Family visits

Our first stop after the resort was to visit Emily's sister, Megan, and her family in Valencia, CA.  It was only a two hour drive from the resort.  Months ago, we asked the kids what we should do for a sabbatical and they all said, "Let's stay at our cousins' house for a month."  Our kids are similar ages and they have grown up playing together at family get togethers.  The kids had nerf gun wars, skateboarded, went to the pool, saw Despicable Me 2, went to the Hurricane Harbor water park, and celebrated Kate's birthday.  The kids had a blast and were sad to go.

Mia and Zac after a busy day.

 A s'mores cookout after dinner in honor of Julies' visit.

Next we drove to San Jose, CA to see Emily's parents.  James, her brother, and his family were also visiting. The trip was 4.5 hours long.  Three minutes into the trip Mia smiled and asked, "Are we almost there?"  This was a good warm up for our scenic route home.  There are a lot of farms in California and we took a picture of a couple along our way.  It's always neat to see the power of water.  We passed dirt fields next to green luscious farm land.

Dirt vs. green farm.

 You can't see the neat rows in this picture, but it's neat to see straight rows on a farm.

 A cattle farm.  When we passed this location Brian asked, "Why is it starting to smell like a zoo in our car?"  It was pretty stinky.

The kids got to spend some time with their other cousins.  Gabe is Mia's age and Kiefer is their youngest. Our kids have enjoyed playing with them.  We relaxed and went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  They have some good exhibits and the kids enjoyed seeing the fish.

Andrew, Mia, and Kiefer.  The kids loved playing on the wiggle cars.

 Andrew, Mia, and Gabe.

 Brian and Andrew at the aquarium with sardines swimming over their heads.

Tomorrow we leave for a big adventure home where it will just be our family.  We're looking forward to the journey.

Five updates

#1 - Before I completely shaved today I gave myself a goatee.  You can check out the full beard and the goatee here.  Emily likes the facial hair.  It's too itchy for me.

#2 - Here are two family pictures from the family photo shoot I mentioned in an earlier blog.

#3 - We have been keeping track of our mileage and expenses.  We've forgotten to give anyone interested the details in case they're contemplating driving across the country.  It was 2,900 miles and cost $508.37 in gas.  As expected, we've noticed our roof rack lowering our miles per gallon.

#4 - We found out Friday night that our basement flooded.  I guess our hometown has been getting a lot of rain.  Our sump pump has been working like a champ.  However it appears one of the clamps holding the check valve broke so the water wasn't being pumped out of the pit.  Our friend who is watching the house, and other friends, have tirelessly been working to get the basement dry.  The basement is now dry and the carpets are out.  We called a carpet place to install new carpets and that may happen before we get back. We can't thank them enough for their help.  It's been very hard for us not to be there to help.  It's been a weird feeling and we're grateful for great friends.

#5 - Andrew still loves spending money.  While at Target he wanted to buy a Star Wars toothbrush that lit up.  He didn't think he had enough money, but discovered it was on sale and could afford it.  He did restrain himself from spending the rest of his money ($4) at the gift shop at the aquarium in the hopes that he will be able to save up for something better later.  Brian continues to save all of his money.  I really hope these money experiences help them when they're older.

Sunday and the last day at the resort

On an earlier blog I forgot to mention that Luke, the oldest grandchild, turned 12 on July 4.  It's a special age in our church.  It's the age when a young man receives the Aaronic Priesthood (includes the important duty of passing the sacrament).  On Sunday we went to Kevin and Kellie's church building and Luke received the Aaronic priesthood.  It was a special time for our family to be a part of that special event in his life.

After church we were able to have leftover Touchdown Casserole ("TDC") for lunch.  Patrick made it for the kids' dinner yesterday, while the adults were on their date.  Luke thought the TDC was amazing.  Kate realized why it's called TDC; because it's the "Touchdown of yumminess."  When Patrick was a baby his mom found the recipe in a newspaper in Florida.  It's been a family favorite for years.  Patrick made it for Emily while they were dating and it pretty much sealed the deal.  However, Patrick has since learned that she doesn't like it that much.  We've found it's a hit with kids and men.  So if you want to wow your kids here's the recipe:

Touchdown Casserole

Brown 1 1/2 lb ground beef.  Drain fat.  Add 1 pkg beef hot dogs, sliced.  Add 1 can corn, 1 can pork and beans, and 1 8-oz can tomato sauce.  Put in 9x13 pan.  Top with 10 servings instant mashed potatoes and shredded cheddar cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Now you're ready to enjoy your super low-calorie meal.

We relaxed at the resort after lunch.  Here is Grandma playing a card game with the grandkids.  After the second game the grandkids started cheating!  Grandma wouldn't play with them anymore because of their unscrupulous behavior.  They agreed they wouldn't cheat anymore and played one more game.  Hint:  If you play with Zac be careful.  He'll look at your cards and tell everyone what you have.

After dinner we walked to the beach to have a little family meeting.  Here are some pictures from our walk and gathering at the beach.

Emily and Andrew at the Newport Coast sign.

Mia holding Kiefer's hand as James pushes him along.  The rest of the family leading the way.

The steep decline to the beach.  Everyone survived and no strollers became bobsleds.

 Patrick with the kids.  We're not sure what Andrew is trying to accomplish in the picture.

The family at the beach.  I haven't shaved since we left.  Can you tell?  It's pretty long and bugging me.  I think the color makes it hard to pick up in the camera.  My beard is a mixture of blonde, red, and brown hair.  It's starting to bug me so I might buy a shaver and shave it some time this week.  We'll see.

Randy, James and Angela sharing a romantic moment, Kiefer's arm, Pat, Andrew, Mia, Patrick, and Ben.  The goal was to have a family meeting on the shore.  If you look in the water you'll see Zac frolicking in the water while the kids watch.  He said he was only going to get his feet wet.  Gabe joined in the fun, but we don't have him in the picture.

 The kids digging a hole to China.

On Monday we went to the beach and pool.  Patrick body- and boogie- boarded.  The surf at the beach was pretty rough.  He had some good rides in between various facial orifice cleansings.  We were surprised the kids kept playing in the waves after getting thrashed pretty good.  We stayed there about four hours.  When we got back we re-applied sunscreen and went to the pool.  It was a great way to spend our last day at the resort.  After dinner we discovered Brian and Andrew were sunburned pretty bad.  The ocean thrashing caused them to rub their eyes frequently, which washed of some of the sunscreen off their faces.  They looked like little raccoons.  The pictures below tried to capture the look, but the lighting wasn't great.  

This morning we had to check out of the resort and go to our next destination.  Here are some pictures of the kids ready to leave.

The week flew by, but we had a lot of fun.  We'll visit family for the next week and then it's onto our adventure as we head home.

Beach and Island Days

Friday was our beach day.  We relaxed in the morning and went to the beach at Corona del Mar in the afternoon to play in the water and have dinner at a beach bonfire pit.  The kids loved playing in the sand and in the water.  They have swimming lanes there so Patrick was able to put on his wetsuit and do some open water swimming.

Mia, Gabe, and Zac having fun in the sand.

Andrew jumping the waves and Kate on the boogie board.  All of the kids loving taking turns on the boogie boards, especially Mia.  She rode a bunch of waves and had a lot of fun.  You'll notice some other family members who joined us at the beach; David, Stephanie, Stacey, Kimball, and Shilo.

 Zac and Mia having fun talking about life after dinner.  They sat there talking for almost an hour.

Here is the awesome bonfire Kevin created.  We cooked hot dogs and had s'mores.  The food and location was great.  Emily's cousins who live in southern CA and some who were visiting the area were able to join us, which was fun.

On Saturday we went to Balboa Island to walk around and visit. This island was originally a mudflat that was converted to an island after sand and silt from the surrounding area was dredged and brought to this area creating Balboa Island.  We made a stop at the creator of the Original Frozen Banana.  Don't mind our kids with their eyes closed.  

 Emily watching Andrew, Brian, Zac, and Luke enjoy their frozen bananas.

 Andrew finally found a spot to spend his money.  He wanted to get the biggest lollipop he could afford.  He also wanted to buy one for Kate.  You can see how excited they are with their new treats.  Andrew has a little over a dollar left.  Mia saw Andrew's candy and wanted one so she bought a small lollipop for 50 cents so she has almost $7 left.  Brian hasn't spent any of his money, which is normal for him.

After Balboa Island and a trip to the pool the kids were left with babysitters while the adults went out for a night on the town.

The first stop was the Newport Beach Temple. (See below.)  This temple is similar in purpose to the one closest to us: the Washington DC Temple.  Emily and I were married for time and all eternity in the Oakland, CA temple.  There are 141 operating LDS temples in the world.  While many people have seen the outside, few understand what happens inside.  It's not secret, just sacred.  Here is more information about why temples are built and what's done there.  You can even see pictures of the inside.  

After the temple we had dinner at the Cannery in Newport Beach.  It was originally a fish cannery that was converted in the 1970s to a seafood restaurant.  The food and location was great.  I recommend the Crunchy Sushi roll.

Now we're really vacationing

It's a lot easier to update a blog when you have nothing else to do except look at sand farms while driving across the U.S.  Our posts might be fewer for the next week and a half.

We had a magical day at Disneyland and California Adventure on Wednesday.  To be honest, I was worried about going to Disneyland the day before a holiday.  I anticipated a lot of people and long lines for everything.  However, it wasn't as crowded and we were able to ride all of the rides on our list.  Mia was brave and rode Space Mountain twice and the Tower of Terror once.  Mia's face was expressionless on the pictures taken during the rides, but after every ride she said she had a lot of fun.  Andrew almost turned back for the Tower of Terror, but he liked it after it was over.  He liked all of the roller coasters.  Brian had fun on California Screamin', but he mainly enjoyed spending time with his cousin, Luke.  We had a fun day and walked a lot maximizing the use of fast passes.  Here are some pictures:

Zac - mischievous smile ready for action; Mia - happy to be at Disneyland; Gabe - Undecided about what's about to happen

 Kate, Luke, Andrew, and Brian energetic and ready for the day.

Brian and Luke on the Mater ride.

 Andrew and Kate on the Mater ride.

 Andrew, Kate, Mia, Zac, and Patrick at the Bug's life ride.

 Patrick, Mia, Andrew, Zac, Erik, Kate, Megan, Luke, and Brian posing in Tomorrow land.

 Patrick, Brian, Andrew, Emily, and Mia posing on Main Street.

 Randy, Mia, Patrick, and Pat posing on Main Street on the way back to the car after a fun-filled day.  Guess who got soaked on Splash Mountain?

 Two tired kids with two tired dads waiting for the tram back to the car.

We spent the 4th with family at the pool, relaxing at the resort, and a bar-b-que dinner.  We capped off the day with a night of family pictures.  Here is ours.  When we get a copy with the whole clan we'll post it.

We finally arrived...

We didn't have to leave super early today.  We got to swim at the hotel pool and take our time getting ready.  We left Flagstaff, AZ at 9am and arrived at Newport Beach, CA at 3:45pm.  Thirty minutes into our trip Mia asked, "Are we at the beach yet?"  I guess we need to help her with her observation skills.  The desert land should have been an obvious clue for how far away we were.  While it was an "easy" driving day we're looking forward to staying put for a few days.

When we got closer to our destination we felt really crowded on the highway.  We got used to a car every half a mile so we had to readjust to driving in civilization.  The kids were good and they had fun meeting up with the cousins at the resort.

Almost there

Yesterday was our longest driving day, but it went well.  We left Oklahoma City at 8:30 am and arrived in Flagstaff, AZ at 6:30 pm, local time.  (Sidenote: Arizona does not follow daylight savings time.  From the spring to the fall, they are on PDT, and from the fall to the spring they are on MDT.)  The kids were really good yesterday, and the drive seemed much faster and smoother than Sunday's drive.  Maybe we're just getting in to the driving groove.

Here are a few pictures of the drive through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.  There's not much to see, and they all kind of look the same.  We can't even tell which is which.  Luckily they have signs when you enter a new state.

Mia has been struggling the most with not getting enough sleep.  She had a screaming fit in the car when we gave everyone a few skittles to eat while they watched a movie.  She wanted to play the skittle game and did not want to be just handed a few skittles.  And then last night she wanted to sleep next to Brian, but it wasn't possible given the hotel room layout.  She screamed for a good 30 minutes before finally falling asleep.  The boys were cute and were humming and singing songs from their bed trying to help her calm down.  This week when we're in a hotel with more than one room she will hopefully be able to get a little more sleep.  

Despite Mia's fits, the kids have been really kind to each other and got another dollar yesterday.   The money is burning a whole in Andrew's pocket.  He wants to spend it at every gumball machine or other machine he sees.  Yesterday in the gas station men's room he saw a machine that he thought sold glow-in-the-dark "rings" and was upset when Patrick wouldn't let him buy one.  Patrick assured him that anything sold in the bathroom was garbage.  

So far, Patrick has been happy to drive the whole way.  His second career might be as a truck driver.

There was a Dairy Queen at one of our gas station stops yesterday, and we all got Blizzards as a special treat.  Brian decided that the Dairy Queen must be married to the Burger King.  He thinks he is hilarious.

Why didn't the jackrabbit cross the road?

While we were driving 80 mph, a jackrabbit tried to cross the road.  It would have made it across safely but it decided to turn back.  It made it underneath the car, jumped up, hitting its head on the undercarriage and landed on the side of the road.  It wasn't run over, and will likely not be run over by another car.  We hope it only suffered a concussion and that the doctors will clear it for another game of frogger.

On the road again

Yesterday was our second-longest planned driving day.  We left the hotel in Knoxville at 7:30 am and arrived in Oklahoma City at 9:15 pm CDT.  It was a pretty uneventful day.  We were slowed by a few construction zones and took a one-hour break to attend church in Nashville.  We heard messages about overcoming adversity and being of good cheer.  All things helpful for a family on a road trip.

The kids were good about not fighting, and they each earned their dollar for the day.  However, during the day I wondered if we should bribe the kids for not being obnoxious, but I realized that the negotiated price for this might break the family budget.  I guess that's just part of the circle of life.  We're not sure how our parents survived road trips without electronic devices for their kids.

We had some success with a family game we made up yesterday, which the kids have called the Skittles game.  We would take turns asking each person a question.  If they got it right, they would get a skittle.  One bag of skittles lasted us a whole hour!  We played the game again last night with Starbursts.  The kids might just be looking for any excuse to get candy, but they seem to be having fun.  If you have any other fun road trip games we could try, please leave us a comment to give us some more ideas.

The kids were also excited to have their first fast-food meal of the trip -- a "short" stop at Burger King for dinner.  We're convinced that gas stations and restaurants on these main highways are not too concerned with quality control since they are not really expecting repeat customers.  Unfortunately their service leaves much to be desired.  We are already dreading the next required pit stop.