family vacation!!

well we did it! we made it to disneyland, then to blissful arizona, then back. the trip went without a hitch (if you don't consider my knee a hitch ;o). we were surrounded by good friends the whole time, and we had a blast. an absolute blast. it's amazing how much more important family vacation is when nate isn't around very much. we met up with the stansfields at disneyland, and the girls had the time of their lives!

caitlin immediately became attached to dylan. she is going to be SUCH a good helper when we have this baby!

i love how these girls just took up where we left off in arizona. still best friends...they had a blast.

we came across pocahontas with no line to meet her. she spent so much time with these girls...5 little princesses. i love how lily was helping emma be included in the conversation.

had to document that sweet dylan was in fact at disneyland.

my little minnie. she's growing up!

the girls and dad...this was the longest line of the entire trip. 25 minutes for the autopia cars that you inhale more exhaust than you will in your whole lifetime.

emma was so thrilled that she was finally big enough for gadget's go coaster!

she's still a lover of small world. not hard to please these girls at disneyland.

nate took the shooting rides extremely seriously. i think he broke the world record. or something.

emma and i went on this when the others were on the big rides. probably 10 times. she loved it. i think she single-handedly defeated zurg.

even cinderella gets all worn out.

cuuute friends.

another favorite of the girls. heimlich's chew chew train is QUITE the thrill ride. take some dramamine before this bad boy. ;o)

the other carousel was closed (boo...one of emma's faves). so this one had to do. still adorable. well...at least the girls are.

now THIS is a fashion statement. for sure.

jumpin jellyfish. yet another fave, and yes another extreme thrill ride.

it got up to about 60 degrees, but nate and cait went on grizzly river run SEVERAL times. they had to go to the hotel to change they were so drenched.

awwwwww.

this was probably emma's TOP favorite ride. but seriously, she just loved them all.

nice ride, right? yes, this is real. my knee flared up monday, and by tuesday i could hardly walk. gary comp'd us a wheelchair, and this was my mode of transportation. finally saw a sports med doc yesterday, and she said it looks like i tore my meniscus. oh boy.

newport beach! i could sit on the beach and listen to the waves for the rest of my life. i absolutely love it.

it was pretty chilly, so i thought if i told the girls to roll their pants up, they'd stay clean and dry. yeah. right.

lovers on the beach

in arizona caitlin got to play at her best friend katie's house all day. oh how she misses her! they had so much fun...and katie has gotten so tall!

we stopped by meg's house as well, how abby misses this girl!

of course we had to go to our old park by our house. i sat in the sun and reminisced of the good ole days. haulin' the kids and brody to the park and letting them play almost every day. those were the days!

we also went to the traditional superstition mall, got snacks, and let the kids play outside by the waterfall area. they were so happy to be OUTSIDE playing on green grass!

and this is me. soaking in every last drop of sun outside, and willing that day to never end. it was bliss. (yes, those are palm trees in the background. i miss them!)

we stopped by katie's parent's house to visit her and see her kids. we met bowen and he is a doll! a very chunky doll ;o) it was so nice to see people we haven't seen in soooo long!

we also stopped by justin and maile's, and they fed us all a scrumptious GF dinner and dessert. thanks guys for the good food and company..and sorry i forgot to bust out my camera!!

on our way out of town we stopped by my grandma's in surprise, and yet again i forgot to get my camera out. she fed us a great lunch and we had a good time visiting.

a HUGE thank you to danny and lindsay for letting us stay at your house and being such wonderful hosts!! we miss you so much already.

abby is a girl of her mother's heart. once we left and started the long drive to utah, we looked in the back of the van and abby was sobbing. we couldn't figure out what happened, and she finally told us she never wanted to leave arizona. :o( we love that place!! if we missed visiting anyone...we'll catch ya next time! can't wait for our next visit out there...it puts a smile on my face.