von Niederhausern Family

Three days after arriving home from our family trip to California, we loaded the moving truck and headed to our apartment in Logan. I think moving is like childbirth. You forget how bad it is until you have to go through it again. Actually, since we had just moved three short months previously to Provo, it wasn’t too painful to pack up and move back to Logan, maybe like afterbirth. But wait, isn’t afterbirth more painful than labor? Which is like moving three months after you have already moved…ok, so it was painful. It’s just all the little random things that are in the corners of the rooms and on the kitchen counters that don’t have a box, saying goodbye to friends, walking back and forth a zillion times from the house to the truck (for Steve), trying to tell your kids why they can’t take things in and out of boxes and why they need to stay out of the way when all they want to do is be right in the middle helping. So I guess I am little tired of the whole moving process, but the good news is we get six to eight months for the memories to fade before we do it again! On a happier note, we will be moving into a new house only a block away. And we do love Cache Valley, so the move hasn’t been everything as bad as I have made it out to be. We have so many good friends in this area, the valley is so beautiful and green right now, the Gardeners’ Market is in full swing and our families are close and so on and so on… So I guess moving is like childbirth, because after the pain you get the joy that comes with it!

I am so glad Steve is spontaneous. Because he was starting his new job at Utah State and could arrange a few weeks of no work, he suggested a family vacation. After I returned home from Ohio on Monday evening, we repacked all our suitcases and left Tuesday morning for the “Happiest Place on Earth,” Disneyland. We owe a million thanks to our good friend who got us buddy passes on JetBlue. Anyone who has not flown JetBlue needs to check it out. The seats are so roomy, everyone has their own TV (which was a highlight for Ava and Lauren), and you get unlimited snacks.

After the flight we arrived at our hotel and took much needed naps. We then went swimming at the pool. Lauren had everyone laughing and commenting about how daring she was. She loved jumping off the side of the pool into Steve’s arms over and over and being submerged all the way underwater. She was happiest when water was covering her whole face. She kept saying, “I need to swim, I need to swim” and pushing my hands away in water that was 5 ft. deep. One guy described her perfectly, “supercharged.” On Wednesday we had our first day at Disneyland, and honestly, it was magical. The weather was perfect, Ava and Lauren have never been so happy, and the greeters and music playing at the park made us feel like we should skip in and be transformed into royalty. Thanks to RideMax (a must if you are going to Disneyland) we got in eight rides, saw Mickey Mouse and went to two princess story-times all before 1:00 p.m. This allowed us to go back to our hotel and rest up for the Parade of Dreams in the evening and the Finding Nemo ride afterwards. We had close-up seats for the parade where we literally could have touched the characters, thanks again to RideMax. Thursday we waited in line so the girls could get their pictures with Cinderella, Snow White, and Jasmine. Then we went to California Adventure to see Play House Disney – Live on Stage and Disney’s Aladdin – Musical Spectacular (a must see). That night we ate at Buca di Beppo and Ava said it was her most favorite restaurant in the world.

Friday we headed to San Diego and ate lunch at In-N-Out Burger. During lunch Lauren made friends with four different strangers who sat down next to us. She would always start out by saying “What’s your name?” and then carry on entire conversations with them. She is definitely our extrovert. That night we ate at my favorite restaurant in the world, Anthony’s Fish Grotto. Steve and I ate there on our honeymoon and it’s so divine.

On Saturday we went to Sea World and met up with my friend Kristi Jones and her little girl, Ella. We fed the dolphins, saw the Shamu Show, Pets Rule with dogs and cats, the Dolphin Discovery Show and the Clyde & Seamore sea lion show. Then we left and went to the beach. Lauren zonked out in the car, but Steve and Ava had a wonderful time playing in the sand and dipping their toes in the ocean at Mission Beach . To end the day we went to dinner with Kristi, Dan, and Ella at the Pier Cafe in Seaport Village. Sunday we found a sacrament meeting to attend and then flew back to reality.

I love my family so dearly. We had such a great time together laughing, playing and seeing the sights. This family vacation will always be a bright spot in our memories.

Nobody portrays the existence of heaven like a mother. Mothers are a similitude of Christ by way of love, compassion, comfort, selflessness, kindness, strength, humility and organizational abilities. They dedicate their time to their family, endure trying times of blood, sweat and tears and quietly get the job done without any fanfare. It’s been an enjoyable day to reflect on the examples of my mother, mother-in-law, wife, sisters and daughters and the way they have influenced my life. I’m proud to be the son of a humble and charitable mother and the husband of such a magnificent wife. So here’s to the women in my life who lead by example and who define and influence the character of those around them. Happy Mother’s Day!

Heaven on earth is a sunny Saturday that includes work and then a family date. It is so satisfying to me to have our family work and play on Saturdays. After our work and a nap we headed to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. We saw the largest lobster I have ever seen. I had to keep going to back to look at it because I was so amazed. It weighed approx. 40 pounds. I won’t lie, I was probably so enthralled with it because I was dreaming about eating the poor thing. YUMMY! They had stingrays and jellyfish you could touch, and an octopus that didn’t do much. Afterwards we ate at the Olive Garden. What a heavenly day!

 We went to Logan for the past few days to attend the funeral of our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother, Dottie F. Whitney. We lovingly call her “GG” because she is such a Great Grandma. The service was so inspiring because my grandmother was such a true lady. I can’t think of a time when I would see her that she wouldn’t tell me over and over how much she loved me. I am thankful for her extraordinary example to me and my family. Funerals have a way of making me reflect on the circle of life, and what it means to really live. I hope I can follow GG’s example and “live until I die.”

To quote the book East of Eden…

“…A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well–or ill?…It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of tho
ught of action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world.”