Beach Combers

Let's not talk about how long it took us to find the beach. You would think it would be easier, but apparently we Cazier's could not find water with a forked stick. And even when we could see Newport beach, we couldn't find the road down. So we parked and walked. Then walked a little more. But good things come to those who walk. (Which was also realized at Disneyland.) The beach was just what the girls wanted, minus a hoard of shells. They really liked the sand. They played, and played.

Everyone was buried at least once and turned into a mermaid.

Don't worry Tim, we won't show your mermaid picture.

June liked the water and explored deeper than I was comfortable with. Luckily, the big waves washed her back on shore.

Ivory took a dip now and then.

Robyn got one mouthful of salt-water and spent the rest of the time on the shore. I don't blame her. I really don't like the taste of salt-water. Actually I can't say that I love sand that much either. I was paranoid to take the camera out, but I did by gum. That was my contribution to the trip. You gotcha catch memories like sand angels.

We didn't bring towels on our trip since we were planning to use a friend's. But when plans fell through, we stopped at Kohl's and became the proud owner of beach towels and these:

I think they all look like silly super heroes. They came in handy though. Tyler was sporting the look. Blue Steel, I think.

Tyler liked the water most of all. He rode waves in over and over.

He would occasionally do the Baywatch run to shore and see if he was needed. Although he is a great catch, I kept throwing him back in.

So it went thus. Sand, water, more sand.

More sand.

Here is our Sandlot. (Ooh, two references to the Sandlot within a month, and I don't even remember the movie.)

Naturally I had to get a picture of myself. Yes, I know they are always of my eyes, but my arms aren't long and that is just the way my camera works.

All in all, it was a great afternoon at the beach.

It was the perfect way to relax before we exhausted ourselves at the Happiest Place on Earth. More on that soon...

Not So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

See, what did I tell you. I was back in a flash. Really, I just went on vacation, but I feel utterly ridiculous announcing to the world that my house will be free and clear of residents for a certain amount of time and those who feel so inclined should burgle on such and such dates. Then again, maybe next time I will go ahead and announce in hopes that someone will take my large, cumbersome television, which would give us a nice excuse to buy a flat screen.

Now comes the prevailing problem. We were gone for a fair amount of time and that means lots of posts and lots of pictures, most of which you may not be interested in, but which I am obligated to write about since I still claim to write this blog for posterity and not for comments. So I am warning you in advance. Feel free to scroll, or skip, or gag at how many princess pictures we took. Oh, did I mention we went to ...

We did some other things too, and don't worry, it will all get cataloged. (Probably.) But I have learned that I need to do it sooner than later, so sit back and hopefully I will deluge you with my vacation.

Let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start. We opted to drive to Disneyland, versus flying, mainly for the fact that it is oodles cheaper. Plus, we wanted to brag that we survived 2500 miles in the car without a DVD player. Yes folks, we went the old fashioned way, although we did have a few books on tape. And the trip was peachy. But I attribute that to two things. 1) We left the youngest two in Idaho with family. 2) Because we left the youngest two, we had room in the van to spread out and separate children more than an arm-length apart. Who knew the kids could be civil when they aren't practically sitting in each other's laps.

We high-tailed it out of Orem on a sunny afternoon and drove like mad for Reno. Yes, any of you who are geographically savvy will notice that Reno is not the fastest way to Disneyland, but we did some site-seeing along the way. (Can you say site-seeing when you are visiting family, or does that suddenly sound like your family is a zoo that you try to avoid year-round but drop in to gawk at when you have a moment? Our family is great, so we were more site-seeing the other Californian residents.) I really wanted to stop at the Salt Flats and take some pictures, but invariably someone is asleep when we pass them. True to form, I was actually the only one awake as we drove by. (Oh well, one of these days.) We stayed in a little motel with a freezing pool, but it was nice to be together. I will give myself some props for this trip. We brought a cooler and ate in as much as possible. Here the girls are eating cereal on Sunday morning.

I must mention now that I did not get behind the camera as much as I thought. Tyler was the predominant photographer for this trip. Needless to say, I would have taken some pictures a different way or from a opposing viewpoint, but I am pretty sure Confucius would say, He who does not bother to take pictures should not complain at the pictures taken. Yep, I am just happy that he was on the ball. There were a few times he would ask me if I wanted the camera and I would say no, and then later when I looked through the pictures I could see the gaps. I have learned my lesson. (Probably.)

Like I said, the kids were fantastic. They kept themselves busy, even when we stopped at the random gas station for potty breaks.

I would like to say that all potty breaks went smoothly,  but it was more than once that we would finish up, get back on the road, only to hear, 'I need to go potty.' Really, there is not much to do besides look for the next exit, but it may have led to several conversations about getting EVERYTHING out in one stop.

In all good time we arrived at our first little stop on the map; Santa Rosa. My uncle lives there with his family and we really don't get to visit them as much as we would like. I think the last time we got there was Fete Day four years ago. Ivory was just a baby. Weird that we only took the same three kids. Don't worry, Pearl and Daisy surely had more fun playing with cousins than being stuck in the car, and Pearl's chronic diarrhea would have been disastrous for the trip. Not that it was a picnic for Aunt Kat, but we can talk about my guilt concerning that issue later.

We swam (didn't bring the camera) and then had a delicious meal brought together by many parties. Here is the gang.

We were so lucky that Tim and Jim came up to visit again. We really need to take a special trip to visit them in San Fran some time. Jim just retired as a theater producer. He was featured in a magazine, and he was so young in all the pictures. It almost makes me dread old age. Don't get me wrong, Jim has aged very gracefully; I just don't think I will do the same. My children's children will look back at this blog and say, Wow, what happened to Gramma?

We did get to drive through San Fransisco though. Recognize this bridge?

We even took the scenic route right through downtown. Oh Tim, you would be so ashamed. Even after your fabulous directions, we still missed the turn-off after the bridge. So we made the most of it, and enjoyed the scenery.

I know I have blathered on for reams now, but I may as well get us down to Anaheim, so hang in there for a few hundred miles more.

We stopped in Santa Maria to meet up with my family and see Meg and Hal. You may slap my hand twice for not bringing the camera when we saw Meg and Hal. They are two of the nicest people to walk the planet. She was roommates with my mom in college. They treated us to breakfast. I hope my mom got a picture. Look, I have stolen it from her blog.

(Yes, we stopped at Willard's Bay on the way home from Idaho.)

The evening before, we all stayed at the same hotel with adjoining rooms. Mom had gotten us a suite with three beds, but I was shocked to see the room had a kitchenette and (I kid you not) a banquet table. I'm not sure we needed to seat twelve people for dinner, but if there had been a need, we were prepared. We did play some cards before bed. Shouldn't let a table like that go to waste.

The hotel was a little too posh for my tastes. When they saw my children they warned the man next door to complain if he heard them. Then the power went out while I was in the tub. And yes, they had a hotel cat (Cleo), but I'm not sure I was impressed.

Why the picture then? Because if I didn't include it, someone in my family would ask why I left the cat out. I am sliding by my critics while I can. But I don't want to end with a picture of a cat. Let's put a sassy Ivory in here to finish this chapter.

Phew. We made it. It was a long trip, but we are down in Anaheim now, ready to take on Disneyland. Wait, first a trip to the beach, but that is a story for another day...

Short Siesta

Okay, blogging and photography are very important to me, but I need to take a short break. Freak not out. Trust me, I'll be back before you know it. In the interim, I would like to leave you with some cute pictures. My blond baby sure is growing up. (Seriously, where did the blond come from? I can't get blue eyes, but I can get blond hair!)

Dad's Day

I apologize to Tyler for not posting this sooner. Father's Day is important to me. And we had an excellent time this year. We partied man-style. In case you are wondering what man-style means, it most certainly involves steak.

Check out our smokin' grill. Yummy goodness.

I let Tyler decorate the table and he did that man-style too. Yes, those are tools, and no, we did not use the power saw to cut the steak.

We brought back our one-time tradition of ice cream tasting that we invented three years ago. Oddly, Brian, I swear you are wearing almost exactly the same shirt. Weird.

It was a blast. It says Jared was the winner, but Brian and he tied and we rolled for Grand Champion. Our tie-breaker flavor was Late Night Snack with chocolate covered potato chips. (Yes, this is a real Ben & Jerry's flavor.) We made the men come up with their own name for it. Jared chose Coco Puff Carnival and Brian named it Chicken Tracks. (Neither of them guessed potato chips as an ingredient...go figure.)

Another fabulous Father's Day under the belt. Dads—you rock.

My own Dad is pretty great too. Can't wait to see him soon. Oh, and Mom, I know it was your birthday and I totally forgot to do anything for it, including call you. I am truly shamed, and I will make it up to you somehow.

Father

Photos of the week:

I was a little slow this week, but there was no doubt about what I was taking a picture of...my hotty husband, of course. I mean, the distinguished father of my children. Tyler is a great father. He is the perfect partner in all my endeavors. I feel that together, we can accomplish anything. Love you, babe.

Oh, and I know I already used this picture, but I think it fits under 'Father' as well and bears repeating.

Carnival

This evening, our ward had a carnival to raise money for the youth. I was really impressed. You could tell that a lot of people put in some serious time and work. We actually didn't sign up for anything, and were planning to take it all in stride with our five, but at the last minute some friends of ours got sick and asked us to man the dunk tank. (Sorry Jetts, hope you feel better soon.)

It ended up being a hit. We had such a blast. The girls watched long enough that they wanted a turn sitting under the soaker. There was just a box up above and it didn't look like it would hold that much water. It was cleverly deceptive. Here is Robyn throwing to drench Nathan. She actually got him twice.

But revenge is sweet. I love how you can see him grinning in the background while Tyler showed Robyn what the deluge was all about.

Oh, and Tyler hit the target twice as well.

June had her turn being doused. I hit the target even while holding Pearl. (Okay, I had to throw it a few extra times.)

Daisy was happy because although we didn't take her around to all the booths, she got a whole thing of cotton candy to herself. She ended up with the five o'clock cotton candy shadow. (And facepaint.)

Horse rides were a favorite. I made the girls save their tickets until the end since the horses came later. I think it was worth it.

Pearl was chill the whole time. She even made a little boyfriend. He sat and fed her cotton candy and shared his sucker.

I guess it is never too young to use your feminine wiles to coax sweets from the boys.

So fun.

I Mustache These Memories Away

Tonight as we finished dinner, Tyler said, "Let's draw mustaches on and go for a walk." This he said brandishing a permanent marker. (Don't worry, I talked him into eyeliner instead.) And then we went for a walk, with mustaches.

Is it sad that this is the best family picture we have had for a while. Or maybe it is really cool? Either way, it is good to break up the monotony.

I took a close up of Hitler, because she is pretty darn cute.

And then Daisy wanted in on the action, because she loves having her picture taken. LOVES it.

And then d'Artagnon came downstairs. (By the way, apparently there is a new Three Musketeers movie coming out. Do you think they will ever tire of remaking that movie?)

The other two ran off, so you only get those three. We are keeping with the Three Musketeers theme.