California May 2011

Originally we were supposed to take this trip with friends - friends who had made most of the travel arrangements and basically planned the whole thing.  So when one of said friends got sick and was hospitalized a couple of days before we were supposed to leave, we were in a bit of a panic.  Not only were we panicked because Amanda had gotten so sick, but we were sad that we wouldn’t be able to go with their family like we had been planning for months.  But that’s life – things change.  With everything happening on such short notice we felt like we should still go.  Matt had the time off, it wasn’t clear when or if we could reschedule, and we weren’t sure if we could be refunded for our flights and everything else that was already booked.  Needless to say the day before we left was really hectic, I mean REALLY hectic.  But we made it!  We got everything worked out and packed and the next day we found ourselves in California at the airport loading up the rental car.  Once everything, and everyone, was loaded Matt turned to me and said, “Now what?”  I said, “I have no idea, I was planning to just follow Ben and Amanda!”  Luckily my mom had leant us her GPS so we typed in ‘beach’ and away we went.  I think we ended up at Huntington Beach, but honestly I can’t be sure.  We just drove where the GPS told us to and stopped when we saw the ocean.  It was beautiful, and the boys were awe struck.  They couldn’t wait to get their feet in the water and neither could we.  Watching their faces as they stuck their toes in the ocean for the first time was awesome!  Their squeals of excitement and delight were so fun to watch, I love seeing them experience things like that for the first time.

 The next day was Sunday and we *thought* it would be fun to check out the LA temple.  It didn't quite turn out how I'd envisioned it.  First of all traffic was horrendous!  I was surprised because I didn't think it would be so bad on a Sunday.  So after a way too long car ride with frazzled nerves from driving on roads we weren't familiar with, in a car we were still getting used to, and dealing with antsy kids in the back seat we were all relieved to have reached our destination.  The temple was beautiful, and huge!  I didn't realize it was so big.  We tried to go to the Visitor's Center but the boys were so not interested.  It was clear they wanted to run and be free not sit quietly and listen.  We managed to see some of it, but soon left and walked around the temple grounds.  By the time we got back to our room I wasn't sure if the trip had been worth it or not, but whatever the case it was an adventure!

 After the temple we decided the boys needed to get some of their energy out, so we drove to Santa Monica beach.  It was really beautiful there too, but a little cold and windy on that day.  We let the boys put their feet in and we ran and played on the beach, which the boys loved.

The next day we took the boys to Lego Land.  This was a new experience for all of us.  The boys of course loved every second of it. 

We were also able to spend a few days in Disneyland - turns out it's still the happiest place on earth!

 Goofy was so cute with the boys.  The door that he was standing by made a loud noise when you tried to turn the door knob.  Goofy signaled for Carter to try the door knob and when he did he jumped a mile high.  Everyone that was standing in line got a kick out of it and that made both of the boys laugh hysterically.

 We had such a great time in Disneyland.  I'm not sure when we'll go back, but we can't wait!

We also took the boys to Seaworld for the first time. Spencer was most excited to see all of the sharks and Carter was most excited to see the sting rays.  The weather was perfect and it wasn't crowded at all, so it was almost the perfect time to go.

 Although you can't tell it, there is a walrus in this picture.  He was very playful with the boys, I wish I'd gotten a better picture.

 We had a really busy day.  We saw sharks, sting rays, sea turtles, walruses, killer whales, penguins, tropical fish, star fish, etc.  We also rode this ride, Journey to Atlantis, at least a half dozen times - one of the joys of no lines!

 The last day we were there we split our time between the beach and Disneyland.  It was nice to let the boys run and be free at the beach and to avoid all of the crowds for a while.  I don't know the name of this beach either, but I wish I could remember.  We basically parked right on the water and it turned out to be a really nice beach.  We collected a ton of sea shells and played in the sand and in the water.  Later we went back to our hotel and changed and spent our last night in Disneyland.  We rode our favorite rides again (Buzz Lightyear was at the top of the list) and had one last churro while we watched the fireworks before we headed home.  It was bittersweet to leave, but we made some great memories and we're looking forward to our next trip to California.

May 1, 2011 - First ER Trip

Well, we enjoyed a nice run of not going to the emergency room, but it was too good to last - poor Carter. We were at mom's house and she was helping me get some things ready for Disneyland when I heard the thud (you know the one), followed by the cry (you know, the serious cry), and then saw the blood. He had been horsing around with Spencer and had tripped over my dad's feet and fallen face first into the corner of their end table. When I saw the hole in his lip I thought he would for sure need stitches.  My mom was kind enough to accompany me to the ER while Matt stayed home with Spencer. Carter was a total trooper, even looking at it now I know that it had to hurt and he handled it like a champ. In the end the ER doctor didn't feel that he needed stitches, he just said to keep it clean and that it would heal better without them. I could not believe how swollen his poor lip was. I took him to the dentist to have his teeth checked and you could see the surprise on the dentist's face when he saw him. He asked if I was sure there wasn't something caught in his lip making it so swollen and x-rayed it to be sure - there was nothing in there. Luckily his teeth were fine and the only thing left to do was to give it time.

 Carter was back to his old self in no time, although he was having a hard time speaking and eating.  Then the day before we were leaving for the airport Spencer managed to accidentally hit him with a toy sword and give him a black eye. Geez! He really looked like he had been beat up then.  I thought for sure we would get stopped in the airport for child endangerment or something.  Luckily everyone that asked about it was sympathetic to the situation.  I had to add this last picture because I love that it's the little things that make a five year old feel better - like wearing swimming goggles in the bath tub. 

Easter 2011

Easter Egg Hunt

 We did our traditional Easter egg hunt.  Some of this year's clues were 'You're hot as a torch, go look on the porch', and the classic 'Don't be a dork, go look by the fork.'  It's fun to carry on traditions from my childhood with the boys, especially when they get such a kick out of it.

St. Patrick's Day

The boys woke up to green milk on St. Patrick's Day.  This was followed by a lot of questions about Leprechauns: where they live, what they look like, how they got in the house, why they turned our milk green, etc. Turns out I should have studied up on them because I had a hard time answering all of their questions.

After the boys heard the story they told me that they wanted to be leprechauns and play a trick on someone, and I knew just the place.  We grabbed our disguise and headed to grandma's for a stealth mission.  After we were done the boys wanted to know who was next.  They were disappointed to learn that we couldn't just go around breaking into people's houses turning their milk green - they crack me up.