Day 4 at Disneyland

 

 

 

 

Certainly a skill practiced this week-long trip to Disneyland was PATIENCE. Some of the lines moved quickly, others seemed to drag on and on. I think overall the kids did great, they learned that at the end of waiting was the reward of an exciting ride. Sometimes the wait was done not so patiently, but it was a time to slow down and to "hang out".

Photos: 1. Zachary being a good sport for the camera 2. & 3. Jared and Joshua in line 3. Waiting for the Dumbo Ride

Day 3 at Disneyland...

 

 

 

 

I'm sorta forgetting what happened when... I'm letting too much time pass, I guess.

Day three. A picture is suppose to be worth a thousand words, I won't go into that much detail but, here's a bit of our day.

1. Zachary, Joshua and Jared waiting in line for Roger Rabbit's Wild Ride in Toon Town.

2. Jared and Joshua looking around during the Roger Rabbit's Wild Ride. We also went to It's a Small World After All and I watched these boys look in awe and silence at the thousands of things to see. I think you could go through that ride dozens of times and notice hundreds of new things during each new ride. Amazing. I think we waited in line at Small World for about 10-15 minutes. I remember waiting in line for that ride for at least an hour years and years ago.

3. We went and saw Woody's Round Up a little skit that included the characters Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye. The kids liked this. The Woody and Jessie characters were so playful with the kids and fun. They loved Caitlin's pigtails.

4. The decorations were so amazing. I really enjoyed being there with all of the fall decor. I was amazed at the creative use of pumpkins, candycorn, etc... Here's our little family towards the end of Day 3. Being tired and hungry is my memory of this photo.

The end of Day Two at Disneyland

 

 

 

 

We went and saw the interactive show "It's Tough to be a Bug" - it is a bit unnerving. There was one point during the show that I looked over at the boys (all seated between myself and Crystal) and they were all practically on top of her lap. LOL! Most of the kids liked it. Jared's only comment was that Aunt Meme would NOT like that show. He's right, Aunt Meme should never go to that show.

We also walked over to the Pier and the men and big girls went on the Roller Coasters, etc... Zachary had a nap and Joshua and Jared rode the Carousel. We all rode the ferris wheel (The big sun in the back of the last photo above). It was the WORST ride I went on all week long. The little cages sway back and forth until you are ready to beg they let you out. Scotty, Jared and I sat in a cage with 3 complete strangers. All of us (strangers included) couldn't wait to get off that ride.

Fun day. I like California Adventure Park. I like that it isn't nearly as crowded. They have a lot of great rides and some of the more recent Disney characters.

Day 2... before lunch

 

 

 

 

On our way over to the "Tower of Terror" we ran into the Incredibles (Mr. and Mrs.). Caitlin loved the Tower of Terror. I hated it and I think Jared did too although he wouldn't admit it. They had a High School Musical 2 parade and performance that the older girls liked. Those tunes are so catchy! We then had lunch at a little stand selling overpriced chicken fingers and cheese sticks.

Day 2: after breakfast.....

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we went to the California Adventure Park. We had never been there before and we really enjoyed it! The first ride we went on was the Grizzly Run. It was early and we stood in line for less than 5 minutes. We all got wet but, that ride was the best. So fun!! We then went to a ride that I had heard rave reviews about "Soaring Over California". Here's a picture of all 6 kids standing in line, another picture of Amelia Earhart who is a distant cousin of Papa Perkins (Caitlin was excited to see her photo there). This ride was so amazing. You really feel as if you are flying over California, you smell the pine trees and oranges, feel the breeze. It was beautiful! We then went to the Monsters Inc. ride. Jared was pouting at this point, having just been disciplined for wandering away from us. Monsters Inc. was a cute ride, sorta like many of the rides (Peter Pan and Snow White) in Fantasy Land.

Disneyland- Day 2 - October 9th

 

 

 

 

We had a character breakfast scheduled early in the morning. It was with Chip & Dale (and a few friends). These were the first characters our kids had seen and they were having a great time with their autograph books. The food was an amazing buffet and cute little Mickey Mouse waffles. My favorite was the perfect omelet made to order!

Photos: 1. Buffet food, YUM 2. Caitlin with Dale 3. Kaitlyn, Rebecca, Joshua, Jared, Caitlin and Zachary 4. Sitting down for breakfast

Disneyland- October 8th

 

 

 

 

Our first day on our Disneyland vacation was my birthday (37th). Usually we go out to dinner on birthday celebrations but, we decided to do breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. We then checked into the Disneyland Hotel around 11am and hit the park. The first picture is of me and the kids just inside the gates at Disneyland. Look closely, you will see that Mickey is made out of orange and white pumpkins and a few flowers. We bought the kids "ears"- they got to pick from a large assortment of ears ranging from plain to princess. The kids each chose the pirate versions. The park was decorated in fall/Halloween themes. I loved all of the decorations and the creativity using pumpkins. Here the kids are in front of the big Mickey Head at Main Street inside Disneyland.

We spent the day riding rides and trying to reach the Bells on the phone. Our first ride was Star Tours, Jared was beyond excited to see anything to do with Star Wars. We also saw the Jedi Training Show, it was amazing. We all loved it! Jared wanted so badly to be one picked for the Jedi training. We had pizza and salads for an early supper and just happened to run into the Bell family in Tomorrowland. Crystal's phone wasn't working and unfortunately we didn't have Jeff's cell phone number and they only had our number programed in Crystal's phone. It was good to see them! The kids were so happy, Caitlin had been so worried that we would not be able to find them all week long. Of course we had hotel rooms right down the hall from one another but, she was still concerned.

It was a great day, a good birthday. Scotty and the kids gave me the wireless headphones for my i-pod that I've been wanting. (I hate cords, but that's a conversation for another day...)

Super Saturday

Super Saturday is over and it was a success! I'm so exhausted. My feet just started to feel rested from Disneyland and now they are throbbing again. I paid Jared a $1.00 for a foot massage, it was totally worth it! He does a great job, he massages the individual toes. He suggested it was actually worth $5.00, I think he's probably right but, I told him $1.00 was plenty!

So, I'm going to post some pictures of my projects. One is a wooden board that says Christ is the center of our home. Christ is in big ivory letters and the other words are black and smaller and written through the center. The second project is an 8 x 8" glass block with a black vinyl picture of the shepherds on it. Wire rimmed ribbon is wrapped around the block and forms a bow on top. It's very pretty, especially at night with a string of lights behind it.


The other great news is that I tried out a new soup recipe to take to the luncheon. It is hands-down the best corn chowder I've ever had! So, I thought I'd share it so, you can enjoy it too!

Deluxe Corn Chowder
I adapted this recipe from one I found online at allrecipes.com- “Grandma’s Corn Chowder”. The original recipe used water instead of the vegetable broth.

½ c. diced bacon
4 medium potatoes, peeled & chopped
1 medium onion, chopped small
1 c. water
1 c. Swanson vegetarian vegetable broth
3 c. cream style corn (2 cans)
2 tsp. salt
ground black pepper to taste
2 c. half-and-half

Place the bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat, and cook until crisp. Drain and crumble, reserving abut 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pot.

Mix potatoes and onion into the pot with the bacon drippings (for vegetarian version add to the pot with 2 tablespoons olive oil). Cook and stir 5 minutes. Pour in the water, broth and corn; stir. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover pot. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes are tender.

Warm the half-and-half in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Remove from heat before it boils, and mix into the chowder just before serving.

We are back...

... we took our anticipated trip to Disneyland! We were gone a week! I'll be downloading the pictures and posting in a few days about our vacation. We had a great time and it was fun to meet the Bell family there and spend some time with them.

I have a new church calling. I am Enrichment Leader. We have Super Saturday tomorrow and so far things are running smoothly. I am teaching two classes, both of which have to do with vinyl lettering. Should be fun!

Well, I need to scoot out the door. I'm meeting Scotty for lunch. Watch for our vacation pictures to soon post!

About fall...

Fall. My favorite season. I love the colors, the cooler temperature and the changing tree leaves. The trips to the pumpkin patch are always so much fun. We buy a pumpkin and take photographs of the kids with amazing scenery in earthy colors! Almost all pumpkin patches have those bounce houses now, but we found an amazing pumpkin patch about 20 minutes away that has a cornstalk maze, a train ride, tractor ride, and a charming country store selling adorable fall crafts.

My kids can hardly wait until I pull out the decorations. Their eyes light up as they recognize things that represent tradition and family to them. Caitlin loves these little bobble head figures. I have to agree that they are beyond cuteness. I'm not crazy about morbid/death halloween things. No blood and horror movies here. But we love cute, fat pumpkins and our sink ledge of "potions" and chocolate eyeballs.

My kids love to countdown to Halloween day. They love dressing up and trick or treating. Who doesn't love candy? I've been trying to think of all the past costumes the kids have worn.

Perkins Family Costume History

1998 - Caitlin was Piglet
1999 - Caitlin was a white bunny rabbit
2000 - Caitlin was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz
2001- Caitlin was Snow White & Jared was a crawling Triceratops
2002- Caitlin was Sleeping Beauty & Jared was Winnie the Pooh
2003 - Caitlin was Cinderella & Jared was Buzz Lightyear
2004 - Caitlin was a cheerleader (sorta Kim Possible) & Jared was a Fireman
2005 - Caitlin was a black cat & Jared was a Pirate
2006 - Caitlin was a butterfly princess & Jared was Harry Potter

Don't read on if you are on a diet....

... but, in my attempt to type out some of my favorite recipes for my sister in law, Michelle, I found one of my favorites. It's been missing for years! (... that's probably a good thing)

Reese's Peanut Butter Candy

1 pkg. graham crackers
1 c. melted butter
4 c. powdered sugar
2 c. peanut butter
1 bag milk chocolate chips

Break graham crackers into a blender or food processor and crush until fine crumbs. Add butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar an graham cracker crumbs together in a bowl. Mix well. Prepare a 9 x 13" pan with nonstick spray. Press peanut butter mixture into the pan using a spoon. Melt chocolate chips in microwave on high, stir. Continue until they are melted in increments of 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted. Spread melted chocolate over the peanut butter mixture. Chill and cut into squares. ( I store it in the fridge because it can become quite soft) Tastes a lot like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

...and don't blame me for the extra weight, but you can give me credit when you are asked to share the recipe! (LOL!)

A Boy's Book

After I dropped the kids off at school today I cleaned out the fridge, put the garbage out to the curb and picked up the house a bit. When I noticed this (bottom photo). I recently ordered from the school book order, a set of chapter books called the "Dragon Slayers Academy." I did this because Jared has noticed that a lot of the chapter books we own are "girlish". They talk about girls and girl things and well, frankly he just doesn't like it. He wanted adventure and boys as the main character. While we have some books like that, when I saw the "Dragon Slayers Academy" series I thought they sounded gross enough to be considered "boyish". Well, the book order came yesterday and he wasn't so sure about my selection. He wanted books about superheroes. I talked him into giving it a chance.

We started to read the first one yesterday while Caitlin was at her piano lesson. The story is actually quite good so far and he really started to like it. So, when I was picking up this morning and happened to glance over at this little console with his book on it and a stick poking out of it (his idea of a bookmark), it made me smile. If you truly know Jared, you know that he loves to pick up sticks and rocks whenever given the opportunity, it's a boy thing. If this book hasn't always been "boyish" it certainly is now. It's got the stick to prove it!

Grandma Evelyn Young's 95th Brithday Party

I flew to Salt Lake City at 6am on Saturday for my Grandma's (mom's mom) 95th Birthday Party. The party was held in Wallsburg at an old Ward Building that now belongs to the town and is used as a Town Hall. It was great to see Grandma, my cousins, Aunts and Uncles. Grandma had nine children, six of whom are still living. She has something like 46 grandchildren (I'm one of the younger ones) and probably at least twice as many great-grandchildren and many great-great grandchildren.

Grandma loved having her family around. She had been staying with my parents in Idaho and had worried for days about getting to the party in time. We had a great turn-out, 96 family members came. Grandma said it was the best party she's ever been to! Afterwards many of us went to my Aunt Mary's house and hung out talking. We spent a lot of time remembering times long ago and telling stories. We laughed for probably 6 hours straight and ate leftover birthday cake for dinner! I eventually fell asleep on the couch (2 hours of sleep the night before + 1 on the plane). The "older crowd" (my mom's age and up) outlasted my age group and stayed up way past midnight talking and remembering lives well lived. I know this because they were rowdy and kept waking me up! They must have been having a great time because they were up at the crack of dawn starting it all up again. (I think there must have been 30 people stay over at my Aunt Mary's. The floors were covered, the 3 guest bedrooms were filled, the sofas in the three "living areas" were taken....) I've decided they know how to throw a slumber party!

Pictured TOP Photo: my sister, Mirriam and me with Grandma; MIDDLE Photo (top starting at the leftside: my cousin Donette's daughter Frankie Rae; my cousin Donette; my sister Mirriam; my mom Cheryl; my sister Katie; bottom row starting at left: my cousins Stephanie, Alyse and Carie)- these are some of the cousins that I grew up with; BOTTOM photo: Birthday girl!

Caitlin's Field Trip

The kids have about 5 field trips a year. It's a lot, I think. Caitlin's first field trip of the year was to the Peralta Adobe which is the oldest standing house in San Jose'. It's a two room house, one of the photos above is of the more "modern" room. They also had a second room thats decor was pretty primitive (beds, cradle, chairs, etc... made out of animal skins & bones; dirt floors, etc...)

The kids went through stations that had them try out games, work or activities that they did in the time of the Peralta family that lived there long ago. They made "tortillas", candles, clay bricks, etc...

Pictured: Caitlin standing in front of the Adobe house, trying out being a cowgirl, inside the house, and Caitlin at a Farmer's Market with some her friends from school.