For our tenth anniversary this year, we spent a whole day at Disneyland without the kids. (We have awesome friends who love to watch our girls!)

And we finally bought yearly passes! We've wanted to do that since we moved here in August. In the past month and a half, we've already been to Disneyland FOUR times.

A sign on the way to Disneyland. Can anyone enlighten me? What are wet burritos?

So we paid to take our kids to Disneyland, and what do they want to ride? The oldest ride in the book -- the carousel.

I completely understand.

There is something timeless and magical about carousels. They make me feel like a kid all over again.

We only rode double once. Oops!
They're sure loved sitting together though...






Yep, this was a good decision. We are going to love learning all the ins and outs of Disneyland. Autumn already spotted our first Hidden Mickey.

...I'm going to give you a peek into my cupboards.


There's just something so satisfying about arranging and organizing things so that life works a little smoother.


There just is.


And if you don't think so, you're missing out.

A few years ago we checked out the DVD of CATS from the library.

And then we checked it out again. And again. And again.

Over at least a year's time period, we watched that movie so many times!

We even checked out Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot.

And then finally, we bought it as a gift for Heidi (although Autumn loved it equally, she received something else that year...).

Last week we were headed up to Utah for our family reunion. Rae called me a few days before and said something like, "Phill can get tickets to CATS at the Tuacahn...want to take the kids?"

So we got the babes in bed for the night, left them with the hubbies, and took our big kids to the show. They were ecstatic about staying up past their bedtime, being with their cousins, and getting to see the show.

It was so much fun. I haven't been to a live musical since my freshman year of college...Phantom of the Opera at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake.


It was priceless watching Autumn, Heidi, Reed, and Jaxon as they watched the show. As the show began, I looked over and saw Heidi sitting on the edge of her seat in anticipation, wearing a gigantic smile on her face. Every time I looked at Autumn she was focused on the stage, even when whispering excitedly to Reed.


At one point, a cat did an aerobatic stunt, and Reed said in a hushed and excited whisper, "Awesome! I can do that!"

The show ended with fireworks, a perk of outdoor theatre! And true to any boy's nature, when we asked Jaxon what he liked about it, he said, "the fireworks". And on the car-ride home I overheard he kept talking about the fireworks and how he could "blow up the whole universe!" Yep, that'd be my nephew.

And then to top it all off, we ran into one of the actresses during intermission and she posed for a picture!

Sometime during the last month, we finally took Esther to Eric's cousin to even out Esther's "hair job". It's so great to know and trust people who can do the things I can't. And it's even better when they're in the family. We all get great haircuts from Amanda and love knowing we can trust her with our hair. :)