Disneyland

Last week we got to go to California and spend the week visiting family and going to Disneyland. This was the last time our kids would have a break from school during the year (they were off track and next year our school will go to a traditional schedule), and it was my birthday so we would get one free admission....so we decided to make it a vacation! We had a great time and I'm glad the kids will be able to have this fun memory....I know I will!

Here is my journaling of our trip... sorry if it's long and boring, but this is my only source of scrapbooking or family history keeping so I've got to write at least some of it down!

Ben and Lucas is line at Monster's Inc.

Rachel's one and only ride was at Monster's Inc. She took it all in pretty good but didn't really know what to think.

Still in line at Monster's Inc!

This is is the only picture we got with the whole family. Rachel only came with us the first day when we went to California Adventure. My mom very kindly watched Rachel for 2 days when we went to Disneyland. It was a treat for us and the boys to be able to go on all the rides and to not have to take turns.

Lucas catching bubbles from the Pixar Parade

My sister Ally was able to come for the afternoon that day. Ben and her caught a last minute ride on the Tower of Terror and didn't make it to where we were sitting for the parade....so they watched it somewhere else. Right after the parade ended for us, we see Ally and Ben walking right at the end of the parade trying to find us. It was funny because they didn't realize that everyone was watching them walk along the parade route..as if they were part of the parade!

This is a clip of Ben showing me how he was dancing while walking behind the parade!

The next day we took a break from Disneyland and spent the day in Newport Beach. We lucked out and got a great deal at a Marriott Resort, so we wanted to be able to enjoy some time there. It was such a nice place and made our trip so enjoyable to be able to stay there. Most of the day the kids spent swimming, but this picture is when we went into Newport Beach and took a harbor cruise.

Lucas on the boat!

Ben on the boat! My mom had Rachel and they stayed on shore because Rachel had a bad cold and I was afraid she'd be too cold on the boat. It turned out to be a lovely day and she probably would have been fine, but it's always a bit more relaxing without a baby! My mom really did help us out a lot this trip!

The tour we took was of this man made island that's filled with mansions built right along the harbor. They pointed out many famous people's houses and their humongous yachts parked right in their back yard. This particular house used to be owned by John Wayne at one point..who knows who lives there now! Zac and I liked seeing the houses and boats...but the kids bored after the first 15 minutes. The tour guide said there wasn't a house on the island less than 7 million dollars...Zac and I laughed when the boys asked if we could ever live there someday!

Lucas playing at a park on the beach where my mom and SIL Lacey had waited for us.

Ben showing me he's not too big for the slide
This is my niece Lizzy..her mom brought her up to spend the afternoon with us but didn't want to ride on the boat, so she waited for us at the park!Our first day at Disneyland, in line at Thunder Mountain Railroad. The kids rode all the roller coasters at Disneyland and loved everyone one of them!

Lucas on the carousel. Out of all the rides, he said this was his favorite....what a crazy kid!

Ben and his cousin Paige. That day my brother D.Max and his family, my brother Donnie, and my SIL Erika and her twins all came to spend the afternoon with us. It was so fun for the boys to have their cousins to go on rides with.Our gang on the Tea Cups. The kids with Uncle Donnie thought they were the fastest!

Our gang on the roller coaster in Toon Town. The worker was so amazed that we exactly filled up the whole roller coaster with our group that she offered to take a picture.
I think this picture is so funny..it's not the greatest quality because I took it from the tv screen..but it's all our family on Space Mountain. Notice my over excitement..I look like a big kid!
Rachel is ready to spend the day with grandma again. They hung out at the pool and went shopping with grandma for little girls dresses for my brother's upcoming wedding.This is me looking like a geek with my birthday button. I thought it was funny when people wished me happy birthday..even calling me by name. It throws you off guard..but we all got a kick out of it!This is the famous disneyland picture with the sword and the stone but I especially love the boys faces on this one!

This was the last day at California Adventure. I came back by myself with the boys (long story short..we didn't have another ticket because I got a free one for my birthday, so Zac went back to my mom's house with Rachel that day.) My main goal for that day was to see the muscial Aladdin (which we all loved and I'm glad we saw) and to get the boys to go on California Screaming..the big roller coaster. Ben was adamant that he would not go on it, but after Lucas and I went on it first, he saw how Lucas liked it. He also had gotten bribes for $5 from 2 aunts, and a new webkinz from me...so he finally gave in and got on the ride. (Since when do you have to bribe kids to go on Roller Coasters?) And of course...just like I told him...he loved it!

It was a great trip and I'm so glad we were able to enjoy it as a family. Of course, like any vacation with kids, there were not so fun times, like a screaming baby on the airplane (on the way down she was a literal MONSTER....luckily the trip back wasn't quite as bad!), Rachel getting a cold (one night she didn't sleep at all), the boys still fought and whined at Disneyland, and Zac and I trying to keep our cool throughout it all.....but all in all we had a great time and hope to do it again someday...just not too soon because it definately is true that you need a vacation just from being on vacation!

Oh Where Oh Where Have the Binky's Gone?

It seems like every day I am in search of a binky for Rachel. She's always taking them and throwing them or hiding them somewhere obscure. One time I found one in the window seal in her room (I change her right next to that window). I also often find them in low lying drawers as well. I have bought more just to have them more handy because she really does calm her down when she needs to...but just likes to hide it as well. Tonight was no different. I was ready to put her to bed and went searching for a binky. Luckily I didn't search too long, but I was suprised to find such a collection!

Easter Sunday

We had a very nice Easter this past Sunday. It was really nice because the kids spent the night with Zac's parents while we went to Stake Conference Saturday night and Sunday morning. It was so nice to be able to listen to the talks without wrestling kids. Afterward, we went to Zac's parents and waited until they got out of church. The kids were excited that the Easter Bunny had come while they were at church. It was a really nice day....and that's the last time I am going to say nice. Sorry, good descriptive words are not coming to my mind at the moment!

Lydee's Baptism!

We had a great day today as we got to watch my niece Lydee (Zac's sister's daughter!) get baptized. It's crazy how fast these kids grow up! We loved being part of her special day!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Last week, Ben celebrated his 9th birthday. I talked him into just celebrating with family this year and he picked his favorite restaurant...Red Robin..to go to dinner. Zac's family came and we enjoyed a nice night out to celebrate with Ben.

Ben and his cousin Lydee

Rachel attacking Ben!

Ben loves new clothes....especially plaid shorts! He thinks he is a fashion expert....and what I get a kick out of is that he likes to make comments about what I'm wearing on occasion! Like..."Mom...I don't think that looks very good what you are wearing"...or..."Mom...that is a nice shirt....is that new?" He cracks me up!

His actual birthday was the next day, but since he had school and soccer practice..there wasn't much time to celebrate! He was excited to take some soccer cupcakes to practice to pass out to his teammates. He was also excited that I bought him Subway for dinner...he loves a good sandwich!

Ben is a great kid. He definitely has broken us in as the 1st child..trying us in every possible way, but we love to see him grow and are so glad he's part of our family! I might post some baby pictures because I've had fun looking back through the last 9 years...but we'll see if I ever get around to it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Here's my luck trying to get a picture of 3 kids!

Rachel's shirt says "Dad's Lady Luck"
Hope your day was filled with lots of luck!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Last Saturday (March 7) was Rachel's birthday. I can't believe she is already 1. Time flies by so fast and she is getting bigger each day. I want her to stay a baby, so I'm a little sad to see her turn 1, but since I can't stop her from aging, we enjoyed celebrating her special day. Here's some reminiscing from that day..one year ago!



One year later.................!

Still a cutie!

We pulled out the cupcake barrettes for her big day (she got the outfit as a gift at my baby shower from my neighbor...it fit her at just the right time!).

We set a few items out to see what Rachel's future interests might be (we got the idea from some friends...thanks D family!). I tried to post a video like three times but it would never work..oh well. She chose the toothbrush....she has a heart like her Grandpa Fellars, Uncle D. Max, and Grandma Bonnie!

I wonder if she is thinking what the big fuss is all about!

She is a true girl at heart...she didn't like the mess of the cake.

We tried a few different ways to get her to eat the cake, but there would be no birthday mess for this one year old! Oh well, maybe this means she didn't inherit my sweet tooth!

Oh What Do You Do in the Wintertime? - Part 1

Winters are LONG in Utah! Cold, snowy, winters are a phenomenon for people who live in places like California. That was me my whole childhood and teen years. Some people may have fond memories of playing in the snow as a child. I, however, have fond memories of some nice cool days, lots of sunshine, and the occasional Santa Ana winds! Anyways, I've had to adjust to the long cold winters in Utah. I realized though, that I might be depriving my kids of some lasting memories, if I didn't allow them to fully enjoying what you can of the cold and snow. They've played in the yard and shoveled snow, but they had never gone sledding. On President's Day, I decided it was time they experienced that fun, and took them to a local City park where they could start out on a little hill. We went with some friends, and the boys had a great time. I liked sitting in the warm car while Rachel slept where I could watch them from the parking lot go down the little hill. Here are some highlights:

Sorry Nicole...I didn't get permission to post this picture, but it looks like you were having a lot of fun!

Our friend Sarah and her 1 1/2 year old daughter Analese!

Kristen, Sariah, and Kelsey

The kids had a great time and I had fun watching. I still don't think I missed out on too much as a kid. Next time we'll take them to a bigger hill. The only bummer of the day was the fight over the kids wearing helmets..you can tell who won...and Ben throwing his gloves and hat somewhere that were no where later to be found (Do they think the world is their living room?)

Oh What Do You Do in the Wintertime? - Part 2

Another part of having long cold winters is the necessity of spending a lot more time at home. I think it's due to that fact that there is one thing that seems to happen to me every time this year. I start noticing some of my boring white walls and get the itch to paint. This year was no different and this time we tackled the dreaded kitchen. This has been taking up most of my spare time lately, but it's kept me busy and has been fun....except for the dreaded task of picking the right color! After putting up 3 different color samples on the wall, picking a 4th new color that my poor husband and father-in-law painted the whole kitchen with, woke up the next morning and was disappointed that it just didn't turn out like I'd imagined or hoped, decided that I really needed to change it before the second coat went up or I'd be bugged forever, went back to the paint store and re-tinted my test can..not once...but twice (I stared knowing these guys by name almost..but they were fabulous to work with!), and finally decided on the RIGHT color. Zac was pretty frustrated with me, but let me pick another color anyways! (He's always saying he needs more patience...I was just trying to help him out!) This past week, I started re-painting it on my own with the help of a friend, and then re-inforcements came Friday night with Zac, his dad, and brother helping to get it all done! Painting the kitchen is such a big job once....let alone twice! ( I really felt bad they had to help again!)

Here are the results...but hard to tell from the pictures:

I painted the archway a suede sage green..it's on both sides in the kitchen and family room. At first I thought it was like walking through an enchanted forest...but now I'm used to it and love it

The kitchen is a light tan...not too noticeable in these pictures, but it has the subtle look I was going for that warms up the kitchen. The other color was kind of a creamy tan with a green undertone...it wasn't bad but it didn't have that much color to it. I am definately not an interior decorater, but I'm happy how it turned out and so glad to be done. We only have a little touch up to do and then I get to put things back up on the walls and have my kitchen back!

OK.....now I am ready for the sun to come out and spend more time outside. I think I'm done with painting for now.....until next winter!

A Whole New World!

Rachel has been a little bit cautious in her desire to move around. At her 9 month check up, her doctor thought she should be doing a little bit more, but I disagreed and thought it was just fine for her to just sit in one place and not move anywhere. The boys both crawled and walked a little later than average, so for me it is totally normal. I don't see what the big rush is for babies to be on the move. We actually went to a child development specialist and they wanted me to do exercises with her, which I kind of did but not really. Like I said, I wasn't too concerned. Anyways, finally one day she got the hang of it..just about a week after she turned 11 months. For me...it is all over at that point. Long gone are my long hot showers when I know she'll happily play in one spot. Now, I get to have new little messes all over the house like this one:

Who can get mad at such a sweet little face?

This video was taken about 2 weeks ago, after she had been crawling for about a week. She thinks she is pretty cool now that she can get around!

She's gotten a lot faster since then, so we have to be more aware of where she is. It's been a long time since I've had a baby on the move, so it's like I'm having to re-learn everything! In fact, today I had one of those worst parent of the year moments when I left her on the bed while I told Zac something as he was leaving and totally forgot that she could move, until she fell right off the bed. I felt so horrible and I'm thankful she was all right. Like I said....it's a whole new world!