Disneyland

We went to Disneyland!

We decided about a 1 1/2 years ago that we wanted to save up our money and go to Disneyland. So we saved our coins, U.S. birthday money, and our stall cleaning money so we could fly to California.

During spring break, we drove to Great Falls and flew to Los Angeles. We changed planes in Salt Lake, and we had just sat down and this young man stopped and handed us a small wad of money and said, "I am headed to boot camp and I can't take this with me."  He gave us $43. 

This was the first time Lucy and Carly had ever flown in an airplane. Jill did when she was 2 and Hanna and I had a few months ago when we went to Vancouver. They were all as excited to fly as they were to go to Disneyland. It was fun to watch them on our first take off and landing.

We landed in LA and were walking to the curb to find our shuttle, and Carly said, "This is like a city." We weren't in rural Alberta anymore:)  

Our hotel was about a mile from the entrance to Disneyland, so the next morning we walked down to begin our adventure.  Our favorite ride was Splash Mountain.  There were really a lot of people there. The lines were pretty long, but we had a really fun day. 

Carly had bought some new pens at Target in Great Falls so she could get autographs. On our first ride, they must have fallen out of Austin's pockets.  This is Carly feeling very sad about the lost pens.

The first day we stayed from opening to closing. The parade and fireworks are such a great way to end the day.

Day two we went to the California Adventure side of Disneyland. During the day, each kid said to me separately how much more they liked this park more than the Disneyland side.

Lucy was not impressed with the tower of terror. We offered her $100 to go on it again, and she refused.

We did go back to our hotel in the afternoon for a swim and for dinner.  Then we went back to watch the night water show.

Our adventure was short but fun!

Our shuttle driver back to the airport was from Jerusalem.  Our flight from Salt Lake back to Great Falls was a little bumpy from stormy weather. We were glad to land.  Going on vacation and visiting big cities is so fun, but we really love our small town life!

Hanna turned 15!

We celebrated Hanna's birthday a day early. We grilled steaks and had a delicious dinner. Carly dressed up in a costume to give Hanna a mini quilt she made for her birthday present. We had ice cream cake and Austin thought she wanted to wear it too. On her birthday we had sticky buns for breakfast. After school we went to rodeo academy.

Happy birthday Hanna!

Girl Power

The young women had a wedding dress fashion show. Hanna wore Char Olsen's dress and Jill wore Ky Bevan's sister Tammy's dress. I was amazed at how many dresses they had people bring. It was also fun to see the different styles of dresses through the decades.

Carly and Lucy sang with their grades and the junior choir and senior choir at the Cardston Music Festival. They are lucky to have their amazing music director, Linda Burwell.

Once again, Carly tried without success to catch a leprechaun. But he knocked the lid off the trap and got away.

Small Spurs Rodeo

Another season of small spurs rodeo has ended. We enjoy our monthly trips to Claresholm in the winter. 

In the last rodeo  of the season, all three girls placed first in their division for goat tying. Goats are our specialty. 

For the year end awards, Lucy ended up fifth in goats and got a leather-banded halter.

Carly placed second in goats and got this horse blanket. She slept in it on the floor the first three nights after she got it.

Hanna placed first in the goat tying, second in breakaway, and fifth in team roping.

Thanks to their coach and sponsor - Austin Nunn!

Jill's Cougar Basketball Season

Jill's grade 11 basketball season has been full of ups and downs - kind of like her team. One game they all play together and score and rock. Other games nothing clicks. They have won most of their tournaments but lost most of their home games. Jill hit her head hard in a game a few weeks ago. It has been hit a couple more times. It hurts but not any serious concussion symptoms.

After regular league play, they ended up 4th in our league and were actually ranked #8 in the province.  Then came zones. They lost their first game to Raymond  - a team they had beat 3 times this year. Then they played against Medicine Hat and won.  Then they had to face Raymond again for their chance to go play at Provincials.  Luckily, the team pulled through and they won the game.  They get to go to Provincials in Red Deer next weekend.

Provincial update: Jills team lost their first game, won their second, and lost their third game. They would have liked to have done better, but it was a fun weekend.