna held McKay's hand while he was getting a temporary tattoo, just in case he was scared. 

Whew! It was a long summer!