B's baptism

Brennan was baptized in the midst of our moving chaos. Grandpa & Grandma Morello flew in from St George, Nana & Papa Williams flew in from Boise, and Kim & Rich and their girls drove in from Springville.

The weekend of festivities began with Collin & Brennan participating in the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Friday evening. Due to all the busy-ness of getting the house ready for the market, we didn't have time to make new cars this year. So in Brennan's first year getting to participate, he used one of Collin's old cars. Sad, I know. Collin used another of his other old cars. Neither did great, but they had a lot of fun, and we were able to cross it off our to-do list. Pathetic.

Saturday morning was the baptism. Our stake does Stake Baptisms, so unfortunately, we didn't know any of the people doing the music or speaking assignments. Brennan broke out in a horrible rash - from nervousness or an allergic reaction is unknown - but it stopped as soon as he was out of the white jumpsuit. Ryan performed the ordinance, and Grandpa & Papa were the witnesses. Ryan also confirmed Brennan and gave him a beautiful Father's Blessing of peace and strength for the upcoming changes in his life.

It was a very nice service. Afterwards, we returned to our house for lunch. A family friend from Ohio (Katie Luce) came up from the south-side of Denver and came to the house too. Brennan requested Chick-fil-a catering, so we got nuggets and sandwiches from there. We also had salad, fruit and a giant Costco chocolate cake.  The cousins all played together, and it was even warm enough to go to the park and fly Ryan's drone.

Due to the weather forecast, Kim left Sunday morning for their drive home. The rest of us held a beautiful little family meeting about the Holy Ghost, and Ryan & I both received Father's Blessings from our dads. It was a very sweet morning. Then the grandparents all came to church with us, and then we had steak, baked potatoes and steamed broccoli afterwards.

In the afternoon, Nana & Papa had to head straight to the airport for their flight, Grandma & Grandpa started gearing up for their week with the kids, and Ryan & I started packing for our 15th anniversary trip to Mexico.

Brennan wrote a really sweet testimony about his feelings during his baptism and confirmation in the journal Grandma got him. He also got a fleece blanket from Nana to represent the comfort of the Holy Ghost. He really had a wonderful weekend. I love our wonderful family!

It's moving time again!

Ryan accepted a new job in San Antonio, TX on Monday morning. He'll be working for Southwest Research Institute, and he starts on February 18th. The kids and I will stay in CO until the house sells, hopefully before school gets out. We hope to put it on the market by February 13th. 

He is more excited than can be put into words, and I have had moments of excitement, but right now I'm just overwhelmed. So much to think about and to get done. 

                                    

His work will be on the west side of town, but as we've talked with people, it sounds like our family will be happiest on the north side instead, so he'll have a 30-40 minute commute each way. We'll live close to the temple though, so that'll be nice.

He'll also be traveling about one week each month, so that'll be a major adjustment for me and the kids. Living on the north side, we'll be closest to the airport. 

San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the US, so everyone seems to know someone who has or does live there. We are looking forward to all the newness, despite the anxieties. The traffic sounds like it'll take some adjustment for us too. 

                                          

Ryan has spent many business trips at Southwest and in San Antonio, but I've actually never been to TX, except layovers in DFW. He knows his new boss quite well, and our friends who have worked for the company say he's an amazing mentor for new managers. The offer really was too good to pass up. 

Caterpillar has a lot of employees in the San Antonio area, and we have several friends who live nearby that we knew in Peoria. It'll be fun to know a few people even before we can get settled in. 

We will miss Colorado, the mountains, the hiking and the waterfalls. We'll miss our friends and the "easy" drive to Utah to visit family and friends there. While living in this same house, we've been in three very different wards in three very different stakes, and as such, we are leaving behind many, many dear friends. We have loved our time in Colorado, and I dream of returning and living here again in the future. 

But, for now, here's to new adventures! 

Happy 8th, B!

Happy 8th birthday, Brennan! 

The day before his birthday, on Saturday, Brennan picked a friend, Bryce, to go to Build-a-Bear with him and out to lunch at Sonic.

If this sounds familiar, it's because he did the exact same activity last year with a different friend. ;-)

He loves his new blue Yoshi, and he enjoyed his corn dog and peanut butter cup shake too.

Bryce got him a remote-controlled helicopter as a gift, so we came back to our house after lunch to fly it. I went a little off-script with that one!

His actual birthday was on Sunday. After Church, we skipped our ward linger longer and came home to his special dinner - steak, baked potatoes and corn.

Then he opened his gift from us, a new art kit. He was unimpressed. In the evening, we sang and had cheesecake.

* * *

Brennan is struggling the most with our move. He seems to be in denial. In fact, I think he's only told Bryce, and that was when we were all together in the car for the birthday activity. He has always had a hard time making friends - so does Collin - but he's struggling more than I even expected. We have been praying for him, and I am seeing him have good days among his bad days.

Luckily, it seems he still keeps most of his aggression at home. He excels at school. Though he struggles with friends, his teachers love him, and he works hard. It is all so easy for him, and he loves to go each day. He even volunteers twice a week before school to prepare and then lead games and activities for the other kids to play when they arrive before the first bell.

He is our best babysitter, way more attentive and fun than Collin, but he does sometimes lose his temper and injure other children, and it's so hard to predict. He can be the best helper and the meanest enemy.

He has gotten really into swimming and easily passed his swim lesson level this past fall. I have another session of swimming scheduled for spring, but I'm hoping our house will be sold and we'll be with Ryan in Texas by then. But I figure there's always another pool with swim lessons, right? Especially in TX.

I made him play soccer last fall, but we made a deal he wouldn't have to play again if he didn't want to, and he doesn't want to. He begged to play basketball this winter, but he hated his coach after the first practice and wouldn't go back, so I had to pull him. I'm thinking that maybe when we get settled in TX that I'll try to find him some art classes again. He used to love doing that.

His baptism is set for Saturday, February 2nd. Not sure when I'll get around to blogging about it, but my parents and Ryan's are both coming. His cousins - my sister's family - is going to try to come from Utah too, if the weather is good. I'm looking forward to some family time before Ryan leaves for the new job, and I figure out how to live in a house with four kids while it's on the market.

I want him to be happy so bad. I know I need to model being happy, so I am working on that too.
I love him more than words can say, and I want everything and the world for him!

Happy 8th, B!

California Christmas Adventure

I am crazy. I had this insane idea to give the kids a LegoLand trip for Christmas, talked Ryan into it and totally made it happen. Yeah, it was ludicrous... and awesome! Without the help of all my siblings and my parents, we couldn't have done it, so thank you, everyone! Here's the recap for my own memories.

SAT THE 22nd
The morning after Collin's birthday, we left at 4am to drive to my parents' house in St George. There was snow in the mountains, but we made it. 10 hours down.

All loaded up and ready to roll!

SUN THE 23rd
My brother and his wife were also visiting for Christmas from DC, so that made the trip even more fun. They had booked with my parents first though, so we kinda crashed their weekend, but we don't get to see them much, so I don't think we were too unwelcome. They ended up staying in a hotel, since my parents have super-downsized in retirement, so I did feel kind of bad about that. Sunday we headed to church in the morning, decorated gingerbread houses in the afternoon and looked at Christmas lights in the evening. We also did the last Sunday of Advent, according to my sister-in-law's Finnish tradition.

Christmas Sunday

Gingerbread House Competition with Rob & Rachel

Kate and a Christmas light lollipop

There's something about cacti - and palm trees for that matter! - with Christmas lights that still seems odd to this Midwest girl

Finnish Advent

MON THE 24th
Christmas Eve we spent swimming at my brother's hotel and doing a nature walk at some petroglyphs. In the evening, we had appetizers for dinner and listened to the story of Christ's birth before bed.

Hiking Buddies

Collin wearing the mask-rock my mom found

Christmas jammies

Santa came! 

TUES THE 25th
Tuesday morning the kids were up early to open their presents. We wanted to save the LegoLand gift for last, but they were so satisfied with their other gifts, I almost thought we shouldn't have done it after all. They each got a gift from my parents and Rob & Rachel, and then from us they got an envelope telling them of the trip, a Lego tshirt and a fanny pack (with snacks and six minifigures for trading in the park).

By 9:30 Christmas morning, we'd already had breakfast and were on the road to California. Another brother of mine lives in Oceanside (about 20 mins from LegoLand), but unfortunately he and his wife planned to be in Ohio for the Holidays, with my sister-in-law's family, the whole time we could be there. They graciously offered their newly-remodeled home for us to stay in anyway.

So on Christmas Day, we headed to Oceanside. The traffic was surprisingly heavy, and we were wasted-tired when we arrive. We did drive down the Las Vegas strip to show the kids there on the way, so that was kinda fun. We got Domino's pizza delivered and went to sleep.

WED THE 26th

Ready for LegoLand!

Outside the Castle Hotel, waiting for Dad who was on a work-call in the car

Outside Legoland Castle

Ninjago-lovers ready for Lego fun!

Wednesday and Thursday were spent at LegoLand. We got there as soon as they opened and stayed most of the day. The kids were thrilled. The 26th was definitely less crowded than the 27th, when we stood in line after line all day long. Each morning we rode the Ninjago ride, which was by far everyone's favorite. On this one, the rider uses their hands to kill the bad guys while spinning in a cart.

Lines...

Coast Cruise

Kate recognizes Mount Rushmore everywhere, even from their busts on the Block of Fame. Smart chica.

The boys recognized Vegas from driving down the Strip the previous day

The first day we also checked out the Coast Cruise (through Miniland), the Deep-Sea Adventure (underwater submarines) and Granny's Apple Fries (just as delicious as everyone said they were). The kids played at Hideaways playground, and the boys rode the Royal Joust horses. All in all, we hardly saw a line until we went to Lost Kingdom Adventure. The app said it was a 15-minute wait, but it took an hour. They did have a Lego play area in the middle of the snaking line so that helped a lot. This was Kate's favorite ride, but we only did it once because of the line. We got to shoot a laser gun, and Kate loved that.

Us with a Lego Knight

Royal Joust

More lines...

And lines...

Cool wall made entirely of... you guessed it, LEGOS!

Next we headed to the sack races (Dune Raiders), and everyone but Kate enjoyed it (she got scared at the top and I just shoved her down). Right before lunch, we watched the Ninjago 4D movie, and enjoyed the rain, heat, wind, etc blasted at us.

The Kids & Jay

We had pizza for lunch (please note that's Time #2) and walked through Miniland. This was one of my favorite places. They have recreated - with Legos - many American cities as well as some international ones, and it was fun to see many places I've visited before and others I've never been to. They have also built one scene from each Star Wars movie, and even though I'm not a fan, it was pretty amazing. There are even busts of famous Americans lining another section... all built out of Legos! We finished the day about 3:30 in Ninjago World with the climbing wall.

Cole's Climbing Wall

We weren't too tired yet, so we headed to Oceanside Pier to eat at the restaurant at the end (Ruby's) and watch the sunset. Kate was tired and cranky and the food was meh, but it was a fun little experience, and the milkshakes were awesome.

Walking the pier with my girl

Ruby's Restaurant at the end of Oceanside Pier

THURS THE 27th (our 15th anniversary)

Lego Santa

I wish we'd have known how spoiled we'd been the first day, because the second day wasn't nearly as smooth. We started out with the Ninjago ride, a 45-minute wait. After signing Collin up for a Mindstorm activity for later in the day, we waited for 15-mins over by the driving cars for the gate to open. Then it was a mad-dash for the cars. Ryan took Ethan & Kate to the junior race track, while I took Collin & Brennan to the one for bigger kids. At least the wait was pretty short there though.

Brennan at Driving School

Boys with Christmas soldier

After the race cars, we headed to the boats, and I'm glad this line was kinda short, because it was pretty lame. After the boats, we wandered through Fun City. I really liked this place. It was all decorated for Christmas with wreaths, holly, a tree in "town square" and Christmas lights. We did a little seeking-activity twice in Adventurers' Club. We got popcorn and let Kate have a tantrum.

Kate at Heartlake City

After crepes in Heartlake City, we all rode the carousel, which was definitely Kate's favorite. We made the mistake to try to ride the toddler train in DuploCity. It looked like a short line, but it took an hour and was super disappointing.

Even the big boys enjoyed the carousel

Now it was time for Collin's Mindstorm class, so Ryan took him there while I took the rest of the kids to the aquarium. I thought it'd be easy, but it was dark and they wouldn't let me take the stroller in, so I kept losing the kids. It was stressful, and when we were done I realized at some point Kate had dropped her blanket. So, we had to walk through the whole attraction again looking for it. We finally found it in the gift shop. Boo.

Then we met up with Collin & Ryan again and headed back to Heartlake City. While Ryan and the older boys got us pizza for lunch (yes, pizza again!), Ethan, Kate and I watched the Holiday Show there, which really was very cute.

Kate, Me & Ethan at the Holiday Show

Fairy Tale Brook

After lunch, we headed to see the last things we were hoping for, despite the insane lines. We did Fairy Tale Brook, which had a pleasant, nature-like, weaving line and only took about 20 mins. I really thought this one was cute. They built - out of Legos - a whole bunch of fairy tales, and then you ride in a boat through them all. I rode with Collin & Brennan, and we tried to race to name each story as it came into view.

Lastly, we went to Safari Trek. It was 4 o'clock, and we were tired and the app said the line was an hour long (it was right). By the time it was our turn, it was getting dark and cold, and we couldn't really see all the African animals made out of Legos. It felt like it drove way too fast and was over in only a minute or two. We couldn't exit quickly enough.

Dinner was - wait for it - our leftover pizza from the first night. We all went to bed too tired to even argue.

FRI THE 28th
Friday was our day dedicated to my sister, whose husband's family lives in southern California and was down visiting in a condo they'd rented in Oceanside for the week. We met up at the San Diego temple and then headed to Old Town San Diego, a touristy old-fashioned village. After lunch at a meh Mexican restaurant and a little shopping, we went back to my brother's to let Kate have her first nap of the week. We all needed it! We woke her up to head back to the beach with my sister's in-laws for a beach bonfire. We had a delicious weenie roast with salt-water corn-on-the-cob (yes, it's what you think). It was fun, though we were all pretty tired and cold.

The kids who couldn't do baptisms in the temple

Wells Fargo Stage Coach at Old Town San Diego

Beach Bonfire at Oceanside Pier

SAT THE 29th

Sometimes I'll see my family from afar, and I'll think, "Wow. They are all mine." And when I get over the anxiety that I'm responsible for all of them, I think, "Aren't they the cutest things ever? I am so blessed." This picture is my memory of those fleeting moments of gratitude for this bunch I get to call mine. 

Saturday we headed down to La Jolla. We timed it to be at the tide pools at low-tide, and it was super neat. We collected a bunch of shells and seaweed, but the rocks were slippery with alga and the kids took a bunch of painful falls. After the tide starting coming back in, we walked down the beach to the Children's Beach, which is closed right now because it is seal-calving season. It was super fun to watch the seals, and the boys list this activity as their favorite, except for LegoLand of course. They loved how they blubbered across the rocks and sand and swam in and out of the water.

Collin & Brennan at the La Jolla Tide Pools

Ethan at the La Jolla Tide Pools

The Crew at La Jolla Beach

"Brave Men Run in My Family"

Can you see them? They are so well-suited to camouflage themselves with these rocks, but...

...upon further examination, the rock is littered with seals! 

After La Jolla, we headed back to the beach at Oceanside Pier. We got "fair food" and the kids played in the water. We built sand castles and finally did our "beach day." It was heavenly.

She could do this all day, every day

Our sand castle

As we headed back to the house, we realized that we had seen all we wanted to see, and we decided we'd head back to my parents' house on Sunday morning (instead of Mon, like we'd originally planned). With Chinese takeout for dinner - meh, again - we did laundry, cleaned the sandy van and house, and started getting packed up.

SUN THE 30th
Sunday morning we locked up Jared's and started the 6-hour trek back to St George. The traffic was tolerable - but not great - and we stopped in Vegas to eat at In-and-Out (best meal of the excursion, sadly, but what's a California Adventure without some In-and-Out?).

18 years ago my older brother took me to Las Vegas for President's Day weekend in February. We ate at In-and-Out, and since I'd never seen a palm tree before, he took my picture at this same palm tree in the parking lot.

MON THE 31st & TUES THE 1st
Monday we literally spent all day in pjs at my parents' before getting in the car again on Tuesday for the final haul home, 10 more hours. There was snow in Utah but not Vail, so that was a blessing. The temperature hovered at about zero all day, so I'm glad we didn't have any car trouble. Brrr.

And, that was our crazy, insane California Christmas Adventure. It was super fun, but I have no intention to ever repeat it. We'll need six plane tickets and a rental car if we head to San Diego ever again. We drove almost 2,500 miles and were exclusively driving 4 of the 12 days of our vacation. Yikes! But, the kids can't stop talking about everything we saw and did, so I count it as a win. Go Us!