Welcome Home Christian!

My little brother, Christian, just returned home from the England, Birmingham Mission. Now many of you are probably thinking "Didn't he just leave?" And the answer is Yes he did. He's only been out for about 2 months, but last week he had a seizure in his sleep, so they sent him home to have tests done so they can figure out why he had the seizure. He is being very positive about the whole thing, even though I know he'd rather still be in England. They have given him a year window to get the OK from a doctor that everything is OK and he will go back out on his mission. He did get to have his 1st baptism the day before he left, so that is pretty awesome!

Christian was supposed to be home Monday evening at 8:30, but his flight got delayed in New Jersey, so he was expected to arrive in Utah at 2:05 a.m. Of course the whole family went down to pick him up :) yes, even my kids. But he didn't actually get there until after 3:00 a.m. We didn't make it home until after 5:00 a.m. and my kids were up the entire time! And then being the mean mother I am :) I still made them go to school that morning on 3 hrs. of sleep.

It was really good to see Christian, even though we'd rather not have for 2 more years, but I know the Lord sees the big picture so we just need to put our trust in him.

The airport was completely empty, except for the security guards, so my kids had fun running around playing in the wheelchairs. My brother Richard even taught them to go up the escalator the wrong direction. I'm not sure I was to thrilled about that :)

We had Welcome Home posters and balloons, we wanted to make his homecoming memorable.

Doesn't Dave look thrilled to be up in the middle of the night :) And yes my kids are in their p.j.'s.

I'm not sure my kids really understood what was going on because on the way home Hunter said, "Mom, that 2 years went by really fast!" When Christian had left Hunter said that he didn't want to go on a mission because 2 years is a long time, but I think now he does because 2 years was fast :)

Disneyland

Dave's sweet Mom and Dad flew the whole family over to Disneyland for a family trip. It was a lot of fun, and many firsts for my kids. First plane ride (which they all did really well on), first time to Disneyland, and first trip with Lexi.

A little over a month ago, the kids and I made countdown to Disneyland calendars. The kids were so excited to take off that last link!

On the airplane

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, which was a lot of fun because the characters were walking all around. The kids loved getting off of the elevator and seeing Goofy, Pluto, Alice in Wonderland, etc. We bought them autograph books so they could get all of the Characters signatures. The first evening, we all went to the Princess Dinner. All of the little girls loved this. They got to visit and get pictures with Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Snow White, and Princess Aurora. But I think Dave's brother Marc like the Princess dinner best of all :)

We also ate breakfast with Minnie and friends and in Goofy's kitchen, and we ate dinner at the Pirate's of the Carribean. We got a ton of pictures with all of the characters, and the kids loved meeting them.

Mckell's favorite ride was the teacups and Hunter loved Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, and Tower of Terror.

Even Lexi went on most of the rides. She didn't cry on a single one :) I think it is because she was mesmorized by all the lights and music.

But I think one of the all time favorites of this trip was the Jedi training. Both Hunter and Mckell were selected to participate in the training. Hunter got to fight Darth Maul, and Mckell fought Darth Vadar and Darth Maul (I don't know how she got to fight them both, because all the other kids just fought one of them. I can only guess that Mckell just went and got in both lines :)

It is a good thing Mckell did her Jedi training before she went in the Haunted Mansion. She said that she used the force to keep the ghosts away.

I had my 30th birthday the last day we were in Disneyland. When I woke up that morning, I felt old :( Every bone in my body ached and I could barely walk (but that was probably from all the walking we'd done the previous days)
We had a blast in Disneyland!!!! Thanks Jerry and Darinda for a great family trip.

It's a Good Thing I Trust Him, But Should I????

So on Saturday, Dave's brother Marc called and said they all should go 4 wheeling up at their Mom & Dads. Dave was all for it, so he and Hunter headed up. Now Dave has taken Hunter a zillion times to go riding 4 wheelers, and they have a blast, and Dave promises me that he is careful with my baby on the back :), but while I was on facebook today I noticed Marc had posted some pictures of them riding 4 wheelers. This is what I saw: Cute!

This is Dave and Hunter driving across a part of Pineview Dam, ON A 4 WHEELER!!!!

Notice where the front tires are. Not on the ground! With my baby on the back!!!
Again, front tires not on the ground! No wonder Hunter hasn't wanted to ride with me lately. He tells me I go too slow and I'm not fun to ride with, now I understand why.

So I'm sure that the next time Dave and Hunter want to go for a ride, I will be a little hesitant. But I guess this is what boys do, at least that is Dave's defense :)