i saw a delorean and now i can die

we left for california at 8am eastern standard time. after driving about 10 minutes scarlett announces that she needs to go to the bathroom. that was an omen for the rest of the day.

poor reagan woke up sick:

scarlett woke up crazy:

we drove 2 hours to the charlotte airport
we took a 2 hour flight to memphis
there was a 1 hour layover with $12 in cinnabon and burger king(it would have been cheaper to go ahead and throw up in my mouth than buy junk food)
then a 4 1/2 hour flight to los angeles
an additional 1 hour trying to find my poor, indecipherable shuttle driver; i was on level 2, he was on level 1
finally, 2 hours to anaheim
i was in bed by 830pm california time
 can i get an amen?
there was a point when i didn't think i was going to make it. i was tempted to fall down on the side of the road and let birds peck my eyes out. we were nearly to anaheim when the shuttle bus broke down on the highway. it was just the kids and me and the driver. i generally try to keep my demands in my prayers to a minimum. i am already greatly blessed. but at that moment and after the day i had experienced with my ears clogged from the flight and my jaw locked up from gum chewing so that my ears wouldn't explode with pain on the flight, plus my dead cell phone battery, i needed a miracle right then and there. i would have cried(more regular problem remedy) but i was too dehydrated to produce tears. i prayed for help to get our van moving. not a minute later a department of transportation truck stopped and filled up our gas tank, enough to get us to a gas station just a few miles from our rental house. praise the Lord, miracles still happen everyday.

it was refreshing to be with my elegant and refined siblings.

we tooled around orange county in a gigantic van. we definitely blended. no one would have guessed this automotive monstrosity transported people from 6 different states, south carolina, missouri, north dakota, utah, idaho and nevada.

action shot, scary but adorable.

scarlett expressed her usual distate for costumed characters, but reagan pushed forward with uncharacteristic aplomb. but there should definitely be a rule that if you waited in line for 30 minutes to get your picture taken with woody and you are the next person in line and woody leaves the second jesse shows up, the kids in line receive a gigantic cookie and the moms who waited and cajoled that entire time receive a louis vuitton bag. i only believe in doing what is just for moms and kids everywhere. 

and for realz, how cute is this little boy?

any post with uncle bonecrusher in it, i ask this question: why is this man still single?

our buffet dinner, reagan immediately checked out. he takes after his mother in the "let's fall asleep anywhere" department.

on the sabbath we greatly appreciated the beautiful weather and the orange tree growing in the backyard. that just seems too surreal to me. if only we could have a tree in the backyard that produced cheese grits, then we'd be cooking with gas.

the newport beach temple was glorious, the weather fantastic, the company incomparable.

i must say that sunday was the day that i missed my dad the most. church and our family picnic seemed odd without him. there was no one there who could adequately quiz us on the message from church and early church history trivia.

the beach started out great.

but then deteriorated quickly...

and went completely downhill from there:

and something creepy:
2 men and a baby.

they kill me. they fight about inconsequential things all day and then fall asleep like this:

and i really did see a delorean driving down the highway. it was pretty beat up but it still resembled the best thing to come out of 1985. that and the 1985 world series champions, the kansas city royals.