Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

Last Saturday, my dad turned 60. On Sunday, we had a "surprise" (I say that in quotes because he figured it out) party for him on Sunday at Courtney and Daryl's house.

Here's the entertainment we hired: Carter and Gibson on guitars and Brookie on drums!
My dad opening the pineapple pies that we brought him back from Mexico - they are a favorite of his!

Brady, Gibson and I got him this book all about the Utes '08-'09 Football Season. He loved it!

I made him a book of "memories".

My brother and sister bought him a Utes football and got Coach Whittingham to sign it!

The birthday boy with his birthday cake (it says "Go Utes" on it).

My mom and Courtney with the babies: Lukas and Paige.

Brady and I.

Casey and Corbin.

Chelsea and my dad, the birthday boy!

This is a video of my dad reading the memory book that I made for him. It was great to get his smile and laugh on film! Happy Birthday Dad!

Sledding!

I work for the best company! Last Saturday night, ARUP sponsored a family sledding night at Soldier Hollow. Since it is in Midway, we first stopped at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Tarahumara. It was SO yummy! Then we went sledding. Yes, I actually bunded all up and played in the snow - first and last time this season! Believe it or not, I had a good time and I actually stayed warm. It was a beautiful night - you could see all the stars. Gibson had a ball! This is a picture of Gibson warming up inside the lodge by the fire.

Escape from Winter - Vacation 2009

We have decided that February is a great time to get out of Utah to escape the cold and head somewhere warm. This year we took the Mexican Riviera cruise again. And, as always, since we are already in LA, we end the trip with a visit to Disneyland. Below is a recount of our trip along with numerous pictures and videos. We had a great time, beautiful weather, and even though our trip was 13 days long, we were NOT ready to come home.

CRUISE - Day 1

The first thing we like to do when we get on the ship is get cheeseburgers and fries for lunch!

Then it's time to hit the pools (and hottubs)!

Gibson joined us for dinner that night and had this delicious ice cream sundae for dessert!

CRUISE - Day 2

This was our first full day at sea. My favorite thing to do is get a good book and park myself on a lounge chair next to the ocean all day.
This was our first formal night (and the only time we had Gibson get into his suit).

Gibson's becoming quite the little photographer!

I like this picture because you can see the beautiful sunset in the background. I am standing on the lower, outside (promenade) deck.

Our family portraits.

Gibson's favorite thing to do on the ship is swim with daddy (in one of the 5 pools)!

CRUISE - Day 3

On the second day at sea, we pass Cabo San Lucas. This is a picture of Brady and I on the top deck of the ship with Cabo in the background. (Brady has his medal from the pool games around his neck).
The second day at sea is also the best day for viewing sealife. We saw multiple whales and dolphins. There was a cute mother/calf set of whales that were showing off for us. Before I started taping this video, they actually jumped out of the water!

Brady participated in the pool games! In this game, his team had to pick up as much fruit out of the swimming pool as they could. And they had to store it in their swimsuits (not hold onto it with their hands). Brady got quite the stash of fruit!

Here Brady and his team had to do a synchronized swimming routine. If you think they are bad, you should have seen the other team. And despite their best efforts, they still came in second place. Gibson was Brady's biggest cheerleader and he actually started crying when Brady's team lost!

CRUISE - Day 4

Our ship stopped in Puerto Vallarta today. Below is a picture of the Sapphire Princess.
There were really neat sand sculptures along the Malecon.

Gibson and I sitting on some of Puerto Vallarta's famous sculptures.

We have a secret place in PV that we always visit. It's up the river from the flea market and it's always quiet and clean. There are clean restrooms and we ALWAYS find cats. We found this one up in a tree. Some turkey got him down, though.

The cat decided we were okay to sit with since we kept feeding him our turkey sandwiches.

Gibson sitting down at our yummy, delicious lunch! We found this shaded table right on the beach front and parked there for the afternoon. They brought out our lunch and drinks and Gibson and I played in the ocean.

Gibson loves playing in the ocean waves! (except when he gets knocked down and gets salt water up his nose!)

CRUISE - Day 5

This day we visited Mazatlan - our favorite stop! We take a funny 'golf-cart' taxi to the Golden Zone, do a little shopping and then play on the beach.
This year we decided to go over to Deer Island for a quick visit. We took a Catamaran and played on the beach for about an hour and a half. We decided we like the beach at Mazatlan better.
Brady and I on Deer Island (it was nice having Gibson to take pictures!).

Where is Gibson? And whose head is that sticking out of the sand?

I ordered ONE Pacifico beer and this is what they brought me - an entire bucket! Rob, where are you??? Brady wasn't any help in drinking all the beers!

Gibson and I playing in the ocean at Mazatlan. Gibson loved having the waves knock him down.

CRUISE - Day 6

Our final stop was Cabo San Lucas. This visit, Brady and I just decided to stay on the boat. There's nothing we really love to do in Cabo, and we wanted a relaxing day on the ship.
A view of Lover's Beach from the ship. (We visited this beach last year. We didn't go again because the water is too cold to snorkel this time of year).

The famous Cabo Arch.

This night was our final formal night. We stopped a couple and asked them to take our picture and discovered they were from Sandy. Too bad we met them on the last night, as they were fun to talk to.

CRUISE - Day 7

Gibson having dinner with his friends in the Horizon Court Buffet. The picture below is our room. Gibson is up on his bunk. The ladder went into the center of the room, so Brady and I had separate beds this time!

Gibson watching a movie with his friends in the kid's area on the last night of the cruise. The kid's program was really exceptional on this cruise. They did so many activities and he got so many prizes (stuffed animals, shirts, etc.).

DISNEYLAND - Day 1

Back at Disneyland! It had been over a year since our last trip to Disneyland and we were so excited to visit again! We love it here! I would have to say that this trip to Disneyland was probably my most favorite. The weather was PERFECT - 80's during the day and the nights only required a light jacket. The flowers were beautiful and the crowds weren't too bad. We just had a really, really enjoyable time. We were not ready to come home when it was over. The Matterhorn was only open the first 2 days of our visit, so it was the first ride we visited! We went on it multiple times, as it is one of my favorite rides! It's kind of hard to see them, but there are a lot of blue and purple Delphiniums in bloom and they were beautiful!

This was our first visit to Disneyland since "It's a Small World" reopened. They had to dig out the channel and make it deeper since people have gotten "heavier" since the ride was built. The boats were scrapping bottom. They also made some changes inside. There are now Disney characters scattered throughout the ride - and it was fun trying to spot them.Here's Cinderella and some mice.

Brady and Gibson standing at the entrance of "Pirates of the Caribbean". Gibson has always like pirates, but he's now obsessed with them since this trip. He has proclaimed this his new favorite ride, as evidenced by the fact that we probably rode it 8-10 times.

If you need proof that we run ourselves ragged at Disneyland, Gibson actually fell asleep in the bathtub this night!

DISNEYLAND - Day 2

Brady and Gibson standing in front of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Gibson's FAVORITE ride. As Brady said, we could go on this ride all day and it wouldn't be enough for Gibson. We learned an interesting piece of trivia - Disneyland's BTMRR is the only one modeled after Bryce Canyon. The rides at the other parks (Disneyworld, etc.) are modeled after Monument Valley.
Brady and I eating our favorite Disneyland treat - pineapple ice cream!

Gibson finally got to visit the Lego store (in Downtown Disney)! He LOVED it! There were so many Lego sets and awesome things built out of Legos (he's standing in front of a Lego robot). He got to pick out a Pirate Lego set.

The theme this year at Disneyland is "Celebrate Today" and they had this cute display on Main Street.

Brady and Gibson on the Teacups (one of the few rides I refuse to go on!). They are in the orange teacup.

This is one of my most favorite roller coasters in the world! It is so fast and smooth! Unfortunately, Gibson was only 1/4" too short to go on it this time. Maybe next time.

DISNEYLAND - Day 3

We got to go on the newest ride at California Adventure - the Toy Story Midway Mania. It is actually a very fun ride! 2 days in a row, we got to California Adventure right before it opened and headed straight for this ride.
For all of our trips to Disneyland, this was my first sighting of a cat in the park! The security guy told me there are quite a few resident cats on site!

There's a fun play area in California Adventure - Brother Bear's playground. Gibson LOVES going on this swing.

And Brady loves going down the slide ;) (sorry it's sideways).

DISNEYLAND - Day 4

Gibson and I waiting at the entrance to California Adventure. We arrived about 20 minutes early so we could hurry and get to the new Toy Story Midway Mania ride. You can see we are right at the front of the rope. There is absolutely no running allowed once the park opens (the security guard threatened to track down anyone who ran and personally eject them from the park). So we put Gibson in the stroller and I walked as fast as I could. Of course, the ride is at the very back of the park and there are hills and narrow corridors between construction fences. It is quite the race. I was neck in neck with another man pushing a stroller, but we won! The tops of my feet were actually rubbed raw by my crocs from walking so fast.

Brady and Gibson - the first ones on the Toy Story Midway Mania ride! (During the day, the line can be 1-2 hours long, so it's worth the "fast walk" in the morning). We got off and back on 2 more times!
Gibson and Brady on Splash Mountain! We finally don't have to bribe Gibson to go on this ride anymore - he likes is now that he has figured out that he can just put his head under Brady's shirt on the big splash (so he doesn't get wet).

Brady and I are SO grateful that Gibson does not like to visit with the characters at Disneyland - standing in those lines is such a waste of time. But there was no line for Pluto this day and we thought it would be fun to get one picture. Gibson did not like it and Brady had to hold him. (Look at the beautiful flower bed!).

Upon leaving Disneyland, I had to take this video. I just thought it was so beautiful on this trip. The sky was always blue, the trees were in bloom, the flowers were beautiful. Although there's a lot of crowds and it's busy, I actually find it to be peaceful because I'm so happy there! Goodbye Disneyland, until next time!