We're back!

This is the year we decided to finally take a vacation somewhere other than Washington. We had been promising the kids for a couple of years that we would one day go to disneyland. In January we thought this is the year. So plans were made(before I knew I was pregnant),quarters started being earned for souveniers,and a paper chain count down was made. Before I knew it April was here and luckily I was feeling better-tired but better. We drove down and endured a millions "are we there yet?" and started a crazy and busy week. We had so much fun! The kids loved going from ride to ride and luckily we never waited more than 15 mins. Ethan started out going on everything but then decide some rides were just too scary. Jocelyn did the same thing. On the first day she rode everything even splash mountain, but by the second day she started asking "Is it dark?" and "Will I get wet?". She was still a good sport and really liked A bugs land. She especially loved the princess lunch just the two of us had. She was able to meet quite a few Princesses. Jake rode everything except for the big california screamin. He really liked the tower of terror and the pirates rides. Riley just loved everything. There was actually a lot that he could go on. I think nemos submarine and the buzz rides were his fav. He was the most animated on those. The kids loved picking out their souveniers. They had worked long and hard doing chores to collect quarters and it paid off. They each had 40 bucks! Ethan bought legos, Jake bought a star wars gun and legos. Jocelyn of course picked out jewelry and Riley of course got buzz lightyear stuff. One of the best things was that as part of their Year of Dreams at Disney land we won an hour at the park after it closed to ride any of the rides we wanted. This part was unforgettable for the kids-no lines . We rode the carosel 3 times in a row because Jocelyn kept seeing a different sea creature she just had to ride. Ben got to ride cal screamin 3 xs without a wait also. So us and a few other chosen were let loose to ride the rides with no wait.Needless to say we were disneyed out by friday so most of the day was spent at Huntington beach and then back to Disneyland for the fireworks. I am so glad we decided to go to Disneyland. It was crazy,a lot of work but so much fun! and now to still hear the kids talk about it is just priceless. They have already talked about next time. Not for a while and definately not when I'm pregnant!

Happy Happy Birthday!

What a day! I can't believe Ethan is 9 years old! Ethan arrived home from school and was suprised by a large sign and balloons in the front yard. He was so excited to see that I was making his request of a space rocket cake come true (blue and red with a monkey or dog in the window) because everyone knows a monkey and dog were the first life forms sent into space. Only Ethan would want to be so specific and acurate. His love of science shows up in every part of his childhood.
He was so excited to recieve the book he requested-Fablehaven and since that was the only thing he said he wanted- I had to come up with somethingelse. A 9 year old shouldn't just get a book for thier Birthday. So after a trip to Toys R Us and searching the science section, I decided on the eye clopse. I'm so glad I got this toy. It is so cool! For those of you who do not know about this thing- it is like a microscope that hooks up to your tv and magnifies anything you can find onto the tv screen. We started out with stuffed animals and hair and Ethan tried my arm-Which is never allowed again for the finding was a very small mole made very big and ugly on our tv. Yuck! The best thing was a couple of spiders I found but Ethan caught. Jocelyn and I couldn't even watch the tv-two hairy legs were all you could see. It's been a lot of fun. He had a great day- his choice of dinner-Little Caesars pizza, renting his own movie,cake, and presents. The only thing missing was Ben who was at his annual ForeverGreen convention. We didn't see much of Ben that week. Ethan didn't seem to mind too much although he wants to go to the movies with Ben since "Dad missed my birthday and I missed him".

Unexpected Cuteness

Just really quick-the boys are coming home from school any minute and the world seems to stop for homework,snacks and piano practicing. So last night Ben was gone forever at young mens and finally at ten I decided to head to bed. So it fell upon me to turn off the computer and I'm so happy I did. This is what I found...

I had let Jocelyn play games at playhouse disney.com while I made dinner and at some point she used photo booth to do some modeling. It's time like these that I realize how smart a 3 year old can be and how incredibly cute kids are. I couldn't help but laugh and smile all the way to bed.