Back in the Saddle

I'll begin this post the way I begin all of my letters to my dear Grandma, whom I haven't seen in almost 20 years (for the record, I don't feel old enough to say that): I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write!

It's difficult for me to know where to start. So sorry to have left you hanging. The lives we lead are just so teaming with excitement that anything could have happened since I posted last. While normally this statement would be laughable, in truth, we have had a lot of good times in the past few weeks. I'll start with our trip to see The Morrells in early December...

First order of business: brave a monsoon to visit the San Diego Temple. Thanks to expert driving on Mark's part, and a few quick prayers, we made it in one piece to participate in a session at (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful temples in existence. Great idea, Mark & Kaylinn! Second item on the agenda: SKOOKIE. You may remember from our previous visit, the magic that is the Skookie. As you can see, the day was rather celestial. Lest you think a trip can't get much more magical, Mark & Kaylinn were kind enough to take us to Disneyland on what turned out to be Mormon Celebrity Day! Buddy elbowed me on the tram and whispered "That guy looks just like Jon Heder!" I suppose that's understandable when you're his identical twin! Then he heard a guy that sounded just like Jon Heder, and would you believe it, it was him! Kudos to Kaylinn for her expert paparazzi skills in capturing the footage of Mr. Heder, since I was way too wimpy. If sharing a tram with Napoleon Dynamite wasn't enough, then how about riding Splash Mountain right behind Jed & Sarin Hinkin from ABC's Here Come the Newlyweds? Again, the credit for such a phenomenal paparazzi shot goes to a member of the Morrell family. This time, Mark had us pose in front of the exit and instead of taking our picture, at the last second, swivelled and captured the Hinkins in all of their dazed and confused glory. See my shoulder in the corner? Well done, Morrells, well done.

I may have wished to run into the Osmonds or David Archuleta, but alas, we must have just missed them.

I think they wished for their quarter back after receiving a crummy fortune.

Eat your heart out, Mr. Ford!

Then we were off to meet and greet celebrities of the Disney variety, and experienced a lot of success... I was quite excited at the prospect of taking a picture with Cruella, and she apparently sensed it. She demanded to know how many churros I had eaten that morning and told me I was much too chipper. She was a riot! I made Buddy wait in line with me to meet Ski Bunny Minnie at her house in Toon Town. As ridiculous as we felt being the only patrons over the age of 6, the picture made it all worth it. Had we sent a Christmas card this year, this may have been it.

From there, we toured Mickey's house just next door and were pleasantly surprised to learn that he was there, ready to meet & greet us! Wandering through his house, we noticed that Buddy & Mickey have more than a few things in common.

We were so excited to meet the main mouse himself!

To demonstrate our commitment to each other, we rode the Matterhorn together. They give you the option to ride together, which is wonderful when you're 10. Not so comfortable as overweight adults, but it sure did solidify our relationship. If you didn't already think Disney was all-powerful, did you know they can make it snow on Main Street? What will they think of next? We can't go to California Adventure without a good old-fashioned picture of the R! Another staple: The "We Love Disneyland" jump for joy. We aren't jumping as high as we used to for some strange reason... Mark & Kaylinn were naturals. Maybe we should run a marathon...

To make a short story long, we had a wonderful time with the Morrells. It's hard to cram that much fun in one weekend, but we love doing it! Thanks guys! Well, I'm glad to be back in the blogging game, and I hope my return has been highly anticipated...