February 12-16 we went to Phoenix to attend a surprise birthday party for Andrew's Aunt Kathy. I was really excited to get a break from Salt Lake (especially since it was February) and get some sun and warmth. I was a little worried about spending so much time w
ith Andrew's family in Phoenix since I'd barely met any of them but it ended up being great! Will and Kathy and their kids are awesome! They helped us feel more than at home in their fabulous home in Scottsdale.Andrew got to work at the American Express campus on Friday and had a great time visiting with his co-worker Deb. James and I had fun shopping that morning and met up with Andrew and Deb for lunch. That night was Kathy's party and we spent the afternoon helping with clean-up, set-up, and decorating for the party. When the party finally arrived we enjoyed food, music, dancing, great company, and a very excited and happy Aunt Kathy. Needless to say we all were very excited to get to bed after such a fun-packed day!
The rest of the weekend was equally enjoyable. We spent a bunch of tim
e just talking and watching movies, I got in some knitting, we went on walks, we found an awesome park for James to play at, Will and Kathy took us to lunch one day, and Andrew was even able to help ordain his cousin Taylor to be an Elder that Sunday in church (the rest of the church block we spent in nursery helping Will and Kathy with their amazingly well behaved class). It was a lovely weekend and we were all sad for it to end and for us to have to return home.
March 25-30 we went on a vacation with my family (meaning my Mom and Dad, sisters Melissa and Laura, and my brother Robbie) to sunny California and Disneyland! Since my brother is leaving on a mission on June 2nd we decided we wanted to go on a big vacation somewhere exciting (preferably with water). California it was! 
We spent the majority of our time in Disneyland and we all had a blast. James' first ride in the park was Pirates of the Caribbean followed by Haunted Mansion (a good start if you ask me). He loved the Bugs Life area in C
alifornia Adventure (especially the water section in the heat of the day) and any ride with a steering wheel and he was completely awestruck on It's a Small World. He didn't quite understand the concept of waiting in line but somehow always figured out a way to entertain himself (either by hanging on someone, climbing on the railings, being cute to attract the attention of other line waiting people, etc.) We decided to pick a hotel that was close to the park so we could walk in a
nd not have to worry about paying for parking. Our hotel was right across the street from the park... and it took us almost a half hour every day to hike in. I guess that's the joy of a big amusement park. Across the street doesn't mean its close.
Friday (Robbie's 19th Birthday) after most of a full day at the park, we met up with my dad's cousin Debbie, her boyfriend Steve, and her daughter Lisa for dinner. We LOVE seeing Debbie and Lisa and were really excited to meet Steve who we'd heard so much about. They took us to Buca di Beppo (AMAZING
!) and afterward we went to their apartment to play with Steve's telescope and talk some more. We met their adorable dogs Smooch and Baby. Smooch (a russell terrier) was adorable and James got to play fetch with him all night. Baby (a pit bull mix) was sweet and 
nice too.
Saturday we went to the beach! James played in the ocean until he was blue (and even then didn't want to stop). After he had dried off, James played with Andrew and Robbie in the sand (I was busy playing like a giddy ten year old in the ocean still). I found a bunch of sea shells (even a whole sand dollar), we all got some sun, and we ate amazing ice cream sandwiches. It was awesome! That evening, after we had cleaned up at the hotel, we went back to Disneyland and bought some souveniers and watched the firework show. (This was my mom's turn to be as excited as a ten year old!)
We spent the majority of our time in Disneyland and we all had a blast. James' first ride in the park was Pirates of the Caribbean followed by Haunted Mansion (a good start if you ask me). He loved the Bugs Life area in C
alifornia Adventure (especially the water section in the heat of the day) and any ride with a steering wheel and he was completely awestruck on It's a Small World. He didn't quite understand the concept of waiting in line but somehow always figured out a way to entertain himself (either by hanging on someone, climbing on the railings, being cute to attract the attention of other line waiting people, etc.) We decided to pick a hotel that was close to the park so we could walk in a
nd not have to worry about paying for parking. Our hotel was right across the street from the park... and it took us almost a half hour every day to hike in. I guess that's the joy of a big amusement park. Across the street doesn't mean its close.
Friday (Robbie's 19th Birthday) after most of a full day at the park, we met up with my dad's cousin Debbie, her boyfriend Steve, and her daughter Lisa for dinner. We LOVE seeing Debbie and Lisa and were really excited to meet Steve who we'd heard so much about. They took us to Buca di Beppo (AMAZING
!) and afterward we went to their apartment to play with Steve's telescope and talk some more. We met their adorable dogs Smooch and Baby. Smooch (a russell terrier) was adorable and James got to play fetch with him all night. Baby (a pit bull mix) was sweet and 
nice too.Saturday we went to the beach! James played in the ocean until he was blue (and even then didn't want to stop). After he had dried off, James played with Andrew and Robbie in the sand (I was busy playing like a giddy ten year old in the ocean still). I found a bunch of sea shells (even a whole sand dollar), we all got some sun, and we ate amazing ice cream sandwiches. It was awesome! That evening, after we had cleaned up at the hotel, we went back to Disneyland and bought some souveniers and watched the firework show. (This was my mom's turn to be as excited as a ten year old!)
Sunday we headed home and sadly watched the temperature drop 40 degrees within a period of one hour! We spent sunday night in Cedar City at my Grandparent's and got home monday!
Easter was a fun ordeal for us this year too! We got a wonderful Easter basket for James from
Dave and Angela full of trucks, trains, and a puppy! I gave Andrew Yes Man and he got me a fun new Easter shirt! We had a great time at Dave and Ang's for their annual Easter pot luck and egg hunt. We ate so much food we nearly burst and James loved finding the Easter 
eggs. His favorite eggs were the huge decorative ones they had out for decorations! I knit James a sweater vest for his Easter outfit (to go with a shirt he had from the Children's Place.) He looked AWESOME and I had the satisfaction of knowing I made it!
Well, this is only a very VERY brief depiction of the past few months. I chose to spotlight the big events but we did more than travel. All in all, life is great! We are happy! Sorry it took so long to post!
Not only did you manage to get some really good photos but you got some that andrew is actually looking at the camera. . . Bravo. See you guys on wednesday the 27th. Peace
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