Star Valley, Jackson, and throw up

Let it be known that I cannot recall a Memorial Day where it has been nice and sunny. Nor can I recall a Memorial Day that we haven't gone to Star Valley. Perhaps there is a connection there that I'm not picking up on.

But I still love me some Wyoming.

This year I realized that Memorial Day is becoming less and less about remembering loved ones, and more about shopping and camping. Shopping and camping are perfectly great activities, and ones that I happen to love. I can even love them on Memorial Day. This is just my little observation.

With that said, we spent the weekend traveling through Jackson and staying in a cabin in Thayne, WY.

One day was spent driving through Teton National Park searching for bears. Sadly we only found a Moose and lot's of duck poop. It's never too much of a disappointment because of the beautiful scenery. Even Stori noticed how "pretty" it all was.

Apparently we missed seeing a grizzly by 20 minutes, so when we found a Park Ranger we decided to follow him, thinking he was going where the bear was. Turns out he was just driving down an incredibly rough/bumpy road that gave one little red-head a case of the throw-ups. Yep. All over her carseat! It was so disgusting that I sat my pregnant self on the side of the road retching, trying my best to not spew all over myself. Luckily I married the most amazing man ever and he cleaned up Stori and her carseat without even a grumble. In fact, he gave Stori loves and told her he was sorry she got sick. Best. Dad. Ever. After that excitement, we decided to cut our Jackson trip a little shorter than planned and took off for Thayne after we ate a very late lunch. (For some reason we didn't feel like eating right after the throw-up fiasco).

We got to the cabin and my nice cousin washed all of the puke stuff while we gave Stori a bath and got her ready for bed. Dan and I watched "North America" while my mom hung out with her family.

before the throw up

As for memorial day, we (my mom) were able to take flowers to several of my family members graves (and even one to sweet Desi). My Dad's headstone looked exceptionally beautiful this year. I sent a picture of it to my siblings and my sister Aleisa replied, "...it's weird that it doesn't seem like a new headstone anymore." It's true, it doesn't. Stori loved climbing on it, despite our attempts to keep her off, but it was kind of fun telling her about her Papa. She counted all the names on the back of the headstone and it felt oddly comforting to have her acknowledge the words there.

After the cemetery we had a potluck at my Aunt and Uncles house. Stori played and played and played. Then she cried and cried and cried when she could no longer play. She is very spoiled whenever there are older cousins around because they all seem to want to make her happy. Which is easy for me! :)

After lunch and visiting, we made our annual trip to Maverick for some frozen yogurt and then drove home through Fall Creek. It is seriously such a beautiful drive! Dan and I made it our goal to really soak up the beauty around here before we move out of here next year.

Stori prayers

Each night we gather for family prayers in Stori's room. I've always had to help Stori say hers, but about 2 weeks ago she has started saying her entire prayer all by herself. Her typical prayer includes, "Father. Thank you. For. Daddy, Mommy, Shasha, Lila, Drew, Nornie, Ryder, (then she'll repeat all those again or more), Papa, Granny, (long pause) Christ, Amen."

So it is really quite adorable. At the end of her prayers she asks to say them again, so usually she will lay in her crib saying prayers for about 5 minutes. I tried to get one on camera, but this stinker spotted the phone. 

 At the beginning of the video, Minnie Mouse is hiding in the diaper box and Stori is telling her to say prayers with her. Then at the end, when she says 'ah, scary," that is when Dan enters in the room haha.

it is a lot more difficult than we thought.

I don't exactly know why picking out a baby name is so blasted difficult!
-maybe it's because this human has to live with this name forever and she has no say about it?
-maybe it's because I already have one child with a super unique name and all other names just don't fit?
-or maybe it's because Dan and I are quite possibly the worlds most indecisive people you will ever meet?

We have a list of names that are just mediocre at the moment. I like 2 quite a bit but dan isn't sold on them yet. I definitely have a great list of middle names to work with though! :)

Speaking of baby rad 2, I am now 26 weeks and feeling great!

Mothers Day 2013 by apartment #300 at Peterson Pointe, holding my 2 girls! 

I haven't reached the "complete freak out" stage of my pregnancy yet because I am busy with my other tiny human. Stori is just so much fun and I absolutely, 100% love her.

On one of our daily walks to the park, we noticed that the sprinklers were on and slightly covering the play area. I did my best to keep her away from the mud and puddles so that she would stay clean and warm. Well that lasted a whole 10 minutes before her curiosity got the better of her. She took off for the sprinklers and giggled from head to toe.
It was right then that I remembered the quote from Marjorie Pay Hinckley, "whenever possible say yes, they are only kids once!"

So she played and played and played. By the time we were ready to go home she was covered in mud and soaking wet. I LOVED IT!

{and just 2 cute pictures from the weekend} 

Stori playing the piano at Aleisa's house and dancing with Daddy at Cafe Rio.

Part 2: DISNEYLAND

Oh gosh I can't believe that I can actually say that I've been to Disneyland! Just saying it makes me feel cool! :)
We went for two days, a Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday, we got there right as it was opening and got to see a bunch of characters put on a show right in front of the castle. Stori was sitting on Dan's shoulders as they started to walk out and yelled "OH DARE DAY ARE!" and had perma-smile the whole show. Donald Duck grabbed her hands and danced with her and completely made her day. The whole day was perfect after that.
We had packed enough food for snacks and lunch so we wouldn't have to leave, which was good, because there is so much to see! At first we were overwhelmed with how many rides and attractions there were, but we found our way really quick.
Stori's least favorite ride was "It's a Small World." For some reason it terrified her. The only part she liked about that was the water. I would say the highlight of her day was going to the play at the Royal Theatre to see 'Tangled.' She got her picture taken with Rapunzel and hugged her for at least 3 solid minutes. I kept having to say, "ok Stori, that's good," or "It's time to go now." I finally got her to let go of her by telling her we needed to go find Pascal. haha She also fell in love with the Carousel and could spot the "hornsey's" from anywhere. Even if we tried to avoid it she would somehow spot it and want to ride. One time when dan was off riding the matterhorn, I took Stori to ride it again. When it finished she asked "again, please." I told her no, and that we needed to find dad. Then I thought, no, I'll let her ride again. So we got in line after I told her yes and she hugged me and kissed me repeatedly until it was our turn to ride. Melted my heart that something so simple made her so happy. So happy, in fact, that she wanted to thank me with such sweet affection for 5 solid minutes. Definitely a highlight for me.
We spent a lot of time getting pictures with characters and Tangled signs. We spent a while in toon town seeing some favorite characters and playing in fountains. Stori LOVED Goofy and Minnie! Like a lot!!
Another fun ride we took Stori on was Pirates of the Caribbean. She was a little scared at first, because there is a big drop in the dark that you don't see coming, but after that she really liked it. Dan was able to ride a lot of the bigger rides, but I couldn't go with him because a)) I am pregnant and they specifically say you CAN'T if your prigs and b)) we had Stori with us. Next time we go I really want to ride Splash Mountain. That was my favorite one to watch people go on. I'm sure I am missing so much of what day 2 consisted of, but luckily I have pictures and I made a California book. OH-the PARADE!! Stori absolutely loved that! She got her moves on when she heard the music and saw the characters performing. Everything there really is so magical! Even more so when you have a little girl and watch her experience it. After the parade we went on a few more rides until it closed and then spent time in downtown Disney til that closed. Our hotel was right across the street so we just walked home, ate some Chipotle and fell asleep. Stori actually just laid her head on my pillow while we were eating and fell asleep.
Wednesday we got to the Park as it was opening again and headed straight for Flynn Ryder. We didn't get to see him the day before and made that our priority. Found out what time we could get our picture with him and entertained ourselves until then. Dan's parents, sisters, brother, and nephew came that day also, so Dan was able to ride some rides with them while Stori and I went to Tangled and Beauty and the Beast. Stori met all the Princesses, and even had Peter Pan come up to her and ask for a picture...haha it was kind of weird and Stori was less than impressed. Finally the time came to meet Ryder (probably my favorite part of the whole experience). Rapunzel and Flynn were standing together for pictures and when they saw that it was Stori's turn, Ryder said, "Oh I bet this one is here for you Rapunzel." When Stori didn't run to her I told him that she was actually  here to see him! He looked surprised but raised his arms out to her and she ran in for a giant hug! She layer her head on his shoulder and got really comfortable. I told him how much she loved him even though he could clearly see that. IT WAS PERFECT! she spent the rest of the day asking for him and would point out his home. She saw a few posters of him and ran up to it to hug it. She even found the Tower and tried to climb it because it was Ryders home. :) I just love her.
The 3 of us shared some Mexican food for lunch and then continued to ride rides and find characters. Stori's favorite rides of that day (besides the carousel) were the Buzz Lightyear one and the Jungle Tour. Dan and I actually really liked those too. Dan's favorite rides were Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, and Star Tours (he's been to Disneyland twice and both times Space Mountain was closed-he was very disappointed).
We finally found our souvenir ornament (we get one on each vacation) and Stori's souvenir Rapunzel doll. No one sold Flynn Ryder dolls, so this was the next best thing.
We finished the night by watching the parade again. This time by the entrance. Stori made a few friends and they chased each other around a flower garden for 20 minutes just laughing waiting for the parade. We headed back to the Hotel and cried that our trip was ending the next morning.

Both flights we took, Stori was such a champ. She actually slept the whole way home except for the landing that was "scarrryy!" To be fare, it was scary. The key to her smooth traveling was "Tangled" and "Madagascar" on my iPhone. And a lot of fishy crackers.
California, we love you!
It was so much fun making these memories with my little family, and I feel so blessed to have been able to go.

 

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Part 1. California love.

Well, I did it. I finally ventured into the state of California for the first time at the age of 27. Stori went for the first time at 20 months. She's way cooler than me.

Our trip started on thursday April 18. 

We flew into LAX, got our rental car, got our luggage, and headed to Claremont where we would stay for the first 2 days. the drive there was... well... let's just say we hated our first 2 hours in California. It took us 2 hrs when it should have only taken 30 minutes. (who knew 1:30 would be rush hour)?

Once we got to Claremont however, we fell in love!! It is the cutest town with such cute homes. We stayed with the Foresters until Saturday. 

Thursday we hung out in the back yard the whole time playing games, visiting, eating, and laughing. That night we went to '21 Flavors' for some yummy fro yo. Alicia and I were the only ones to stay up past 10:30 haha so we just sat on the couch talking for hours. Friday we got up and had a yummy breakfast in the backyard and took our first adventure to Pasadena. It has always been a goal of mine to go visit the 'Father of the Bride' house and everyone was kind enough to humor me. it is just as gorgeous in real life and the town is ridiculously beautiful. two thumbs up! 

Then it was off to 'In n Out' for some lunch. Stori finally ate french fries for the first time!! huge accomplishment!! and of course she also had a bowl full of tomatoes in front of her. :)

After lunch, we drove to Malibu so the guys could get their surf on. Drew was so nice to teach Dan and Dan. Neither of them got up, but they were pretty sore from it all and had so much fun. The girls just relaxed on the beach and went for a walk to discover that 4 girls just decided to make it a topless beach. it was GROSS!! Stori hated the sand this trip-not sure why either, because in Oregon she cried when we left the beach. She's a coo-coo. We had so much fun that day. It ended with garlic balls and italian food at C and O's in Venice. 

Saturday morning Haily and I got up and ran 4 miles in Claremont. (it was sad because it was our last time running together. The poops moved to AZ). It was a fun run because of our pretty surroundings and because we were at sea level and didn't breath hard at all. oh and we saw a lot of lizards. After breakfast dan, stori and myself headed off on our own, for a crazy tourist-filled day. We went to the Hollywood sign and saw a nasty old naked man, saw the 'star walk' or whatever it's called, got Chipotle, drove around Warner bro's studios, went to Beverly Hills (saw 10 ferrari's, and a mclaren f1-dan really wanted me to add that) and let stori play in a park there, went to the LA Temple, went to Long beach and saw the Queen Mary-didn't do the tour because it was $44, tried to go to the aquarium but it was closed for the Toyota grand prix, and then headed down the coast on the 101. We met up with the Thompsons and spent the night at Newport beach-our favorite. We grabbed dinner at 'Great Mex' and ate it on the beach while the sun set. We laughed a lot that night and tried to ignore the fact that it was our last time hanging out with Haily and Dan. We grabbed shakes at 'Ruby's' on the pier and ate up on the roof. It was a perfect night. We dropped them off at their hotel and had a very sad drive to San Clemente because Stori kept saying "bye haily, bye dan!" she will miss them so much. We got to Kristen and Ricks house late that night. They have such cute home and were so nice to let us stay there while they were remodeling. Sunday morn we went to church with Kristen and met Busta Rhymes. (ish). Stori took a good long nap at the Price home while we waiting for Kristen and Jon to get home to venture out to the beach. Stori loved chasing the pigeons, swinging on the swings, and walking on her own. She wouldn't let us hold her hand or carry her, so the stubborn girl probably walked 2 miles. Rick and Kristen made us a delicious dinner followed by homemade ice cream and pie! they were way too good to us! Oh and Kristen had a "Welcome to California" package put together for us when we got there. 

Monday we started our day off by going to Balboa Island to go whale watching. We got there just in time and the captain actually waited for us before he left. We saw 5 whales, many sea lions, and about 1,000 dolphins! It was a lot of fun. We grabbed lunch at 'In n Out' (again) and headed to Dana Point. I wish wish wish wish we would have swam there because there was the cutest beach there that had perfect sand. But, we went home instead. Dan's parents drove in that night so we got to spend a short time with them, Nicole, Chase, and Marisa. The boys rented Argo to watch because Kristen has Clear Play, but I fell asleep early to prepare for our early morning adventure to Disneyland. Oh man I wish I was there right now. Thanks Kristen and the Foresters for letting us invade your homes! We had so much fun seeing all the local spots and visiting with you! Now enjoy picture overload.