Drake is Five!

Drake just had his fifth birthday!!

He had a fun day starting with a breakfast out with Mom and Dad, moving on to chocolate cupcakes and presents, and then ending with the ward trunk-or-treat.  He also had a quick visit with GG and Granddad and a phone call from Grandma and Grandpa.

We love having Drake in our family. He is super smart and fun and he is also very diligent about doing what he should.  He absolutely won't go to bed at night until he has changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth, said his prayers, and given Mom and Dad a hug and kiss goodnight.  He is a fantastic little boy and we are so glad to have him in our lives everyday.

Happy Birthday Drakers!  We love you!!

Disneyland

Well, here it is - - the promised post on our Disneyland trip.  I really don't like Disneyland, and this trip reminded my why.  I just don't like such crowded conditions and waiting in lines - Ugh!!  It makes me kind of crazy. Luckily the week we went was not too bad, I guess it got WAY worse after we left.  I have a hard time understanding people who want to go to Disneyland for every vacation.  It is just too expensive in my mind and the geographer in me feels that there are so many places and things I would like to have my kids experience rather than having the fake Disneyland experience over and over and over.

Regardless of my feelings about the place, I still felt like my boys should experience going to Disneyland a time or two while they are still kids.  Ultimately, they had a good time and I think it was worth the expense - at least this once. ;-)

My mom and dad, and my sister and her family met us there, so it was a little mini family reunion which made it a lot more fun - especially for my kids.

So, here you go, a few pictures of  my kids and their cousins at Disneyland and California Adventure.

The older cousins at the little water park area at the hotel.

We also spent a day at the beach.  We took the Ferry out to Balboa Island and it was perfect.  The weather was just right, the waves were great and it was not too crowded.  We had so much fun there.  It was the perfect escape from the craziness of Disneyland.  I think my kids had at least as much fun there as they did at Disneyland.  Here are a few pics . . .

Good times all around!!

London Bridge

Last week we finally took our boys to Disneyland. It was a trip we had saved for for two years and I will write more about it later, but I wanted to post first about a little side trip we took on the way.

 Before I was a resident of Arizona I had no idea that the London Bridge was located in Lake Havasu City.  Not just a replica, but the actual historic London Bridge - from London, England.  Ever since I found out about it, I have wanted to see it, but it is about 4 1/2 hours away, so that doesn't make for a very easy day trip.  As I was planning our trip to California, I discovered that if we took I-40, rather than going through Phoenix, the difference in time was only about 30 minutes, but it would allow us to take a little side trip to Lake Havasu City to see the London Bridge.  Decision Made!!

I am so glad we took the time out to see this bridge and learn a little more about it and how it ended up in Arizona.

This is the actual bridge that spanned the Thames River.  It was built in the early 1800's, replacing the rickety old wood bridge that had been there since the 1300's.  The bridge was so busy that in the early 1900's it was widened to accommodate the heavy London traffic.  Unfortunately, this caused the bridge to start sinking.  In the 1960's it was decided that the bridge would need to be replaced by a new modern bridge and the old bridge was sold at a silent auction.

The winner was American oilman Robert P. McCulloch, who founded Lake Havasu City.  In 1967 the London Bridge was dismantled and each piece was carefully labeled and numbered and shipped to Arizona.  The reconstruction of the bridge was completed in 1971 and successfully turned Lake Havasu City from a spot in the road in the middle of nowhere into a successful tourist attraction and retirement destination.

The stonework on the bridge is really beautiful, so I took a bunch of pictures to really appreciate it.

Jeremy and the boys on top of the bridge.

The boys in front of the bridge.

The whole family at the fountain in the English Village at the bridge.

We also took a short side trip to see the Parker dam.  Who knows if we will get out that way again, so we decided to take a look.  Pretty interesting.

The Colorado River at the Parker Dam.

This was a fun side trip that broke up our long drive.  It is something definitely worth a few minutes drive out of your way if you are ever in the vicinity. and if you decide you would like to stay awhile, Lake Havasu has beaches to play on and small working lighthouses that are fun to see, plus lots of shopping and restaurants.  It would probably make a good vacation destination.  We enjoyed our time there.