Spontaneous Trip to SoCal

Hello friends! There's nothing like a spontaneous trip to southern California to bust those winter duldrums and get a little sunshine on our noses. Dave had a trip to LA for work and we all decided to come along. We got a great deal on airline tickets to Long Beach. Wahoo!

We were only there for four days. Naturally we spent two of those days in Disneyland. Naturally. We can confirm that Disneyland is, in fact, still the happiest place on earth, as evidenced below...
















One of the days we were there it was rainy, but that didn't bother us much. Sol loved to ride anything that resembled a train. Ruby loved riding on or in animals, like the Carousel or Dumbo's Flight, etc. Our top 3 rides were Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh.

We hadn't planned on taking our kids while they were this young but opportunity knocked, and we answered! We did a couple things that made the Disney craziness easier on our little tikes, probably common sense things. But the thing that made the biggest difference was making sleep a priority. We went home part way through the day and all took naps and we tried to keep our normal sleep schedule as best as possible. It really helped!

Sol was at the perfect age. It was all magical to him and he could have closed down the park every night. Ruby struggled a bit, especially with waiting in line.

Sol is at such a fun age. He says funny things all the time. Here a few funny observations he made during our trip:

- As we're landing in California he starts to cry. "I thought we were going to California!"
"We are Sol, we're here"
"But where is the beach! Where is Disneyland! Where are the sheep and cows?!"
Sol thought we'd actually be landing in Disneyland. And he has learned about California
from the movies Cars and Curious George 2. Reality can be harsh.

- "I was really brave about that, huh mom. I was really brave." - After riding Pinochio. I forgot how freaky that ride is. Oops!

- "We have to stay at another home in the jungle." Our hotel had a courtyard with palm trees and Sol thought it looked like the jungle.

That's all I can remember for now. In addition to Disneyland we also went to the beach a two times and went to an Aquarium. Good times! I'll blog about those soon.

Grandma Whipple

Two and a half weeks ago we lost my Grandma Whipple. It happened fairly unexpectedly (although she was 84) which left us all shocked, and happened the day we were getting home from a quick family trip to Southern California. So the last few weeks have been a whirl-wind. And I've wanted to write about my dear Grandma since it happened, and I could have found the time, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. Her death has taken me a while to process. But I think I'm there...

My Grandma was so full of love for others and so full of courage. She truly loved her family and friends. And she was courageous. She Never said an unkind word about others. Like never. She was quiet, she wasn't one to draw attention to herself, but she was the first to love and accept those who were different and those who were outcast. I want to be like that.

She was a book keeper for several places as an adult. She was smart and wasn't afraid to learn new things, in fact she sought learning. At 84 she was a facebooker. :) I want to be like that.

She loved her family and loved to cook for them. That's something I could stand to work on. Not the loving part, just the cooking part. Her name was Norma Lou. I love that her name was Norma Lou.

She loved the Gospel and wanted her family to be eternal. She wasn't raised in a very religious home but she wanted that for her family. Through her diligence she has affected generations with a equal love for the Gospel. I want to be like that.

She was pretty and elegant. She loved nice things. She knew how to work and did all the days of her life. I want to be like that. She is a wonderful example for me. I didn't realize till I was sitting at the funeral that all my life she's been quietly teaching me by example how to be an elect woman of God. I'm so very lucky to have had that.

My Grandma loved Sol and Ruby. We spent a few days with them here and there over the past few years and both she and my Grandpa have shown so much love for my children. The last time I saw her was this fall. We went to their home to help them pick apples. Sol of course talked their ears off, but they didn't seem bothered or tired by it at all. Instead they just smiled and loved him for it. My Grandma tended to miss Ruby. My Grandma had become very small the last few years and quite weak and my miss Ruby is a solid little girl. But Grandma would wrap her arms around Ruby's waist and carry her to and fro to keep her out of trouble and happy. I will cherish that memory of our last visit. Golden fall sunshine, the smell of apples, and love love love.

I love you much my dear Grandma.