Thursday, March 27, 2008

Heaven's Art Project

Children's thoughts and comments continue to amaze me. A couple weeks ago, Nick was taking Emma to the grocery store while I stayed home with Brielle. Emma wanted to wear her flip-flops even though it has snowed that day. First, Nick just told her he would get arrested if he took her with flip flops. (well, she obviously didn't know that was a serious offense because she wouldn't switch them.) Then, Nick explained that her toes would fall off if she wore flip-flops in the cold. With her hands on her hips, she glowered at Nick "No, they won't! My toes are glued on, huh Mom?" She looked over at me for backup. I held back my laugh, "Yes, that right." Emma turned back to Nick, "See? The people that made me glued my toes on!" Nick: "The people that made you?" (where would she head with this one?) "Yeah, Heavenly Father and Jesus made me and they had to glue and staple me together." By now, Nick and I are laughing our heads off while Emma is completely serious. I am glad she has learned where she came from. And of coarse, the only way to attach things together is with glue and staples. What a kid! I wish I could view miracles like our amazing bodies with such simpleness.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Happy Birthday Emma





Yes, our little princess turned 4 a couple weeks ago. The fact that everything centered around princesses was also not a surprise. To start off, it was on a Sunday so she picked out her fanciest church dress and wanted her hair in curlers. She got to go up front in Primary while they sang to her and then she spent 30 minutes after church twirling in her dress and singing about her party. She received a Disney princess back pack full of games, a Cinderella dress-up dress and shoes (and a runway to show them off), Princess clothes, dolls, and magnets. I also saw the cutest castle cake that I attempted to make (with Emma's help) and we had Playdough ice cream (Emma's choice). Could it be anymore like a princess fantasy land? It was fun to see her enjoying the moment. And since it was Sunday we got to celebrate another day by going to see Alvin and the Chipmunks (Emma's favorite movie). One thing I have noticed since Emma's birthday is that everything she needs has gone up.......4 cookies, 4 drinks, 4 stories, 4 toothbrush rinses......you get the idea. (hence my 4 pictures!!) But she is so cute and smart....we just can't resist her.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Husband "Tag"

Well, I was "tagged" by Jeanne while on our Disneyland trip, so after enduring my travel log here are some fun things to know about Nick and I

Husbands Name: Nicholas (aka Nick)
How long we've been together: We've been married for 7 yrs 8 months
How long we dated: We dated for 8 months, engaged for 5 months
Who eats more? Usually Nick, but I can eat more ice cream!
Who said I love you first? Nick--AFTER we talked about getting married
Who is taller? Nick
Who has more speeding tickets? Neither one of us has had a ticket; however, I am the only one that has been pulled over for speeding! Whoops
Who is smarter? Nick in the common sense area; I am smarter in school
Who is more sensitive? Definitely me
Who does the laundry? I do
Who does the dishes? Nick
Who sleeps on the right?I sleep on Nick's right side
Who pays the bills? I do
Who mows the lawn? Nick
Who cooks dinner? We both do
Who drives when you are together? Nick
Who is more stubborn? Me
Who kissed whom first? Nick kissed me
Who asked out who first? Nick
Who proposed? Nick
Who has more siblings? We are the same. Nick has 3 sisters, I have 3 brothers

Can I "tag" Mel again?

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Disneyland Day #5

Emma and her cousin Jill on the shuttle and looking for rocks at the airport


Our last day of vacation....and we weren't even going to Disneyland. That morning we had to be packed up and ready to catch our shuttle by 8:30am. As we were loading all of our gear, my father-in-law handed me a charm that had fallen out when he had folded our stroller. Unintentionally, I had stolen it! When we had been shopping the night before I had it in my hand until I went to pay. When I got there it was gone and while Nick looked through the stroller I had picked up another one. I guess it had fallen in some crevice we couldn't see. So if anyone would like a Minnie Mouse silver charm for a bracelet or necklace--let me know!! The airport ride was exciting since it looked like rush hour on each of the 3 freeways we drove on. Then, as we were checking our bags, we had the "Long Beach Airport Nazi" questioning our relationship to Brielle (since we didn't have her birth certificate). He said the SLC Airport had made a mistake in allowing her to board without one. Feeling embarrassed and angry, I found her immunization record in our diaper bag only to have the interrogator point out that it didn't have her date of birth on it, so he couldn't accept it. Obviously, he let us go after he recited the FAA guidelines to us (good idea, since we fly so often!) Next, my brother-in-law was stopped as he was going through security because their son didn't have a boarding pass; plus when he came back through they individually scanned him. We thought that they were going to miss the flight. So finally we are taking off when Brielle starts to cry and nothing that we give her will make her happy. It was like screaming in the middle of church because the whole plane was totally quiet. I finally stood up and walked to the back of the plane so she could look at other things and that seemed to help (I just got in the way of the stewardess' delivering snacks). Of course when we landed in Salt Lake that was not the end of the journey. We had to collect luggage (our strollers came out in a different baggage claim), wait for the guys to go pick up our vans (Nick bypassed us the first time around--tried to reverse--got yelled at by airport parking security--had to make the loop again) and then change Brielle's messy diaper in the van before we left. I was so tired of traveling!! We left the airport at 3:00 and needed lunch so by the time we had gone through a drive-thru and arrived home it was almost 4:30. The rest of the night was a blur as I tried to unpack, go get milk at the store, bath the girls, and get ready for the next day--back to regular life. Total traveling time: 8 hours!
All in all, it was a wonderful trip with a lot of fun memories. I would do it again, with a few changes (later flights, more days at Disneyland to spread things out, older children). And hopefully we will be able to get back there in a few years. There are some other places I would like to take my kids to......just not anytime soon. We have had enough traveling for awhile!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Disney Princess Fantasy Faire





Disneyland Day #4






Our last day at Disneyland......the day we could enter an hour earlier than normal. We raced to Finding Nemo assuming that this would be the shortest wait time for this new attraction-- unfortunately, it was still a 45 minute wait! UGH! So we decided to get to some other big attractions (like Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones) only to find that those "lands" did not open early! Obviously, we had not planned very well for this Early Entry day! So we did some kid rides while we waited for everything to open. We also utilized the Fast Pass option. In order to see as much as we could, we would grab a fast pass for the more popular rides and do some other rides in between. We got to Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, and Tarzan's Treehouse before lunch. Then, while we waited for our Fast Pass to Splash Mountain, we went to Critter Country and met Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Eor. Next, we got on Splash Mountain (which took some major convincing for Emma to go with us) and halfway through we got in a log jam and had to be escorted out! I was so sad....Emma was starting to like it. After that, we got lunch (best lunch that week) and Emma crashed. She said she was hot and tired....poor girl. So, we rode the Mickey Train to Toontown so she could go on the roller coaster. Right by Toontown is a new section called Princess Fantasy Faire. Of coarse we had to check it out! It is open most of the day to do royal crafts, listen to a princess read stories, meet 3 princesses on a royal walkway, or attend a coronation ceremony to become a "true" princess. We decided to be there for the coronation ceremony where they learned how to curtsy/bow and dance. It was so cute to watch Emma and her cousins learn how to dance and curtsy. Then, Belle, Mulan, and Sleeping Beauty (Emma's favorite) came out to dance with them. Emma couldn't keep her eyes off of them even though they were trying to get the kids to dance the maypole. Emma could have spent the whole day in this area looking at all the princess clothing, shoes, and jewelry. It was great fun. We finished our afternoon with a few more rides, an ice cream cone, and souvenir shopping. Emma got a Sleeping Beauty musical jewelry box, Brielle got an stuffed Minnie mouse, and I got some magnets. By the time we were done Emma was asleep so we left Disneyland to get some dinner. It was the most exhausting day, I think, because we were there early, it was the last day that we could get everything in, and we had been going strong for 4 days. But it was worth all the sore feet! Total time at Disneyland: 10 hours

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Disneyland Day #3



Pointing at the parade
Brielle "fueling" up
Nick and Emma on the jellyfish ride

As usual, the girls were up early so we headed to Disneyland. We had about 30 minutes before the park opened so Emma and I wandered through Downtown Disney stores. I think that is a child's dream to explore a store where everything is for kids. Emma wanted a black, velvet bag to put plastic jewels in (from Pirates of the Caribbean); luckily, I didn't bring any money! So we headed to California Adventure- A Bug's Land- first. All of their rides were perfect for Emma and Brielle and it was early enough to walk right on (we did each ride multiple times). Then we went to Monsters, Inc (ride) and the Muppet's (3D movie). On our way, Emma was able to meet Snow White and Woody. Very exciting. Our lunch consisted of chicken nuggets and a burrito that was not worth the money and then we hit more rides at the back of California Adventure. We also came across a talking garbage can that noticed Emma and Jill (her cousin) were pushing strollers so he asked if they were old enough to be mothers. Emma thought that was hilarious. "Mom," she said "I have never seen a talking garbage can before." (only at Disneyland)!! Since that park closed at six, we finished our night at Disneyland; back to the tea cups (of course) and other kids rides we had not been on yet. To top it all off, we watched the "Parade of Dreams" with characters from the Lion King to Pinocchio before we left the park. The girls loved it. What a show! Total time at Disneyland/California Adventure: 10 hours!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Disneyland Day #2






Our pictures from the Disney Princess Lunch! It was fabulous!!

Disneyland Day #2




Rain....our second day started with rain. But, we're from Utah, no big deal! So we headed over when they opened and the first 3 rides we walked right on. It was great. A couple of the rides were closed so we headed to Toontown. On the way, Nick tried to get Emma to go on the Matterhorn because it was closing the next day. But she saw that it went in the mountain and she didn't want to go (even after Nick tried bribery). So after we arrived in Toontown, we found the roller coaster closed, but we went to Mickey's house and got pictures with Minnie, Goofy, and Mickey. Emma was a little surprised with these life size cartoons and Brielle wanted nothing to do with them! The rest of Toontown was perfect because there was hardly anyone there and everything was kid-sized. Then, we headed to Thunder Mountain (Nick's other favorite ride) to get Emma on a bigger ride. After 30 minutes of waiting, Emma came off the ride complaining that her stomach hurt! What mean parents we are! Luckily, the next thing on the schedule was to have lunch in Ariel's Grotto with the Disney Princesses. Once we arrived, we met with Ariel and then sat down to eat. The kids got to color their menu and decorate crowns while we waited for our food and the Princesses to arrive. We were privileged to meet Belle, Jasmine, and Cinderella. They came around and met with each table, took time to autograph books or menus, and posed for a photograph. Emma was in heaven. She really wanted to meet Sleeping Beauty but we saw her later. If you have a "princess" daughter, I highly recommend the Princess Lunch. We had such a wonderful time and the excitement on Emma's face was priceless! After lunch we stayed in California Adventure to go to "A Bug's Land" and the merry-go-round. To finish our day, we watched the Electric Light Parade in California Adventure (Brielle was pointing to all the lights and dancing to the music!) and then watched the Disneyland firework show from Downtown Disney. (Emma slept through the fireworks!! It had been a long day!!!) Total time at Disneyland/California Adventure: 12 hours!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Disneyland Day #1




It started very early.....2:50am to be exact. I wondered at that moment why I thought saving $40.00 a person was worth getting up for a 6:00am flight. We woke up the girls at 3:30 and Emma was so excited she didn't sleep at all on the way to the airport (which made Brielle stay awake to see what Emma was so excited about)! We drove down with Nick's sister Sarah and her family. Amazingly enough we got through security with no problems and arrived at the terminal just in time to board. Luckily, Brielle fell asleep for the first 20 minutes and Emma loved taking off. Drinks, treats, and cartoons kept us busy for the 1 1/2 hr flight to Long Beach. Now, I am not a world traveler by any means, but it surprised me to disembark outside! I thought I was the President of the United States or had flown back to the 1950's. It is so weird! FYI- The Long Beach Airport is small (maybe the size of my house) and we had scheduled the shuttle 1 1/2 hours after we landed to give us plenty of time to gather up our luggage, go potty, and eat breakfast. So, we got to enjoy the California palm trees for about 1 hour 20 minutes! Thankfully, for the next leg of our journey I sat in the back of the shuttle and missed the "near collisions" with other Cali drivers. We arrived at our hotel (Castle Inn) breathing a sigh of relief that we were finally to Disneyland!! Once our suitcases were put away we headed to "the happiest place on earth"! First ride? Obviously, the tea cups!! Then, the rest of Nick's family joined us and we sat down to enjoy our Disneyland pizza! (for $25.00 YIKES!) After that it started to rain so we headed back to our hotel to take a nap. It was still raining later so after dinner at Subway and a trip to the ABC Market for milk and cereal we went back to our hotel to crash for the night. We were pooped! Total time at Disneyland: 4 hours!!

The Happiest Place on Earth...

is HOME! After a whirlwind 5-day trip to Disneyland with Nick's family it is wonderful to be home. Not that we didn't have a good time. Nothing will beat the experience of hearing my 3 yr old giggle uncontrollably as she spins in circles or watching my one yr old point out the amazing floats in the electric light parade. We had an fabulous time, but we also wore ourselves out. I wish I would have brought my pedometer to see how many miles we covered. Luckily, most of the weather was great, we didn't lose anything in the airports, and no one got sick. I think I will write a blog about each day in Disneyland, so I won't forget all the details. (I'll put in some pictures, of coarse, to make it more interesting). And as far as "the happiest place on earth"? It probably comes in a close second place!