The happiest place on earth

We waffled. We vacillated. We decided and then we stayed up way too late putting together a plan. We went to Disneyland for fall break. I am sure if you were an outsider observing the process it took to get us there you would laugh out loud. In the end we had a really great time.

We left on Wednesday afternoon and went to the Disney compound on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We ran our kids from one attraction to the next letting them stop for an occasional dip into the snacks we packed from the “outside” to save us the pain of watching our kids not eat a meal we overpaid for. Disneyland takes a strategy. We refined ours each day. When we go back we will know better. Of course we will go back because we bought the annual pass, so now we have to get our money’s worth.

When we arrived back home and were completely exhausted we wondered if we had run the kids too hard and too fast for too long. We will take that into consideration for our next trip. For now no one is whining about the prospect of going back.

Here is the photo evidence of what we did:

My kids favorite ride: the tram from the parking garage to the park. Who knew?

Our first ride, Dumbo.

The tea cups. Anyone feeling sick yet?

Another ride that goes around in circles. This one always has a painfully long line and I can never really figure out the draw for this one.

We spent a fair amount of time on King Tritons carousel as we waited for big kids to cycle through the California Screamin' line. Heidi was devastated she was not big enough to go on California Screamin'. Tanner is too scared to ride on carousel characters and always insists on sitting on the "bench."

Turn the pipes on when you get there

Last week Reed's uncle Dwayne passed away. He grew up in Safford, worked for the foreign service and traveled the world and then settled in Elgin after he retired. Because he was not related to an original homesteading family and did not go to school in Elgin he always referred to himself as a "newcomer" and an "outsider" in this close knit rural community. Apparently the locals have a saying for those who pass over-"when you get there, turn the pipes on" referring to the every present need for water in the desert. It rained the day of his memorial. Everyone took it as a sign that he truly had become "one of them".

The sign outside the firehouse where the memorial service was held.

Family picture at the Elgin homestead.
Reed, his mom, Aunt Zalia, Cousin Leigh, Sister Zalia and our kids.

3 meters, no problem

We went back to the Kyrene pool on Labor day, just because we wanted to get pictures of Heidi on the 3 meter springboard (we met up with cousins there too which was way more fun for our kids than just hanging out with mom and dad.) Heidi had her game on. Here is a photo essay of her feat.

The assent

A short pause

there she goes

re-entry

swim to safety

pleased as punch with herself

She also swam laps with Reed, but we didn't get that recorded. Maybe next time.

Tonight for FHE

A few weeks ago while preparing a lesson for the 8-9 year olds I teach in Primary I ran across this story. I pulled it out for family home evening tonight. I tied in the scripture from Alma 5:14 in the Book of Mormon. I thought it might be over the kids heads, but they got it. Heidi's response "Mom, that was a really good lesson." I wanted to share this story, because it is just nice to have a reminder that there is always someone watching over us, regardless of what trials we are facing, and in the end if we endure well we will be more like Him.

Heidi's exploits, Zoe's outing

Last Saturday Zoe went to see Beauty and the Beast with her primary class and her former primary teacher, Andrea Dunlap. She was excited to go and had a great time.

Here they all are:

On the homefront Heidi was devastated that she was not invited, so she strong armed Reed into coming up with an alternate form of entertainment. We ended up going to a pool in Chandler (all Phoenix pools closed when school started for budget reasons). At the Kyrene pool they have a high dive. Heidi went to jump of the diving boards and was soon enticed to climb up. She told Reed she was going to do it. Reed thought of discouraging her, but then decided he wasn't going to fill her head with fears. So she climbed up and she jumped off, then jumped again, and again. She is one tough kid.
Tonight after dinner Heidi was recounting her day and let slip that she kissed a boy. I asked her if it is the boy that chases her at recess. No, that is Caleb. Does she chase him? Sometimes. Did she kiss him on the playground? no, in the lunch room. Does she have a boyfriend? Yes, what is his name? Brennan. The whole time we were having this conversation Heidi was jumping around, excited about letting it slip and kind of knowing that she shouldn't, but couldn't help herself. I just whispered to Reed under my breath, "we have our hands full with this one."

parts per million

I have been meaning to record this one for a while, but just haven't taken the time. I have a memory from my youth that always comes back to me this time of year. As a kid growing up in Rexburg, Idaho I was no foreigner to cold water. Public swimming pools, lakes, rivers, it was all cold. So imagine the delight when my parents would take me to Green Canyon hot springs to swim. These are my memories from Green canyon
1. Sharks. No there were not real sharks, but when I was a kid there was a very large drain in the bottom of the deep end of the pool covered by a rebar grate. All of the kids "believed" that sharks were held under that grate, so no one wanted to dive in the deep end. In the bad old days they would not put any chemicals in the pool-because it was naturally heated water they would drain the pool every night and fill it up again the next day. I remember hearing some years later that some government agency deemed that unsanitary and they started using chemicals and not draining the water. As Reed would say, it's all about parts per million.
2. Jolly Rancher sticks. They had a candy counter at the check in desk and I remember buying Jolly Rancher sticks (about 1"wide and 4" long, they don't make them anymore) for $.10. Usually when we went we took hot dogs and marshmallows and roasted them over the fire. There was a very large fireplace in the common area next to the pool, I believe for this very purpose. Sometimes we went with other families for a group FHE. On such occasions there would also be a jello salad present.
3. Juniper Berries. Outside the pool building there were juniper bushes. I remember at one time an older, wiser cousin (I believe this was Rob Neeley) told me you could dry the berries and make necklaces out of them. So whenever we went we would pick a lot of berries. No necklaces were ever made, but they did smell good.
4. Warm toilet water. This is the memory hook for me this time of year. The dressing rooms were always muggy. The water in the showers was hot, the floor was always wet (there were risers to stand on because the actual floor was nasty) and when you went to the potty the water in the toilet was hot and you could feel the heat. That is the way our toilets are in Phoenix in the summer. It is a weird feeling. Not sure if it is as weird as sitting on the loo in the middle of winter and being so cold you can't feel yourself sitting down, but it is different.
They have done a lot of remodeling to the place, I have been back once since they changed it, but it just wasn't the same. Sometimes you just want to keep the memories just how they are. Here is a link to their website, just in case you want a little trip down memory lane yourself. Just take highway 33 towards Newdale and turn off at mile marker 116. Or visit their blog www.greencanyonhotsprings.com

Farewell Dostal Family

Stella and Philena on the catwalk in dress-ups

This week has been one we knew was coming for a long time, we just never thought it would actually be here. Our neighbors, and good friends, packed up all their things to move back to Germany. Their departure was not without drama. The relo package they were counting on fell through and they were left in the last week to find movers and re-arrange finances to pay for the move themselves. We went to their house on Tues night to help celebrate Stella and Frederick's birthdays and then I had Stella, Philena and Arthur here while Frederick and Ulrike did the last of the cleaning and vacuuming before the landlord came for the keys.

Littlest petshop for little kids, no grown-ups allowed

The kids had a great time playing and then it was time to pack up the car and say goodbye. The kids did pretty well until they got inside. Reed was holding Heidi on his lap and he asked her a question and it opened the floodgates. She cried for 20 min. Molly had a hard time as well. Zoe was so tired I think she was numb. I imagine the Dostals went through the same gammut of tears and tired with their kids, only they have the adventure of returning to live next to grandmas and grandpas to look forward to, and Molly is just worried about who is going to come and live next door. Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold, and it is hard to let go of something so precious. We will miss you Frederick, Ulrike, Stella, Philena, Arthur and Leander.