Eggs, Easter, and Everything Else

Alright so we had Easter, I let the kids color the eggs by giving them 1 cup of the coloring and 1 egg at a time. I tried to put stickers on the eggs (non colored ones) but I couldnt get them to stick. Oh well. Kids had fun with it. We went to my mother in laws which would have been in great fun except I had to rush Bobby to urgent care at 4pm because of an ear infection. We missed out on the egg hunt the family had, and barely made it to dinner on time. It was fine though. We were tired from the night before - bad sleep - not feeling well.

Easter Breakfast...

Coloring Eggs..

Jumping on the trampoline...(we were going to get one, but since they are at least $200, I want to wait til the kids are a bit older to appreciate it more. for now, we can go across the street to grandma's to play)

Since Moose passed away, I've been letting the other 2 dogs in the house more often. They are older, lazier, etc., so they are easier to manage. Both dogs (rylee & rocky are 7 years old). Kids are sitting on Rylee..

Since the weather was going to be a nice one today, I renewed our memberships to the WAP/Zoo this morning so the kids and I had something fun to do that was affordable. This is the first year we had to kick down to pay for Bobby to start going now too. At first I wasn't even going to bring the double stroller since I knew if Bobby was going to walk around Brooklyn would want to as well. I hesitated and wised up and brought the stroller anyway because of all the walking you have to do - smart. Not so smart...not bringing an extra change of clothes for Bobby or just putting him in a pull up to start the day because after 30 min of being at the WAP today he had an accident. Completely forgot, oh well.

We only stayed from 9am -12pm, it got pretty warm, and at around 1145 Brooklyn was done and fell asleep in the stroller. Worked out good for the most part, kids are still asleep (well Brooklyn is up but she is cranky so I'm letting her sort her feelings out in the crib right now). I was wiped out too and took a power nap when we got home. Was actually a pretty easy day with the 2 of them - considering all things. Fed the ducks - kids LOVED that, only had $0.50 which we burned through quick. Loved the gorillas, and we made the last stop the jungle gym playground. There's another part I will take them to in the summer - splash park type thing - I just didnt want to deal with 2 soaked kids today. Good time.

FINALLY. Our new entry door is stained, installed and ready to go. We have to have the protective stain (clear coat) added to it, but its done. We were so fortunate, the handle you see was given to us for free (saved us $200 at least). Its not a perfect match, but its good enough considering what we had before - a broken glass, duct tape, no working lock entry door. What a difference. The grid part you see below - on the inside it opens to allow a breeze but still have privacy. LOVE IT.

Moose and the whole sucky week

Bobby: Mommy where's moose?

Me: Moose is in heaven now.

Bobby: up? Up?!

Me: yes bobby, up.

We had to say good bye unexpectedly to one of our beloved dogs, Moose, on Saturday 3/31/2012. All Dogs Go to Heaven (just like the movie says right?) so I know he is running around and enjoying himself. He was suffering from what we believe was cancer, we found one lump, that grew very fast, and then started to break open and bleed, then another lump was discovered about a week later. We weren't going to pursue treatment because of the costs, so inevitably he was going to die, but it still felt unexpected and hurt like crazy. Its gut wrenching to have to do this. I've never been a dog owner, and as most of you know, I love my dogs very much. They were my babies before my human babies. I miss him very much and it breaks my heart still to think he is not with us. I try to tell myself he was "just a dog" but he really wasn't. He was a loving part of our family. We get his ashes back in about 2 weeks.

Moose's story: He was ABANDONED and left on my mother in law's doorstep back in June of 2008 (June 26th if I remember right). Sally's dogs didnt take to him, and ours did, (well, after a little getting used to, they did fine) and c'mon...look at him as a puppy:

We will miss you very much Moose, you will always be in our heart!

And before all of this happened, Thursday my dad, me and the kids were all loaded and packed ready to go to SLC to see my brother. After a brutal nearly 4 hour wait, we were informed that the flight had been canceled. Torturous way to spend a morning. The kids were ok for the first 2 hours, then after that extreme boredom set in and they went BONKERS. Ughhhhhhh never again.

Let's hope this week has a better ending than last!!

Three

THREE

TWO

ONE

Bobby turned 3 this past monday. Derek ended up taking a half day on work since his job had been snowed out. We had special birthday sandwiches from Subway, and a messy homemade birthday cake. Nice quiet time together since we went hog wild at Disneyland the week before. Cant believe he is 3. He's at the best age. Derek picked him up a basketball hoop, I picked out a Mickey watch that has his name on it. Nice quality time with each other.

Disneyland

Here's how our day went yesterday:

Woke up at 530 to try and depart by 630 (of course we pick the weekend when the time changed so it was brutal crawling out of bed)

Loaded all 3 kids (Derek's brother Tyler & his son Elijah came with us) in the middle row, crammed as much junk in the back, and then crammed myself in the middle seat of the bench row in the front.

Arrive at Disneyland ~930 (manage to get a little lost I dont know how it happens but every time we go it does)

Unload (apprx 30 min) car, reload on tram, unload off tram, torturous wait to buy tickets at park (NOTE TO SELF: ANYTHING THAT CAN BE BOUGHT PRIOR TO WAITING IN LINE IS A MUST). Chase Brooklyn for 20 min while waiting for tickets

After that the day sorta went like this:

We rode these rides in random order: Buzz Lightyear, Finding Nemo, Played in Toon Town, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Carribean (yes I put Brooklyn on this one and she didn't make one peep), Dumbo, The Carousel, Autopia, Pinnochio, Casey Jr. Train, Its a Small World, Winnie The Pooh...

The hardest part of the day: Entertaining the kids while waiting for the rides. The lines were never longer than 15-20 min wait (I think we waited 30 min for something but I cant remember which one), and the meltdowns with Brooklyn from waking up early and missing regular naps. She was a NIGHTMARE to put it nicely. Once we actually got on a ride, she was fine and totally entertained - never scared, she loved to be moving and looking around. But the second we had to wait for something - she either couldnt sit still and wanted to walk with us or she would just scream - which told me she was tired or hungry.

The best part of the day: Being smart and packing so much food that I thought I over packed. I made 3 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, packed chips and cracker snack type things, granola bars, and 6 juice boxes. 99% of it was gone. This was perfect for several reasons: 1) not wasting $20 on a bottle of water and 2) noone went hungry which meant controlling tantrums and fits. Not to say that even Bobby didn't get bored or yell out and disobey but it helped control it all. Since I was the one who stayed behind when Brooklyn fell asleep, I enjoyed riding the carousel with her and Its a Small World with her the most. She loves all that foo-foo girlie stuff so she was a happy camper when we rode these things. Bobby we think loved Dumbo and Autopia the most.

Something else I learned about doing this with tots: The day after a day like this - is best to have off. Recovery time is needed! We didnt come back home til ~ 11pm last night and I was TIRED. So were the kids.

Happenings in March

March is a busy month for us this year. Fun month, but busy. Bobby turns 3 on the 19th. Three years have gone by, really? Just way too fast. I really wish the toddler years were double the length in time (I sound crazy but whatever, 3 is a fun age), this age is new little twists in comedy everyday. He's turning into a little parrot so we REALLY have to watch what we say around him, but its also cute because we ask him funny questions like...

Me: Bobby who's your best friend?

Bobby: Bobby!

Me: No, Bobby, WHO'S your best friend? (and Derek has tried numerous nights to train him to say "daddy" this conversation happens every night before bed - not kidding)

Bobby: Daddy! Mah-nee! Keegan!!!

Me: What's your teacher's name?

Bobby: Keegan!

Me: What's your favorite color?

Bobby: Keegan!

Me: What's your favorite food?

Bobby: Keegan!

Here's a little photo of these 2 tearing it up at school...

Ha, he's a little, confused? Or he's just pulling my leg, either way, its cute. :) When I start to giggle he looks at me like, "What? You asked me about my FAVORITE - - - - - and I know I love to play with Keegan! So my answer for anything you are gonna ask is KEEGAN!!" (Keegan is at preschool and he is really cute and friendly and almost every time I go to pick him up Bobby and him are spinning circles outside or just horsing around together :-) )

Brooklyn...

I sat down to update her little baby book and just thought I'd share what she is up to - she is a RASCAL to put it nicely. :)

She can say...

Mama, Daddy, Dog, Juice, Yeah, She shakes her head no (havent heard it yet), Mine (ooo that's one of her favorites), Shoes, eeaassss (for please, and will even raise a hand to her heart sometimes to really beg for something haha), thank for thank you, Makes sucking noise for "binky" (Ugh, the dreaded debate on weaning her or keeping it, she sleeps til 7am if she has it/can find it in the night, otherwise she ups at 5am!), Blows kisses, or walks over to you to give a kiss while making a "mmmm" sound hahaha, and my least favorite right now, she is a creepy crawler on EVERYTHING. Sheesh. Everytime I turn around she has managed to climb to the top of our couches and stand at the very top, she'll look over with this big grin like "hahaha ma, try and get me!" then goes running across the couch because well, I'm not sure why. She's a lunatic. She copies everything she sees Bobby do - sometimes he likes it and sometimes he HATES it! I'm sure the day is near that I will hear "Go away Brooklyn!", I already hear him yell at her and say "NO! MINE!!"

Fun...but dang she is nothing how Bobby was at this age. NOTHING ALIKE.

So in March, we have decided not to throw a party for Bobby's birthday. Numerous reasons - 1) he doesnt need squat diddly, 2) its a pain to figure out who, what, when, where, etc., 3) expensive, and 4) I would rather waste the money on what I would do for a party at Disneyland with our family (this is the bottom line). Bobby and Brooklyn LOVE Mickey, and all those dumb shows on the Disney Channel. Fine by me, I love Disneyland and being able to share this with the kids is so nostalgic for me, I'm a happy camper. We are planning to go on Monday the 12th. I ordered a few things Disney for the kids - the traditional Mickey/Minnie ears with names on the back, and Mickey/Minnie sunglasses from the Disney store. I did this to help avoid wasting time shopping at the park - and also from having to drag the kids to the store, have them touch everything in site. I know it will be inevitable to shop, I'm just hoping this will help with being wasteful with our time there - there's just so much to do at the Magic Kingdom!

While I was doing research on the park, I found out that a new "Cars" theme land is set to open in June at the CA Adventure Park of Disney. So this trip is just for one day up at Disneyland, then we will return in the summer to go play at the other park to see the "Cars" Land, and I think there is more splash/water things to do at the CA Adventure park - cant wait!

March Madness starts this month, so I'll be kissing my husband good bye - see ya in April honey. He will be spending time with some close friends when the tournament starts, and then his mind will be focused on his favorite team beating everyone and winning the title. GO KANSAS!!! Its detrimental to this house that they win! I'm talking life or death people!! Ok maybe not that extreme but it really weighs heavily on Derek when the lose, so for the sake of our house, please pray they win. Amen.

My goal this month is to try and get Derek into the gym with me, my first goal is to go at least 1 time a week with him this month, and then after this initial success, maybe 2-3 times together. It is hard to push him especially since he is lifting and doing alot of strenuous things at work, but I think that boy needs some cardio! At the end of the day though, we both look at eachother and want to bury our heads in the couch and veg out and watch some stupid show that we recorded... I go in the mornings so I'm not real big into going at night - or doing anything at night for that matter(especially since at 8pm I want to crawl under my covers and hit the hay.) We enrolled him back in August of last year and he hasn't been one time. Talk about a waste of money! Might as well be driving and throwing $39 out the window every month! We will see, I asked him out on a date tonight to go, and he's been fighting off a cold so I'm not sure if he will feel up to it tonight.

Then at the very end of the month my dad, me, and the kids will be flying to Utah to visit my brother, his wife, their 1.5 year old daughter, and their new baby boy - Mason - who is due basically any second right now. I'm so excited to do take the trip, a little sad that Derek wont be with us since this will be the kids first flight, but it still should be a good time. We were supposed to go last year in May but Brooklyn of course, was too sick, and we had to cancel last second. We bought trip insurance which was a life saver, didnt have to pay a dime to reschedule this trip!

Then in April its: Easter, and LOTS of birthdays.

Happy hump day people! Have a great rest of the week!

Video of 2142012

Best present?

Well. We didnt give the kids anything, but extra hugs and kisses. And we didnt buy eachother anything either - we had a romantic rendezvous at Hooters (we were running SUPER late, and just needed anything to fill our belly besides our redbulls from the drive up) - spent approximately 40 minutes inhaling our food...and then..ran across the street to the Staples Center...for the Lakers game. Lakers vs. Atlanta.

We bought these tickets for our 5 year wedding anniversary back in August. Probably really, the only thing we have ever done for any anniversary since being married.

Second row.

It was like a dream.

Me: Isn't that the guy who started Facebook? Mark Zuckerbergergereger or something?

Derek: I dont know who cares.

Five minutes later....

Me: Isn't that person FAMOUS? I mean, just look at that couple. They look familiar to me...the Owner's of the Lakers or something?

Derek: I dont know! Watch the game already!

Me: ITS JACK! ITS JACK!!! ITS JACK FREAKING NICHOLSON!!! RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!!! (he is a grumpy old bear)

By far, the best presents Derek gives me are the memories we make! I know it sounds oober cheesy but really, think about it...they are the best gifts!

Just can't explain what last night was like except, I'm so glad we spent what we did (by far our biggest splurge besides our honeymoon), and I hope in another 5 years we are able to do something just as memorable.

Thank you Derek, I Y You