Disney World

Who knew you could enjoy 2 days at Disney World, on the last weekend of summer, and not wait in a single line? I have to give a shout out to Tara for being the world's best Disney day planner! Thanks to Tara, this is the only line we had to wait in the entire time we were in the Disney Parks, and it was a 5 minute line for the Jungle Safari in Disney World (a ride that never has a line longer then 5 minutes). Talk about being prepared, Tara actually bought a program on planning your day at Disney, and I have to say it was full of so many helpful hints, it was awesome. In the end fast passes in combination with the parent swap is the perfect solution. If you have both, you NEVER wait in line. Thanks Tara.

This is for you Bob. We took Lucy to Disneyland a year and a half ago, and we made the mistake of taking her on Pirates of the Caribbean first. She was terrified of any ride after that. The second it looked like it was getting dark, she burried her head. The fear lived on here at Disney World. This is her second try on Pirates of the Caribbean a who year and a half older, no change. The funny thing is that Jack had the same problem. He wasn't such a fan.

Ok, that is just a cute picture. Lucy loved this little play place they had in Toon Town. We let the kids play in here for 10 minutes while Jeff went to grab some fast passes and we all loaded up on some water. Lucy and Luke, can you tell they are cousins?

The Tea Cups, a ride I have always hated. It didn't help that while we waited I had to watch a worker clean some throw up out of one of the cups. That's when I said "Memo to self, do not sit in a yellow cup." I took the girls in the non spinning cup, and Tara took the boys in the wild and crazy cup. Too bad Kate knew the cup was suppose to spin because by the end of the ride she and Lucy gained up on me.

Lucy got to meet 3 princesses, Cinderella, Bell, and Sleeping Beauty. She didn't really like Cinderella (which was weird because she has seen the movie), Bell was the same, she just didn't want anything to do with them, Jack did, he flirted with them. But when we got to Sleeping Beauty Lucy perked right up. She turned into a complete chatter box. She was telling her how old she was, that she liked her dress, about her day, etc. It took me a second to figure out why she liked Sleeping Beauty and then it hit me. The pink dress. Apparently Lucy has a favorite color, Pink.



Meeting Minnie and Mickey. Lucy was SOOOO excited, the highlight of her trip. She ran right up and was being so sweet to Minnie, as I expexted, but by the time we left she didn't care about Minnie because she couldn't get ove Mickey. Wish we would have gotten more pictures of her interaction with them, it was priceless. It was awesome when they realized Jack was asleep too. I wish I could be a Disney character (almost).






After one successful day, Lucy was a happy camper. She was ready to take Minnie and Mickey home. Too bad those dolls are like $75 a piece, but the picture was adorable.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

So as I mentioned on Shawn's birthday post, I surprised him with a trip to Florida for his birthday. The surprise didn't go as perfectly as I had hoped, he found out about 8 hours before he was suppose to when he got an email from his frequent flier miles reminding him about his flight the next day. All that said, the day after his birthday we found ourselves at the Happiest Place on Earth. Disney World!!! We actually spent August 21st at Animal Kingdom, and I have to say I LOVE that park! It's Disney at it's greatest! Here we are in front of Mt Everest, an awesome ride BTW.

It was so great to see Jeff, Tara, and the kids. Lucy has not stopped talking about her cousins since we got home. Excuse Jeff's glare, he was still trying to get over our hotel. It was cheap, I mean really really cheap, but it was such a blast, and we saved a little dough.



The thing that is so great about Animal Kingdom is that it is a theme park and the world's greatest zoo. The way they did their animal enclosures in the Safari was GENIUS!!! I still can't get over how amazing it was.



So we had a bit of an accident. Here is Jack at the beginning of the day.

This was Jack's little set up for the day. Katie was so stinking cute sharing her treats with him. Anyway, Jack fell asleep so I set him back in his car seat. Then we went over to the Lion King Show. I went to pick up Jack's car seat because I was not going to wake him up. Well, I wasn't use to that car seat (we were using J&T's so we didn't have to bring ours) and I thought that the handle was locked into place and it wasn't. And of course Jack wasn't strapped in because he fell asleep while I was holding him. So I picked up the car seat and could not figure out what was happening because something didn't feel right.

And this was the result. What didn't feel right was Jack toppling out of the seat onto the cement. POOR BABY!! And of course he landed right on his head. Then everyone was watching and all thinking (and some saying) horrible things about me. Anyway, I felt horrible for weeks, still do. But Jack was fine, just one heck of a goose egg, and a scrap by his eye.

What we did learn was that if you drop your baby on the sidewalk outside of the entrance to the Lion King Show, you get passes to be a part of the show. Here is Shawn and Lucy teaching the crowd how to make a wart hog sound.

The show was really really good, obviously.

Will was the lucky one who was picked to go up and dance with the performers. He was so adorable! Those of you who know Luke know that it was not a happy situation when Luke realized that Will was chosen and not him. He was so heart broken. But when we got out of the show there was an answer to Luke's prayers waiting for us outside.

Could there be anything more perfect for Luke? No. The funny thing was that Will was upset after this, but he got over it really fast.

And then there were the characters. We were so lucky because there was like no crowd, so we were able to meet Donald, Goofy, Terk, and of course MINNIE, without waiting in a line for more than 5 minutes. Lucy was in HEAVEN!!!

Lucy had the time of her life. When we got back to the hotel that night she could hardly believe where she had spent her day. She was so happy. I feel so blessed to have been able to take her to Disneyland and Disney world in her short 3 years. I've really been so lucky with that. It does always help that she is still falls into the free admission category. We had to hurry and squeeze that in before her 3rd birthday in October!!

Talk about your perfect ending to a almost perfect day. (If only I didn't drop Jack on his head, my poor baby!)

If Ever There Was...

If ever there was a prize for the poopingest baby ever, Jack would be the champion!

The Battle at Night

Lucy recently decided she is a wimp at night. She usually will go to bed ok, but sometime around 3 am she wanders into our room. When we take her back, the battle usually begins. It is really hard to be patient with your 2 year old when it's 3 am and she just woke up the baby. As frustrating as this has been, we do have a couple of funny stories.

A few weeks ago we were in Florida to visit Jeff and Tara (that is where the problem started, Lucy slept in our room and decided that she really liked having someone close by). While we were there Shawn and I went on a little 2 night cruise. The first night we were gone Lucy did great. The second night there was an issue with leaving the door open, a battle that Tara folded on really quick when Lucy said "My mom let's me sleep with the door open." The next morning, Jeff and Tara woke up when Kate (who was sleeping in their room so Jack could sleep in her crib) climbed into bed with Jeff and Tara. It was one of those cute cuddly mornings for them, and all the sudden they heard a cough. They were a little confused because they knew it wasn't either of them or Kate. Tara leaned over to see if someone was laying on the floor in Kate's little make shift bed, but no one was there. A second later, Lucy popped out from under their bed. Sometime in the night, she got scared, climbed up the stairs and under their bed where she slept the rest of the night on the hard wood floors.

Since we got home, Lucy had some ugly 3 am battles, but quickly learned we were not going to give in. So lately I have heard her wake up and tip toe across the hall. I just lay in bed and don't move, watching her to see what she will do. Then she drops to the floor and tries to get under our bed. I have a small mattress under my bed that I pull out for naps for the kids I watch. So she hits the mattress and backs out. Then she tries again higher up where she hits my Tupperware of wrapping paper. Then she tries to roll under parallel to the bed. That doesn't work either. She is so desperate it is pathetic. Some nights her desperate attempt melts me enough to just put her in bed with me. But seriously, she has got to stop.

Things I do when Shawn is gone

So Shawn is out of town right now on yet another business trip. He left on Sunday night, and he'll be coming home on Friday afternoon. He's had a few of these week long trips this summer, and the first ones were bad, but instead of getting better, the are kind of getting worse. I don't mean worse in like I'm going to do something crazy, I mean worse like more pathetic. Here are a few funny things I have been doing that I wouldn't do when Shawn is home.

1-I did laundry the Saturday before Shawn left. It remains on my couch in a pile, or in the dryer or laundry basket. Why fold it? Who am I going to impress?

2-I refuse to cook if Shawn isn't home. As a result, I had crackers and cheese for dinner last night. Don't worry, my kids eat a little better. Luckily Jack's dinner is still in the jars, and Lucy, ok, she had crackers and cheese too. But she had applesauce and pepperoni too.

3- I'm afraid of spiders. I'm kind of pathetic. I recently realized I am more scared of tiny spiders then 6 foot long snakes. When I see a spider my heart starts racing and I usually squill. I've tried to get over this, but you know it's a problem when you do that when no one is around. I also have a dislike for bugs of every kind. So when Shawn is gone, if I see something, I make Lucy get it. Yesterday she picked up a beetle and flushed it down the toilet. The day before she used some toilet paper to take care of a small spider. Honestly, aren't I the one who is suppose to protect my kids from something dangerous? You never know how much you need a man until he isn't around.

4- I get so lonely that I kept Lucy up until 10:30 last night just for someone to talk to. Jack went down at 8, which is late for him. Lucy and I enjoyed a night of Yoga. They have kids yoga on demand, so we spent the night pretending we were sea weed and rowing boats.

5- Everyone knows I have a sweet tooth. Lucy loves to make cookies with me, but she doesn't eat them once they're cooked. So we made some cookies on Monday, but I didn't bake them because I knew I would be the one to eat whole batch. Instead, Lucy and I have a bowl of cookie dough in the fridge to pick at when ever we want. Because really, the batter isn't fattening until it's baked.

6-Lucy's latest battle is that she won't sleep in her room. Well before that started, whenever Shawn was gone, I let her sleep in my room. So even though we are in the middle of one of life's battles with her, I totally fold every night and let her sleep in my bed.

7- I took the kids shopping. Both the kids. Enough said.

8- And I've spent the last few afternoons watching Homeward Bound with Lucy. As a result, I've spent most of my evenings playing that I am Shadow, Chance, or Sassy.

Happy 27th Shawn!

Shawn's birthday was August 20th, and he is now 27 years old. For those of you who don't know this about me, birthdays are kind of a big deal. Mainly because it is one of the only times of the year (other than Christmas and Fathers/Mothers day) that I feel justified in doing something kinda big for Shawn or my kids. And when it is my birthday, Christmas, or Mothers Day, it's the only time I feel justified in asking for something big (like a KitchenAid, couches, or a sewing machine...hint hint hint). Shawn kinda had a crappy Christmas and Fathers Day (men are impossible to shop for), so I went all out for his birthday. First of all I made him the BYU cake since his birthday is like the opening ceremonies for the BYU football season. But the big surprise was that we were flying to Miami on his birthday for 2 1/2 weeks. Only possible due to the fact that Jeff and Tara live there (thanks guys, you are AWESOME!!!). So SURPRISE! and Happy Birthday Shawn. This one has been 8 months in the making! (And thanks to everyone who helped out so much (Pam).)

The Hammond attempt of singing Happy Birthday, for those of you who have not expirenced it, there are no words.

High Fives all around, I love how bad Matthew wants one too.

And here is a close up of the cake. It was my first attempt with fondant, which I actually made myself and it was surprisingly easy. It didn't taste any better however, so the fondant was just for looks and the good stuff was underneath. GO COUGARS!!!! BTW, the cake theme was Shawn's request.

A Summer of Firsts

Ok, I know I've been horrible about updating this blog for over a month now. Well hold on, because I have a lot of updates coming fast! I just did 2 tonight, but I have about 50 coming over the next couple of weeks. Jack has had a long summer of firsts, and it's been exhausting.

In July we spent our first day as a family at the beach. Ok, it wasn't a real beach, it was the beach and swim area at Chatfield Reservoir, but to Lucy it was amazing! I have a couple of beach bums on my hands, Lucy, and Shawn.



Lucy built her first Sand Castle. Not bad.



She also built herself a little sand chair, or a hole in the ground to sit in and eat snacks.





Jack enjoied himself too. Cute little bug!



Lucy also loved to swim in the water. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I taught swimming lessons for 3 years in high school and my own daughter doesn't know how to swim yet. We just didn't make it to the water very much this summer. I'll get her next summer. At least I can say she is not at all afraid of the water, and that is huge.



This summer Lucy decided that she actually likes some fruit. She LOVE raspberries, and she has been ok with applesause and even apples a few times. The most recent addition, apple juice! We're getting somewhere.



After seeing what a hit the beach was, we spent the next weekend at a pool here in Colorado Springs. Lucy LOVED it. She just wanted nothing to do with the spray area, and especially their slide. I can't blame her, that slide was the steepest thing ever, for kids! They all shot out crying because it was too intense.



Jack gave the water a go...



But he wasn't such a fan.



I was surprised that Jack didn't go for the pool, because this boy loves the bath. He had his first big boy bath with Lucy in July. Our tub is really slippery, so he struggles, mostly because he is so squirmy and excited about the toys.





So do you know what happens when your husband goes out of town for a week yet again? You lose your mind. And you go from having long flowing hair to...

Pretty much no hair. I looked in the mirror one night and I got so frustrated with my hair. Jack kept yanking on it, and he was getting stronger and stronger, and grabbing just a few random hairs all over my head. So it went from feeling good, to being annoying as heck! I also go sick of the work that was involved with long hair. So I went and chopped it off. For the record, I only intended for it to be just above my sholders, but that got lost in the translation somewhere. I kind of paniced for a couple of days, but the one thing that made me feel much better was that I was able to donate it, and my haircut was free. Too bad I can't add that pony tail to my other one for another white elephant gift!

Jack learned to sit up, and he learned to play with toys while sitting, that is a glorious day in the life of a mom!

And the weekend of July 24th, our ward had a ward campout at the Air Force Acadamy Campsites. We went down for dinner, but we didn't dare stay the night. Instead, we came home and camped out in our backyard. I love having a backyard! Lucy was SO excited! She helped me set up the tent, she hammered in most of the stakes by herself!

And she did a great job!

Two excited kids! Ok, one excited kid and one who is ready for bed.

So what did we learn? Turns out our kids sleep better outside then in! We also learned that grass really is not soft enough to consider a good enough cushion for your bed. We had a blast though and look forward to many more nights outside in our little tent!

Even if we have to clean up when we are done.