San Diego

After 3 days of Disneyland we were worn out! So we head down to San Diego. Instead of an hour and a half it took us 4 hours! I was so sick of the car and my kids DON'T do well in it either. Plus I had been gone for a week so I needed to do some laundry. Of course there were a couple of sports teams also at the hotel and they decided to do it too. So I was up until 10pm that night doing laundry. Yeah!

We hit the right church because Elder Ballard was visiting. That was a special treat! I also met someone from my home town too. We went to the Mormon  Battalion which was pretty neat. The boys loved finding gold at the end. Then we headed off to the Temple. It was absolutely beautiful! It is my favorite Temple and the one I wanted to get married in. I told Matt that we need to come back and actually go through. It has always been a dream of mine. 

Then we were off to the beach. I wish that we could have spent an afternoon there playing in the water more. The beach has always been something I love. Tyler was loving the water and the other two boys were happy just looking for shells in the sand. 

Our last day together we all went to Sea World. I had never been before but, I have been to Marine World in the Bay Area so I knew what to expect. It was fun the see all of the animal shows and let the kids play on the little rides. It was a hot day and I got sun burnt. So I was not feeling too great by the end of the day.  We enjoyed our week long trip with the Mergenthaler's and can't wait until the next reunion. My boys loved being with their cousins and hope some of the other families can come next time too. 

We missed you!

Tyler and Sean

My Superman (Carter)

Hayden and Andrew

Star Fish at Sea World

Disneyland

Right after my Grandmothers funeral I was on a plane to L.A. Matt picked me up late that night and we went onto Disneyland! It was the hardest thing to go from a very emotional weekend with my family and jump into the happiest place on earth. I had to all of a sudden put a smile on my face for my boys. I tried my best. 

So we went to Disneyland with Matt's brother and his family. Plus Matt's parents came too. So it was a little Mergenthaler reunion. We missed the others and wished they could have been there. Maybe next time! My boys loved being with their cousins. Tyler and Ricky sure did hit it off well and I was glad Ty could have a buddy. They loved seeing the characters and going on the rides. Grandma Mergenthaler made all of the grandkids autograph books. (She is so good to them!) 

Tyler said that his favorite rides at Disneyland were Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. Then at California Adventure it was Goofy's Sky School and Radiator Racers. Carter enjoyed the Mickey fun wheel at California and Maters junk yard! He went on that one more then any of them. It was so fun to watch and hear him. He would just giggle the whole time. That is why we go to Disneyland is for the kids and to see them smile/laugh! The new Cars Land was awesome and looked just like Radiator Springs from the movie.   For dinner one night we ate at Flo's V8 cafe. We got to see the Piston cups in the restaurant while we were there. The boys were in heaven. We were there for three days so we got to park hop and enjoy everything. Our feet were killing us by the end of the day, but we made it. We enjoyed the parades and shows at night time too.  Memories, Memories.

One day we went off with just our little family and had fun doing the smaller rides for our little kids. We also went on the big Mark Twain River Boat. The Captain came and got us and took us all the way up to the top of the boat and had us ride with him. He let the boys steer the boat around the river. They sure did think that was cool! He showed them how to blow the whistle and ring the bell. They were loving every minute of it. It made their day and made them feel special. Tyler drove the boat most of the time so at the end of our ride the Captain gave him a certificate that stated he was a pilot of the Mark Twain River Boat at Disneyland. It was even signed by Walt Disney himself!  

We went on a lot of fun rides and the boys had fun with their cousins. It was magical trip and dreams do come true. 

Tyler and Ricky with their autograph books.

Daddy and Carter on Mater's Junk Yard.

(If you look very close Carter has the biggest smile on his face and is just giggling!)

Captain Dan and Tyler

Mater's Junk Yard, Again!

An Amazing Woman

My dear Grandma past away last month at the age of 91. We were all expecting it for a while now. She has been sick and not doing too well.  But it was still hard to let her go. She is the most Christ like person I know. She never had anything bad to say about anyone and always had a big smile on her face. When you walked into the room she would light up and get so excited to see you. You felt like the most important person in world. She always made you feel special! 

She had six children. Four are living and two died as children. She has 23 grandchildren and 42 great grandchildren. There were 20 of us grandchildren there for her funereal. It was a special time to be together again. We are all pretty close so it was nice to see everyone. My mom and I drove up to Idaho from California together. It was nice to not have the kids with us. The trip went a lot faster! 

My wonderful husband watched my boys for me. Thank you, I love you! It was nice to spend time with my mom one on one. It was a very emotional weekend but we made it through. I got to go and dress my grandma in her special clothes. My mom, her two sisters, my two cousins and I all went. It was a neat experience. I also got to see one of my other cousins from my Carr side. That was nice to see her again. It was fun to stay up all night and play games with my cousins like we always do. I kept waiting for Gma to come walking in and play with us or make a funny joke. She was the only Grandparent I ever knew. My others died when I was little. So I didn't know them very well. She was always there for me. Whether in was a phone call, note, or even a package in the mail. She accomplished a lot in her 91 years of life and was the BEST Grandma in the world. I hope to be just even a little bit like her someday.   

Grandpa &Grandma T., Debbie & Katie

Dec. 1985 

Four Generations: Grandma T., Mom, Debbie, Tyler

Oct. 2006

                                             Tyler playing games with Grandma T.

                                            Grandma T. and my three boys

                                                          July 2011

                                              (The last time we all saw her.)

                    Aunt Kathy, Aunt Tammy, and Mom (Marilou)
                              (They look like sisters, don't they?!)

                     Heather (Kathy's), Heidi (Tammy's), Debbie (Marilou's)

                                      Lourna, Mom, Uncle Richard, Aunt Kathy, 

                                           Uncle Nolan, Aunt Tammy

                                                   Grandma T's. grandsons

                                                         20 of the 23 grandchildren

                                                        Mom and Debbie