The Happiest Place on Earth

This is the post I've been procrastinating. Why, you ask? Let's just say the experience of taking our children to Disneyland was anything BUT the Happiest Place on Earth. For the sake of preserving memories though, here goes...

In May we embarked on the childhood rite of passage, 1st trip to Disneyland. We planned to drive there in 2 days, relish in the magic for 5 and 2 more days to drive home. It was to be filled with magic day in and day out. The first night in our hotel one child was up all night vomiting, Miss A, that was. In the morning she arose happy as could be and seemed to be fine. Mom was exhausted but we pushed on. The next day we made it to Anaheim and after seeing my aunt we went to our hotel to get some sleep in preparation for the big day ahead. We surprised the kids with new Disney jammies and they were thrilled!



See what traveling does...this one was so tired she didn't move from her self-made pillow perch!


The sleep didn't last long, it was another all night vomiting affair for the same one, Miss A. Crazy thing is she arose in the morning claiming to be just fine. Two nights of non-stop vomiting was taking it's toll on Mom, though! Again, we pressed on and headed out for our 1st day of Disneyland. We pulled out another surprise -- Disneyland shirts and we were off! Let's just say that child #2 and #3 had pretty much zero interest in being there. Being the ages they are this is displayed in lots of tears and screaming!

See -- it pretty much looked like this most of the day!


By about noon it was clear that naps were in order so Mom and the little ones headed to the hotel. After waiting over 45 minutes for our shuttle bus (out on the sidewalk with no shade & 2 small tired children) we got home and put them to bed.

We did manage this picture of the 3 of them:

Upon waking up we headed back to Disneyland to meet up with Dad and K. Well, Dad was not feeling well so he camped out with the little guy and Mom and the girls went on a ride. We managed to wander into a parade, so stayed and watched. Then it was off to another night of sleep.


It gets better. This night there were 2 of them going ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Miss A again and now the little guy (S) joined in! I don't think I laid down for more than a 20 minute stretch at a time. It was madness! I was at the front desk begging for cleaning supplies, towels and all kinds of things. After assessing the situation in the morning we decided the 3 sickies would stay home (Dad, Miss A and S) and Mom and K would go to the pool. Well, that didn't last long and we were back at the room. Within the hour, she had joined the sickies -- I was the last holdout and WORN OUT!! Thankfully Target was right across the street so I was able to pick up supplies for all the sickness. (Wouldn't you know it the Tylenol I thoughtfully packed had been recalled after we left!)

We decided to call the day a bust and extend another day at the back end of our vacation to make up for it. Kids bounce back fast, right!?

WRONG. Another night of vomiting. First thing in the morning we called Disneyland and they were gracious enough to reissue our unused 4 days so we could come back in 6 months. We were packed and on the road within an hour. That 2 day trip there was only 1 coming home. We wanted to be home so bad!

So there you have it -- INSANE! And, we get to go back!! Can't wait! It's actually really sad because what do the girls think of Disneyland? "We don't want to go back that's where you get really sick." That's just not fair, it's supposed to be the Happiest Place on Earth!

A Graduation...

from Kindergarten. Complete insanity to think next year she'll be gone all day! She's ready... but am I? Only time will tell. Anyway, here are some fun pics of the big graduation day! She was so proud to have her family there including a grandma and an uncle!

The AM Kindergarten Class:


Her drawing of what she remembers of kindergarten: The First Day of School


Her teacher telling her, "You are officially a first-grader!"

Daddy Time

The kids LOVE to have Dad come home and turn on the music and dance. The other night he got out their tutu's and it was pretty hilarious!! I was a bit surprised Dad went for putting one on the little guy. The little guy was SUPER persistent though and thrilled when he finally prevailed.

Another one gone

Well, my oldest child has lost another tooth -- it still seems hard to believe we are in this phase of life. This one was quite different in some ways though. The tooth came out in May but the Tooth Fairy only recently visited. She has had real issues with the Tooth Fairy taking her tooth and so had no desire to leave it under her pillow. The trouble with that was she really wanted some money but every morning there was nothing under her pillow. We talked about the possibility of leaving a note for the Tooth Fairy and asking her to leave the tooth AND the money but the risk seemed too high... until she saw the Hello Kitty spin toothbrush that was $6.00 and NOT being bought by Mom and Dad. That night she decided to write the note. In the morning she had money and a tooth -- that afternoon she spent it!! She loves brushing her teeth. We figure it's Tooth Fairy money well spent.

Beautiful Weather...

Back in May we were expecting gorgeous weather one Saturday so we decided to pack up and go to the beach. The kids had a great time and we FROZE! It was barely 50 degrees and windy!! I guess the warm sunshine didn't make it all the way to the beach.

Helpers

Last week I got 30 pounds of strawberries. Yes, that's a lot! The girls and I had a lot of fun making jam and freezing them.

What, you don't believe me they had fun? Just take a look...

Moms vs. Dads

Last night Dad put the kids to bed and had this conversation with the oldest...

K: "Dad, why do you have whiskers and Mom doesn't?"

Dad: "Well, Heavenly Father just made Moms and Dads differently."

K: "Oh."

Dad: "Are there other ways that Moms and Dads are different?"

**NOTE: At this point in the story I looked at him like why in the world did you open that can of worms?

K: "Yeah."

Dad: "Like what?"

K: "Um... Moms have.... hair dryers."

Yes, dear that's right. Moms have hair dryers!! I was laughing so hard when I heard that!

Updates, updates, updates

Well, like I said many months ago it's feast or famine on this blog. Lucky for you if you've held out through the famine it is a feast today! Lots of updates below, hope somebody enjoys!

Snow...

We got some snow last winter and the kids had a lot of fun playing in it. This was early afternoon:



I had an appointment in the afternoon and after my 2.5 hour drive home (should have been 20-30 min.) this is what we had:


We had a blast sledding down the little street in front of our house!

Ta Da!

I was excited when I saw a pattern for a cute bag and thought I'd give it a try. It worked and I was very excited!! I ended up putting into a service auction at church and one of the ladies in my ward took it home. Now I need to do it again so I can have one for myself. My diaper bag is beyond looking bad.

Foods I DO NOT Eat!

Eating at our house has been one of the greatest sources of contention between us parents and the girls. It's pretty much a constant battle to get them to even try most things. I heard an idea and thought we had to give it a try. So, we sat down and the girls each got to pick 3 foods that they DO NOT eat. This means that if we are having any of these foods they are not required to eat, taste or even have the food on their plate. However, if the food we are eating is NOT on their list they are required to taste. If there is resistance they are offered the option of trading the food for something on their list.

Anyway, I thought it sounded great and that it might help eliminate all of the stress of trying to get them to taste new foods. I was a bit concerned about what they would put on their list but figured we would at least give it a try.

So, what's on their list? Well, here is daughter #1's list:

1. Broccoli
2. Dumplings
3. Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich

Here is daughter #2's list:

1. Leaves (known to most as lettuce)
2. Pizza
3. Chicken Nuggetts

At first glance you might think they did not understand the assignment. What kids do not eat PB&J, pizza and nuggets? MINE!! Yeah, it's hillarious. "If you don't eat that chicken and rice you are going to get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." You would think it was torture to a 5 year old. Or how about this, "If you don't eat your steak you will get some chicken nuggets." Then the 3 year old promplty puts it in her mouth and tastes it.

It seriously cracks us up at the table and we have to keep a straight face when we say these things to them. The best part of the whole thing is that it has worked WELL! When there is resistance about eating everyone knows the 1 and only option -- trade it for something on your list. It really has taken the battle of dinner off the table! HOORRAY!! I'm sure it won't last forever but we are loving it right now.

UPDATE: As noted by Linnea in my comments, we may need to allow the girls to update their lists periodically. Funny thing is, we have. The first list used to have leaves on it as well. One night a friend had brought us dinner and specifically made PB&J sandwiches for the kids because she figured they wouldn't eat the other food. She was right...and wrong. They wouldn't eat the dinner and the oldest wouldn't eat the sandwich either. She begged to not eat it and wanted it on her list. She asked us if she could take leaves off and put PB&J sandwich on. We told her yes if she ate a bunch of leaves...so she did! Now she loves leaves (or lettuce). How funny is that, trading leaves so that you don't have to eat PB&J. CRAZY!!

What a cutie!

This guys keeps us smiling all the time. He is just so DANG CUTE; and he knows it which somehow makes him even cuter!!

He LOVES the telephone, it's pretty cute but it makes it next to impossible for anybody to really use the telephone.


Vacuuming with Daddy.


This was his after church attire. He's in a serious shoe fetish right now!

Proud of his success with Daddy's shoes.

A new "DO"

Look who got a new "do"! Her hair just does not look good long. She's got the curse of her mama's hair and is probably destined for a life of short hair. Anyway, we think it is adorable!

Gotta share some of her spunk, she's got PLENTY!!

Hungry?

Apparently Mr. S got hungry while we were working on the yard/garden and decided to dig in.


This picture is actually about 30 minutes after the incident so it's more caked on than it was. The initial reaction was hillarious and something we never saw with the girls.