Disneyland

We headed to Disneyland on Monday. If you are looking for a good time to go there, January is the time! We had no longer than a ten minute wait at any ride, and most rides we were able to walk right on. Of course, we also lucked out with a sunny day in the high 70s. It was perfect. We even enjoyed getting soaked, in the very front of the ride, on Splash Mountain!
Grandma was a good sport, and accompanied Lola and Trenton on many a kiddie ride. Trenton loved the Pooh ride, the circus train, and Dumbo.

So did Lola for that matter. Lola refused to go on any ride that had a "tunnel" or was "pitch black"...which pretty much limited her to the kiddie rides. Autopia was Lola's most favorite ride. Olivia, on the other hand, especially liked the Matterhorn at night, Space Mountain, the log ride in California Adventure, and Indiana Jones. As we left the park that night, she looked up at Rich and said, "Dad, this was the best day ever!" You really can't beat that!

California

We returned from Utah, were home for a few days, and then headed out again. This time, to sunny California. And, boy, was it sunny! And warm! And wonderful! We really lucked out with 75 degree weather the whole time we were there. The first day we were there, we took it easy and went to a local park for a picnic lunch. We were all in heaven, but Trenton was beyond excited! He was a little too young for the park this summer, but he took right to it this time around. He loved the bridge, and slide, and anything that looked potentially dangerous. He couldn't be stopped though, because the smile on his face was a mile wide!

The next day we headed to Carpinteria, to the tidepools. We saw sea anenomes,
a sea snail (gross!) and tons of beautiful shells.
Livi especially loved climbing on all the rocks and finding new things. Lola had more fun sitting with Papa on a bench above the beach, and Trenton did his favorite thing...throw rocks!


When we were done, we headed to Fosters Freeze for a yummy lunch. Trenton found a friend in Papa, who gave him as many fries as he wanted! We headed home, still not believing such a beautiful, perfect, day could be had in January!

Mary Poppins

Papa Jones made some special arrangements for us which made for a wonderful night at Mary Poppins. We were so impressed with the physicality of this musical...to sing and dance on top of jumping around was very impressive. It was very well done. Olivia especially loved when Burt walked on the wall and across the ceiling. Lola really enjoyed the first half! Lola's face is perfect in the picture, her eyes half open, as she fell asleep about 10 minutes into the second half of the musical. Olivia was wide-eyed the whole time, even with a 10:45pm ending time! Grandma Jones joined us for the night, while Papa stayed home and babysat Trenton for us. Thanks for a great night, Papa and Grandma!

Utah

We had an very special visit to Provo the week after Christmas. We had wanted to get there since October, and were finally able to gather with the whole family for a New Year's celebration. After a scary, slippery drive down to Utah, we had a perfect visit. The cousins had a blast together. Due to new babies in two families this summer, we did a mini-cousins camp while we were all together. The cousins played in the loads of snow we got in a few storms while we were there, they went to a fun trampoline place and jumped their hearts out, they went skiing at Alta and endured their parents reliving all the memories from their childhoods, and they smiled a whole lot!
After a very special adult family fireside the night before, Rich and his parents and siblings went to the temple together. They had an unforgettable experience...one they will all cherish forever.
We also took a family picture...with our numbers, it's a miracle when we all get together! We feel so blessed to be part of this family, and especially grateful for the ways that we can support each other, even in difficult times.