Stuff We've Been Doing

U. Brig had to put in community service hours so he decided to potty train little girls j/k. He came out and brought a fun car bed for Vincent.


We went to a pumpkin patch at Irvine Park & Railroad. We got pumpkins, did a fun hay maze, rode the miniature train and Chris and I tried to coax the kids into a haunted mansion - they would have nothing to do with it. (Thank you daddy for taking your morning off to come with us!)

One afternoon we made vanilla shakes and I heard Hadley calling for help. Lauren had pinned her in the corner and climbed on her trying to grab her shake.

One evening we went down to Balboa to watch the boats and have some apple pie. The kids loved the toy store in downtown and enjoyed riding "yellowy" the pony.

Hadley laid on a bed of nails at the Science center.

Hadley and Vincent reading library books. I just think this is a cute picture.

I took the kids to the Santa Ana Zoo. I wish that tortoise was real - it would be a cool picture.

It's Exersaucer Time

Lauren has a favorite place to hang out now that she is mobile!

A Fun-Filled-Family Weekend

We had a fun General Conference weekend even though Chris had to work the majority of it. The best part was the cool weather and rain(!) we had on Saturday - loved it! Here are some pics of some of the happenins, but not all . . .

Friday night U.Rich & A.Jodi came by with all the kids and A.Molly after a day at Knott's. We had yummy pizza and chocolate covered strawberries.

Hadley learned how to 'wrestle' with the boys and they played ultimate hide and seek. Andrew was a good sport and teased the little ones for a good while.


As you can see, when we have guests, no rules apply in our house. Vincent was "Diego" for the evening and had the best time of all with such a great audience. Or maybe it was because he had a bunch of 'brothers'.
On Saturday I took the kids to Chris' parents where the kids had a blast with the cousins. The marble toy was a big hit. I got to start a puzzle and visit with my sisters-in-law.

The girls went 'thrifting' during the Priesthood session and met the men for ice cream in the rain. Thanks to A.Sharon for letting the kids romp around in her van for about 25 minutes while we waited due to a dead watch battery. (If you ask Sharon, it is always five minutes to seven these days.) We followed up with an impromptu meal at a nearby Chinese restaurant. I think this will have to be our new tradition!


Sunday: playing with the marble toy again.

Lauren spent a good portion of the first conference session sitting with U.Bryce. She was so content.
We may never know what Dallin and Hadley were doing outside for the longest time playing with a wagon of dead grass and toy dinosaurs. Every time I went to check on them, this is how they looked - and talking a mile a minute. I think Dallin and Hadley finally met their match for conversation or just found someone who they could talk and talk and talk and talk to.

We made one last stop at my parents for Ryan's b-day party where U.Brig built the coolest fort ever for the kids. It was hard to leave.

A Week of Outings

Monday: A big trip to Wal-mart (anyone with three kids knows that this is its own adventure.)

Tuesday we went to the Discovery Science Center which is very cool (for those who like science). The kids loved the huge dinosaur you could run through and slide on its tail. On the way home Hadley said, "Now we have somewhere even better than Disneyland!"

Wednesday: We surprised Gma Tigger at Cal-Poly Institute and then went to the mall to "run around" and wreak havoc. Later that evening A. Molly came with us to the LA County Fair so Hadley could ride Twinkie the pony for the third year in a row. Unfortunately, Twinkie was resting that evening but we still got to ride on Comanche and Onyx. The kids enjoyed all the farm animals, hula dancers, and piggy races.

Thursday: We stayed home to rest up and had a fun play date with friends in the afternoon!

Friday: We finished off the week with a trip to Disneyland with A. Molly to see the parade and take in a few rides. A visit wouldn't be complete without going to the Tiki Room.

Saturday: Another shopping trip where the kids got to wreak havoc and I promised myself I am not doing this again with all three of them. Then we got to go to Gma & Gpa Tiggers so I could watch the Relief Society Broadcast and Chris and I went out to dinner to celebrate our 7th anniversary.

Sunday morning: Chris and the kids were exhausted after such a long week.

Overheard

ME: What do you want for breakfast?
VINCENT: No.
ME: Do you want cereal or oatmeal?
VINCENT: No.
ME: You have to eat something for breakfast.
VINCENT: No. I wanna pickle.
ME: Fine here is a pickle.
VINCENT: No. I no wanna pickle. No no no.
ME: (In a singsong-I'm-gonna-lose-it voice) Eat your pickle.
VINCENT: No no no. I wan 'eatmeal' no no no. No pickle.

Disney Dates

Every Friday for the last three weeks we've managed to make a family date to Disneyland! It is so much fun to look forward to each week and especially to get to go with Daddy!
P.S. Vincent calls Dumbo "Rainbow", why is that?

A Good Day

Yesterday I was feeling rather brave, or desperate, and decided to take all three kids to Disneyland - BY MYSELF! We survived and ended up staying for about 6 hours but I'm not sure I'd do it again. We renewed our annual passes and can't wait to go again next week with Grandma and Grandpa! Some highlights of the day were meeting Mary Poppins - Hadley was delighted.

We got the best seats ever for the parade and didn't wait more than 20 minutes. We were so close that the characters came up and got very personal. The fairies came up to Hadley a ton of times and all three came and peeked at Lauren in her stroller. All the princesses blew kisses. We were so close. I think Hadley was re-converted back to her princess stage after seeing them all again. Earlier in the day she made a wish at Snow White's wishing well that she could be a princess and definitely felt like one during the parade. It was magical in only the way Disney can do it.
And the best part of all, this was my speedometer at the end of the day! That's right - this is round trip from our house to Disneyland, including parking! It felt like the tram ride to the parking lot was longer than our trip home. And even better was at night laying in bed (with all kids sound asleep) hearing the fireworks show at Disneyland and knowing we were there that same day. Very cool. I love it here in Tustin!