Tips & Tricks: Traveling to Disneyland

Even though the flight is only 1.5 hours prepare snacks and lots of activities before boarding. Print out coloring pages of favorite Disney characters and purchase triangular crayons (so the crayons don't roll off the tray). Bring sugarless snacks if you don't want your 3 year old bouncing off the walls. And make sure to have grandparents sitting behind your 3 year old so that they can distract her when times are rough.

Book the Disneyland Express Bus so that you don't have to fight freeway traffic. Try to get to Disneyland during the holiday season. Their decorations are gorgeous, the perfect backdrop for pictures.

Character dining has become one of our favorite ways to see Disney characters. They come to each table and spend a good amount of time with your kids. Mickey Waffles & Build Your Own Pizza were a hit with the girls.

Since we flew in late Sunday, we had a few hours to kill before bed. Downtown Disney is outside the park, so we went into the Disney shop & Lego store to pass the time.

We hit Small World first thing at Disneyland. Take the train to the Toontown Station and run to be first in line. Small World is one of my all time favorite rides. Designed by my favorite Mary Blair, it really is at the heart of all things Disney. It tear-up each time I go through the first tunnel! I really think this is the perfect ride for little kids. It gives them a gentle introduction to Disneyland and the Fantasyland "dark rides". I quickly found out, however, that Ashley did not need a gentle intro. She wanted more thrills & chills than her older sisters! Matterhorn and the Haunted Mansion became her absolute favorite rides!

The Vacation Fairy gave each girly her own purse with Disney Dollars tucked inside. They knew how much they could spend with their "own" money and it really reduced the amount of begging and crying when we visited the many shops.

The first time we went to Disneyland we stood in line for 1.5 hours at the Fantasy Faire so that we could meet the princesses. Little did we know that you don't always get the princess you want! We vowed never to waste our time there again. Instead we eat at Ariel's Grotto. The girls got to meet Ariel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, & Cinderella. And their food was delicious!

Make sure to invite Uncle Ro & the grandparents to experience Disneyland with you. They were so helpful in keeping our kids happy & safe, not to mention keeping the parents sane!

It was a great trip. Two and a half days in the park was plenty for our young family. We had to carry sleeping Ashley back to the hotel each night. We got to ride the Matterhorn 6 times & see Jack Skellington twice. And even the kids were excited to go home. Hopefully we can talk about this trip so that even little Ashley remembers every detail.

Spread Christmas Cheer

Since my 6 siblings and their families are flung far and wide across the U.S., we've started to exchange scrapbook pages instead of gifts. I have a great collection of pages that display cousins, aunts and uncles that my children only get to see about once a year. This is my favorite project so I start designing early in November. I love finding phrases, quotes, photos and clip art to really express myself. Cute pictures of my family plus "homemade" backgrounds bring the Spirit of Christmas early to my heart! Here are a few of my past creations.

District of Columbia

Sco invited to me accompany him on his business trip to Washington DC. A resounding YESSSS could be heard throughout the neighborhood. The miracle of flight would put me on the east coast in just 4 relaxing hours. Four hours stuck in small airplane seat used to terrify me. That was way to long to be cooped up. However, 3 children later, the idea of not having to move, attend or be available for 4 dreamy hours was heaven. While floating along the clouds I played iPhone games, took a nap and read. The Sky Mall Catalog is fascinating!

Cooly getting on the Metro at the airport, I felt so urban! We had to laugh when we realized we were going the wrong way, however. And then, when we finally reached the right destination, we came out the wrong exit only to find that we had to walk a bit farther to our hotel. It was all in the hands of Fate, since the H&M resided next to our far-reaching Metro exit! That became my beacon, my landmark to navigate downtown DC. . .until I realized how close our hotel was to the National Gallery of Art! That was my reason for coming, that was my mecca!



That first night in DC was so exciting. Sco and I dropped our bags in our beautiful hotel room and then rushed out into the cold to find our way to the National Portrait Gallery before it closed! On our way we walked past H&M. The Portrait Gallery proved to be quite a gem. Tucked inside a building that was used by Walt Whitman and others to nurse Civil War soldiers back to health, the Portrait Gallery housed some very historically rich paintings. Stuart's unfinished George Washington portrait, Peale's collection of dignitaries, and even photographs of Abe Lincoln. We had so much fun wandering until it was closing time. And then on to supper. We found the M&S Grill as we passed H&M. We split some roast with veggies, a salad and had just enough room to squeeze in some apple pie with cinnamon ice cream. Rolling back to the hotel we were happy.



The next morning, Sco kissed me goodbye on his way out to his day of meetings. I didn't even take a shower, I was that eager to hit the town. Since H&M wasn't open yet and I had a few hours until my sis arrived in town, I tramped up and down the town methodically to become more familiar with this fair city. Wow, the ornate buildings tucked among glass modernity truly gave you the feel of treasuring the past while moving forward. Obama t-shirts were on every street corner while McCain was on the sale rack. And the conservative style of the pedestrians made me feel the grandeur of this place.



A message from my sis had me scampering past H&M, which securely lead me back to JW. Anxiously I waited for Gabi's smiling face. Hugs and compliments accompanied by giggles carried us out the door. First stop, you guessed it, H&M. I've never experienced the $5 rack or the cute & cheap accessories. It was truly fabulous. Then we lunched at Old Ebbits Grill. Yum! We skipped dessert because we had gobbled up way too much food. Talking, catching up, and laughing were the secret ingredients to this feast. We realized that we hadn't been able to hang out like that, sans kids, spouses & siblings since Washington DC in July 1998! Ten years have flown by and here we were again. Washington DC has become our meeting spot. I just hope ten more years don't elapse before we do that again. Hugging goodbye is always bittersweet when you're not sure when you'll see each other again. I love you, Gabi! Thanks for making the trek to spend a few hours with your little sis!



Off I hurried because I had more sights to check off my list. I took the Metro with determination to reach my destination with one try. Union Station wasn't hard to get to at all. I crossed the street to the Postal Museum. The displays and content there made me wish I had my children with me. There was so much for little minds to take in. Going into the gift shop reminded me of my mom and dad and their relationship with stamps, post boxes & letter heads. I wanted to buy everything for them, but then remembered that they already bought these things for themselves!

When I got back to JW, Sco's work clothes were lying on the bed. I had missed him! He had come to change into his casual wear and jogged down to the National Archives with a fellow Tanner man. He jogged back when they were through and I insisted on taking Sco to Old Ebbits for dinner. He just had to see this place! With $17 lobster and pasta with ham and cream sauce, we were fed well. For dessert, Walnut Chocolate Chip pie. Good bye diet! I figured I had walked enough that day that my metabolism was burning up everything before it hit my stomach. Wishful thinking?



The next morning, I was hoping to hop out of bed running. My feet and calves ordered me to take a slower pace. I had only one goal in mind and I had a whole day to accomplish it: See everything in the National Gallery of Art. I have been having a love affair with this place even before I had set eyes on it. Being an Art HIstory major at BYU, many of slides I studied gave credit to the National Gallery. With no marriage prospects in sight, my goal was to work in this institution. Docent, curator, janitor, I didn't care, as long as I got to work among the masters. I never arrived at that goal, visiting there is my solace. Last time I went (10 years ago) I was giddy at the sight of the Impressionists and Jan Vermeer works. This time I visited these old friends, but found new energy in a room of Calder mobiles and Rothko colors. Spending 4 hours in those hallowed halls filled my brain, emptied my wallet, took my breath away, and left my feet sore. So I spent the last of my time people watching and reading while waiting for Sco.





I got his call and dragged my way over to the American History Museum. Friday was it's grand reopening after years of refurbishment. I was honored to see the Star Spangled Banner in its new display. Sco and I got a chuckle seeing Jerry's "puffy shirt", the ruby slippers and Kermit the Frog. After that, I was done and done. I freed Scott to explore on his own while I sat and watched R2D2, Annie Oakley, and George Washington greet guests in the main lobby.

Forgetting all pain in my legs, I kept up with Sco as we raced to the airport. I was looking forward to another 4 hours in heaven as we flew into the night. I don't think I could have kept up the same pace another day in DC. I was excited to see my girlies and be able to slow my physical pace down a bit. We had a great weekend filling each other in on the last few days. Chloe had lost a tooth. Ashley had a Thanksgiving dinner at preschool. And Jessica discovered she was ready for chapter books. They had been well taken care of by grandparents. Thanks Mom, Dad, Jim & Janice!

I Highly Recommend. . .

1. Going off your diet for one day so that you can enjoy the Halloween bounty and Schnitzl with friends.
2. Reading The Nazi Officer's Wife, it will change the way you see your life.
3. Watching Shaun the Sheep with three giggly girls.
4. Going trick-or-treating at the office. It's the most efficient way to load up.
5. Asking Oma and Opa to tend. All children will be asleep when you get home and they will wake up in a great mood.
6. Being room mom for Kindergarten. Those little ones are adorable.
7. Say yes whenever your kids want to eat some of their Halloween candy. Get it out of here ASAP!
8. Reducing stress caused by sharing time lesson by simplifying it down to the basics.
9. Eating dinner at the in-laws. Their food tastes so much better!
10. Looking forward to what November has in store. It's going to be a great month!

Weekend Update

Friday: Short Day! I love having the girls come home early from school. They helped me do laundry and decorate for the Halloween Movie Night. Guests started arriving around 6:00. Chloe the Genie, Jessi the Black Cat, and Ashley the Princess greeted our guests. Oma was Mother Goose, Opa was Tyrolean, Heidi was a Scarecrow, Jacque was "Banana Pants" (awesome), Lucy was a little witch, Chelsea was Snow White, Liza and Jill were pink princesses. I, of course, dressed up like a witch and Sco was a golfer. Great costumes, great treats, and Halloween cartoons made for a fun family party.



Saturday: Jessica had two birthday parties. Sco took the other two girls to Arctic Circle and then to the Discovery Gateway Museum. That night ended at the Dansies' home for baby Benji's blessing. Marta and the other Dansie women really know how to throw a shindig. At the door there was a large bowl of gummy "Benji" bears and small cellophane bags so that you could help yourself. Tons of family, tons of friends, tons of kids and one darling baby boy. You could feel the love in the room and Dan's words in the blessing were quite poetic. The food was delicious and the food presentation was beautiful. My girls got to play with their cousins until the sun went down. The old tree house was a hit and continues to conjure up adventures to act out next time.

Sunday: Ashley is sick with a fever. Ever since school has started there is at least one person sick on the weekends. Some might think the Elders Quorum President has gone AWOL, but really he is a great caretaker for our sick girlies. Now, with Monsters Inc. playing in the background, I'm using some nice quite time to update.

As you can see by my little runner, I've only lost 2 pounds this month. No need to fret, though. I've regrouped. I will do better this next month.

Marta and Opa asked me to help layout the second edition of the Conference Center Book. This is my favorite creative outlet and I'm excited to be a part of it. However, I will need to pray everyday that I have the self-discipline to stop designing when it's time to be the mom.

Scott surprised me with a short trip to Washington D.C. in November. He's going for training, I'm going for fun! I can't wait to spend the entire time exploring some of my favorite museums. Thanks to Oma & Grandma for being willing to tend the girlies while we're away.

I Wish It Was Saturday. . .

Go to your happy place, Amy, just go to your happy place. That's all I could think when Matt noticed there was a mouse in my house Sunday night. Thank goodness my manly husband, our expert hunter Matt and brave, brave Ronda were at our house when the mouse manifested its evil little self. How could such a little thing as a mouse drive me from my house? Because after setting four traps and having a restless night sleep the varmint was STILL at large! I calmly fled to Heidi's house for the whole day yesterday. Baby Benji, Marta, Oma, Jill, Liza, Lucy, Chelsea, Ashley, Chloe and Jess were all great distractions, but I couldn't help thinking my home was being invaded! Hopeful that the pest would have met the trap, I waited for Sco to call with the all-clear. No such luck! Is it bad to pray for a small, helpless animal to die? What I thought would be another restless night ended early when we heard a SNAP and a tiny SQUEAK while in bed last night. My prayers were answered, but now I felt sorry for the creature! He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, that feeling of guilt fell away while I slept and I awoke this morning happy that the nightmare was over.

A Day To Remember. . .

Saturday was such a fun day! Thanks to our friends who invited all three of our girls to a party at Bouncin' Off the Walls, we were all able to get out a lot of energy in the morning. After pizza and birthday cake (thanks again for taking care of us, Dunns), we ventured over to the Pumpkin Patch.



The sun was shining so we were surprised at how cold the air was. After finding a Daddy Pumpkin, a Mommy Pumpkin and three Girly Pumpkins, I ran with the kids back to the warm car. Daddy Pumpkin stood in the line to pay. When he got to the car his amount of pumpkins multiplied! Four pie pumpkins and a dozen Jack-Be-Littles were added to the cart.



The girls were all behaving so well that we decided it wasn't quite time to go home! We announced that we'd be heading to their favorite place. Purchasing a family pass to the Discovery Gateway was one of the best things we've ever done. It gives us the excuse and the freedom to go there as often as our girlies want. They never get tired of that place. It's always fun to see what craft the museum has for the day. Saturday we made witch puppets. Don't bother me kids, I'm coloring! I don't think I'll ever get too old to color. We ended our museum visit abruptly when Ashley didn't make it to the bathroom.



That's ok though, because we ended up having Chef Sco cook us up some burgers and steaks with ice cream sundaes for dessert! After baths we watched a few choice Huey, Duey, and Luey cartoons while hair was prepared for Sunday morning. Bedtime was a dream since the girls were so tuckered out. Catching up on Pushing Daisies and then planning a last minute trip to Las Vegas over UEA was a great end to this day.

Days like this don't happen very often, but when they do, I wish I could live in slow motion. It was a fantastic day.

General Conference October 2008

While the storms raged outside, our little family sat cozy inside listening to General Conference this weekend.


Illustration by Melissa Sweet from the book Moonlight, The Halloween Cat by Cynthia Rylant

Although the spirit was strong in our home because of the messages we heard from our leaders, the scene of our little family wasn't as peaceful as it sounds. There was sitting, on the floor playing Little People with Ashley and stringing beads for necklaces with Jess & Chloe. It was cozy, sometimes a little too cozy. While listening to Conference there was a lot of "hopping on pop", and too much touching your neighbor going on.



Thank goodness for Oma & Opa! Watching the last session at their place gave us the much needed change of scenery. Complete with trail mix, coloring pages, uncles and aunts and birthday cake, the last session was a true party. Happy birthday to Opa. We loved the amount of candles on your glowing cake.



Amazing that with three squirmy kids, I was still able to tune into the messages of General Conference. I felt the spirit throughout the four sessions. And I came away with a renewed testimony that Thomas S. Monson is our prophet and a feeling that I can and want to do better as a wife and mother.

Photo Friday

Ministering Angel

"God does notice us, and he watches over us, but it is usually through another person that he meets our needs." -Spencer W. Kimball

So the last two weeks have been particularly rough for me. Worries for my children, that are meant for another blogging time, had almost driven me to insanity. I usually have my mom, my MIL, and my friend to go to with worries like these. But, in the midst of this small crisis, I found myself without any of them. They were all out of town at the same time! I was a bit lost. As a side note to all of my good friends out there, please don't be hurt that I didn't call you. I truly know that I could have confided in any one of you and been given sound advice, but I became a bit blind and bewildered in my worry.

Just as I have done in the past, I became introverted trying to work out the problem on my own. This worked to some extent, but I still needed an outside opinion. I began praying about a huge decision that was looking me in the face when out of the blue, my darling older sister called. With busy schedules and kids acting crazy at both ends of the wire, it's not often that we can chat on the phone. But in my time of need, she called and asked how I was.



I knew right when I saw her number on caller id that she was the answer to my prayers. Wiping away tears I answered the phone to hear her bubbly voice ask how I was doing. And then she got quite an earful. Being the great educator and mother that she is, she had the wisdom to know what to say to me. Her words talked me out of the frenzy that I had created over the last two weeks! All the worry, anxiety and insanity were replaced by a clear head and calm breathing. After just a few minutes on the phone with her I knew what I needed to do (and, to Sco's credit, he had the right answer all along). So this post is to thank Gabi for acting on a feeling and also to thank my Heavenly Father for using her as His ministering angel. Love you!

Family Feud

OK, blog friends. For our Primary Board Dinner we will be playing Family Feud. Does anyone have the board-game version of this game that I can borrow. Our dinner is on September 26th, so logically I would need to borrow a game located in Utah. Please let me know if I can borrow yours.

Thanks,
Resourceful Nim

Good-Bye Sugar

In July I went in to get some blood work done. I had been exercising religiously since January, drinking Slim-Fast for two meals, and couldn't see any physical improvement. I felt stronger, but I saw no weight loss. I was frustrated enough to go in to see if my medications were keeping me over weight or if I had other hidden problems (like thyroid complications). When the nurse got my blood test results she noticed that I was pre-diabetic! With Type II in my family history it seems that I am predisposed for the same fate. She quickly put me on Metformin to protect my pancreas and told me it was time to lose the excess weight. What a wake-up call!

At first I was relieved to have found this problem while I am still relatively young, so that I can avoid Type II. However, with a new diet low in sugars and high in fiber (bleh), I became very grumpy the first month. I felt trapped in a new lifestyle that I did not like. Food was always a joy for me, especially that of the sweeter variety. Cutting my tie to sugar cold-turkey was no fun. I had to reinvent what my "favorite food" was going to be (right now it's Pink Lady apples). I had to start enjoying eating a lot of greens with not a lot of taste. It was upsetting.

Now that I'm 2 months into this healthy-eating routine, I am asking myself what the big deal was? It's an amazing change of mind-set. The other night I treated myself to a wonderful little slice of mint brownie (thanks Ronda) and it tasted sooooo good. But then I ate a plate of sliced apples and I enjoyed them just as much! A few months ago I would have said, "Forget the apples, pass me another BIG piece of brownie, please." Now I look forward to my snack of a banana and handful of peanuts. A Diet Coke is something I treat myself to only once a month. I treat myself to one dessert a week (those who know my sweet tooth might be asking, "Who are you, and what have you done with Nim?). I am giving myself permission to tell you all this, because I am extremely proud of myself, and also to publicly commit myself to keep going. I not only feel a lot better without my highs and lows of sugar, but I have lost 17 pounds in the last 8 weeks! I have dropped two pant sizes!!!!! I am half-way to my target weight and confident that I will make it in the next three months.



I need to tell you that Sue Webb, over at Phase II for Women, has a wonderful program for losing weight. I go to her once a month for a weigh-in, a pep-talk, and (yes) a few prescriptions. I love her. She has been a great help in keeping me on my program.

I will be posting photos of my before and after, probably at Christmas time. For now just celebrate the fact that my shorts almost fell down when I was at my golf lesson! Wahoo! What a feeling.

Summer was great. . .Let Fall begin!