Right after Park City this month, my brother, Ty, graduated from BYU. While Adam and I did not attend the actual ceremony (for various reasons), we are very happy for him. After the graduation they had a barbecue, which we went to. My family had come down for the festivities, including my Grandpa. It was kinda like a family reunion.
This week, we will be going up to Colorado for another family reunion-like occasion. My brother Kenneth is coming off his mission.
On top of that, my youngest brother, Noah, is working on getting on a mission himself.
I want to say congrats to ALL my brothers for their many accomplishments this year.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Park City... Again
Earlier this month, we took another quick trip to Park City. Once again, it was only for a few days. But we got to hang out with my parents this time. For the most part, we read books, watched movies, went swimming, and played video games. It was a nice, short break from it all.
And of course, we fed the ducks and geese. They were eating right out of our hands, which was pretty cool. But when we quit feeding them, one goose was very insistent that we didn't stop. It saw the bread bag, and stared at it and us. The last couple pictures are not zoomed in at all. Jenn also wanted a picture of me in a tree, so I was accommodating.
I also took another picture of Jenn to add to the collection. There were apparently two Park City trips where I didn't take Jenn's picture, so I only have four. But here they all are.
P.S. We would like to give a birthday shout-out to all of the August birthday boys. Jeremy and Kenny share the 5th, and both of Sara's boys had their birthdays starting with Shane on the 15th, then Brody on the 27th. Happy Birthday!!!
And of course, we fed the ducks and geese. They were eating right out of our hands, which was pretty cool. But when we quit feeding them, one goose was very insistent that we didn't stop. It saw the bread bag, and stared at it and us. The last couple pictures are not zoomed in at all. Jenn also wanted a picture of me in a tree, so I was accommodating.
I also took another picture of Jenn to add to the collection. There were apparently two Park City trips where I didn't take Jenn's picture, so I only have four. But here they all are.
P.S. We would like to give a birthday shout-out to all of the August birthday boys. Jeremy and Kenny share the 5th, and both of Sara's boys had their birthdays starting with Shane on the 15th, then Brody on the 27th. Happy Birthday!!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Pictures of Disneyland 2009, Part 2
We got a hold of the pictures from my parents' camera, so here are some of our favorites.
The gang at Red Robin...
Tuesday morning, waiting to get in the park. This is when Jenn was going crazy because she couldn't go in yet. I was texting the guys to find out when they would be back with the tickets. Then waiting to go in on Wednesday. And the last picture is just after riding the Maliboomer, another first for Jenn that she didn't care for.
T-shirt day!
And dinner at Shakey's, where we gave my parents the family picture.
The gang at Red Robin...
Tuesday morning, waiting to get in the park. This is when Jenn was going crazy because she couldn't go in yet. I was texting the guys to find out when they would be back with the tickets. Then waiting to go in on Wednesday. And the last picture is just after riding the Maliboomer, another first for Jenn that she didn't care for.
T-shirt day!
And dinner at Shakey's, where we gave my parents the family picture.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Pictures of Disneyland 2009!
These are some of the picture we took. We're still going to try and get pictures from everyone else as well. As usual, I was in charge of the camera, so there are more pictures of Jenn than of me. But honestly, does anyone really mind?
First up, Jenn and I in Vegas at the Bellagio, just before watching the fountains on Sunday night. Then us in line for Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain on Tuesday.
Here we are on Jungle Cruise. It was Jenn's first time riding it as far as she knows. She may have been on it when she went to Disneyland as a very young child, but since she was too young to remember, she doesn't count rides from that trip. Then she's trying on a set Mickey ears that she wanted, but we couldn't justify paying for. It reads "Pirate Princess." And Jeremy is in the back laughing because I just told him to stop giving my wife bunny ears (as he did to me above). Next is a picture from our anniversary on Wednesday, where we wore our old Burningham shirts. Here's a picture of the back.
Then these are some more pictures from our anniversary: on the Grizzly River Rapids; Jenn holding an Aurora doll that we liked; and Jenn in Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
This was Jenn's first time on It's a Small World, so I had to document that.
T-shirt day! We didn't get any group pictures. But Sara did, and she was kind enough to post them on her blog so I could steal them.
This is me and my gamerface playing Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure; the back of the new t-shirts; and us with my mom.
Friday, Jenn and I went out on our own again for a bit. Jenn thought it would be cool to see Aurora and the other princesses, but the wait was three hours long. So we got to feel like peeping-toms snapping pictures through the bushes.
Finally, Saturday, the last day, our feet were so sore, and we had already done everything we wanted. So we found a nice, quiet, and beautiful spot with hardly any people! We sat there for quite a while, and I shot a great Dr. Pepper promo-pic, wouldn't you say? And while at Shakey's for dinner, we found this set of Walt Disney pictures, including a signed production cell from Sleeping Beauty.
First up, Jenn and I in Vegas at the Bellagio, just before watching the fountains on Sunday night. Then us in line for Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain on Tuesday.
Here we are on Jungle Cruise. It was Jenn's first time riding it as far as she knows. She may have been on it when she went to Disneyland as a very young child, but since she was too young to remember, she doesn't count rides from that trip. Then she's trying on a set Mickey ears that she wanted, but we couldn't justify paying for. It reads "Pirate Princess." And Jeremy is in the back laughing because I just told him to stop giving my wife bunny ears (as he did to me above). Next is a picture from our anniversary on Wednesday, where we wore our old Burningham shirts. Here's a picture of the back.
Then these are some more pictures from our anniversary: on the Grizzly River Rapids; Jenn holding an Aurora doll that we liked; and Jenn in Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
This was Jenn's first time on It's a Small World, so I had to document that.
T-shirt day! We didn't get any group pictures. But Sara did, and she was kind enough to post them on her blog so I could steal them.
This is me and my gamerface playing Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure; the back of the new t-shirts; and us with my mom.
Friday, Jenn and I went out on our own again for a bit. Jenn thought it would be cool to see Aurora and the other princesses, but the wait was three hours long. So we got to feel like peeping-toms snapping pictures through the bushes.
Finally, Saturday, the last day, our feet were so sore, and we had already done everything we wanted. So we found a nice, quiet, and beautiful spot with hardly any people! We sat there for quite a while, and I shot a great Dr. Pepper promo-pic, wouldn't you say? And while at Shakey's for dinner, we found this set of Walt Disney pictures, including a signed production cell from Sleeping Beauty.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Jenn's Reflections of Disneyland 2009
I'd like to start by saying that Disneyland is, in fact, NOT the happiest place on earth. Anywhere my husband happens to be has that distinction. So, I guess, that for 5 days this year, Disneyland was able to be what it aspired to.
On Sunday, I was impatient to get on the road. I was SOOO excited. By the time we reached Vegas, that excitement had waned and I was just plain tired. I wanted to see the lights and the glamor of the strip, as Adam has frequently described its wonders to me. Sadly, it was late, and everyone was tired, so we just drove to the Bellagio to see the fountain show, which was pretty neat.
The next day, we set out for Anaheim. As we got closer, my excitement returned. By the end of the drive, I was ready to explode with wanting to be in Disneyland. We didn't go on Monday, though. Instead we went to Red Robin for dinner, both as tradition and for Boston's birthday. Adam gave Amy a start with one of Boston's new presents that made me laugh.
After that we went to Downtown Disney, which was partially torture because we were THAT close...but not there yet. We had fun looking at all the cool Disney merchandise. We didn't see anything we just HAD to have, but there is a lot there to want.
Tuesday morning, I was up at 6:30am pacing the hotel room, probably driving Adam crazy with my repetitions of, "Guess what...? We're going to DISNEYLAND!" I went down and ate a big, sustaining breakfast so that my day in the Magic Kingdom would not be interrupted by my stomach. Finally, we left. We went through the bag check, approached the gate and...stared at it. Due to the cost of parking, the families were dropped off and the drivers went back to the hotel and returned in one car. Not a problem and a solid plan...if we all had our passes. So, 30 feet from Disneyland, we stopped and waited for what seemed like forever. I was going NUTS! When the fathers all joined our anxious group, we rushed to the gates.
Once inside Disneyland, we tried to locate Jeremy's family, who had walked there earlier. Then the fun began. We all tried to decide what ride to go on first. So, as a big group, we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. All of us fit into one boat, due to the fact that some people couldn't go on it.
Wednesday, my foot hurt. I considered wearing my walking cast, but it was our 2 year meeting anniversary so I wanted to look my best. I borrowed Alex's red Burningham shirt because she decided not to wear hers and Adam and I looked like a matched set (which we are). At the beginning of the day, we hung out with the family in California Adventure. At lunch, we went our own way and went to Disneyland and got "Happy Anniversary" buttons. Then we went on Peter Pan's flight, Small World, Indiana Jones, Pirates, and the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough. We also rode Monsters Inc., Tower of Terror, and Maliboomer (which was done with the family). We didn't ride Screamin' with the family because Adam's tummy was in distress from the raft ride that spun us like a wet pinwheel.
For dinner we went to the IHOP just outside of the park, which was a wonderful meal. On our honeymoon we dined there because on our way back to the hotel, I needed to rest my foot, so Adam took me to that IHOP for a rest.
Towards the end of the day, we went to different stores in Disneyland and California Adventure looking for the perfect souvenir, which we did not find that day. I also found I could not walk any further and Adam proceeded to carry me until we were safely at the hotel. His feet were pretty bad too, so I felt bad, but Adam refused to put me down.
Thursday was the official T-shirt day. Everyone decided to use their Magic Morning pass to go to the park early that day, but my feet hurt so bad that Adam and I stayed behind until the normal opening time. When we got into the park, we first ran into Bret and Melanie on their way to pick up a gift card and a "Happy Birthday" button for her Birthday. We had known ahead of time and had already gotten a button with Melanie's name on it, so we were glad to have caught up with them before they got another one.
We then went on Buzz Lightyear with the rest of the family. My score was...bad. After we got off, a cast member asked if we wanted "Family Reunion" buttons and then asked how many we would like. "26!" She didn't have nearly that many, so she gave us the 10 or 12 she had and went to get some more. When she returned we all had a button, but there were two different kinds, an orange-ish one and a gray one. Just as we were pinning the buttons on our shirts, Bret and Melanie returned. They were a bit surprised that we already had buttons, because his backpack had 26 more inside that he had gotten while he was away. So, people picked the color of button that they preferred and Bret ended up with a backpack of left-over buttons.
That day we stuck together as much as we could. Jeremy had fun skipping next to Kalli and we all had fun singing to Melanie at the beginning of each attraction we went on (even if she chose to stay behind). We ate at the Pizza Port for lunch while we waited for Space Mountain to be re-opened. We had our picture taken with Mickey, and then by Big Thunder Mountain.
Friday and Saturday were spent mostly window shopping by Adam and I. We did whatever rides we wanted at our leisure and just soaked up the sun.
Friday night was fun because Adam, his parents, Tyra, Alex, and I watched the Electrical Parade in California Adventure. Which was awesome, but really crowded. Then we were on our way to Disneyland for the fireworks and to meet up with Amy and Jason when the show started without us. We sat down on the ground in the plaza between the parks and watched from there. Then came the insane crowd of people going into Disneyland for the Fantasmic show, which we also were on our way to see. The shows that night were all awesome, but given the panic level that the massive crowds caused, I doubt I will ever want to see them again.
After all of that, the family decided to walk back to the hotel together. We hadn't planned on it, but it was very fun. Jeremy and Adam, along with whichever nieces and nephews cared to join in, did their funny walks and runs most of the way. I wish I were the one with the camera instead of Adam that night.
Saturday, Adam and I walked to the park because we slept in and wanted to take it easy. That night we went for pizza at Shakey's and gave Adam's parents our thank you gift, which Adam has described in his post.
Sunday we drove back to Utah. It was a long drive, but it felt good to be home again.
Disneyland is awesome, especially when you are with your family.
P.S. The Princesses get irked when you try to take their pictures through a hedge because the line is nearly three hours long.
On Sunday, I was impatient to get on the road. I was SOOO excited. By the time we reached Vegas, that excitement had waned and I was just plain tired. I wanted to see the lights and the glamor of the strip, as Adam has frequently described its wonders to me. Sadly, it was late, and everyone was tired, so we just drove to the Bellagio to see the fountain show, which was pretty neat.
The next day, we set out for Anaheim. As we got closer, my excitement returned. By the end of the drive, I was ready to explode with wanting to be in Disneyland. We didn't go on Monday, though. Instead we went to Red Robin for dinner, both as tradition and for Boston's birthday. Adam gave Amy a start with one of Boston's new presents that made me laugh.
After that we went to Downtown Disney, which was partially torture because we were THAT close...but not there yet. We had fun looking at all the cool Disney merchandise. We didn't see anything we just HAD to have, but there is a lot there to want.
Tuesday morning, I was up at 6:30am pacing the hotel room, probably driving Adam crazy with my repetitions of, "Guess what...? We're going to DISNEYLAND!" I went down and ate a big, sustaining breakfast so that my day in the Magic Kingdom would not be interrupted by my stomach. Finally, we left. We went through the bag check, approached the gate and...stared at it. Due to the cost of parking, the families were dropped off and the drivers went back to the hotel and returned in one car. Not a problem and a solid plan...if we all had our passes. So, 30 feet from Disneyland, we stopped and waited for what seemed like forever. I was going NUTS! When the fathers all joined our anxious group, we rushed to the gates.
Once inside Disneyland, we tried to locate Jeremy's family, who had walked there earlier. Then the fun began. We all tried to decide what ride to go on first. So, as a big group, we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. All of us fit into one boat, due to the fact that some people couldn't go on it.
Wednesday, my foot hurt. I considered wearing my walking cast, but it was our 2 year meeting anniversary so I wanted to look my best. I borrowed Alex's red Burningham shirt because she decided not to wear hers and Adam and I looked like a matched set (which we are). At the beginning of the day, we hung out with the family in California Adventure. At lunch, we went our own way and went to Disneyland and got "Happy Anniversary" buttons. Then we went on Peter Pan's flight, Small World, Indiana Jones, Pirates, and the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough. We also rode Monsters Inc., Tower of Terror, and Maliboomer (which was done with the family). We didn't ride Screamin' with the family because Adam's tummy was in distress from the raft ride that spun us like a wet pinwheel.
For dinner we went to the IHOP just outside of the park, which was a wonderful meal. On our honeymoon we dined there because on our way back to the hotel, I needed to rest my foot, so Adam took me to that IHOP for a rest.
Towards the end of the day, we went to different stores in Disneyland and California Adventure looking for the perfect souvenir, which we did not find that day. I also found I could not walk any further and Adam proceeded to carry me until we were safely at the hotel. His feet were pretty bad too, so I felt bad, but Adam refused to put me down.
Thursday was the official T-shirt day. Everyone decided to use their Magic Morning pass to go to the park early that day, but my feet hurt so bad that Adam and I stayed behind until the normal opening time. When we got into the park, we first ran into Bret and Melanie on their way to pick up a gift card and a "Happy Birthday" button for her Birthday. We had known ahead of time and had already gotten a button with Melanie's name on it, so we were glad to have caught up with them before they got another one.
We then went on Buzz Lightyear with the rest of the family. My score was...bad. After we got off, a cast member asked if we wanted "Family Reunion" buttons and then asked how many we would like. "26!" She didn't have nearly that many, so she gave us the 10 or 12 she had and went to get some more. When she returned we all had a button, but there were two different kinds, an orange-ish one and a gray one. Just as we were pinning the buttons on our shirts, Bret and Melanie returned. They were a bit surprised that we already had buttons, because his backpack had 26 more inside that he had gotten while he was away. So, people picked the color of button that they preferred and Bret ended up with a backpack of left-over buttons.
That day we stuck together as much as we could. Jeremy had fun skipping next to Kalli and we all had fun singing to Melanie at the beginning of each attraction we went on (even if she chose to stay behind). We ate at the Pizza Port for lunch while we waited for Space Mountain to be re-opened. We had our picture taken with Mickey, and then by Big Thunder Mountain.
Friday and Saturday were spent mostly window shopping by Adam and I. We did whatever rides we wanted at our leisure and just soaked up the sun.
Friday night was fun because Adam, his parents, Tyra, Alex, and I watched the Electrical Parade in California Adventure. Which was awesome, but really crowded. Then we were on our way to Disneyland for the fireworks and to meet up with Amy and Jason when the show started without us. We sat down on the ground in the plaza between the parks and watched from there. Then came the insane crowd of people going into Disneyland for the Fantasmic show, which we also were on our way to see. The shows that night were all awesome, but given the panic level that the massive crowds caused, I doubt I will ever want to see them again.
After all of that, the family decided to walk back to the hotel together. We hadn't planned on it, but it was very fun. Jeremy and Adam, along with whichever nieces and nephews cared to join in, did their funny walks and runs most of the way. I wish I were the one with the camera instead of Adam that night.
Saturday, Adam and I walked to the park because we slept in and wanted to take it easy. That night we went for pizza at Shakey's and gave Adam's parents our thank you gift, which Adam has described in his post.
Sunday we drove back to Utah. It was a long drive, but it felt good to be home again.
Disneyland is awesome, especially when you are with your family.
P.S. The Princesses get irked when you try to take their pictures through a hedge because the line is nearly three hours long.
Adam's Reflections of Disneyland 2009
We arrived in Vegas on the 26th of July. Jenn had never stayed in Vegas before (driven through, yes, but never stayed). I love Vegas, so I wanted to show her why. Sadly, that isn’t possible to do in just one night. We drove around a bit at night to see the lights, and saw the Bellagio fountains. I was hoping to show her more of the strip and maybe go up to the top of the Stratosphere, but it got too late. Next time we go, we’ll have to stay for a few nights.
The next day, Monday, we drove to Garden Grove/Anaheim, California. That night the whole family ate at Red Robin, as is tradition every time we go to Disneyland. While there, we also celebrated Boston’s 1st birthday, which was actually the day before. It was a lot of fun. Bret even sucked helium out of a balloon and sang for us (which is becoming a tradition as well).
Tuesday was the first of our five days at the park. For the first day all 26 of us stayed together for the most part. But the babies couldn’t ride much, neither could my mom because of her surgery. Meanwhile, the older kids wanted to hit the thrill rides. So we split into a couple of groups as we usually end up doing.
Wednesday was the second anniversary of the day Jenn and I met. I had a print-out of my blog post for Jenn to read that morning. We spend some time with the family, but then went off on our own and enjoyed Disneyland by ourselves. It was like we were on our honeymoon again.
Wednesday was also the day we told people to wear their old, red Burningham shirts if they wanted to. About half of us did. Some were lost, and being thick, dark shirts, some people thought it was too hot. But I wore mine, and Jenn was able to wear Alex’s.
Thursday was the official t-shirt day, and all 26 of us wore our new Burningham shirts. We spent almost the entire day together, and rarely split up. It was also Melanie’s birthday that day, and we all made sure she didn’t forget it as we sang “Happy Birthday” to her... a lot. In line for rides, on rides, and just walking through the park. Someone would start singing, and the rest would join. And when we were finished, we all clapped.
The last two days were slower, and more people just did their own thing. Jenn and I did a lot of shopping. Well... mostly window shopping.
On Saturday we had our dinner together at Shakey’s, where we presented my parents a “Thank You” card, and a framed picture of us all in our Burningham shirts. Everyone wrote a message in the card, and we each signed our name around the mat of the picture. Then on Sunday, everyone drove all the way home.
All in all, Disneyland was awesome! We had a great time laughing and having fun. We have quite a few more inside jokes, stories, and “you had to be there” moments. Off the top of my head: “I got no food!”; “He was alive... before his funeral”; “Excuse 'ums”; duck-spitting; Jeremy’s celebrity truck; the Pin Wars; and one of my new favorites, “Why is your leg blue?”... “I have no idea.”
I was also reminded of quite a few stories that I can’t believe I forgot to mention in my previous post. But apparently my entire family had read that post, and we had fun remembering past Disneyland trips, and re-telling the stories to those who hadn’t heard them.
One of my favorite moments of the whole trip, though, was on the drive home. Curled up in the back seat, Jenn fell asleep with her head in my lap. I was listening to some end-of-summer songs that I selected specifically for the drive home, and Dashboard Confessional’s “So Long, So Long” came on. We were about a half hour from home, and I watched the sunset. It was such a beautiful, peaceful, happy moment. Aurora has nothing on my wife.
The next day, Monday, we drove to Garden Grove/Anaheim, California. That night the whole family ate at Red Robin, as is tradition every time we go to Disneyland. While there, we also celebrated Boston’s 1st birthday, which was actually the day before. It was a lot of fun. Bret even sucked helium out of a balloon and sang for us (which is becoming a tradition as well).
Tuesday was the first of our five days at the park. For the first day all 26 of us stayed together for the most part. But the babies couldn’t ride much, neither could my mom because of her surgery. Meanwhile, the older kids wanted to hit the thrill rides. So we split into a couple of groups as we usually end up doing.
Wednesday was the second anniversary of the day Jenn and I met. I had a print-out of my blog post for Jenn to read that morning. We spend some time with the family, but then went off on our own and enjoyed Disneyland by ourselves. It was like we were on our honeymoon again.
Wednesday was also the day we told people to wear their old, red Burningham shirts if they wanted to. About half of us did. Some were lost, and being thick, dark shirts, some people thought it was too hot. But I wore mine, and Jenn was able to wear Alex’s.
Thursday was the official t-shirt day, and all 26 of us wore our new Burningham shirts. We spent almost the entire day together, and rarely split up. It was also Melanie’s birthday that day, and we all made sure she didn’t forget it as we sang “Happy Birthday” to her... a lot. In line for rides, on rides, and just walking through the park. Someone would start singing, and the rest would join. And when we were finished, we all clapped.
The last two days were slower, and more people just did their own thing. Jenn and I did a lot of shopping. Well... mostly window shopping.
On Saturday we had our dinner together at Shakey’s, where we presented my parents a “Thank You” card, and a framed picture of us all in our Burningham shirts. Everyone wrote a message in the card, and we each signed our name around the mat of the picture. Then on Sunday, everyone drove all the way home.
All in all, Disneyland was awesome! We had a great time laughing and having fun. We have quite a few more inside jokes, stories, and “you had to be there” moments. Off the top of my head: “I got no food!”; “He was alive... before his funeral”; “Excuse 'ums”; duck-spitting; Jeremy’s celebrity truck; the Pin Wars; and one of my new favorites, “Why is your leg blue?”... “I have no idea.”
I was also reminded of quite a few stories that I can’t believe I forgot to mention in my previous post. But apparently my entire family had read that post, and we had fun remembering past Disneyland trips, and re-telling the stories to those who hadn’t heard them.
One of my favorite moments of the whole trip, though, was on the drive home. Curled up in the back seat, Jenn fell asleep with her head in my lap. I was listening to some end-of-summer songs that I selected specifically for the drive home, and Dashboard Confessional’s “So Long, So Long” came on. We were about a half hour from home, and I watched the sunset. It was such a beautiful, peaceful, happy moment. Aurora has nothing on my wife.
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