pictures of disneyland vacation

Disneyland

Jared and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary with a trip to Disneyland. We used a software called ridemax. You put in the rides you want to go on and it figures out from last years wait time which rides you should go on at what time and when to get fast passes. It was really helpful. We got on so many rides. Usually when we go to Disneyland we do the little kids rides, but since it was just Jared and me we got to do a lot of rides I have never done before like splash mountain. I love that ride I think we went on it 5 times, every time with a fast pass! The very last time we went on it I got stuck in the front! Not a good place to sit. I was drenched from head to toe when we got off. Jared liked Tower of Terror it really surprised us at the first drop, we weren't expecting it. I think I liked California Screamin the best it is the least jerky ride we went on.
We ate dinner at the Blue Bayou which is the restaurant on the water at Pirates of the Caribbean. The atmosphere was fun but the food wasn't that great and was really pricey. The next night we had dinner at Cafe Orleans and had their montey cristo sandwiches. They were pretty good. Saturday we went to Ripley s Believe it of not and saw some crazy stuff. They have one section where they show you a video of people moving their tongues real crazy. There is a mirror there for you to try to replicate what they are doing in the movie. Well as you move in further you see that it is a mirror you can see through in the back! We got to laugh at all the people trying to make funny tongue moves. I wonder if anyone laughed at me while I tried. :) Jared is too smart though, he didn't try, he thought something was up at the beginning.
We had such a fun time but were ready to be home. When we got back Blake woke up from his nap and gave me the best hugs and kisses. He would hug me then look to see if it was me, give me a good kiss on the mouth then do it all over again. But then he saw Jared and went strait to him and wouldn't let Jared go for a whole hour! What is up with that! I'm the mommy!
Grandma Harris stayed with the kids while we went away and they had a great time. They got to eat out every night and go see Papa and Mimi. Grandpa came down Friday and apparently Blake didn't want anything to do with Grandma anymore. I think my mom said today that my dad went and got his back adjusted today.... To much baby holding I guess. Friday night they went to Schnepf Farms and went on a roller coaster! Kayla was so proud of herself. She keeps calling the farm the market for some reason. She keeps asking me if we will take her to the market. Saturday they went to the Science museum and wouldn't you know while eating lunch Kayla lost her second tooth. She didn't realize it until later that day when she felt with her tongue it was missing. What is that you say? Kayla ate her second tooth too?!?! I guess so everyone Kayla must like the way teeth taste. She told us on the phone while we were away and thought she was so crazy. They had such a great time with my parents. Though I think they wore grandma and grandpa out, they said Saturday night they went to bed at 8:30. And when we got home Sunday afternoon they left a few minutes later. :) Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa. We love you.

Blake Sleeping

Here is a video of Blake falling asleep while he was finishing his lunch. The end is really funny.

Labor Day at Lake Powell 2

Elizabeth getting up for the first time on skis! It was incredibly exciting.



We had a great time this year at Lake Powell. We swam a ton, skied, tubed, played on the beach, fished, and had smores every night. Kayla also lost her very first tooth on the first night we were there. She was eating corn on the cob complaining about her loose tooth when Aunt Angie discovered it wasn't in her mouth anymore. We think she swallowed it but she didn't care she lost her tooth! Yay!

Labor Day at Lake Powell 1

Blake did not like to go in the water after the first day. But being the mean parents we are we made him.
Elizabeth caught a few fish, this one is a carp. I think she caught this one with a dough ball. She also caught a few cat fish. Kayla "caught" a fish too because Elizabeth caught it on her pole.
We have an island at Lake Powell we named Dutton Island. Most of it was under water this year. Jared and I had fun jumping off this rock. Elizabeth and Kayla did Ariel shots on the rock. I didn't include Kayla's photo because she way crying because we took E's picture first.
Jared always tries to Slalom but never seems to be able to stay on the one ski. It is really funny watching him face plant into the water. I shouldn't laugh though I can't get up at all.

So I've taken up smoking lately

I recently took up smoking, and after reading mountains of opinions online (analysis paralysis), I've had some success. The smoker I'm using I picked up used (well, not from a store but not ever used to smoke anything) for $10 or so, but have had some issues with getting it up to heat. To deal with this, after many smokings with cardboard boxes over the smoker, I finally added to hotplate to the bottom of the smoker. The ribs and pork shoulder are the first attempt at smoking after adding the additional heat and came out pretty good...better than most bbq from a restaurants.


These ribs were also my first time using mesquite, I usually use hickory. I'll probably switch back to hickory after I use up the rest of the mesquite, I like the sweeter aromatics in the hickory that I don't get with the mesquite. The food was excellent, tender and juicy, but still not perfect. To help with improvements, I added a more accurate temperature gauge to the smoker so I know the actual temp of the smoker, not just whether it is "warm", "ideal", or "hot". Worthless. I'll be sticking it at 220 for the most part now.


I can usually only smoke once every couple months, being covered in smoke all day while out camping is one thing, but around the house it makes me nuts and I crave a shower almost as much as eating. Hopefully with some work on the smoker I won't have to stand out in the smoke messing with the temperature as much.


So here are some pics of the recent smoking:

Here it is from the store, all wrapped in plastic and unrubbed. Speaking of rub, I just cover them with mustard and put a cheap rub on from the store...obviously I'm far from hard core on this.


















Getting the smoker ready, filled the bottom with wood chips (for fast smoke) and wood chunks (so I don't have to put more chips in every hour). Note the two power cords coming from the unit :-).


















Ribs just getting started on the smoker, there are more ribs and the pork shoulder on the rack below them.
















And here they are coming out, they look like they're worth eating now:

The lower rack. We're all addicted to pulled pork, so it's hard to smoke without doing at least a small shoulder.





































And the money shot, yum. I was so stuffed when I got done with these I could hardly finish the pork shoulder.
















so...some other smokings...turkey is always good. I put some olive oil on this one per some site's recommendation, but wouldn't do it again. The last turkey I smoked had a real nice crispy skin and more smoke penetrated the meat.
















Alright...picture of the previous turkey...note the skin texture, delicious.

You did what!

What Elizabeth does Kayla must follow. As I recently posted, Elizabeth got her ears pierced for her birthday. Kayla has been quite upset that she hasn't been able to get her ears pierced too. Well as all of you know that have had your ears pierced you need to "clean" them several times a day. After seeing Elizabeth do this many times Kayla thought she would "clean" her ears also. Her choice for cleaner, super glue. Luckily we have a can of acetone out in the garage and a few nasty smelling minutes later she was all "clean".