4th of July Parade in the White Mountains

There is something about the ‘small town feel’ that I love. It’s as if we’re flashed back to the past and that’s exactly what we get each year when we watch the Springerville 4th of July parade. It’s a great start enjoying the holiday commemorating our magnificent country and being together as a Party of Five (plus two…Dad and Pat)!

A Magical Time of Togetherness

As a recap…Baylee’s one “ask” to Santa this past CHRISTmas was a ticket to Disneyland (and she got ‘it’). And one BIG PERK of me taking the substitute position last Fall was to save money to go there as a family of five. Well, since Jon’s birthday was the 9th and because Disneyland graciously allows birthday people to get in for free on their special day in 2009, we thought we should take them up on their offer, using Baylee’s two day pass and the money we set aside. So basically, for day one we had to pay for 3 tickets only and then day two we paid for 4 tickets, and day three 5.



It seems so silly to me to sum up the trip as “Magical” but really…that’s what it was. We all are Disney lovers and I can cry just thinking about Owen’s reaction (and Baylee and Nathan too actually) to each site and character. (Okay, I am crying as I type this now!)

Thankfully we have two very special teachers for Baylee and Nathan who were so awesome to give us the ‘thumbs up’ to go the week before our Spring Break. It was great timing too, only 15 minute waits for the most part. Can we make this a family tradition???




We initially paid for a two day trip but as we were half way through day two, Jon called his boss for permission for another day off and then quickly headed to customer service to upgrade our tickets. As a submissive wife, I couldn’t disagree. (lol)
~Here are some favorite moments of our time away~
♥ Being together, holding hands, singing, and being carefree
♥ Owen meeting his very favorite character Goofy and asking him if he’s wearing pineapple underpants (from a movie he likes)
♥ Nathan being “tall enough” for Indiana Jones ride
♥ Owen on Dumbo (his favorite and first ride)
♥ Baylee on Splash Mountain (her favorite…that die hard)
♥ Nathan’s time on stage fighting Darth Vader!

♥ Owen grabbing Nathan's hand proudly and not letting go for over an hour after Nathan went up against Darth Vader. "You're my hero!" he was saying.
♥ Our niece Kristen joining us on day two’s afternoon
♥ Running into our friends the Robert’s and Castronova’s
♥ Picking out our family mascot…Cocoa the monkey!
♥ HSM3 parade
♥ Watching Owen during the Playhouse Disney show, thinking all the characters are alive and able to hear him
♥ Finding hidden Mickey’s
♥ Seeing the “new” Small World…pretty!
♥ Having total strangers wishing Jon happy birthday (because of the pin they give him to wear)
♥ Running into Michelle Kohout after her “Shift” around midnight in downtown Disney and not even knowing she works there.
♥ The flowers, trees, and landscaping of Disneyland (and happiness of all the workers and most the guests)!
♥ The fireworks…wow. I cry every time!

Oh how I’d love to have season passes to Disneyland. Maybe sometime. Hmmm, I wonder how many sub positions I’d need to take to cover that one!






(For those wanting more information on how to get a free ticket on your birthday at Disneyland, click on the link above when I say, "Free on your special day")

Cheers to Nathan

In celebration of a huge accomplishment, after Nathan’s game we headed to a family favorite, Bahama Bucks (Shaved Ice). It was a nice refreshing treat after sitting in the 98 degree weather, cheering on our athlete.


Like how bright blue Owen’s was? Let’s just say, what goes in blue, comes out blue. Owen’s fascinated with that fact and has experienced that for 2 days now! Is that T.M.I (too much information)?

Our 'Sweet Time' Tonight

Over dinner tonight, Nathan's fortune cookies couldn't have been better said, especially since it was a Monday…our Family Fun Night. It read, “Your home is a pleasant place from which you draw happiness.”

Tonight’s fun and new activity was Nathan’s plan…riding bikes/scooters to Joe’s Farm Grill for dessert. Yummy! Our destination ride only took about 20 minutes with Baylee on her scooter and the rest of us on bike (Owen on the kiddy seat behind me) anticipating what we were going to order. Baylee and Nathan each ordered root beer floats, Jon and I shared the Cream Puff Sundae (photo), Jon also ordered onion rings, and Owen asked for a small sundae. The kids were mostly excited over the three different flavored/colored cherries they generously gave them! Talk about pigging out! Hopefully since we rode to and from the grill, some (I know not all) of those calories shed away.

Our ‘sweet time’ came to an end as our friend’s Joe and Cindy (owners) arrived and we chatted for awhile longer on the lawn just before our ride home. It was a beautiful Family Fun Night under the stars and in the wonderful weather (have I said, “Boy I love living in Arizona…at least this time of year!”)