California Vacation

Monday, April 18th we went on our vacation to California. It was the first time our kids had been to California. We left about 8:00. We ate lunch in Primm, Nevada, near the California border. There was a

lot of traffic from Vegas to Anaheim. It took quite a while to get there. We stopped many times for potty breaks and to secure our cargo carrier.

We passed the Angels baseball stadium on our way to the motel in Anaheim. We ate dinner and unpacked our stuff from the van to the motel room.

Tuesday morning we ate the continental breakfast at the motel and then took a Disney shuttle to Disneyland. The kids enjoyed seeing Mickey Mouse right off the bat. We went on the Toy Story ride, followed by

Space Mountain, Finding Nemo, Autopia, Tea Cups and a Train ride. We saw Buzz Lightyear. We then went back to the motel for our lunch break. Tera had a nap.

Tuesday afternoon we went back and went to California Adventure. The boys enjoyed seeing a couple bears (in costume). The kids had fun playing on a giant tree house. They then got rides on a mini zipline.

We went on a swing ride around in a circle. We then went on a raging rapids ride that got us all wet. I went with the boys, then Becca went with the girls. While we were waiting for the girls, the boys had

a blast standing in an area where they got splashed when the tube came by. Other adults nearby enjoyed watching the boys getting all wet.

We then went back to the motel and ate dinner. The kids swam in the pool.

Wednesday morning we went back to Disneyland and got right on the Matterhorn bobsled ride. Ashlyn said she didn't feel well so she didn't go on it. We then went over to do the Finding Nemo ride. Ashlyn

still didn't feel well and then threw up in front of all the people standing in line. Becca took her and Tera back to the motel. She saw Tonia (Chad's sister) and her girls as she was leaving Disneyland.

I took the other kids inside the sleeping beauty castle. We then climbed on Tarzan's treehouse a couple times. We got in line for Indiana Jones' Adventure and Jonah wasn't tall enough. I had the other kids

go on the ride while Jonah and I waited. I guess one of the vehicles broke down so it took the kids forever to complete the ride. When we met up they were scared to death. I guess they didn't like all the

skeletons, snakes, etc. We went back to the motel for lunch.

A couple more kids started throwing up so Becca took the healthy kids back in the afternoon. I stayed with the sickies. Becca and the well kids went to California Adventure. They went to the Bug's Life

area. They went on a Ladybug ride, Flik's grasshopper ride, got a picture with Chip 'n' Dale, watched a 3D movie, saw Mater and Lightning McQueen and went on a big ferris wheel. They came back for dinner.

Thursday morning we ate the continental breakfast and then drove to SeaWorld in San Diego. I forgot to avoid the toll road so we paid a few bucks to get there. We got in the ticket line and after waiting

for 20 minutes found out we were in the wrong line. We got in the correct line and a half an hour we had our tickets to get in.

Right off the bat we saw a monitor lizard walking through the park with an employee. The kids liked that. We went to the Arctic exhibit where we were able to go underground and view the beluga whales

through the aquarium window. We then went on the Atlantis roller coaster. We all enjoyed that. We were surprised that Jonah went on all these rides and loved them. What a brave kid. We then saw over 300

penguins and got to see a bunch of a sharks swimming around us. We took a break to eat lunch.

We then went to the freshwater aquarium and saw all kinds of small fish. One of the best parts of SeaWorld was the dolphin show we watched. We then went to the motel. We had to get two rooms because they

wouldn't let us all be in one.

Friday morning we ate breakfast at the motel (muffins) and then drove to Becca's cousin (Allen Ostergar) in Laguna Niguel (one hour north of San Diego). We ate lunch with he and his family and then headed

off to Strands Beach about ten minutes away. We all had fun standing and playing in the water as it came ashore. The kids learned quickly how powerful the waves can be. The kids also had fun playing in the

sand. We all ran on the sand and had a great time. We were there 2-3 hours.

We then drove back over to Laguna Niguel and swam in the community pool. We then ate dinner outside with the Ostergar's. That evening we had smores on their deck overlooking the city.

Saturday morning we took off for home. The drive home was much quicker than the drive to California.

The trip was a lot of work, but was very fun. We all enjoyed the experience.

Halloween 2010

Tera's 1st Birthday

Tera celebrated her first birthday. She enjoyed eating her cupcake and playing with her stuffed animals and doll. We enjoyed singing "Happy Birthday" to her and celebrating her special day. She's always happy and brings so much joy to us.

Banks Kids

St. George Marathon 2010

Saturday, we watched Garrett, Cheryl and Jill compete in the St. George Marathon. Garrett finished in 14th place overall at 2:37.14, Cheryl at 4:12.55 and Jill at 4:21.17. We are so proud of you guys! It was fun and inspiring to watch the race.

Food, Fall & Fun

Last night we drove up Cedar mountain to see the colorful fall leaves. Our friends, the Carpenter's, also came. We took pictures, ate pot-luck dinner and visited. We then drove to the "C" to enjoy the view and breathe some fresh smoke (from the fire near Beaver). We then drove down the face of the mountain to see the modest cabins. We saw a few deer. It was an enjoyable time.

Relief Society Retreat

Our ward relief society had a retreat from 1-8 pm at Hilda Grimshaw's, an older lady from our old ward, cabin up Parowan Canyon. It's a million dollar cabin with three levels. The views were absolutely gorgeous. It took 30 minutes to get there. We had 24 women attend. A few came and went and a couple came later. We played some fun games, made a craft with a temple picture and put it on a painted 2x6 and mod podged it on and put a ribbon on it. We had a speaker, a woman in our ward, and she talked on light- that ye may have light. We ate dinner which included blue ribbon chicken salad, fruit tray, veggie tray, rolls and cheesecake. We had snacks on the counter to eat whenever. We visited, tied a couple of baby quilts, and some shot hoops- including 90 year old Sister Grimshaw. We had a sister share some thoughts and we had a testimony meeting at the end outside as the sun was setting. The mountains were so beautiful. Red rocks capped the mountains and the pine trees stood tall and the bushes were beginning to change to their fall colors. We left at eight like planned and came home. Becca

Jesse's Black Eye

Jesse bonked heads with Ashlyn on the trampoline Sunday. We were visiting with the Banks/Payne family while the kids were in the backyard. His eye is more colorful today that the picture shows.

Daddy Daughter Derby

Saturday I took Bryn and Ashlyn to the stake daddy daughter derby at the stake center. The girls each got to decorate a car donated by the Happy Factory. They then got to race them down pinewood derby tracks against the other girls. Ice-cream and cookies were served at the end. The stake primary presidency was in charge of the activity. It was to spend time with the girls and I think they really enjoyed it.

Iron County Fair Entries

Here are some of the winning entries that Becca, Bryn, Ashlyn and Jesse entered in the Iron County Fair 2010.