A Little Slice 'O Heaven

Josh has been spoiling me rotten.  First Hawaii, then Disneyland!

Have bucket.  Will travel to sand. 
Anna was ready for the beach as soon as we left the garage.

Last month Josh had a conference in Anaheim.  I heard "Anaheim" and got really excited!  You mean, as in Disneyland?  Yeah, he was going to stay one mile away from Disneyland.  As Disney obsessed as I used to be, I had never in my life been to Disney World or Disneyland.  That, has changed! 

We stayed in a two bedroom suite at the Residence Inn so the kids all slept reasonably close to normal hours and we had a kitchen there.

 We had forgotten her brand new swim suit and some other odds and ends so we all headed to Target one morning.  This is how the kids like to travel these days, Josh has to carry all three. 

I drove the kids to Huntington Beach where we spend a divine two hours digging in the sand, collecting sea shells, and watching the sun set.  Heaven.

I think there were sand covered fruit snacks involved. 

This is Sam not getting in the water.  Good obeying, Sam! 

Then the actual day at Disneyland.  It was great.  It was crowded.  I cried when I walked in and they were playing "Meet Me In St. Louis" on the speakers on Main Street.  Childhood dream fulfilled!  Now if I could just have gotten Belle's autograph . . .

We went on this Buzz Lightyear ride twice shooting lasers at aliens.  I hate to admit Josh had to remind me not to get such a high score the second time so the boys could feel like they were amazing alien zappers.  Oh yeah, this trip is for them! 

We ate our peanut butter sandwiches and apples at this princess stage and got a quick glimpse of the princesses walking back to their dressing room.  Anna about jumped out of her shoes when she saw Cinderella.  We'll have to go back again to see them up close, and to ride the rides the boys were to afraid to get on like, well, most of them. 

Anna fell asleep in the stroller so Josh took Sam and Michael on the Davey Crocket canoe ride while she napped.  It turned out to Michael's favorite ride, after the Buzz Lightyear of course. 

And then their days were made when we ran into these guys and got to watch the Jedi Training.

We got to do the Tea Cups too but the only pictures of that are on Josh's phone.  That was a purely magical Disney moment for me as well.  So, so fun.

City of Joseph in Provo August 14-17

 

 
Are we planning a family reunion around this? I'm going to try to go and would love to go with all of you who want your kids to know what this is and why we love it! I might have my boys starting kindergarten that week, but I don't want to miss this. I want them to witness, indoors, how I gained my testimony of Joseph Smith listening to his booming voice over the speakers mingled with the sound of chirping crickets under a million stars.

Some loved watching it, some loved performing in it, "but to those who lived here, and to those who loved it, it was the reflection of one man."

August 14-17, 2012

City of Joseph—A Historical Musical of Nauvoo

Pardoe Theatre, Tuesday–Friday at 8:00 p.m. (matinees at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday) A powerful stage version of the original Nauvoo Pageant, City of Joseph portrays life during the establishment and growth of Nauvoo, Illinois under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Scaled to fit an indoor stage, it features all the music from the original pageant as it tells the story through the eyes of those who lived there from 1839–1846. Experience what a quarter-million others felt during its 27-year run in Nauvoo: an appreciation for the dedication, faith and courage of the early Saints!