New clothes are purchased...supplies gathered...backpacks loaded...
We had to do one last trip to Disneyland before Summer was over.... Ryan was swamped at work so the kids and I headed out ourselves...(This is now 3 times that I have driven to CA by myself...woo hoo!)
and our own seat on the Matterhorn
Miranda and I shared a rocket ship though....remind me NOT to do that again! 
This is Parker's favorite Toy Story/Pixar character... the little green aliens
The last time I went to Disneyland, I brought Parker home the Hidden Mickey book. We decided to try to find some of them on this trip.... Here is a few that we saw...
Pirates of the Caribbean....
See it now??
This Mickey Lock is found as you exit Pirates...it is on a shop door on the right
This was actually the first one we found, it was by the Finding Nemo Submarine ride near the Monorail Exit (not an easy one to find)
This Hidden mickey is on Space Mountain... it's the speakers between the seats... pretty easy to spot!
We did find a few more, but they were tricky to take pictures of... we would have loved to find even more, but I accidently left the book on Indiana Jones ride..(don't judge) and no one turned it in :( In my defense... I put our name and address inside the cover that morning, I wonder if anyone will be a good samaritan and mail it back to us someday...sigh! The kids and I decided to take a little trip to Cedar City this week
While we were there, Nathan and Jaclyn decided to bless their new baby, Abigail.
What a cutie she is...,
Her big sister, Kaylie just loves her to pieces....
and couldn't get enough kisses....
Miranda, Nancie and I went to a couple Shakespere plays on Weds...
Pride & Predjudice and Much Ado about Nothing.... They were both excellent, but we all agreed that Much Ado was better...so funny! 
Parker was able to spend some fun time with his cousin Walker while we went to the plays...
What do your kids do when they are bored?
Mine Bake!
Well, at least Miranda does. She was home alone last night while Ryan and I went to dinner with friends. She decided to whip up a batch of cupcakes. She wouldn't tell me which ones she was going to make so it was a surprise when she texted me photos of her creation...
Cookies & Cream Cupcakes 
She started with these darling cupcake liners I found that fit the color theme perfectly!
She crushed and baked oreos right into the cupcake batter
She used up some remaining frosting I had on hand so half have buttercream and half have cream cheese icing (my personal favorite!)
They were so yummy and beautiful! It has become a bit of a tradition that we attend at least one of the shows at Tuacahn in St. George, UT. This year Miranda was quite excited to see an old-time Broadway favorite...CATS!
We met Nancie & Raynold for dinner then on to the show!
( Ok...so I look more like a nerd than a hip cool cat)
Both Ryan and Parker were shocked that they actually enjoyed the show (at least that's what they said). It was full of great dancing and singing and best of all...the weather was beautiful!
After the show Miranda and her friend Hayley wanted photo's with many of the main characters....
Grizabella
Rum Tum Tugger
Mr. Mistoffelees
Munkustrap
Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer
Skimbleshanks
Can't wait!
I am ashamed to admit it, but our swimming pool hasn't been used to it's full potential this summer. I'm not sure whether it's lack of planning or lack of spontaneity but it just hasn't happened.
I'm usually too busy, the pool is dirty or I've already showered for the day or my favorite excuse... it's night time....I really like to swim when I can catch a few rays as well (unless I can get a few laps in).
So today I suggested to the kids that we go swimming and hang poolside for a while.
We had a fun time...I lounged in my raft watching the kids and dogs splash and play.
It didn't last as long as I would have liked but hey... at least we finally swam!
They make me sooo happy!