we made it.

After babysitting the kiddos so I could go to Vegas with John, grandma (my mom) stuck around for another week so she could help me drive to Utah.

John surprised Nick with a "man trip" back east.  Exciting locations included visiting John's dad in Ohio, Kirtland, Palmyra, the Susquehanna river, and New York City. Hopefully Nick will blog about it all (hint, hint).

Our trip was mostly uneventful, we stopped in St. George to eat at our favorite restaurant- Bent Fork.  This was a must because besides the fact that the owners are good friends of ours, the restaurant's days are sadly numbered as the landlord won't renew their lease (so if anyone happens to be traveling through, or to St. George, I'd highly recommend stopping by, the food is seriously amazing- be sure to check the specials board, and get the tortilla soup.)

We visited with Shelly and Jayson and the kids played with Carson (their little boy) upstairs in the office, and then finally decided to leave after Christopher tried to give Carson a black eye. (they were playing with the door, and Carson caught the doorknob with his face) It promised to be a real beauty, but according to Shelly, it never really did much.  (thank goodness)

I forgot to mention that in related news, I went to the dentist during that week when my mom was in town and John was not, and it must have been a particularly violent visit because the next day I was complaining that it "felt like someone punched me in the face", and by the next day I had a lovely bruise on my cheek.  Normally I'd blame John, but as he has an alibi (he was in New York) so I'm sticking to the story that I got in to a bar fight.

 So, at the end of a very long and mostly uneventful day, we made it.  My parent's house is at the end of this cul-de-sac. (somewhere behind all those trees- all that's visible is part of my dad's red truck.) Every year I am amazed at how big the trees are.  And how green everything is.

how I snuck in to a Beatles concert

Ever since I was little, I've had a dream, a fantasy- I wanted to go to a Beatles concert.

Really, and truly, if you had asked me if I could go to any concert, I would have said the Beatles.

Of course, I knew this couldn't happen cause the band broke up and two of them are dead, so that kinda puts a damper on things, but still, a girl could dream.

And then one day it happened.

John was to attend a big computer conference in Vegas, and the end of the conference party included a concert with none other than Sir Paul McCartney.

We hit a couple snags in getting me the actual ticket though.

The tickets were for conference attendees only.  We could buy me a guest pass, but that would cost $500.  (I still would have paid it, it totally would have been worth it to realize a lifetime dream come true, but that's a lot of money to cough up.)  I guess the steep price tag is cause it comes with a reception with an open bar, and all you can eat crappy conference appetizers, so clearly I wasn't gonna get my money's worth there.

To get a ticket, you had to stand in line, show your conference badge, and picture ID, and they gave you a sparkly bracelet which you had to put on right then and there, and your ticket.  If you want to sit next to a particular someone (in this case your spouse) you had to stand in line together.  It was looking like we were gonna have to cough up the dough and pay for it, plus, by the time I got into town, ( a day after they started handing out tickets) I was certain any decent seats would be long gone.

Anyway, as it turns out, being married to a well liked guy has it's perks.  One of John's friends who wasn't going to be attending the concert anyway, was happy to give me his ticket.  (and seeing how the ticket was included in the price of his convention pass.... it would have been a shame to waste it) John's helped him out on more than one occasion, and he was happy to return the favor.  He even stood in line with John, obtained the ticket

and bracelet,  jimmied open the locking mechanism on the bracelet with an eyeglass screwdriver,

and let me borrow his convention badge.  Actually I wore John's cause just in case anybody was paying attention (they weren't) we could say it was a misprint, and my name is really Joan.  (you needed all three to get into the concert)

That guy is so getting caramels next time John sees him.

Anyway, BEST CONCERT EVER.

John even said so.

I felt a little guilty saying it was better than Harry Connick, jr, who puts on a great show, totally entertaining, but wow, start to finish-

 A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

I don't even know where to begin?

The venue was small, so there really wasn't a bad seat. 

First off, I have to mention that when Paul stepped out on stage, I heard a guy behind me make some joke- "Hey, I thought we were here to see Paul McCartney? Who's that old guy?" 

I think he ate his words pretty quick- because for an old guy (he will be 70 next year)- He Still Has It.  You could just tell he loved his job.  He loved performing.  He was funny, and amazing, and talented, and he shared stories, and he rocked. Really Rocked. 

In fact you could tell his whole band thought they each had the best job in the whole world.  Especially his drummer.  He was hilarious.  He oozed personality and joy.

We heard Beatles songs, some Wings songs (his group after the Beatles) and even some new stuff.  Even a tribute to John Lennon, which was really touching. 

The pyrotechnics were awesome, John said they were the best he's ever seen, and he grew up going to 80's rock concerts, so I am assuming he's seen his fair share. 

And the computer graphics, videos, images, were awesome too.  Apparently the amount of storage space used impressed John, and storage is his specialty.

I confess I was a little worried before going,  Worried he wouldn't live up to my expectations. (life long dreams have generally come with high expectations) Worried that it was just a paycheck for him, that he might not give his all as he played a bunch of tired old songs for a bunch of drunk computer geeks who most likely just there cause work paid for it.   (of course afterwards I did a little research and in 2010, he was one of the richest men in the UK, which means he doesn't need to work-I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say he still performs because he can, because he loves it)

But wow,  did he ever more than meet any expectations I ever had.  John even agreed- Best Concert Ever.

two beaches and a rainforest

No trip to Cali, or almost any coastal state for that matter, is complete without a trip to the beach. 

Even if you don't plan on getting too wet.

Since Legoland closed at 5, we picked up John, headed to the beach, and arrived at around 6 pm.

Too late to do any real swimming, right?

I mean, the sun would be setting soon,

the high that day was like 78,

so that's definitely not swimsuit weather.

More like, walk-along-the-beach-and-get-your-toes-wet-and-look-for-seashells-weather, right?

Clearly, my family had different plans.

Plus, there weren't even any seashells.  Just seaweed.

Of course, the next day while we dropped John off to take a test to renew his CCIE (which he passed- Go John!),

I let the kids don their swimwear, we grabbed the boogie boards, and we headed for a beach near Los Angeles.

Middle of the day, sun was shining, should be warmer than yesterday, right?

Apparently not.

The kids froze their tootsies off.

Madison was stubborn, and stayed out the longest, but even she admitted defeat, and we packed up and headed back to pick up John. 

We figured waiting for him in the parking lot would be preferable to hypothermia.

Since we were in the LA area, we couldn't not at the very least meet John's aunt Vickie and uncle Bob for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Normally we would stay with them when we are in town, but this trip was too short, and John had to get back to catch a plane.  We always enjoy seeing them, and as John and I always say "We have got to visit them more often." Hopefully soon we can make good on that. (and not just cause they live 15 minutes away from Disneyland!)

Legoland

 

While Nick was away in Happy Valley (Provo Utah), John and I decided to take the other kids to Legoland.  

Actually John found some super cheap tickets on line and since he was going to be spending the entire week on his computer attending a virtual class, for some certification or another, we decided I could take the kids to Legoland while he sat in the hotel room all by his lonesome self.

We did feel a little bad about not going when Nick was in town, but since the optimal age for kids to visit is somewhere between 5 and 10, we figured Nick would be slightly bored anyway, so really, we were doing him a favor.

Madison had fun, even if she was a little old for some of the rides (she has always been a thrill seeker- and most of the rides are just downright tame. ) 

She was happy to spend time with her brothers, and share in their enjoyment,  but still managed to go on the "funner rides" every opportunity she had.

Zach had a lot of fun, he's really into Legos these days so he was fascinated with all the models scattered all over the place.

He could have spent HOURS in the little mini-land area studying each of the cities on display.  He liked the Star Wars, Washington DC, and Las Vegas sets the best.

I made him go on ALL the rides.  The first one was a little much for him, and he cried and flipped out, and then when the first big hill was over, he turned around in the car and said "That was it?  That's the scariest part?"- but of course he refused to go on it again. 

Honestly though, I didn't like that ride much myself.  It reminded me too much of  "The Wild Mouse" ride at Lagoon when I was a kid.  That ride scared the snot out of me, mostly because I thought the cart was going to run off it's tracks.  (There were always urban legends flying around that it actually had, and kids had died- which only added to my fear. )

However, there was another rollercoaster that he went on over and over again.  As a roller coaster lover myself, I was thrilled to finally break through that anxiety riddled shell, and have him decide that yes, rollercoasters can be fun.  I don't know that I will be able to get him on California Screamin' the next time we make it to Disneyland (who knows when that will be anyway) but it's a start.

Christopher loved everything.  Especially the rollercoasters and the slides. 

He was all smiles, all the time.  He only cried when it was time to go home.

On the way to the park the first day, he was all "No go Legoland.  Go see mountains.  Go find sticks.  Go find fire.  Go find tent."  Now, even a month later, he's still asking to go back to Legoland.

 I just can't tell you how happy I am that all of my kids will go on rollercoasters.  Zach still puts up a good fight on some of them,  but he's getting there.  I look forward to the day when we can go to a place like Disneyland, and ALL OF US can go on a ride like California Screamin' instead of only half of us, while the other half go on the kiddie rides in the Bugs Life land. 

"I'm not dead...

...I feel happy!"  (ten geek points if you can name that movie)

Really, I am just a slacker. 

Actually a slacker on vacation- so that's worse.

I have one blog post in the works, but it has a bunch of pictures and I can't decide whether to split it into two posts or not. 

We've been busy, and I am feeling a little overwhelmed, and then I start to question whether anyone cares about our trip to Legoland, etc, but then I have to remind myself that this blog is for me, and my kids, and I shouldn't let worrying about boring people to death hold me back from something my family loves so much. 

So, as soon as I get back to my laptop in a few days, (I am on John's now) I will begin to deal with the last three+  weeks of not blogging, too many pictures, not enough pictures, a faulty memory, etc.

But until then, I will continue to enjoy my time making memories with my family and John's mother and sister, and my niece and nephews and not worry how I am going to document it all.  (My camera has spent more time in my pocket than out.)

Especially For Youth

I never went to EFY. 

I never felt picked on or cheated out of something about it though.  I only knew one friend who ever went, and she'd come back all sorts of excited about it, but I don't remember ever wishing to go myself.

For one, it sounded like a lot of money, that I was pretty sure I would have had to save up for myself, but I'd rather spend my babysitting money on other things, and two, I had (have) a hard time in new situations.  A week.  Away from home.  Where I didn't know a soul?  No thanks.  (Never mind the fact that back then it took months, not days, for me to have the nerve to speak to someone)

Plus, I'd heard that it's an opportunity for Mormon teenagers everywhere to get together and meet other Mormon teenagers.  Uh?  I lived in Utah.  It wasn't exactly like Mormon Teenagers were a rare breed or anything.  The term "can't swing a dead cat" comes to mind.

But we sent Nick.  And given that I have no real idea of what I was sending him off to, no fond memories to call upon to ease my over-active worry-prone imagination, I was a little nervous.  Probably more so than the actual kid who was attending.

But he loved it.  He spent the weekend with my mom, where she spoiled him and made him all his favorite foods. She dropped him off at the BYU campus and got him situated- She was the perfect person for this job, because despite the fact that she doesn't like to admit it, once upon a time she called BYU home.

Anyway he loved it.  "Everybody was so nice, and they smiled all the time!  It even has a nickname-  they even call it "Happy Valley" there cause everybody is so happy!" 

And then he proceeded to tell me about the giant scoops of ice-cream they were eating all the time, ridiculously cheap scoops of ice-cream that were really more like 3 or 4 scoops of ice-cream.   I personally drew my own unfounded conclusions between the mass amounts of ice-cream everybody consumes and the fact that everybody was so happy all the time, and Nick didn't appreciate my insinuations that there must be some special additive in the ice-cream. 

Anyway, he had lots of fun.  Had a great roommate, made lots of friends, met lots of cute girls, danced with lots of cute girls (23 to be exact).

He can't wait to go back next year.  He didn't appreciate my joke that this was his one and only year to do so, and he wouldn't be back.  He rolled his eyes at me, and didn't even give me the satisfaction of seeing a little bit of panic in his face.  Clearly not going back is not an option. 

Schizophrenic

Not me.  (okay maybe somedays, but I'm not talking about me today.) 

My computer.

Or more specifically the wifi in our house.

The internet is up, then it's down. 

I can't check my e-mail for hours, then I finally I get half a days worth, and by the time I hit "reply", something has gone wrong and I get errors.

Some times I can pull my blog page up, but clicking on "New Post" is out of the question.  Except if I am super lucky, which I was two minutes ago, so I am typing super fast and hoping I can click "publish post" before my wifi decides it hates me again.

I have stuff to blog about- my baby turned five a week ago, Nick survived EFY, we went to Legoland on a spur of the moment mini vacation...

but those might have to wait until I have reliable internet.  I might end up chucking my laptop against a wall, and I don't think that will be helpful.