vacation

We had so fun much at Disneyland last year that we decided to go again this year. This year it was just our little family and my sister Kelsey and her husband Derek that went. I am surprised how well the kids did on the long drive. On the way there we stopped at Prim for the night to break it up. On the way home we drove straight through. Our kids are at the perfect age and it makes family vacations fun.

It's amazing how things change in a year. Last year it was torture trying to get Londynn to go on any rides. Boston was pretty easy going last year and went on basically everything we wanted him to go on but if he saw Londynn crying then most times he ended up in tears also. This year there was a lot more smiles and Londynn was willing to go on more rides. Both kids have grown a lot since last year which meant that both kids could go on most rides. With the exception of the "scary" rides (i.e space mountain, haunted mansion and Indiana Jones) we went on almost all of the rides.

Before we left on the trip the weather didn't look like it was supposed to be very warm so I packed long pants and long sleeves for me and the kids. I should have known better because the weather was beautiful and on one of the days it actually got a little too warm.











The Toy story rides was a favorite of all of us and we were sure to ride it many times.





Boston thought it was pretty cool to get a picture with Mr. Incredible. They had just put on a little street show and Mr. Incredible came up and gave him five. He was all smiles.





On one of the days we took a break from Disneyland and did a little shopping and headed to the beach.



We've heard to many good things about The World of Color that we had to see it. Pictures don't do it justice because it was pretty cool. The kids loved it and when it was over we couldn't get back to our car soon enough, the kids were tuckered out.

California and Disneyland 2 years in a row was a blast but I think it's safe to say we have had our fill for a couple years.
The only downside of vacationing this early in the year is that in a couple months I will be ready for another one.

Tender moments

Having sick kids is the worst. Being sick yourself also isn't any fun. I can't decide which is worse? I recently was hit with some nasty bug that left me in bed with a fever, the chills and the aches from 3:30 until I went to bed last night. My kids new I was sick but that didn't stop them from coming into my room every 5 minutes checking on me, whining at me, or asking me for things. At one point after dinner Londynn came walking into my room as somber as could be. She just looked at me and I could tell she was fighting back tears. I asked her what she needed and she said "I just want you to feel better". By this time her eyes have filled with tears but she's still fighting them back. Out of my 2 kids Londynn is most like me. She is very strong willed and I feel we butt heads more than we get along. It's not very often I feel we have those "tender moments as mother and child" and quite honestly that makes me sad. Last night we had one of those moments. As she is trying to hold back her tears for me I couldn't help but to let mine fall as I tried to reassure her that I was going to be okay and I just needed to rest. As she walked away she mumbled the words "I love you mom" and left my room.

It's moments like those that I am reminded of how in tune our children are. Here I was laying in bed feeling sorry for myself and all Londynn wanted was for her mom to feel better. Oh how I love my little girl, even if we butt heads. :)

Ticklish

So Boston came to me yesterday holding his head. I asked him what was wrong and his reply was "my head tickles" aka I have a headache. Too cute!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

So take a look at these photos and tell me if you see a common trend?


Londynn's 1st birthday


Londynn's 2nd birthday


Londynn's 3rd birthday


Londynn 5th birthday

This child does NOT like for us to sing Happy Birthday to her. It all started on her 1st birthday. While we were singing to her she burst into tears. That first year I didn't think anything of it. I thought maybe she was scared of the candles. Her 2nd birthday it happened again. We all started to think it was funny. Third birthday came around and we all started making bets as to whether or not she would cry. Sure enough she did. On her 4th birthday we had a friend party and unfortunately I was a bad mom and totally forgot to sing Happy Birthday to her; however, I'm pretty confident that she would have ended up in tears. That brings us to her 5th birthday. We celebrated the kids birthdays together at a local pizza joint. I wasn't sure whether or not she would cry this year. I was kinda hoping she had outgrown it. We started singing to her and she was all smiles. It wasn't until after we had finished the song and was congratulating her on not crying that she broke down into tears. I think she caved under all the pressure. Poor thing. Good thing grandpa was there to comfort her because I was too busy busting a gut. Yup I know I'm a mean mom, but you have to admit that it's pretty comical right?

The big 15...I mean 5

Well my little/big girl turned 5 today. Anyone that really knows Londynn knows that she is 5 going on 15. People tell me all the time that she is a lot like me. Hmmm not sure what to think about that. :) This girl is full of attitude and personality and I couldn't imagine life without her. At 5 she:

1. LOVES preschool. Everyday she asks if she has school. Poor thing missed the deadline for school so she has another year before starting kindergarten. Everyone says this is a good thing and I'm sure it will be in the long run but it sure is hard having her home when she is ready to go to school.
2. Londynn is ALL girl and still loves everything girly, especially if it is pink and has sparkles (what can I say, she takes after me).
3. loves playing with her friends and makes friends easily.
4. is very reluctant to try new things even if i know she will love it (i.e rides at disneyland, trying new foods, participating in an activity at school or dance etc.)
5. Londynn just learned how to whistle today. She was so proud of herself and the look on her face was priceless.

Happy Birthday sweetie. We love you!!

Look who's 3

Happy Birthday to my little boy!!!

Well another year older and full of personality. I can't imagine life without this little guy. He's my tender hearted go with the flow little boy. At 3 you:

1. just became potty trained and are doing awesome
2. love doing and saying everything your sister does and say
3. are finally getting into "boy" things. With an older sister and all the "frills" having a sister comes with, you were a little slow getting into the boy things. You now love cars and play fighting.
4. LOVE Toy Story
5. are very giving and think of others. When Londynn has a friend over and you ask for a snack you will always ask to have one for sister and her friend, even if you weren't playing with them at the time.
6. are very easy going and rarely fight over toys. You usually just end up giving up whatever it is your sister or cousin or friend wants. Perfect example: We were at aunt cristy's with family and you had just pulled out a bucket of toys to play with. Your cousin a year younger than you saw you pull out these toys and immediately came over and tried to take the toy away from you. You actually fought for it for a minute and we let you fight it out because rarely do you ever do this. A minute later your cousin had stopped crying and we looked over to find that you had given her the toy and went to find something else. That was either you being really kind or you couldn't stand to listen to her scream at you any longer and gave it to her (learning at an early age to give the girls what they want to get them to be quiet :)).
7. love to eat. We have to remind you constantly to slow down and chew your food.
8. have a major sweet tooth (hmmm I wander where you get that? )
9.have a love/hate relationship with the movie Enchanted. i think you love the movie for the music, but you are soooo afraid of the witch. You'll watch the first have just fine and then hide behind my leg telling me how scary the witch is for the second half.
10. when you get embarrassed you shrug one of your shoulders up and down. It's the cutest thing.
11. are tender hearted. I wouldn't say that you get your feelings hurt very often but when you do you have a quivering lip and eyes that fill with tears enough to melt anyones heart.

Happy Birthday little guy. We love you!!!

Summer Lovin'

People are starting to say that summer is coming to an end and that fall is just around the corner. Every time I hear the word the fall I cringe a little. I'm not ready for summer to be over. We've had an awesome summer. I'm not sure what made this one different from all the rest but I think that my kids are at a good age makes a huge difference. We are out of the baby stage and my kids are a little more independent makes for more enjoyable outings. We've kept busy and I've loved every moment of it. Some of our outings have included:



The Tim McGraw concert. We went with my sister and her husband. Jared can't stand country but believe it or not he loves Tim McGraw. His concerts never disappoint (okay except for the sound system is definitely lacking if you have grass seating). Good music (and people watching) and a night out without kids makes for a nice relaxing evening.



Our summer has been full of swimming, which unfortunately has resulted is a few sun burns. :( We kicked off the summer with running through the sprinklers. It was a hit the first time but they weren't so interested in it after that. We are fortunate enough to have an awesome outdoor swimming pool at our gym. On many occasions we have packed a lunch and spend the whole afternoon lounging at the pool. This is where my kids age comes in handy. They are finally old enough to know not to go into the deep water. They are perfectly content hanging out in the shallow while I hang out on the lawn chair in the shade watching. This has been one of my favorite things to do this summer.






I love summer time and being able to spend time in the mountains. I'm not much of a hiker but I love going on picnics and having a camp fire and hanging out with family and friends. The kids are just happy to get out of the house.




My favorite summer outing thus far has been just this past weekend. Some of our friends invited us and few other families to spend the night at their cabin. I don't think I have laughed as hard as I did in a long time. It was definitely a good time. We hung out, went four wheeling, ate, played games, and watched wild life. These two little guys (okay maybe not so little) decided to pay us a visit on Sunday morning. They were fun to watch. We saw deer, bats, squirrels and humming birds all while sitting on the deck of the cabin.


Between 4 families there were 9 kids. Overall the kids did amazingly well. I loved the fact that there was enough for the kids to do around the cabin that they could entertain themselves.




These two love birds were hilarious. There was definitely a lot of love going around. :)







Thanks Millgates we had a blast!!


Summer is not complete without tinfoil dinners up the canyon. We started this tradition a couple years after realizing how much work it takes to actually go camping, and the fact that getting a camp ground isn't as easy as it used to be. This particular weekend we had actually made plans to go camping. We had hoped to wake up early Friday morning and head up the canyon in hopes of getting one of the few "first come fist served" camp sites. Unfortunately that didn't pan out. By the time we made it up the canyon and to the site there was already a waiting list. We decided to have a picnic that night instead. Maybe it was a good thing we weren't able to camp because we got rained out later in the night and had to call it a night before we could shove our faces with smores. Still a good time was had.









Ahhhhh Mill Hollow. Our family loves this place. It's the only place that I know of that you are almost guarantee to catch a fish, because we all know it's only fun to fish if you catch something (even if they are small). This was Boston's first fishing trip. He loved catching the fish. Londynn loved it the first time until she realized that after you reel the fish in it splashes in the water and swings towards you until you grab the line. She didn't so much like it after that. She would reel it in as long as you told her there wasn't a fish on the line.






It's been quite a few years since we have been to the Heber demolition derby. We were able to get tickets this year and went with my sister and her husband. It was just as exciting as I remember it being. The kids loved it but I forgot about all the down time there is while the cars are being towed off the field. Definitely a fun night.



....and there you have it. We hope to add a few more swimming sessions and a few more canyon runs before "fall" arrives. aaahhhhh how I love summer.