Fall fun

I'm not a fan of the cold, but there are some fun things that happen this time of year.

Papa's birthday is just one week after Jane's. I made the cake in honor of our recent trip. We're still on our Disney high. Conference weekend at my folks was nice and relaxed. LOVE conference weekend, love birthdays.

Luckily, this doesn't only come at this time of year, but if you would have asked me two months ago if I would have been spending an afternoon with my Grandma Ottley in October, I would have said no. We were losing her a while back, and I never thought I'd have another normal visit with her again.

I took the kids up for a visit, and hearing her greet us with "come in, dears!" when we walked in the door made me almost burst into tears. I've adored this woman my entire life, and it's such a blessing to have each day with her. I count her as one of my reasons to love this season. She's here, and I love her.

Jack's finishing up his second season of soccer, and he's still loving it! He's off and on with how much he focuses on the game, but I can already see improvement in his game, and so as long as he's having fun, I'm all for it! I LOVE watching, laughing, and cheering. He loved playing goalie, and believe it or not, he would jump into action as soon as they got close.

After his game yesterday, we took a trip to the pumpkin patch next door to Jack's school. My kids aren't used to these fall activities, and I have to admit, I've found an excitement for it I didn't remember from a few years ago. I LOVE the colors of fall. Thank you, Mother Nature.

The kids loved picking out their own pumpkin, and it was a gorgeous day for it.

Check out those beautiful blue skies! Even Alice seemed to get into the fall fun.

I can't decide if Alice looks like a boy in this sweater, but honestly, I LOVE blue on my girls, and don't have nearly enough of it. If she looks like a boy, she sure is a cute one.

A few other fun things we've been up to... guess who is just DYING to learn violin? She begged and begged until I started officially giving her a lesson just like Jack. So, here's our little violinist. She's just now starting to put the bow on the strings and is extremely excited about it. She reminds me when it's practice time, which is a change from her brother, so I'm loving it.

Last weekend, my family all got together for a jam session with another musical family we admired while we were growing up, the Miners. They are amazing musicians, and actually still perform and PRACTICE even while they're busy parents, business men, soccer moms, etc. I am so impressed. Even though we are all a little rusty on my side of the family (sorry ya'll, but you know it's true), it was still fun to see what we could remember, and see what we could will our fingers to do. Plus, we got to bask in the unmatched talent of none other than the Craig Miner from Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. We've loved Craig's music since I was about nine when he helped us record our family album with his brother, Curtis. It was a fun night of friends, food, and lots of music!

This is Craig serenading the kids with his Rainbow Connection in his famous Kermit the Frog voice. The kids even got their fiddles out and played with all of us. (Notice Jeff's beautiful new bass on its side in the middle. This is the newest addition to our family. He's waited for that bass for years, and we are all loving it!)

I hope you're all making the best of this cold weather. Like I said, I don't love it. But, there are too many other great things about the season to not love Autumn all together. Anything in particular you love to do this time of year?

Florida - the rest

We spent one more day at Epcot, mainly in the World Showcase part of the park. I love this place because in one day you can tour the "world".

We saw the acrobats in China...

I loved the perfectly manicured UK... (someday I'll get there for real)

The kids laughed like crazy at the clown/juggler in Italy...(another day, I'll get there too. Someday, I'll be blogging from Venice. Someday.)

...and the detail was amazing in Morocco. I think Jeff was a little disappointed we didn't schedule in the belly dancing show.

There was just too much to fit all in! I think Germany was my favorite "country" because it seemed so familiar. Maybe it was the smell of beer that made it feel so authentic! Love Germany, hate the smell of beer. Also, B.O. always takes be immediately back to my summers in Europe. (Too much information? Sorry.)

We were all so worn, we decided to take a break this day and head home for naps, so we could stay late for the fireworks that night. Jane was happy to be getting a ride to the car. I loved this photo of her and Jeff with the Epcot icon behind them.

Alice is our little angel. She was so pleasant and happy the whole time! Unbelievable.

Disney was extremely creative in finding ways to make the "countries" fun for the kids as well. Jack's favorite (notice his "I'm on a mission" pose) was a Kim Possible challenge where kids received a communicator with ongoing clues and challenges, where he entered codes and made things happen throughout the park that no one except "special agents" would know about. He was loving it. We wished we would have known discovered it earlier and done it all day!

Epcot was awesome. So was Hollywood Studios, but the pictures were limited with our low battery! I think the highlight of the park for Jack was when he was able to participate in the Jedi training course. Oh my. There were so many little ones who wanted to do it, we stuck around for two shows trying to get him a chance. Luckily, it paid off! He was taking it very seriously, and will proudly show you his Jedi certificate when requested. The Jedi master here was hilarious, and Darth Vader has turned into one of Jane's favorites since this.

One of the newest attractions is the American Idol experience. People can actually go through the entire audition process right there in the park, and at the end of the day the winners from each session compete for a chance at a real audition for the real show. It was fun, but I'm pretty sure we didn't discover any stars that day!

Our last day at Disney was actually Jane's birthday. I'll be the first one to tell any parents that kids don't need extravagant things for birthdays. Honestly. She would have been thrilled to have a day at the park with a cake and candles. But when we were scheduling it so close to her big day, we decided to try and just make it her birthday celebration. We must have been inspired, because later we found out you get free admission on your birthday this year, OR, if you've already paid for a multi-day pass, they'll give you the price of the ticket in merchandise. So... we let Jane go on a bit of a shopping spree and left there with more loot than ever before. We totally looked like one of "those families" that goes WAY over the top. It's fun to do it once... and with Disney's money rather than our own, it was awesome!

The one present we did bring for Jane was this little Cinderella dress, and she was thrilled with it! Here she is in front of her castle.

Since we'd already done Magic Kingdom the week before, we took a slower pace and it was nice. We spent a lot of time on kid rides Jane would love, plus Splash mountain again where Jeff and I did our best to keep her dry (she didn't like the idea of getting all wet again), and thunder mountain, which she adored. Alice was having a great time this day on all the rides we can include her on. So happy!

The kids loved the dinky rollercoaster in toon town and were so excited when they got to go together and even sit in the front car! Yay for no lines!

And of course, we waited to see the princesses for Jane. I think Cinderella was by far the most lovely princess, but I just loved how this picture with Aurora turned out, even if she in real life wasn't quite as impressive as I had hoped. When Princess Aurora found out it was Jane's birthday, she told her all about how on her birthday her aunts tried to make her a birthday cake without their wands and what a disaster it was. Jane was just soaking it all in! This attraction was SO well done.

This was our only day really eating IN the park, and they even came and sang Happy Birthday to Jane! She loved the extra attention, and we loved the air conditioning!

Mimi and Papa, as always, were champs at catering the day towards the kids and making it fun for everyone! It's so fun to go with such Disney connoisseurs!

We fit in what we wanted that day and felt done, so we were home in time for a swim and cake and ice cream! Thank goodness Jane took cupcakes as a substitute for the "Hello Kitty" cake she's been talking about for a year. We had a nice little party and put the kids to bed in preparation for our early flight home.

We had to say an early goodbye to our lovely little vacation home. How could you not love a PINK house? Mom and Dad dropped us at the airport, and we were off. Back to Utah, back to reality.

We planned a few days of recovery afterward, since honestly, vacations with my family require it. Disneyworld with the Rich family isn't exactly a leisurely vacation, but it sure is FUN! And absolutely exhausting. Jane was attempting to get a head start on recovering while we waited in Chicago. Jeff was just faking, but caught up soon enough.

Thanks, mom and dad, for a dream vacation and loads of priceless moments together. Disney is great, of course, but the TIME with you was what really made the trip the best. We love you.

Disney World!

How do you document 8 overflowing days of FUN? I couldn't possibly share it all, so here are a few favorites... from the first half anyway.

Frequent flyer miles are great for free flights, but NOT great for flight times. It took us most the day to travel, but we did it! Luckily, my kids have a little travel experience which tends to help. Or is it that I know, as a mother, what to realistically expect from a three and six year old? Maybe. But probably it's the fun travel kits Mimi prepared for the kids that kept them busy for hours. Jane was feeling pretty cool in her new shades.

First day, Epcot center! And in case you're wondering, yes, we matched our shirt colors on purpose almost every day, which we highly recommend. Definitely made it easier to keep track of each other, and with my kids and Mimi (mom, you know it's true, you are just as curious as Jack and Jane) who tend to wander, it was so nice!

We walked on almost every ride with less than a 10 minute wait. We did wait to see a whole slew of characters all at once, and it was worth it. The kids loved it!

Pretty sure Alice didn't really get the whole Disney thing, but she sure was happy while we were at the happiest place on earth!

The back half of Epcot is a world showcase, featuring several different countries and their cultures. I love this part because you get a little taste of a world tour, my dream come true! This is Jane in Norway. Have you ever seen a more striking viking princess?

Second day, Magic Kingdom! How could you not smile in a place like this?

In line for our first ride of the day... Peter Pan of course! "Line" is a loose term because there really weren't any lines at all, especially first thing in the morning!

Storytime with Belle was a lot of fun. Jack even got to be her father, the inventor (how appropriate!), as the children acted out Belle's story on stage. She was awesome.

We got so many pictures with characters, it's not even funny. The kids were loving it, even pictures with the villains! This was right before Jack did his pirate training course with none other than the Captain Jack Sparrow.

While Jane was with her fairy godmother (she was brilliant!)...

Jack actually found a friend to have a duel with. Papa told me that it ended in his opponent getting a good hit and Jack playing dead. Both these boys were really getting into it, it was awesome.

Mandatory Mickey bars!

Disney with my family has never been for the faint hearted! We get the MOST out of each day that is humanly possible. We wore these two right out!

The Buzz ride is a favorite for everyone. If you don't get a good score, you're punished with the enemy Zurg. Papa even went back on this one later by himself to improve his score! Everyone feels like a kid at Disney!

For some reason, this is one of my favorite things at Disney. We had to get the classic picture.

When I was in Florida 10 years ago with my parents and brother, we didn't get to the Animal Kingdom. I knew my kids would love it, since they are so fascinated by zoos, farms, and anything bug related! It did not disappoint!

While everyone else was running to the biggest attractions, my kids (of course) had to stop at each little cage and learn about each spider, scorpion, and bug inside. We went against all our "get it in" instincts and let them enjoy each one and ask all kinds of questions. It was great!

Jane kind of likes her sister. Even when Alice doesn't get it, Jane thinks she's hilarious!

I love bridges like this. It reminded me of some from Thailand. But lots stronger, wider, and it even had side rails! This equals less stress for me!

The kids loved the great drum display in the African part of the Animal Kingdom. There was just so much to do!

While dad and Jeff took the big kids on the rafting ride, mom and I took Alice to cool her down a bit. It was HOT, but she was such a happy girl, as usual.

Jack's favorite ride was the rollercoaster Everest, which I regret not getting a picture of. He went on it three times in a row and begged for more. Jane would have loved it too, but it was one of the few rides the whole trip she wasn't tall enough for. It was SO fun having kids who love rides! Jane tried everything, although didn't want to repeat a few of them. If you ask her what her favorite was, she'll probably tell you the Tower of Terror. Who could have guessed?

This trip was our turn in my parents rotation of taking each of their kids' families on a trip. We felt SO spoiled to have all this time with them all to ourselves (sorry sibs, you know we love you, but we all like our Mimi and Papa time!) They were the bests hosts ever, and it was fun to be in the position of "kid" rather than responsible adult once again! Dad has a thing about taking charge of tickets and anything important, and Mom pretty much planned the entire thing. We pretty much just showed up ready to play. I haven't been on a trip where I didn't plan every detail myself in a while, so this was AWESOME!

This is how Alice slept the entire trip. Yes, it's a drawer. She slept awesome. If you can't tell, she's a swaddler and likes things quite cozy.

Mom and Dad rented a house for us all to stay in, and it was incredible to come home exhausted each day to a place we could really relax in! You'd be amazed at the cheap places you can find to stay in Florida right now. This four-bedroom house was cheaper per night than our very average hotel room in Rexburg, Idaho!

The kids loved the game room, but we were so busy, we didn't play in it nearly enough!

We got home early on Saturday and the kids headed straight for the backyard for a swim! This pool was just right for an evening dip!

Even though they could have had their own rooms, they chose to share. They thought it was heaven to have a TV in their room, and we found them cuddled up together in bed watching a show (even though they really had their own beds). I love that my kids love each other.

Our Sunday consisted of church meetings (and if you can believe it, we ran into the mission president of the Bangkok mission also on vacation in Florida. Small world, right?), having my aunt and uncle over for dinner (which regrettably, I got NO pictures of, can you believe me?), and the kids building forts all over the house. It was great! We loved visiting with Glen and Sherry, who we rarely get to see. How can I be related to so many great people?

The kids loved having a "down" day, and we ALL needed it to recharge for the next three days!

What a trip, and this was just the beginning!