Our Trip to Disneyland

So as anyone who as been reading knows, we had a family vacation in October to Disneyland.  It was all sorts of good fun, but I've learned something about Disney that I didn't learn before: I'm not a fan of park hopping.  It was a little different this time because Konner was only to be there for one day, so to be fair to him, we went to both parks on the same day.  I just don't like it that much because it takes away from the park that you're visiting.  For example, I never did the little rides that I enjoy (Peter Pan, Star Tours, Mr. Toad's wild ride, etc.) at Disneyland because we did all the big rides and then decided to go to California Adventure for the big rides at that park.  Also, I think it made me more tired, but that's later.  So anyways, onto the specifics of the trip.

Tuesday night, we drove up to SLC in the very nasty rainstorm, parked in the economy lot that was the furthest away from the airport, and then took the economy shuttle to the airport.  There was nothing crazy about security, and we even had enough time to buy some dinner from a burger place...smash burger maybe? I don't really remember.  The flight had no TV (Boo...as in the unhappy kind, not the trying to scare you kind), and so I played with the Disneyland app on Jocelyn's iPad.  I enjoyed flying over Las Vegas.  Very bright and very cool to see from up above.  So anyways, we landed, got to the hotel, and hung out with my family.  The hotel was pretty nice, and it had a great view of the beach and golf course.  If you want to see the view, look at my cover photo, and imagine it with sun.

So my family are all Disney nuts, and we wanted to be at the park first thing in the morning, so we all got up super early...and it was totally worth it.  While we were getting ready (roughly 7:30) we realized that Jocelyn's brother lives an hour and a half away and has a decent amount of free time, so we called him and left a message inviting him to join us.  So anyways, I had to drive to Disneyland with Jocelyn, Logan and Shellee, which was interesting, or different you could say.  SoCal driving wasn't all that bad.  Most everyone was pleasant and a good driver.  But there was a lot of traffic and a lot of highway switching.  So anyways we show up, get to the park.  The Halloween festivities were far more...abundant is the word I'm looking for, than I ever remember seeing.  The large Mickey Pumpkin/Jack o' Lantern was pretty cool, and two sided.  Also the entry ways were covered with very large character heads that looked like they were made from pumpkin.

I don't remember what we rode that morning, but I know we were eating near Adventureland when Derek arrived.  So we finished and then went and found him getting through security.  So he joined the party.  Seeing as how he had never been to Disneyland, I hope he found it to be a fun and magical place, but I think that's something that comes from going as a kid.  So anyways, we had all sorts of fun from lunch on.  Logan and Shellee eventually left and went with the Hoopes, and we continued with the fun until the end.  The one exception to that all sorts of fun statement was the temperature.  That first day was 95 degrees!  In mid-freaking-October!  That made the day draining and tiresome.  At the hotel...I don't remember what we did that night.  We had some extra bedding, and no Konner, so Derek stayed the night.

Next day, some early wake up routine, but when we took off I drove my mom, Chance, Logan, and Shellee, and Jocelyn rode with Derek and my dad took off to LAX to go pick up Koko.  First thing we did was go to Cars Land to ride the new ride.  We got there at about 9:10 and the line was already 75ish minutes long and the fast pass line was folded over on itself and seemed like a 35 minute line.  I must say, all of Cars Land looked awesome, but we didn't want to wait that long.  We all got in the single rider line, and miraculously got 4 of us in the same car that seated 6.  The ride was pretty awesome, and as it neared the end it broke down.  The cast members had to come get us out, and we were given a fast pass to make up for the experience.  Anyways, I don't remember what else we did that morning, but we were in California Adventure until lunch.  Konner and my dad showed up and we went to Disneyland for lunch.  Normally I wouldn't go into what I ate, but I went for the turkey leg.  It always looked so good when I saw others eat it that I had to go for it, and Konner joined me.  Word to the wise, the turkey leg is an experience...that you only want to experience once.  Worth it...but I won't be getting it again when we go.

So anyways, more family fun with everyone, in much cooler weather.  I think it was around 80-85 that day and the remainder of the trip.  We went to the places Konner wanted since he wasn't with us the day before.  Eventually Logan and Shellee went off with the Hoopes and the rest of us went on our merry way.  I think everyone was kinda tired, and decided to leave early (early in my family is leaving before we are forced to go).  Derek went back to San Diego and my brothers went with my parents.  Also, I didn't know where to insert this, so now works, but Konner got a Perry the Platypus Pillow Pet - it's cool.  Jocelyn and I got fast passes to see world of color so we stayed.  If you haven't seen it, you need to.  Well worth the time.  Just make sure you get there early enough.  So after Word of Color was over, we drove back to Newport Beach (the location of the hotel) and called it a day.

Friday was beach day...but it was also lazy day.  We didn't get started nearly as early in the morning.  Logan and Shellee left early with the Hoopes since they started well before we did, because they spent the majority of their time with us, plus it was Tess' birthday.  So the remaining 6 kinda sat around all lazy like until we eventually went to the beach.  I'm not much of a beach person, but it was still fun given those circumstances.  We eventually left, got cleaned up, and then went to some pier/beach/dock place that Chance went to on his grad trip.  We explored the stores and ate there and had fun.

The next day we got up, cleaned up, checked out, and went to some orange county market swap meet thing.  Not the coolest thing in the world, but it would have been better had I had money to buy crazy stuff, and somewhere to store it besides crammed in an airplane.  After that we went to the airport, got on our plane, had my heart broken by BYU and got home.

So that was our trip and it was a blast.  I'm already counting down to the next Disney trip.  I don't know when that will be, but I'm hoping for sooner rather than later.  I don't really have any pictures to post, so tough cookies.  Just trust me when I said everything was fun and looked cool.  Too bad I'm now back in the real world.  Speaking of which, I should go get ready for bed.  Peace out.

A Brief Summary

So school is crazy and I haven't had much time to blog, or made time for it -- whatever.  So here are some brief rundowns.

We went to St. George three weekends in a row before this weekend.  Logan came home, which was awesome.  Picking him up from Vegas was pretty fun.  It was a nice long car ride down to Vegas with my family plus Shellee, and my aunt Jodie and cousin Trisha found us later on the trip.  Once the long car ride got over, the long waiting at the air port began.  The funniest part about the trip was wandering back and forth between terminals to try and find him.  The incoming flights get off on their gate and then ride a train/tram thing to the main area.  We didn't know which section of the train he got on so we didn't know which door to wait by.  We marched back and forth a lot once we saw people coming off the train to try and find him.  We eventually did find him and it was a happy event.  We got dinner and then drove home.  We (the brothers not named Konner) stayed up fairly late talking those first few nights...good ol brotherly bonding.

Anyways, we finished out the week watching Dixie High School football beat Springville and then we left on Saturday so that we could get back on time to teach sunbeams on Sunday because we couldn't find a sub.

That Monday I gave my two weeks notice at the bookstore and I don't really remember what else happened the rest of that week.  We did leave on Friday with the McArthur's to come back down to St. George because my brother was giving his homecoming talk and we were having our western woods fantasy football draft that Sunday night.  We also watched DHS play again...and Konner got some decent playing time.  Logan gave a great talk...other than he confused Geppetto and Jiminy Cricket in his talk.  The draft also went well.  Then we came home...and then school started the next day -- dun dun dun.

Monday was orientation and Tuesday, the I Sys Jr. Core began.  Good golly there was so much homework that first week.  But I got it all done, and I'm hoping to keep the habit up, but who knows.  So far so good, but I'm starting to procrastinate more.   So Thursday we went to the BYU/Washington St. football game.  I had fun and was impressed that BYU's defense did so well.  Too bad the game was so late.  Friday was another busy day of work, school and homework.  My parents came up to watch DHS play Provo.  3 High school football games in 3 weeks.  Jocelyn has never been happier.  Konner got a little bit of time, so it made it all worth it.  Saturday morning was my last day at the bookstore and then we took off with the Pierce's to St. George.

We went to St. George this time for my 5 year high school reunion as well as for my other fantasy football draft.  Everything went well, other than after the reunion we went to play pickleball and the lights turned off early on us.  Also that Saturday, my brother got engaged...yes that same brother who had been home less than 3 weeks.  They will be getting married November 3rd in the St. George Temple, FYI.  At least that is what I've been told...I doubt the date changes, but sometimes things change the further you get into planning the wedding.  So Monday we came back to Provo and had school week 2 starting Tuesday.  This week hasn't been so bad as far as homework goes, but it's still plenty tough.

Wednesday, the NFL kicked off.  Let's just say I was very happy.  Jocelyn's brother Derek also got in that night so we went to dinner with him and then played Settlers of Catan.  I do not have a love for that game as much as I used to.  It was a bad game for me overall, but I just got bored so quickly.  Intramurals started on Friday, and we got smoked.  We were down a man and we didn't have our QB there.  Later that night I watched Dixie/PV online (Dixie won) and then on Saturday we went to the BYU/Weber St. game.  Today was church, and more fantasy football.  Not the best week for me, but I found some silver linings.  Derek also left today.  It was fun having him stay with us a couple of nights.  We did go mini golfing (he beat me by 3 or 4, and I beat Jocelyn by 2-4) and out to eat a couple of times, plus he entertained the cat while he was here.

So that's it.  You might not hear from me in a while, but I'm sure you're not complaining about that.  Also, everything on my countdown list is done except Disneyland.  37 days left and counting.

Upcoming Activities

So today at church, I may have been a little bored...I'm no Spencer W. Kimball (at least I think it was him that said he has never been in a boring sacrament meeting)...and so I started going through my calendar to see what was coming up in my life, and now I want to blog about it because I normally don't post positive things on my blog.

In 5 days...I find out if I make it into the Information Systems Junior Core.  If I were a betting man, I'd bet on myself, 1. Because I'm awesome, 2. Because I got an A- in the 303 class, 3. If I can't believe on myself, why should anyone else, and 4. see #1.  Ok in all seriousness, I'm hoping, but I don't want to get my hopes to high up and then have them crushed, so I'm still waiting anxiously.  If I get in, you'll see it on facebook.

In 37 days...My brother Logan gets home from his mission.  I'm very excited because even though I've been in college almost the entire time he has been gone, I still miss him.  My boss was kind enough to give me the week off that he gets home and so I plan to enjoy it.  Too bad he's going to DSC and not coming up here to go to school.

In 56 days...I will have my 5 year reunion in 55 days, and on the day after we will be having our fantasy football draft (a few days after that is NFL kickoff.  Instead of making a 60 days, I just thought I'd include it here).  That day is definitely one of the top 5 Sunday's of the year.  Other's include the Superbowl, Easter, and general conference Sunday's.  **Bonus Sunday's** if there are Christmas or birthdays going on, the list gets expanded that year.  Maybe I'm a hypocrite for mentioning the Superbowl and Easter in my top 5 Sunday's together, but don't you judge me.

and In 100 days...Disneyland.  Really I feel that I should have capitalized the whole word, made it bigger, bolder, italicized, a different color, and included pictures...but that wouldn't follow this blog format and it would give away the 100 days later too soon.  Just know that I am excited to go to Disneyland with all my family...which for the first time ever includes Jocelyn.  Thanks to my generous parents, they will be flying us down there, covering the hotel, and paying for the tickets.  Before you think my parents are loaded, let me say, flyer miles, hotel points...and the Disney tickets are straight cash from their pocket.  So like I said, quite nice of them, but they haven't won the lottery (as far as I know).  So let me recap, free travel, free lodging, free tickets (for us...thanks again mom and dad), Disneyland, California Adventure, the Beach (eh...not a huge fan, but whatever), with my wife, my brothers, my parents, and no school...yes, I like to think I have great reason to be excited.

Too bad Jocelyn will probably kill me before day 56 or 100 happen because she will get annoyed with me talking about them so much.  So there you go, now you know what I'm looking forward to in life.  And now it's bed time.

Mothers' Day

Attempts to start consistently blogging again: 7(low estimate).  Day of current attempt: 2.  Overview: Getting to day 3 is expected. Day 5 would be awesome.  Let's keep it going.

So Mothers' Day (or is it Mother's? Jocelyn and I were discussing that today) means two things for me.  Number one is a celebration of Mom, which seems pretty obvious.  Number two means family.  Four of the past five years, someone from my immediate family has been on a mission, and Mothers' Day is one of the two days all year missionaries can call home.  So it's always a good day.

Five years ago I was able to call home from my second area.  It was the first phone call I had on my mission and it was a lot of fun, but made me homesick.  My companion was about to go home and I was barely out five months.  I remember finding it weird how much my families voices changed...namely Chance and Konner.  Although I suppose it was just as weird the next Mothers' Day when I was in my fifth area during swine flu time.  Either way, both were good times, and both made me grateful for family.

The last two years it has been Logan calling home.  I don't know why, but missionaries the world over are allowed to use Skype to call home.  While I feel slightly cheated, it was good to see Logan.  He probably thinks I've put on all the weight that I think he's lost, but no big deal.  Seeing Logan is always fun.  I am surprised I don't miss him more, but I suppose that's what being married and in college does to you.  If I were still living at home, I think it would have been harder and getting to these last three months would have taken forever.  Moral of the story: Mothers' Day is extra special when there is a missionary out.

Now to the reason for Mothers' Day.  My mom.  I love my mom, but that's a given.  Everyone says their mom is the best, and I'm no exception to that rule; however, I think it's especially true in my case because my mom was the right mom for me.  I was and am a fairly decent person (and I'm humble about it) but I can be stubborn, argumentative, sarcastic, and a pain in several places.  I'm pretty sure anyone softer than my mom would have given up, but anyone stricter might have kicked me out.  So thank you mom for being the right mom for me.

This isn't to say my mom is perfect, because she's not, and I think she'd be the first to admit it.  But I have no serious gripes or complaints.  She only ever missed two semi big sporting events (as big as city league can be...and that's also throwing in that most of my life, I wasn't on winning teams until we moved) and for as many sports as I played growing up, that is a great percentage.  I think she might have gone to more of my high school games than my dad did.  The only things I ever got frustrated at my mom for were things like "Hey you should go to work" or "Eat more vegetables, they're good for you" or "Don't buy that"...normal mom things that every mom does and it only makes you a better person.  But like I said, I can be stubborn...and did I mention lazy?  So that right there is a pretty awesome record.

My family was never exactly awesome at doing FHE, but we still did them enough that I remember them, and they found ways to cater to four boys: ice cream and sports/games.  My dad always did a good job of making us conduct and telling stories, but mom was the one who really taught us.  Two of my greatest accomplishments in this life...no, not winning my fantasy football league this year (though that is definitely top 5 material)...have been going on a mission and getting married in the temple.  I'm not sure how my mom got in engrained in my head, but she somehow did.  Like I said earlier, I believe I'm a pretty decent person, and I believe a good 95% of that comes from my mom.  She somehow got mission and temple in there clear enough that I never did anything to jeopardize them.  She helped build a good foundation that I now have to start building on by my lazy stubborn self...and I'm grateful for it.

Thank you Mom for making me who I am today.  I definitely have my flaws, but that's not your fault.  You have done the best you can and that's all any son can ask for.  Thank you for always being there, being someone I could talk to, and being a good example.  I love you very much, and have a happy Mothers' Day.

Soccer

Let it be known to everyone everywhere: I do not like soccer.  As a kid, I used to play, and I was a pretty awesome goalie.  That was way back in 2nd grade, so clearly, that is valid because that is some competitive well played stuff, where I had a fair amount of shut outs (in my mind).  Granted, my team was so good that I would sit down a lot in the box because the ball was never on my side of the field.  I also did handstands on occasions and would work on my pull ups.  Moving on...I played one more year and called it quits.  I just wasn't a fan, and I'm still not.  When everyone wanted to play soccer on p-days during my mission, I would long for a real football to play with...and then on defense I would run at people with the ball and maybe knock them over.  In horrible spanish I would say i don't know how to play and plead ignorance.  It was awesome what I got away with, so I felt better about playing soccer those days.

For as much as I don't like soccer (let's say on a scale of 1-10 it's an 8 or something), there are certain trump cards.  If anything on my like scale is an 8 (or whatever I rank soccer on my hate scale) I will watch in support of the things I like.  That list includes, country, family, friends, high school, Mexico, championships, and girls wife.  **In high school it would have been girls, but now that I'm married, it's one girl**

Country - During world cup and Olympics, I like soccer.  And then when the U.S. rips my heart out, I wonder why I let them trick me - again.

Family - All my brothers have at one point played soccer.  I wasn't so supportive in little league, but I'm better now that I appreciate family more than I used to.  This could apply to being supportive of a good friend, and it definitely helps when said friends and family play for Dixie High School.

Mexico - I try and keep tabs on Puebla, but I'm slipping.

Championships - I was cheering for Real Salt Lake when I heard they were playing for the championship.

Wife - If she wants to go, we will go, or if she is every playing (I don't know when that would ever be) I would go be supportive.

So anyways, a couple of those conditions were met this weekend. My brother (1) plays for Dixie High School (2) and this weekend they played in the semi-finals, and then played for the championship(3)...and my wife wanted to be out in the sun (4).  So I went and watched.  Maybe I've been so closed minded for so long, but I didn't mind actually watching the game for the game.  I respect how much soccer players run, but I never respected the strategy of trying one side of the field, going back to the defense and trying the other side of the field, back to the defense, etc.  Perhaps as a former offensive linemen I like trying to ram the ball down someone's throat a little too much to properly enjoy soccer, but I thought Dixie was well coached (good job Myers) and executed well.  I doubt I will start to care more about soccer after this, but I did enjoy the last two days of soccer.  So thank you DHS for letting me enjoy soccer, and congratulations to the team, to Coach Myers, and to my brother Konner (who played a lot and well for a freshman).

He let me know after the semi-final win that he would be the first one in the family with a state ring...I might let him actually get the ring before I kill him for that, but we'll see.