yogotogo

I told Jayson that if he sang really well last Thursday in his program I would take him to YOGOTOGO.  Well, he has reminded me every.single.day, so today after preschool was the day.  They were both a complete mess when we left, so I think it was a success!

Utah History Fair project

Tayler and Sean finished her Utah History Fair project this weekend.  Back in October, we had a "parent's meeting" to talk about everything this project entailed.  Holy smokes for a 4th grader this was a HUGE project.  They have been completing different steps for it since October and today the final project was due.  Next Monday their process paper is due which has to be 300 words (at a minimum).  Don't get me wrong, I love everything they can learn, but this project and all that it included, was way too much for a 9 year old to do. At the parents meeting we were all thinking this was more of a High School or college project.  Seriously!  They kept saying "we don't want parents helping a lot" but there is no way on this earth that any of the students could have even started the project, let alone finish it.  We had to make sure that it was all her work. On Feb. 2nd they will be drilled by judges on each project, where they will be expected to answer a whole list of questions.. meaning they have to know the information inside and out.  I am so glad that Sean helped the whole way and that it is finally DONE!! 
She chose the subject THE UTAH WAR and ended up reading about 6 hours of material from History books about it.  We had huge stacks of books on our table for weeks.  We marked sections for her to read, rented videos on the subject, etc.  Yep, this thing was MANDO. 
But great job Tay. I am proud of you.

Jackson is TWO

This morning when Jackson came downstairs I scooped him up and said HAPPY BIRTHDAY little buddy to which he replied "thank you" and then held up 2 fingers (well tried really hard :) Cutest thing ever!
Tayler had a soccer game tonight and a training right after so we celebrated Jackson's birthday last night.
We went out to dinner and then headed to a place called GET AIR.  Funnest place EVER!! My kids loved it. It is a huge trampoline place.  The best part is..it completely wears them out.  You pay for one hour and after that hour they are exHAUSTed!

I am so grateful for Jackson.  He makes a great caboose for our family!  He is definitely the most opinionated child and not the easiest, but I love him SO much.  He still loves to cuddle.  His eyes melt my heart. He loves Blue's Clues and Wow Wow Wubbzy.  He loves pizza and chips. He is addicted to my smart phone (really, it is bad.  He is on detox for a few days).  He understands so much, but has yet to communicate with us, which is frustrating for all of us.  He loves to pretend he is big and play with his siblings.  He is overly loved at our house.  He loves chocolate milk and has to start his day with a sippy cup full.  He laughs so hard when you tickle him.  Thanks Jacks, for making our family complete. 

Happy Birthday Buddy!!

Jayson's Singing Program

Jayson's preschool did a singing program today.  I love to watch how goofy my kids are.  He fit right in cheesin' it up in front of everyone!  Love this little guy so much.  I am also so pleased with his teacher.  She ADORES him and is such a sweet person.

Since his birthday is the end of July we have decided to wait a year to send him to Kindergarten.  This has been a struggle for me. but after talking to MANY people about it, I think it will be best in the long run.  This means he gets to stay home with me for one more year.  I can't say I mind.  I love having him around.  He has won so many awards at school for different things he has done and helped with.  I love that he is doing so well.  He also has a lot of friends.  One mom sought me out at preschool and told me that her son talks about Jayson everyday and would love to have him come play.  We have had 2 play dates together (one at his home and one at ours). His mom stayed and I stayed at her house just so we could feel comfortable since I don't know them at all.  It has been fun and I actually really like his friends mom.  I am thankful for my little boy.  I see great things in his future.

Safari Zoo

Our last stop on our Southern California trip was the San Diego Safari Park.  I love how they had everything set up.  We went on the African Loop tour.  We saw lots of fun animals and learned about each one of them.  IT was crazy to see them just roaming around in their own habitat. The bummer is I couldn't find my camera anywhere so I didn't get any pictures.  Luckily, I had left it in the stroller so after we exited the bus we found it.  PHEW!  I was worried the whole ride. 

The kids loved feeding the Lorikeets.  They LOVED Tayler.  The minute she walked in they landed all over her.

There were 2 that landed on Sean's head, but right when I snapped the picture they flew away.  Darn!

We also saw Lions, cougars, elephants and this 34 year old Gorilla named Camila.  We learned that they never make direct eye contact.  Interesting.

There was also a little petting zoo.  Jayson liked brushing the animals and Jackson liked chasing them around.  They were just as annoyed with him as we are most days :)

On Sunday we headed back for Las Vegas.  This time the trip was not nearly as bad as trying to get into California.  We were all sad to leave the warmth and fun.  It was a truly wonderful vacation.  I love being with my family and spending time with them.

Monday morning we left Vegas to come home.  It was so fun to sleep in my own bed Monday night :)

Tuesday we were back to reality.

Thank you California.  It was a pleasure being with you.

AQUARIUM & SEA WORLD--New Year's Eve

Friday after we checked out of the hotel and finished at Disneyland we drove to San Diego to stay for 2 nights.  We stopped by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach to see the sharks.  They had a place where you could touch the sharks and sting rays.  It was really foggy and COLD there though.  It reminded me that it really was winter.

The next morning was Sea World.  This was probably my favorite place.  Not too crowded, warm, and lots to do.  My kids loved the rides they had here too.  The Journey to Atlantis was their favorite.

After some rides we went to see the Dolphin Show.  It was an awesome show.

I was lucky enough to meet up with Alyssa, a sister from my mission.  She and her family live in San Diego.  She has 3 darling kids and one on the way.  It was so fun to see her and give her a hug.  I wish we would have had more time with them, but it was great.

We also had to go and see the Sea Lion Show.  It was hilarious!! With each show we saw, Tayler was determined to be a trainer of that animal.  First it was a dolphin trainer, then she switched to sea Lions.

The Shark Exhibit they had was awesome.  All of the kids really liked going through the tunnel where they swim over you.

Out last show was Shamu.  It is incredible to watch these animals.  I loved it!  Right before the show started, Jackson and I were saving seats and Sean took the kids on one more ride and they got SOAKED!!  I felt bad because they were so cold.  They took their shirts off and put their jackets on, but they were still freezing.  We enjoyed this show and then left to go back to the hotel to get warm.

When we got back to the hotel everyone crashed for about 2 hours.  They were exhausted. It was New Years Eve, so we got up and went to celebrate.  We ate at Mimi's Cafe and then went to the movies. 

We saw this movie. We all liked it.  I thought it had too much swearing for a kid movie, but it was cute. 

It was a great night with my family. The perfect place to ring in the new year!!

WELCOME 2012!

Universal Studios

Our next stop was Universal Studios.  When we arrived in L.A. it was 81 degrees. I could seriously live in Southern California.  One day, maybe.

We hopped in the 1 1/2 hour line to wait for the Studio Tour, but I think it was totally worth it.  I thought it was such an amazing tour.  The next King Kong 3D part was awesome.

It is amazing to think of how they film movies and t.v. shows.  We went through the parts they used for Jurassic Park and Jaws (Jayson was a little apprehensive about that part).

We went down Wisteria Lane where Desperate Housewives is filmed and also saw the set for "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"  The people of WHO ville did a little song and dance for us.

Can't have enough shark pictures right?

We didn't do much at Universal Studio, but it was fun to see and the kids really enjoyed it. 

DiSnEyLaNd/CaLiFoRnIa AdVeNtUrE

Our trip started out wonderful. We only went half way Christmas Day and stopped for the night in Las Vegas.  Monday morning we had breakfast, went swimming and then hit the road for what we thought would be a quick 4 hour drive. Nope. Everyone else in the U.S. was heading to California as well (it seriously seemed that way).  We were stop and go-- the whole way-- I could not believe it! I keep thinking there had to be an accident up ahead, SOMEWHERE, but it was just traffic. At one point we did get up to 60 mph and the kids all cheered, but that was short lived.  We finally made it after a quick 8 hours, checked into the hotel, which was awesome, and hit the hay.  The next morning we were so excited to go.  We got the shuttle around 9 to take us to Disneyland (which was only 1 mile from our hotel).  When we got there the lines were crazy, well everything was busy/packed!  The lady at the ticket booth told us that we would probably want to go to California Adventure first since Disneyland was so packed already.  It worked out great.  It was busy, but not too bad.  We also got tickets for the Color of Wonder show which was so good.
waiting for the shuttle

The weather was perfect.  I made the kids wear jackets, mostly because my brain still told me it was winter, but I quickly learned that we did not need them at all until the evening.  It was 70 degrees most days and felt so good. It was lovely. 

The line to see goofy was relatively short so we waited.  The kids loved seeing the characters (except of course Jackson).

Jayson was tall enough to ride everything except Indiana Jones and the California Screamer. It was so nice and he LOVED everything along with the girls.

We went on the rolling Ferris wheel and Jayson was scared to death.  I am sure I still have marks were he was holding onto my arms.. haha!  It is a bit unnerving when you are so high and then start to slide.  We chose the gondola that moves. The girls and Jackson loved it.  Jackson wouldn't even let me hold onto his leg.  Sean wouldn't go on it with us.. he is not a fan of heights and the last trip when he did do it, he almost peed his pants, so it was just me and the kids.

I love all the rides that Jackson can go on in both places.  He thought he was so big and had so much fun.

Jayson and Rylee's favorite ride was the Tower of Terror.  Yep.  They LOVED it.  I am pretty sure we rode it 5 or 6 times.  Adults would always stop and ask them if they were scared.

Another highlight was the JEDI training at Disneyland.  Our first time watching,Tayler was picked.  Jayson was totally bummed that he didn't get chosen and kept telling us that he wanted to be a "trained Jedi" too so we went back for round two. There were so many kids that I was sure he wouldn't get picked, but the second time all 3 were picked.  Don't worry, Sean strategically placed them in different spots in the group because there is no way 3 would be picked from the same spot.  Yep, hard core.  They are definite fans of Star Wars now.  Don't worry, we watched all 6 DVDs on our trip.

They all loved fighting Darth Vader.  So if you want to get into combat with my kids.. watch out :)

 I am just grateful that we didn't loose any of our kids.  We had meeting spots everywhere we went.  Did I mention how busy everything was?  Bathroom breaks took at least 30 minutes.  Rides were a good 1-2 hours, fast passes were already at 4:45 when we got there at 9.  There was one point that I seriously want to scream! I think I just teared up.  There were so many people that I couldn't even turn the stroller around at one point.  By 3 p.m. Disneyland was at capacity, so they weren't letting anymore people come in.  After I came to grips with everything it was fine. I just realized that no one was going to leave and we were going to have fun no matter what! Sean took the kids late one night and said everything was dead so they got to ride a ton of rides.  They rode Splash Mountain a ton (imagine that.. dead, late at night because you get SOAKING WET). They are crazy!  Jackson and I stayed warm at the hotel.  We also got a Magical Morning card which allowed the kids to go before the park opened to the public, so all in all they were able to ride every ride and enjoy everything.

We spent 3 days at Disneyland/California Adventure with hopper passes, but they preferred to stay more at California Adventure.  The preferred the rides better.  Tayler loved the California Screamin' roller coaster.  She has no fear and loves the thrill rides.  Rylee was about 1 inch to short for that one.  Darn it!  Next time, Ry!

While Tayler and I were riding California Screamin', Jackson thought he would entertain everyone and fall out of the stroller.  It was sad.  This picture doesn't really show how huge his goose egg was.  Holy smokes.  We found the first aid station and they cleaned it all out and gave us an ice pack. 

We all LOVED our time here.  I can't wait to go back again, but it won't ever be during Christmas again :)  All of the employees told us that February and March were the least busy times.
xoxox