The J. Thalman Family

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T11:50:00.001-07:00

Jainie wants to wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day . . .

and show off her new fancy do - she is excited her hair is so long!

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-02-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I am not a big fan of New Year's but it's fun for the kids, so we try to party. :) We headed over to Mom and Dad's and invited the Henderson's, who came for a bit, and played games and the Wii. It was great and I was tired but we welcomed in a new year, hopefully less health problematic than 2011 was. :)

CHRISTMAS!

2012-02-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

Well, finally made it to Christmas - which was wonderful!!! I always love Christmas and especially when it's on Sunday, my favorite. I love the focus of Christ on Christmas and sometimes when we get wrapped up in the hype it is hard to remember to take a few minutes to really single in on what matters most.

On Christmas eve we went over to Oldroyd's first and played some really fun "Minute to Win It" games. And, we had dinner, which was yummy. Then, we headed to Thalman's where we acted out the nativity. Jaxon got to read this year, which was great. Then, it was back home to open our Christmas eve p.j.s. Which was actually a mess because the kids were all tired and wanted to open something different - they wanted to choose whatever present they wanted, which was not going to fly so after giving them a lecture and threatening them with not opening anything - ever - we all settled down and it ended up just fine. . .

Well, until pictures and then Jainie got her feelings hurt somehow and Josie was trying to make her smile so we could get pics over with and the boys, well, they are just boys. (Our pajama theme this year was hot pink and black - which we went with because I found some super comfy pjs for myself that fit my big prego belly that were hot pink and black :)).

The next morning we didn't wake up til 7:30ish. Baby J woke me up by a good kick in the ribs at about 5:30 and we couldn't fall back asleep but no one else was up so we stayed and waited patiently in bed. The kids finally came in all excited and ready to go, but Jared wasn't so cooperative and it took him another 1/2 hour to get up. Then, we headed into the living room to read about the birth of Christ in the scriptures and have family prayer - my favorite part of Christmas. Then, we headed down to mayhem. Jared and I had stayed up the night before making breakfast casserole, overnight french toast, & a special scrambled egg thingy so after looking at what Santa brought we headed upstairs to eat our brunch. It was really good and made me think I should make breakfast more often. Usually we just have cold cereal on Christmas morning because Santa brings each of the kids their favorite cereal, no matter the cost or sugar content, but this year we decided to switch it up a bit. Anyway, then, it was time to open a few presents - I had to make sure that all the church clothes got open before we had to go to church! So, every time it was my turn to choose someone to open a present, I would try to find one of those. And, we made it! As soon as the last person opened theirs, we called a break and headed up to get ready for church, which wasn't until 1:00. It was a wonderful program and I thoroughly enjoyed just sitting and enjoying the wonderful music, grateful I wasn't in charge of anything. :)

Yes, Jake has a monocle in his eye - well, a made up one, at least. What do you expect? A decent family picture with three boys, someone always has to be goofing off, right?

So, back at home, we changed clothes and headed to Gwood to visit the fam. We went to see Gma Leila, which was nice and took her our present, then visited and enjoyed seeing what she received for Christmas. Then, we headed up to U. Ralph and A. Alta's and enjoyed visiting with them before heading back to Mom and Dad's. There we opened more presents and gave our presents out and visited with Stephen's family a little bit. And, then, it was time to head to Thalman's for dinner and more presents! We are very spoiled! It was great fun - one of the best things about Christmas is enjoying all the family we get to see and hang out with. We are very blessed to be able to live by both families and enjoy everyone.

After this, everyone was pooped so we headed home to bed. So, the next day, luckily, Jared had off of work so we woke up and finished opening our presents. We usually take a couple days to do this, not because we get so many presents but because we are really SLOW! - which suits me just fine. :)

As you can see, it was a wonderful Christmas and everyone loved it. We all got to enjoy each other and had fun playing games and building legos and playing on new electronics. So, thanks to everyone for the fun Christmas cards, gifts and enjoyable company - I can't imagine a better life!

JOSIE'S 12!?!

2012-02-03T08:04:00.001-07:00

How did this happen? I mean, really? How did she get so grown-up? How did she get old enough for Young Women's? Where has the time gone? Jared and I had a talk about this just yesterday - how we need to freeze time for just, oh, a year or so, so we can get caught up on all the things we are supposed to be doing but the day-to-day gets in the way and slows us down. On the other hand, it seems Jos has been with us forever - she was such a beautiful, petite, bronzed baby (thanks to the bilibed). And, she still is - well, beautiful and petite. :) I honestly can't imagine life without her.

So, her birthday dawned and Josie is our early riser - our alarm clock, but I had to get up and make breakfast in bed, before she woke up. What a challenge! As I have mentioned, I am a sleeper. However, since pregnant, less of a sleeper, unfortunately. Anyway, I beat her up and got her breakfast ready - her request biscuits and gravy. (She is definitely not my daughter in the eating department - she is not picky at all! She will eat anything, really, she is the BEST eater in our family).

She was pleased as punch with her breakfast, which is always nice. And, somehow, she lucked out - she is pretty lucky - and didn't have school on her birthday!!! It just happened to be a parent-teacher conference day! But, just for her and Jaxon, all the other three still had school. It made it pretty fun. After opening her present - clothes - we got ready for the day, I had a big day planned. :) I decided to take her to get her first pedicure. We had so much fun - we got pedicures and then splurged and got gel toes. A first for both of us. It did take a LONG time - hours! Josie got to choose her colors first and decided to go festive - with french tips. But, hers took quite awhile so I decided to go full color - we both LOVED the way it turned out. However, I had my pedicure first so my nails were soft and 3 of them only stayed on for 1 week - they were supposed to stay on at least a month. Josie's stayed on much longer - a month or so. So, if you go to get yours done, don't let them fool you into thinking it doesn't matter if you have the pedicure first or after the gel toes - definitely better to happen before the pedicure. :) Either way, they were definitely cute and festive. And, Josie LOVED her first pedicure!

As you can see, another thing Josie got from her daddy, his toes! :) Jared says having the 2nd toe longer than the big toe is a sign of royalty - I say, whatever it takes to make him feel better. :)

As soon as we got done, Jared and Jaxon were waiting for us. Josie had decided that for her birthday she wanted to go to the temple and participate in baptisms. So, off we went to Manti - it was so awesome. We have never gone just as a family before but I had called a bit before to set up an appointment and off we went. Jared got to baptize both Jaxon and Josie and I got to hold towels and mop the floor up. It was such a special experience, one I know I will never forget and I don't think Jos will either. It was actually pretty funny because Jaxon was about 5'9" at the time and Josie is, well, I will have to check, substantially shorter so Jaxon was a lot more challenging to baptize, whereas, the water went up to Josie's chest, almost, just standing in the water. The temple workers even commented on it, how all she would have to do is bend her knees a bit. Anyway, they both also got to have some confirmations and, although, a bit overwhelming for Josie, I know she loved it. I can't imagine something better you could do on your 12th birthday! And, neither could she. :)

Well, how could we top that? We couldn't so we didn't even try, but we did stop for a treat at the candy store - I got fudge and we shared it. But, we were in a hurry to get home because both Josh & Jaxon had basketball games that night.

So, in between the two games we went out to dinner - Josie chose "Pepperbelly's" and it was just the 3 of us. It was delightful - she is such a fun girl! This pic is of her ready to go out - in her new birthday outfit. I don't think it is her favorite, luckily, she can pull off anything. :)

After Jaxon's game we finally got to have the rest of her party - you can see she was thrilled with her present. She really wanted a flip camera so she could make diaries for the new baby "J" - like on "Good Luck, Charlie" - it is a wonderful idea and I hope she will make at least a couple - she would give great advice as she is a wonderful older sister.

Some facts about Josie:

Favorite color: brown, pink, & purple

Favorite animal: horse

Favorite subject in school: Reading & Spelling

Favorite hobby: Dancing & gymnastics

Favorite thing about turning 12: going to Young Women's & going to

temple

What she wants to be when she "grows up": disneyland dancer, disney

princess or elementary teacher

Favorite food: chicken pillows & biscuits and gravy & dad's cooked

salmon

Loved being 11 cause she was the oldest in Primary

Favorite movie: "Phantom of the Opera"

Favorite actress: Audrey Hepburn

Caroling Party!

2012-01-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

Every year our friends have a caroling party. I think it is such a fun tradition. We all get together and eat appetizers, yummy soups, & desserts. Then, we bundle up and go out caroling to other neighbors and friends. It is just a great Christmas experience and I am so glad we are always included. I love that the kids get to experience it. Always growing up I would go caroling with our extended family and we would go on a hay wagon, which I always loved. This reminds me of that except we just walk, which is just as fun. Anyway, I never get pictures because we are usually just too busy walking around but this year, I took the camera out and got pics of everyone except Jaxon, who I couldn't get to cooperate with me. Maybe next year. :)

You can see we all have a lot of fun and just enjoy the wonderful season we get to experience each year because of our wonderful Savior. It's always best to go out and feel you are giving of yourself at least a bit during this magical season.

Recitals, Programs, & One Party

2012-01-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

Christmastime is always a wonderful time of year! I absolutely love it, I could do without a bit of the craziness, but for the most part I adore it. This year we were running every night as usual, but I love the Christmas music and wonderment so it is always worth it. We even got in a few nights of reading Christmas books as a family.

It all started with Christmas Tree lane. It was on the 7th and both Josie and Jainie danced in it - their tap dances. Jainie danced to "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and Josie danced to "The 12 Days of Christmas." They both did an excellent job and had lots of fun. I am glad they both enjoy performing.

Then, we moved to Jainie's singing recital. She decided to take a singing class last year, but we only got in about 3 lessons before the year was over. This year we started on time and she has loved singing Christmas songs. She is a really good little singer and sang "Said Samuel Within 5 Years" as a solo! She was so brave and did an excellent job! She is the youngest in the group but is very brave and holds her own. I wish some of my other kids would do this. I think Josie would but she does NOT want to sing a solo in front of people so says she won't. And, they boys are simply not interested.

This was on the 11th, which was the same night as our Primary Baptism Preview, which I needed to conduct and Jake got to attend with Jared and I. So, while Jared, Jake and I left early, Jainie got to stay with Gpa and Gma to finish the program. Jared, Jake and I had a lovely time at the Baptism Preview and Jake is VERY excited to get baptized in March. He is also SUPER excited about Scouts and asked if he couldn't go that week. I think he will love scouts and enjoy every single activity.

We got a little reprieve at this point in December and only had basketball games and work parties, well, I am sure there were other things, but I can't remember them right now. ;)

On the 20th I got to go to Ilene's cookie exchange party, where I made fudge, and a couple other kinds of cookies, which I don't remember what they were. (I am sure they were fantastic. :)). Also, Ilene, Debbie, Katie, Emily, Alissa, & Leslie made some tasty treats - really they were yummy. And, I got to bring a whole tin home, which was perfect because then we let each child choose one kind of cookie to leave out for Santa. Then, I didn't even have to make any cookies on Christmas Eve.

That evening was pretty packed - first up we had Josie's band concert - this is her first year of flute and she is loving it. Not enough to practice much, but enough to keep playing. :) Josie played "African Noel," "Diary of a Grumpy Elf," and one other she can't remember. She did a great job and looked oh so professional.

This is her and her friend Kassie

We had to leave a bit early to get to our Ward Christmas party, which had the Primary Christmas program first. So, off we went, except for Jaxon who had a basketball game. Jared left the party early to get to the game as well. But, the kids did a great job. Jainie and Jake didn't have actual parts but sang their best to the Christmas songs. I have to say I am getting tired of dealing with these programs and told the Bishop that next year maybe we (the primary) should just sing a couple songs. :) I know the kids like dressing up though, so we might have to add that in.

Jainie and her friends Harper and Malia as angels.

Jake as a shepherd - looking somewhat subdued.

This is the first time Josie sang with the YW - I think she had practiced once with them. Jared and Jaxon were supposed to sing with the YM, but were at the game.

The oldest primary class always gets to be Mary and Joseph and we have about 8 girls in the class who all wanted to be Mary and 4 boys who none of them wanted to be Joseph. Consequently, none of the boys showed up. So, Josh got to help out. I think these pictures are pretty funny, you can see how happy he is to be playing the part. :) He literally grimaced the entire time. But, Mary looks beautiful and serene.

This was his real part - one of the kings - you can see he is really happy about it as well. It's hard being so cool, I guess.

We left the ward party early so that we could get Jainie and Josie to the first night of the Nutcracker performance, which we made just in time for Josie's and Jainie's dances. Ah, what a night!

The next day was Joshua's 4th grade program - which was great this year. Unfortunately, Josh was on the back row and we couldn't see him at all. It didn't help that he bent his knees and hunched so that no one could see him - boys, sometimes I wonder.

Later that night, Jaxon had his chorus concert. This is the group of boys in the choir, there are girls on both sides - at least double as many girls. Jaxon has had a good time in choir and is happy he decided to take it. He says he only took it for the girls but I think he really likes singing too. And, he really has a nice voice. You can see that this year he has grown to be one of the tallest boys in his grade.

And, then, right afterward, we went back to the Nutcracker with the girls. This year Josie was the Spanish and Jainie was the Gumdrops - they both looked and danced so beautifully. And, they LOVE their outfits this year, which is another bonus.

Unfortunately, all the pictures of Jainie by herself turned out blurry. But, Jos has a nice pose in this one.

The next day we headed to Jake's 2nd grade program - "The Polar Express." He is the best boy performer at this age that we have had. Luckily, he had a good seat and we could see him throughout. And, he sang. Jaxon always yawned throughout his programs and Josh just hides and tries to mouth the words. Jake sat up and tried hard and was so cute doing the "Macarena." He was supposed to sit by his cousin Emma during the performance, but then Emma ended up being needed elsewhere so he was a bit bummed about that. But, he survived and was a cutie pie.

Just to note: We never have new pajamas until Christmas, when we get a couple pair. However, they are always needed right before Christmas and Jake had none - that fit or matched. So, I went out and bought him a brand new pair for the program and he couldn't find them that morning. We spent a lot of time searching and nope, nowhere. (We did find them the next day.) Anyway, luckily, Josh had already gone to school and I had just washed these so we threw them on Jake - they fit him pretty well actually and made his pretty blue eyes look even bluer! So, nope, they are not Christmasy at all, but I am just glad he found matching pajamas.

He thought it was great that his wreath fit perfectly on his little round face without him even having to hold it on with his hands. He is such a funny little guy. Oh, and notice his 2 front teeth are still missing - they were coming in, but he liked singing "All I Want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth" because it fit so well. ;)

The next day were class parties and I got to help with Jainie's Kindergarten class. They were all so cute and had so much fun. This was the cookie she frosted and decorated all by herself. Sometimes it's nice to not have adults telling you can't do something. She only had one bite before saying she didn't want anymore and throwing the rest away. Silly girl, at least she had fun decorating.

This is her and her good friend, Lucas. She plays with him at about every recess and thinks he is oh so funny. She knew he was giving her bunny ears and thought it was great. I think she has played with too many boys since birth, she prefers playing with boys to girls every time. Hopefully that will change a bit.

Her favorite game at her party was a snowball fight - where she got to wad up paper and throw it at whomever she chose. She chose her teacher most of the time and the two of them had quite a battle. :) It was a fun party and it was great to see her interact with her class, she really is quite a jokester.

Ah, I need to take a breath - even writing this is overwhelming - it was crazy but with five kids, what do you expect? It was lots of fun and the month of December flew by, as it always does. But, I wouldn't change it for the world. It is so much fun being a mother and especially a mother of these wonderful children that I have - I think I am the luckiest person alive! Well, most days. :)

Guess who's SIX?

2012-01-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Jainie Elizabeth Belle

I can't believe my little chippy is 6 years old. She is such a little squirt. Just yesterday I was eating a piece of fudge and she looks at me with questioning eyes and says, "Mom, are you sure you need that?" So, I looked at her and said, "What do you mean?" She replied, "Well, you know it will just make you bigger" as she pats her tummy. Well, I didn't even know what to say, I just laughed. Keep in mind I am 7 1/2 months pregnant. The nerve of some people. At least she keeps me on my toes. Jared too. She is always telling him what he needs to do better.

On Jainie's real birthday we woke up to a breakfast in bed - a Thalman tradition. My problem is that I like to sleep a bit more in mornings so I am telling you it is a real sacrifice to wake up and get the breakfast made. I think since Jared brought this tradition along he should be the one to wake up and make breakfast, but I am a wonderful, caring, supportive wife (just ask him :)) so I ALWAYS get the breakfast making job. :) Usually I do not look too spectacular because I literally pull myself out of bed and drag myself to the kitchen.

She LOVES pop-tarts, who doesn't?, and hot chocolate and pink lemonade. I tried to make the pancake into the shape of a "6" because Jared and I had her convinced that we thought she was turning 5. She was a bit worried about it, so I wanted to show her we knew how old she really was even if we aren't happy about it.

Good morning baby girl!

The kids all know that the first and usually only present they get to open in the morning ends up being clothes - something new to wear for the day. Doesn't everyone like wearing something new for their special day. Jainie was thrilled with every single present. This one was a church outfit with this cute unicorn purse. Unicorns are one of her favorite animals.

And, her new fancy hair flower - which she loves.

We don't have church til 1:00, so after waking up, she decided to work on her poster for school. We worked on this poster for days - she loved it. (I don't have any pictures in her school, but I went in and showed a couple pictures of her and then the kids got to ask her questions, we explained her poster and then she wanted cupcakes - blue and pink - so every girl got pink and every boy got blue whether they wanted it or not.)

This was one of her favorite presents - she and I have been working on it for a year! We finally finished her Disneyworld book - she chose the pictures and told me what to write for the whole thing. Initially, each child was supposed to get one, but these are a lot of work. I told Jaxon, Josie and Josh they could choose their own pictures and put them in a file and then I would help them. And, I told Jake that I would start with Jainie's then move to his - this is as far as I got. It is super cute though, wish I would have done more. She hasn't changed a lot, has she?

After we got home from church, Grandpa Thalman, Grandma, and Garrison came over to visit and Jainie loved showing them her book. Notice her bun - she loves having long enough hair to have one - even though it is sparse. :)

Jainie's favorites:

Color: pink

Animal: unicorn and giraffe

Friend: Malia Moss & Lucas Foster

Book: Big Sister and Little Sister

Food: mac n cheese

Movies: Barbie movies

Princess: Ariel & Belle

Thing to do: draw!

Thing about her birthday: opening presents and getting cake!

She really is a joy in our lives and I am grateful everyday that she is a part of our family. She definitely keeps us all on our toes and will tell us exactly what she thinks. We couldn't survive without her.

Jainie Belle's Birthday

2012-01-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

My Bellerina is SIX years old!!! I can hardly believe it, but she is excited and has been counting down the days. Her birthday was on Sunday, a fast Sunday, which was hard for all the kids since they wanted to eat. But, I am getting ahead of myself. Grandma Judy had given us a tea party at the Grand America in SLC and tickets to "A Christmas Carol" play on Saturday the 3rd. I decided to make a trip out of it and so we went up on Friday night and slept in a hotel so we could go swimming. Jared didn't go, he was supposed to go on a scout overnighter, long story. Anyway, it was me and the kids - needless to say, it was a bit exhausting. Luckily, Grandma, Ry, Sar, Linds and Laura were with us a lot of the time so that helped.

So, we woke up on Saturday morning and decided to go swimming first thing. Jaxon, Jake, and Jainie had gone swimming the night before as well, but Josie and Josh were too tired. We texted the fam to see if anyone else wanted to join us and luckily, they did!

It's always refreshing to have a nice warm pool to jump in while looking outside at the freezing cold snow - it was great. Or so I'm told, I didn't swim - didn't want to look like a beached whale. :)

Then, it was off to Grand America for our tea party. Jaxon went with Will to eat at "Mo Betta," (a restaurant that Jaxon now loves) and then shooting at a shooting range - he had a blast and would love to go again.
When, we got to the hotel Sara and Grandma were waiting for us.

Those yummy things in glasses are strawberries with whipping cream - it was pretty tasty and pretty fancy - just perfect for Belle's birthday.

I think these four, who shared a table, had a little different experience thanks to the boys - they ate all their food faster and didn't fully appreciate the fanciness of the occasion. :)

Linds got to sit at the girl table - Ry was here too but at a different table with some of his friends. Our tables were great, right by a window and the fire.

I have to say Jake admired the fire the most - but we have discussed that he is a pyromaniac.

So, I can't remember what this was called, but it was some kind of tea that you could drink if you wanted to - we didn't try it. But it was fun to watch it unfold/grow. It was a tight bulb that was placed in this steaming hot water and then unfolded to this exotic flower.

So, we got a whole bowl of sugar cubes - brown and white. You can see here the boys enjoyed them. Their whole bowl was gone within a few minutes. :) But, the brown ones were left, they said they were gross.

So, Josie ordered raspberry hot chocolate, there was also mint, regular, & almond. They were YUMMY! Really thick and rich - and it came with a cup of freshly whipped cream MMMMM!

You can see how Jake drank his- pretty funny. He got tired of using the cup I guess. I think things at their table were very different. :)

So, these scones were my FAVORITE - even out of the desserts. These were so light and crumbly and had the best custards to go with them. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back. :)

And, then we got to sing some Christmas songs and Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus came and met with each of the children. But, first Santa asked Josie to come and ring his bells while we sang, "Jingle Bells." It was great!

(Uncanny how Santa and Mrs. Claus look exactly the same in each picture - makes you wonder if they're statues, right?)
This was the only time I could get Josh to sit on Santa's lap this year - he thinks he is getting too old. At least he did this time. Jaxon hasn't for a couple years now even though he promised me that this year he would. Boys, they are so ridiculous!

After Santa saw all the kids he had them sit down and he read them a story. It was wonderful, they all loved it.

Afterward, we went on a scavenger hunt of the hotel - it is a beautiful hotel. We got to go on an adventure with Maurice the penguin, then we saw an amazing toy store inside and had to check it out. Plus, for completing the game we each got a shortbread cookie from the delicious bakery there and I got to finally try a macaroon. It is a fun place to go if you have a little extra time.

Don't worry about Josh - he isn't misshapen, he just chose to put his sticker over his mouth, attractive, right? Oh, and only one mishap, Jake broke an ornament in the store. Yep, that's what happens when we all want to touch everything.

After this, we headed to "A Christmas Carol," which was wonderful! I loved every minute of it and hope we can go again sometime. So, thanks Grandma for the wonderful birthday for Jainie - she, and the rest of us, had a WONDERFUL time!

Gingerbread houses

2012-01-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

My mom is so great to always make the neatest gingerbread houses for us to decorate. So, every year, some time after Thanksgiving, we head over to decorate some houses. Jared was working and Jaxon and Josh were off somewhere, I can't remember where but the rest of us went and decorated some sweet houses.

Sara and Jainie shared a house

Ry had his own house

And, Josie and Laura shared a house - their's definitely took the longest, not that it was the fanciest, these two just, hmmm, well, they are slow (er). :)

Unfortunately being prego, I just don't have that much energy so I didn't even get any pics of the final projects - Jake I think made one too, but tried to do it on his own, or he might have helped Ry - good grief, my memory must be gone. Oh well. Either way, you can tell it was a fun time and a good couple hours.

A bit of Thankfulness

2012-01-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics of Thanksgiving - which is an interesting holiday for me. I hated it growing up but now I find it is beginning to be one of my favorite holidays, so relaxed and you just sit and enjoy the wonderful family that you have. I must admit doing the dishes afterward isn't my favorite. But, I rarely do much of them. Jared and I have been VERY spoiled living by family so we have never hosted a Thanksgiving dinner - I have only cooked turkey about 3 times ever. I keep thinking I better practice up, someday my kids will expect me to know how to do these things! Good New Year's Resolution, I guess - learn how to cook turkey. :)

Jainie and Jake were lucky enough to sit by Grandma Lois - who makes the BEST homemade rolls - I am sure mine will never compare.

The boy table - C.J., Ethan, Joshi, Jaxon, Caleb, and Garrison (without Jake, Gavin, & Nathan)

The fun table - with Grandpa, Grandma, Grandma Lois, Jake, Jainie, Adelynn, Tricia, and Emma

The big girls table - with Madison, Josie, Lauryn, and Audrey

The sibling/spouse table - you can see Tom, Emily, Allie, Trent, Debbie, Nathan and Julia Plus, Trevor, Leslie, Alexis' head and Judd

This side you see - Katie, Brett, Leslie, Alexis, Trevor, Alissa and Gavin

I do have to say that I didn't try to get everyone to pay attention during these pictures, just snapped some random photos - I was lucky I got this much done. They are great, right?

I am sure Jared won't like this picture - but I love it, you don't see him laugh like this that often, especially when it's not me who says something downright hilarious! :) Glad to see he is enjoying himself.

So, later we went to my parents house to play games and have leftovers - you can see it looks like we don't run a heater here. :) Dad, Lindsay, Sara, and Ry.

Anyway, Happy late Thanksgiving - if we could just keep that happy family feeling all year long it would be wonderful!

Our first family picture

2012-01-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

Jainie LOVES drawing. I love that she loves it and is so creative. Every morning while I am on the computer checking things, she is on the floor by me drawing or doing dot-to-dots, or coloring or doing something art related. It's great - we just like being together. Anyway, when we told the kids we were having a baby Jainie couldn't wait to draw our new family picture.

So, this was from the first of October - wow! it's been a long time. Anyway, the people go from top, left to right: Jainie (with beautiful long pink hair), Jake, Josie, and baby (labeled "B"). Then, Mom, Dad, Jaxon, & Josh - who is really little because she couldn't quite fit him. :)

She loves her white board and draws on it constantly!

So, this was the morning after she found out we are having a girl - which she labeled "girl," it drives her crazy that we don't have a name yet - I am surprised she didn't label it "Jello." Anyway, pretty cute - she is quite creative.

(Oh, and excuse the dirty floor, wish I could say it is different today, but it still needs to be swept. But, I could go on an on about all the housework that needs to be done. :)).

It's a . . .

2012-01-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, we found out what the baby is. Jainie has been diligently praying that she will have a baby sister and every prayer begs that it will be a girl. Jared and I decided we had better find out so we could talk to her about how prayers are answered and how sometimes we don't get the answer we want. Meantime, Jake started praying for a boy.

So, it was time to let everyone know what the baby was/is. :) Anyway, we decided to wait to let everyone know on Thanksgiving. Except we told the kids a couple days before so they could help us decide and plan on how to tell everyone else. I have to say I was very proud of the kids for being able to keep it a secret - Josie, Jake and Jainie were particularly excited. Josie had her friends guess and they all insist they knew all along. Jake has one of his bff's (as he calls them now), Emma, in his class so he really wanted to tell her. Jainie told all her friends at school that she knew what it was but she couldn't tell anyone so they would just have to wait. (I don't think they were too disappointed.)

So, we got together late one night, after everyone had returned from their individual events and had a scavenger hunt.

This shows just how excited everyone was - Josh was so enthusiastic - I thought it was adorable!

So, here is the first clue - each child got to be the leader and find one of the clues.

Along with the clues came a baby item that we would need. Jaxon really liked his hand sanitizer - a necessity with five other school-attending children.

It's a . . . GIRL!!!

Yep, the final clue led them to these pink frosted cupcakes with baby items on top. I think they all wondered if Jared and I were serious - you can tell by the look on Jake's face. Jake was not too happy, he thought it was a boy for sure. (I don't think he really cared that much, he just wanted it to be the opposite of what Jainie wanted. But, Jainie knew from the start that it was going to be a little sister.) Jake refused to eat a cupcake altogether - no pink cupcakes for him. I do think he tried one out the next day. :)

So, then we had a couple days to decide how to tell everyone else. I had some great ideas, but as with most of my ideas, reality sets in and I end up going simple. Which works.

So, we went to the Thalman side for Thanksgiving dinner and the kids helped me make these deviled eggs. We covered this tray and if you look closely, you will see there are letters hidden under the eggs. (Josie cut out the letters with her little cricut). So, we just had to wait til everyone ate the eggs to find the surprise. Jake and Jainie told everyone that they would find out that day but they couldn't tell them how. Needless to say, the eggs disappeared and no one noticed the letters! REALLY! The kids were going crazy until finally I told Jared he should show everyone and make it more obvious. Well, some thought it was a boy because of the color of the tray - in my defense, it is the only tray I had. :)

Oh, and the eggs were pretty yummy. :)

So, there you go - what it looked like underneath with Vanna and Pat Sajak showing us what it says.

Then, we went to the Oldroyd's later that night and we made a homemade banana cream pie - which I love. And, we put beautiful pale pink whipping cream on top. It's hard to tell it's pink in the picture. Anyway, Josie brought it in amidst games at the kitchen table and voila! everyone knows! It's a girl!

We are so so so so so so so so so so so so so x10 excited! We will have 3 and 3 - exactly equal. The boys weren't excited about that since when we vote, they usually win, but the girls are ecstatic. Jared and I were honestly fine either way, we would be grateful for whichever we were blessed with but a little girl is just so special and I love my girls. So, bring on the pink - we are getting more and more ready and can't wait for our sweet little baby girl, who may be slightly spoiled, not just by her parents, or her sisters, but her brothers as well. :)

Baby Names

2012-01-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize it has been over a month since I last posted - what can I say, December is crazy! And, once I get behind, it is harder to catch up. That being said, I still enjoy the approach of only blogging about what I feel like and not trying to go back too much. HOWEVER, if you haven't noticed the baby counter on the side of my blog, it says 64 days! Can you believe it? 64 days before I have SIX children! Amazing! And, no I am not ready.

A bit ago, like before my ultrasound, so at least a couple months ago, I had the kids each choose a name they liked and write it on the sidewalk and then get a picture. It was interesting. The boys hadn't thought much about the girl names that they chose and the girls hadn't thought much about the boy names. Anyway, I have thought of names since then that we might use but here is the list they came up with. Pretty good J names, I have to say - well, most of them. :)

So, if you can't see them - Jainie and Jake both chose "Jack," which I think is funny since we have a Jaxon already. Josh chose Jorge - hmm. Josie chose Jesse and Jaxon is all about Jett or Jeter. I also liked John and I like Jaeger; plus some others. These are obviously the boy names.

And, here are the girl names. Jaxon chose JaKelle, Josie chose Jackelynn (weird spelling I think), Josh chose Joy, Jake chose Jessica (we have a cousin Jessica), and Jainie has loved Jello since the beginning and she is serious about it. Then, I added Janessa, Jennevieve, and Jentrie. And, still there are others. One of the favorites suggested to me by others is Juliet. Such a hard decision.

Anyway, you can see we are still going with J but it sure is getting harder. I keep thinking of my favorite names and putting a J in front of them. Trust me, it doesn't work very well with most names. Although on some baby name websites, they really are listed as options. Example: Jemma - yep, apparently it is a pretty popular name. :)

SIXTEEN

2011-11-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Yay! Grateful for hair and sometimes for getting rid of hair. Jaxon has been growing out his hair for quite awhile. Alissa has cut it for him once, but I think he decided that keeping it looking good long is harder than just growing your hair out. :)
He liked that it was getting curly and really did look pretty cute in the back - not as good in the front, but still not bad. It drove Jared crazy most of the time and I have to say I like it better when I can see his handsome face. :)

I really do think the curls are cute - who knows where he got them from.
I guess my bros have curly hair.

Here you can see Jared decided to have some fun cutting - Jake and Jainie especially found it entertaining and Jaxon was a good sport to let everyone laugh at him. We decided to see how he would look with a mohawk. :) Not my favorite look.

It definitely got a bit long.

I didn't get an after picture, but it looks MUCH better. :)

FIFTEEN

2011-11-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Good friends. Jainie and Matt have been good friends since birth - they each go over to the other's houses whenever possible. In fact, if I can't find Jainie, she is over at Celeste's (Matt's mom). It is great, I am glad she feels so comfortable with other people. There was a time, about a year ago, that she would rather be following Celeste around than me, that was a bit rough. :( Matt also feels very comfortable here and whenever he shows up, he and Jainie start playing and have a grand time.

One day I found them downstairs watching a movie all happy and snuggled up.

FOURTEEN

2011-11-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been waiting for #14. I thought it was only appropriate that my fourteenth blessing be my eldest child, Jaxon, as he just turned 14 - yep, 14. I can hardly believe it myself. It is such a bitter sweet time for me. I still remember the day he was born - November 12 - 9lbs 3ozs, 20 inches long. He came out screaming at us all and then promptly whizzed on the doctor. :) He loves that story. He has been full of it ever since then.

He is growing up so quickly, there have been many days that I have thought, "Oh, if I could just raise him to be a good, decent, happy human being who tries to do the right and helps other people I will be successful." It has at times been a struggle, I can't tell you how many times he ran away from home - too many to count. He really likes to tease and cause those around him stress most of the time, well, family anyway. But, they tell me at school he is great and most people think he is relatively quiet - ha! he really isn't. He definitely likes to push his limits. However, he is maturing so much - turning into such a good young man. He helps me so much whenever he knows I really need it - he is such a blessing to me. Still, how has he grown so much so quickly? It baffles me how swiftly the time goes and I wonder, "Have I done enough? Will he make good choices and be a good example when I am not around?" He is getting to the point where we really enjoy talking with each other. He is very logical and if I can give him good reasons for things, then he understands and tries harder. He is extremely intellectual and thinks about everything - how and why. And, he can figure out how to fix just about anything. When he was about 11, he took a computer apart and then reassembled it - making it so only he knew how it worked. Whenever I can't figure something out, I give it to him and he fixes it for me.

So, his birthday was on a Saturday and he didn't know quite what to do with himself. We brought him breakfast in bed, of course. A new recipe I tried - french toast made with croissants with a banana syrup - it was YUMMY! Plus, bacon, hot chocolate, and a Jamba juice drink. He loved it.

Then, he just played downstairs on the Wii for a few hours while his dad went to work. We let him choose if he wanted to invite friends over to watch movies or invite friends over to play basketball but he just wanted to hang out with the family. He did have a basketball game at 10 - which he played really well in. He has been playing post this year and is awesome. Josh had a game at 2:00 so we went to that as well. After we got home , he was dying to open presents so that came next.

This is a card Jainie made special for him - you can see she is thrilled.

And, this is a special book that Josie, Jake and Jainie put together for him - with pictures and everything - Josie is a really good sister.

Yep, he loves the Yankees and wanted an official fitted hat.

Jared had a Priesthood Leadership Meeting at 4:30 so while he went to that the rest of us went bowling - Jaxon knocked down 9 pins 6 different times - he dealt with it really well and was still happy at the end. He did get a spare and a strike later.

A bunch of crazies. :)

Then, Jared and I took him out to dinner - Wingers was his choice and he ordered steak, of course, no expense spared on your birthday, I guess. It was nice to spend time one on one with him - like I have said, he really is getting to be quite a nice young man. (And, I have to say, I am really glad he is a bit shy so he doesn't want to hang out with girls as much as most of his friends do. :) That will come soon enough).

All in all, I think he had a nice day. And, the next day, he was ordained to be a teacher in the priesthood. It was so special and I am so glad he is making good choices. Both sides of grandparents got to be there, which was wonderful.

Afterward, we went over to Gpa and Gma Oldroyd's for dinner for his birthday. Gpa and Gma Thalman took him out the next weekend for some birthday fun. He is lucky to have such great grandparents and that we get to live by both of them.

He got tickets to the UofU vs. BYU basketball game - Josh is excited too because he tags along with whatever Jaxon does - they are pretty good friends.

Some other facts about Jaxon:

1. He LOVES to read - he reads everything, he hated reading until 5th grade when it

finally clicked and off he went. He is definitely one of the best readers at his school.

2. He LOVES sports - baseball is his favorite, he loves pitching and 2nd base. He played

a bit of 3rd last year as well and did a great job - stopped a couple balls with his shins

- OUCH! He also loves basketball - he is a wonderful rebounder.

3. He is growing rapidly. He passed me up a few months ago. He has grown about an

inch since his birthday - no kidding - he is now about 5'11". He wants to be the tallest

Thalman - right now his dad is at 6'0". He just might make it.

4. He likes to act tough but is still just a kid at heart. He still likes playing with his

siblings and loves legos. He really doesn't like being by himself too much so a sibling

is usually with him.

5. He was so excited when he started growing armpit hair - gross, I know. It started last

year - he won't let me take a picture of it. :) Yep, I like to embarrass him.

6. His favorite foods are still venison and shrimp. And, his favorite color is orange

because he learned that orange is the color of flirtation. :) Good thing he is too shy to

flirt much.

7. He LOVES sweets - he almost always has a hidden stash of candy somewhere - I find

garbage wrappers everywhere, under couches, behind toys, in his sheets, pockets, etc.

8. His hands are huge! I think they are almost as big as his dad's.

9. He is a sweetheart and really tries to help others even though sometimes it is really

hard apparently.

10. He loves hunting and fishing and wishes he could go more. Since he can't, he plays

video games as much as I will let him. And, he gets very irritable when I make him

turn them off, he would play all day and night if I let him.

Happy Birthday Jaxi - we love you more than you will ever know!

THIRTEEN

2011-11-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

Talents. Today I am grateful for my talents and the talents of my children and the talents of others. Definitely one thing I try to teach my children is that everyone has talents - no matter who or what circumstances they are in. Just because one thing comes easy to you and not as easy to someone else, that doesn't mean you are better than they are. On the other hand, if you have to work hard at something and someone else doesn't have to try at all, that doesn't mean they are better than you. That is the beauty of people - we all have strengths and weaknesses and if we can appreciate each other for those, then we will live in a better world and we will be better individuals.

Josie, Joshua, and Jacob all take piano and they had their recital this year in November. It was actually quite refreshing - fun to go when nothing else is planned - it was on the 6th. They each did a great job, didn't need their music, and were brave to get up in front of so many people.

Jake was up first - actually 4th in the recital - but he was sooo nervous! It was crazy, he was flipping around, crying, insisting that he didn't want to play or do any piano anymore. He has usually loved going to piano. I have decided that he is VERY bashful - he does not like people looking at him. I had to walk up with him/ drag him and then stand by him for both of his songs, which were: "Two Black Cats" and "Mary had a Little Lamb." This was Jake's first year of piano so he had only taken for a couple of months. He liked it when it was all over - that is when this picture was taken. His piano teacher gave him his own piano bag that she had sewn, which he thought was awesome. What a kid!

Joshua was quite a few numbers later - this is probably his 4th recital - he played, "Minuet" and "The Medallion Calls" from "Pirates of the Carribbean." He did a great job! He was nervous too, but definitely displays it in a different way. He sat on the front row by his friends and deals with everything internally. It amazes me how different each of my children is in so many ways when they have all been raised the same way.

Josie was 2nd to last - she played, "Minuet in G" by Beethoven and "Popular" from "Wicked". It was great! She practiced really well the last couple weeks before the recital - she was definitely the most prepared. It was great. She just sits and waits her turn and gets really giggly when she is nervous.

We were lucky to have our whole family there and Grandpa and Grandma Oldroyd and Grandpa and Grandma Thalman also came to support us. I wish I would've snapped a picture, I have been a bit too complacent with picture taking lately.

They all did a wonderful job and I am so proud of them - I remember how hard it is to get up and play in front of so many people. Jaxon quit playing about a year ago, it was and is sad - he was getting pretty good but I just couldn't handle the fight any longer. I hope someday he will come back to it. I love the piano and the accomplishment you feel when you finally get a song down you have been working on. :)

TWELVE

2011-11-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

SHOES! Yep, very grateful for them. I love shoes so does Jared, so it is no wonder that the kids do as well. We were cleaning out the garage (not done yet) and found about 7 bins of shoes! Crazy - too many shoes. So we went through them and gave 2 big black garbage bags of shoes to the DI and threw 2 garbage bags of shoes away! So, now we only have shoes that fit, one bin of boys shoes to grow into, one bin of girls shoes to grow into, and one bin of cleats - yep, full of baseball cleats - what does that tell you?

Anyway, these are shoes I was throwing away because they are shot but they were the girls favorites, so I had to get pictures first.

These are obviously from when Josie was a bit younger - probably Kindergarten/1st grade - they are too little for Jainie already. She wore pink shoes pretty much EVERY day - and they ALWAYS matched her outfits - yep, she is girly too. :) Wouldn't trade her for the world.

You can see these are all "princessy shoes" - first her Cinderella slippers - yep only one left and you can see it is trashed! The Alice In Wonderland shoes - which have been clasped and unclasped so much the clasps are broken! And, her favorite, Ruby Red Slippers that Gma O brought her from the Smithsonian when she was about 2 -3 - she wore those constantly - there are hardly any sparkles left. Oh, sweet memories.

ELEVEN

2011-11-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

So grateful that I am pregnant again. Not that I feel that great, but I am excited to have a new baby, it is about time really. I am a nervous Nelly this time though - I just found out a friend lost her baby at 25 weeks - yikes! I am 23 weeks. So, every time the baby moves I think, "Yes, things are still going well." Hopefully I don't have a heart attack from stress before this baby comes. :)

This is the day of the ultrasound - yes, we know what "IT" is. But, we aren't telling everyone til Thanksgiving so stay tuned for updates. :)

Oh, and I wasn't 23 weeks in this picture, I am a bit bigger now.

TEN

2011-11-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

This little girl is such a organizational wonder. She organizes everything! When we got home from trick or treating, before she ate any candy, she organized it into piles so she would know exactly what she had. I thought it was too cute.

I really cannot say how awesome it has been to have her home with me in the mornings this year, we visit about everything. In fact, about a month ago she told me when she was at one of her friend's houses playing - a boy. They decided to get married and then kissed on the lips! Can you believe that? I asked her, "Why did you kiss him? You know you aren't supposed to do that." And, she said, "Well you and dad kiss all the time." And, I replied, "Yes, but we are married and love each other." And, she said, "Well, we were married and we love each other." And, then she rolled her eyes at me - can you believe that? Are we in trouble or what? I think I did finally convince her that she shouldn't be kissing boys - fingers crossed.

She is very girly and was so excited that for Halloween we put her hair in her very first bun - you can see how full and beautiful it is. :)

What a girly girl!

NINE

2011-11-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

So grateful Jake has such a great friend and cousin in his class this year. Jake and Emma are both in Mrs. Crane's 2nd grade class - they are the best of friends and play together every day - pretty much every recess. They get together and take notebooks outside and draw pictures - Jake's are usually some sort of army or war pictures - I am not sure about Emma's. They also liked to look for bugs and worms, when the weather is better. They are really good at letting other kids play with them as well, which I think is very important, everyone isn't as lucky as they are, to have a great friend in class. It has been great for Jake and it is making our school days MUCH better.

I also LOVE how Jake doesn't have any front teeth - I keep telling him he needs to sing "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth," he won't do it. And, now they are coming in! As of right now, he only has 8 top teeth. What a fun stage.

EIGHT

2011-11-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Not necessarily Halloween, but that Halloween is over. :) Don't you love my enthusiastic spirit this year? There are a few things I love about Halloween. Every year, my mom makes a special Halloween dinner for all the grandkids. She puts a lot of thought into it and the kids love it - they don't necessarily eat it, but they do think it's lots of fun. It is always nutritious so they get something good before all that candy.

So these are obviously the worms - and worm excrement. :)

Grandma hid a skeleton in pieces outside so the kids all had to go searching to put the poor guy back together. Isn't it a beautiful Halloween day?

Jaxon, who doesn't dress up anymore, actually loves this dinner, although he doesn't look like it in this picture. You can see we had coffins with RIP on them and bones as well.

She really does do a great job, it is always fun and this year Grandpa participated as well and taught the kids the Monster Mash - he dressed up as a pirate - wish I would've snapped a picture. As soon as we were done with that, we headed out to trick or treat at aunts & uncles, and great Grandma's before heading to Richfield.

This year the kids didn't really care what they were for Halloween - which is good because I didn't have the energy to put into costumes anyway. Jainie decided on Belle, as long as she got new "secsessories - shoes, gloves, a crown, and julie (jewelry)." Josh barely decided to dress up because I made him - so he is once again a Yankees ball player, this year Derek Jeter. Notice he wouldn't even put eye black on this year. Josie was a house elf - we thought about ordering ears, but it never happened - her socks/leggings were the best and you can see she decided to wear Luna's necklace. Jake decided a couple days before to be a viking and he looked pretty sweet - wanted a sword instead of an axe however - whatever makes you happy. Jaxon was gone to basketball practice or we would have put him in the picture anyway - without a costume. Sometimes growing up stinks!

After we met back up with Jaxon and dad, Josie went off with friends, Josh and Jake went with friends and I sat there thinking, "What now?" Jaxon volunteered to hand out candy so Jared, Jainie and I went on our own. It was like a date - so fun! I think Jainie loved it - having that one on one time with both parents. It was great. We later met up with the Henderson's and Jainie and Matt went together for a block or two and loved it. It was too dark for a picture at that point, however. That is the other thing I love about Halloween, I think it is fun to have the whole neighborhood outside enjoying cute kids and visiting a bit with each other. We should do that part more often - without the teenagers and scantily dressed people out trick or treating.

Around 8:30, we all got back together to head over to Gpa and Gma Thalman's. The boys used to go out with Garrison and get lots more treats, this year Garrison nor the boys were really too interested in that. Anyway, here is everyone together. I think this pic is funny because Allie is screaming and if you look at Josh and Jake they are both looking at her wondering what is going on - Jainie and Josie only want to get a good picture and Jaxon could care less about it all. It is definitely going to be a change for us all to have a baby in the house again. :)

All in all, another great Halloween - still I am glad it's over.

SEVEN

2011-11-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Grateful my computer is working today!!! The internet hasn't been working and the wireless part still isn't. Luckily, Jared knew how to hook it up to the modem, which will do for now. Whew! I didn't know I relied on it so much. What would have I done on Black Friday or Cyber Monday!

SIX

2011-11-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

While I'm on the topic of vacations, I love vacations with my sweetheart. It's been awhile since we got to go on one, but they are awesome. Not too long, then we miss the kids too much, just a couple days or so. It is nice to reconnect with nothing else to focus on or drag our attention away.

This is when we went to Seattle - Andy & Brooke were there part of the time as well. And, Gpa and Gma, of course. We stayed right on a body of water and went swimming with the seals as well as lots of canoeing - this was relaxing afterward. Yes, our farmer tans are really that bad!

FIVE

2011-11-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

We had Stake Conference, which was a Regional Conference this weekend. It was great! Jared and I went to the adult session Saturday night, which was nice. The speakers were great and Jared and I had time in a church setting to sit and enjoy each other's company with no kids. So peaceful. Anyway, all the talks were on the temple. It was a great reminder of how we need to love the temples more and attend more regularly. I do admit I always enjoy it when I go.

So, this is MY temple :), the Manti temple. It is where I took out my endowments and where I was sealed to my sweetie. This is Lindsay, on the day she took out her endowments. So beautiful and white everywhere!

FOUR

2011-11-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for family vacations - they are very difficult but oh, so worth it! These are from November 2009 - our trip to CA. We went to the zoo, the temple, Universal, and Disneyland. It was great!

THREE

2011-11-05T22:31:00.000-06:00

Grateful for strong muscles! Not mine, unfortunately. Today, Jared has torn all the boxes apart in the garage, there are a LOT!, to find my maternity clothes. Wouldn't you know it, they were in the very bottom, very furthest back bins. He'd already looked for them twice. Thanks for being persistent sweetie. :)

This pic was this past summer, it was his first attempt at wake-boarding - pretty good, eh? He has only skied a couple of times, he's a quick learner.

TWO

2011-11-05T22:16:00.002-06:00

Grateful for Grandma Leila - today, the 4th, is her birthday. Unfortunately, she is in the hospital. I need to do better at going to visit her. I can't find a picture that I want to post of her, so I guess no pic this time. :)

ONE

2011-11-04T09:47:00.001-06:00

Grateful for these 2 chuckleheads who keep me on my toes at ALL times!

Beautiful Heartbreak - Hilary Weeks - Every Step

2011-10-29T08:25:00.000-06:00

Just found this and it is beautiful!!! It has been a rough year for me, good, but challenging and I love this song which reminds me it is all worth it. It always amazes me how so many people can go through so much and still stay so strong. I always look at other people's trials and think, "I am so grateful that is not my trial, I couldn't do it." But, I think the fact is that we deal with what we are dealt the best we can, and somehow we make it and are stronger in the end. I think the biggest trick is to not judge others while they are going through their trials. Anyway, enjoy.

At the Moment - Halloween

2011-10-28T12:09:00.001-06:00

I have been so nostalgic today. It is so strange not having kids at home. Jainie went to Kindergarten early today because they combine morning and afternoon K for the Halloween parties - why are we having H parties not on Halloween? Good question; yes, it is ridiculous. Anyway, I was thinking about last year when Jainie and I went to watch Jake walk around the school for the parade then into the tabernacle for the program then went to "Big Bun Bakery" to get a steamed milk - mine butterscotch, hers caramel, cinnamon rolls and a couple treats for later on. Then, we sat there at one of the bistro tables and enjoyed our breakfast. It really was so pleasant. It is the little things that I miss the most. Afterward, we went to help with Jake's class party and just enjoyed the rest of our day. This year, I have no one to go get a treat with and Big Bun is closed so that is that. AND, to boot, I have no class party to help with. I know it shouldn't seem sad but it is just the tiniest bit. I sign up to help in each of the elementary kids classes once per year. Josh was Halloween but his teacher decided to just have the parents send things so I sent 25 cupcakes and I am done. How are my kids growing up so fast? I know there are perks, lots of them actually, but there are drawbacks too. I guess we all just have to enjoy where we are and make the best of every moment. :)

On a different note, this pregnancy is killing my memory! Really, it is. I can't remember one thing from one second to the next. Josie had her Halloween variety show last night and I forgot all about it. In fact, she had Activity Days right after school and Jared, Jaxon, and Jake went hunting. Josh couldn't go because he went on Tuesday and skipped piano so he had to make that up. Which made him not only miss hunting but his basketball try-outs - it's all about choices and consequences, that is what we are trying to get across to him. Anyway, Jaxon also had tryouts but a bit later and Josh also had pack meeting. With everything else, I totally forgot about Josie dancing. I was in Gwood waiting for Josh to get done, when Josie called me asking me what she should wear for her costume. (She was supposed to dress as a scarecrow and we didn't ever get anything ready). I asked her what in the world she was talking about. She reminded me for the millionth time about her dance and still I drew a blank. Then, it clicked and I said, "That is tonight!" So, we hurried home and threw something together and called it good. While I was at her thing, Jared was running Jaxon around and trying to find Jake a H costume, because although the one we ordered was promised to be delivered yesterday, it wasn't, so he didn't have anything to wear. (big sigh) When Josie and I got home at 9:00, everyone was awake running around trying to figure out what to be for Halloween (Josh hadn't decided and doesn't want to dress up at all). Jake hadn't decided and I got the tiniest bit frustrated :). Anyway, it all worked out and Jake is a vampire today, Jainie is Belle and Josh is a boring old baseball player - with not even any eye black. He is such a stinker sometimes. Hopefully everyone is happy.

Jezlyn, ?, Kandice, Josie, Kenzie, Alexis, Addie, & Audrey

Ashton, Audrey, Caitlyn, Josie, & Kandice

Jake walking around the school - luckily the fangs are knocking out his loose front tooth

Jainie walked way too fast to get a picture so I went to get her after class to snap a picture -
punch stained mouth and everything! :)

I did get to go to the pumpkin patch this year with Jainie. It is actually the only year I have ever gone. My mom has gone with every other child but was too busy with Sara's wedding this year so I got to go with Jainie. We had a great time, went to McDonald's afterward and then to the hospital to get my blood work done, she thought it was great. She keeps telling everyone how I didn't even cry. :) (Good thing I didn't).

After choosing her perfect pumpkin - except it was dirty, so she wouldn't put that side near her. I am not sure how we will carve it because it is so small but we'll see. Maybe we won't get pumpkins carved this year (fingers crossed). :)

Josie and Jaxon don't dress up until the appropriate day - Halloween!!! Why do some people just want to make my life more difficult by making us dress up for weeks before Halloween. The funny thing is that then teachers and others complain that the kids can't settle down because they have had too much candy. Well, gee, maybe you shouldn't celebrate every single day leading up to Halloween!!! Wow, can you tell that is a hot point for me? I keep telling Jared the world would run much smoother if I could be in charge of everything. :) Haha - mostly we wouldn't have to do as much because I would forget about it all. But, wouldn't we be happy?

Education Week - Priorities & Motherhood

2011-10-09T11:09:00.000-06:00

So, I have been meaning to do this for awhile now. I try to attend Ed.Week at BYU each year for at least a day or two because it so fills me up and rejuvenates me. I absolutely LOVE it! I always try to mix my favorite speakers with new ones & topics that come naturally to me and topics I wouldn't think I would go to, but give them a try. A little education in each facet of life. I have my traditions that I love to do or eat, buildings I want to attend a class in because of memories of past years, etc. Just thinking about it makes me nostalgic.

Anyway, I thought I would come home and immediately blog about the classes I attended so I could remember and implement the lessons I learned into my life. I haven't gotten around to it yet, so today is the day. And, I am simply starting at the top.

I went to a class by Connie Sokol - who is amazing - first. It was a Monday class, which are block type classes, this one was called Tidy Up Your Life - Part 1: Create a Life Plan and Part 2: Effectively Managing Your Time. I think I went to both of them, then just combined my notes. Anyway, I figure I shouldn't just write her whole talk, in case anyone gets to hear it for themselves and it really wouldn't be fair to her. So, I will mention things she said and most importantly the things I learned from them.

First of all, I learned that I need a life plan. I need to think of what I want my life to be like now, in a year, in 5 years, in 25 years, etc. The more we plan what our life will be like, the more we will be able to realize our plans. So, I decided what my life plan would be for the fall - it was basically getting my house in order. However, being pregnant makes things a bit trickier and it is taking a lot longer than planned.

When thinking of a life plan there are steps we need to take in organizing it. First, we need to prioritize. Sister Beck said, "when our priorities are out of order, we lose power." I know that is true, when I have my priorities down, then my life seems to flow better. Sister Beck also said, "A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do." Isn't that great? I know it applies to me, I think of doing things for people all the time and then just never get around to doing them. I just need to do better at getting the things accomplished that are the MOST important. Then, we need to think, "What does the Lord want ME to do?" And, it won't be the same thing He may want my neighbor to do?

Then, we categorize the things we are supposed to do. There are 3 categories: essential, necessary, and nice to do. (I can't remember if she got these from Sis. Beck or not).
Essential: it is pretty obvious of what these are - fasting and praying in sincerity, making and keeping covenants, going to sacrament meeting, repenting, and renewing our covenants while there, going to the temple, sharing the gospel, and service to others.
Necessary: homemaking skills (this part was funny, she told how even if you don't like doing something, like cleaning, you should probably get a better attitude about it because you will be doing it your whole life :), enjoy meals with your family, smile MORE, have FHE and family fun time, my husband - I need to support him more and be happy with him and who he is (this one is pretty easy), become more self-reliant - don't ask for things I know we can't afford, just be happy with what we have, love one another more fully.
Nice to do: crafts, hobbies, recreational reading, movies, travel, lunch with friends - doing these things won't save us. However, the Lord blesses us with these things to help us (help me to cope and be able to deal with some of the things I don't want to do)
especially if our priorities are in order.

Now, obviously these are the things that resonated with me, some are obvious but some I think will change depending on our season of life and what we need. We each need to make our own list and probably type it up and keep it next to our beds to remind us of the importance of each one. I have already forgotten about this, so I am glad I am reviewing it today.

Sister Sokol discussed some ways we could vary the essentials in our life's. I know there are times in my life where I need to work on some more than others. So, with prayer, we need to take some real time to talk with our Father, let him know what our worries are, what we are stressed about, but also, what we are so grateful for. We could have a morning devotional where we pray, then be still and write ideas, feelings, inspiration we receive. We can change the way we study the scriptures, lots of ways to do this. We could have a personal prompting journal where we write what comes to us and then act on those promptings. There are so many things we can do, we just need to DO IT!!!

If you feel like reading a great talk, two talks she referenced are: "Daughters of God" by Elder M. Russell Ballard from 2008 & "And Upon the Handmaids in those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit" by Sister Julie B. Beck from May 2010.

So, this is what I am going to work on this week. I didn't really go into organizing time but this is long enough. And, since I like pictures in posts - I am going to put one up of one of my highest priorities - my family. This is when we went a few weeks ago up to a Marionette Show at BYU. We decided to eat in the food court - yum, yum. I do love BYU campus though. Not the greatest picture, it is from Jared's phone. :)

Yep, usually there is at least one sad face.

Yay! Here we go!

2011-10-06T16:41:00.000-06:00

So, I guess it's time to blog about my big news - I am pregnant! Yay! I am so excited about it. In fact, the whole family is. The kids have all asked me to have another baby numerous times from Jaxon to Jainie. Some more persistent than others. I was surprised when Jaxon asked me on the way to school last year, "Mom, I think we need another baby." He is almost 14. I think I was so adamant that I wouldn't have another one, that Heavenly Father was thinking, "She is NOT listening, good thing I gave her so many wonderful helpers to nudge her along." :) So, yes, each child, in turn has asked when we are having another baby. And, it has been going on for about 2 years. So, I guess it is time.

Of course I did try to have a baby earlier. My miscarriage was last May and it was dreadful, I have never blogged about it and don't plan on it. Not much I want to remember about that. The main thing I want to remember is that life is precious and so temporary. Also, that I have new heros - blood donors. I have always hated giving blood, makes me feel sick for days, but if it makes the difference in someone's life, then I guess I can handle it. So, I do plan on donating blood in the future.

Anyway, baby #6 is on the way. We are due in March and super excited about it. I think it will be a wonderful time of year - plus, right before crazy baseball season starts so I hopefully will get to go out and watch all the kids play ball. It does seem like a long time away, but I am almost halfway - a couple more weeks.

I would have to say that Jake and Jainie are the most excited right now. They have told everyone that they see that I will have a baby. And, Jake knows that we check the computer weekly to find out how big the baby is and what is developing. And, he can tell you about it. For example, I am 17 weeks and the baby is about the size of a turnip. He/she weighs 5 ounces and is about 5 inches long. And, he/she can move her joints - however, we had an ultrasound at 11 weeks and boy! he/she was moving a lot then. Legs and arms were kicking and moving like crazy - it was so cute! Anyway, we are plenty excited about it, let me tell you!

To let everyone know that we were expecting again I made this puzzle at Ed. week. It is not very professional, Jared could have done a much better job if I would have wanted to wait a year or so - but I only had 9 months! :) Anyway, the picture above is when we gave it to the kids to figure out. You can see their puzzlement :).

This is the puzzle - the numbers under the kids stick figure is the age they will be when the baby is born.

I love Jake's expression - this is really how excited he still is!

This is right after all the kids figured it out - they are really so happy about it - you can't see Josh, obviously, not sure why he was hiding.

And, the beginning of horrible pictures - this is at 16 weeks. A few weeks after we told the kids about it. I hid it pretty well for awhile.

So, there you go - this baby will be almost 6 1/2 years after Jainie - that is quite a gap. Oh well, we do what we can, right?

At the Moment

2011-09-28T09:14:00.000-06:00

Each morning I allow myself a little time to check my computer. Well, each morning that I don't have to be out somewhere else until later in the day, that is. Anyway, I check my email, occasionally check facebook (which is really irritating me lately), and then check up on blogs. Sometimes, when I am feeling a bit lazy, I will blog hop for a few minutes if no one that I follow has updated their blogs. And people you really need to work on updating your blogs - this is getting boring! But, then again, who am I to talk. On with my point, as I was blog hopping I noticed someone posted an "At the Moment" post - just stating what was going on in life. I liked it. I thought it was quite clever. And, I have decided to give it a go. :)

So, as I mentioned, it is morning - the four oldest are finally out the door. Luckily we have Josie who wakes us all up at about 7:15, after she has been up for at least half an hour. Josh is usually up as well. By the time I get up, Josh is ready and Josie just needs me to do her hair. Thank goodness for them. I still have to wake up Jaxon and Jake, who are both my night owls - little stinkers. Jainie I don't worry about, she goes to afternoon K so she can sleep in, but usually doesn't. Anyway, I take Jaxon and Josie to Middle school every morning which means I have to leave the house, leaving Josh and Jake to finish getting ready by themselves. Well, Jared is home but he isn't too involved in the morning process. By the time I get home, Josh is usually riding his scooter to school so I smile and wave, and Jake's carpool is usually waiting for him in the front yard. He is NEVER ready!!! So aggravating - if anyone has ideas, I would love to hear them. He is a putzer - just putzs around doing nothing forever until I tell him to go do certain things. Since I leave, he usually doesn't have his hair combed, lunch packed, or face washed by the time he walks out the door. Aaaagghh! It drives me crazy. I do make him eat breakfast and get dressed before I leave. Isn't it so hard to know which battles to fight? Anyway, they are all out the door and I feel like I have been through a mini-war already.

Jainie is now sitting in the living room singing songs to her dolls and stuffed animals. She is so funny. I am so glad she can entertain herself so well. And, I am glad she is still with me in the mornings.

The radio is on - Richfield radio - talk radio - which I have found to prefer in the mornings, until Rush comes on, then it is off. I cannot stand to listen to anyone arguing on TV, radio, etc. I think I hear too much during my regular day, I don't need any extra.

Jared is sick and has been for weeks - just a cold. But, those colds can get annoying!!! He is constantly coughing and has a running nose and now it has gone into his ears so he is really ornery because he can't hear very well. Anyone know of medicine he can take to help this?

Jaxon has been a stinker lately. I am not sure what is going on, but he is yelling at his siblings (and his parents), calling them names, using cutting remarks, etc. Jared and I have both talked to him, trying to figure out what is going on. Who knows? Could it just be because he is a hormonal 13 year old middle schooler? That is what I am hoping. And then the other day I got an idea. We should let him stay up til 9:00, with Jared and I watching something on TV. It has helped. I think he is starting to feel older and more mature (HA!) and I have decided that Jared and I need to start treating him more as an equal and less as a child. Weird - he is still such a child. But, it is helping.

We just had the Primary Program on Sunday. It has always been my favorite Sunday of the whole year. Being in charge makes it not quite as fun. But, I am glad it is over and the kids were AMAZING! They all did such a great job - I am so proud of all of them. My kids tried to get their parts all memorized and ready, but not until the day or two before. Hopefully they learned a valuable lesson. My cute Joshi had a rather lengthy, kind of tricky scripture and once he got up and started he was fine, but then he lost concentration and it was downhill from there. I was the one sitting by the kids prompting them and I wasn't wanting to help him much. I should have. He went back to his seat and started crying, then hid behind his neighbor the rest of the program. Broke my heart. I just had to sit there and try to get him to smile. He wouldn't look at me. I have a feeling that that will happen more and more often as my children grow. It's so hard to watch them fall and be sad. It stinks!

General Conference is this next weekend and I am so excited. I love it! I need to get the house ready so I can just enjoy it. Yea!

These pictures are from one year ago. I have been thinking about that too. I am so glad my fingers are better - you can still tell something has happened but only if you look close. This was one of the most painful things I have ever dealt with. I don't suggest it - I repeat: Do not grind off your fingernails and top of your fingers! For that matter, you probably shouldn't grind anything off - it hurts!

Sorry, I know this one is gross - that is why I left it small.

Not sure why I am smiling here, it was about a week
later, must be feeling better.

Well, that is all I have time for today. But, I like this new idea - it is how my life is, crazy and sporadic. Oh, and not organized. Yep, that is how things have been lately.

My little Chippy in K

2011-09-13T09:21:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that my baby is in Kindergarten! But, she is and she is sooo excited - finally, able to be big like all the other kids. She has been ready for this day for at least a year. Boo. But, I guess I have to let her grow up. In some ways it is easier than sending my first, Jaxon. She seems older than he did at the same time and she is definitely my feistiest. I think because all my other kids adore her - they tell her how smart she is and how cute she is and how wonderful she is a million times every day. Too bad we can't all have that, it really makes a difference. So, I am not really worried about her, just wondering what I will do without her.

So, this is what she chose to wear the first day - she is quite the girl. She insisted on her hair being in a ponytail so it would look longer.

This is the backpack that she just had to have. Her face looks a little crazy in this picture from turning halfway, but I think it fits because she is a little crazy.

So, off we went to school and I had convinced her that she needed me there, which she didn't. At first she told me to just drop her off, but then decided I should walk her in. I had her convinced that I should stay the whole day with her but then, decided since I was the only mom there, I probably better go. Plus, she wasn't needing me at all and I was just standing there talking to the IA, so I guess it was to make my departure. She did give me a hug and said she would be good. And, I walked out of the building wondering what I should do with myself. It was very sad. For me.

You can see she was fine. In fact, she started making a pattern with her blocks, which the teacher came and commented on and then all the other kids started making patterns. I am sure she will do great. And, she loves it.

In fact, on the 2nd day, she thought I missed the turn to drop her off at school so she was asking me, "Where are we going? Why aren't you taking me to school?" So I told her I had decided we would go to St. George and go shopping for the day (she loves St. G and loves shopping, so I thought she might agree). Well, it was silent and I turned around and she was on the verge of tears and said, "I just want to go to school." Oh, what could I do? So, off she went. I am sure that someday she will regret that decision. :) But, for now, I am glad she is loving school. I am thinking I should have used reverse psychology on the boys, who don't like school. Probably wouldn't work, what does with boys? :)

One last story, we have been carpooling with a couple other girls in our neighborhood and it was our turn last week. So, we got ready one day but had a few minutes before we needed to go pick them up. Well, Jainie said, "let's go so we can get to school." I told her we would be too early if we went right then. She turned very seriously and questioned me, in all sincerity, "What does early mean?" hahaha I about died laughing. Then, I thought, "Wow! She knows a lot of words and is pretty smart - I guess I better start doing better being early." Isn't it great how kids keep you on your toes?

School schmool

2011-08-30T13:02:00.000-06:00

I am so mixed about starting school, as usual. I hate seeing my kids leave everyday and spend more time with people who I don't know than time with me. That part stinks! I love that they get to go be social and make new friends and hang out with old ones. I love that they get to learn so much - that they are pushed and challenged more than they will allow me to do for them at home. I love that they are excited to go, to have more adventures, to see what is coming next for them. BUT, I hate not having them with me, I hate that they are growing up so fast, I hate that there are so many evil influences out there that I can't control. So, every year, I am sad and retrospective wondering if we have done enough this past summer to last them through the hard times of the next school year. This year is no different - plus it has been such a crazy summer with baseball going sooo long and Jared having back issues and me being in the hospital and then weak and not able to do much. Sometimes life throws you curve balls. . . I don't like curve balls.
However, it seems to me that the kids know when school is about to start and so they start getting excited, nervous, happy, unhappy, you name it, a gambit of emotion until they are so wound up about school, that I finally am thinking, "Fine, go to school, I need some peace and recuperation time anyway." Plus, we need a schedule again. And, this year our dishwasher broke about a week before school started. I do not enjoy doing dishes by hand - it stinks! Especially the cups, because you have to reach your whole hand in there and it starts hurting my knuckles after about 50 cups. And, if you have kids, you know that they each use about 50 cups per day. That's 250 cups in my house!!! (That may be a slight exaggeration). Anyway, it's a lot. We finally went in to get a dishwasher and it would take 2 weeks to get here - sigh. Then, the day after school started our dryer went out. All I can say is, thank goodness for new, clean school clothes. My kids have been clean everyday. (Just don't look at their socks - I refused to buy new ones until they match the 4 bins in the basement full of socks.) Thankfully, Earl came today and fixed my dryer for a very small fraction of what it would have cost to buy a new one! Yea!!! So, I guess I should be doing laundry. :) Anyway, you can see there were some reasons I was ready for them to go back. A few.
Anyway, this is about their first day - their thoughts and feelings about it. And, some details. Oh, and by the way, how did I get so old?

So, Jaxon loved school - big 8th grade! He loves that he has grown so much and is one of the tallest ones in the school now. He absolutely is in love with his new Puma tennis shoes. One of his teachers told him that he loved them too and it showed him how different Jaxon was and how great it is to be different.
One of his favorite things about the day was that the girl he has a crush on is in almost all of his classes! Oh, how exciting! And, her locker is by his too. Isn't life great? As long as it stays innocent and one-sided, it is fine with me if he has a crush. :) He also has a few good friends in each class so that is great too.
He did have homework - the normal parent paper work plus homework in Algebra. Which he was fine with so that was good. All in all a good day for him. He was ready to go back, he loves school now. Yea!!!
His classes are: Chorus (which he is taking because there are cute girls), Speech, Algebra, Language, Science, lunch, History, and PE. Can you guess which is his favorite? Yep, PE. It's good for boys to go get aggression out - go PE.
Jaxon has been the perfect oldest child as far as school goes. He is so easy going about it but does so well. I usually never even know what is going on - he just gets stuff done and is very independent about it. And, he is pretty adventurous so he likes being the oldest who finds out how the system works. :)

Pretty sweet and bright! He loves bright colors right now.

It was Josie's first day in Middle School. She was excited but pretty nervous - most nervous about PE. Would she have to change in front of other girls, would she have to shower, how would she remember the combination lock that was different from the one in the hall? Oh, the drama. She made it through though. And, she LOVED it! She loves all of her classes and has friends in all of them. She loves that you can sit by anyone you want at lunch, she loves that she has a locker, even though hers is a small one, & she loves how you go to 7 different teachers and classes. It is perfect for her socialite personality.
Her classes are: Social studies (she loves the teacher in this class so she is glad it is her homeroom), Science, Math, Language (which she doesn't have really too many girl friends in but a lot of boys that she has been friends with, but is now saying that they are so immature - what will she do? Who will she talk to? Aahhh! the stress. Luckily, she loves the teacher so she thinks it will be okay), lunch, Reading (she had homework in this and was very worried about it - we got through day 1 - whew!), PE (she decided might not be too bad), and Band.
We had to have a talk about not complicating things - homework, specifically. She wants to go above and beyond on everything, which is admirable, but not necessary. I told her that is what I learned from Jaxon. When your teacher says you can either write it or type it, choose the easiest option for you. Not the one you think the teacher will like the best if it causes you and everyone around you more stress. Jaxon has straight A's and has barely typed anything in his life, plus he never has homework. He does get most of it done at school, but doesn't obsess over it being perfect. Good lesson for both Josie and me.
And, Jaxon only teased her at the end of the day. She said she is glad that she is so little because then she could sneak through the crowded halls in between the tall people and the 8th graders don't notice her because she is so little. :) She gave me a run down of each class and who she sits by until she saw 2 of her friends and she was off - much too busy to finish filling me in. Wow - they grow up so fast!

Josie loves her new Tom's and her matching lunchbox.

Josh is our only Pahvant Arrow. He isn't too thrilled about it, he likes having siblings around even if he pretends he doesn't. He was very excited to go the day before but it all ended that morning. Josh is not a fan of change, he thinks it might not be too bad and gets caught up in everyone else's enthusiasm but he just couldn't fool himself for long, he is not ready for summer to be gone. He wants to play with friends, play baseball, go canalling, go swimming, not be on a schedule. But, those days are over for a while.
Anyway, he has a great teacher who is going to push him and keep him on track. It will be good for him but will take him awhile to adjust. Every year Josh has to make new friends in class. He never gets to have any of his former friends in class with him. It is really weird. I think it is so he will have to meet others and make new friends. But, he dreads it, what if they don't like him? What if he isn't cool enough? smart enough? funny enough? etcetera. He worries a lot. He is always fine and makes new friends, it just takes him awhile. He has some darling boys in his class too, I was excited about it, but he just wants to feel comfortable. Hopefully, that will happen soon.
So, he came home pretty unhappy. He has one girl in his class who he says is very annoying and asks stupid questions and makes comments that make no sense. :) She really gets on his nerves. Oh well, you always have one, right? We had a long talk about how that is what school is for, learning to get along with different personalities, learning how to cope in the world and learning how to make new friends with people we don't know or who are different from us. I hope he got something out of it.
All in all, Josh will have a great year, he is a good kid and tries his best at everything. It will just take him a bit to adjust to the change. :)

Oh, Jake Jake, what do you say about Jakey? He is in 2nd grade and has an awesome teacher. I think she will be perfect for Jake. She likes technology and exploring and seems to be pretty high energy and fun! That is just what Jake needs. He has a short attention span and doesn't like traditional book learning. He is more visual and hands-on, which I think his teacher is too so hopefully it will be a good match for him.
He doesn't have any previous friends in his class, but does have his cousin, Emma, which he is thrilled about. But, she is the only person he really even knows. It could be rough socially - not sure yet. I don't know many of them either. I think Jake's grade has been pulled from some other planet that I don't know anyone in. Weird. Hopefully he will make a friend or two so he will be excited to go to school.
He did lots of fun things the first day - took pictures, made marshmallow feet (used graham crackers, frosting and marshmallows to make feet to remind them to walk down the hall with soft, quiet marshmallow toes), did a few papers, and played some games. He had 2 recesses, one he played with Emma and the other he played with a 1st grader who came and asked him to play.
Overall, I think his day was alright. He is very clingy right now and wished I would have stayed with him but he was a big boy and did it on his own. He is definitely my hardest as far as school is concerned, he really doesn't like it at all - not socially, not the physical aspect (is there one?), not emotionally, and definitely not academically. :) Could be fun with him, right? Good thing he is such a sweetheart.

Miss Jainie hasn't started yet but did have Kindergarten testing on the kids first day of school, which was great. We got to get in school clothes and go to her school anyway. She insisted on wearing this shirt because it smells like apples and she knew her teacher would love it because teachers love apples. Coincidentally, the teacher she tested with (and actually got for her teacher) was named Mrs. Chappell, which Jainie couldn't remember her name until she looked at her shirt and said, "It's something that rhymes with apple." She is quite clever. She did a great job on her testing and thinks she is very ready for Kindergarten. I, however, am not! She and I also got to go to McDonald's with all her Thalman cousins and moms and Gpa and Gma during the day so they would have something fun to do. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma for this fun idea and for lunch! She had a blast and it was great for me because it made the day go by so fast!

I always go pick the kids up on their first day of school so Jainie and I picked up Jake first, then Josh, then headed to the middle school for the other two. This is when I usually get pictures of the middle schoolers - the school isn't as busy and everyone won't be making fun of them for their mom coming and getting a few shots.

We also, luckily, remembered to get one of all them together. :) Then, we headed to the dairy for a treat. YUM!

All in all, a great day for everyone. I even survived it and it wasn't so bad. I do have a LOT of catching up on housework to do, I am sure it will keep me busy for their entire school year. Probably longer! I guess we'll see how I feel about it when Jainie heads to Kindergarten and I am left all alone. I keep asking Jainie who will take care of me when she goes, she just shrugs and says, "I guess dad," while implying that it isn't her problem. Kids. She did tell me that whenever I miss her, I can just go in her room and look at her picture while I rest. I think that would make me more sad. But, a sweet sentiment.

The last Disney Post - Boohoo & YEA!!!

2011-08-05T11:15:00.000-06:00

Yes, mixed - because sad to go home and be done with Disney (for awhile) and Yea! so glad I am finally done blogging about this so I can get on with other things.
This post is simply about the ornaments I mentioned awhile ago - the ones that I picked up from around the world. And, the ones the kids chose for themselves for their annual Christmas ornament. We really do need a Disney tree - but it might make our other tree look bare if we took all the Disney off of it. We didn't even get to decorate with these this year because the kids had to open theirs on Christmas morning. It was the gift I was most excited to give, even though they had chosen their ornaments, we had left them there so they could paint their names on them, then they mailed them to us so no one had seen them yet. How exciting!

So here goes:

This is the one for Jared & I - it's a snow globe with Cinderella's castle inside and says, "Mom & Dad"

Jaxon is baseball, of course. (You can see the slat holding up our undecorated tree - that's because I tried to do it myself this year, Jared couldn't find the time. I am not too good at it apparently. :))

Josie chose this adorable Minnie ballet one

Joshi also wanted baseball - Mickey too!

Jake actually didn't choose his, he was throwing a fit and refused to come into "the dumb store" so I choose it for him. So glad he loves it.

And, Jainie chose this one because it is a bell and Belle is on it - just like her middle name - Belle.

Also, these ornaments we collected from the rest of the trip.

This is a time turner from Harry Potter World. Too bad I can't figure out how it actually works - I could use it!

The one we got in Magic Kingdom - we had it engraved as well.

The generic Epcot one - I love it - it has a Mickey head with the flag of each world represented and says "One Mouse One World".

O Canada! A maple leaf in a dream catcher

"Keep Calm & Carry On" from the U.K.

Eiffel Tower from France

This is from Morocco and is a hand - obviously not really a Christmas ornament - I think it is to hang in homes to catch luck or something like that.

Cute little koi from Japan

A traditional American flag with Mickey silhouette from America! (Yep, Jared was thrilled with the ornament collecting :)).

Beautiful pressed glass candle from Italy

A blown glass partridge from Germany with a real feather tail

A fancy hanging decoration from China we turned into an ornament

A pinecone made from straw from Norway

And, nothing from Mexico - sorry Mexico. I guess I better just find something that would work. Anyway, it was a fun little collection and I will enjoy putting it on the tree this year and the family can reminisce about our wonderful vacation. Ahh - memories!

Almost LIfesize!

2011-07-30T21:12:00.001-06:00

So, I have been playing a bit with blogger lately and just figured out how to change my top picture again - loved the last one, but we are a bit older (& wiser?) now. Anyway, I also figured out how to make it not so small, however, I can only get it small or HUGE! So, until I have more time to mess with it - you get to see us lifesize! YEA! Just what we all wanted. :)
Oh, and I figured out how to add music! Which has taken me several tries, but I got it figured out! Right now it is Disney because of all the Disney posts, but I will have to figure out how to update it. If there are any computer savvy people out there who want to help me out, that would be great!
We are having a lovely Saturday full of nothing but nothing. It's great - first one we have had, should have probably used it cleaning out the garage, but I guess there is always next Saturday, or is there? Hopefully everyone else has had a much more productive day than we have had.

Home Again Jiggity Jig

2011-07-28T20:31:00.000-06:00

Well, it's time to go home! We were all ready to go even though we had so much fun! We were tired and ready to get on with the Christmas festivities. In fact, we had to get home so that we could get to the girls' first Nutcracker performance. Jainie's first one ever! Too bad she was too sick to go, she was better by the next performance.
So, farewell, good-bye, auf wiedersehen, audieu or something like that. Thanks for the memories and the magic - it will be a trip we will always remember and cherish!

Yep, we had quite a bit more luggage. In fact, Gpa left a pair of tennis shoes to be able to fit more stuff to take home. We left that fancy stroller Jainie is in. (You can see Jainie is eating a frozen pb&j sandwich. We had so many quick service meal credits at the end, we went and picked up as many pb&j sandwich meals as we could with out last credits - I think there were like 12. So, the whole trip home whenever the kids said they were hungry, I would whip out a sandwich for them. Not really want they wanted, but it did satisfy. And, we had so many that there was a mother with her 4 young kids sitting in front of us and they were all starving so we gave each of them a sandwich. Mmm - I think they are pretty tasty).

Luckily, the kids still find the plane fascinating! That makes it a bit easier. It was Jake and Jainie's first plane ride, well, the trip out was.

Ahh! mountains - Utah!!! We are so glad to be home - and SNOW!!! Beautiful!

Hollywood Studios - O.E.A. Day 9

2011-07-28T10:11:00.001-06:00

Good morning to another beautiful, chilly, Florida day! This was our very last day and I had decided that this would be the day we would go to Hollywood Studios. I LOVE Hollywood Studios, it has my favorite ride, Tower of Terror and my other favorite ride, Rock n' Roller Coaster. Woohoo! I knew everyone would be excited! Also, I was excited to see the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights. The reason we went here on the last day was because I wanted the kids to see Fantasmic! and this was the only day they showed it that fit into the plan. (They do have this show at Disneyland, but you have to stand the entire time and then save a spot so early so you can see, sometimes I wonder if it is worth it). Anyway, off we go!

Jainie Belle was FREEZING this day! You can see no one else was quite this cold, since we piled all the blankets on top of her - hey!, she was happy!

So, today I hadn't mapped everything out and this is definitely the park I know the least. We had to stop, once inside the park, and look up where we were going. I was off picking up an extra stroller for my 7-year old. :)

We started walking down Sunset Blvd. when one of the cast members stopped and talked to Josie, this is how she tells it:

"I was just walking on the main street headed to Toy Story Mania when a man dressed in goofy clothes stopped me and asked if I was an actress. I was pretty confused until Sara started laughing, then I said no. The man said that I must be an actress and he made me make a whole bunch of faces. He had me cry which was very difficult since I couldn't stop laughing. After that he gave me a necklace that had a plastic, golden, trophy on it that said "best actress" and he suggested acting for my career!"

So, I didn't mention that the day before this, the day we went to MK, the only day we didn't drive, we got back to our cabins and Gpa's and Gma's mirror had been broken off of their rental car. (We really have no luck with rental cars). Anyway, luckily, there was a note there explaining that the maid accidentally knocked it off while driving her little golf cart thingy. It was still a hassle. Gpa and Gma had to go the next morning and talk to the manager of the Ft. Wilderness area to figure out how it was going to be all worked out. Because of all of this, we were a few minutes late today. BUT, they did give us a free fastpass to any ride we wanted. So, while someone ran and got fastpasses for Rock n' Roller Coaster, the rest of us headed to Toy Story Mania! Easily the busiest ride in the park. Really, the line is unbelievable - we got there pretty early in the morning on a cold, not-too busy day and the fastpasses were already out until 6pm that night! We were all glad we could just jump on and go. It really is a pretty great ride - who doesn't like a little competition? You can tell from the pictures who our competition was.

Dad was a little nervous about being with any of the rest of us toughies so he and Jainie were partners - I am pretty sure that Jainie won! :)

I wish I could say that we were all just excited to be here today. Unfortunately, we still had some tired, ornery kids. Jake was still struggling - not sure why it was such a rough vacation for him. Hopefully, he will remember it with fondness.

Don't let his innocent, sweet face fool you - he has an attitude! This was all within a few minutes. Honestly, I can't even remember what he wanted at this point. I don't think he knew what he wanted - just something different than he was getting, I suppose. I do know he didn't want his picture taken - but, I will love these pictures and remember it and the reality of vacations with children.

We were already getting hungry at this point but felt we had to get at least one more thing in before stopping. This is when we were in line for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid live musical show. They only had a few time slots so we knew we better get it in quick. While we were in line, Gma and some of the kids ran and bought a snack for all of us to share. It made the line more enjoyable for Jake and Jainie, well, probably everyone, but you can see Jaxon, Josh and Josie do pretty well in lines now. As long as they don't annoy each other too much.

I just love how Disney does everything so well. Aren't those flowers perfect!

We decided to go get a snack at this point, we went to the Starring Rolls Cafe. It was YUMMMY! It had sandwiches and pitas, healthy things like that but then it had the BEST desserts we had at Disney, I think. I chose a chocolate croissant, because since eating them everyday when I was in Europe, I am addicted and whenever there is a menu that has them, I have to try them out. It was tasty - but not as good as Jaxon's cupcake. This was the Butterfinger Cupcake and I am telling you - it was something else! The whole thing is not frosting on the top, but they would hollow out the cupcake, put a filling in it and then put the cupcake part back on - then frost around that part and on top of it. Then, they dipped it in a chocolate coating crust and sprinkled with butterfiger. I am salivating just thinking of it. Anyone know how to make it?

I know we had other good desserts there too. I know someone got a gigantic rice krispie treat and we got a fresh fruit tart and a strawberry parfait and an eclair and a chocolate peanut butter cupcake, and don't get me wrong, they were all delicious too! I tried as many of them as possible!

After this, we went to The Great Movie Ride (always entertaining) & the Studio Backlot Tour. It was kind of a chill day. Just enjoying and taking pictures and having fun!

Josh actually smiling at the camera is not something you will see often, I had to include it!

You can see Sara was getting tired at this point, she rode in the stroller for quite awhile really - maybe 7 minutes. I think Dad was holding Jake.

Here we were on our way to use our fastpasses at Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Such a great ride - we made it on there at least a couple times. As many as I could go on in a row, I had had enough - but that was at the end of the day when I was tired.

Josie and I came out first and we got this sweet attitude picture of Jos. This is how the ride makes you feel - pretty cool. :)

And, here is everyone who went on the ride. Josh (in stroller), Dad, Sara, Gpa, Jaxon, Josie, Jake, and me. You can tell we are ready to play some Aerosmith on our air guitars! What a thrill!

Meanwhile, Gma didn't want to go on it and Jainie was too little (she didn't want to go anyway), so they went shopping. Gma bought Jainie this darling hat that she absolutely adored and wore the rest of the day.

This hat put a little pep in her step!

The Beauty and the Beast show was right after our ride and in that part of the park, so it worked out wonderfully. We even had enough time to get on Tower of Terror first! I LOVE that ride, have I mentioned that yet? This was Jake's first time going on it and I am not sure how he felt about it. Most of the kids don't love it yet, but I am sure it will grow on them.

We had a bit of time before the show started so we just sat and enjoyed the ambiance. Except for Jainie who was really not feeling well at this point. You can tell she has had better days, it was heartbreaking really. But, she was a trooper!

While we waited, we tried playing some games to entertain us. Dad was pretty good at these. You can tell Josh enjoyed it, as did Josie.

It was a great show and all the kids enjoyed it - some more than others. :)

After this, it was time to go to the Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show. It was the last one we could go to. I really wanted to let Jainie see the parade, "Block Party Bash," where you can sing and dance in the street. I thought she would like it better than the stunt show, so Jainie and I went to find the parade. She had a temperature and wasn't feeling too well so she was being pretty mellow. I thought I might be able to catch up with the show later. Off we went, our different directions.

Since I had the camera, this is the only picture we got from the stunt show - Josie took it with her camera. You can't tell unless you look closely but this is when Herbie is cut in half - yep - don't know how they do it, but at one point he is whole, then he has to go around this food stand, and so he cuts himself in half and keeps driving, then puts himself back together again! Amazing! There are also people on fire and cars and jumps and all sorts of fun stuff. Everyone loved it.

Here you can see Jainie trying to dance with the parade - she danced with Boo (from Monsters) for a minute. But, just couldn't keep up the energy - you can tell she doesn't feel well, poor thing. We finally left mid-parade so she could use a restroom. Then, we did a little shopping, well, I did. She slept in the stroller. It was very peaceful for me. I definitely enjoyed it!

After she woke up, I thought it would be fun to wait for the others in the The Magic of Disney Animation area. It is an interactive area and you get to meet various characters - usually characters from the newest Disney movie coming out. There were lots of characters from The Incredibles and Mickey is usually there - I can't remember who else was there, Jainie refused to meet all of them - except Mickey. She really did want to meet him - so glad I had the camera. We waited in line for about 15 minutes before it was her turn. Then, Mickey spent at least 5 minutes alone with just Jainie. He was so cute with her, just hugging her and hugging her and then looking at her. Then, hugging her again . .

then kissing her repeatedly. It really was darling - that is why she finally started smiling. The cast member who was helping with Mickey told us several times that Mickey must really like Jainie because he spent so much time with her. Then, she would tell us that Mickey thought Jainie was so adorable. Finally, she told Mickey it was time to move on and still Mickey gave her more hugs. It was sweet and just what made a magical day for a sick little girl. Hope we didn't get Mickey sick!

Then, we spent some time coloring Flounder with Jainie's finger. She really enjoyed this. We also took a quiz of which Disney character we were most like. I was like Mulan and Jainie was like Tinkerbell - we were both thrilled.

She had a lot of fun in here, but after about 35 minutes, we were wondering where everyone else was. We found out that something in the stunt show had broken down or burned or something so the show had to stop for awhile making it take longer. It was really nice to spend some one on one time with Beller - she is a doll.

Together again and everyone is still pooped! You can see her sweet necklace/award here.

Time for Fantasmic! Gpa and Gma decided not to go to the show, but the rest of us headed off to get good seats. Actually, Dad, Sara, and the kids went and rode one more ride while Jainie and I went and saved spots. Everyone else made it pretty quick though. Then, we got some snacks - churros, hot chocolate, a turkey leg, and sat down to enjoy the show. It is always a fun one to watch, but I have never fully appreciated the big fire scene like I did this year - it toasted things right up!

This is the finale - where we get to see all the characters together and Mickey has defeated the villains - YEA! Go Mickey!

Star Tours was the one ride that was closed while we were there. Most of us weren't too sad about it, but Jake was. We did walk by and see this sweet ride and decided to take advantage and get some pics.

Oh no!, here come the stormtroopers!

AHHHH! Jake is falling off!

We are going too fast! Everyone is falling off!

We had to hurry to go the Spectacle of Lights because our dinner plans were immediately following this and we had to hurry to get home. So, we went and enjoyed the light party for a few minutes, singing and dancing up and down the street before we left Hollywood Studios!

Gpa enjoying the Christmas ambiance. It really is amazing, don't you think?

Good-bye Hollywood Studios - it was a great day! We had a wonderful time and we all wished we would have had more time to stay and explore all your secrets.

Our dinner reservations were for the Hoop-de-Doo Revue, which is one of my all-time favorite dinner shows. We went back in 2000, with the Oldroyd family so I remembered some of it. I knew the kids would LOVE it, especially the older kids who understand the slap stick humor a bit more.

Gpa and Gma had taken Jainie back a bit early with them, since she wasn't feeling well. So, they were already back at their cabin. We had to book it. We had to drive back to our cabin, drop off the car then catch the bus out to the right spot. The show is in Ft. Wilderness, so it wasn't too far as soon as we got home, we just had to get to Ft. Wilderness. So, off we went. Gpa and Gma had been waiting for the bus for quite awhile and luckily we caught up with them right before the bus got there. Obviously, Dad and I had to drop off the car before we could get on the bus, but we dropped all the kids off and then we figured we could run if we had to. We got there at least 15 minutes after everyone else and one of the manager's found us, saw that we were rushed and I think felt bad for us. So, he told us he would show us to our seats and then took us to the very front, center table! It was great! Just the two of us, enjoying the show, drinking strawberry lemonade. It lasted a few minutes before we decided we had better go sit by all of our kids and not leave them with Gpa, Gma, and Sara. So, we went back and sat by the fam. Which was actually more fun. For a while. Then, Jainie started feeling worse again, so I had to hold her. Then, all of the sudden, Josh came over to us crying and holding his cheek and his night was ruined as well. His tooth was killing him and he was miserable the rest of the night. Stink! I hate that vacations always have to have something like that.

During part of the show, they pass out these washboards and you get to play them, Jaxon, Josie and Jake all took a turn.

Jake loved this part! You can see Josh's misery in the background.

Our sweet waitress asked if she could take our picture, so, of course, we let her. This is us for the show. It was a delicious meal too - all you can eat - and there was lots! You definitely get full during this meal, with entertainment. There was salad, baked beans, fried chicken, smoked BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, cornbread, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. YUM! One of the entertainers - can't remember her name - is in the yellow-checked dress in the background. It really is a fun time!

Whew! We didn't get back to the cabins until about 11:30 so we were pooped. We were somewhat packed but stayed up VERY late packing most of the rest up. The kids all fell asleep quickly though, that was good. And, this darling display is what the maid set up for us while we were gone. It really was a magical vacation, Disney sure does know how to make you feel special. I am ready to go again immediately - even in the heat! This time I would like to go to a beach though. :)

O.E.A. Day 8 - Epcot Fanatics!

2011-07-13T11:11:00.000-06:00

So, this was our free day, we could do whatever we wanted. Of course, there was quite a bit of controversy between the kids on what we should do. Sara really wanted to go see Harry Potter world so Gpa said he would go with her and they went back to Universal. That started quite the conversation of heading back there for the older kids with much dissension from Jainie. Jainie wanted to back to M.K. But, in the end, I chose. I wish I could say that Jared helped choose, but I really am the one who cares the most and my favorite is EPCOT!!! There is so much to see there and it is a bit more relaxed and there are both rides and educational aspects - perfection!

Yep, it's still pretty cold. But, the sun is out - that will help, right?

We (and by that I mean I) decided that since it was cold and we hadn't been in the Innoventions buildings too much yet, that that is where we were going to spend our morning. Brilliant plan, who thought of that? Oh, yeah, I already said it was me. :)

But, first we needed to get fastpasses to Soarin,' so Joshi and I ran over to The Land and snatched some up.

Then, we went back to Innoventions and played this great game. What you do is stand in this electronic thingy - where you get recorded doing things like running in place, jumping, and dancing. I have to say Josh did pretty well, but Jainie totally out-danced him.

Then, as you can't see on this game screen, it would put you in your own video game. When you would push the buttons for running or jumping, your very own action figure (not really computer speak, but you get what I mean) would do the same action you recorded. Get it?

If you look closely, you can see Jaxon and Jake on their screen. The dancing part was for the end, when you won, you would do a victory dance. This was hands down the longest line for this area of interactions.

The kids went and listened to a "real firefighter" tell about avoiding fires and what to do there. (I guess I should explain why real firefighter is in quotes - he really was a firefighter, I just thought it was funny that he was advertised with a sign telling kids they would get to meet one - in Richfield, we see real firefighters all the time.) Jainie was the only one we could get to be in a picture with him. Hopefully she learned a LOT!

I know we did quite a few other things in Innoventions, but I can't seem to locate the pictures. We played a game where we were all on the same team, but played other people to find fires in a house. We played new coming out video games where you would play your favorite sports teams, or challenge a villain to a duel. Jainie's favorite thing was an exhibit that taught you to save money, "The Great Piggy Bank Adventure." Each person would get a piggy bank, that was a really cute plastic piggy. Then, you would go play three different games. I can't remember exactly what they were, but they involved the stock market, where you would try to weave in between obstacles to keep gaining money and not losing any, one that challenged you to save and not spend the money you earn, and I don't remember the other one. Oh, and at the first you had to decide what you were saving your money for - a vacation, a house, college, or a new extreme room makeover? I think. Anyway, you would put the pig in a slot where the game was and when your time was up it would drop money into the piggy. (It really would get heavier and lighter). Anyway, at the end you would put your piggy in a bank and lock the vault and it would tell you if you reached your goal. It was pretty great - too bad I couldn't get the boys to try it out. Jainie played with Grandma and had so much fun. Then, somehow Gma found a piggy bank almost identical to that one and she gave it to Jainie for Christmas. Belle loves it and plays with it all the time. I guess if nothing else she learned to love piggy banks. :)

Also, there was the coolest exhibit there. It was a "design-your-own-theme-park-roller-coaster" experience, called, "The Sum of All Thrills." So, it was like we were engineers. (We actually went back to this one after we had finished the rest of the park at night-time.) Everyone was pretty pooped, but it was so much FUN! You would go into a room and be directed on the laws of physics, then, you would go to a huge table touch monitor and choose if you wanted a roller coaster, a jet, or a bobsled type ride. And, what kind of things you wanted on your ride (ie; loops, twists, etc.) and how steep or not-steep they would be, or you would decide to put in a loop then you would say how tight it would be. You would enter it into the computer and then it would show you a draft of what you'd created. Then, the computer would test it - most of the time we were too extreme and our poor cart would fly off the tracks. Once you had it right, you would head up some stairs and try your ride out! You would be put into this mechanical arm type thing that completely enclosed you and a monitor screen was right in front of you where you would see your ride. It was totally AWESOME! One of my favorite things we did! - you could have a different ride every time. And, it was fun to watch to because you would see this mechanical arm swinging around and tipping people upside down, moving quickly, and people would scream and kick their feet up in the air. It seriously was cool - the kids LOVED it - they went so many times. We had to sneak Jake on. The lady said he was too short, so we had to do some adjusting and then even wait until she was off duty. I mean, come on people, do you really think I would risk my own child's life if I didn't think it was safe? Phseesh! Well, maybe, it is DisneyWorld. Anyway, it was a blast!

After we had spent a little time in the Innoventions building (and by a little, I mean a couple hours. You could seriously stay in there for an entire day, there is so much to look at and get involved in) we decided it was time to move on. We decided to go on one of my favorite rides from when I used to come here. It is in The Land and called, "Living with the Land." It is a boat ride that teaches about the past, present, and furture of farming and agriculture in America.

Another good thing about it is that it is still indoors - not too chilly. You can see Jaxon is really soaking in all that knowledge!

I had to take this picture because it is the only alligator/crocodile (I don't know which) that we saw the whole time we were in Florida. I guess we should have ventured out more, but I guess that is yet another reason to head back. Isn't he cute?

Oh, look, another temperamental beast with a ferocious attitude. I think they should live together, how about you? Don't let that innocent face fool you!

This was one of my favorite things there. Don't you love how they grow the food? They grow food for the Disneyworld food areas and all of it for The Garden Grill, inside The Land. Pretty sweet pumpkins - especially for December!

It was getting to be time to eat and Gma had wandered off so we decided to head over to the World Showcase and eat some fish & chips. Now, I am not usually an "eat the same thing twice on vacation" kind of girl. I guess you could say I am an adventurer, even when it comes to food, which is unusual because I am a very picky eater and used to never eat anything, I guess that I've grown, both emotionally and physically. Good and bad. Anyway, it was so good the couple days before that we had had it, we had to head back. And, fancy who we met there, I guess Gma had the same idea because there she sat. The kids were so excited to see her, you'd think she'd been gone a year. They ran over and told her what they'd been doing.

It was really pleasant at this time, we all took our jackets off pretty quick.

The boys testing out the telephone booths found only in the U.K. I wonder if they have a different name for them. Don't they call it the telly?

Jared and I were happy to let them roam, as long as we could eat our delectables in peace. YUM! I have been trying to find a delicious fish & chips recipe since we got home to no avail. Does anyone have one they would like to share with me? I would be eternally grateful!

Gma, Jaxon, and Josh finished their lunch first so they wandered over to the shops of the U.K. while the rest of us sat and enjoyed. The musical group that performs in the UK is called, The British Invasion, however I heard they actually have changed to a different band now - just so you know, when you go. :) Note: I loved this band, they were so great and it really was like listening to the Beatles, what I remember from my youth, that is. (If any of you believe that, then . . well. ?) Anyway, we could hear them and just sat and enjoyed the sunshine, good music, great food, and superb family!

Have I mentioned the other band that I LOVE at Epcot? They are in the Canada pavilion and are called, "Off Kilter" and they are so fun to watch and listen to. We are usually hurrying so I dance as I walk, I just can't help it. And, I bought one of their CD's the last time Jared and I were there so I can sing along as well. They have bagpipes and wear kilts - but don't think they are from Scotland, nope, Canada. Still can't figure that one out. Which reminds me, I told Gpa I would find that CD for him. I guess I better get on that. 8 months later. :) That's just how I roll. (If you want to hear any of these, you could just google them, it is seriously AMAZING the things you can find online - who knew?).

So, here we are in the U.K. still talking to a somewhat familiar figure. This is Father Christmas, that is one of the changes from our Santa Claus. Most of what they believe and celebrate is the same as us. They do say "Happy Christmas" instead of "Merry Christmas," which seems ironic to me since it seems that Brits use the word "merry" a lot more often than we Americans do. But, hey, what do I know. He also, obviously, wears green instead of red. Either way it was nice to see a familiar face. Oh, and Jake really wanted to hold his staff. It was pretty cool. (Notice the plants are covered because of the weather - sweet).

After leaving the UK, we walked across the little bridge that leads to France and almost walked right into this little guy. Jaxon, Josh, and Josie were the first ones to see him. They hurriedly showed us and we just left it alone. But, of course, there is some kind-hearted person who wanted to save the snake and definitely not get him stepped on, he was here first, you know. (said tongue in cheek) Anyway, that person picked him up with a stick, frantically, I should add, and tossed him in the bushes. Sometimes I think these city folk do more harm than good. He was moving, I am sure he would have been fine. Needless to say, that was the most excited wildlife we saw, except for in Animal Kingdom. No one got too thrilled.

I forgot to mention that on our way out of Illuminations we decided to, once again, try the Kim Possible missions. This time we were successful. The first one was in the UK. The 3 older kids did them and loved them. Plus, they got along so well. Apparently, each country has their own secret little things that happen if you accept a mission from them. You go and catch bad guys by following their trail. I think the UK was their favorite one, I think they went on 3 missions. They did take awhile. This day was so relaxed with hardly any tourists there, so we let Jaxon, Josie, and Josh take my cell phone and head out on their own. I think that was another exciting aspect. Meanwhile, Dad, Jake, Jainie and I continued on in our search for great Christmas stories. In this picture, you can see that the kids are huddled over the Kimmunicator, looking for their next mission.

This was in Morocco, which is obviously not a Christian nation, but a Muslim one. But, it was still fun to talk traditions with them. This is Taarji, the storyteller, who showed us dances, played the drums (and let the kids help him) and told us of traditions through dance, which Jainie is helping with.

Jake and Jainie were so thoroughly enjoying each other. I am not sure how it happened, I think because the other kids were off doing their own thing, these two had time to themselves. So, they walked along, holding hands, dancing, singing, & laughing. The best part was watching other people notice them. And, you had to notice them - they were very apparent. You can see everyone who has passed and is passing them have smiles on their faces. Jared & I walked behind them and it was darling to just enjoy the two of them. They really are pretty good friends. I like to think Disney should thank us for helping people smile and making Epcot more magical. :)

You can see who is the boss, right?

This is a picture from Japan. Jared stayed outside with Jake and Jainie while I went shopping for a bit. They had such neat stuff to buy in Japan, but trying to shop while watching kids and keeping them out of trouble is impossible. Not to mention, worrying about Jared and having him eyeball me and my purchases. :)

So, these next three are part of a funny story. In Japan, there seem to be a lot of birds. In fact, I overheard some people talking about walking quickly through this part of the park and definitely NOT stopping here. That was after this incident. So, this is where the kids waited for me.

Here you can see Jake is checking something out - in the sky - coming downward.

As you might have guessed, a bird flew in and pooped on Jared. Yep, I think it was right on his head - maybe his shoulder. Either way, good thing he had on a hoodie and that hoodie saved him. (I think Jared would have inisisted on going to the hotel and showering if it had touched his skin). Anyway, you can see Jake and Jainie think it is downright HILARIOUS!

In fact, maybe too hilarious! But, guess who came out and saved the day? Yep, yours truly - I had wipes and we (and by that, once again, I mean I) wiped it all up and off him and threw it in the garbage. I am not sure that Jared thought this was as funny as these two did.

This is the culprit, looks innocent enough, right?

This is the cool drum show they do in Japan.

I wanted the kids to see the show in America, "The American Adventure," so that is where we headed next. Plus, I love the "Voices of Liberty" who perform there. It's always good to get some patriotism in in every vacation. And, we lucked out and got to enjoy these guys for awhile as well. They are so great, it reminds me of being in Williamsburg. You can see Jake and Jainie watching in the left of the picture.

This is inside the American pavilion. We were just sitting and waiting while Jake and Jainie laid in the middle of the floor enjoying the coolness of it. The other kids joined us here and we all loved the "Voices of Liberty" perform not only patriotic songs, but mostly Christmas songs. I was totally relaxed and enjoying every minute. How often do all five kids get along famously? Ah, perfect.

Jake and Jainie really wanted to meet Jasmine and Aladdin and we had noticed the times they would be visiting as we left Morocco, so immediately following our American experience, we ran back to get in line. Which we waiting in for quite and while, this might be the longest character line we waited in. It was probably a half an hour. Anyway, well worth the wait, Aladdin and Jasmine were very gracious and it was a lot of fun. I think these are their COLD clothes, which honestly, I prefer. :)

So, I can't remember perfectly what else we did this afternoon. I know Sara and Gpa made it back to join us. I remember going back over to future world and we did see "Journey into Imagination with Figment," I always like that ride. It's just a cute ride about the five senses and how much your imagination helps you. And, I love Figment, he is such a cute little dragon. We did go back to Spaceship Earth as well, it is such a great little, relaxing ride. LOVE it!

As for food, I know we didn't eat at a sit-down place today. Another thing that allowed us to have more time. It really is a catch-22, do you sit down to eat and enjoy a nice experience or do you save your time for other things and eat on the go. Hmmm, I guess I nice mix is best. We did have some yummilicious treats! We had chocolate crepes in France and delicious caramel treats in Germany. My favorite was a chocolate cupcake with lots of white frosting and caramel drizzled over the top - thanks Sara! We tried to get Kaki Gori in Japan, which is delish! but it was closed when we got there. Oh, I also made sure I got all my Christmas ornaments from each country. But, I didn't have time to go to Mexico. :( So, if anyone is going anytime soon and wouldn't mind picking something up for me, that would be totally AWESOME!!! :)

We ended up back at Innoventions, where we played a bit more. This is when we designed our own roller-coasters, as I mentioned earlier.

So, you can tell, we were exhausted! Jainie is already asleep and the rest of us are waning. But, what a GREAT day! I seriously had such a great time. It was nice to not be so rushed and stop to enjoy the little things.

Time to go home to bed. I think we were all so tired, we didn't even notice the towels this day. What a shame. Oh, well, it was a wonderful day - night!

Christmas Storytelling Around the World

2011-07-12T13:10:00.000-06:00

I was wanting to add some great Christmas/Holiday tidbits from around the World, I guess it fits with the Christmas in July theme, right? Anyway, these are some of the things we learned and some I took from a website about Disney. It is hard to remember everything this long. Stink! I must be getting old.

*Canada: Well, it is pretty much the same as the U.S. Except some Canadians have le Pere Noel come instead of Santa Claus. Also, they have Boxing Day on the 26th, which is a day where you fill a box with presents and give it to a tradesman who has helped you through the year. They just had a storyteller share the story, he would use a few different props. He looked pretty cool and had snowshoes so Santa could make it to all the houses.

*United Kingdom: I have talked a bit about this one. Some things I learned are: "Deck the Halls" came from here, they are also the ones who started the tradition of sending Christmas cards, which I love, even if I am not great at it. Also, another fun one is kissing under the mistletoe. (woot-woot) And, Father Christmas wears not a hat, but a crown of holly.

*France: Of Course, le Pere Noel comes to France on Christmas Eve. He fills the children's shoes which are left around the tree. Also, most of the homes display a beautiful Nativity scene called, a creche. It is considered one of the most important symbols of Christmas to the French. Traditionally, candles are lit around the Creche and sometimes a Yule Log is burned. After midnight mass, a dinner is served called, le reveillon, where they serve things like; ham, goose, oysters, salads, cheese, and a dessert called, Buche de Noel, which is a cake in the shape of a Yule Log. YUM! (This dinner is also a tradition in some parts of Canada).

*Morocco: Taarji tells us stories of Ramaddan, which celebrates the month in which Allah revealed the Quran. Something that is celebrated in Morocco is called, Ashura. Families join together and have a feast after sunset, then the children are given gifts, toys, sweets, and often a special drum called a taarija. Then, the children build bonfires and dance and sing around them all through the night.

(Thanks to M. Bachland for these and other pics).

*Japan: "O Shogatsu, a Daruma doll street vendor, tells the story of a Japanese New Years tradition observed by some Japanese. The Daruma doll is a symbol of perseverance and good luck in Japan. As part of New Year's celebration, Daruma dolls are given as a gift of encouragement. The doll does not have eyes painted on it. When the holder of the Daruma doll commits to attain a goal or a big task, one eye is painted. The other eye is painted only when the goal is achieved or the task accomplished. So, the Daruma doll serves as both a reminder and a source of encouragement." We actually didn't get to see much of this one, this explanation was taken from allears. Sounds like a good idea though, right?

*AMERICA: America showcased Santa Claus, where there was a simple line for people to stand in and sit on Santa's lap. It was a LONG line, we didn't jump in. Also, they told about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. I have to say I wish Disney would have showcased Santa more, they could have had a storyteller or Santa could have told us his story. Why not an elf with Rudolph. But, come on, we need to remember our MAIN, most IMPORTANT reason for Christmas, why not talk about that. Disney sometimes tries to be to pc to everyone but Christian Americans. I guess, it's a good thing they do the Candlelight Processional, at least.

-Kwanzaa: African American harvest and festival, started in 1960's to instill pride in African roots and to bring it's people closer together. It's devoted to 7 principles; unity, self-determination, collective work & responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Although it was started in America, it is celebrated throughout the world now.

-Chanukah/Hanukkah: The Maccabees fought and defeated Syria liberating Jerusalem. Heading into the central synogogue, the Maccabees found that it had been desecrated with dead pig's and pig's blood. The sacred Torah rolls had been burned. The holy oil, used for the eternal flame, had been tipped over and spilled. However, there was one bottle found, enough to light the eternal flame for one day. There were 8 days needed before they could get more oil, somehow the small bottle of found oil lasted and burned the entire 8 days. Here is where the celebration began. The celebration begins on the night of the 25th and goes for 8 days. One candle is lit on a menorah for 8 days. They also have the dreidel to help children tell the story. We got to play with a giant dreidel. I wonder where the blue and white colors come from.

*Italy: I have talked a little about this one - La Befana. She was darling. Here is her story: La Befana was a poor, old woman who lived at the time of Christ's birth. She was visited by the 3 Wisemen and asked to go with them to find Jesus. She declined. The shepherds came as well, they also invited her and she declined to them as well. Finally, she decided to go look for him herself. So, she gathered up an old doll to take with her. She searched but could never find him. So, to this day, she visits children's houses searching for him and leaves gifts as she goes. She would bring the gifts on January 6h and place them in the children's shoes. La Befana has been overshadowed now by Babbo Natale, Father Christmas, who brings presents.

*Germany: One of the absolute BEST things we got from Germany is O Tannenbaum - the Christmas Tree. One day Martin Luther was walking through the forest and was overcome by the sparkling starlight on the fir trees. As the light shone around him, he was reminded of the star that shone the night the Chriskindl (Christ child) was born. He wanted to share this magic with his children, so he chopped down a tree and took it home. Then, he put on candles and lit them. German parents secretly decorate the fir tree with candles, nuts, baubles, and twinkling lights. A bell is rung and the children race to the tree to open presents and find them on the tree. Helga was the storyteller here and she told us this story, as well as one about the Nutrcracker and told us about the Advent Calendar and how it was invented in Germany.

*China: "The story of Sun hou-kong, the Monkey King, is an ancient Chinese legend that tells an exciting tale of redemption and enlightenment. Sun hou-kong, a monkey raised by humans, became the Monkey King when he single-handedly defeated a horrific monster in his homeland. Afterwards, the Monkey King acquired incredible powers when he cleverly uprooted a magic stick guarded by the Dragon King. With this magic stick and the ability to do just about anything, the Monkey King started to look for adventure and mischief. Buddha was not pleased with this abuse of power and decided to seal the Monkey King inside a mountain for eternity. The Monkey King quickly realized the error of his ways! Fortunately, a monk named Thang Seng believed in the Monkey King's redemption and asked Buddha to release him. The Monkey King proved to be a loyal comrade to Thang Seng. Like many holiday legends, this heartfelt story sends and important message of hope." This is another one that we didn't get to, so thanks again to allears.

*Norway: On Christmas Eve, farm animals are traditionally treated to the finest oats and barley. Birds are also given treats. Then, in the evening all the lights are put out and the houses are lit by warm candlelight alone. An elf-like gnome, Julenissen, lives in barns and the woods all over the country-side. He is the guardian over each home's welfare, so on Christmas Eve the children leave steaming bowls of porridge in the hayloft to thank him. He is also a tease and if you don't believe in him, then he will punish you. On Christmas day, many attend church and then spend it quietly at home with family. On Second Christmas day, the children go door to door to receive gifts and treats. Oh, and they dress up. (Halloween?, hmmm - I guess I will have to go to Norway and check it out.)

*Mexico: La Navidad is what it is called here. Mexican families recreate the journey of Mary and Joseph to find the inn. They dress up as the Holy family and visit neighbors as part of beautiful candlelight processions. They do this for nine nights. Nacimientos - beautifully carved nativities are placed in their homes. On January 6, the 3 Kings arrived in Bethlehem bringing gifts to baby Jesus. So, the evening before, children leave their shoes at the doorstep for Dia de los Tres Reyes (3 Kings Day). When children wake the next morning, they find their shoes filled & surrounded with treats and gifts.

You can see there is a LOT to learn just at these stories. I am so glad we got to go and listen to them. I am fairly sure we will never go during the Holiday season again, so I was determined to get most of these in. Hope you enjoyed them!

Magic Kingdom - O.E.A. Day 7

2011-05-31T12:08:00.000-06:00

So, a lot has happened in my life the last couple months that I really want to blog about. However, I want to turn this blog into a book, thus satisfying my intense need for journaling so I am sticking to vacation until it is officially documented. Will I add in Christmas and the holidays in between? Doubtful, but we'll see. :)

Here goes the next day of our wonderfully awesome vacation. Glad we got it in before disaster struck!

We woke up on Monday to freezing cold wind and rain. It was hands down the coldest day we spent in Florida. This is also the day we decided not to take the cars. It is faster to go from Ft. Wilderness to MK by ferry than to drive to the Ticket and Transportation Center and then shuttle to MK. There is no parking by the MK so you have to park at the TTC. Anyway, I thought the ferry sounded like a new adventure - I was ready! We caught a bus to get to the other end of Ft. Wilderness, have I mentioned it is very large?

I should also mention that Ryan left us on this day. He says it is because he had a job interview in SLC, but I think he just needed a break. We can be a lot to handle. Anyway, we missed him the rest of the trip - I think Sara missed him most. But, we were all glad Sara was there to help us out.

Jainie, Jaxon, Josh and Grandpa are just excited to be out of the biting wind and onto the bus!

Josie, Grandma and Sara need to have a bit more excitement - well Jos is doing great!

Right before we got to the pier there was another Christmas tree - isn't it great! Dad and Joshi are enjoying it or do they just like their picture taken?

Jainie is just starting to realize that it might be colder than she anticipated - but she looks so darn cute!

We finally made it to the pier and it was even colder there than anywhere else. The wind whipping off the water was frigid! I think Josie is under the blanket Jaxon is holding. I guess the plus of this weather was that it was good family bonding - the closer together, the warmer you were. :)

At this point the boys decided it would be warmer to lay down on the dock - and I think it probably was. They enjoyed themselves for a few minutes, at least.

You can see we are all wrapped up. We bought extra stuff and wore every warm thing we packed. Yes, Sara is a bit of a pansy. :)

So, this is looking back at our beach - see all those wonderful chairs up on the beach? Those were the chairs I should have been able to sit and relax in. Oh well, there is always next year, right sweetie?

Finally made it onto the ferry - you can see Jainie changed her fancy beret for Dad's un-girly beanie. To make a fashion faux pas like that, it must be cold.

Our first view of the MK, you can see the train station above the dock! We made it!!!

First to-do list of the day was to make Jake feel special. He had been having a rough vacation and needed some extra loving care. He is usually such a darling, easy-going, carefree boy but he was definitely needing some attention. So, after entering the magic gates, he and I rushed to get a birthday phone call from Goofy.

He loved his special call - he thought it was pretty cool.

Jake and I had run ahead and left everyone else, we were going to meet them at Dumbo. So, I got to get this sweet picture of him with the castle and not a million people milling about. You can see he is feeling better at this point. Such a cutie pie.

We always go to Dumbo first. I read once in a book that it is the slowest loading ride at Disney so we head there first thing and ride it so we can forget about it for the rest of the day. Plus, the little kids love it and the older kids can handle being annoyed much more easily than the little kids can. :)

I am thinking Josie must have been able to go by herself - she is the age that it would be cool to go on your own.

Dad and Jainie got to go on purple - hooray!!!

Joshua got to go with Grandpa on blue - yes color is still a big deal for us.

And, I went with Jake on this one - teal? perhaps. I remember Grandma, Sara and Jaxon had stopped to shop for something and didn't make it on the ride. I don't think any of them minded too much. The rest of us thoroughly enjoyed a good whirl on Dumbo.

So there was this big blue wall that you couldn't see over when walking around. Something new coming to the MK, so when we got on Dumbo, I decided to see what I could see. This was it. A bunch of construction, no wonder they cover it up, huh? Anyway, it is rumored to be a new ride, "Ariel's Undersea Adventure." It is supposed to be a huge dark ride/adventure. Sounds interesting - not opening until early 2012. Plan accordingly.

This is a shot from Dumbo as well. It is the Pinocchio inspired eating place that we stopped and got some fries at a bit later. Isn't it darling?

Jainie was dying to get on Cinderella's Golden Carousel and Jake was getting ornery so while we went to find some food, Dad took Jainie on her favorite MK ride. None of the other kids cared to go on it, which should tell you how cold it was, it is usually one of our traditions. Why can't the weather just cooperate?

This is inside the Pinocchio eating spot. You can see we are still quite wrapped up. We stayed in for at least a half an hour enjoying warm french fries and some tasty chocolate milk. Normally, we wouldn't waste this much time. (I really didn't want to even now - good thing I can now think of the kids, occasionally :)).

So, we went to Peter Pan's Flight, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Snow White's Scary Adventures, and then headed to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This ride is so much busier at DWorld than DLand. They are pretty much the same ride except the queue in DWorld is much more fun and interactive. It is also a much longer wait in line, which is the stinky part. However, sometimes I think the best memories are made when the kids have to interact and entertain each other. Here you can see that Jaxon has cracked Jainie up. He really can be very witty and funny.

I should also mention that we went on "It's a Small World," which is one of my absolute favorite rides. Disneyland's is far better, however, since they have renovated it. DWorld hasn't done that yet but it was fun to see it the way it used to be at Dland.

Jake had had enough of Fantasyland. He had been wanting to go on a big ride since we walked in the park. He is definitely a thrill seeker, worrisome to me, what will it take to get him excited in the future? Anyway, he finally sat down and refused to go on anymore rides. He did miss a few. So, Grandma took him aside and they just sat and watched people walking past. They did finally catch up and go on the Winnie the Pooh ride with us. He likes them once he is on them, but those lines just do him in.

We had lunch reservations at around 2:00 so we didn't have much more time to do things before then. I really wanted to get to the Hall of President's so we decided to walk around the back way of Liberty Square. The line didn't look very long for The Haunted Mansion, so we took advantage and headed in there. I love the HM, every time we go to Dland, it is decorated for Halloween and Christmas as Nightmare before Christmas. I like the original HM better, so it was fun to go and see it here - normal, just like I remember it growing up. And, it is always a pleaser for the kids. Jainie was a bit nervous though.

Oh scary! Josie got this picture, I have to admit I didn't pull the camera out here. It really was so cold this day, we didn't take nearly as many pictures.

So, this is a picture of one of my FAVORITE spots in the MK. I remembered this sitting area from when we came here when I was much younger. In fact, this is in Liberty Square right outside of a shop and by the HM, however, growing up I got it confused with Dland and I spend many trips to Dland looking for this spot. I don't remember why it held such allure for me, but it did. It is just so peaceful and welcoming and I love big porches to sit outside on. This actual picture was much later at night when we came around this way again, but I felt it fit better at this point. You'll notice everyone is a bit happier, the later it got, the less the wind blew, which made it a bit nicer actually. Man! I have a darling family - how can one girl be so lucky?

I really wanted to get to The Hall of Presidents this trip. Dland doesn't have this exact attraction and I really want my children to be patriotic and appreciate this land that we live in. However, the next show didn't start for a little bit, so we waited outside, well, some of us chose to shop instead, but others just elected to wait. Here Jake is all wrapped up in our new Dworld blanket enjoying a little rest. Good thing they keep Disney so clean!

Ah! how I love Cinderella's castle. Isn't it magnificent? This is the view we got of it after coming around the corner of Hall of Presidents to the Crystal Palace where we were having lunch. There was actually a show going on you can kind of see. It was fun to watch, even from a distance.

Josie, Sara, and Jake enjoying the show as we are waiting to get into the restaurant.

We are finally seated - hooray! This is a character dining experience that is also buffet style. They serve things like waffles, pancakes, fresh fruit, prime rib, mussels, vegetables, pasta, shrimp, chicken and an ice-cream sundae bar. I have no idea what I ate here, I honestly can't remember. I do remember loving their lemon bars! It was fun to see the characters but more fun to see Jake and his excitement to see them.

Yay! happy again. This is Jake's special lunch - all about him. He was thrilled. And, although I was a bit nervous about eating with Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and Piglet - I thought he might think they were too young for him - luckily, he LOVED IT! In fact, Piglet came to our table and gave Joshi a big hug first and Jake was furious. He kept insisting it was his special day. Piglet did a good job of making him feel better by signing Jake's book backwards and behind his head. Boy, Jake was acting a bit spoiled!

Josie would have gotten in more of these pictures but she was kind of stuck behind the table. Isn't this the sweetest though? The kids were all happy to be getting warm and their bellies full.

Josh and his big hug from Piglet. I have to admit I love seeing Joshi acting like a normal, cute 9-year old. He is usually too mature for his age. He is such a sweet boy!

After Jake has forgiven Piglet and starts following him around giving him hugs. Jainie was just happy they were both pink!

Jake and Jainie still LOVING the characters. Josh was enjoying taking it all in. I think Josie was a bit sad that she felt she was getting too old for this. It is a hard time trying to decide if you are still young enough or should be growing up and being cool. Either way, I am glad she would get in the picture - she is still my little girl.

I made Jared get a pic with Eeyore - since that is who he is like. And, Jaxon consented to getting in too since he is quickly becoming just like his dad.

Oh Tigger, how I wish I had your energy!

Jacob enjoying his cupcake - he ate the whole thing in about 3 bites. He has quite a large mouth. :) I am just glad something made him happy and important-feeling.

Jaxon and Sara ready to go fight the elements. There all all sorts of darling characters made of flowers - they were pretty awesome!

After eating, we decided it was time to head over to Big Thunder. Grandma and Jainie opted to not go on it, but met us at the exit. What a ride! Still one of my favorites! Everyone in the fam loves this one - except Gma and Jainie.

After this it gets a bit blurry as to what we did. I know none of us went on Splash Mtn. Boo - I would have gone, and I think Gpa would have, but no one else. It was too chilly. I think we headed over to Space Mtn., Buzz Lightyear, Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, and Stitch's Great Escape. However, Jainie fell asleep so Gma and I took turns staying out with her.

I don't know how you could sleep in a place like this?

We also went on the Tomorrowland Speedway. Josie is finally tall enough to go by herself - YAY!!!

Jainie, Jake, and Sara take a spin on the teacups. Uncle Ry will go with the kids too and Sara had her job cut out for her without him around. :)

Jainie coming off the teacups - she and Jake LOVED it and wanted to go again.

We hadn't been on Pirates yet, which is a must so we headed that way and ran right into the Mainstreet Electrical Parade. I love this parade and haven't seen it since I was little so it was fun to see a few floats. Jainie liked it best, everyone else was ready to go on rides. This one is Pete and his dragon, Eliot. Ah, what a good movie. He really is up there very high - fun to see, you never see him anymore.

Jainie waving to the princesses. I had her hoisted up on my shoulder so she could see above the masses of freezing cold people.

Joshi is so cute when his dad is teasing him. He was so excited to get over to Big Thunder and Pirates. He is usually pretty happy with whatever we are doing.

So, we decided to take a detour and go back to Big Thunder, one of our absolute favorite rides. Jake was crazy excited - as you can tell. He rode with Sara. Dad rode with Joshi. Jaxon rode with Josie and I rode with Jainie. Jainie hadn't ever been on this ride but Gpa and Gma had gone back to the hotel because of the cold and all of us wanted to go. I really thought she would like it if she tried it out. You can see this theory worked with the rest of the kids!

So, now you can tell how much Jainie liked this ride. :) Makes me smile every time. Is that bad? Anyway, Jared felt bad for her (good thing he is so compassionate) and decided to take her into the store to look around while the rest of us went on it again. She just wanted to sit and pout but Jared started throwing these hats on her and taking pictures. You can see it didn't take long for her to perk up. I wish I could change my moods so easily.

(These are the ears she ended up with.)

And, then she found Minnie. Ah, we were back to normal. All it takes is some fancy hats, toys and a lot of posing. What else could a girl want? (Well, she would also take shoes or fingernail polish and candy! ).

After this we headed over to Pirates and the Tiki Room, which we never get to go to. We are always to busy. In fact, Jake forgot his gloves on Big Thunder so the boys headed over to find them and we girls stayed in the Tiki Room for a second showing. It was nice and warm inside plus NO ONE else was in there so the host showed us some hidden Mickey's and told us some things to look for. It was great! I think the boys enjoyed it too. (There was literally very few people in the park during the night - yes, it was cold, but come on, how many times do you get to go to DWorld and have NO lines? If it weren't for my kids, I would have stayed all night. I think we left around 11:00 - it didn't close til midnight).

Growing up I remember many times splitting up and then all of us would meet at The Country Bear Jamboree for lunch and a show out of the hot sun. Well, as everyone knows, Disneyland did away with TCBJamboree and now it is where Pooh's ride is. I still miss it. Yes, I know it is corny and silly, but I am a sucker for tradition and memories. So, I forced everyone to go to the show. Still think it's pretty great. I think the kids liked it too, they do like the movie.

So, this is the view we got on our way back to Main Street. Isn't is wonderful?

I just love this castle. It was so tempting, in fact, that we girls decided to run back to it to see if a shop was open, which it wasn't. Oh well, it was fun to say good-bye.

So, these are the pics we got inside the castle. They have these awesome murals. We decided Josie and Jainie would have to be by Cinderella - they fit here so well.

While Sara and I fit so well with the stepsisters - haha - if you could see them, you would notice they have facial expressions exactly like ours. :)

I have no idea where the boys went during this time. I think they might have gone back to Space Mtn. or something. I wanted a few minutes to wander through the shops on Main Street. I always love wandering through them all and we just never have enough time.

I had read about this phone, but couldn't remember where it was, but luckily we found it. It is a replica of the olden days and it is a party line, so you just pick it up and listen and hear these two crazy women talking on it. It is pretty funny. The boys actually found us in this store so they got to enjoy it as well. (Jared has a knack for finding me - we were in the very back corner of a store that sold ? I have no idea, but he still found us. Weird. When I try to find him, I can't find him if he is 2 feet away from me. I guess this says something about how hard I look for things, right?)

So, good-bye to Magic Kingdom - it has been a great day! Wish I lived here. Someday? Until then, I will dream of you often.

This was our towel surprise when we got home to our cabin - it is a crocodile, if you are wondering. I think it is easy to tell, my kids don't. Pretty creative.

And, this is how our maid set up Jaxon's cougar for the night. She also knew we had a birthday so left us all of those fun toys and stickers, isn't that great? I love DISNEY!!!

Feeling Spoiled - Epcot - Day 6 - O.E.A.

2011-04-25T13:42:00.000-06:00

Sunday - my favorite day of the week. This day is the reason we broke down and rented cars - much more convenient, but more money and stress - especially for Jared. :) Anyway, we took a lazy morning, woke up, ate breakfast and got ready to go to church. We had looked up where the closest church was and were excited to attend in Florida. (I think it is a fun tradition to go to church wherever you are on vacation. It is such a testimony builder to know that no matter where you go there are good, strong people who keep the faith and live the gospel.) I didn't get any pictures of the church, which is unusual, usually I do pretty well with that. Anyway, it was December 12 and the ward we attended was having their Primary Program! Crazy! I was surprised it was so late in the year - but it was perfect for the kids and for me too. It was so different from what I have seen before. Each child had a speaking part, as well as a singing part, either individual, in a small group, or with their family. It was pretty fun. The pianist played throughout as well, really did not stop, not through the talks or anything. The program did go long, but I think everyone enjoyed it anyway. It was amazing to me that we had just been to the Candlelight Processional the day before in Epcot; and, attending sacrament meeting was so much better - more spiritual, much more testimony building, more uplifting, etc. Don't get me wrong, the C.P. was wonderful - but this was so much better. Another interesting thing was that there were so many different ethnicities in that ward - I think caucasians were the minority - that surprised me - I didn't know Florida was so diverse. There were some Christmas songs, and all the program songs. Anyway, it was awesome.

The other interesting thing that happened at church was that we sat right across from a woman my mom thought she recognized and later realized was her cousin. Funny, right? She lives in Celebration, FL - the town Disney built and this was her home ward. Grandma didn't recall that her cousin lived in Florida. It really is such a small world.

Jainie pretending to be asleep on our ride back to the cabins.

Anyway, after we finished church, we went back to our cabins to change our clothes. I liked this as well, because it was the only day that we were at our cabins in the middle of the day. It was nice to enjoy the woods a bit before running off. When we are vacationing on Sunday's, we always go to church and we continue to use the day as a vacation day to explore, learn things, etc. But, we try not to shop - this is one reason we went to Epcot - not as many exciting rides, but more learning about things. Not perfect, I realize, but it seems to work for us. I guess everyone has to decide what works for them and feel at peace with it.

The sign that would always welcome us home.

You'll notice that Grandma and the kids were ready to head over to the parks first. I was busy trying to clean up a bit, I have no idea what everyone else was doing.

This is in front of our cabin - the open door led into the kitchen area while the other door led into the bedroom. There was another pull-down bed in the family room. I still wish we would have had more time to explore the area. Jaxon really wanted to try out the basketball court, but we never got over there either. I guess it's a good excuse to go back! Jake is getting tired of waiting - and just getting tired. (Notice how beautiful the weather is).

Yeah! The happiest place on Earth!

By the time we got to Epcot, it was POURING! Not Utah pouring, but Florida pouring. And, the wind was horrendous - it was whipping doors to their widest point and banging them, it was pulling papers and garbage out of open trunks, etc. It was crazy. We opted to sit in the car for a minute to see if it would settle down. When the wind slowed for a minute, we jumped out, all put on our rain jackets, got everyone all wrapped up and headed for the entrance. Gpa, Gma, Ry, Sar, and Jaxon hadn't come at the same time as us, they weren't quite ready by the time we left. So, Jared and I were taking the kids into the park, when I remembered I had forgotten a bag we needed in the car. So, Jared ran back to get it with Josh. Meanwhile, I took Jainie, Josie and Jake into one of the Innoventions buildings - then, I remembered we would need a stroller so I left Josie with the other 2 yea-hoos and ran to the stroller rental place, thinking it would be quick. Of course, it wasn't. (Crazy, right. The things you do on vacations - sometimes I don't think I have a brain - probably it is just been all used up by day 2 :)). Anyway, they were fine and we all met back together. By that time, Gma called wondering where we were. We were supposed to meet at the UK for Fish & Chips. They had beat us there - goes to show how much longer everything takes with kids.

So, by the time we were eating our lunch, the other group was finished. They decided to go off exploring - I think this is when they checked out the U.K. Actually, I think this is when Jaxon and Gma bought my Christmas present - which I love - a beautiful necklace from Ireland.

Jared and I LOVED these Fish and Chips from the U.K. If anyone knows how to make them like this, I would love to know! MMMM - hope you're not hungry!

So, Josh is showing what the Fish & Chips come in. Just like newspaper, cool right? Anyway, I thought this was the perfect weather for this day. I told the kids that Britain was trying to make us feel just like we were really in Britain. It rains all the time there, right? And, it was overcast and kind of cloudy - wonderful - not pouring, just drizzling.

There were also some seagulls flying around us trying to get us to feed them, which we did, but just a little.

Heading into the U.K. Sara and I had just bought our matching beanies, I later gave mine to Josh because he decided it was the one he wanted. I love this place! The Fish & Chips place is right behind us. You can tell it's a bit chilly. I used the big green poncho because it would go over the camera bag I was carrying on my back, and keep it dry. I am sure I looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but we are in Disney, right?

While the rest of us met characters, Ry, Jake, and Gpa hung out by the cute U.K. houses.

We got to meet so many beautiful princesses on this day. I consider Mary Poppins a princess - I love her, she is one of my favorite characters. When we went into the U.K., we found her and Tigger and Pooh. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries so the rest of the day we had to use Grandma's and Josie's. Thank goodness Josie got one for her birthday a couple days before. Anyway, Mary was very nice, of course, and told the kids to eat their vegetables. I like her dress and hat. I could be her when I get my job at Disney. :)

We also met Alice in the U.K. Jainie has always loved Alice and has an Alice dress, too bad it is a size 3 and she is 5. That is what she told Alice. So, Alice told her she better buy a new one! I guess she lives in a daydream world. :) Jake didn't care to meet Alice - too bad the Mad Hatter wasn't there, then he would have gone.

After leaving the U.K., we headed into France. France was beautiful, loved the Eiffel Tower replica. They have a delicious pastry shop here, but we didn't stop to get anything this time. Actually, on our 3rd day here, while the kids busy for a minute, we actually stopped and got chocolate crepes, which were divine, of course. We did go to the attraction here, which is a movie "Impressions de France." I thought it was beautiful, unfortunately it doesn't have any labels of what you are seeing, so if you don't know, you end up with a mystery. It is very relaxing, hopefully you aren't sleepy when you view it. :) Just to note, Gma thought it was quite boring, as did Jake.

After coming out of the movie in France, there is a little shopping area where the Kidcot stop was, this was the woman working there. It was fun to have one of them sign our books with something in their own language. They were very nice as well. It was fun to visit with them.

Josie and Jainie bought these adorable berets in France - I think they both look so cute in them. They are made of 100% wool, so they could only wear them when it was cold, not rainy. I think this is looking back into France.

So, Jaxon is modeling here with a pretty cool camel in Morocco. One of my favorite parts of Morocco is the tile decorated archways (background). I also love the stucco work here. It is really a beautiful pavilion - there isn't an attraction or movie, which I think is too bad. I think it would be good for us to learn more about these people and their culture. So, we enjoyed walking through their little part of DW. They do have a restaurant which I have been to before - it has a great belly dancer, one I didn't want my boys to see. :)

So, this was the nice lady who signed our books here. She didn't speak much English but kept mentioning how beautiful Jainie and Josie were. She wouldn't look at the camera, hopefully she was okay with me taking her picture. You'd think she would be used to it, it is Disney World.

So, at this point, it was time for our reservations. We had two options on this day. I knew Josie and Jainie would want a princess dinner and Norway has one. I didn't think the boys would like it however. And, Jared LOVES sushi - I know, go figure. He learned to love it on his mission - his mission was in Tennessee. Weird. Anyway, I thought the boys would really like this too - where the chefs cook right in front of you and do their knife tricks. And, we hadn't tried either place, which was a bonus. So, everyone chose for themselves.

It turned out that Jared, Jaxon, Josh, Ryan, and Sara went to Japan to Teppan Edo. I, obviously, wasn't there so I can't give it a full review. And, the other four are probably the worst ones for giving me reviews. I know they said it was good. Jaxon got an awesome video of Josh trying sushi. Josh is the pickiest eater we have and in the video he starts gagging and about loses it, I am impressed that he tried it - very unlike him. I think Jaxon thought it was alright - the sushi. (I have to say I am just glad that Jared took a picture, as per his instructions. We gave him Josie's camera to use and we used Gma's).

I am so glad someone took this picture, I am guessing Sara, of the boys outside of Japan. I think it was fun to break up for a minute, let these guys enjoy for a bit on their own.

So, the rest of us headed to Norway. I am not sure why Gpa and Jake wanted to go to Norway. I think Gpa doesn't particularly like sushi and Norway is all you can eat - you can get your money's worth there. I think Jake is still young enough to enjoy the princesses and I like to think he really likes his mom! :)

As I have mentioned, just because you have a reservation doesn't assure you on-time entry. So, while we waited to get into our dinner, Jake, Jainie, Josie and Gma listened to the "Holiday" story in Norway. We had heard it the day before, it is pretty entertaining. It is about their "Santa Claus," a gnome called Julesnissen. Families will leave rice porridge out for him to keep on his good side. He likes to play tricks on people, especially those who don't believe, which is where this cute lady comes in. She doesn't believe and so Julesnissen comes to teach her a lesson. He chooses someone from the audience to tease her with a bell. Jake was hoping he would get chosen and this time he did. It was pretty funny - this is his ideal role - thinking he is getting away with something. (I am thinking someone probably filmed all of these stories and they are probably on youtube, that would be interesting.)

Anyway, as soon as the story was over it was our turn to be seated. First off, we went in and met Belle, she was the main princess of the castle - at least for us. She was wonderful and Jainie loved that she looked just like her.

The only thing Jainie didn't like was that Belle's dress was "poofier" than hers and that she had to wear a shirt under hers AND that her hair didn't look as pretty because of the rain. I think she looks adorable! She decided to keep her beret on because Josie told her it was from France, which is where Belle is from. :)

So, to start off, there was a "princess parade," where, depending on which room you were seated in, would determine which princess you would follow. And, then you would follow them throughout the castle walking to show everyone else how beautiful/handsome you were. Our princess was Sleeping Beauty/Aurora, which Josie loved. She is still Josie's favorite princess. Then, they would take turns coming to your table to visit and for pictures and autographs.

Cinderella was Jake's favorite, I am not sure why. Apparently, we were lucky to see Cinderella because she usually just stays in her castle at the M.K.

Jake was hiding under the table at this point, he had had enough of the princesses. Jainie was super excited to meet Ariel because she has always been Jainie's favorite. However, as you can tell, she did NOT enjoy her as much as she thought she would. Ariel was very outgoing and non-stop talking. Jainie couldn't get a word in. And, she called her, "Jainie, the jubilant jumping jellyfish," which Jainie took as a HUGE insult! Not sure why.

(I decided California must have prettier girls).

I think our waitress was the prettiest princess that we saw. She was really from Norway, her name was Linda - or that is what she went by anyway.

So, on to the food, like I mentioned it was buffet but a bit different. It had a koldtbord, which is a cold buffet of cheeses, meats, rolls, fish and salads. You could get as much of this as you wanted. It was pretty good, I tried the herring and cold salmon. Man, I was adventurous! Then, you would order something hot from the kitchen. You could order more than one if you wanted, but only 1 at a time. And, they didn't make it too well known that you could order more than one. I ordered the traditional Kjottkake - ground beef and pork dumplings served with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and lingonberry sauce. It was okay. (They had a grilled venison sandwich with sausage, this is what I am sure the boys would have ordered - we could probably make that here :)). Jainie and Jake both choose meatballs with mickey-shaped cheese ravioli. This was Jainie's birthday lunch, so we sang to her and she got a yummy cupcake for dessert.

Unfortunately, everything is a bit hazy after this. I know the first thing we did was that we decided we had better head back over to Future World, since it closes before the World Showcase to explore a bit over there. Jaxon had to write a report for school and I thought it would be awesome if it were on manatees, because I have always loved them, so we headed to "The Living Seas."

Here, you can see we are waiting for the Japan people while getting some great fish face pics outside of "Nemo and Friends," which is the entrace into the Living Seas. We all loved the song to the attraction, "Big Blue World." We looked around for a bit and saw the cool aquarium creatures for a little bit before it closed up. We did miss "Turtle Talk with Crush," which is great, but we have seen it every time we go to Dland so we were okay.

We ran to the "big ball" to go on "Spaceship Earth" next. I love this ride, too bad the line always seems so long. This is one of Jainie's absolute FAVORITE rides, this and "Soarin." They have updated it since the last time I was here. You get to go to the top of the ball, watching about how communication has evolved. Jainie has 2 favorite parts, the first is when she sees "the guy on the bunk bed painting on his ceiling" - Michelangelo - Sistine Chapel. And, then, when you start going down from the ball, there are strings of white lights strung up to look like stars, "I love the part where you go on your back and look at the sky and see all the pretty stars". Works for Jainie. Anyway, then, a computer in your seat takes your picture and you answer questions and it decides things about your future for you. Pretty great. At the end of the ride, there are various kiosks to play at. One of our favorites was one where you would drop the body parts into a body in the right spot - all computer animated, of course. I could not get the kids to leave this area, and by kids, I am including my dad, Jared, Ryan and Sara.

Ry and Jake

Dad and Josie with beret

Grandpa and Grandma

Jaxon and Jake

Mom and Jainie

Jainie and Sara

After this we headed over to the "Imagination Pavilion," which I really think is fun. We got to go on the "Journey into the Imagination with Figment"Oh,ride which I still think is fun. We didn't have to wait at all, in fact, we may have been the only ones there. It was really close to closing time. Plus, I found one of my favorite shops here, right outside the exit. We did miss the "Michael Jackson, Captain E.O." film that I wanted to see. I haven't seen that forever!

Since Future World was now closed, we headed back to World Showcase and actually enjoyed the Canadian pavilion a bit more. It really is a fun pavilion - beautiful waterfalls and rock cliffs and gardens.

Oh, and a few cool totem poles and these ?, I don't know what they are called, good thing I took a picture. :) Anyway, we finally found the time to go into the movie in Canada. Hands down, my favorite movie at Epcot. It has changed since I was here last and now Martin Short narrates it. He is too funny. Plus, it has wonderful landscapes and fascinating people and places. "O Canada!" is what is it called and I remember seeing it as a child and have always loved singing the first couple lines of the song, "O Canada" - it is a great song. The kids all liked the movie too, no one even fell asleep, and it had been a long day, it even got a few chuckles from the kiddos. Needless to say, I really like our neighbors to the north and I wouldn't mind visiting again sometime. (the real Canada, but DW Canada is great too!) But, probably not until summer, when it's warmer - probably not this summer.

After coming out of the movie, it was time to head out, we watched a bit of Illuminations again as we were leaving. Time to go to bed. And, it was getting COLD!

This was our towel pet when we got home, laying on top of Josie's beloved blankie. Pretty cool towel snake, eh?