The Happiest Place on Earth

Southern California is pretty much the happiest place on earth. How can you not be happy when it is perfectly gorgeous all the time? I was so happy to be there and not here in the dreadful snow. The sad thing is that everytime we go, I get really antsy to move. I start begging Kenyon to look for a different job.
We scored a pretty good deal on KSL classifieds and made for a pretty affordable trip to Disneyland. It was an early Christmas present. Hopefully the kids will remember how much fun they had when Christmas comes and there are no presents under the tree.

I think the highlight for Teague was getting to participate in Jedi Training.

Quinn loved just about everything. Except that she couldn't get down and crawl around. Elise's favorite was Screamin'. And Gavin's favorite - you'll love this - the Merry-Go-Round. Yep. He is a funny kid. He also loved walking up to strangers and trading pins. (Little hint - by the pins ahead of time off ebay. saves you tons of money.)

We tried a few new things. The Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island. We had NEVER been over there. It was fun. My kids LOVED it and begged to go back. Another thing we enjoyed was the Enchanted Tiki Lounge and the Pineapple Whip Float. Yum!

Another highlight - staying with my sister, Jen, and her family. And taking two of their kids with us to Disneyland one day while Jen kept Quinn. It is always fun to be with family.

Best Ever ?

I am not sure I have tasted enough cupcakes to say it is the "Best Ever" but really it is dang good. For sure better than the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC. But that is worth a visit as well.

Billy's Bakery in Chelsea, NY. In my opinion, it is a must. When I traveled to NYC with my mom and sisters we stayed in Chelsea. Only two blocks away was the cutest little bakery and it was open late. So of course, we had stop by on our way home to pick out a delicious treat.

Thanks to Martha Stewart, we have Billy's recipes for his cupcakes and frosting. For Gavin's birthday, my sister tried out the Vanilla Butter Cream frosting. I'm sure the preschool class didn't appreciate the quality of the frosting the way we did, but they loved the bugs. The color and decor was Gavin's choice. Next time I hope to do something a little more beautiful.

No question in this house - it was the best frosting ever. Now I can't wait to try the Chocolate Buttercream. Oh baby! Or maybe I just need to take a trip back to NYC.

Big Time

So my oldest boy - who is only 8 - gets to go to Fiji.
He will go with his cousins and an aunt and uncle. His cousin, Steve, plays for the BYU soccer team and they are traveling to Fiji to play the Fiji National soccer team. How cool is that? He gets to go - that is if he gets his passport in time. He is so excited. Of course, anyone who knows T - knows that his DREAM vacation is Greece. He had this awesome unit on Greek mythology and he is convinced that we need to take a trip there. I don't doubt that it would be a great trip, but just not really in the plans this year (or probably the next 10). He has even begged his grandma to take him there. He was telling me how excited he would be if he could see the temple of Athena or Zeus.
I wish I could make that dream come true. But the next best thing for him - Fiji. He can't stop thinking about it. He wants to pack today. He has a million questions so I can see that the next few weeks will be spent studying Fiji. Talk about jealousy at our house. We are all wishing that we could join him.


So today I checked T out of school to apply for his 2nd passport. He got his first passport when he was 2 months old so that we could move to London.
Of course, that has expired (I don't think that anyone would believe that they chubby little baby in the picture was him). We had to drive downtown but it was worth it because they seemed a little more efficient than the post office. T has made sure that we in every prayer we say that we plead that the passport makes it back in time for his trip to Fiji in 3 weeks! It is going to be close but I paid every possible expedite and overnight fee to make sure it happens.


Come on passport...make it in time. I love that he wants to travel.