Disneyland Day 3

Today was a good day. We got into the park an hour early and hit Peter Pan, Dumbo, the merry-go-round, Finding Nemo Submarines, monorail, Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters and then took a break for lunch. The sun was out all day and the park was getting busy. We went back to the hotel and napped until 4:30 (Doug went back to the park for a little bit and was able to get his fill of Space Mountain and some other big ones).

The kids and I got back to the park and we finally ran across our first character visits! Drew, don't be jealous, but Alice had a crush on Doug. Mary Poppins was also there, but Doug said Julie Andrews was the one and only Mary Poppins so we didn't get her picture. We met some other people from Utah at the Aladdin and Jasmine meet and greet. We also went on the Jungle Cruise and Tarzan's Treehouse. Then we hit Toontown. The kids loved looking trough all the character houses. We were even lucky enough to bump into Goofy and Minnie! Didn't think we'd get pictures with them.









We took our time walking over to Fantasmic and ate some yummy Gumbo (Doug's favorite food in the whole park) and Fritters. By this time it was pretty chilly so we ended up buying a pirate blanket to keep Paige warm. Matt was content to just wrap up in my jacket in the stroller. The kids loved the show, then as we were waiting for the crowds to clear, we were able to get on the last ride of Winnie-the-pooh for the night before the park closed.

All-in-all, a very full and fun filled day. Paige was really sad on the walk back to the hotel that she couldn't ride Soarin' Over California with Doug today, so I think that will be our first thing tomorrow (Pretty sure that Doug won't mind that one bit). We are also doing a very non-Disney thing and going to the beach tomorrow. I'm afraid that our kids are going to be really bored when we get home after all this. We did break down and buy us some Mickey ears, though. That will be a fun souvenir to remember the trip by.



Every time I think about the time we are spending together and the memories we are making as a family I am so thankful. I love my little family so much.

Disneyland Day 2 (Day of Rain)

Today was a good day. The kids woke up at about 5:30 ready to go. We held them off until 7:30 for continental breakfast. After that, we still had a good 2 hours until the park opened. We walked from our hotel over to the main plaza between the two parks (which took all of 5 minutes..nice) At that hour, the place was deserted, so we were able to get lots of pictures and look at lots of fountains.





By 9:30 we were so ready to get into the park. California Adventure actually opened a half hour before Disneyland, so we decided to head there first. Doug and Paige loved Soarin' Over California. I think that was Paige's favorite because she rode it 3 times. Once with me and twice with Doug. By that time, Disneyland had opened so we headed over there next. The kids loved Dumbo, It's a Small World (we rode that one twice in a row), and the Merry Go Rounds. They didn't like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Matt refused to even get on this one). I took Paige on Pirates, and she sobbed all the way through. I felt like a horrible mom, but when she told dad about it she said she was just a little scared. I think we'll try it again tomorrow.




The weather was rainy pretty much all day. I was misty in the morning and by lunchtime it was coming down pretty hard. We came back to the hotel (have I mentioned how close it is to the park? SO NICE!) ate In-N-Out burgers, took a nap, then headed back to California Adventure until it closed. We ate dinner at IHOP right next to our hotel, then relaxed in our room for another big day tomorrow. Paige and Doug watched Madagascar 2 and Paige kept wanting to hear the 'I like to move it, move it' song. She's so funny!



Hopefully it will be a little drier tomorrow, and despite all the rain, we all enjoyed ourselves and loved the family time.

In the plans for tomorrow: Riding the train, Haunted Mansion, Steam Boat, Jungle Cruise, and Dumbo again.

Day 1 - Disneyland Eve

Hi all. Doug here. Val and the kids are sleeping, so I thought I would give you an update on our adventures today.

We made it to California, finally! It has been a great trip so far. Val and the kids picked me up from work. I must admit it was very difficult to get much done today because I was so ready for this vacation to start! The kids loved the airport, and they especially liked the moving sidewalk. They were both excited to go flying and I was shocked and their reaction. I was totally expecting Paige to freak out at the whole airplane experience and Matt to be enthralled, but it turned out quite different. Paige was more excited about playing with her 'Hello Kitty' sticker book than anything. She loved the takeoff and landing, but other than that was either playing with stickers, watching 'Max and Ruby' on my iPod, or changing the channels on the plane's Satellite TV. The noise really didn't bother her and she handled everything really well.







Matt, on the other hand was all over the place. He couldn't sit still and Val had a hard time keeping him in his seat belt. He seemed to like the airplane, but was just so full of energy. About 30 minutes before we landed, he finally fell asleep and stayed that way all though baggage claim, rental car pickup, and hotel check in. We are totally expecting to have him wake us up at 5-6 am.





We are right across the street from the park, so tomorrow will be exciting. I don't know if the kids realize what is ahead of them, but it will be so much fun to experience it with them.

Well, it is late, so that will wrap it up for tonight. I'm sure Val will have much more to say tomorrow, but that's about it for today. If I may put a plug in, I will be 'Twitter'ing our goings on throughout the day. For all you non-techies, Twitter is an online service that allows you to just post quick, short, 'what are you doing' updates and share them. Just follow me at http://www.twitter.com/mrDigDoug to get these real time 'what are you doing' updates throughout the day.

Thanks for checking in!

Getting Excited!

We at the Ensign house are getting very excited. A week from today we will be heading to Disneyland. The kids are excited to ride Dumbo and the Merry-go-round (like we couldn't do that in utah) and I am really excited to take the kids on their first plane ride. I think Doug is most excited to have some family time and hit In-N-Out in Cali. All I know is that this will be a memorable trip at least for Doug and I and hopefully the kids will remember a little of it. I will be taking a ton of pictures and keeping a daily blog of the fun happenings that take place on our adventure.

Another exciting thing we have been doing these past few weeks is finishing Doug's office. Tonight we finished priming, and tomorrow our contractor is coming in to do the finish work. We should have this wrapped in no time. (As a side line, I have never worked with such a great contractor. He is quick, friendly, and does things well. He is proud of his work and it shows. His workers are all very kind and considerate. If anyone ever needs a great contractor, let me know.)

We received Paige's paperwork to get her into kindergarten. I couldn't believe how much it takes to get them in. A note from the dentist, immunizations, a full on physical, a note signed in front of a notary public, and then the paper work I get to fill out. I was shocked! Also, I am feeling a little sad to know that the kids are getting bigger. (Although i am excited too.) I can't imagine what Matt and I will do at home all day with out our Paige.

That's about it from the Ensign house. Check back for Fun from Disneyland!

Nothing Happening Here

I always feel guilty when I haven't written on the blog for a while, and it's been getting to me lately. There has not been much of anything happening at the Ensign house these past few weeks, but I will post a few pictures and just share a little.


Paige posing for the camera. She is always anxious to see herself in the camera, which makes it hard to get a good shot.


Here the kids are eating snow. It was either have them outside catching colds and freezing or putting it in a bowl and enjoying it inside a warm house. This way, I didn't have to get them in their snow clothes.


You may be wondering why the underwear on the heads? I have no idea. But the kids thought it was funny.


Matt and his Train Table from Christmas. He's completely enjoyed it. Whenever we leave the house, he is worried that Thomas the Tank Engine will miss him.

This past few weeks we have been planning on finishing Doug's office downstairs. Now neither Doug or I has any talent in the home project realm so we have gotten bids, and are having someone else do it for us. It will be nice to have done, and I really like the contractor that's doing it for us. He made me feel comfortable, and that's the most important thing to me. I figure if we do one room at a time the basement will be completed without going into debt. That will be nice, but might take a little longer then most people's. (I've got time.)

We have also been planning a trip to Disneyland. We had a rough few months, ending a few weeks ago with a D&C for me, and decided to make us all feel better by hopping a plane to Cali in March. It should be fun, and family bonding time can never get old. I can't wait to be able to spend 5 whole days with just our family. I am trying really hard to not push anything. I want my kids to take the lead and have this be a trip about the magic for them. They are at a wonderful age, and should have a ball.

Paige just started some new speech therapy with Scottish Rite. I am so excited with the progress I am sure will come soon with help and a little hard work.

That's pretty much it. Hopefully this week I will be able to get back to the gym and start the work out routine again. Tomorrow I also get to go with my sister-in-laws to hear the General Relief Society Pres speak. It will be a good spiritual experience for me (For those of you with kids you know how rare they are on Sundays.) Hope everyone has a great and peaceful week!

New Years Resolutions?

As much as I would love to say that I am going to have some great New Years Resolutions, I can't bring myself to make goals this week that I know darn well I am not going to be doing next month. Instead, I think that I will write down some of the things that I would like to try and accomplish, but feel no pressure if it doesn't get done.

I really would like to be able to say that I LOVE going to the gym. I am going to get to the gym so much this year, that I couldn't live without going. (I've heard this happens after a little while.)

I am going to teach my children how to sit at the dinner table through a whole meal. (anyone have seat belts for kitchen chairs?)

I am going to get out more for just adult time. This I think will make me a better mother and wife.

I am going to teach my kids how to pray on their own. (I taught the 7's last year and was shocked that I still had to help some of them say prayers.)

I want to be more outgoing.

Most of all I just want to be more patient with everyone. (This will probably be the hardest of all to accomplish.)

I hope everyone has a great start to the New Year, and hopefully I will be able to see you all at some point during the year.

Our Christmas Letter 2008

We are so excited for this holiday season. There are so many things that we are thankful for, and lots of things that have happened this past year.

We moved to our new home in West Haven, Utah at the beginning of December last year (which is why there was no Christmas letter). We love our new home and our new ward. It seems that we have been blessed to move into a place where there are lots of children with speech issues like our Paige has. It's been a blessing to be able to have people to talk to who understand what it's like to have a child who is delayed.

Doug has been really busy the last few months. He still works for the Church doing web development for the Newsroom website. He loves what he does and is glad he works in the environment that he does. He really loves the FrontRunner commuter train, which is only a mile from our house. He spends his time on the train relaxing and watching shows that he downloads to his iPod.

We have had a little work challenge pop up though this year. The church has decided to move Doug's whole department to the old Intel building in Riverton. This means in June this year he will have to add another 25 minutes on to his commute making it one and a half hours each way. We are having faith and hoping that we can work something out so he doesn't have to go down there 5 days a week. Doug's calling in the ward is Ward Clerk. He likes being in on all the action. (I think he will like it less when we move to the 9 AM time slot.)

I have kept busy being a mom. My calling in the ward is Primary teacher for the 7's. Next year I move to the CTR 5's. (Sadly this is because no one but me can keep my daughter sitting still.) I am looking forward to a new challenge. I am grateful for the moments I can have some time to myself at the gym, or go to dinner with the girls. As much as I love my kids, it's nice to spend some time with grownups.

Paige is in preschool at the elementary school this year. She loves her teachers and the helpers in her classroom. She doesn't like the bus ride very much. Her speech has grown by leaps and bounds this year, and I can understand everything she says. She is a talker, and likes to sing Jingle bells, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, I am a Child of God, ABC's, and Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. Recently she started writing her name, and that does a mother's heart good. She's an artistic little thing. She loves painting, drawing, coloring, and play-doh. She likes to play computer (she's her daddy's girl) and eat cookie dough and cheese.

Matt is 2 1/2 and growing fast. He is a boy through and through. He loves cars, trains, and balls. He also loves dirt and mud. He is going through his "I'll do it myself" phase, and I get the biggest kick out of it. He is in nursery and finally to the point where daddy doesn't have to be with him the whole time. Matt's favorite food is Doughnuts and chocolate, but he will stuff any kind of candy into his mouth.

We are so thankful this year for all the many blessing that our Heavenly Father has given us. We have been blessed with Doug's job not to feel the pinch during these economic times. We are blessed with the friends that we have, and the support system they are to us. We are so blessed with our wonderful family. We have amazing parents and grandparents who are always there for us. Most of all we are thankful for the gospel and the knowledge that we have of being an eternal family.

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and pray that you find joy in the coming year.