Disneyland

Its been a whole 2 1/2 years since our last Disneyland trip and we had a flight voucher burning a hole in our pockets. Vacation time!

Come with me on a magical (sure, why not...:) journey...

We started out trip out on the Megan's first birthday.  

This was very appropriate since this trip Megan would experience a lot of firsts.

We were fortunate to be able to fly and take the kids on their first airplane ride.  Flying to California was great place to go since it is only an hour and a half ride.  Not sure my own nerves could have handled more...
We flew into Long Beach Airport which was kind of a funny experience.  The place is teensy! You even have to walk out to your plane to board. It was really nice though because having a bunch of little kids it was nice not to have to walk a mile to get to the car rental place.

Kyle was nervous for his first flight but did really well.
 He was afraid of how fast the plane would go.

Noah wasn't nervous at all.
He even exclaimed "Weeeeeeeeee! Let's do that again!" when we hit some turbulence.
I wish I had felt the same way...

day{ONE}

This was to be our chill out and relax day. We started it out by attending the Anaheim 4th ward not far from our hotel.  Its always nice to go to church away from home and see that things are pretty much the same. {Except for the outdoor nursery that I was very envious of.}

We decided that since it was Sunday, a trip to the Newport Temple was in order.  Its a beautiful temple with a Spanish mission style.

This boy is so sweet. Just look at him.

Shiflett family in front of the Newport temple

The Schroeder family also in front of the Newport Temple.
(Notice that you can actually SEE the temple... :)
It was fun to hang out with my sister and her family that we don't see too often.


I'm sure Kyle would especially concur. :)

The Beach

As you can see, we had some pretty gorgeous weather.

                                                                       

Cute kiddies in Newport out on a pier.

Of course we had to check out the beach.
Kyle in particular LOVED it.  He loved collecting seashells
and couldn't stop long enough to pose for a picture.
{see picture above}

Baby girl enjoying the big king size bed at the hotel.

day{TWO}

We decided to do California Adventure first since it worked out better with our plans to see World of Color and do the early entry at Disneyland.
There was a lot of construction going on. Some of the construction belonged to the much anticipated Cars-land.  WE much anticipate!

Yay for Woody! We didn't see him at all last time we went to Disneyland but we saw him a few times this time 'round.

Just a bunch cool dudes and dudettes getting ready to ride.

I loved seeing the excitement on the kids' faces.  Disneyland is SO much better when you have kids...better than when I was a kid even.

The Woody ride wait being about 30 minutes was probably one of the longest waits but according to the boys it was well worth it.

Noah was big enough this time to go on most of the rides.  When we went last time, Kyle was just barely 40 inches.  He's gotten big in 2.5 years

Megan really enjoyed herself and was a very good girl, better than her brothers even. :)

Note the fear on both these boys faces. 

We were getting ready to go on the Tower of Terror, a decision I regretted for the rest of the trip...

Poor boy was quivering through out the entire ride.  

After going on this ride, Kyle couldn't even bear to look at it from a distance, especially at night. 

 Unfortunately, this ride is very tall.  Adam and I spent a lot of time trying to distract Kyle from catching an accidental glimpse.

Will was super excited to go this ride...before he saw it in real life, that is. :)

Megan and I with two of  the Schroeder girls, Reagan and Taylor.

We tried something at California Adventure that we never had before and

it turned out fun, of course.  We did the Animation Academy where they taught us to draw Daisy Duck.  What do you think?

We also go to see World of Color and despite having very tired kids and major crowds, 

it was really cool experience.

day{THREE}

First day at Disneyland!

The lines were amazingly short. I've never seen shorter.  Most of the rides were no more than 15 minutes and many were much shorter. Noah has an impatience streak ("It's taking long!") so this was a good thing for him.  Along with the awesome 68 degree weather, we chose a great time to go.

The Tower comes back to haunt Kyle as we board the Pirates of Caribbean ride.   EVERYTHING was scary to him.

Sweet brothers...usually.

NEMO!

As we were wandering through Tomorrow Land we happened upon a Jedi training session.  Kyle was glued to it. We couldn't get him to leave.  So now we had to try to get him in on the action.  When we came back for the next session, lucky for us, he was chosen by the Jedi Master to train.  (Noah tried his darndest to get noticed but after a second glance by the master he got passed up :(
Kyle got to wear a Jedi costume and train with a light saber and ultimately fight Darth Maal. It was a fun expereince for him but I think Adam and I were having even more fun watching him.

Baby Minnie. 

These are the hats the boys chose.  We thought Kyle's choice was kind of funny but dang, he looked so cute! Because he stood out, he got chosen to ask Crush a question during "Turtle Talk". ( Crush called him "Kahuna Kyle" :)

Megan was really good to take a nap when she needed it.

Small World- Megan's favorite ride.  Every time I go to Disneyland this ride is closed so it was really fun to go on again and then to see how much Megan loved it (especially since I remember being scared of it when I was 3 or 4 years old)

I see more than one Goofy in this picture. :)

Kyle and Noah bidding Disneyland a fond farewell by giving this poor knight a good goosing...

This was our last ride before leaving.  Noah really enjoyed this ride and riding with his  Daddy, while Kyle generally preferred Will and sometimes, me.


We look forward to our next trip. 

Some side notes:Both the boys really enjoyed Buzz Lightyear ride (we rode it probably 6 times), Soaring Over California, rapids, Woody ride, Toon Town, Bug's Life rides.
We tried the Haunted House with Noah (Kyle flat out refused) but after just making it into the parlor, we left after Noah's shrieking rivaled that of the ghosts. Thunder Mountain didn't go over too well either but both boys toughed it out.


We went home the next day but didn't have to be to the airport until about 3pm. SO we hung out at the Garden Walk outdoor mall and got lunch a Johnny Rockets.

Uppidy Date

...Kyle recently participated as an "Azurette Mini". My neice, Morgan, is an Azurette (drill team) at Copper Hills High School. For a fund raiser they did a two day dance class teaching 5-11 years olds dances.  Anyhoo, I asked Kyle if he wanted to dance and he said sure. His cousins Ellie and Julia were also participating which he liked.  Not surprisingly,  Kyle was the only boy to sign up, at first. I helped convince another little boy to do it so they divided him and Kyle up to do their own dance. I was little worried Kyle wouldn't like being separated from Ellie but he did great and actually loved it and even told me he "really liked dance class". (Adam did not like this statement.) He got to perform during Morgan's end of year show case.  Him and the other boy "danced" (chest bumps, kissing their biceps, marching) to the song "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan.  It was pretty freakin' cute. Kyle said he wasn't at all nervous and it showed.  When I asked if he wanted to take a dance class he simply relied "No thanks". Ah well, there's always Megan.

Before his BIG performance with Ellie and Julia.
 Kyle was the only one not wearing the proper shirt...

...As part of our Kitchen remodel,  we had our living room and kitchen painted, an event I was much anticipating. Well, to make a long story short, the painter we hired wasn't much of painter. After shedding a great many tears, I finally called her and told her to get her hiney over here and fix her supposed paint job. Including in my rant that I could have done a better job. She came. She fixed...sort of. I'm glad to move on.

...Noah went to Coleman's Mickey Mouse party. Noah loved having his own invitation to a party.  It was very hard for Kyle not to be invited.  These boys are used to and just expect to do everything together.  Noah expects to go where ever Kyle goes.

...General Conference was relaxing and lovely as usual.  Temples in Colorado, Idaho and Canada were announced.

Just some some super cute tootsies.

Journal Jar Monday

What is your favorite TV program? Why?
What is your least favorite TV program? Why?

The ONLY show I watch on regular basis {and that I loooove} is The Biggest Loser. Adam has become a fan as well which makes it more fun to watch. We also watch Modern Family when we get a second. Neither of us watch a lot of TV. In fact we hardly watch any television at all. We do all our watching on Hulu after the kiddies are in bed.

As far as LEAST favorite? Since we don't watch a lot of TV this one is hard. I don't like watching the news much anymore because it depresses me. Many of the stories will leave me sleepless some nights. I can be too sensitive some times...

What is YOUR favorite show?

12 months

Megan was such a good girl for her check up. She let the doctor look in both ears and down her throat with out a peep. I was impressed because by this age both my boys would have been wailing. Megan is a healthy (other than the cold she's had for the past month and a half and slight ear infection), mostly happy, mommy-clingy girl. She now has 8 teeth to chomp with and yet she's turned into a some what picky eater. I'm not sure how to handle that yet except that she is still nursing twice a day... She is sleeping through the night and is able to comfort herself to sleep when needed. Yay!

She just recently learned how to go DOWNstairs and does a lot of general movin' and shakin'. I'm hoping the crawling comes MUCH sooner than it did for the boys. She seems a little more coordinated than them and I just don't want to wait another 3 or 4 months!

Megan loves her mommy/"wooby" and always has to have her thumb in her mouth stroking mommy's skin (or often others that hold her), she loves bananas, her thumb, dancing, her "brudders"- Kyle and Noah, pointing, nodding/shaking her head and anything sweet.


Here are her stats:

Height: 30.1 in. 85%
Weight: 22.0 lbs. 60%
Head: 19.0 in. {off the charts} Big surprise.

Uppidy Date

...Valentine's Day was fun especially since we surprised the boys with a trip to fly to Disneyland. We were all excited to have our Disneyland reveal moment but alas, the boys were more excited about their Micky Mouse Pez dispensers...

...Kyle has seemed to overcome (mostly) his night time fear phase, thank goodness. Every night he'd call me into his room crying (tears and all) that he was imagining this or that scary thing. It all started with the "electric monster" from Scooby Doo 2. You'd think after the hundreds of monsters he's seen watching other Scooby Doo episodes that he'd be immune. Guess not.

...Megan is saying "Mama" and seems to actually mean it this time. YAY!

...Megan loves to climb stairs and give her mother a heart attack.

...Adam went out of town a lot this month. He is becoming quite the globe trotter: Indiana and San Fran. I whiled away the time lying in bed or on the toilet with an upset stomach. I'm looking forward to a nice long stretch of having my man at home.

...Megan keeps getting more teeth but the funny thing is the majority are on the right side of her mouth...

Megan's photo shoot {one year old}

I love this little girl.
She was so happy during this photo shoot.
It really seemed like she knew exactly what she was supposed to do.
She is a bit of a ham.

The close ups are my favorite, of course.

This was the only time we could NOT get her to smile. It was at the end and I think she just wanted to try something different.

Megan workin' the jeggin's

I have had so much fun having a little girl. I mean look at these clothes!

Beautiful, right?
Which is YOUR favorite?

Journal Jar Monday

What does one dozen eggs currently cost?
A loaf of bread?
A gallon of milk?
Of gas?

This is kind of a hard question because there are different varieties of products with varying prices. Therefore I shall give you the price of what I buy. Okay? Okay.

One dozen eggs large grade A= $1.20

A loaf of Granny Sycamore's whole wheat bread= $2.98
(I rarely pay full price because that's ridiculous but its GOOD bread.)

A gallon of Great Value 1% milk= $1.98

A gallon of regular unleaded from the Holiday on the corner= $2.99

There you have it. Stuff costs too much.

Love.

“Parents, remember that now is your opportunity.
You may feel yourself harassed as you struggle through the days with children,
but you are living the happiest and most golden years of your life.
As you tuck them into their beds at night, please be kind to them.
Let them hear a kind voice amid all the angry, vile voices that they
will hear throughout life.
Let there be an anchor to which these little ones can turn when all else fails.
The Lord help you do so…” ~Harold B. Lee

I love this quote so much.
This is what I strive for every day.
I am not perfect yet I continue to try.
It's that important.
I love my babies.

{Oh and do you think "harassed" is a strong enough word? :}

{Note: There is no picture of my baby girl because I am not so desperate that I would risk waking a baby that sleeps like a feather.}

Journal Jar Monday

What is your favorite type of pie? Can you make it? Have you ever tried?

I think I would have to say Banana Cream Pie and yes, I have made it before AND after writing this post it time to try again. Practice makes perfect, right?

Uppidy Date

...Megan is now the proud new owner of {FIVE} teeth. 2 gappy top and two on the bottom with a loner off to the side. Thankfully she hasn't started biting me yet. The boys, however, aren't faring as well. When they are bugging her she'll try to bite them. She doesn't take crap from them. (It's kinda funny :) However, we better nip this in the bud now.

...Noah has been recently diagnosed with asthma. I'm still not sure to what degree. That last few years has found him coughing his brains out during the winter and totally cough free during the summer. He also seemed to be in kind of a funk and not himself. After a particularly bad week of coughing in January I finally decided to get him checked by his doctor who confirmed my suspicions. A few steroid treatments and a nightly dose of Singulair and he is completely cough free. Now he has no more nightly cough and he is sleeping (and so am I!). He is also back to normal sweet Noah.

...The stomach bug swept through our house this past weekend all on the same day. Kyle, Noah and I stayed close to the toilets for about a day but are now doing well. I HATE that bug.

...Kyle has been off track for the past 2 weeks and enjoying it. I can't say that we've done much but it has been nice to get out of the school routine. The boys did go to Gma and Gpa's house for a sleepover which they love.

...Adam got his hippie hair cut and as a reward got to go skiing to Snowbird with Von. He's a good boy.

...I just finished doing New Beginnings. I only had a month to organize it but I think it turned out really nice. We did stations including a personal progress, Young Women basics stations with a stations to make Valentines for the missionaries in our ward. (We had a Valentine/Charity theme) I did tissue paper pom poms for decorations and I must say, they were adorable. We also had pink mint brownies, mint ice cream and sprite with pink heart shaped ice cubes. It was all very cutsie. :) It was fun but I'm glad its done!!

My girls.

The ones with the pink corsages are the

"New'Bees'"

coming in this year.

This girl just cracks me up...

Check out those lips.

Holy moly!

I just had to post this again. Hilarious.

Megan's just gotta touch.

Things Babies Born in 2011 Will Never Know

{For posterities sake. This will be funny one day. Heck, it already is.}

Video tape: Starting this year, the news stories we produce here at Money Talks have all been shot, edited, and distributed to TV stations without ever being on any kind of tape. Not only that, the tape-less broadcast camera we use today offers much higher quality than anything that could have been imagined 10 years ago -- and cost less than the lens on the camera we were using previously.

Travel agents: While not dead today, this profession is one of many that's been decimated by the Internet. When it's time for their honeymoon, will those born in 2011 be able to find one?

The separation of work and home: When you're carrying an email-equipped computer in your pocket, it's not just your friends who can find you -- so can your boss. For kids born this year, the wall between office and home will be blurry indeed.

Books, magazines, and newspapers: Like video tape, words written on dead trees are on their way out. Sure, there may be books -- but for those born today, stores that exist solely to sell them will be as numerous as record stores are now.

Movie rental stores: You actually got in your car and drove someplace just to rent a movie?

Watches: Maybe as quaint jewelry, but the correct time is on your smartphone, which is pretty much always in your hand.

©Will D/flickr

Paper maps: At one time these were available free at every gas station. They're practically obsolete today, and the next generation will probably have to visit a museum to find one.

Wired phones: Why would you pay $35 every month to have a phone that plugs into a wall? For those born today, this will be a silly concept.

Long distance: Thanks to the Internet, the days of paying more to talk to somebody in the next city, state, or even country are limited.

Newspaper classifieds: The days are gone when you have to buy a bunch of newsprint just to see what's for sale.

Dial-up Internet: While not everyone is on broadband, it won't be long before dial-up Internet goes the way of the plug-in phone.

Encyclopedias: Imagine a time when you had to buy expensive books that were outdated before the ink was dry. This will be a nonsense term for babies born today.

Forgotten friends: Remember when an old friend would bring up someone you went to high school with, and you'd say, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them!" The next generation will automatically be in touch with everyone they've ever known even slightly via Facebook.

Forgotten anything else: Kids born this year will never know what it was like to stand in a bar and incessantly argue the unknowable. Today the world's collective knowledge is on the computer in your pocket or purse. And since you have it with you at all times, why bother remembering anything?

The evening news: The news is on 24/7. And if you're not home to watch it, that's OK -- it's on the smartphone in your pocket.

CDs: First records, then 8-track, then cassette, then CDs -- replacing your music collection used to be an expensive pastime. Now it's cheap(er) and as close as the nearest Internet connection.

Film cameras: For the purist, perhaps, but for kids born today, the word "film" will mean nothing. In fact, even digital cameras -- both video and still -- are in danger of extinction as our pocket computers take over that function too.

Yellow and White Pages: Why in the world would you need a 10-pound book just to find someone?

Catalogs: There's no need to send me a book in the mail when I can see everything you have for sale anywhere, anytime. If you want to remind me to look at it, send me an email.

Fax machines: Can you say "scan," ".pdf" and "email?"

One picture to a frame: Such a waste of wall/counter/desk space to have a separate frame around each picture. Eight gigabytes of pictures and/or video in a digital frame encompassing every person you've ever met and everything you've ever done -- now, that's efficient. Especially compared to what we used to do: put our friends and relatives together in a room and force them to watch what we called a "slide show" or "home movies."

Wires: Wires connecting phones to walls? Wires connecting computers, TVs, stereos, and other electronics to each other? Wires connecting computers to the Internet? To kids born in 2011, that will make as much sense as an electric car trailing an extension cord.

Hand-written letters: For that matter, hand-written anything. When was the last time you wrote cursive? In fact, do you even know what the word "cursive" means? Kids born in 2011 won't -- but they'll put you to shame on a tiny keyboard.

Talking to one person at a time: Remember when it was rude to be with one person while talking to another on the phone? Kids born today will just assume that you're supposed to use texting to maintain contact with five or six other people while pretending to pay attention to the person you happen to be physically next to.

Retirement plans: Yes, Johnny, there was a time when all you had to do was work at the same place for 20 years and they'd send you a check every month for as long as you lived. In fact, some companies would even pay your medical bills, too!

Mail: What's left when you take the mail you receive today, then subtract the bills you could be paying online, the checks you could be having direct-deposited, and the junk mail you could be receiving as junk email? Answer: A bloated bureaucracy that loses billions of taxpayer dollars annually.

Commercials on TV: They're terrifically expensive, easily avoided with DVRs, and inefficiently target mass audiences. Unless somebody comes up with a way to force you to watch them -- as with video on the Internet -- who's going to pay for them?

Commercial music radio: Smartphones with music-streaming programs like Pandora are a better solution that doesn't include ads screaming between every song.

Hiding: Not long ago, if you didn't answer your home phone, that was that -- nobody knew if you were alive or dead, much less where you might be. Now your phone is not only in your pocket, it can potentially tell everyone -- including advertisers -- exactly where you are.

Provided by Money Talks News

Top {ten} of 20{ten}

...Megan. Our smiley, sweet, gorgeous baby girl joined our family.

...Kyle graduated from preschool and began Kindergarten.

...Noah potty trained!! (Should be higher on the list. :)

...Adam decided to get disciplined and up his exercise routine and eating habits and lost a lot of weight. He was sexy before but dang! :) Erin lost approximately 37 lbs. ;)

...We re-did our backyard more to our liking and love it!

...Megan hit a lot milestones but crawling is my favorite. She loves to get around and play with her brothers.

...Adam and Erin ran the 10k Swiss Days race both beating their best times.

...Kyle played baseball and really enjoyed himself.

...Adam got a much deserved promotion at work.

...We went to one of Adam and my favorite places, Arches National Park, as family for the first time.

HaPpY nEw YeAr!

{BTW- happy 200th post to me!!}

Christmas 2010

Our Christmas

{in no particular order...cuz I'm lazy.}

It was fun to buy girly toys for once; especially the doll.

Adam and I cracked up when we saw this Kyle creation made from Daddy's weights, scraps of paper and a fuzzy blanket. So cute.

Love them.

Kyle posing in front of Christmas chaos.

Now Noah owns approximately 5 Buzz Lightyears...

We hit GOLD!

The long awaited and often asked for Christmas gift.

Iron Man RC car

Both Noah and Kyle received a Battleforce 5 car. It has ended up being more of a favorite than the Iron Man car.

We had a lovely Christmas this year.

We saw lots of family,

participated in the annual deaf center party,

saw David Archuleta sing with the MoTab (amazing),

did a few gingerbread houses,

drank lots of hot chocolate,

had our annual Christmas Eve breakfast with friends,

used lots of gas looking at Christmas lights (or as the boys always yelled out "Christmas decorations!"),

passed out store bought cookie dough to our neighbors with a nice little poem reading "Poinsettias are red, cookies are sweet, here is some dough, now make your own dang treat!" (Nice, eh?),

made a concerted effort to convince the boys that Jesus is the real reason for the season NOT the white haired, fat dude (I think some of it got through...),

We truly are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior during this beautiful time of year.

Uppidy Date

...Megan is a full on crawler and has been for a couple of weeks. She loves to get around on her own. I like it too.

...I excitedly went to Kyle's first parent/teacher conference. He is doing very well in school and is in the ABC club for knowing all his letters and sounds. He enjoys school but would rather be, alas, home with his family. Who could blame him?

...Megan likes to hold the phone up to her ear which we find ADORABLE. In fact, she is becoming quite the copy cat. She likes to clap along with the audience on TV. If you say "Yay, Megsie!" she will start clapping. Love it.

...My New Year's resolutions are to spend less time on my iPhone and finally finish Personal Progress.

...I have a new calling! Young Women's 2nd counselor. Apparently, I'm not learning what I need to because in this ward I have tried out all the YW callings except President. No thank you.

I'm about to hit my 5th year in YW's!

...I have a niece (EP and Amy), nephew (Mary and Von) and an ..."it" (Crispy and Nicky) due in the next 7 months. I am so excited to snuggle these baby bundles especially since mine will be 15 months old and giant by these time these little ones come along.