No more diapers?

Brennen came home yesterday and told me his teacher told him that he needs to wear underwear to school. So, today we sent him to school in underwear with about 4 changes of clothes. Surprisingly, he came home with only 1 set of 'accident' clothes and had no further accidents at home. He does say he needs to go "shi-shi" every 10 minutes which sends him to the bathroom often. He did, on his own, go #2 in the toilet today too. Wow! Can I be cautiously optimistic that this will go well and he'll be a quick learner?? Pretty please???

Austen, in stitches

It was inevitable. Austen had to have stitches. I'm sure, with boys, stitches just comes with the territory. Dallen had them. Now, it is Austen's turn. It was kind of a fluke situation. We were at Grandma's...I was getting him ready for baseball practice. He was fooling around, of course. He ran then slid on the floor - right into a metal bracket on the wall base moulding. Immediately, I didn't think anything was wrong and that he was just crying because he bumped the wall. It wasn't until I was trying to put his pants on that I noticed blood running down his leg. That's when I saw an inch long gash below his left knee. It was kind of deep. Grandpa & Grandma opted to take him to the ER rather than watch the other 3 kids. So luckily, I was spared the heart-wrenching stitch-up procedure. But, they reported that Austen was really brave - he only cried a bit (because they thought that the nurse practicioner didn't let the anesthetic fully kick in yet!) - but hung in there and showed a lot of courage. I'm sure he did because that's who Austen is...he's a trooper. He had to have 4 stitches. Well, he took them out today at his ped's office. He was a bit worried but we assured him that it didn't hurt to take them out. It was so fast and he said we were right, it didn't hurt. Chyler said that Austen had spiders on his knee. Do you agree??

Aren't you tired of talking baseball?

I am. But, I think it will be a large part of our lives for a long time to come. So, Lad is once again coaching the 5-7 year olds - Austen's team, the Pirates. This was their second game but being that during their first it was raining...I only got to take pictures during this game. Plus, I had to run down to go and pick Dallen up from his practice so I didn't get to see all of Austen's games. Not sure what we're going to do when Brennen starts soccer next month. Oh my! Austen played well - he even made a play by himself at third. He was the third baseman. He fielded a ball and ran to third base to make the out (middle picture). Yay for Austen!

My future chauffeurs

Dallen & Austen driving...



Brennen driving...

Our SoCal Vacation

So, we hemmed and we hawwed - well, I did anyway - to decide whether we would take a family vacation this year. The year has been tough on business and as a result, tough on the family economics. But, Lad is persistent in the belief of taking a family vacation yearly so we toughed it out. I would have been happy with a fence and playground installed in my backyard but, you know who won out.

Lad, our resident travel agent, used miles and our timeshare exchanges to plan our trip to Las Vegas and to Los Angeles. Our kids just LOVE to see their cousins. They beg and beg all year 'round to go to Las Vegas for the single purpose of 'hanging out'. We love our Las Vegas cousins and love visiting with them even if the weather is sweltering!

Tim is now a working man -working for an air conditioning company doing repairs, installations, and sales. I think that's a perfect job in Las Vegas! Sydni is going to be a senior this year and was elected the senior class President. She is still so smart and poised...it's no wonder she won that no problem! Jordana is now 11 years old - she was just a baby when we got married. And Chevy is a newly turned 8 year old - and a gamer - so he, Dana, and Dallen get along great with Austen trying to keep up.

Here we are at their house. Chyler and Sydni got along famously as Chyler dove right into Sydni's jewelry box. She actually put on every single item her cousin graciously shared. Chyler is tough but she's also a girl - she loves things that are "cute" and "pretty" and "shiny". I foresee problems in the future - Sydni agreed with me. After a long red-eye flight, the parents were pooped - one of us got to snooze.



We were in Las Vegas only for a few days and then headed out to Los Angeles. Our cousins would join us for a few days the following week. Since we had a long day of driving on Friday, we decided to do something mellow on Saturday. We headed to the Santa Monica Pier. It was a bit cool there - actually on the whole trip the temperature fluctuated between a pleasant high of 75 degrees and a nippy low of 60 degrees - but it was our first time and we all enjoyed it! I really love piers - I love the ocean air without getting wet and for me, there's always a exhilarating feeling while walking on a pier. I'm not sure I can live anywhere where I can't see water. I'm not a beachy person but I grew up having water all around me so it is a must. And being at the beach in Santa Monica - I couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of a Hawaii beach. Anyway, this pier has the normal restaurants, vendors, and fishing but as an added bonus, there's an amusement park! The kids were salivating but being the mean parents we are, we alloted them 1 ride each, since we were going to go through theme park after theme park for the next week. It's not cheap, kids! Dallen, Austen & I rode the roller coaster. Brennen, Chyler & Lad rode the airplane. Daddy felt sick afterwards. Typical.



After leaving Santa Monica, we drove up the boulevard and there it was...the LA Temple! We always try to visit a temple if it's nearby no matter where we go. I recall seeing the protests after Prop 8 and couldn't imagine the turmoil surrounding this beautiful place. It was closing and already about 7 o'clock at night so it was a bit chilly...notice Dallen? The other kids are attempting reverence...good attempt, guys! It was a good family time where we talked about how sacred temples are and what a special place it is. After listening to Mommy & Daddy, they were relieved to get back into the warmth of the car.



Here we are at Knott's Berry Farm. We like it there - the kiddie place satisfies the younger crowd and there are also a lot of fun roller coasters to please Dallen. And most importantly, the crowds are not ridiculous. Austen, Chyler & Brennen had a lot of fun riding different things together with Daddy in tow. I was with Dallen as we hit most of the roller coasters together. The Silver Bullet was enjoyable but our favorite is still the Ghostrider - wooden is the way to go!

We spent a day at Disney's California Adventure Park. Bug's Land, Paradise Pier, Hollywood Backlot - it's all fun! I had to distract Chyler from some rides since she's still a shorty...she loved the jumping water fountain. The favorite ride was the Toy Story ride for the younger set and of course, California Screamin' for Dallen. With fastpasses - he rode 3 times in a row.

We spent a day at Disneyland - the Happiest, yet most ridiculously crowded, Place on Earth. Actually, it wasn't THAT busy but it was still busy. There's something to be gained...like more enjoyment...if you actually go at a less busy time. Yes, it's not open late and yes, you miss the night shows and parades - but if you're part of our family, you don't usually take the time to go see those things anyway. So, going when there are short lines always seems like a better plan for us. The kids love Splash Mountain and the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. This year, we went to the Finding Nemo Submarine Ride - Lad waited in line, then once in the sub, immediately got out. Claustrophobia is a fun killer. It was OK...nothing I would wait in an hour-long line again for...plus, I think the kiddies were a bit scared. Even if they didn't admit it. It's a Small World was re-vamped with Disney characters scattered throughout - it is probably one of my two favorite rides. The other being Pirates of the Carribean - but we didn't go on that this time. Shucks. Austen rode Space Mountain for the first time - he's getting to be a roller coaster junkie too - next time, he'll be tall enough for more of them.

Ahh, to be joined by our cousins. We went to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia California. Another fun place for kiddos and olders. Lots of major roller coasters and a large kiddie area including a THOMAS TOWN! It really consisted of 2 rides - a Thomas train ride and a small Percy pulled roller coaster. It also had a small water area with Cranky the Crane up above. Austen would have loved it more if he was still Thomas crazy. He did enjoy it though. I got to go on 2 roller coasters before Lad called me back because he didn't want to ride with the 3 little ones. But, I got to ride X2 which is INSANE!!!! I would go again in a heartbeat - only to make my heart skip beats on the ride! Let's just say, you start the ride going backwards and don't expect or see forward until it is too late. INSANE!! But it was major fun!

Tired yet? We're way past tired by now. Last park - Legoland. Great park for kids...my kids, anyway. They love it. There are rides as well as a large water play park. We went for 2 days - while there, we played at the playground...

played in the water park area...

did water rides and drove boats...

and drove cars.

These cars are actually driven by the kids. On a real road course. Of course, the cars go slowly but the kids actually have to press on the gas pedal and steer and be aware and courteous of other drivers. All my boys drove brilliantly. No crashing, no going the wrong way - on the 3-5 year old course, Brennen actually maneuvered through a "pile-up" without banging into anyone. Maybe the guys are better drivers??? Hmmm...

This is Miniland. All replicas of places around the world built solely out of Legos. Notice we're in front of the Stratosphere and the MGM Grand?? My kids are Las Vegas obsessed.

Two highlights of our trip:

For Brennen: he got to pose with Woody - he's our most shy but not when it came to these gigantic characters. He wanted to meet all of them. When he saw Woody, he was the only one who had guts enough to stand by his hero! He also stood in line to meet Buzz...but unfortunately, Buzz was late for a parade and only had time for high fives. Brennen boldly stuck out his hand and got a high five from Buzz. He was in heaven.

For Lad: At Legoland, there are water cannons you can use to shoot water at people on this boat ride. I cannot tell you how long and how often Lad was there shooting water at unsuspecting people. He said it was his favorite part of the trip. Go figure!

Okay, I'm tired just thinking back on it! Whew! I hope my kids remember these times and appreciate the family fun we have together. Being pooped and broke after our theme park jaunt is well worth it if we're making memories, right?