Last one! Conclusion of the family vacation reunion.

This is the Parker iphone picture. Missing from the photo is me, taking the picture with my iphone. :)

This day we spent at Universal Studios. I haven't been here since I was a little girl - and a lot has changed. It was a great day, beautiful weather and short lines. Highlights were the Mummy ride, Jurassic Park ride, and the Studio tour, everything else was pretty lame.

Shrek has always been a favorite of my kids'. He especially liked Veda's hair this day!!
I love Veda's expression in this photo.

This will definitely be a vacation we never forget. Now that we are all spread out across the country (and Pacific) these times we have together are especially precious. I can't wait for next time! Love you guys!!

Family vacation reunion - Part 3

We spent 3 days at Disneyland/California Adventure, but I'll lump all the Disneyland days in one post.... since I can't remember which day was which. (Maybe if I'd blogged about this trip months ago.....)

We hit some of our favorite restaurants at Disney. This is at the Blue Bayou restaurant in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Arrrr Matey!

Merrit and Eve eating candy corn in "Candy Corn Acres" in California Adventure. These two look more like sister than my girls do.
Eve and Kalena bonding in their pjs.
I had to choose from the 101 princess pictures I have. I'll just share a couple...
Another favorite character restaurant - Ariel's Grotto
The adorable Parker grandaughters.
Waiting in line for Matterhorn. It was great that the cousins had each other to entertain in the long lines.
We're all geared up to try the new Toy Story ride in California Adventure. It did not disappoint!
Mark and Eve. Just a word about Mark and Torrey - they are the best Uncle and Auntie we could wish for for our kids. They were awesome sports about being on a "kid centered" vacation and smiling and having a great time. Not to mention a HUGE help with all the kids. We love these two, can you tell?

Parker ladies

Family reunion vacation - Part Two, Parker style

Parker style apparently means going non-stop from theme park to theme park for days on end, with no rest - but having a blast doing it! Day one we went to the San Diego Zoo. Guess who forgot to bring the camera? There we were treated to some true miracles of nature - including getting shat on in the aviary (Veda), and watching up close and personal as a gorilla disimpacted himself with his finger, then scooped up his success to smell and taste it. Ahhh, sweet memories.

Next day was Seaworld. I DID bring my camera this time...and check out those mad skills! The Shamu show is always my favorite thing at Seaworld. These huge gentle creatures are amazing to see in real life. It always gives me chills.

Veda and Merrit insisted on sitting in the front of the ride on Atlantis (you can see the huge drop at the end of the ride). They were soaked to the bone, but got right back in line to do it again. :)
Veda's favorite animals at Seaworld are the bat rays. You can buy squid and feed them by hand.
Ryan and the kids sitting bravely in the "soak zone" at the Shamu show. Thanks for taking one for the family Ryan!
Ok, this one is at the Zoo. I did have my phone. And the one zoo picture I have is of a fake polar bear.
I had so much fun getting to know my little nephews - Brigg and McCord. This is McCord and I bonding. I miss him.... :(

We've still got Disneyland, California Adventure and Universal Studios to cover...so stay tuned!

Family reunion vacation - Part One

In October we got to see EVERYONE in both sides of our family. First we met up with the Milne's in San Diego for our annual beach house getaway. We rent the same house on Mission Beach each Fall and each year it seems to get better and better. This year was especially great - maybe it's the fact that the grandkids are getting older, more independent, and therefore the adults get more time to enjoy the vacation? These short 3 days were filled with games, beach activities, play time, an unforgettable talent show, and lots of laughs. I love that we don't plan anything and just get to hang out and be together. I am truly blessed with the best family ever. Unfortunately, I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take pictures. The only ones I got were these posed family photos we did one morning.

A new tradition we have is that the grandparents have a slumber party with the grandkids one night while the adult kids get to go out on the town (thanks Mom and Dad!!) This year we went to an amaaaaaazing restaurant (Taylor always finds the best ones!) and then we went to hear a concert - David Bazan in downtown San Diego. He is one of Taylor and Kathrin's favorites. Me and Travis totally love them now and bought a couple CDs. Thanks Tay and Kat!

Part Two with the Parkers coming soon...

Introducing...

There's a new puppy in the Parker family. Meet Thumbelina, or "Lina" for short. She is half Chihuahua and half Papillon. It was love at first sight in the pet shop and after some convincing Travis was even excited to welcome her into our home. Haui is... tolerating her and starting to warm up to her bit by bit. Like all big brothers, he gets irritated with her and lets her know when she is out of line. She is pocket size and I hope she stays this way!

But don't let her fool you with her adorable looks. She is fierce!

We keep her in a pack n play when we can't watch her every minute. This is how we found her one day. Just chillin under the covers.

Nice earring!

This speaks for itself.

Our Halloween

Here we are on Halloween. Veda and Travis went with a Star Wars theme - Darth Vader and Princess Leia. Eve is a peacock and I went as my usual.

You don't know the power of the dark side.

We trick-or-treated with some of our good friends in a new neighborhood this year. Left to right: Eve the peacock, Canyon as Rapunzel, Kai the Mexican wrestler, Veda as Princess Leia, and Keppler as Jasmine. Veda and Keppler have become best friends in school and were on the same soccer team. It has been so good for both of them to have each other.

Happy Halloween!!

Good friends, hula, and...other stuff

We had some good friends we met in California visit last month. It was so much fun to see them and catch up.

We got to meet this little sweety for the first time. This is Ella, daughter of Ian and Heather.

Mason with a 'stache.

Hubba hubba. Eve, Sydney, and Veda. These girls go way back.

Veda and Eve practicing for our ward Lu'au. The primary kids performed a hula and sang a song in Hawaiian.

Veda and Eve giving Sydney a hula lesson.

The primary presidency and teachers ALSO performed a hula. This is me and Jesica feeling cool post-performance.

The primary ladies! We all made our own pa'u skirts.

The chickens finally moved outside once they started getting ugly and stinky. How cool is this chicken coop? Thanks honey!

This is the cutest, sweetest dog in the world. Scar and all. He had a huge tumor removed from his forehead a while ago and it left a large scar. But it didn't affect his appeal with the ladies. :)

An unlikely pair?

How are these children related to me??