California day 1

I don't know if I'm truly caught up or not but since our California trip was over a month ago it's time to post about it.

Adam had won a travel voucher at work and used some of it for his ticket to Alaska but there was still a significant amount on it. One day, out of the blue, he told me to plan a trip to Disneyland. I was excited at the possibility of taking our family there and FLYING! Of course I wanted to go right away and started looking into flights for the the end of May. Keep in mind it was April when I started looking and nothing seemed to work out. We knew we didn't want to go in June, July, or August so I decided we would just wait and go over fall break. We booked and paid and THEN I realized that I had looked at last year's school calender and we were actually going the week BEFORE fall break. Oh well, we couldn't change it. We did, however, have to keep a secret for a really loooong time. We decided not to tell the kids until we arrived at the airport and that day seemed to drag forever. This is how it went down...

I had the kids packed and everything loaded into the back of the Tahoe. We told the kids that we had to take Adam to the airport (since he travels once a month this was very believable) and that we would go do something fun after we dropped him off. I was surprised that no one really questioned this and just came along but I was glad I didn't have to make up more stories. We arrived at the airport, pulled into long term parking and Adam told the kids goodbye. I asked them what they wanted to do next. They gave a few ideas and then I asked them if they wanted to go with Adam and fly on an airplane instead. I honestly expected this BIG, HUGE reaction from the kids. I expected screaming and happiness and jumping up and down. I don't know why, my kids don't really have that kind of personality. I just didn't expect the reaction we got. Matthais seemed unfazed. Owen, although initially happy, started to cry. Millie just looked at us in disbelief. And Ian, well, he had no clue what was going on. It wasn't until we actually walked to the ticket counter that the kids were excited and finally understood that yes, we were about to climb on a plane and fly to California.

Finally, they were all excited and we were on our way to California. Our flight left around 5:30pm and so we arrived in California and it was near dark. The flight went very well and Ian was so good! (another big worry). We flew into Long Beach and the airport was unlike anyone I had been too (not surprising since I never fly!). It was weird to un-board the plane onto the tarmac and then walk into the building but it was cool for the kids to see the plane up close. We grabbed our rental (a very nice Sienna) and head to our hotel in Anaheim. We stopped to eat and arrived at our hotel in time to unpack and settle in for bed. I wish I would have taken more pictures at the hotel but I don't have one! bummer. It was just your typical hotel but it's part of the memories right? That night everyone slept well and the next morning....(stayed tuned for California day 2)

Kamp Kipper

We had another great experience this summer. We were invited to attend the first Kamp Kipper. It is a camp for autistic kids and their families. First stop was the Heber Valley railroad for a train ride.

during the train ride "bandits" held up the train looking for money. I was a little worried about this considering we had a car full of autistic kids...

...But Owen was the one who seemed the most upset!! Poor kid!

The parachute is always a blast!

I love this picture! Millie and Matthais are learning to dance together! It was great to watch but they really struggled because Matthais is so dang tall!

dirt is always so much fun!

In our cabin, Owen and his new friend Nate.

Ian and his helper Dave. These two spent a lot of time together

The rocket blaster was a lot of fun. Owen did this for hours!

It was fun to watch Ian do this with such concentration. He'd string the beads, take them off and then he'd do it again!

We we at the church owned camp in Heber and so the had a ropes course and zip line. I missed out on it cause I stayed with Ian but Adam took Millie and Matthais and they had a blast!

It was great experience although I was hoping for a little more networking. Either way I hope we are invited back next year!

Owen turns 5

I couldn't do a big party for Millie and not do one for Owen! However, after the sleepover I was a little partied out so we made Owen's short and sweet! I made a pinata (fail) and made some cupcakes and invited his little friends over. It was perfect for him!

It was over in an hour and just perfect! Thanks to Suzanne for helping me, I thought 7 little boys would be easy to handle but I was wrong! I should know better right?

Summer Birthdays

Everytime I go through my pictures I realize I'm more behind than I though! We had two birthdays this summer. Millie turned 9 and wanted a camping sleep over party. It was a lot of fun!

We roasted hot dogs for dinner

All the girls that ended up coming were from dance. Love this group of girls!

It's suppose to be a s'more

Adam pulled them on the 4-wheeler. I was sure someone was going to break something

Adam also made it possible to watch this movie outside. It was pretty cool

Silly girls would NOT go to sleep.

Millie is such a great girl! I was happy that she had a fun birthday!

Soccer

I can't believe I thought I was mostly caught up but I didn't mention a thing about summer soccer!! It was Owen's first year and he totally rocked it!

He scored lots of goals and had a lot of fun with his friends Coleman, Spencer and Brigham. Matthais played soccer too but I didn't get any pictures. What a great mom huh? Luckily he will play in the spring too and I'll take lots of pictures then! He switched to playing goalie this year and had a really good time!

Shakespeare Competition team

I have always enjoyed watching my kids find the things they are passionate about. For Millie, it's dance. For Matthais it's drama. Last year he won the award in drama for 7th grade. This year he earned a spot on the Shakespeare completion team. It's been fun to watch him learn and grown and it's fun to watch him perform. Before they headed down to compete they did a "night of goodwill" and performed their entries. Matthais was in King Lear and played the part of the Duke of Burgandy.

It was a great group of kids and the ensemble Matthais was in place third. They had a lot of fun and it was a great experience for him. Today he is auditioning for Joseph and the Technicolor dream coat. It's been fun listening to him practice his song. Wish him good luck!

The Autism Walk

Way back in like July, I mentioned on facebook about doing the autism walk. I had a HUGE response of people who commented that they would LOVE to do it with me. I got really excited, signed up to make a team and the watched as the whole plan started to fizzle. In the end I had one team member who came to the walk (my sister) and together we raised $320 (she raised $300 of it).  When I finally created the team and people were no longer interested, I no longer became interested either and became a bad team leader. The walk was on my birthday and the day was freezing cold but my sister and I bundled up and headed to the Rio Tinto stadium. They had some great informational booths and lots of activities. It's really a family event and I'm happy to know that. When If I do it again, I will bring the whole family. After, my sister took me out to breakfast. It was my 36th birthday after all! And it really was the beginning of a great day!