Introducing Syl

The idea of a new dog has been fluttering around our minds for a while. Well, truthfully, the whole family was ready for one and I was the holdup, since I knew I'd be the main caretaker. After our trip, I was feeling pretty settled on it. A couple weeks before Sean's birthday, I asked if he wanted to get a dog for his gift- he was all for it! He had the next morning off so we thought we'd check out the Humane Society, just to see what there was. There was a dog or two we saw on the the website that had potential.

After taking some time in the cat petting room and again wishing I wasn't allergic to felines, we saw all the small dogs and then moved on to the bigger. Sean noticed there was a Weimaraner mix, one we hadn't noticed online. Sean and I have always adored the breed. We asked to visit with the dog. All six of us waited in the room while they fetched the dog, Demi. Boy, she was nervous. Everything tucked, trying to find a way to get out. But the Dog Expert lady gave us tons of treats and she loosened up a bit and eventually started licking some of us. The kids were so patient with her. The longer we were with her, the more comfortable she seemed. We found out she had just been transferred in the evening before. Sean and I were looking at each other telepathically. It's a Weimaraner! She's a puppy but an older puppy so less annoying! She's so beautiful! She's going to get adopted so quick! She's so good with the kids! Should we pull the trigger?

And we did. We did! We decided to adopt her. Everyone was over the moon! We changed her name to Sylphrena after the Stormlight Archive character, Syl for short (and it often becomes Sylly).


Here's that shy dog once we got in the car.


After we got home, she ran around exploring everything until she finally flopping into exhaustion.


She spent the first few days constantly by my side.


She's a ridiculous sleeper.


Let the training begin! She's doing pretty good. Probably our biggest challenge is to keep her from chewing on things (stuffed animals, beware!). She used to be solely a licker but once she met her cousin Rufus she's gotten a little more mouthy with us. She responds well to treats so we've got that on our side! She has tons of energy. We take her on a family walk in the morning, then a longer one with Sean or I in the evening. So far, we all still love her (well, Wren sometimes loves her depending on how fast she's moving) despite the things she's chewed. Welcome to the family, Syl!

Y

A long drive home ahead of us, we stopped for the night at Rachel's house. But not before first meeting them for a very fast BYU visit. We drove by our old homes and told stories, more for Sean and my benefit than the kids'.


Isn't it romantic, this is where Sean proposed to me! It looks a bit different, now with more fence but yes, a parking lot was the setting of our engagement. There was snow, that helps the atmosphere a bit. We built a snowman in the fence gap between two yellow pillars before I drove home for the evening, then he got on one knee. Aw. Love.


Hi research lab!


The Eyring Science Center is the place to be with kids in tow.


Got our chocolate milk. The primary objective of this visit.


Y! (over here Ellie!)


BYU, you are magic.

Huntington Beach

On our last full day in California, we spent a day at the beach. We took a lazy morning after our go-go-go Disney days and decided to try Huntington Beach. The water was cold, the wind was strong, and the sand was soft. A nice Cali beach day.









"I'm a sand monstah!"

Disneyland!

When we began contemplating our California visit, we thought, Well, we're in LA, maybe we should think about Disneyland? Which turned into okay, just for a day. Which became, but there's two parks, should it just be one day? And landed on aw man, we're doing two days, aren't we? Yep, a day in Disneyland Park and a day in California Adventure. We made full use of fastpasses and the Max Pass, which is basically access through an app to fastpasses and with greater frequency- definitely worth the extra cost in my opinion. We got there at opening each day and stayed until about 9pm. Oh, also, the app gives you the option to order food online, which was awesome- who wants to wait in more lines, anyway?


The kids had such a great time!


Wren looks like an sweet angel in this photo and I was a shadow demon, so, cropping.


Cooling off break! It was definitely hot in the middle of the day.


We brought a camelbak and I think it was pretty dang helpful.


Character hugs!


There were a lot more characters wandering around California Adventure. Also, we went to the park two days before the Pixar Pier opened. Bummer.


No matter a playground or an expensive theme park, a slide is a winner.


Cooling down break with a little head dip.


The kids got to do a little rubber duck race down the river.


That girl in pink was so excited.


Cool down break!


Hey McQueen.


The one time we found a park professional to take our photo (it's free when you have Max Pass).


Mickey's so funny.


Blurry but it's cute so there.


A little brother/sister dance number on Tom Sawyer island.


No naps + the hot sun + being two years old = grumpy enhanced Wren


Tried our hand at drawing Piglet.


I was setting kids up and no one saved a seat for me, so I sat behind them all. It was fortunate because Wren would color page after page and demand more sheets and I was luckily by a big stack. The things I do to prevent a public meltdown...


Having a great time!


Wren couldn't go on lots of the big rides so we would do the parent swap. Wren often got to go on a (smaller scale) ride once with one parent and set of siblings, then again with the rest. She took it like a champ. Though that also meant we didn't do a ton of rides together. When that happened (hi, It's a Small World!) it felt special.


Let's do some ride photos! Grey held me very, very tightly.


This smile cracks me up!


Wide-eyed. If I remember correctly, this was Dash's favorite ride.


What can I say, my kids like to hold on to stuff. Liam's favorite ride.


This ride is new to me, it's great! I went with Grey and the photo disappeared as we approached the screen (so I never got the code to download it), which is a bummer since it was Grey's favorite!


A tired and happy bunch.


Saying goodbye with a smile!