Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Few Other Moments

The high point of our little vacation was, of course, visiting Disneyland. I left out the part where we were in the car for a lot of hours before and after. And the part where Bridget left our copies of the Book of Mormon in the drawer of the hotello where the other ones were. There were the trips into disgusting gas station bathrooms for false alarms. The time I dropped $11 in the toilet and didn't even hesitate to get it out. Bridget screaming from Anaheim to Las Vegas because we forgot to charge her DVD player and she needed to watch Mulan. My cousin Ashley had a lovely post yesterday in which she explained that her blog is for the beauty that she finds in her kind of messy life. Me too! I also hope I'm not leaving anyone with the impression that I am awesome all day every day. I do find beautiful moments and I like celebrating those.

The first stop we made on our trip was lunch at Taco Time in St. George. We pulled into the parking lot and Bridget said, "Is this the Princess Castle?" It's really too bad that we had to go and raise her expectations.
Next we made a stop at the St. George Temple. At our last stake conference the Mt. Timpanogos Temple President, Edward Brown, spoke about putting one drop of oil at a time in our child's lamp. It takes time and it can't be done all at once - preparing them for life, I mean. Sister Brown suggested that we let our children spend time on the temple grounds, let them touch the temple. I loved that. I loved everything about the Browns, really. I want to do what they said.
We thought a trip to California wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Pacific Ocean. It was about a half hour drive to Sunset Beach from our hotello in Anaheim. We passed four Carl's Jr. on the way there. (Just a little Carl's Jr. sighting update for you. Too bad I chose the second one on the way home for dinner instead of the one 50 feet from our hotel.) The ocean is always a sight to behold. We stood in it, Bridget ran into and out of it with abandon until she got hit with a wave, we made sandcastles, and I collected shells for my Pacific Ocean Sailor Valentine. (Finally! I've had my Atlantic Ocean Sailor Valentine for eight years now. I made it during a beach house vacation with my family.)


It was funny to watch Bridget get off balance when she'd watch the water. This trip was all about watching our child experience some amazing stuff for the first time. Those are the most beautiful moments of all.

8 comments:

Kristi said...

I actually really like Carl's Jr - except the price. Too expensive. I love that Bridgie got off balance. I love even more that you got to see her experience that. Parenthood at its best!

oh, and the word verification for this one is "chrool." Is that a new word for explaining what happens when Ed flings spit from his toothbrush?

Mom said...

I'm missing the beach right now! Love Bridgie's cute swimsuit. What a special trip for all of you.
I love that you love the Browns - they are a special part of our lives.

bobincary said...

What a blessing to be able to meet the Browns. Some people just come into this world perfect. It's nice to see parents who have such joy in being parents. We had a stake activity in Raleigh where all the Primary kids went on a five our trip just to touch the temple and walk the grounds. Time well spent.

allyn said...

a beautiful temple and a beautiful beach are indeed amazing experiences. not so much on the carl's jr. their burgers are way too big.
i am LOVING bridget's ice skater swim suit. it is so adorable on her.

Ashley said...

Thanks for the shout out! I once--no..ABBEY once--dropped our car keys in a public toilet somewhere in the middle of Nebraska. I had no choice, Nicole! I had to do it! :)

Nicole said...

Car keys versus a ten and a one dollar bill in the toilet? I'm totally the winner of that Who Is More Disgusting contest, Ashley. :) I couldn't wait to use that money for something, too. Talk about burning a hole in my pocket. Shiver.

melissa said...

Bahahaha! Did you pay for something with wet bills? I wanted to be there when you did that.

I'm glad you now have a complete set of valentines. :)

Someone in our bishopric told us to take the kids to touch the temple. My kids wouldn't get out of the car because it was too hot. Is that still oil in their lamps?

kenzie said...

Ok, I will be washing my hands after handling cash from now on.
Love Bridget's swim soup!