California: Part Three

May 3- Tuesday morning, we got up and did several loads of laundry, gearing up for the second part of our vacation. We went to lunch with Jason's parents, and then got on the road to Southern California. I am more than pleased to announce that this drive was night and day compared to how awful the drive through Nevada was. I forgot how useless the 5 was- man, there's nothing there, but Hazen was a dream come true, and even slept for an hour or so. I was also so impressed that he didn't need any emergency restroom stops. He was able to tell us when he needed to go, and if we weren't totally close to a bathroom, he was able to hold it until we were there. GO HAZ! We arrived to our hotel in Anaheim within a half hour of Wade and his family. The kids were so excited to be there! Hazen kept on looking out the window at the gates of Disneyland saying, "Thank you so much for taking me to Disneyland. I'm so happy to be here!!" We could have saved a crapload of money if we knew that he would be that excited from just the gates of the park! For dinner, we went to Red Robin, then tucked everyone in to bed. Hazen woke up at around 4, and crept into my bed where he asked me if we could go to Disneyland that minute. He was just too excited and happy! I got him to go back to sleep for another few hours before our big day ahead.
May 4- Wednesday morning, we got up around 8 and prepared for a long day in the park. When we booked our hotel, I called the guy and asked the hotel's proximity to Disneyland. He told me that it was right down the street. I asked him if it was close enough to walk, and he asked me, "Well, do you have legs?", so I assumed that it was super close. Well. Minus 40 points to the douche bag who clearly has never walked THE MILE AND A HALF to and from the park on a 95 degree day with 4 kids. We were already sweating by the time we got to the park, and I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I was NOT going to be pretty for the next three days in the park. The kids were so excited! There really is something magical about Disneyland. Yes, it is so exhausting to parents, but I feel like all of the hard work was so worth it because of how much the kids enjoyed it. Before we left, Jenny and I went to Winco and stocked up on snacks so that we wouldn't need to eat inside the park. I have to really hand it to the little kids, Hazen and Kambree for being so brave and not disowning us all as parents when we took them on the big kid rides. Our motto was, "If you're tall enough to ride on the ride, you're going with us. Sucker." My personal moment of parental victory was when we went on the Tower of Terror, and the kids asked me what ride we were going on, and I told them we were about to embark on the Tower of Fun and Delight. After we got off the ride, Hazen looked at Jason and I with a look of pure terror in his eyes and said, "Mommy. That ride was not fun. I did not like that ride at all." He also developed this cute little thing that when he would get nervous before a ride, he would start shaking and have to pee. Aren't we the best parents in the world? Oh well, you have to toughen him up some way! Our first day at the park was SO FREAKING HOT. I don't remember the last time that I sweated that much for such a prolonged period of time. For lunch, we decided to walk across the street to get McDonalds (puke). I was so hot that I just got a shake and giant Diet Coke for lunch. This is even after Jason and I went into the park STOCKED with water. (1 gallon jug, 2 1 liter Nalgene bottles, and 10 bottles of water) I'm a water snob. I don't drink water fountain water. Judge me. We stayed at the park until closing, then made the long, long, long, long walk back to the hotel. That night, we took Hazen to Wade and Jenny's room, and Devon watched the kids while the adults went to Bubba Gumps for dinner. The kids were all asleep within 10 minutes of us leaving them. We were sure a rowdy bunch at dinner; we pretty much inhaled our food, and then were ready to crawl into bed!

California: Part Two

May 2- Today included plans for seeing more friends, which I'm all about. We drove to Danville to hit up Domenico's (again). I got my other favorite sammie, so I was a big fan. We spent at least an hour sitting and chatting with Fara and Marisa. Marisa hadn't seen Hazen in a really long time, so it was fun to be able to show off my giant to her. Back when Haz was in the hospital, Marisa would drive from Spanish Fork all the way to Lindon to drive me to go see my baby. She's wonderful in every way, shape and form, and I wish that I could see her more often. After lunch, the boys and I headed over to Walnut Creek to do some shopping. In a perfect world, I would have the world's largest kitchen, and I would buy everything from Crate and Barrel. In a perfect world, we would also have a Crate and Barrel in Utah. (IN A FEW MONTHS WE WILL!!!) I decided to exercise some restraint and only get mother's day presents for our moms. Finally, it was time to go over to Ken and David's house, and have a wonderful evening with them. I love that Jason knows and understands that I can't go to the Bay Area without spending time with these two men that I love and adore so much! He even makes sure to wear cute clothes that he knows that I will approve of! The food and company did not disappoint, and I loved seeing them both dote on Hazen. It's fun to know that we have family in so many aspects whenever we go back to Northern California. We just missed out on seeing the Tighes this time. Next time, for sure!

Our California Vacation: Part One

With school being DONE, we decided to do something that we had not done yet for our entire married life since having a kid: Go on a vacation! How refreshing it is to actually have an income to pay for aforementioned vacation! We might have a ridiculous amount of student loans to pay for, but we figured, hey, let's go on this trip before buckling down with work. We scheduled to go from April 28-May 8. Yes, that's a freakishly long time to be on vacation, but it was fun. Oh, did I mention that we drove? Blurgh.

April 28- I had ICU class, and Jason worked, but we wanted to leave that night and drive as far across Nevada as we could that night. He also had an interview with Sandy fire that night, so we didn't get to leave until 9:30 pm. We were both feeling super awake and alert, so we weren't too worried about getting tired. We got out of SLC, and as we were driving, I noticed that the wind was picking up. By the time that we were about 50 miles out of Wendover, the wind was blowing so hard that I was using serious muscles to keep the car from flying off of the road. We had the music turned up full blast, and we still couldn't hear it. Jason would basically scream at me to try to tell me things, but we couldn't hear a thing. Needless to say, by the time that we got to Wells, NV, we were OVER it, and decided to pull off. The impending blizzard didn't really help things. I called to see if we could get a room at a certain motel, and we were TURNED AWAY because they didn't want Hazen to sleep there. After a few choice words were shared, we found a comfort inn, and turned in for the night.

April 29- Today was the best day of my life. And by best day, I mean, "Please, for the love of all that's holy, never make me drive 10 hours through the dessert with a 3 year old". Today we drove. Hazen cried. I cried. It was ugly. Then we got to Livermore, and life was better. I don't particularly want to remember the details of the ugly.

April 30- We got up refreshed and ready for a good workout after eating McDonalds in the car the day before. Jason and I looked up the nearest Crossfit, which just so happened to be a few blocks away from his parents house. We went and had a KILLER workout, which left us pumped for the rest of the day. I decided that I needed to make a little trip to Danville, so we piled into the car along with Jason's sisters and parents, and headed over to Domenico's. It did not disappoint! After, we walked around downtown Danville for a little, then Jason, Hazen and I headed over to the Shembri's to see our old neighbors, and also to see the old house. That night, we all went to dinner at Tomatina's, thus continuing to round out the delicious food tour of the Bay Area.

May 1- We forgot church clothes, which was a major oversight on our part. I guess that's what happens when you do all of your packing for your trip only hours before you leave for vacation. Jason put on one of his Dad's suits, along with sneakers to wear to church, Hazen wore shorts, and I stayed home, because I was NOT about to wear jeans to church. Yes, my pride goes that far. After the boys got home, we decided to take a drive to Oakland to go see the temple. It was such a beautiful day, we really lucked out! No temple trip is complete without a stop to Fenton's so, we grabbed some ice cream on our way home. Delicious, as per usual. I can't remember the last time that I've been to Fenton's; it's probably been at least 4 years, so it was good to go back! After we returned to Livermore, Jason's brother Brian and his family came over, and we BBQ'd. That evening, I also drove to San Ramon to go see Marisa and meet her little girl, Fara. Great times were had by all!

Hazen's April Schoolwork