Downtown Disney and Disneyland day #1

We got to our hotel room about 4 and checked in. We freshened up a bit then headed downstairs to Downtown Disney where we were meeting some OC friends for dinner at Rainforest Cafe. It was good to catch up with the Van Ginkels and seeing Luke and Justus together was just cute. Luke was just a newborn at our wedding so weve known him all his life and J and him have been friends since J was born.

Justus had gotten some money from GG so he went straight away into the Lego store and picked out his Legos which of course was of the Star wars variety.

After cruising around with the Van Ginkels it was back to the hotel for bed so we could start our next day in DISNEYLAND!!!!

We rode the Monorail into the park which dropped us off at Tomorrow land. We got to enter the park an hour early so every ride was basically walk on with no wait. The very first ride we did was Matterhorn.

Then into Fantasy land to do the tea cups, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Carrousel and others.

We went into Toontown and stood inline to meet Mickey. Haven wasnt quite into all that so she just watched. We also saw Minnie, but again, the kids just wanted to see and not meet.

After Toontown we headed back into Tomorrow land and did the Nemo ride and Autopia. Then it was lunch time so we headed to Mainstreet to eat a corn dog.

We took the train around the park to rest then Haven was ready for a nap. I took her back to the hotel while Neil stayed with J and did more rides in Tomorrow land.

When we got back Justus was getting ready to do the Jedi training. He got picked to go up on stage and "be trained". All was good and well until Darth Maul came out and Haven freaked out. She did not want to be anywhere near him so I had to leave right as Justus got to fight him. But fun times for J.

We ate dinner on Main Street and followed it up with yummy ice cream cones. A definite must for first timers!

Then we crossed over into California Adventure. That was a first for all of us. We got to ride the Zeplins as a family, then J and I did Mulholland Madness and the swings while Neil and H did the ferris wheel.

We ended the night in the Bugs Life land with the bumper cars, bug ride and lady bugs.

By the time we got back to the room, all of us were tired, but Haven fell right to sleep after her bath even tho the rest of us were still up with the lights on. Must have been a SUPER fun day!

Labor Day weekend - annual beach trip

Last year we started a tradition of going to the beach with my sis and her family for Labor day. Being at the beach is fun, but being at the beach with extra family is even better! This year, my nieces each got to bring a friend. My kids LOVED their friends and wanted to be where the big kids were ALL the time. It was super cute!

Day one - we drove over to the beach. We stayed in the same hotel we did last year which made it extra annualish. Then while we waited for my sis we went to Applebees for dinner which is also what we did last year. Across the street was a park so after dinner we decided to check it out. It was lots of fun. They we headed to the pier at Pismo to watch the sunset which is where we met up with my sis. Then we walked around and found a little carousel for the kids to play on.

The next day was all about the Beach. When we got there is really chilly and we were some of the first people out there. But it soon warmed up and we had a great time.

After the beach we headed back to get cleaned up and go to dinner. After dinner Uncle Jeff took the Neil and all the kids in his big red truck to ride on the beach. Then we all went back to Pismo for ice cream.

Great time at the beach!

The Story of the Jeep

Neil got a new Jeep the other day. I say Neil, because really, its all for Neil. Dont get me wrong. I have love for the Jeep, but its really his baby.

When we started dating Neil had just bought a brand new Jeep. He was out in the work force, starting his career and he had made his first big purchase. A shiny black, brand new Jeep with all the extras. I have to say, its always nice to date someone with a cool car ;)

Also, earlier in his college career he had owned a Jeep (a black one) but ended up having to sell it.

And the Jeep love really goes back to when Neil was in 8th grade. He was in an accountability group with some guys a few grades up and when one of them got his license he got a Jeep. He would take Neil around in it and Neil was in love.

Ok, so back to the Jeep Neil had when we started dating. Well, if you know our story at all you know that soon after we were married (like the next month) we were pregnant. Which meant we now needed a family car. I did not enter our marriage with a family car and the Jeep def wasnt gonna be it. So the Jeep got sold to make way for family.

Now, 5+ years later, Neil finally gets the car of his dreams. He is in Heaven!!!

Trail ride

Saturday the weather was perfect. We decided to pack the kids and bikes up, drive to my sisters where we could catch the trail and go for a ride.

It was fun. The kids love to check things out and we got to see a creek. Then we played at the park and just had a great family day.

I love these kind of memories!

Terrible, horrible, no-good day

Thursday started out to be a great day. Sure it was HOT at 109 degrees, but we had just one errand to knock out and then we were going to spend the day at my sisters pool.

Once we get to my sisters things were going well. The pool was super refreshing. It was GREAT. Then the kids asked if they could get on the trampoline. My sisters trampoline is, like, huge. it does have a net around it. The kids have been on it multiple times before. I said "sure". I turned my chair around and watched while laying out.

I got up to go get some more sunscreen and I had to walk out of view to get it. The next thing I heard was the most horrible screaming coming from BOTH my children. I race around the corner thinking they had collided in some kind of awkward jump that broke their bones.

But no, they are both on the concrete.

Great. Not only may they have broken bones, they may be bleeding from their brains. Great. So I see that they are holding their heads and also moving so I have them walk inside where I can think a little better. My bro-in-law was home on his lunch break so it was nice to have a calm person to talk to. He checked them out while I called the dr.

Of course the dr office is closed from 12-2 for lunch and it was now about 12:15. I got the exchange service to leave a msg for the on-call dr. She asked if they were dizzy or wanting to fall asleep. I didnt think so. So I hung up waiting for a call from the dr.

I talked to my kids to see what had happened and J said they were on their tummies (by the entrance that I didnt zip down) and that they fell out of the trampoline onto their heads (on the concrete).

About 30 min before this happened, Justus decided to "water" my phone with the watering can. So I had to deal with my phone shutting off and all my numbers not being accessible. Talk about inconvenient, especially during an emergency.

I waited for the dr to call, which he never did. Finally about an hour later (meanwhile my kids are laying on ice packs) I called again. But the phone system was not responding. After about 4 other calls I finally got to someone. No one was happy to help me until they heard my story. Then they got all serious and were like"we like to see that kind of problem right away" I was like, yeah, been trying to tell you this for forever.

End of story - we went in at 5 and got the kids checked out and they were ok. Just had to take it easy for a few days.

Bye Bye Sawyer

I was watching my friends little boy Sawyer for the last 7 weeks, 2 days a week. She only works part time and had him in an in-home daycare when the lady decided to shut down. Well, she is pregnant and was only planning on working til Labor Day so she didnt want to have to go through the process of finding a new place for him, knowing it would be short term. She asked me to watch him and of course I was happy to help - not to mention she also paid me.

So the adventures with Sawyer began. He is a darling boy. He has the biggest blue eyes and of course blonde hair. He was 17 mos when I started watching him. Thankfully his schedule already lined up with my kids and his mommy was totally ok with me hauling him around with me where ever I went. Which meant he went to Costco with me, to Starbucks, to gymnastics and to the first couple days of preschool.

Because he and Haven have similar coloring people often thought he was mine. You should have seen the sympathy stares I would get when Id come in with all three kids that have ages that are so close. Moms would lovingly smile at me and old people would smile and nod. Everyone opened doors for me and lent a hand when possible.

It was fun, but now its back to life as normal.

Unfortunately I dont have any real good pics of Sawyer. I would take them with my phone and send them to him mommy, but Ive deleted a bunch. So, even tho hes not looking up, you can see how people would think he and Haven could be siblings.