Happy 15th Anniversary

 The original plan was for Shana and I to go to Disneyland for a couple days by ourselves for our anniversary this year, but when we ended up selling our 'Old Kentucky Home' and made a quick trip to Louisville without the kids, thoughts of guilt kept coming over me as I thought about ditching the kids again to go to the Happiest Place on Earth, so we made our anniversary celebration a family affair.

 We chose a Monday and Tuesday in the middle of the winter for a reason - CROWD CONTROL!  This is about 5 minutes after opening on Main Street.  When is there ever that much open space in Disneyland other than in the middle of the winter on a Monday and Tuesday.  The weather held up nicely - little brisk in the evening, but who cares when you're running from one ride to the next.

 First stop - Space Mountain.  With Splash and Thunder Mtn closed for refurb, we spent a lot of time here, and it turned out to be Jack's favorite ride.  He was tall enough to do every ride except for Screamin' at California Adventure, otherwise I think that would've been his favorite.

Below is the Matterhorn.  Interesting how perspective changes.  This used to be a premier attraction for me - fast, scary, mountain, water and now my synopsis is bobsled too small, bumpy, slow, totally fake abominable snow monster (he used to be real) and even my little kids were thoroughly unimpressed.  Don't worry - I still love Disneyland.

 Laynee and Drew are in their prime. They were running when they needed to run, fastpassing to maximize efficiency, and pushing through the pain to make it from opening to close.  Their finally tally of rides sounds like a 4 day trip rather than 2.

One of my favorites.

 Seth comes as most improved this time around.  He wouldn't even go into a ride that went into a tunnel when we were last at Disney, but this year he logged an impressive 10 rides on California Screamin, along with any other ride we tried.  The Churros were spot-on...warm, cinnamony, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

 We took time for a few of the classics.

 This gem has gone viral.  In the middle of this particular ride, I noticed Jack had his hands up the whole time, and he yelled at me, "Dad, you've got to hold your hands up like me!"

 "Reverse Photobomb"
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Day 2
California Adventure

With the exception of Jack and Seth, we all love this one.  It was most entertaining to watch Jack's face with each drop of the elevator.  Jack and Seth went once and called it good.

Luigi's Flying Tires

Screamin - ready for blast off. 

Jack found one of his Kindergarten buddies and had a good time on Radiator Springs Racers

The last few pics are Radiator Springs.  The attention to detail is amazing and I think one of the reasons I liked it so much was that it reminded me of home.  When I saw the sign for the Cozy Cone Motel, I immediately thought of the Sands Motel.
We had a great time and drove straight home Tuesday night.  The kids slept the whole way and were back at school the next day.

Quiet Week

 When I write about what I've been reading, you know it's been a quiet week.  Janice gave this book to us for Christmas and for the past couple of weeks, I will read a chapter a night to Drew and with one chapter remaining, I definitely recommend it.  It has been a great education on the subject of faith.

Oddly enough, I couldn't get Drew to look at the camera.  He's doing basketball when he's not doing soccer.  He has fun no matter what he's doing and has a great group of buddies to hang with.

Pleasantly Uneventful - that was our week.

The Dog-Days of Winter

It may be wishful thinking, but I'm hoping the worst of our southern Utah winter is coming to a close.  I have learned that I don't do well in winter, but the kids on the other hand seem to enjoy it.

 Either these are some really good kids or it has been too cold for too long in St. George.

We spent a good portion of the weekend watching Fire FC down in the Vegas Cup.  Drew and his buddies did well, but were pitted against some teams that seem to dedicate their entire lives to soccer...good luck with that.  The girls are just trying to stay warm around the fire while waiting for the game to start - Vegas shouldn't get this cold.

 This is the team huddled around the propane fire after their 7-0 loss to Manchester, a soccer academy out of So Cal.  They are letting you know that out of 4 teams in their bracket, they came in fourth.

 Milestones.   He's working on it.

On a side-note, last week was Seth's "Great to be eight" program as he is preparing for baptism in about a month, and this evening Drew provided the accompaniment for his "Priesthood Preview" program.  It's going to be a big year for this Wells family.

You Say It's Your Birthday? Well, It's My Birthday Too!

 The evolution of the birthday "cake" has seen many variations throughout the years, from Garfield and Baseball shaped cakes to cheesecakes and chocolate sheet cakes, but now we are entering a new era.  The award-winning, world-renowned, best of the best, Grandma Sullivan's Lemon Meringue Pie.  Occasionally she'll make one of these bad-boys for us to share on a Sunday night (if you meet certain criteria...you can't just show up and expect a piece of pie...ask The Troy), but when it's your birthday, sharing is OPTIONAL!!! 

 Even though is was not very warm this weekend it was still sunny, so we went on a little adventure to try and find the Gila Petroglyphs.

 And find we did.   We were a little short on time, and had to turn back early, but it was a good scout for a future hike when the weather warms up a bit and more family can join us.

As we were hiking out, we crossed a large section of lava-flow and I thought I would drop a little knowledge on Jack.  So I told him that the black rock was lava rock and it came from a volcano a long time ago.  He replied with a subtle tone of disgust, "I know, Dad.  It's called Igneous Rock."

(I just got "owned" by my 5 year old)

Out with the old, in with the new...year that is

 Mason was kind enough to host a small gathering to welcome in the new year - we partied like it was post-apocalyptic 2012 (nice call, Mayans).

 Really enjoyed the latest installment in Mason's man-cave - Ping Pong.  Randy dominated.  Loser's punishment...Red Belly!

 We even had a polar bear competition in the pool.  For a more thorough and fleshy documentation of the event you could refer to my Mom's blog...

 Pie eating competition

 No lack of effort here.

 And then the next morning, we blew some time (and some Dixie Direct credit) at Fiesta Fun after having a family lunch at Golden Corral with Grandma Sullivan in celebration of Grandpa's birthday.

 The kids pretty much sprinted through the 18 holes of miniature golf.

 Me and Cole Trickle

 My thought's on the new year - I like goals and new beginnings, but if there is a goal worth setting, it's worth starting immediately.