To start enjoying the nice weather a little more we went on a hike with the Cowleys! We just went to Wasatch State Park and hiked up to Huber Grove. The river goes right through and it was so pretty.
I got the girls fancy dresses like Cinderella for our upcoming trip to Disney World! They came in the mail and they were so excited to try them on. They loved them and my heart almost burst!
Rusty got invited to join the "Old Timers Club" which is a group of old men in our ward. Rusty is definitely the youngest one by at least a decade haha. But for April the activity was to ride the April Fools themed Heber Train. It was funny! They had all kinds of different, random people come through. Star Wars, princesses, elves, witches, Frankenstein... everything!
Rusty had a crazy cool opportunity to go with Rev Road to Florida and show off the Sierra Car on the Daytona Race track. We decided to make a trip out of it and the whole family went!
4/4:
We had some issues with our flight. Rusty lost his ID on a day trip he took to Ceour d'Alene for a business thing, and didn't realize it until we were at the security gate in the airport. We decided that I would go through with the kids and he would be able to go faster without the kids or any of the carryon luggage and bags. The plane started boarding and Rusty still wasn't there. I was pretty nervous, but we got on. Luckily, a few minutes later he walked on. Sheesh, that was awful.
When we landed we dropped Rusty off a work meeting and the kids and I went and got some dinner at Steak N Shake and then checked into our AirBnb.
4/5:
Our first day in Florida we went to Animal Kingdom! I know Disney World is crazy busy and so many people are there and it's expensive and all of that... but I LOVE DISNEY WORLD. I get so excited every time we go. IT IS SO FUN. We ran in early and did the Everest ride a few times with Henry and it is such a fun ride! Then we did an animal walk, rode some more rides, and got all kinds of good food!
So excited to start the day!!!
What Amelia wanted most of all was to meet Mickey and Minnie, so we decided to do that today when the line would be shorter than at Magic Kingdom. Amelia was so excited about it!
Amelia didn't want to say goodbye! None of my kids loved Mickey or Minnie like this before, it was so fun!
Kevin was out!
Della and I went on a Jurassic Park ride.... and she hated it so much. She cried the whole time and it was a bad idea haha.
Henry did it with Rusty and they said that Della would like it.
A highlight is always the safari ride! We saw a lot of the animals today and the kids were so excited! Our guide was really funny this time too, and made it even better.
4/6:
Today everyone from Rusty's work was going to a car show in Daytona to show off the Sierra Car. So we got up and drove down to Daytona, about an hour away. We got our hotel in Daytona that night so we could just stay there and be ready for the beach the next day. We got to Daytona and ate some crepes at a restaurant, and then when Rusty pulled up the text about where the car show was we had a bad day. The car show was actually in Orlando. So we had to drive back to Orlando, and then another hour back to Daytona for our hotel that night. It was not ideal, but it was okay. We listened to conference on the drive.
The kids were playing with lizards outside our AirBnb
The car show was really cool, and Henry and Della particularly loved it!
After the car show, the kids played in this fountain there and we had some yummy ice cream!
After the car show, we went to dinner at a hot pot place that Bryndee recommended. A little robot showed us to our table and then another robot brought us our dessert! And it was our first time at a hot pot restaurant, and that was pretty cool too!
Our view of the Speedway from our hotel room!
4/7:
Today we spent the day at Daytona Beach! It was fun to show the kids how we could drive out on the beach, and they loved playing in the water. We had a great day!
After Daytona Beach, we headed out to another beach so we could be there early for the rocket launch. Henry played in the water here, everyone else was too cold, and we buried each other in the sand. We hung out until it was time for the launch! It was our first rocket launch we got to see, and it was amazing!
4/8:
Today was the day that we planned the whole trip around! After we got to Florida, Rusty found out that there was some confusion and he might not be able to ride on the track anymore, and he for sure wouldn't be able to drive. And the kids and I couldn't do anything either. This was pretty annoying because we wouldn't have all come out if it was like that, but we were already there so we decided to just go and see what happened. We started by getting breakfast at a cute little place by the speedway!
See story below about the moneychangers at the temple.
We got a great surprise when we got there that afternoon that Rusty would be able to drive the Sierra Car! And the kids and I got to go around in a Cyber Truck! They were so excited they couldn't believe it. And Rusty had the best time! Then as an added bonus, both Rusty and I got to go around in a McLaren!
We spent a lot of time reading while we waited for Rusty haha
This was Della's favorite car!
After the speedway, we drove back to Orlando and checked into our hotel. It was the Grand Floridian, and it was SO NICE. And SO DREAMY. I loved it so much. Rusty took the kids swimming so I could stay in the hotel and get our suitcases figured out and a little bit organized.
Our view from our room
Watching the Disney fireworks from the pool!
Our cute room!
4/9:
Today was Magic Kingdom Day 1! I had planned it out very specifically, making sure that we got to do the rides the kids wanted the most. We got to walk from our hotel which saved a bunch of time, and we got early access because we were staying in the hotel. As we were walking I looked down and saw that Amelia DID NOT HAVE PANTS ON. Confused, I asked her where her pants were. She told me that they were in the hotel room. So I had to run all the way back and grab them and then run back to where they were waiting for me along the trail.
We got there and came in before it was time for the rides so that we could take the pictures before it got busy and before it would take time away from our rides. I love the pictures and I'm grateful that Rusty played along and let me do this!
Then it was time for the rides! We hit almost every ride we wanted to the first day, so that the second day we could do repeats or get anything we missed. Our first ride was obviously the Seven Dwarves because that is everyone's favorite and it also always has the longest wait times. It did not disappoint!
Amelia got Cinderella's horse! (I think, I honestly can't remember)
In line to meet Cinderella and Elena!
We did a new thing this time that I learned about where you go get some pixie dust from the Jack and the Beanstalk store! The kids loved it, even if Henry pretended like he didn't haha.
Little Mermaid- always so good!
YAY TREATS
Tron was having technical difficulties all day, but Henry and I were able to sneak back to the park after we had all come home to rest for a little bit. We got on it then and it was FANTASTIC. Rusty went back and did it too. It was so helpful with the hotel so close.
Such a beautiful firework show!!
4/10:
Magic Kingdom Day 2! We started by having a yummy breakfast of Mickey Mouse waffles! We found out that they do have gluten free waffles, but you have to order them like an hour ahead of time. So we definitely didn't have time for that today so we planned on getting them the next day before the airport. But we started the day strong with a mickey breakfast! Then we went and started our rides. We got there a little later today than yesterday, so the line for the Seven Dwarves was already too long to be worth it. So we hit up some other rides!
THE PARADE
Della got chosen to tell a joke in the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor! I was so surprised and she was so scared haha
A fun show!
STOP
MORE YUMMY TREATS
I had never ridden the People Mover in TomorrowLand but it was the perfect time for Amelia to take a little nap while Rusty and Henry rode Space Mountain!
We ended this day by swimming in a second of the hotel's pools. This hotel was so cool you honestly didn't need to leave, but it was right next door to Disney World! The kids loved playing in this pool because it had a water slide and lots of kids to play with.
4/11
Today we got up and had breakfast and went to the airport. I got the gluten free waffles, but they took longer than we thought and it ended up making us very late. And just that we were slow moving. We would have missed our flight because we were so late, but it was delayed for some crazy wind storms. It was good because we made the flight, but bad because it added a lot of time on. The kids were very tired and ready to be home after such a crazy trip!
I was super done with winter, but Rusty wanted to take the kids skiing one more time. So I stayed home with Amelia instead of getting a babysitter and we went and got our nails done, and then got a treat at a gluten free bakery! And then we met up with everyone else for lunch in Park City. It was fun! Amelia had a great time and I loved showing her off. Everyone in the salon loved her.
Rusty and the kids went with Kyle and the boys!
They were doing a fun competition where people would skim across the water a far as they could
For Amelia's movie night, she got to pick a dessert from a bunch of pictures I showed her. She chose this Boston Cream Pie Cake. And it was delicious! It was my first time making the gluten free vanilla cake and it actually turned out really good!
Jess, Em and I did a Jaws night at Emilie's house! It was really fun and Emilie bought us all matching shark slippers. We made nachos and talked and had a great time!
Baby Animal Days came again! We love this little holiday. Rusty skipped work and we skipped Nature School so we could go on Friday and avoid all of the crowds. They loved holding the baby animals, but especially the kittens. Della is so excited her birthday is getting close and she can have a cat!
Our next book club was for Charlotte's Web! We had some yummy treats, talked about the book, and then made glitter spider webs with words that describe us. We are all really loving this book club!
Playing charades for some farm animals
Spiders egg sacks
This year for the Tulip Festival I let Rusty off the hook and went with Alyson and her kids! It's always so beautiful and such a great way to welcome spring!
Della loves babies so much! And she loved holding Mason!
My parents, Jess and my family all came over to Emilie's House for a little fire and smores in the backyard! It was really fun to get everyone together.
Della played lacrosse for the first time this year! She was nervous about trying something new and embarrassed that she would make mistakes and not know what she was doing. It was a really great experience for her and she gained a lot of confidence! She did great, and worked through some bullying issues as well. It was a big season of growth for her. She got a couple of goals and came to love the game! Or at least like it, I'm still not sure haha.
For my birthday present, Rusty got me tickets to a murder mystery dinner party at the Senator Bed and Breakfast in Heber. We went this month and it was so stinking cute and fun! I loved it!
Henry played soccer again! He was on his friend Beckett's team and he loved it so much. This was the first season that you could really tell the kids that were practicing and the kids that never did. Henry was definitely in the latter group, and he started to feel it. He did well, but realized that he needed to start putting some work into it.
We got to go on a bike ride with the good weather! We left the house and went to the duck pond to play there for a little bit. It's so great to have that so close we can get to it, but man the ride back up the hill is a killer!
Rusty finally got his Sierra Car! He took it out for a spin, then took the kids out in it and I got to take it out too. It is a pretty fun little car!
Extra Pictures:
Root beer floats in the hot tub
A play at the Provo Library
A stray dog followed me home
Henry's Highlights:
- He did another season of soccer and he did really well! One teammate made an awesome goal from the middle of the field. About a week later, out of nowhere, Henry says, "I am still bewildered by Edgar's goal."
- When we got to Florida we saw that the girls had their nice toothbrushes but Henry didn't. He yelled from the bathroom, "Oh the injustice of the world!"
- To get ready for our Florida trip we watched Snow White and Cinderella while we did laundry and packed. He said, "Why are these two movies about princes? And why do the girls who marry the princes talk to birds?"
- He's so good to his sisters about being excited about what they're excited about. Amelia got some new rainbow shoes and she was so excited to show him, and I could hear him in his room say, "Oh wow Amelia! Those are so cool! I love them"
- I did the Avatar ride at Animal Kingdom with Henry and it does a weird vibrating thing as it is calibrating. Henry leans over and says, "I don't like when it does that. It feels weird on my... <whispers> boy boobs."
Adeline's Adventures:
- We were at Baby Animal Days and there was only one duckling and a bunch of chicks. Everyone wanted to hold that duckling and I felt bad for it because it was getting so stressed out so I wouldn't let the kids hold it anymore. Later Henry said, "I still feel bad for that duckling." And Della said, "But the good news is that he thinks he's famous."
- I was playing hospital with her and she was the "nurse and the doctor because I'm so good at it". She got her fairy tales book out and looked through it. She told me it was the "forgiven book" and then she realized that wasn't right and we figured out she meant "forgotten book" and it had all of the secret spells. She told me that I was very sick with a really rare disease. I got bitten by a poisonous swan and there were black widows living in my foot. It was very intense.
- She plays so well with Amelia. She is usually the husband so that Amelia can be the girl. I'm so proud of her sweet, kind heart.
- I told Della she needed to eat three bites of egg and she could have one more bite of Lia's french toast. She got so mad and said that I was like the people at the temple in Jerusalem who took $40 and only gave the people $10. She called me a money changer! Because the exchange rate wasn't good haha.
Amelia's Updates:
- Amelia picked The Swan Princess for her movie night. The bad guy scared her and she's not sleeping. She just came down and said, "I'm so scared of that guy! He's a big monster and he's scary and he'll send me straight to Jesus." When I asked her what that meant she said, "Because I will die!"
- I asked her what three things she wanted to do for the summer. She said, "Go camping. Have s'mores." I said, "What's your third one?" "Um... eat chocolate with s'mores"
- Speaking of this, we were driving to the airport and passed some trees and she said, "I feel sad. The trees only have little blankets now." Remember the snow blankets from last month? Yes.
- We were listening to General Conference in the car in Florida and Elder Cook was talking and I told the kids to be quiet so we could hear. Amelia yells, "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! LISTEN TO ME! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM..... HE'S A WITCH!"
- We were playing doctor and she told me I got sick because and old lady bit my finger.
- Studying Enos in the Book of Mormon and I said, "Guys today we're going to learn about a guy named Enos." And without missing a beat Amelia yells, "ENOS PENIS!" Then every time I said his name while we were reading she said it again. It made the scripture study difficult haha.
