Etc.

This is so nice getting caught up on the blog since I have nothing else to do in the hotel while the baby sleeps. So...Disneyland was the main event, but the everything else was just as fun.  Jason had to work in LA for a couple of days so the kids and I bummed around and found some pretty cool things to do.  We went to this Pretend City last time when we were in Cali and the kids gave it a standing ovation so we made a return trip.  We saw families come and families go and outlasted them all during the 5 hours we were there.  And they still begged to stay longer as they shooed us out the door at closing. I loved seeing the kids get lost in their imaginations and playing so good together.  They pass out money when they see you doing a job, but Kylie and Jayden kept stealing it all from the registers and all the employees kept commenting on how they must be such hard workers. This little Chinese boy followed Jayden around everywhere like some cute little Asian magnent.  Maddox peed his pants and had to wear Kylie's size 7 bedazzled shorts that were in the car.  Good thing California's a liberal state. 

We scored with this little gem at a park called Great Park (alot of wasted money on that marketing director).  There's a giant helium balloon that you can ride in, it goes up like 400 ft and has an amazing view.  And it's even free, which is not a word you see very often in these parts.  And it was decorated like a pumpkin. And they had a free carousel that we rode about 7 times in a row.  And then I thought I was going to puke.

It rained like a week's worth in one day and then has been nothing but beautiful ever since, so we took advantage of it and went to a pumpkin patch.  The patch was okay, the hay maze a little small, the haunted house a little cheezy, the train ride enjoyable but man oh man, the bike rental was a blast!  I didn't really take into account the fact that without Jason I would pretty much be the only man power on that thing.  Which I guess can be a good thing since it balanced out all the Wahoo's burritos and Disneyland popcorn.  This older lady thought I was crazy when I was loading all four kids up and the baby in the bjorn, so I made it my mission to prove her wrong.  My legs were like jello when we were done and the kids had to hop off and push us up the hills but we seriously had the best time.  The downhills were the best, we all put our arms in the air and screamed the whole way down.  When my legs got too tired we would pull over and play for a little, or eat animal crackers since I was too cheap to pay for $4 hot dogs.  Fun, fun memories.

The happiest rainiest place on earth

It's a tragedy.  We're a block away from Disneyland and I'm sitting in a hotel watching back to back episodes of Dragon Tales on Netflix, which is atleast a step up from the earlier Spongebob marathon.  Curse the rain.  I had all sorts of photo ops planned involving the sun and shadows and Maddox wearing Mickey Mouse ears.  I wasted a good hour packing cute clothes since nothing looks good in a poncho. My California spray tan is covered by jeans and jackets. My cute hair cut now makes me look like a drowned rat and the kids' souvineir money went to ponchos and umbrellas. Not to mention all the money wasted on tickets.  Oh, and I had another emberassing fall on the wet cement.  I heard gasps behind me but hurried and hobbled off without looking back.  Sheesh, how many public falls can a girl have before her ego is permanently ruined? So I'm going to sit here and sulk while the Teacups are getting flooded by the torrential rainstorms.  The first day wasn't too bad, it rained just enough in the morning for Kylie to take one look at me and say, "Mom, I feel really bad for you. Just look at your hair and makeup".  And then it cleared up and we had an awesome rest of the day.  We bounced around from ride to ride and were lucky enough to have cousins here with us.  We all had grins ear to ear and even the little peanut had a grand old time soaking it all up in the comfort of the Baby Bjorn. Kylie and Jayden surprised me and lost all sense of fear as they took on the big rides like Tower of Terror and Space Mountain.  Maddox was in awe of it all and it made me so happy to see them so happy.  I also loved seeing everything all decked out for Halloween and got us all so excited for the holidays. Today we got all stocked up with more ponchos and umbrellas and were determined to not let a little rain get in the way of our Happily Ever After.  If anything, we thought the rain would scare everyone else away.  Too bad for us that everyone else had the same idea and not only was it crowded, but this time the crowds came armed with umbrellas to poke you in the lines.  Our optimism turned to sopping wet shoes and a chill to the bones.  By 2:00 we called it quits and headed back to the hotel for a hot soak in the tub and a trip to the laundromat dryer.  Jason took Kylie and Jayden back this evening and keeps texting me pictures of them having a blast on the rides, which is yay for them that they get to experience it but salt in an open wound for me who could care less that Max and Emmy are climbing on the backs of their dragon friends and now the adventure never ends.  Here are some pictures from the first day (and from Jay's phone) before being informed today that this is the only $700 camera I'm getting so if it gets ruined in the rain then too bad for me (and to think I was even willing to trade in my fireworks over the castle pictures for some great puddle jumping shots).

(The kids just came back and are talking a mile a minute about how much fun they had with Jason tonight. I'm glad to see that the rain didn't stop them from having an awesome time and making some great memories, besides the babies got some much needed sleep tonight so I just need to get over it.)

Haircut

Maddox told me it was weird.
Jayden told me it wasn't cool.
Kylie told me it was emberassing.
Jason said he liked it better the other way.
Which is too bad for them because I really like it.

Girly girls

This growing up thing is weird.  She's an actual real person with real opinions about all sorts of things, like that having your mom come to school lunch is no longer cool and that getting a feather in your hair is no longer a want, it's a need. I do miss tying bows in her hair, but I also love seeing the person she is becoming.  She had her friends over the other day and they decided to do a spa day, complete with oatmeal face masks, citrus slices on their eyes (which it didn't take them long to realize that wasn't the best idea) and salon hair washes.  I loved just sitting back pretending I was busy but really watching and listening to them.  They are such a cute group of girls and I love seeing Kylie interact with her friends.  She's witty, she's funny, she's not afraid to voice her opinions and she's definately way cooler than I ever was at that age.  And according to her, way cooler than I am even now.

BYU and bust a move

Despite getting spanked by the U of U, Jason was still excited to initiate Jayden into the world of BYU football.  There's no better way to do that then belting out "Rise and Shout" under the stars on a crisp fall night, seated in a sea of blue on the hallowed grounds of the Lavelle Edwards stadium. Being there with his grandpa, uncles and cousins made it even better and I have a feeling this will be a weekend Jayden will remember for a very long time. 

You can definately tell these cute boys are cousins!  Man how I miss being close to family, he had the best time playing with these boys.

I love this picture of him cheering because I'm pretty certain he had no idea what he was cheering for.  Jason tried his best to explain the rules of the game but he never failed to get excited every time there was a kick off because he thought it was a touch down.

I guess they helped themselves to a tour of the field house and this is Brandon Doman's office.  I'm pretty sure they weren't supposed to be there and they just snuck in, but I'm not asking any questions.

Bridal Veil falls.  I miss Utah.  I miss wearing a jacket in September.

(I love that he had his shirt on backwards the entire day and neither he or Jason realized it)
They took a day trip to Park City before their evening flight and had fun doing the Alpine slide and coaster.  It's a good thing I wasn't there, I would have dragged them to the outlets too.  I loved hearing Jayden tell me all about his weekend, and I know Jason's looking forward to this becoming a new tradition.  That is if BYU can redeem themselves.

We couldn't let the boys have all the fun, though.  Our ward had a talent show and Kylie and her friends have been working hard to perfect their dance.  They were so cute and took it all very serious, picking the song, the choreography, the outfits and weekly mandatory practices.  Here they are prepping for the big production and I loved being a fly on the wall listening to their chatter and giggles.

Kylie is right in her element on the stage.  She is so shy in so many situations but shines in front of a crowd.  I can't help but be a proud mom when I watch her do her thing. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8esOUzJuqE&feature=youtube_gdata_player)

I love these girls and am grateful for such good friends!

We ended the night watching "Prom" on the laptop under the covers in my bed and eating atleast one box of candy each.  It was a win-win weekend for everybody!



Tomorrow

tomorrow I will not go hoarse from yelling at the kids.
tomorrow I will spend more time actually playing with my kids than on the computer only planning things to play with them.
tomorrow I will spend more time making memories than on the computer writing about them.
tomorrow I will find it more endearing than annoying when Maddox wants to help me with everything.
tomorrow I will listen.
tomorrow I will actually talk to Jason in the evening instead of just coexisting on seperate couches both absorbed in our own computer screens.
tomorrow I will take Maddox to the park instead of letting him watch 5 episodes of Bob the Builder in a row.
tomorrow I will remember family scripture time in the midst of the bedtime chaos.
tomorrow I will play Monopoly Jr. with Jayden instead of letting him play Mario Karts all afternoon.
tomorrow I will not feed my kids chicken nuggets and Oreos while I eat whole grains and fresh veggies.
tomorrow I will eat as many Oreos as I want and stop obsessing over the scale.
tomorrow I will smile and maybe even laugh more.
tomorrow I will hold Ryder when I feed him instead of always propping the bottle up with a blanket in his bouncy chair.
tomorrow I will paint nails with Kylie and watch the dance she has been wanting to show me.

thankgoodness for tomorrows and fresh starts, because after today heaven knows I need it.