Well Duh, It’s What We Do . . .

A trip to So Cal always includes what?  (easy answer if you know Paul at all!)

Paul always goes with a plan.  This time he wanted to take a photo of the entrance of each land.  I wanted to play along even though I wasn’t too concerned about the quality. . . .




I got most of the different entrances, but not all.  It’s alright, because Paul did!
We also amused ourselves by posing for the camera on the rides that snap your photo.  We weren’t nearly as creative as the others riding with us.

(I leaned the wrong way!)

How did we manage to ride so many times?  Because we picked the perfect day to go. . . .
It was NOT crowded and the weather was ideal.
This braille map cracked me up. I don’t know why.  I guess I wondered how a blind person could maneuver through the park on a typical day much less find the braille map. But at the same time, it was super cool because it’s those kinds of details that the folks at Disneyland think of.


We tried out a new restaurant and paid beaucoup bucks for a tasty torte that was smaller than my hand (and I have little hands). . .

We took notice of Club 33, a place we will never get to go.

By late afternoon we were pooped and looked for ways to rest up.  . . like watching a show . . .


going on the Jungle Boat Cruise . . .

and the monorail. 

We must be getting old because we decided that we were done. . . hours before closing time.  (shhhhhh. . . don’t tell)
We love going to Disneyland, but the adventure each time becomes a bit different.  Though we didn’t spend as many hours in the park as we have in the past, we still enjoyed our jaunt to the Happiest Place on Earth.

I Had Fun; I Hope They Did Too!

My job as Mia Maid adviser consists of teaching Sunday lessons (which I LOVE) and being there for weekday activities. 
Sometimes I know what’s going on but most of the time I don’t.  So I don’t feel very useful and wonder if there is something I should be doing.
But one week, the counselor asked me to be in charge of the activity!  I had so many ideas and really needed to narrow it down. 
I know cooking is always a good skill to have, so why not cook something easy and fun.  My mind went straight to cake balls and Oreo truffles.
I made some samples (bribes) and passed them out on Sunday.  I even made invitations.  I was one excited gal!
I armed myself with the supplies . .

and even posted instructions in the kitchen.


The kitchen was filled with girls, laughter and goodies. 

I neglected to get any photos of the finished products, but I think the girls are way cuter than any of the edibles
I am so lucky to get to work with these beauties.  I had such a good time.  I hope they learned some skills that they can use all through their lives.

Lasts. . . .

Do you ever get a feeling that it’s going to be the last time for something?  Sometimes that “last” is welcome and known, like the last high school football game to watch the marching band perform their half time show.  But the worst kind of “last”s are the ones you don’t want to be a last and you don’t know for sure that it is one.  (Maybe it’s a blessing that you don’t know for sure!)
I had that feeling when I had my last child.  I think the Holy Ghost nudged me to enjoy every moment, every “last” first event.  And I did!
I had the feeling of a “last” this time for Christmas, that there would never be one like it again.  There would no longer be just the five of us following our favorite Christmas traditions.  The previous two Christmases (however you spell that) left us incomplete, with Jennifer and David on missions, but that was okay because they were where they were supposed to be.
So I was determined to enjoy THIS Christmas with my family complete.
I’m not sure if we even decorated the tree (the danger of blogging about it 9 months after the fact).

But we did send off a Christmas card (even if we didn’t manage to get a family photo.)

The kids, for years, spent the night together in the same room, but David refused to this year   He even got up first.

Let us not forget the entire reason we gather to celebrate. . .

Now I don’t know for certain that it was truly a “last” but the prompting was there and I took the time to enjoy every minute of it.

Quelfing it up!

To beat the wintery weather blues, a few ladies got together to play Quelf which is a really good way to get the giggles.
I promised to NEVER post any embarrassing photos, so this is all I’ve got.



This review (found online. . . I don’t know who wrote this) will help you understand why there are no other pictures:
“As my family concluded our first annual Thanksgiving game of Quelf, I surveyed the table. My mother, who turns seventy this year, had a belt tied around her head (to look like a ninja, of course). My father, seventy-four, had a sock coming out of his shirt collar and his shoelaces were tied together. My sister, thirty-nine, was wearing a bike helmet (the card had called for anything with a chinstrap), and her pajama sleeves hung loosely by her sides (another card had informed her that she was now "armless" - we had to roll the die for her after that). Who were these people? I have known them all my life, yet throughout this spirited game I had witnessed surprisingly novel actions: My mother pantomiming that she was wearing flippers and a snorkel while being attacked by a swarm of bees. My father, a physician, delivering a moving eulogy for his fictitious dog "Scooter," who, according to the instructions on the card, had an affinity for coleslaw and delighted in playing with large land mammals. Never had I seen my sister slap herself on the face, turn to me and yell "you must not defy the king!" The four of us agreed that we have never laughed so hard, or so consistently, as we had during that hour of play. I admit, I was skeptical before purchase. After reading some of the reviews and viewing pictures of the box online, it had first seemed as if Quelf was some sort of wacky game that needs a certain setting, mood, or substance related enhancement in order to be fully appreciated. This is not the case. There are elements of the game, such as the trivia and category parts, that help Quelf to maintain its flow and keep the players grounded in authentic board-game style competition...This game sucks you in and then absolutely hammers you with random acts of creativity and humor. Player age, gender, and personality are non-factors. Quelf has an uncanny capacity for drawing out the best (and by "best", I mean the ability to make other people laugh until they nearly soil themselves) in anyone.”
I can’t wait to play again.  (Many thanks for Allie for schooling us, otherwise we might not know about this fun game!)