While We Were Waiting

Saturday we went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. While McKay & I were waiting for Jordan to come back with our dinner, we took some pictures.

It was fun having McKay help me think of different body parts we could take pictures of. And of course he loved looking at the pictures after we took them.

I couldn't pick a favorite picture of his eyes. It was a great way to pass the time & both of us were entertained!

We took McKay on tons of rides. We were suspicious before but this trip confirmed it. He loves a 'thrill'. Jordan took him on a Roadrunner roller coaster in Looney Toons Town and McKay loved it! As I waited for them to get their turn to ride I listened to parents and kids getting off. The parents didn't like it and most of the kids were too scared to go on another ride. The ride went around 2 times and after the first time around most of the kids got off because it was too intense. We were surprised they let such little kids go on the ride, even with an adult. Jordan didn't like the ride. McKay wanted to go again. Oh Boy!

The park was all decorated for Halloween. Normally this is such a pretty fountain.

This was our first day trip with McKay in underwear... and he did great! I hope all our kids are this easy to train! He wasn't ready in August so about 6 weeks later, conference weekend, we started again. This time he was ready.

The forecast for the day said 72 and cloudy but the clouds didn't roll in until around 5:30 and it was closer to 80 than 70 - perfect day! We stayed late enough to see Shouka (killer whale) and the dolphin show. I think we go to the dolphin show every time and all of us enjoy it each time. This time was disco themed due to Halloween and McKay wasn't too sure about the disco ball when the lights were off. It was a great way to end a fun day.

McKay-boy

Relaxing on the pillows Sunday morning. I guess the couch isn't soft enough. :)

McKay was cold one morning after breakfast and wanted a blanket. And another. And another, until I told him that was all the blankets. He had fun laying under them, then getting out so I could cover him up again throughout the day.

Daddy's home! Yay!

How young is too young to start teaching him how to drive? He loves it!

McKay loves to draw with sidewalk chalk on our driveway. We do shapes, letters & words in all sorts of colors. The first thing McKay noticed last Tuesday when we got 3 inches of rain in 24 hours (it never stopped raining) was that his moon was gone. He always notices the moon when it is out and there is always at least one moon on our sidewalk. Our poor neighbors!

So Long, Farewell

September 20th was Jordan's parents talk in church before they left on their mission (otherwise known as farewell). They report to the MTC October 12 for 5 days of 'training' and then leave for the Marshall Islands for 18 months. They've known since the end of May when and where they were going but needed the time to finish farming for the year and get everything else in order. Though they've needed every minute, I think they are ready to start this new chapter of their lives.

We really like Hensel Phelps Construction (Jordan's employer) except that vacation time is very scarce for the first few years. We were able to spend 10 days in Idaho for Christmas last year due to where the holidays fell and borrowing days from this year, and Kent & Kathy stayed with us for a few days at the end of February. McKay & I spent an evening with them in June but unless a miracle happened, Jordan would be the only child to not be able to go to his parents farewell. It's just too far and not time to make the trip. We thought it wouldn't hurt to ask Jordan's project manager if Jordan could take Monday the 21st off to be able to go and see his parents one more time before they left. His manager has actually asked Jordan about his missionary service and Jordan had told him his parents were planning on going. When Jordan asked, the answer was 'Sure!'. So he excitedly bought a plane ticket, reserved a car and tried to keep it a secret so he could surprise his parents. The secret was kept and Jordan had two very surprised parents when he showed up to the Westside High School Homecoming football game his brother Tyson was coaching. He said they stared at him for what seemed like minutes but was probably only 10-15 seconds, trying to figure out who he was. :) Too bad no one had a camera running then!

Part of the reason they may have had such a hard time recognizing him, beside the fact they knew he couldn't come, was probably because he has lost so much weight since they saw him in February. One of Jordan's sister Nicky's post biggest loser competition goals was to do a mini biathlon: ride a bike up Smithfield Canyon and run back down, about 5.2 miles each way. Jordan did it with her and Shawn met them at the top to do the run down.

Between the three of them they have lost about 145 lbs.

Kent & Kathy Moser with all 8 children.

top LtoR: Todd, Tyson, Kim, Kelli, Jordan, Shawn
Front Lto R: Nicky, Kent, Kathy, Robin

Spouses added with Lisa & I photoshopped in. Can't even tell can you? :)

Monday morning they went for a 4-wheeler ride. Jordan loved it! Beautiful, but very cold.

Last ride for 18 months.

Nicky, Kathy holding Kamden, Kent, Jordan, Shawn, & Todd holding Jarin.

Steep hill. If you look closely, you can see Kathy behind Jordan. :)

McKay and I were just going to hang out at home while Jordan was gone. Now McKay is 2 and we have to buy him a plane ticket, it was just too expensive for all of us to go to Idaho. Then I found out my cousin Cory Theurer was giving his talk in church before leaving on his mission on September 20th and decided to drive 5 1/2 hours to Palmdale to go to it. The Thursday before we left McKay really helped me a lot. He is the designated rinser when we wash dishes and loves to take the hampers to and from the laundry room. If I am not fast enough, he'll load the washer with everything too! It was really nice that he was so eager to help and he really is starting to be a real help.

All the family who attended. My mom and sister Chantelle played their violins for the musical number for the meeting & my brother Chris enjoyed re-connecting with people he had served with on his mission. It was fun meeting people he knew and having them tell us what a great missionary he was and how much they admired him. Grandpa & Grandma Cardon (my Mom's parents) were also there so it was wonderful to spend time with them. McKay is a 'papa's boy and followed Grandpa around everywhere and asked him for cookies. (He saw Grandpa carrying them into the house for the dinner and so McKay KNEW he had cookies.)

Siblings: Kathryn, Brant and Cory

McKay was playing the ukulele and he held it up to his neck, like a violin. GREAT connection buddy!

McKay also enjoyed playing Aunt Mary's drums. He seemed to remember them from when we were there for Thanksgiving. Every day, he'd 'practice'.

Wake up everyone! McKay's gonna play the drums! Then the piano. Then the drums again. :)

Kathryn's baby Ariah is about 5 months old and McKay kept good tabs on her. He'd retrieve the ping pong ball and gently put it back in her hands until the next time she dropped it and he'd get it for her again.

They are watching a Baby Einstein we brought with us for the drive down. McKay was very patient and would let her grab his shirt for balance or play with his shoe he'd move coincidentally in front of her face. The only time he didn't like it was when she fell across his lap. Can't blame him too much for that!

I wasn't quite ready to make the drive back home again by Monday morning so McKay and I hung out for another day at Aunt Mary's. We went swimming again & McKay missed having Aunt Chantelle & Uncle Chris help him slide down the slide into the pool. He loves to swim. After his nap, we went outside. I sat in a comfortable chair while he played in a shaded & fenced in area. Someday I'll have a fenced in yard, but for now I am happy with having a yard at all! McKay was entertained for quite a while playing with the dog. He'd roll the ball down the ramp at the dog & laugh when he jumped up to see what hit him. He always made sure the dog had a ball too and he'd lean down so he was face to face with the dog and wave & say 'hi'!

McKay & I were both so tired by the time we got home that we both slept for a couple of hours and I even beat him to sleep. It was a good weekend with strengthened relationships all around!

And they'll all be good missionaries!
Cory's Mission blog: www.eldercorytheurer.blogspot.com
Kent & Kathy's Mission blog: www.kkmosermission.blogspot.com

Things to Remember

9-29-09
McKay has a General Mills car that has a couple of guys on the hood in black and white. McKay calls them Andy!

Setting: McKay is still in his highchair and we are all still eating dinner. McKay wants to 'wash, yeah?!' nodding excitedly and pointing to the cupboard where the dishpan is. Then he starts saying 'beep beep' to Jordan to get out of the chair he stands on to rinse. Don't forget Jordan is sitting in the chair eating and McKay is still in his highchair. :)

9-26-09
McKay is very good with directions and recognizes when we are almost home. Likewise, he recognizes when we are walking to the park and will excitedly say 'yeah' and nod as he points to the park. As we cross the expressway, he waves to the blinking hand on the walk sign and says 'hi', like the hand is waving to him.

9-25-09
McKay LOVES to do the dishes. Then watch an Andy. One evening, Jordan and I were tired and moving slow so McKay started the dishes without us. He pushed his chair over to the sink, put the dishes in the sink on the counter and put the dishpan in the sink. He does a good job rinsing. We just have to remind him sometimes to put the dish in the dish drainer after he's rinsed it several times!

9-23-09
Conversation with McKay:
Jordan: McKay are you Daddy's boy?
McKay: No.
Maria: McKay are you Mama's boy?
McKay: No.
Maria or Jordan (I can't remember): Are you Papa's boy?
McKay: Yeah!

9-15-09
There are lots of squirrels at a park we like to go to and after our camping experience in Yosemite over Labor day when we were teaching McKay to scare the squirrels away from our food, he now scares the squirrels at the park away with a 'BOO!' Too cute!

9-10-09
McKay loves to Run Run Run and have us watch how fast he is. He runs from the kitchen to the front door and sometimes into my room by my night stand. He even 'beep beeped' my shoes out of his way so he could stand right by the night stand to continue his running route.

McKay and I met Jordan at Costco for lunch. We were eating our turkey wraps and frozen yogurt and I told Jordan about the elephant costume I saw as we walked in. McKay heard me say elephant and started making his elephant sound. Over. and. over. Elephants are loud. People were looking to see what the noise was and Jordan and I just laughed and laughed until we could talk and let him know we recognized that he'd made the connection.

9-9-09
"'Uh ah oh'. McKay, who says that? A-N-D-Y" McKay said 'uh ah oh' with the right tones and said Andy!

I was gone to mutual for the Young Women one Wednesday night and McKay was so sad, he blew kisses to the computer chair through his tears. I hadn't realized it but I guess I am finally getting to sit there when it is time for him to go to bed! It is nice to be missed.

9-8-09
When the stoplight light turns green McKay says 'go mama go mama go'.

9-3-09
When McKay gets hurt, he kisses the spot better with an 'mmmmwwwaa'.

McKay always recognizes the 'W' on Weinersnitzel and S on Savemart when we are out driving, among several other letters. He is very observant.

9-1-09
When McKay was heading to bed, we had our normal routine of prayers, hugs and kisses, brush teeth, drink of water, and blow kisses to mama. Then McKay did his 'tight squeeze' sound and blew it to me. He blew me a hug!

This morning, McKay was playing peek-a-boo around the bedroom door with the floor fan that was on.

After dinner McKay wanted to watch Andy so I told him we could after we washed the dishes. He excitedly pulled the dishpan out from under the cabinet and pushed his chair over to the sink to 'help' rinse. After the dishes were done, he wanted to watch Andy again. Gone are the days where he can be distracted and forget the THEN part of 'if you do this then you can have/do this'.

McKay loves to play with his ball at the park, whether it is throwing it and chasing it as fast as he can or rolling it down the slide before he goes down. He makes it look so fun other kids often join him!

San Jose Childrens Discovery Museum

Several moms in our ward playgroup have mentioned how much their children enjoy the Children's Discovery Museum. So we decided to check out the annual memberships since it costs $10/person 1 and older. The place was PACKED for the last day of the Curious George exhibit.

First we went to see George. There were so many people everywhere we didn't stay too long. But McKay was really excited to see George all over the room and we got a lot of smiles at his monkey sound.

When I was finally able to snag a watering can from a child who was going back inside just before another child took it (heehee), McKay really enjoyed filling it up and watering the plants in the garden.

The water works activity was a huge hit. McKay got really wet but he didn't mind too much until we got outside and he felt the breeze. They have little plastic clothing covers to help keep you from getting drenched but the only free one I could find was totally wet. The other moms said their kids always got drenched anyway so we made sure it was our last stop. This is the toddler section of the water works. Jordan had a hard time getting McKay's picture because he was always moving around, getting more balls to put in the water. It was definitely a favorite spot!

Another place we visited that McKay loved was the toddlers room (of course). Next time I will have to take pictures there. There were lots of balls to put in a huge funnel, the alphabet on little doors with corresponding objects to see and feel, and a small corridor under the stairs with stars on the ceiling and an aquarium on the side. They also have a story time daily. McKay loves story time at the library so we'll have to hit that one too!

It's gonna be a fun year!

Labor Day Weekend: Yosemite

September 4-7 we went camping. In April, Jordan made reservations for us to stay in the Diamond-O Campground, a mile outside of Yosemite. We were a day and a half late making reservations and all the campsites in Yosemite were taken and we got the last site in our campground. About a week before we were supposed to go, we found out that the entrance closest to us on Hwy 120 was closed due to a wildfire. The wildfire was caused by a controlled burn that got out of control within an hour of starting it. Remember this was 2 weeks before a major holiday. Anyway, we debated on whether or not to even go, figuring we had a pretty good reason for canceling and finally decided we might as well go and camp. Hetch Hetchy was only 30 minutes away from our campsite so we could go there for one of the days and see at least some of Yosemite. We could also drive around the park and enter at the Hwy 140 entrance. On the map it only looked like a couple hour drive. We had options.

We talked to the camp host when we arrived and found out we had a 3 1/2 - 4 hour drive on a very windy road to get from our site to the 140 which would take us into Yosemite Valley. Thanks to holiday traffic, getting to our campsite took us 5 hours when it should have taken about 3. Needless to say none of us were anxious to get back in the car to drive for 4 hours, see the valley for 4 hours and drive 4 hours back to our campsite to sleep in a tent. So we decided to just hang out and relax the first day. After all, we were on vacation!

Just down from our campsite was a beautiful river. It was nice that it was a short and easy walk so McKay could do it himself. 'ME' as he always says.

I love that when he wants to he will smile for me on demand!

We all found 'comfortable' rocks (or laps as the case may be) to sit on by the river. McKay was anxious to keep moving until we suggested he throw rocks in the river. He had so much fun he didn't want to leave!

So beautiful and relaxing!

After lunch we weren't too sure how to continue our relaxing day. We weren't planning on 'relaxing' and didn't bring anything to read or do. So we decided to take a nap with McKay, since we were all tired. After the nap Jordan and I almost took and the nap McKay didn't even try to take, we all got up and ate dinner, fighting the bees and squirrels that came out of the woodwork every time we ate. The food was good though!
Every time Jordan or I would come back from the bathroom, McKay would come running to us and give us a big hug (squeezing our legs) like he hadn't seen us for days. Made it fun!

Apparently Gatorade powder in a bag is very mesmerizing and entertaining for a 2 year old to watch go from end to end. McKay was constantly asking to either eat or go 'bye-bye' so it was nice he found something to keep himself occupied with for a while.

The next day we went to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir which is on the northwestern side of Yosemite and supplies drinking water to the San Francisco Bay Area. When we entered the park, Jordan asked the attendant if Hwy 120 was still closed. She said it opened that morning but that Big Oak Flat Road, which takes you from 120 to Yosemite Valley, was still closed. Hwy 120 is Tioga Road in Yosemite and takes you through the high country of Yosemite.

We decided to hike to Wapama Falls, about a 5 1/2 mile hike round trip. It was a pretty hot hike with very sporadic spots of shade. They suggest hiking it in the spring or fall for that reason. I think it also would have been very pretty at sunset.

Don't get me wrong. It was a beautiful hike. Just hot.

We talked about continuing past Wapama to Rancheria Falls (13 miles round trip) but I convinced Jordan that if we went and drove Tioga Road rather than walk another several hours, we could get our 'money's worth' out of the $20 entrance fee into the park (thank goodness!)

McKay was a good 'hiker' and even took a short nap (his ONLY nap for the 4 days we were gone) until Jordan slipped on a loose rock and fell. Jordan's knee was sore for a few days after that. The majority of the trail was very rocky.

Pretty waterfalls huh?! We need to go back in the spring when there is more water. That is part of the reason we entertained the idea of continuing on to Rancheria Falls; it wasn't nearly almost dry like Wapama was. We passed a backpacker who had come from Rancheria and he said it was a long, hot hike with much of the same views we had already seen. Made up my mind!

There were signs all over the place about not getting into the water yet there were still people in this little pool. It did look very refreshing and tempting but com'on, we drink this water!

Tioga Road is only open June-October. The rest of the time there is too much snow. We drove for a good hour before there was something to stop and see. It came just in time too because Jordan was starting to get loopy; too much time in the car I think.

Olmsted Point
You can see Half Dome behind me. Clouds Rest is behind Jordan. We stopped for a few minutes to look around and take a couple of pictures and then kept driving.

Tenaya Lake
This place was beautiful! There were picnic tables in the trees near the lake so we stopped and had some delicious stew with a great view. It was the best, most enjoyable meal we had the whole time we were camping.

The water was a beautiful clear blue and there were lots of Stellar's Jays to watch. We wished we could stay longer but knew we had to move on to see more of the park before sunset.

Tuolumne Meadows
This meadow is 2 miles long and is pretty amazing to see as you come around the corner. McKay was DONE being in the car by the time we got here (no naps remember) so I jumped out to take a picture, and we began the 2 hour drive back to our campsite. If we had known they would open up Tioga Road we would have done Hetch Hetchy our first day (instead of 'relaxing') and spent all day in the high country of Yosemite our second day. There were hikes all along the way with varying levels of difficulty and distance. Now we know what it is like, we will make an effort to make it back there and try some out. Yosemite Valley is the most visited part of the park and if we had been able to go there we may not have ever known how beautiful the northern part of the park is. So I guess the wildfire burning half the park was a blessing in disguise.

We stopped again at Olmsted Point to do the .2 mile walk out to get a better view. We were all glad we had our sweaters because the wind up on those rocks was chilly!

Perspective.
You can hike from Olmsted Point to Half Dome but it is a really rugged 10 miles so you really need to know where you are going... and have lots of water. I don't think we'll be doing it anytime soon.

The trees grow in and around the rocks, as you can see in the above pictures. Everything is always so beautiful at sunset. The sunset as we drove back to our camp was b-e-a-utiful but of course all the pull out points were at the wrong spots! The smoke from the fire made the sunset even prettier.

This is the tree framing Half Dome in the above picture. Jordan and McKay were picking out the best looking boulders as we walked back to the car. This one with the tree growing around it was a favorite.

When we got in the car to come home, we hadn't even started the car yet and McKay asked for a book. With all the driving we did, he had looked at each book over and over again, not even looking at the whole book. At that point we knew it was going to be a long drive home. And remember holiday traffic? It was a long drive! Contrast this with how excited he was to go. All day Friday he kept asking me to go 'bye-bye' and when we were loading up the car he was running all over the house excitedly saying 'hi' to Jordan and I over and over again. When we got to our campsite and had the tent set up he was running around there saying 'Mama, yay!'. Jordan and I looked at each other and said 'THAT is why we do it!'

Even though our weekend didn't turn out the way we had planned months ago, it was still a great weekend together in a beautiful and fun place. That makes for a good weekend! There is something rejuvenating about being in nature. (It's almost as rejuvenating as taking a nice shower at the end.) I think McKay is learning to love it as much as we do.

BTW: if you didn't click on my links, you really should, unless you really don't have time. Some of the descriptions of the hikes are funny to read and other sites show what the places look like when there is actually water falling or snow etc. Plus, it is educational, if you want to learn about Yosemite. Enough said. :)