Disneyland

OK, So I'll be the first to say that my kids have been spoiled! Sydney has been to Disneyland more times in her short 13 months, than I had up until I got married. But what can I say?? I think if Jerry could live in Disneyland he would. In our defense, Ebay for tickets and Priceline for hotels are our friends. We were able to go to Disneyland last week with my brother & Sis-in-law, Joseph & Angela and their cute kids. It was so much fun. A lot of work, but tons of fun. We realized that when you have two families with 6 children under the age of 6 it is kinda busy. The only thing that would have made it better would have been one more day to just hang out at the hotel, let the kids swim and play with each other, and enjoy some relax time. The time just went too quickly.

Hayden and Rebecca were so excited when we got there Monday morning. They couldn't contain their excitement.

I realize Sydney's eyes are a little funky in this picture, but I still wanted to post it.

She was excited to ride on Dumbo.

We were lucky to catch Peter Pan hiding in the bushes!

Main Street

The beautiful castle. I think Rebecca was the MOST excited about the castle. Because it meant princess!!

Waiting in line for "Small World"

Hanging at Toon Town

I think the thing Hayden was looking forward to the very most was the Lego store in Downtown Disney. The kids had been saving up money for a couple months before we went but we told them they couldn't spend their money till the second day because I didn't want them to buy something, but see another thing they wanted more the second day. It didn't matter for Hayden. He knew all along he wanted to buy Legos. He was so excited to go there. He and Ethan, his cousin are both Lego fanatics.

Indiana Jones has Hayden caught by the neck.

We also loved California Adventure. The Bugs land is so fun and cool to see.

No, not a great picture of our whole family, but believe it or not it was the best one we got in front of Mickey.

Here is Joseph and Angela and their cute family.

We went home on Wednesday, but we didn't want to get back into real life, so we stopped at Knotts Berry Farm before coming home. We just walked around the shops and by the little lake. We like to go there and feed the ducks.

It was a very hot day so the kids wanted to put their hands in the fountain to cool down. Next thing we know they were soaking wet, but very refreshed.

I'm so glad we were able to go. I think it gave us the vacation bug. A few days after we got home Jerry had already scheduled our next trip to Disneyland, next month. This time we'll be going without the kids though!!

Fun new classes

We decided to put Hayden and Rebecca in some fun classes at the rec center. Hayden is in a T-ball class, and is loving it. I'm so glad. He played soccer last spring, and he liked it, but when we asked if he wanted to play again he wasn't so sure. We figured we'd let him take this class to see if he even likes playing. It is a hit. I like it because it's just a small class that is teaching all the skills and he loves getting up to that Tee and hitting the ball. he's actually not too bad either!

Here he is up to bat.

Rebecca has got some natural rhythm. I've been so excited for her to turn 3 so she could take a ballet class from the rec. center. She LOVES it. She wears her leotard (or as she called it her "ratatioulle" for a couple days because she couldn't remember the name) pretty much every day. The class is for 3 - 5 yr. old girls, so there are a lot in there that have been there for a while, but it's still a beginning class and she is having so much fun. I'm so glad we live close to the rec. center that offers such fun and cheap classes for the kids.

Before her firs class.

Showing me her own ballet poses that she created.

Snack time`

Today at church during the sacrament Rebecca turned to me after taking the bread and asked, "When is the water coming for "Snack-erment?"

My Baby Sydney is One!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little baby! How is it that a whole year has passed. Sydney turned one a couple weeks ago, on Feb. 9th. We had a fun little get together party with Jerry's family. I made a ladybug cake, but it ended up being a "lovebug" because I couldn't make red frosting, or black, so it was pink and brown.


Here is Sydney's own personal lovebug for her to dive into.








Some things about Sydney at one!
She is so fun! She is a tease. If she does something that makes you laugh, guarantee she'll keep doing it over and over. She LOVES to blow raspberries! She thinks it is hilarious!
She understands amazingly well. I think she understands everything we say. She is getting very good at throwing her own diaper away, finding her own shoes, and even looking for her bottle. She thinks she is such a big girl and when she sees "babies" (in her mind) that are even one month younger than her she bends over and looks at them & pats them like they are a baby. Well, ok, maybe it's not so much a pat as it is a hit. So, even though she understands so well, she still has yet to say her first word. She gets everything she wants by pointing her finger and screaming. She's said mum, and dada, but not regularly enough to qualify as a first word.
She started walking right before 9 months, and hasn't stopped! She has 4 teeth, and right now she's on a hunger strike. All she wants is macaroni and cheese or milk.
One of my favorite things is when I'm putting her to bed. I'll put her up on my shoulder and lightly pat her back, and she'll reach her arm around me and pat me on my back. I love this little girl. She is such a joy in our lives.

So much for Charity!

You know those stories of children that give all the money they've saved up to other children in need. Those stories always touch me, and make me envy the Christlike, selfless love that children have.
Well, the other day I was cleaning out the kids room trying to dejunk as much as possible. (Thanks Kim for the motivation) When I found a large "Thomas The Tank" carrying case. Hayden has never really played with this, other than a day here or there. So I pointed out to him that he never really plays with the toy, and wouldn't it be nice if we were to give it to another little boy that doesn't have as many toys as him?
He paused for a minute, cocked his head to the side and said, "Umm, how about we just keep it."
I tried to convince him again, playing on that whole do-good-to-others feeling. It was to no avail. I guess we have some work to do.

Can anything be more attractive...

Than getting back from a quick escape to the grocery store after a hard "mom" day of attitude from child #1 because he's spent WAY too much time playing video games lately and HOW DARE I try to limit the time he plays. Child #2 is into pushing all the limits this week, and just looking for any excuse to get into a power struggle, and child #3 is getting two top teeth so she isn't sleeping much at night at all, which means I'm not either, and she's figured out the art of screaming a bloodcurdling scream till she gets what she wants! (And no, I'm not innocent - I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and I didn't do much to change that attitude all day.)

So... back to my story... I walked in the door to see my wonderful husband playing fun games with my kids and singing and dancing to music with them. I heard their sweet giggles that had been absent most of the day (Other than when they were teasing each other, and one was crying) and there was fun in the home again. It is great to laugh and have fun with them. I love those kiddos!

I love that man!!

One Whole Day

First of all, let me preface this post by saying that I LOVE being a mom, and I adore my children SO much!!
Every morning as I go in our master bathroom I think to myself, "I've got to clean that shower TODAY!!" And every night I look at that shower and think, "Dang, where did my day go? I didn't clean it today.... Tomorrow for sure!" I also have the same thought every time I go into my garage. "I'm going to clean and organize this garage TODAY!" My closet, "I'm going to go through all my clothes and organize and clean this closet TODAY!" When I see the stacks of paper piled up on my nightstand, "going to file them "TODAY!" But does it get done. Umm, eventually. But since baby #3 it has never been ALL done at the same time. I do clean my bathrooms, (believe it or not) but it has to be when Sydney is asleep or she'll be the best little toilet cleaner ever, and I don't think I want her cleaning my bathrooms yet. And by the time the bathrooms are done I go to move on to the next thing on the list to do, and see the mess created by the other two, and then I have to take a detour from my list to take care of other things that are not on the list. Or I feel bad that I'm totally ignoring my children at a time when I could actually be playing a game with them without trying to keep Syd away. (It's always more fun to play than clean) I fantasize about having a whole day to myself, and imagine all the things I could do with just one day!

I like to think that I would be able to totally clean and organize my whole house. (Including dusting!! - when was the last time I dusted?) Spend time working on Relief Society, and visiting sisters in the ward. Maybe even squeeze in a session at the temple. Get a great workout in, without having to look around every two seconds to make sure the kids are ok. Read a good book. Actually read my scriptures before I'm so tired at bedtime. De-junk my house and make a great trip to the DI.

But in reality I'd probably sleep in, and when I woke up I'd stay in bed and watch the Today Show for too long. I'd talk on the phone, play on facebook & the internet. Yip, I'd be a TOTAL lazy bum!!

So here's my question to you???? What would you do if you had one whole day to yourself? No children, no work, no responsibilities???