The kids got to the house at about 4:00 in the morning and I was waiting for them in the driveway. It was fun to see Shelby riding in the front passenger seat since she is now old enough to. We came in and got them situated in their rooms and went to bed. I heard the back door shut at 7:00 am so I jumped out of bed to see who was up and, no surprise, it was Trey and Judi. We went down to look at the new grass we planted by the clubhouse. We then came in and looked at the Disney room and then Trey and Judi ate some cereal for breakfast. Shelby then got up and was outside petting Daisy. We went down to look at the grass by the clubhouse also and then Lizi got up too and came to look at the new grass. Shelby, Lizi, and I came in to eat breakfast and then we went outside and played in the sandbox and threw the frisbee around. Jenna then woke up and came out to play also. We came in and had the Disney Pin Draft and traded pins. After the pin draft, we did our Easter Egg hunt and had lunch. We then took Jenna and Alley to meet at the Church for Girls Camp and went to see the movie "Solo." Trey and Shelby liked it but it was too long and confusing for Lizi. We came home and Trey, Lizi, and Judi started playing with the marble stacking game and doing marble races, keeping stats on the races. Shelby and I looked at the auction items for the upcoming Disney Studios Auction. We then had dinner and went outside where Judi and Lizi played in the sand box while Trey, Shelby, and I played frisbee. It was a fun day!
Thursday, June 14th
I had to go to work at 6:45 this morning so all the kids were asleep when I left. But Trey and Lizi woke up first and watched a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Once Shelby and Judi woke up, everyone at cereal for breakfast. Then Trey, Lizi, and Judi played the marble game while Shelby went outside to play. They then went into St George to get some clothes for Lizi and some paint for the swing set and had lunch at In & Out. They came home and watched The Little Mermaid - except Trey who played on his Ipad. Lizi and Judi then played in the sand box, Trey played in his room, and Shelby was outside with the pets. They then set up the pool and had fun splashing around in it. They also had a water fight, jumped on the tramp, and played in the Sand Box. I came home and We all played kickball except Lizi who played in the sand box. Trey and I then threw the frisbee around while Shelby, Lizi, and Judi played in the sand box. Trey would throw it right over the little pool and I would dive into the pool to catch it. It was so much fun. The first time I did it, the kids in the sand box heard a big splash and turned to see me on my back in the pool in my clothes. They asked if I meant to do that! We then came in and Trey played with the marble game and was joined by Lizi and Judi. We then had dinner and went back outside where all the kids then started playing in the sand box until Shelby came inside and went to her room. I found her in there and we had a fun talk for about an hour while Trey, Lizi, and Judi kept playing in the sand box outside. Everyone came in and we got ready for bed. Our bed time routine is fun. We say family prayers, read the children's Bible, each say an article of faith, and then play a Bible Character game where we describe what happened to some one in the Bible and then see if anyone can guess who we were talking about.
Friday, June 15th
I went to work again today early. The kids got up, ate cereal and played outside for a few minutes before they drove about 3 hours total to take Shelby and Alley to Girls Camp. Shelby was nervous to go - as I would have been but I am very proud of her for going. They watched Jungle Book and Wreck It Ralph on the car ride. When I got home from work, Liz went back up to Girls Camp to be a part of Testimony Meeting and to bring Shelby back home. They still haven't come home as I type this at 10:45 pm. Trey and Lizi were watching a "Studio C" on Trey's tablet and Judi was playing on the Ipad, all at the kitchen table. I had them shut the electronics off and we went outside to play. Trey, Lizi, and Judi all played in the sand box at first. They made a large pond which reminded me of the pond I made in my back yard when I was their age. Lizi built a large hotel also and they also made water slides into the pond. Trey and I then played Frisbee while the girls kept playing in the sand. I love playing Frisbee with Trey! Trey then went back to playing in the sand box and Lizi and Judi ran and jumped in the pool on the lawn. We then came in and had Macaroni and Cheese for dinner and then went back outside. We had so much fun playing a Frisbee game - first though, Lizi and Judi pretended to fly with towels draped around their backs while Trey and I tossed the Frisbee around. Then Lizi and Judi pretended that Trey was the "Bad Guy" and would try to run by him and not get hit with the Frisbee. If they could intercept the Frisbee, they would chase Trey with it and try to hit him. Judi had a blast playing with Lizi, and Lizi was so patient with her.We then came in and Trey and Lizi watched Disney cartoons while I got Judi to bed. I joined them and watched a couple of cartoons too and then I got Trey and Lizi to bed.
Quote of the day: As I was getting ready for dinner, I placed 3 of our Disneyland plates on the table in front of 3 different seats. I asked Judi where she wanted to sit or which plate she wanted - Tomorrowland, Frontierland, or Adventureland, and she said, "I want to sit next to Lizi where ever she is sitting."
Saturday, June 16
I heard a little rustling around in the Living Room a little past 7:00am so I got out of bed to see who was up, expecting it to be Trey. It was actually Lizi. I put on a show for her and I jumped in the shower. I then went in to check on the other kids and found a sleepy Trey was sitting up in his bed, just waking up. Shelby had gotten home from Girls Camp at 1:30am so she was still sleeping. I went in to wake her up because Trey was wanting to hike Mollie's Nipple and I knew Shelby had said that she wanted to do it as well. So we all came out and ate some cereal and got ready to go. The kids all did really good considering that in Texas where they live, there isn't much elevation gain on their "hikes." We enjoyed watching a half dozen hawks (or birds of prey, as they call them) flying around us scanning the surrounding area for any unsuspecting rabbit or mouse. We headed back down - Trey leading the way and moving at a very rapid pace while Shelby and Lizi decided to employ the "bum-buster" technique to get down in which they slide down on their rear-end. We got home, had some lunch and then went out and set up the slip and slide on the lawn. After about 30 minutes, we decided to set up our big water slide down into the pit, which was a lot of fun! We probably spent a couple of hours on the water slide before coming inside to watch a little "Studio C" and play with the marble game. We then had dinner and watched "Pirates of the Caribbean before heading to bed.
Sunday, June 17
We woke up and got ready for church. Trey loves his class, especially a boy named Corbin because they have similar sense of humors, I think. When we got home, the kids gave me their presents and we watched the U.S. Open golf tournament and ate our Father's Day Dinner. While watching the US Open, Shelby made Father's Day signs for Grandpa Hubert and colored them in. During the middle/end of the Open, Shelby got a book and started reading it in the chair next to me and Trey, Lizi, and Judi went out to play in the sand box. The kids then had a web chat with their mom for 71 minutes. After their webchat, we played a game of kickball and then we learned how to play croquet. We also took some zucchini bread over to Sister Arscott for her birthday. Shelby then started making a bracelet while Trey, Lizi, and Judi played outside. It is fun to watch those three run around with towels over their shoulders pretending to fly! Judi has a blast with it and the smiles on Trey and Lizi's faces would indicate that they are enjoying it as well. We came in and had a light dinner and the kids watched some videos of the new Pirates of the Caribbean ride and looked at pictures of Star Wars Land. We then got ready for bed and I played a few songs for the kids on the Ukulele which Lizi loved.
Monday, June 18
I got up for work and all the kids were still sleeping. Lizi got up first, shortly after I left and all the other kids got up about 30 minutes later. Liz took everyone to the all-abilities park in St George and the kids had a blast! They spent the whole day there! They came home just before I got off work and Shelby, Trey, and Jenna all came out to the golf course to meet me after work and we played 4 holes. Both Trey and Shelby had putts for par on the par 3 4th hole! I was so proud of them! While we were golfing, Judi and Lizi played outside at home in the clubhouse and on the back yard making "wings" with their towels over their shoulders and running back and forth pretending to fly across the lawn. We came home and all went swimming at the Arscott's home - something the kids had been asking to do repeatedly ever since they arrived in Utah. We swam for a little over an hour and then came home and the kids played in the sand box for a little bit, digging a large moat around "Tom Sawyer Hotel." We came in and got ready for bed. The kids have liked me playing good night songs on the Ukulele to them and I love doing it! Fun day!
Tuesday, June 19
We slept in a little today and then went to Zion National Park. Jenna, Shelby, Trey, and I wanted to hike Angel's Landing and so Liz decided to come too and take Lizi and Judi up to Weeping Rock and ride the tram. Zion is so busy now that the trams were standing room only. We got to the Grotto Trail head and took some pictures and got on our way about 9:45. The kids did really good despite it being totally different than what they are used to with the extreme vertical elevation gain in such a short amount of time, coupled with a bit of rock climbing/scrambling. Trey was a little tired on the way down. We came home and had cheesy shells for lunch and then watched Robinhood. After the movie, Trey wanted to play croquet so Shelby, Trey, Liz, and I played while Lizi and Judi played in the sand box. We then had a light dinner and the kids went back outside and Shelby went to the flying saucer while Trey, Lizi, and Judi played in the sand box. I then came out and Trey and I threw the football around for a little while when I got a phone call from my Brother Patrick telling me that my Dad had passed away. I let the kids know and they handled it good. Shelby joined us as we threw the football around and both she and Trey did a good job catching the football. It was so cute to watch Judi and Lizi play so good together in the sand box too! We came in and got ready for bed. We talked about Grandpa Hubert a little more and then I played some Ukulele songs for them as they went to sleep.
Wednesday, June 20
I went to work today. Lizi and Trey woke up first. They watched a movie while the other kids slowly woke up. They then had breakfast and played outside in the sand box. Trey came in and played on the Play Station. Liz took Shelby to get her nails done while Jenna played with the kids. Trey was playing in his room with his legos when Liz got home and Judi and Lizi were out in the Sand Box. They all then went outside to play in the Sand Box, each building their "room" in the hotel they made. Trey and Shelby met me at work at 3:45 to play golf with me. We played 5 holes and Trey had his first ever bogey on hole 4. Shelby hit a great chip shot on hole 5 to about 3 feet. We came home and ate dinner and watched Little Mermaid II. We also booked our trip to Alabama for Grandpa Hubert's funeral. Trey set up croquet while I was booking our trip and was really excited to play. Yesterday we had a talk about being a good sport and not pouting which Trey ha struggled with but tonight I could tell he was going above and beyond to be encouraging to everyone. We then came in and got ready for bed.
Thursday, June 21
I went to work and Liz painted some windows in the morning so Jenna watched the kids. Trey woke up and played the play station a little bit. Then Liz took him to a pawn shop where he bought a minecraft game for the play station. Shelby, Lizi, and Judi had a fun time playing outside. When I got home, Trey was waiting for me out at the street. He had a surprise for me - he set up all the Croquet pieces so we could play a game. Shelby also had a surprise. She was playing the Ukulele for me when I came in the door and then handed me a paper with 5 massages and asked me to rank which ones I wanted first. She then spent 30 minutes massaing my feet, head, hands, and neck! It felt so good! Shelby, Trey, and I then went out to play croquet while Lizi and Judi played in their room. We then had some dinner and Shelby, Judi, and Lizi went outside to play while Trey kind of wandered around trying to figure out something to do - he wanted to play the play station but I felt he had played it enough today. We then spent a few minutes in the Disney Room looking at the old Disney maps and then got ready for bed.
Friday, June 22
We woke up around 4:00am to drive to Las Vegas so we could fly to Atlanta and then drive to Birmingham for my Dad's funeral. It was a lot of travelling - about 9 hours each way. It took 2.5 hours to get to Vegas, then 4 hours to fly to Atlanta, and then another 2.5 hour drive from Atlanta to Birmingham. We tried to get tickets to Birmingham but tickets were about $1,000 a piece and with 8 of us going, that was way too much. So we got the tickets to Atlanta for about $420 each. We got into Atlanta at about 4:00pm and to our hotel at about 6:30pm. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn and Suites Homewood in Birmingham. The kids went swimming when we got to the hotel that night and watched a little TV. We then all went to bed.
Saturday, June 23
We slept in as long as we could and went down to get the hotel's breakfast at about 8:45am. We then came back up to the hotel and got ready for the funeral. It rained really hard in the morning. We got to the Highlands United Methodist Church about 11:45am and were greeted first by Becky, Grandpa Hubert's Wife. The kids then waited on some chairs and ate some food while I stood with my brothers and Uncle Maurice, Alex, and Andrew in a receiving line. We did that for 2 hours and then all went upstairs for the funeral service. The kids all did really good and were really patient for having to wait for about 4 hours total. It was a good service - Uncle Maurice gave a really good talk and Ryan Green did a really good job on a song she sang. After the service, Uncle Maurice invited us to his house for food and to visit. We had a good time there and Trey got to see the house I was in when I was just born. Uncle Bill Satterfield walked us over there and we took a couple of pictures by the front of the house and mailbox. We stayed for quite a while and the kids got to play with their cousin Ethan Green for a little bit. It was a fun visit. We came back to the hotel and we all went swimming. We then came in and got ready for bed.
Sunday, June 24
Today was a travel day. We slept in until about 8:30am and then went dowm to the hotel lobby to eat. We came back up to the room and I put on Beauty and the Beast for the girls and Trey played on his tablet while we got all packed up. We left the hotel about 11:30 and started for Atlanta, stopping to eat lunch at Wendy's just outside of Atlanta. Judi and Lizi sat by Mrs Liz on the plane ride back and Trey and Shelby sat by me. We watched The Force Awakens on my phone. We ended up getting back home about 11:30pm and went to bed.
Monday, June 25
When I woke up, Lizi was standing in my door way looking in at me. When I walked out to the living room, Trey and Judi were already up on the couch. Judi wanted to play breakout so Trey, Judi, and I played breakout while Lizi played outside. Shelby got up and we all ate breakfast. Their mom wanted to do a webchat today so they each took turns on the computer. While Lizi was talking, Trey, Shelby and I shot the basketball outside. When we were done, we got our bike tires all pumped up and rode our bikes to check the mail. As we were coming back, the mail man dropped off today's mail so Shelby and I rode back because I was expecting a Disney Auction catalog. We then came in and Trey and Shelby played Mine craft on the TV while Lizi and Judi played in the pool outside. I then made some lunch for everyone and we got our Disney shirts all made up. We then played Speak Out we went outside to play. Trey, Shelby, and I played Frisbee and Lizi played in the Sand Box. We then came in and watched Swiss Family Robinson and ate dinner. After the movie we went back outside and Shelby went down to the flying saucer while Lizi, Trey, and I played Frisbee. Then Trey decided he wanted to be the goalie and Lizi, Judi, and I tried to throw the frisbee past him into the swing set while he tried to stop it. It was a lot of fun. After playing outside, we came in and had baths and got ready for bed.
Quote of the Day - Trey while playing basketball: "I hold my breath while the ball is in the air. It's just a habit that I have."
Tuesday, June 26
When I woke up, Trey, Lizi, and Judi were already in the living room. Trey and Judi were on one couch playing on Trey's tablet and Lizi was sleeping on the other couch. Trey was playing a golf game and he even got me to play one game, which was fun. When Lizi woke up, she and Judi basically played together all day. They really play well together! Judi is having such a good time playing with her that during one of her prayers on our food, she added, "...and bless Lizi because I love her so much." That got a big smile out of Lizi! Anyway, once everyone was up, we ate breakfast and then headed for the Disney room to open the new lamp that we just got in the mail. The kids had so much fun playing in all the shipping peanuts and the big box! After we finished with that, the kids went outside to play for a little bit. I had Trey and Shelby go outside to pull weeds. I give them a dollar for every bucket they fill. I also made a deal with them that they can only play on the Playstation for as long as they pull weeds. After about an hour, Trey and Shelby came back in to build Disneyland on their Mineraft Playstation game while Lizi and Judi stayed outside. Judi informed me at bedtime that Lizi's favorite thing to do is to play in the sand box but Judi's favorite thing is to play on the swings. Once Trey and Shelby had played for about an hour, they went back outside to pull some more weeds. We all came in for lunch after a while and then Judi and Lizi started playing with the playdoh machine. Liz, Trey, Shelby, and I played Canasta and Liz and Trey beat us pretty good! Trey and Shelby got back on the play station. Trey and I then went outside to play frisbee, Shelby hung out down in the flying saucer and Lizi and Judi played in the sand box a little and then came back inside to play with animals and princesses inside. I made a light dinner since we had eaten a large, late lunch. We then went back outside to play frisbee - Me, Trey, and Shelby, while Judi and Lizi played in the sand box. I then came in to put Judi to bed. Trey and Lizi were on Trey's tablet and Shelby played the piano. We then all went outside. I sat on the porch swing with Shelby and Lizi and we had a good chat. Lizi then went to play in the sand box and flatten out the big "hotel" that they had made a couple of days before. Trey came outside and went back in a couple of times, ending up on his tablet. We then came in and got ready for bed. I had a good chat with Lizi while I was tucking her in and then another great chat with Shelby. I love my kiddos!
Wednesday, June 27
I went to work in the morning and the kids went to the Sand Hollow Reservoir. Trey came to golf with me after work. Shelby was feeling sick so she took a 4 hour nap. Judi and I showed Trey and Lizi the Puppy Dog Pals "Ol Snapper" episode. Trey and I played some frisbee outside and Judi and Lizi played in the sand box. Shelby came out for a little bit to play some frisbee too. I came in to put Judi to bed while the kids played outside for a little bit. We all then went to bed as well.
Thursday, June 28
I had to go to work again this morning. The kids all went swimming at the Washington Rec Center. After work, Shelby, Trey, and Jenna came to golf. We all played poorly and it was extremely windy. When we got home, the kids played with the pets for a little bit and then we came in for dinner and watched a movie. We watched the live action version of Beauty and the Beast. We then got ready for bed.
Friday, June 29
I went to work again today. While I was at work, Lizi said that she and Judi had a fun time playing in the sand box and I'm guessing that Shelby and Trey played a little play station because it was still on tonight. Liz took everyone to the Washington Rec Center to go swimming and they had a blast. Trey and Shelby then came out to the golf course to go golfing. We all played much better today. It is really fun to see Trey and Shelby's improvement from when they first got here. I wish I could help both of them get really good, but it'll take more than 5 weeks in the summer. When we got home, Lizi was watching TV and Trey went right in to bed since he still isn't feeling so hot. Jenna made dinner for everyone and we all ate except Trey who was sleeping. Shelby and I went out to throw the football around. She has a really good arm! She told me about an experience with one of her teachers who brought a football and asked for some one to throw the ball to. Shelby gave him a target with his hands and he threw it to her. She caught it and threw a great spiral back to him, surprising him. I could tell that Shelby was proud of herself. Judi and Lizi played in the sand box. Trey wandered outside after waking up from his nap and then went back onto the couch to watch some TV. Shelby and I sat on the swing outside and chatted and then we were joined by Liz and Jenna. We all came inside and started getting ready for bed. Lizi wanted me to sing "Child's Prayer" to her before I played the Ukulele songs. I was going to skip "Lava" which is typically the last song I play because I thought the kids were sick of it but Lizi asked me to play it.
Quote of the Day: while riding in the golf cart, Trey says, "Riding on a dirt road in a golf cart is a great way to mix a drink mix in a drink."
Saturday, June 30
Despite a sickness that has swept through our family, we had a really fun day! I woke up with a little sore throat this morning and when I went to the living room to see who was up, the only kiddo that was awake was Lizi. We hung out and talked in the Disney room for quite a while until Shelby and Judi got up. Lizi and Judi started to play outside while Shelby and I sat and talked in the Disney room. I new Trey must still feel pretty sick since he was still sleeping. Liz cooked us some breakfast and then Shelby practiced on the Ukulele while Judi and Lizi played outside in the pool and sand box. Trey just kind of took it easy all day, taking a bunch of naps and drinking a lot of orange juice and water. We watched the Incredibles - actually the kids watched it while I took a nap out there in the living room. When it was over, everyone went outside to paint the dog house. Shelby and Judi wanted it purple so purple it is. We didn't have quite enough paint so Liz had to run back to the store to grab another can. Shelby wanted to work on a puzzle so she, Lizi, Trey, Judi, and I all went to work on the puzzle. It is the Disneyland 60th anniversary puzzle - 1000 pieces and they are very small. It has been fun even though we are no where near close to being done. We had dinner and then Lizi and Judi played in their room. Lizi hung a blanket from Trey's top bunk to make like a fort and they had a fun time playing in there. Trey helped with the puzzle a little more then went to lay down and Shelby and I worked on the puzzle. Just before bed, we decided to try out our new Disney lamp that is in the shape of a castle with the lamp shade looking like fireworks. It looked really neat in the dark.
Sunday, July 1
We woke up and went to church. Trey had a great time with a friend Corbin Beutler, and Lizi and Shelby each made friends with girls named Kaitlin in their classes. When we got home from church, we worked on the puzzle in the Disney room. We then had lunch and the kids had a webchat with their mom. After the webchat, I spent time just talking with each of the kids on the back porch in the shade. We then came back in and worked more on the puzzle. Trey went to lay down in bed so Shelby and I threw the football around and Judi and Lizi played together. It was so cute to see Judi and Lizi playing with a big trailer that was "going to Disneyland." Trey also played a bit with Judi doing marble races while Shelby, Lizi, and I worked on the puzzle. Lizi went into Alley's room and did some "dub-smashes" with Jenna and Alley. We also all played Disney Scene It twice which was a lot of fun. Shelby played on Liz's phone for a little bit while I went outside with Lizi and Jenna and watched Lizi play in the sandbox. We then petted Daisy and Wendy for a bit and Trey came out to tell us that dinner was ready. After dinner we watched some videos of Grandpa Hubert winning the 1977 US Open and a video made when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was about time for bed so the kids went outside quickly to pet the animals and then we watched 3 Disney cartoons, and all talked a little on Jenna and Shelby's bed before going to bed.
Quote of the Day: Lizi - "Texas is my least favorite state besides North Korea, or something."
Monday, July 2
I went to work early. The kids went to Costco in St George and watched Alice in Wonderland. Trey and Shelby came out to my work to go golfing with me and they both did really good today! Shelby hit some really solid shots and Trey made a bogey on hole 4 (he missed about a 2 foot putt for his first par ever). When we got home, Trey went to lay down for a little bit, Judi and Lizi played inside with Kinex and Shelby and I went out to pet Figaro who normally only lets the kids pet him when he's up on the wall. Today, he came to me as I was changing my shoes on the porch swing and stayed there when Shelby came over and sat down next to me. He even got up on Shelby's lap. I went in to get Lizi and Judi to see if they wanted to pet him too. He stayed there for a second and let Lizi pet him for a little bit. Shelby and Judi picked tomatoes from our garden - 36 tomatoes and a ton of cherry tomatoes, and then we all got up to the table and ate dinner. After dinner Shelby, Trey, and I worked on the Disney puzzle in the Disney room while Lizi and Judi played with cars outside by the pool. I then put Judi to bed and while I was doing that, the kids went outside. Shelby and Lizi were practicing for the 4th of July race. Trey then came out and got some race practice in too. When I came out, I started timing all the kids to see how fast they could run. Lizi recorded the fastest time! It was a lot of fun!
Tuesday, July 3
I got up early for work. Shelby was on the couch and woke up when I was eating breakfast. The kids had a lazy morning, watching TV. They had pancakes for breakfast, played Sorry!, went to get snow cones, and watched Aristocats. Shelby, Trey, and Jenna then came out to play golf. We all played pretty good. When we got home, Trey went to take a nap because he wasn't feeling good. Shelby played the Ukulele on the couch with me and Lizi and Judi played outside in the sand box. Trey woke up from his nap and came to help Shelby and me on the Disney puzzle. I then put Judi to bed and Shelby, Trey, and Lizi went outside to play. They were able to pet Figaro and even hold him, and they played in the sand box. Then they came in and went to bed.
Wednesday, July 4
We woke up and ate a quick breakfast before heading over to the 4th of July parade. After the parade, where only Lizi and Judi tried to get the candy this year, we went over to the fields to do the races. Shelby and Trey were nervous, I could tell. Judi went first and finished second in her race. Lizi was next and she also finished second. Trey actually ran a really good race too, but finished about 4th. There were a ton of boys in his race! Shelby has grown almost 3 inches since last November so she is still trying to get used to her extra long legs and she stumbled a bit in her race so she didn't do as good this year. But I was so proud of all of the kids for trying! After the races, I brought the kids home and I went to work. While I was at work, the kids made tie-dye t-shirts which I'm looking forward to seeing when they're done! Trey and Shelby came out to my work at about 3:30 and they golfed while I finished mowing greens. We came home and started our traditional Star Wars Marathon on the 4th of July. We watched episodes 4-6. During the first 2 episodes, Lizi and Judi played together outside in the sand box and with their big trucks through the grape arbor. We then put Judi to bed and Lizi came in and watched episode 6 with us. Fun day!
Thursday, July 5
Judi actually got up before all the kids today, and Shelby was just a bit after her. We hung out in the Disney room for a little bit. Soon Trey and Lizi were up too and they all went outside to check on the pets. One of their favorite things to do now is to check to see where Figaro is and try to pet him. Over the past few days, Figaro has become a little more used to the kids and has let them pet him while he's on the ground instead of only when he's up on the wall. We ate breakfast and then got ready to go to the store. We went to Uinta golf to get Jenna's Driver fixed (Shelby accidentally broke it while golfing), and then to Costco to buy snacks for the Disneyland trip. After costco, we came home and Trey, Lizi, and I had naps and Shelby and Judi worked on the puzzle in the Disney room. We then had a little lunch and went to see Incredibles 2 which was a good movie. Lizi actually thought it was scary which is unusual for Lizi since she's the bravest of all the kids. After the movie, we came home and took all the pins that we want to trade at Disneyland off of our pin boards and put them on our lanyards. Trey went to lay down again - he's not feeling good. He and Liz just got back from the doctor who told him he had strep throat. Hopefully we can get rid of it before Disneyland! The rest of the kids went out to play in the sand box for a little bit. We then got ready for bed early tonight.
Friday, July 6th
For some reason, I didn't write anything about this day but in looking at the pictures, Shelby and Lizi spen some time going out to pet Figaro and the rest of the pets and Trey and Judi did car races in our living room. To do the car races, we use two cereal boxes that we put togeter and put pillows underneath, making them like a chute for the cars to go down. We have had so much fun with our car races! We also took some time to get our things packed for Disneyland and Sea World.
Saturday, July 7th
We headed down to California for our annual Disneyland trip. We usually go to Sea World every other year as well. We left early so we would have time to stop at El Torro Memorial Cemetery to see Grandma Judi, Great Grandma Bobbi, and Great Grandpa Rowlands' graves. After the cemetery, we went to Newport Beach. The kids love to build a castle and surround it with walls to protect it from the ater coming in. Innevitably a big wave will come and force them to hurry and try to rebuild the walls that the wave destroyed. Also while playing in the water, a rather big wave broke just behind Trey and took him under for a little bit which scared him a little. After the beach, we went to check into our hotel, the Del Sol, which is right accross the street from Disneyland on Harbor Blvd. One of the things I love doing is walking to get our tickets to Disneyland the evening before our first visit. It's a favorite part of the trip for me.
Sunday, July 8
Disneyland/CA Adventure
Monday, July 9
Disneyland/CA Adventure
Quote of the Day: -
Judi: "Lizi, are you going to be ok on Grizzly River Run?"
Lizi: "Yeah."
Judi: (Gives Lizi a hug) "Be careful!"
Disneyland/CA Adventure
Wednesday, July 11
Disneyland/CA Adventure
Thursday, July 12
Disneyland/CA Adventure
Friday, July 13
Sea World
Saturday, July 14
Sea World
Sunday, July 15
After getting home around midnight, we got up early for church and actually made it there early! We came home from church and Judi and Lizi went outside to play while Shelby and Trey did car races inside. We took a break to have some lunch and the kids had a webchat with their mom. After the webchat, Judi and Lizi went back outside and Trey and Shelby resumed their car races. We then put the pins we got at Disneyland on our pin boards and put our tickets and fast passes into our binders. Lizi and Judi went back outside to play in the sand box and on the swings and I did car races with Trey while shelby played in Trey's room with the princesses. Shelby then came out and started doing some scrapbooking with Jenna. We then ate some dinner and then we all went out side and the kids all had a blast playing on the swings and with the animals. It was so fun watching Trey swing the bean bag swing towards Lizi and she swung on the swings. Every time Lizi would hit the bean bag it would make a deep "thump" sound and we all laughed. We came back in and started getting ready for bed.
Monday, July 16
I went to work this morning and just a few minutes after I left, Lizi came and jumped into bed with Liz followed shortly by Shelby and Trey. They had a lazy morning, watching TV and painting bird houses. Trey and Shelby came out to the golf course after work and played golf with me. Shelby only played 2 holes because she wasn't feeling well. She hit a couple of really good shots! Her swing is drastically different than it was a month ago when she started. When we got home, Shelby, Trey, and I watched Antman while Lizi and Judi played in the sand box. We ate dinner in the middle of the movie and after dinner, Lizi and Judi played in the Living Room while we finished the movie. When the movie was over, Lizi and Judi went back outside and Shelby, Trey, and I finished the Disney puzzle we had been working on. I had so much fun working on it with them. We then got ready for bed and I played the Ukulele for them as they went to sleep.
Tuesday, July 17
I went in to work early again today. As I was eating breakfast, Lizi came into the kitchen and said hi. After I left, the kids jumped on the trampoline with the hose going and with water balloons and had fun. They also watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Shelby, Trey, Lizi, and Judi all came out to golf with me after work today. We had a lot of fun! Lizi hit some really good shots for her first time golfing. When we got home, we ate dinner and then it started to rain really hard! So we all started filling up our buckets with the roof run-off water and then dumping that water into the lady bug swimming pool. We had a blast. After it stopped raining, Trey wanted to work on his chipping by trying to chip the balls between the swing set and even more specifically through the green swing on the left. He actually made one through! Shelby, Lizi, and Judi all picked tomatoes - 146 of them and 74 cherry tomatoes too! We then came in and watched Disney cartoons before our normal bed time routine: Get in PJ's, Brush teeth, say prayers, read scriptures, go over Bible Heroes and Articles of Faith, Play the ukulele.
Wednesday, July 18
The kids all slept in longer than normal today. I guess I've been having a bit too much fun with them! Lizi was the first one up and we talked in the Disney room for about an hour before Trey woke up. It was fun to spend time with Lizi since most of the time she and Judi are "tied at the hip" or I'm golfing with Shelby and Trey. When Trey got up, he wanted to work on his chipping in the back yard so we went out and hit a few chips. Shelby got up and we all ate breakfast together. We then got ready to go on our hike down to the river. We first hiked to our normal spot and then we hiked up river to find a deeper swimming hole. we had a lot of fun in the water and on a rope swing. Lizi was a dare devil on that rope swing! Trey, Shelby, and I found a perfect spot to float down the river. We headed back and got a snow cone on the way. When we got home, The girls went to Lizi's room to play princesses while Trey and I went to the Disney room to race cars. We started a car race circuit and the first race was called the Disneyland Classic. Shelby joined us for the second race - the Disney Pins Classic, held on the tile floor by the Disney pin boards. we had SO MUCH fun doing the races! I can't wait to wake up tomorrow so we can do more! After the races, we all talked in the living room for a while since this is the last night in Utah. We then did our normal bedtime routine and went to bed.
Thursday, July 19
What a tough day today was - the day the kids go back to Texas. All week the kids have been praying that the days will go slow and that they will miss their flight back to Texas. This morning, i woke up and had a shower. When I was finished getting ready, I noticed that the car race track had been set up already for races today! So I knew Trey was up. haha. Lizi was up shortly after and Trey went to wake up Shelby so we could start the races. Lizi and Judi went to eat breakfast while Shelby, Trey, and I started the races. After racing cars, Shelby and I threw the football around while Lizi and Judi played in the sand box. Trey got his wedge and started working on his chipping in the back yard. I have been really impressed in the last couple of days at how hard he has been working on his golf game. Shelby and I then went to ride bikes and Trey got the race track set up in another room (we have 4 different rooms we do races in and the floor is different in each one so some of the cars do better on certain floors). Shelby, Trey, and I raced cars again while Lizi and Judi built a fort in their bed room. The fort actually turned out really cool! We then had some lunch and packed some last minute things before leaving for the airport. There was a moment that I really teared up as I saw Trey walking toward me with a resigned smile and his backpack on. I'm sure going to miss him, and Shelby and Lizi too. In the car, I sat in the back next to Shelby and Trey. We just chatted and enjoyed each other's company. I got a gate pass and went with the kids through security at the airport and we waited for their mom's flight to get in. When it was time for them to board their plane I watched them until they were out of sight going down the tarmac. Shelby and Lizi waved while they were in line while Trey was telling his mom all about his time in Utah. I could see Shelby's hair flip around just as she went out of sight indicating that she had tried to turn around one last time to see me. I teared up as I walked away. I walked back toward the gate a time or two just in case one of them happened to come back out of the tarmac, even though I knew they wouldn't. We had such a fun time together, it's always difficult to see them go.
Quote of the Day: (Judi and Lizi on the car ride to the airport)
Judi: "Why don't you want to talk?"
Lizi: "Cuz...I'm a little sad."
Judi: "Yeah, I don't want you to go to Texas."
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