England Trip!!

Fair warning. . . . this is going to be a long one. If you'd rather just look over all the pictures - do it! :D I'm making lots of comments for document sake.

So here goes. . . . . . Guess what?  I went to England from March 28 - April 6!!! Can you believe it?!! Sometimes, I still have to say out loud, "I've been to England!"

It was so fun to go Carey and Paula. Carey went there on his mission about 40 years ago and went back about 20 years ago but only for a day or something. So this was really fun planning the trip with him.

I think my favorite parts were riding in a double decker bus, seeing all the villages with thatched roofs and all the old buildings with ornate and amazing architecture.  Oh ya and the doors!! I loved their doors!!

We spent our first 4 days in downtown London. Wow what a huge city!  I mean huge! All the buildings are at least fours stories high. Most of them have commercial stores on the bottom and apartments up above.  I like the look of it.  All the buildings are amazing. Most of the buildings are old, and have amazing architecture and intricate details. There was also a lot of new very modern buildings too. AND there were people everywhere!!

We saw so much while we were here. We traveled on the tube. I sorta felt all Harry Potterish ;)

We saw Picadilly Square

I thought it was really weird how everyone just sat on the stairs - everywhere in London.

Trafalga Square

Buckingham Palace (everything was so fancy here) I wanted to take a picture of the Royal Guard so bad - but he was so far away

The London Tower - I think this was my favorite part of London - although it's hard to decide. I loved this fortress. It was really cool to think about how old it is! Wow!

Sort of a cool shot to show you the old and new here. 

Look at that weird rocket shaped building - it's so cool!!

AND I got to take a picture with a Beefeater check √

He was so nice and pretty handsome - don't you think?

Big Ben and Parliament

the London Eye

Loved these street lights - aren't they cool?!!

St. Paul's Cathedral

Check out the door on this building!! Wow!!

Westminster Abbey

This church is BEAUTIFUL!!! I loved how detailed and ornate it is!!

This is where Princess Diana got married.

Okay. . . so I think I'm going to split this into two or three posts. Right here :D

Trip to Disneyland :)

We had a fun trip to Disneyland.  We had so much fun with the Nichol's :D Thanks for the buddy passes!!

Kali is not amused - she did not want her picture taken :(  :)

Jedi's in Training  :)

Riding with Cousin's is the Bomb!!

Just about to take our first class at Goofy's Sky School

The Merry Go Round is Awesome!!

Oh Dear - no pictures for Miss Kali today :(

Disneyland is still fun even when you're 15! lol

We got to stay at the Disneyland Hotel this time. Pretty fun!

Eat Fo Free!

So today at work Michelle Willis called me to tell me about the Salsa Leedos sign. She said that it said that if your name was Jeff or Cindy come in and eat for free. I laughed right out loud and asked her if she was serious. She said really it was true. I texted Jeff and told him we were going to lunch for free today at Salsa Leedos. He thought there had to be a catch, I told him that we were going to find out just what that catch was.

We walked in and they asked if there were just the two of us. We said yes and you're not going to believe this, but I'm Cindy and this is Jeff. He said, "Shut-up!! No Way!! Are you kidding me?" Nope, not kidding, it's true.

On the way back to our table he says to one of the other waiters there, hey this is Cindy and Jeff. That guy was like, "Get outta here!! That's awesome!!"

So when our waiter came back he had to see our I.D.'s and then he told us that the way it worked is that anything under $9 and under is free. So there's that BIG catch!! Jeff's lunch was just under $9 and mine was just under $8 so the entire meal was "Fo Free!!"

You don't get to do that every day! There isn't much that you can get for free anymore. I think that is pretty awesome!! Thanks Michelle and thanks Salsa Leedos!! You made our day Ü

A Baptism and a Blessing

We made it to Mandy’s house this weekend. It was fun to see the house they are renting. It’s really nice. She has lots of space there. She was so nice to let us use her kids room’s and beds for us to sleep in. I felt sorta spoiled. That was so nice of their family.

The girls have grown up so much. Kali loves her little brother and is such a cute little helper. She was right there many times to help her momma with baby Isaac. It was so cute.

Lily has grown up so much too. She’s a fun loving girl. She has a special little spirit about her.

We got to see and hold little Isaac. Oh, he is such a cutie. Love him so much. He’s so little and just perfect.

Josh LOVE’s him!!  Almost at any moment you could find Josh by him or holding him. I think he’s going to make such a sweet dad one day. He was so cute with him.

We got there on Friday night. Jeff’s parents were there too. We had super yummy fish for dinner. I mention it just because I don’t want to forget and I have to try it. She sprinkled it with Blackened Redfish Magic by Chef Paul then she wrapped it in tin foil and cooked it on the barbecue.  It turned out so good, gonna have to do that.

Then the next morning we all got ready and were able to participate and be a part of 

Jacob’s baptism day. 

I felt grateful to be there and see him. I could really feel the spirit so strongly 

as his dad said a special prayer and baptized him. 

Jacob is growing up so much. I can feel him wanting to do what’s right. My boys love him so much. They were so excited to be part of his special day. We all were.

We also got to be part of Isaac’s blessing day. Two birds with one stone so to say. It was neat to be able to be there. It was a special day and I’m glad they live closer so we could be there.

Zac was excited too, he was just totally into his book.

The girls looked so pretty today and got ready so quickly. 

They were excited to be part of their brother’s special day. 

Mandy with Isaac at home before the blessing. 

So sweet.

Grandma and Grandpa showing the kids the special blessing blanket. Everyone’s name is embroidered around the outside edge. This blanket made each one of them feel pretty special.

The girls played the piano a couple times today. 

Josh finally got to hold Isaac. He was so sweet with him.

Pinewood Derby Sweep

Hayden had his first pinewood derby tonight and he had a blast!! The announcer was awesome!!  He’s a “professional” and his track was all digital. It showed the time down to the .001 second.  Wow!!

He had each boy do four "Heats", each boy got to run on all four tracks so it was fair. Right off the bat, Hayden’s car broke the announcers fastest record and then he proceeded to win every heat! Hayden was beaming from ear to ear. We were feeling so happy! Then we were trying to keep a poker face.

Next the four fastest cars lined up for the final heat.

 Do You Think Hayden's Excited or what?!!

The first heat was on and BAM!! Hayden's car took first place AND beat his fastest record. Next, in the second heat, the announcer said something like, "Woah!! where did that car come from? where did he come from? that almost wasn't even fair!" (lol) Hayden's car came in first AGAIN!

On the third heat, Hayden's car seemed to catch on something and drag a bit. . . making Cole's car come in first place and Hayden come in a close second. I actually felt a little relieved - give someone else a turn :)

The final heat and Hayden's car not only came in first again but broke his fastest time again!!  Wow what a night!!

The Final Scores!!

One Happy Camper!!

Two Happy Boys :D

Timpanogos Cave

So I found out that Jeff has never been to Timpanogos Cave.  Can you believe that? I couldn't believe it either. That needed to change, so a trip was planned and off we went.

Here's a few things that haven't changed: it was still as steep as I remember it, the cave was as pretty as I remember it, the cave was as cold as I remember it too.  Some things that did seem to change: the climb didn't seem as long as I remembered it, the tour was shorter than I remembered it, and we weren't told the stories that I remember. I think that we all thought it was well worth it.

Peek-a-Boo Stop :)

Extra Climb for a Good Picture :)

We made it 1/2 way!!

Waiting for the tour :)

Excited to go in

Wahoo!! ~ Tour Time!!

Cave Bacon

Cave Popcorn

Helictite's Look Like Coral to Me :)

I wonder if my BIG head will fit through this tight spot?  :)

Jeffrey Narrowly Made It Through