Disneyland and Sea World

This year Disneyland lets you get in free on your birthday. I wanted to go to Disneyland for my 31st birthday and Erica is still free. So, we all got in for the price of one, which is still way too expensive, even for three people.


Erica loved Disneyland and still talks about the Tiki room - we accidentally ended up in there and thought it was the stupidest thing we had ever seen. However, it was one of Erica's favorite. She was a little scared on the Jungle Cruise, but talked about it a lot afterward. She liked Dumbo, or as she calls it, "Go, elephants, go!!!" We only made about six rides before she was done, but we had a great time.

We also stopped by Sea World on our Southern California tour. Erica loved the sharks the most. She also liked the starfish, penguins, otters and polar bears, but she had NO interest in the dolphins.

Here is how Troy decided to hold Erica over the shark viewing area. Does this make anybody else really nervous?

Troy, Erica and Troy's sister Molly. When everyone asks where Erica gets her blond hair from, we say, "Molly".

The only family shot we could come up with.


On the way out, we made the mistake of letting Erica walk instead of ride in her stroller. She tripped and landed forehead first on the pavement. We had to take her to the first aid place at Sea World. She turned out to be fine, but she had a nasty bruise for awhile.

At the end of our trip we got to stay with my brother's family. He has an awesome pool that we spent most of our time in. We also hit up the beach one more time. Troy spent his time in the water and we spent our time at the slide.

California 2009

Hello again. The bar is finally finished and I'm re-entering the blogging world. I am just going to do this chronologically so future posts to come are the rest of our California trip - including Disneyland and Sea World, the bar (I'm not quite ready to think about it again yet), family coming to visit and a trip to the ER (everything is ok). So, with that, here is the beginning of the last month and a half:

At the end of June, we braved a road trip to California. I usually try not to drive anywhere with Erica that is more than a half hour because she hates her car seat. We purchased a DVD player for the trip and decided that was one of the best investments of our married life. Although we were sick of watching the ABC movie for the 100th time by the time we arrived, it kept Erica happy and was better than listening to her cry.

We spent a couple of days at the beach. It was colder than usual, so only Troy braved playing in the water. Erica and I hung out on the sand. She loved to roll around in the sand and chase the birds. Troy's sister Molly and her husband Brad were also vacationing in California at the same time, so it was nice to meet up with them.

We love Arizona, but we sure miss living close to the beach.

Complaining

1. Erica has a super high fever.

2. I don't feel very well either.

3. The bar is in one week and I'm not ready. I can't wait to be done with this thing.

4. I just found a scorpion in my home.

Maybe next week I can put up a post called "Celebrating" or something.

How Romantic

Direct quote from my husband: "You barely weigh more than a bag of concrete." Thanks??

and Idaho

The last week of our trip was spent in Idaho. My mom was kind enough to take a couple of days off work to watch Erica so I could study for the bar. I had all these great plans of studying on my trip, but as you've seen, there was little time for that. I actually almost caught up by the end thanks to my mom.

Here is a view from the house my parents are building just south of Pocatello, Idaho. We roasted marshmallows and ate smores.


3 generations


Erica was not a fan of the tractor this time around...


...unless it was turned off and she was with "mama".


A view of my parents' house from down the road.


My parents took Erica to the park to entertain her while I studied. I am so proud of my mom in this picture. She will be 62 next month and she is still going down slides.


I think it's so funny how clueless kids are on slides. "Maybe if I stick my foot out here like this, it won't flip me around and make me bash my head... or maybe it will."


Erica loved her time with cousin Lincoln. They got along so well. They are actually moving to Phoenix soon. I can't wait. I am so excited to have family closer.


A modeling shoot for the Baby Banana Brush??


Erica was obssessed with my sister's cat. She chased him around for hours. The coolest was when he would walk into an open cabinet, unsuspecting, only to have Erica shut the door on him in a mad fit of hysterical laughter. If you are really interested in a funny video (Molly and Sonja), you can check out my family website.


I was able to visit my friend Mindi, who moved to Idaho not too long ago.



One night, my mom woke me up at midnight because there was a fire across the street. That is the closest I've ever been to an uncontrolled fire. It was scary, but the firemen had it out pretty quickly.



The day before we left to come home, my mom and brother watched Erica, while I drove to Salt Lake to attend Erin's wedding. We were former law school classmates and bailiffs. I spent a wonderful day watching the Joseph Smith movie at the Legacy Theater, watching Erin's sealing performed by Elder Bednar and attending an endowment session at the Salt Lake Temple. All without a baby. Talk about an uplifting, spiritual day.


That night, I drove back to Pocatello. The next day, we drove back to Salt Lake and flew home. It was a joyous reunion with Troy. We are very tired, but slowly catching up to real life. It is good to be home. We missed all our friends here. Erica is very, very happy to be back in her own bed with her own toys. More hysterical laughter ensued after seeing all of her old stuff and her old dog.

Thanks mom and dad for all your help. We miss you.

Utah

We spent the shortest amount of time in Utah, but had the most people to see. Unfortunately, we didn't even come close to seeing everyone we wanted to see. We are so grateful to KD and her family for letting us crash at their house. Her kids were great with Erica.


Troy's and my mission president and wife.


The Bostons. Good luck!!

My Papa. He was so cute with Erica.

Erica and Kapria

Cousin Nathan

Cousins Mallory and Marissa

Erica and Addi. Erica is telling me that she is too tired to see anyone else. She seriously just laid down in the middle of the floor from exhaustion.

Seattle

I've just returned from a 3 1/2 week trip to Seattle-Utah-Idaho. Troy spent the first week with me in Seattle for his sister's wedding. After that, we were Troy-less for 17 days. That is the longest we've been apart in six years. It was hard to be away from Troy, but I had a wonderful time visiting so many family and friends. Troy got to spend part of that time boating in Lake Powell, so don't feel too sorry for him. I will let the pictures do most the explaining since I don't want to write a lot and I should be studying for the bar. Only one more month to go. I will do a subsequent Utah and Idaho post later. Here is to a great time in Seattle!!!!

Sonja and Jordan's wedding:

The Seattle Aquarium. Erica loved the otters the best.

The Swing:

Bonding with cousins. Erica loved playing with Noah (Noa-Noa) and Lovi (Lo-Lo). She still asks to see their picture all the time. Wished they lived closer.