McDonald Family Vacation!!!

Every two years something very exciting and very wild happens............all the McDonald's pack up and go on a huge trip!!! My mom plans these trips years in advanced (she is already working on our 2015 camping extravaganza!) and this summer we all went to St. George! All 26 of us (and one in the oven) made it this year and what a party it was ;) 

It was five straight days of fun, adventures, breakdowns, giggles, exploring, snacking, laughing, and so many crazy moments that we will never forget. Here are some fun pics we took during the trip!

 My mom puts all the information, directions, itinerary, food schedule, and my personal favorite...the little envelopes with fun money......and gives them to us. It's called, "The Packet!" You DO NOT lose or forget The Packet. You must follow The Packet at all times. If you have any questions its most definitely in The Packet. When in doubt, check The Packet!!!! hehe!

Samuel the Lamanite!  We had fun visiting the St. George Temple, the visitors center, and Brigham Young's house :)

We all went and visited Matt Allred's Candy Shop. Each child had a fun little money envelope with their name on it and got to pick out whatever candy they wanted! Some kids really spent their money wisely! Cute Rowan shared all his candy with Sam :) I even bought myself an orange soda! Mmmmm!

                                              It was such a fun and yummy experience!!!

Cute baby Jane in her vaca clothes! She loved everywhere we went and looked super cute doing whatever it was we were doing ;)

                                               I mean does it get any sweeter then that?!?

 Sam loved sleeping in his big boy bed on the trip. Kevbev slept with him and they had way too much fun together ;) 

 Morgan got her wisdom teeth out the day before the trip (horrible right?!?) and she got some food trapped in the extraction site. She was in a lot of pain so Kris and I took matters into our own hands and got down to business. Look how professional we are! We had a little sanitary napkin and everything! Kris used a cotton swab to hold back her cheek and held the flashlight perfectly so I could see. Very carefully, with my disinfected tweezers, I got the debris out!!! It was the most exciting moment ever! It really made me miss my old dental assisting days.........(hopefully the dentist I worked for reads my blog and can see how I'm still using all my skills;) haha! 

                                                                      We did it!!!!

Sam had a hard time on this trip. We think he may be an introvert like his daddy ;) He couldn't be in the same room with everyone.....ever.......he would flip out and lose it! So Kevin taught him to go to his room and take deep breaths and by the end of the trip he was doing much better. We snuck this picture when he had disappeared and gone to his "happy place"........lol!

One day we went to the Fiesta Fun Family Center! It was my favorite outing by far. There was a big bouncy area, miniature golf, race cars, batting cages, boats, and arcade games. Of course my mom had bags of tokens for everyone and we all had at it! It was so much fun seeing how much fun all the kids were having......and Clayton.......he really loved the Fiesta Fun Center!!! hehe!

                                              "Get off daddy! You're slowing me down!"

                                                          Much better :) Go Sammy!

 Sam and McKay playing 18 holes.... This picture makes me laugh. It looks like Sam is saying, "In your face McKay! Try to beat that!" and McKay is thinking, "How in the world did he make that shot???"  Hehe!

Our last night there we went to Tuacahn and saw Starlight Express. I grew up listening to the music but I never really knew the story and wow.........seriously WOW! It was incredible! It really was the funnest night ever! Me and Morgs didn't have our hubbies there so we went into our weird little bubble and were so silly ;) It started to rain and they had to put the show on hold for over an hour but we were luckily able to finish it (even though we got home close to one in the morning!) Look how amazing our seats were! They would skate right up to us. I even got a high five and a point and a wink from the most beautiful specimen. His name was Greaseball. Oh Greasball. Sadly after the show Morgan found out that he "plays for the other team" so it must have been Clayton he was winking at :( Sad sad day........lucky Clayton!

                                                            Just us girls lookin good!

My AMAZING sister in law, Kris, gave Sam a haircut. It was intense......Sam was NOT happy about it.......Kris was going so fast that her hands were literally bleeding from the scissors! But look how sharp he looks!!! Thanks Kris! 

 We were each assigned a meal during the trip but on our last night we hit the Golden Corral for a big feast! It was delicious! I definitely ate my share of ice cream :)

            Here's Xander with a beard......the cotton candy was a big hit for all the kids :)

On our way home we stopped off at a park. We are guessing this is where Sam picked up the dreaded stomach flu that hit him and Kevin right after our trip because no one else in our family got sick. Jane and I are still well.....Keep your fingers crossed!!!!

These two must have really bonded on the trip. This is the closest Sam has ever gotten to Jane! Love my cute kiddos!



What a wonderful trip it was! SO grateful for my beautiful and generous mom who makes this all possible for us. She really brings us all together and brings out the best in each of us. I love my family so much and wouldn't be as happy if I didn't have all of you :) I know we don't do this anymore because we all kept getting too emotional, but I want to say one nice thing about each of you and include a fun memory of our trip! Here it goes!

Dad- You are so giving. I really appreciated how much you looked after Sam and helped him during his rough times! I loved sitting back and watching you read The Dark Dark book to him. You are such a great dad and Grandpa. Love you papa S!!!

 Mom- You are so FUN! You really make life so much fun. Playing games late that one night with you was a blast.......I love how silly and fun you get when we play games. I wish the world could see all your crazy dance moves when you get going! Hot dice! Hehe! So glad we got to eat our white doughnuts together again and I'm so glad that you are my best friend and my mom :) Love you!

Marsh- You are so sincere. You are one of the most loving and caring people I know. It is definitely rubbing off on your kids because they are so thoughtful and so sweet. I loved watching you with your kids and how you interact with them. You are always on the floor playing with them and making life so fun for them. I really look up to you and how great a parent you are! Thank you for your great example!

Kris- You are aware and always there (Ooooh that one rhymed! hehe!) I loved our talk in the bathroom. You really helped me out that night, more then you know so thank you! You really have always been there for me (even when I was sixteen and a brat) and I am so lucky to have you as a sister!!! I'll never forget the two of us working so hard to help out Morgs and how on fire we were! Man I hope our mad skills will be needed again some time......somewhere......someday!

Preston- You are so hilarious! All your one liners and your magic show....you really are so funny and witty and I'm really glad that we can always be silly together :) Even though you live far away it feels like you've never left when we hang out. I'm really glad we had that time together at the store and had lots of fun moments together!

Rachel- You are so giggly! Ok so that probably sounds funny, but I really love how we just giggle together! Ya know?!? I feel so happy when I'm around you and am so glad you ran Preston over with that boat ;) Seriously! I'll never forget getting our "freezy brains!" Bahaha!

Aaron- You are so cool......you really are! I still feel like I'm that little eighth grader and you're my sister's super cool boyfriend ;) I wish we hung out more so it was so fun having our little chats here and there on this trip. You really are so fun and totally "reek of coolness"......can't believe I just said that......haha!!!

Morgie- You are so ME! I'm so glad we have the same brain and share so much together. Don't know what I would do without you! I know you were in so much pain on this trip, but you were incredible and made the most of it and still had a good time! How is that possible when you just had a root canal and all your wisdom teeth pulled out?!? Ah-mazing! I loved our car ride to get shakes and of course our other car ride where we acted like little girls that just ate a thousand pixy sticks!!! (sorry Claymanda for being so obnoxious!) It was so fun being with you and getting so much Morgie time! Loved it ;)

Claydawg- You are so SILLY! No one makes me laugh like you do! Seeing your face as you were riding the race cars was priceless. You're like a big kid :) You make everything and everyone so much happier and so much more fun. Playing games was the best! I'll never forget, "Well....it's no beaver water".....bahaahaha! So glad you are so fun and so silly and still make me laugh so hard :)

Amanda- You are so perfect! Hey don't roll your eyes! I mean it! You really are just so wonderful and kind and gorgeous and the bestest friend I could ask for! I'm so glad we shared a condo and that it felt like old times when we were living with you. I really miss all our chats and loved having that time again to talk and hang out. Oh and my favorite moment was when you were laughing at me when I had all that doughnut powder on my face! I still burst out laughing just thinking about it!!! "Or we could use a doughnut...." Bahahaha!

Kevbev- You are so selfless! I'm so glad I have you! With all of mine and Sam's melt downs you were so understanding and patient and I'm so grateful that you are so mellow and cool and collected. You made the trip so fun for me and really took over Sam so I could spend time with my family, which you know is so important to me. I promise one day you can go on a trip all by yourself and spend it doing all the things you love......reading your comics, holding your knives, buying axes on ebay, sipping Dr. Pepper, watching boring documentaries, and making fun of hipsters....... One day......I promise :)



                             I love you all! Can't wait for our next McDonald Family Vacation!!!!!!