Vacation, Part 2: Legoland

We decided that we were going to just do one of the big, expensive parks in Cali and we chose Legoland. We chose it because a) We are going to San Diego in December with my fam and will do Sea World, the zoo, etc. then. b) Disneyland is expensive and I don't think the kids would appreciate it quite yet. and c) All the other parks like Six Flags, Knott's Berry Farm, etc. aren't really for young kids. So Legoland it was. I think it was a good choice.

Emmy had a ball!

We got our tickets at Costco, so we got a second day free for cheaper than getting a one-day ticket at the gate. I would say about 2/3 of the rides are for younger kids, so there was tons of stuff for Emmy to do.

We went on Tuesday and Thursday, and on Tuesday it was quite crowded. Thursday was better. And after 4 or so, it really died down.

Babies were not allowed on any (except 2) of the rides, so Matt and I took turns taking Emmy on the rides.

They had Lego play stations all over the place. Emmy had a blast building towers.

She built one as tall as she was! They even had these Lego stations next to the ride lines so the kids could play while the parents waited in the line. Genius! And there were lots of things to do that didn't involve waiting in a line, like different playgrounds and fountains and forts. So it was good to break things up so you weren't waiting in lines all the time.

Emmy thought it was so cool that she got to "drive" cars, boats, airplanes, helicopters, etc with Mom and Dad.

She also loved this fun musical Lego fountain. She would jump on the "buttons" to hear the music.

They had some Lego water guns you could shoot at Lego statues.

And they had really cool replicas of tons of cities. (NYC, Washington DC, New Orleans, San Franscisco, Las Vegas, etc.) And they had so much detail (down to cars on the roads and people in the swimming pools.) They also had Lego statues everywhere!

They had a water park that we went to for a little while one of the days. Emmy LOVED it! In fact, when she got in the pool she was jumping around yelling, "Fun Day! Fun Day!"

It was fun to see her having so much fun.

I had heard about the famous Legoland apple fries so I had to get some. Basically they are fried apple strips dusted in cinnamon sugar and dipped in whipped cream. Yummy!

This safari ride was Emmy's favorite and she insisted on going on it 4 times.

They also had a little aquarium, which of course Emmy loved. After we went through it, she exclaimed, "Let's do the aquarium again!"

Here we all are on one of the 2 boat rides that Zach was allowed to go on. I'm not sure why he wasn't allowed on the other rides....they were all pretty tame.

We saw Lego Mt. Rushmore, the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, and more! There was even a whole Star Wars section that Matt thought was pretty cool. They had a huge space ship made out of like 5 million Legos!

When it was time to go, Emmy begged for one last ride on the safari jeeps.

All in all, Legoland was pretty fun. I think Emmy was a tad young to enjoy everything, but she had a great time. I think the perfect age to go would be from about 4-8 years old. Anything older than that I think they might get bored. But it is great for younger kids. Also, it was nice to have the 2-day pass so we could come and go. The mornings & early afternoons were pretty crowded, but the evenings were practically empty!

Vacation, Part 1

Last week we had the opportunity to take our little family on vacation to southern California!!! I have been DYING to go on vacation ever since last summer so this was a welcome little treat. I was a little nervous about doing it with kids, but it turned out to be fun. Sure, they had their moments and there were a few tantrums, but for the most part it was fun.

I was most nervous about the drive down there. I tried to plan some fun things for the car. I let her use my neck pillow, which she loved. I also got a little cooler full of snacks that was just for her. I put things (string cheese, grapes, apple slices, cereal, crackers, juice boxes, nuts, raisins, and fruit snacks) in snack-size ziplocks and she could get something out of her "treat bucket" whenever she wanted. She thought it was pretty cool to have her own treat bucket.

We also borrowed a portable DVD player from Matt's mom and brought all her favorite shows. She thought it was pretty neat to watch them in the car. Also, I went to the dollar store and got a few cheap toys and wrapped them up and when we got out of the car to get gas or whatever, she would come back to find a little present on her seat. That gave her something to do for the next segment of the drive. And she found ways to entertain herself back there as well!

I looked back there and saw that she had put crackers in her toes and I was dying laughing. She was pretty proud of herself. Of course they didn't sleep a wink the ENTIRE way there, and Emmy was asking question after question after question. About 30 seconds after we got to the hotel, she crashed on the couch.

It was definately an interesting experience having everyone in the same room. Every night before bed Emmy would say, "I don't want Zach to cry in the night and wake me up!" Which of course he did cry in the night and wake us all up. I don't know how kids can share rooms with babies!

She kept asking the whole way there if we were to the beach yet. So that was the first thing on the agenda. When we got there Emmy was running and jumping and rolling around in the sand. It was hilarious! She was so happy to finally be at the beach!

She had fun filling up her bucket with sand.

Zach tolerated getting slathered in sunscreen.

Emmy did not like the water though. She was scared of the waves and said it was too cold.

She did LOVE the pool at the hotel though. She would have stayed there the entire week if we would have let her. She swam around on that little froggy floatie for HOURS and would cry when it was time to do something else. She would jump around and want us to chase after her in the pool and tickle her. I've never seen her more happy than she was in that swimming pool. Every day she would wake up and say, "Can we go swimming today, Mommy?"

Zach (mostly) tolerated being lugged around everywhere.

He liked playing around on the beach towel. (For a little while anyway.) This was a rare moment when he was having fun at the beach! I just think he looks so cute in this picture!

Mostly we just went to the pool and the beach. We went to Legoland, on a hike, and sea kayaking as well (which I will post about later). By the last day though, Emmy had just about enough of the beach and just wanted to sit in the stroller with her towel on.

The weather was perfect! High 70s most of the week. It felt sooo good!

Helping

Emmy's job is to help sort the laundry. She takes it out of the dryer and puts her clothes in her basket and Zach's clothes in his basket and then takes the baskets to their rooms so I can put them away. She loves it!

What a good little helper!

This is when she asked to go outside and paint. So I got a cup of water and a paintbrush and she painted away on the patio!

And here are Zach's cute, chubby legs!

He's not crawling yet, but is scooting around pretty well.

He loves to play with his toys on the floor!

5 years

We celebrated our 5-year anniversary this past week. We treated ourselves to a night in Park City and left the kiddos with Matt's parents (thank you!!!!). It was nice to get away even if it was just a night. We went to dinner at a fun place on Main Street in Park City and walked around for awhile enjoying the sunset and live music.

The next morning we slept in (hallelujah!) went to breakfast and we were going to do the Alpine Slide but it was raining so we went shopping at the outlets instead for a few minutes. And then we had to go pick up the kids.

It has been a crazy 5 years (2 masters degrees, 4 moves, a layoff, 2 kids....) but it's been a wonderful 5 years, and I'm lucky to have spent it with Matt. He is a wonderful honey and I'm glad he puts up with me. I'm looking forward to the next 5 (and more) years together!

Parade preview

We went to the 24th of July parade preview with our cousins! I was especially happy that they invited us because we were not going to be actually going to the parade this year and I always forget about the float preview.

Plus, they had all sorts of fun things for the kids to do. Here's Emmy riding the little carousel.

And Emmy and Derek panning for gold!

I think this was Emmy's favorite part of the preview. And the octopus that was blowing bubbles!

Emmy was being kind of a stinker at first and not wanting to do anything, but she warmed up towards the end. Then we went to lunch together. Thanks Kyle, Derek, and Britni (and Tyler!) for the fun times!

To the more experienced than me

I know you are older and wiser and more experienced than this young, struggling mother of small children. I admire you for all you have done, for the children you have raised, for the wisdom that you offer us less-experienced ones. I know that when you make comments like, "Forget about the laundry and just hold that baby" or "They grow up too fast, cherish these moments" or "You'll miss these days" or "Quit whining and count your blessings" they are meant to help. But really, they don't. They just make me feel worse than the already-lacking-mother that I already feel like.

Do you remember what it's like to not want to hold your baby because you've been holding him for 5 hours and he won't quit crying? Do you remember what it's like to lug 2 screaming children (one in each arm) out of Target (or the library or the grocery store or the zoo or whatever) with everyone staring at you? Do you remember what it's like to mop your floor only to have milk spilled all over it 2 minutes later? Do you remember what it's like to make a nice dinner only to have it complained about and then thrown all over the couch? Do you remember what it's like to not remember the last time you got a full night's sleep? Do you remember what it's like to have to think of 23,459 activities to do each day to keep your 3-year-old busy? Do you remember what it's like to feel so lonely because the only person you talk to all day whines for 75% of the time? Do you remember what it's like to not fit in any of your "cute" clothes and having to use all your clothes budget to buy stuff for your kids instead of yourself? Do you remember what it's like to listen to 3 hours of crying every day? Do you remember what it's like to not be able to keep up with the messes, laundry, weeds, meals, etc no matter how hard you try? Do you remember what it's like to live on a budget? Do you remember what it's like to try to keep your kids quiet in church only to have people glare at you when they're not? Do you remember what it's like to never have a free moment for yourself? Do you remember what it's like to have to watch the same Dora show over and over again? Do you remember what it's like to have your child refuse to hold your hand while crossing the street so you have to run after her before a car comes? While holding a baby in your other hand? Do you remember what it's like to not be able to eat a meal in peace? Or eat it before it gets cold? Do you remember what it's like to not get anything out of church because you are pacing the hall with your crying baby?

I really do try to take your advice. I really do try to enjoy the times I have with these children while they are young. I really do try not to stress about keeping up with everything. I really am trying to do the best I can. But I struggle. A lot. I'm sorry I can't do all of those things all the time. I'm sorry I complain sometimes. I'm sorry I just want a friend sometimes. I'm sorry I am not living up to your expectations. I can't do it by myself. I need help.

I used to be a pretty competent and successful person. I've taught hundreds of college students leadership skills and hopefully been a good influence on them. I've served in many church callings. I taught hundreds of people the gospel as a missionary. I've stayed out of debt. I made it through grad school and wrote a thesis. I've been published in several magazines, journals, and newspapers and presented my research and writing at conferences. So why can't I raise children without feeling like I'm going to lose it?

I hope that when I'm in your shoes and look back on these days, I will remember all the good times I'm having with my children. Because really, there are a lot of good times. But I also hope that I remember how hard it was, and I hope that I can help a struggling mother in a way that would actually be helpful. I hope I remember that maybe she could use someone to call her up and offer to take her kids for an afternoon so she could go get a haircut. Or maybe just stop by and talk with her for awhile so she can have some adult interaction. Or maybe I could go weed her flowerbeds or hold her baby during church so she can actually listen to the lesson. Maybe I could treat her to a date night with her husband or even a session at the temple. Or maybe I could just tell her she's doing a good job. Because she probably needs to be reminded of that.

So thank you to those of you who say things like, "Wow, your kids are cute....they must be a handful!" or "Here, let me get that for you." or "You look nice today". You will never know how much those comments help.

Flower salad, fishing, and 4-wheeling!

Last week we had some fun at the cabin! When I was a little girl, my cousin Melissa and I would always make "flower salad" at the cabin. It was our favorite! So I had to introduce Emmy to the art of flower salad. She loved it!

The idea is that you go around and put wildflowers in a cup, then hike up the little hill behind the cabin to the trickle of water stream and fill the rest of the cup with water. Then, Melissa and I would always give it to our Grandpa Lee to eat. And we were convinced that he really did eat it! So of course I showed Emmy how to give some to her grandpa! Ha! Grandpa Lee would have been proud!

Grandpa also took Emmy fishing. Here he is showing her how to bait the hook.

And taking her out to the shore.

Waiting for a bite...

and here's her fish! She actually caught 3 fish with Grandpa! Then she tried to reach out and pet it. Ha!

She wasn't too thrilled about going on the rope swing. She only liked it as long as I held onto her while swinging.

This is how I found her during her nap. All curled up in her sleeping bag reading books.

And we love to go on 4-wheeler rides too!

Fun fun!

Nathan and Jessica surprised us Tuesday night. It was pouring rain and we were playing Settlers and all of a sudden we hear the 4-wheeler start up. I said, "Why does it sound like someone is stealing our 4-wheeler?" So my dad ran downstairs and yelled, "Who's there?" Then Nathan climbed up onto the deck and barged in the front door! We weren't expecting them to come since Jessica was due to have a baby 3 days later.


Later that night we found Nathan asleep like this...

It reminded me of this...

Zach and Olivia played on the floor most of the time.

And Emmy was striking poses out on the rocks.

What a silly!

Zach was fascinated with this grass.

Anyway it was another great time at the cabin!