Disney for Dummies

On April 23rd the Klines accompanied the Hurtado's for a Disneyland vacation, at their invitation. When we arrived at Emily's house the evening before our departure, we could see that there would be little sleep that night because a certain little girl was bouncing off the walls and swinging from the light fixtures in anticipation of her visit with Minnie Mouse. Halle was a little out of control as well.

Halle entertained herself quite well considering she was tied to her seat for close to 10 hours. Actually, she used the ploy of needing to potty about every few minutes as her escape, but her parents were on to her. We had a little reprieve in Las Vegas when we stopped at CiCi's for lunch. (Yes Nils, we missed you, and this time we actually found it on our very first try!)

Since we couldn't get into the park upon arrival, Emily and Jared took Halle swimming to keep her mind off of "up and down, round and round" rides, but dang it was cold and they didn't last very long. We took a stroll of Downtown Disney just to get our walking shoes good and ready for the next few days.


Halle knew from experience that the name of the game is to "stand and wait", something she did very nicely, don't you think? Her patience paid off and she had the chance to visit with all the fun Disneyites, both in the park and during our Character Breakfast Buffet.

Our very first ride was the Buzz Lightyear ride (I didn't take notes on the official title). It was some sort of game where you rode through and shot at things with a laser. I discovered that I was not very good at the gaming rides.

Emily was forever grateful that she had put a few short clips of video on her cellphone.

Just in case Doug is missing Morris the Moose, he is alive and well at Disneyland. He was tired of living in the snow.

This was Halle's very first roller coaster ride, and she loved every second of it. We moved on to the Matterhorn (or whatever it is called these days--"Bobsled" maybe?) and she loved that one too.




While the parents rode Space Mountain, Grandma and Grandpa took Halle to get her driver's license so she could learn to drive. Let's just say we're grateful she won't be cruising the real streets anytime soon.

Although Halle loved the big rides, there weren't many she was allowed to go on, so we spent much of our time enjoying her thrill at the kids rides. She loved the Pooh ride, ladybugs, teacups, and whatever that worm is called.





Now that you've had a chance to see Halle at her best, I have to tell you about my favorite ride. It was Soaring Over California in the California Adventure side of the park. That ride was just what I imagine it's like to die and "soar" to one's final destination. You sit in front of an IMAX screen and, with wind and all, you sail over mountains, oceans, etc., with all the lift and turns as if you were really flying. If I ever have money to burn, I'm building one of those rides in my backyard for an escape at the end of every day!

We learned a few tricks on experiencing the best rides and saving money as well. Of course there is always the Fast Pass, which sort of "reserves" your spot in line so you don't have to stand there for hours, but the best secret of all is the single rider line. If you don't absolutely have to sit together, you just go to the front of the line and you help to fill in the empty seats. What a discovery that was! As far as saving money--we took a crockpot and each day our hot dinner was ready and waiting for when we dragged ourselves back to the hotel for a break. Word of warning, however, if you ever try it be sure to put the Do Not Disturb sign out on the door or the maid will unplug it when she cleans the room.

We had a ton of fun and we're so glad that the Hurtado's were willing to put up with us. And now: "To Infinity and Beyond!" (and back to work, darn it).

Time Flies--3 weeks and he's gone!

This is the rest of the story about a boy named Nils and his adventures in the good 'ol USA. I have to warn you, it's a long one.

No, we didn't train him to be a terrorist. Brent took him to the shooting range in the basement of Whitehead Electric. We were amazed at how well he could hit the target

The young men from church took him rock climbing at Weber State.

Kris' family took him to a hockey game at the E Center.


Damon's family took him for the weekend while we worked at General Conference. When Damon entertains, he really entertains! They went bowling......

....paint balling......

......to The Red Iguana for dinner.....

.....and of course you can't end a weekend without a game of cards. It appears Damon might be losing.

Lily was a great sport about it all.

And of course there is always video games.

We left at 5 AM for a road trip to Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and ending in Saint George for the day. And they said it couldn't be done.....!

This is the cliff that Nils wanted to climb to the tip of. I know he didn't have far to go, but there was a little part that he had to jump over to continue to the top. I do hope his Mother appreciates the fact that I refused to let him go any further. The wind was blowing and if you could see the bottom of the cliff (which you can't because it is waaaay too far down) you would understand why I nixed the photo op he was hoping for.

Bryce Canyon is one of those places you can't describe with words or pictures. You just have to go there.

We arrived at Zions at about 4 in the afternoon. Most people spend about 5 days there, but we proved it can be done in 2-3 hours.

Melissa Ryther and family were kind enough to take us in for the night in Saint George. They were wonderful hosts. The next morning we were off to Las Vegas.

Don't worry, no money was lost. This was just for the picture.

What would Vegas be without the typical wedding chapel.

We stayed at New York, New York. I think the best part of the trip was when we finally found CiCi's for dinner (after a 2 hour search--the freeway exit was closed and under construction and their fabulous detours led us in circles). He likes pizza and said all the frustration was worth it.

Nil's fixed us a German dinner of potato pancakes with applesauce on top. It was yummy. The dogs wanted to try it, too.

They learned early in his stay that he was an easy mark.....

......and so did Patch and Rameses.

No one leaves the Kline home without learning to play Cardinal Mexican Train. He ended up taking a game home with him, courtesy of Kathryn and Brent.

All these basic customs for Easter--the baskets, the eggs, the candy--they do the same things in Germany.


Nils brought Halle a cute little purse with candy in it. She decided to use it for a glove.

Halle is such a hoot when she's searching for eggs. She gets so excited and wants to look in each one as she finds it. She hasn't developed that competitive edge. She hasn't been around Paulette enough yet. :)
Halle really liked the candy, but she loved the tattoos even more that the Easter Bunny brought.

Speaking of Easter Bunnies..... While we were sitting at the table enjoying our typical Easter feast of ham and funeral potatoes at Kris' house, I asked Nils what the traditional Easter meal is in Germany. His reply? Well, let's just say that if you ever wondered where the Easter Bunny went when he was done delivering the baskets and hiding the last egg, wonder no more.

Smile Todd! Ah, come on, please?

The farewell party for the group of German students was held at the Classic Skating Rink. Nils didn't last long on the skating floor, but he very much enjoyed the laser tag.

Nils left for home early on April 17th. We miss him and hope that someday he will come back and perhaps even bring his family to visit. This was truly a wonderful experience!