UTAH BOUND.....AGAIN

As we're sure most of your address books will attest, we move a lot.  So it should come as no surprise that once again we have moved, this time back to Utah.  With the economy and the car industry the way they are we have opted out of the game and are seeking refuge in Utah's borders.  We are sad to be leaving our good friends and the beaches in California, but we are hopeful that Utah will temporarily provide a more stable environment for us.  So the surfboards and sandtoys have been packed away in exchange for winter coats, gloves, and scarves.  We are already enjoying autumn weather and can't wait for the holidays to arrive with appropriately cool temperatures.  So open those address books up and get ready to make some changes, but we suggest you just do it in pencil.

We were quite the caravan with a 26' truck towing a trailer plus my car with two kayaks on top.  You could definitely see the Parkers coming.

Moving day inside the truck.

Gavin saying his good-byes to the house.  This was our last time in our yard.

During the packing phase of our move.  Gavin saw this stack of boxes and found it to be the perfect perch for reading.

DARCY TURNS 30!!! A DAY AT DISNEYLAND!

My 30th birthday had finally approached and I had long ago decided to spend the day at Disneyland (poor Curtis had to work).  It turned out to be super hot, like 104 degrees hot, but we had the most amazing time ever.  It was such a blast.  Gavin couldn't wait to see Mickey Mouse and even brought his Mickey doll and ears, but choked when the meeting time came.  So once again I was in this picture.  He now claims he's not scared of Mickey anymore and wants to go back and give him a hug.  But I have a feeling he'd say anything to go back to Disneyland.  Heck, I probably would too.  It really is the happiest place on earth.

My little Mousketeer!

Once again, Dumbo was a big hit with Gavin.

Since Curtis wasn't with us, we did all of the spinning, looping, dizzy rides we wanted.  Here's Gavin on the Tea Cups for the first time....he loved it!

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

He's only standing cooperatively in front of the castle because he was being bribed with a ride on the rocket ship if he let me take a picture.  What a bad mom I am.

Being a little less cooperative.  Can you tell I'm holding his hands down so he wouldn't keep covering his face?  We actually had to say 'Look, there's Mickey Mouse' for him to look up here.  I am a bad bad mother.

1-2-3 BLAST OFF!!!  

That's what they say before you shoot into the sky and zoom around.  That phrase is now used on a daily basis by Gavin.  Everything now gets a 1-2-3 blast off!

Gavin's special treat...a lollipop. 

 They are his favorite kind of candy.

It was a great way to turn 30!

The next morning.

This is what I call the Disneyland hang-over.

It takes a while to recover.

The desire to wear the ears was still there, but the energy to put them all the way on was not.

IT WAS A LONG DRIVE HOME FROM SEATTLE

The product of road trip boredom.

Our three and half week stay in Seattle was over and it was time to once again hit the road.  This was our third road trip to Seattle from L.A. with Gavin so he knew what to expect.  That kid has quite a few miles under his belt already.  We were excited to get home though.  A visit to Disneyland for my birthday was only a week away and Gavin couldn't wait to see Mickey Mouse.  So off we went.

RIDING THE LIGHT-RAIL. SUMMER IN SEATTLE.

Seattle recently completed their first light-rail train line and we were super excited to take Gavin on it.  We caught the train by the airport and rode it all the way into downtown.  Gavin thought it was super cool that we were up high and going through tunnels.  What a great way to see Seattle.

POINT DEFIANCE BEACH AND ZOO. SUMMER IN SEATTLE.

Gavin balancing a seashell he found on his nose.  He was very proud of the fact he thought of this all on his own.

Curtis made this boat for Gavin at the ship museum the day before.  Gavin decorated it with the stickers.

This walrus at the zoo kept doing laps around the tank and zooming by us in the corner.  He was really huge and Gavin got such a kick out of it.  This was probably our favorite part of this zoo.

Dressing up as an octopus in the kid's zone.

Look what big teeth you have!

Once Gavin was told he had to put these back he instantly went into tantrum mode and chaos soon followed.  In the process of freaking out he bumped into the fake palm tree on display which knocked over a shelf of water bottles, which knocked over a shelf of coin purses and travel hairbrushes, which knocked over a basket of plastic fish, which knocked over a couple dozen other gift shop trinkets.  All of which landed in a huge pile on the floor making a loud crashing sound that left a hush over the gift shop.  Yeah, you can say I was a little embarrassed and upset.  It was just like a scene out of a movie.

  

A DAY OF SHIPS. SUMMER IN SEATTLE.

Tacoma is one of Washington's best kept secrets.  There are parts that are shady still, but along the waterfront it is becoming very urban and hip with a cool Seattle vibe.  Just outside the downtown area are charming suburbs with eclectic little shops and restaurants and lots of nature in between.  We spent the day driving around a bit, eating amazing smoked salmon on the waterfront, and touring this boat museum.

Gavin at the helm.

Curtis and Gavin often read 'Men, Ships, and the Sea' for a bedtime story (Curtis loved it growing up).  Gavin can name lots of different parts of the ships now and told us where the bow was and how many masts the ship had.  Not bad for a two year old. 

All of these workers on the ships dressed in period clothes and took care of the boats in exchange for a free bed and meals down beneath.  Anyone is welcome to join the crew and they even teach you how to sail.  How cool is that?  One of these ships was even in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Inside was a play area set up with Port of Tacoma infrastructure toys including ferries, docks, cars, barges, semi trucks, and trains all made out of wood.  Gavin was in heaven.

CAMPING ON THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA WITH THE SANDERS. SUMMER IN SEATTLE.

Gavin and Gabriel.

While in Seattle we really wanted to get together with our old friends, the Sanders, who we met way back when in CA.  Our boys are only three months apart so we knew it would be fun for everyone if we met up to go camping on the coast.  We scored a huge campsite that was perfect for all the boys to run around (dads included) and spent lots of time out at the beach and hiking a bit.  We even built a proper bond fire on the beach at sunset.  We hope to make this sort of thing a tradition if we can.  It was super fun.  Thanks B,C,G,&J for the great weekend!

A pondering stump I suppose.

There was this sort of teeter-tooter log in our campsite that all the boys loved.  Boys will be boys.

This is for all you Twilight fans.  

I never read any of the Twilight books or even saw the movie, but we camped just outside of Forks, WA where it all took place so we had to swing by the visitors center for a peek.  This is the truck from the movie.  Pretty cool I guess.  Maybe I should get the book now.

Rialto Beach.

Curtis the daredevil.

Gavin's first time fishing.  They didn't catch anything, but they still had fun trying.

Some good old father and son bonding time on the river.

On our drive home we stopped at Crescent Lake, which is the third deepest lake in the country I think.  It really reminded us of Lake Tahoe, especially the electric blue color.  It was pretty cold though so Curtis was swimming solo.

The shore of Crescent Lake.  Gavin clambering around on the logs.

Rialto beach again.