Disneyland Fun

Tyler on Dumbo.

Dad and Josh on Dumbo.

Grandma and Megan on Dumbo.

This trip we decided to do four days at Disneyland.  We went Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  It was a good thing we did so many days because for some reason the parks were super busy this trip.

Usually when we have gone this week in the past it has been pretty slow, but we think that a lot more people must have had their Spring Break that same week.  We will have to remember that for future visits.

With our passes we got to enter the park early on one day, so we decided to do that on Monday and went to California Adventure to go to Car's Land and ride the Radiator Springs ride,  let's just call it the Car's Ride.  Tony took Megan to ride the smaller rides while Grandma and I took the boys on Cars.  Josh hadn't gone on the ride before so we were excited to finally get him on the ride.  He liked most of it, but didn't like the drops.  We got a Baby Pass so Tony, Tyler, and I got to go again.
After riding some more of the rides in Car's Land we then went to other parts of the park.  My favorite ride in California Adventure is the Toy Story ride.  It is always so busy because it is fun for people of all ages.
We spent most the day in California Adventure and went over to Disneyland the last couple hours of the day.  We were able to go on a couple rides there before we decided to call it a day.

Josh waiting for mom to drive the car.

Tyler driving Grandma.

Tuesday we spent the whole day in Disneyland.  The first ride that Tyler wanted to ride was Splash Mountain.  Grandma and I took Tyler and Josh while Tony took Megan on Winnie The Pooh.  Josh really didn't want to go, but I told him he had to go at least once.  He didn't like the ride.  He got really scared on all the drops (even the really small ones).  My guess is that he doesn't like how it feels to his stomach.  The kid loves to be thrown up into the air and loves so many other rides, but doesn't like those sudden drops.

Wild Toads

Even when we went on Pirates he was so scared of the drops.  He was really nervous and held on to me tight the first time we went on the ride, but each time after that he wasn't as scared and realized that the drops weren't so bad - so I was glad about that.

Josh actually did better on most rides.  He didn't seem as scared of the dark rides this time like he did last time.  We brought a light with us this time for Josh to take on the dark rides to help him.  He used it on a couple rides but Josh really didn't need it and did fine the rest of the trip.

Josh waiting outside Indiana Jones.

After the rides we took pictures with Tigger, Eeyore, and Pooh.  Tony put Megan down and she went right to Tigger and gave him a big hug, it was so cute.  She was a little hesitant with Eeyore, but did hug him too, but wouldn't hug anyone else and just wanted to be held to see all the other characters.  She still liked them, but wanted to held.  Even Minnie who is her favorite.  We waiting a long time to see Minnie, but we figured we had to wait a long time to do anything so we might as well see Minnie when we could.  The kids loved playing in her house and Megan loved seeing Minnie.  So cute.  

Megan waiting outside Indiana Jones.

Thursday was Tyler's birthday.  I think that Tyler had a really good birthday at Disneyland.  What a spoiled and lucky kid.  He got a button that said it was his birthday and he loved all the extra attention he got from the cast members when they wished him a happy birthday.  He wanted to go on Splash Mountain first thing again, so Grandma took him there while Tony and I took Josh and Megan into Fantasy Land to go on Peter Pan.  After Peter Pan we got into line for Dumbo.  Grandma and Tyler were able to go on Splash Mountain twice before meeting us on Dumbo.  Tyler loves Splash Mountain!

This day we saw Mickey Mouse and then Megan and I watched a show while the others went on Space Mountain and Star Tours.  Tyler loved them both but Josh didn't like either.  He has a hard time with these new rides that move fast and have drops.  We hope with age, time, and repetition he will learn to like these big rides.

Mom and Megan outside Indiana Jones.

Friday was our last day of our trip.  We started at Disneyland and then went over to California Adventure for a couple hours after lunch.  The only ride Tyler wouldn't go on was The Tower of Terror.  We went back to Disneyland to make it for the parade.  Tyler was pretty tired and was glad to take a break waiting for the parade to start.  Josh loved the parade.  He kept telling me how much he liked it, I loved hearing that.  Megan liked seeing Mickey and Minnie but pretty much didn't care about anything else.

Tyler took a picture of Grandma and Me.

After the parade Tony, Tyler, and Megan went to build Tyler his light saber.  That is what he decided he wanted for his birthday present, but we told him he had to wait until Friday to make sure he didn't find anything else he wanted more.  He was so excited to get it, it's all he talked about until he finally got it.  Later Josh picked out a Buzz Lightyear toy that lights up and spins and Megan chose some soft princess toys.  We let each kid pick out one toy each at the end of each trip and the kids just love it.

We rode a couple more rides before calling it a night.  It was just so busy and crazy all over the park.  We looked through a couple shops before getting on the tram and going to the car.  We picked up some dinner on the way back to the hotel and enjoyed the rest of the night there.  The kids fell asleep pretty quickly and I took a pictures of Tyler and Josh snuggling with each other as they slept.  Such good brothers.  Tony and Margie went to the store, and I packed.  It was nice feeling all ready to go for the next day.

Josh and Tyler snuggling.

Saturday morning after breakfast we headed towards St. George where we stayed the night.  We visited Nana and Papa.  Papa wasn't feeling very good and ended up gong to the hospital that night.  It was sad to see him in a lot of pain.  Tony was able to go and give him a blessing, so that was something special.  He was able to go back to the rehab center that night, so that is good.  Sunday we headed home.  Josh still didn't want to come home, it is kind of sad that he doesn't ever want to come home.  That boy loves being on vacation and staying in hotels.  He's been one lucky boy.  We had such a great time and we are so thankful to Tony's parents for taking us on such a fun vacation.  Our kids will always remember their fun trips with Grandma and so will we!

Great Day At The Beach

Today we went to the beach and it was beautiful! We stopped and picked out some Disney shirts at Walmart and then got some lunch before we got to the beach.  We stopped at a shady Del Taco where you had to have a coin to use the bathroom that was located outside and around the back of the restaurant.  The food was good though.

The weather was just perfect!  Not too hot, but not cool at all.  Super sunny and perfect.  We all came back to the hotel with nice tans and maybe a little sun burnt in spots.  I had a nice sun spot on my leg where there must have been sand because it left a funny shaped tan line on my leg. 
The kids had so much fun playing in sand and water.  The water was really cold at first but we quickly adjusted and then enjoyed the coolness.  Everyone put on their swimsuits except me, which I regretted once I started playing in the water.  Tyler and Josh loved the water and kept running in and out of the small waves.  Megan played a little in the water, but I think that for the most part she thought it was too cold.
All the kids played for a long time in the sand.  Ocean sand is the best.  Megan liked sitting on the beach towel and playing in the sand right in front of her.  She kept walking all over the towels and got sand everywhere, but she had a marvelous time, so it was worth all the sand.

Josh and Tyler played in the sand a lot.  They loved playing with all the beach toys.  Josh enjoyed building a tunnel into the ocean water and then Josh and Grandma tried to build a sand castle, but it didn't really work and ended up just getting destroyed (probably by Megan).
After Megan got tired of playing in the sand she, Tony, and Margie played a little Frisbee.  It was pretty fun to watch them pass it back and forth and see Tony try to play while holding Megan.

After I had enough time sun bathing and getting my tan (slight burn, just for the next day) I went and played in the water a little bit more before we started to get ready to go back to the car and hotel.
Megan got pretty tired after about two hours and was ready to go and have a nap.  The boys really didn't want to leave at all.  The love the beach so much and really could have stayed all day.  I don't think there is one thing about the beach that they do not like. 

After we attempted to wash off the sand from all of us in the little showers that they have at the beach by the bathrooms, we came back to the hotel and all took showers.  It was nice to have all the sand off and feel nice and clean.
We were all super hungry so it was dinner time. After driving around a little bit, we ended up at Marie Callendars and the food was really good. The boys must have been really hungry because they ate really good and Megan...she picked at everything.  After dinner we came back to the hotel and put the kids to bed.  We then did some laundry (luckily the machines were on the same floor as our room), and now us adults are relaxing and eating frozen yogurt...it's a good life!

California

We are now here in sunny warm California.  We got in last night about 7:00 pm.  The drive wasn't too bad.  We got on the road about 7:30 Saturday morning. We only had to stop one time before we made it to St. George.  Once in St. George we stopped and visited Papa who is in a care center recuperating from hurting his hip.  We stayed a short time before we said our good byes and headed to see Nana.  We visited for a little while and then headed back on the road after getting some lunch.
We had hoped that Megan would have slept right after we left, but that little stinker fought going to sleep until 5:00.  Then she only napped for like 40 minutes and then was really fussy. She just wanted Mommy so I moved to the back and that helped.

After we checked in we unloaded the car and unpacked our bags.  I was so tired so we just picked up some dinner and ate it in the room. Then we pretty much just went to bed, at least me and the kids did.
This morning we ate some breakfast and then hung out in our room until it was time to get ready for church.  We attended a nice sacrament service and then got some lunch.  After we came back to the hotel for Megan to take a good nap (because you know she won't take good ones at Disneyland).  Margie, Tony, and the boys went somewhere but I don't know where they went, so I'm hanging out in the quiet room enjoying the break.  After Megan wakes up we'll go and visit the Sazo family from my mission.  I'm excited to see them.  I hope the others come back soon, a girl could get used to all this quiet...  
We came back to the hotel after visiting the Sazo family and having some dinner.  It was so nice to see Brother and Sister Sazo.  They thought we were coming next Sunday so I was glad that we were able to catch them at home.  Daisy was still at church so we weren't able to visit with her.  I talked to her a little on the phone, but that was it.  The kids loved their house.  They played with their fun instruments and loved going out in their back yard where they had three birds and a swimming pool and hot tub.  It was nice chatting about the ward and the old days.  After a couple hours we said our good byes.  They are such a great couple and I love them so much               

Comings & Goings

I have been a slacker on my blogging lately.  Mostly it is because most days I just feel like crap and want to crawl into a whole and die...so who wants to blog about that.  But I think that I have been feeling a little better (minus the last two days).  I don't seem to be quite as tired and when the acid reflux/heart burn is under control I feel almost normal some parts of the day.
We have been busy getting ready for our trip to California.  We leave on Saturday.  We are going to spend the night at Tony's parents house tomorrow night so that we can wake up and leave early to get on the road.  We normally stay the night in Las Vegas on the way there but decided to just drive straight there on Saturday.  We are hoping to get to our hotel with enough time to go swimming.  It is suppose to be really warm when we get there (like high 85 degrees).  So I am very excited about that.  All week looks like great weather.  It makes me so happy.  I just hope that I'm not too sick while I am there.
So funny story...Tony sold my car.  He thought if he priced it high that it would take a while to sell, but we got 6 calls that evening and the car was sold that night.  But we made over a thousand dollars more on the car then we thought we would get, so that was great!  It had really low miles and I guess lots of people liked that.  We are going to buy Tony's parents van when they get a new one.  I think that will be soon (they may be purchasing a new van while I type).  I hope we didn't rush them into buying a new one because I now have no car, but I know she's wanted a new one for a while - so win-win.  Maybe after our trip we will have a van of our very own.  I am such a nerd!

Tony Gets What He Deserves!

I am glad to say that Tony finally got his promotion at work.  He is now officially the Assistant Manager at the Ogden Cannery.  He got a pretty good raise with this promotion.  This is really good for us now that we are in the market for a van.  I am just so proud of Tony for his patience in waiting for this promotion and for working so hard for over a year with the responsibilities of the assistant manager without the title or the pay.  He is a great worker and this promotion sets him up nicely to become a manager some day.  He's just such a great guy!

Happy Birthday To Me

Yesterday I turned 33 years old and boy am I feeling it...just kidding.  It was a really good day.  Tony had the day off and the kids didn't have school so we were able to spend a lot of family time together.  On Thursday night Tony brought home my favorite pie from Marie Callendar's and it was a really nice (yummy) surprise.  After he got home that night we went and picked up some dinner from Dickey's and took it over to his parents house where his Nana and Papa were visiting.  It was nice having dinner all together and spending time with them before they went back to St. George the next day.
On Friday my parents took me to lunch for my birthday.  I chose Texas Roadhouse (surprising, I know) and it was so good.  It was nice just hanging out with them for a while.  Tony was so nice to stay home with the kids.  Megan and Josh started coughing the night before so we didn't want to take them out and spreading their germs.
Poor Megan's cough is a croupy cough.  Super low and sad.  Max has come over a few times to check her breathing and so far it hasn't been too bad.  It is so nice having the help of Max and knowing that our little Megan is in good hands.  She didn't feel feverish tonight, so I am hoping that she is on the mend.  That would be great.
Tony was super sweet to me all day on my birthday (not that he usually isn't).  He took care of the cooking and cleaning and most of the kids stuff, it was nice.  He really is a super guy and I am so lucky to have him.  He also bought me a DVD of Saturday's Warriors.  Brings me back to my childhood.
Tomorrow we are going to go to my parents house for dinner and cake and ice cream.  Should be fun to hang out with the family and who doesn't like feeling extra special from your family!

Baby #4

Well I guess we're going to have another baby.  I found out on New Years Day that I was pregnant.  I had my first appointment on Friday and I was able to hear the heart beat without too much problem.  So I am 10 weeks along.  I figured that now that I have heard the heart beat I am good to start telling people and my blog.
We are excited about this baby.  We were surprised at first since we weren't planning on having another baby, but we are mostly excited now.  I have been pretty sick most days since about 6 weeks.  I was really sick right before I went to Portland, but since then I have been a little better.  I throw up about every third day or so, so it could be a lot worse.  My due date is September 5th.  It's so crazy that all my kids will be 2 1/2 years apart.  So here's to a new chapter in the Steenblik house.

Portland Fun

I was lucky enough to get to go to Portland for the weekend and see some family.  I left on Thursday night and met my cousin Brandy and her husband Ryan at the airport and then we waited a short time before my other cousin, Mandy's flight arrived and met us all.
We stayed at Ryan's aunts town house that was close to Brandy's house.  His aunt summer's there so the house was perfect for us to spend a couple days.  We stayed there our first night and ended up staying awake until like 2:00 in the morning talking. 

We slept in as long as we could on Friday and then we went back to Brandy's house for breakfast and then planned out our day.  We started by going to the movies and seeing "Saving Mr. Banks."  It was a really good movie and I am glad that we went. 
After the movie we went back to the town house and did the heart craft that I brought.  We each chose our paper and paints and then had fun chatting and doing our hearts.  It was so sunny while we were there, so it was so nice to open the shades and enjoy the sun while we did our craft.
After our craft we went to dinner at The Olive Garden.  It was really busy and we had to wait a long time, but we didn't mind too much since we didn't have any kids with us.
After that we headed back to the town house.  We stopped at a store on our way home and bought some finger nail polish and some crazy makeup.  Then we went wild when we got back.  We did our finger nails and toe nails and then did our makeup like we would never ever do in public.  We are such silly ladies.  We stayed up pretty late that night too, but we had fun.
Saturday we planned to go to the Chocolate Fest.  We stopped at WinCo to pick up some healthy breakfast of fruit and such.  Then we drove to downtown Portland for the Chocolate Fest.
We had a hard time finding a parking spot so we ended up parking further away from the convention center and then taking the train there. 
Chocolate Fest was a lot of fun.  There were lots of people there and vendors.  We had a lot of samples of good chocolate and bad.  Some were so bad...after tasting one I literally said "Oh yucky" right in front of the vender. 
We got about half way through the venders when we were getting a tummy ache and decided to eat some lunch.  We all had salad.  It was sad but we all got sick of chocolate before we were done seeing everyone.  But we all bought lots of chocolate and had a good time.
Then we drove back to the house and ate our left overs from the night before.  Then we hung out and watched some shows.  Ryan brought us over some ice cream with all the fixings - so good.  We really needed more sugar.
Sunday morning we got up and got dressed for church.  We packed our bags and got all our stuff and went to Brandy's.  We ended up just going to sacrament because Mandy wasn't feeling well.  Then we ate some lunch before Mandy had to go to make her flight.  While Ryan, Brandy, and Mandy went to the airport Nate, Tony's brother, came and got me and took me to their house.
It was so nice hanging out with his family and seeing their new baby, Cora.  I really can't say enough how much I liked hanging out with them.  They are such a neat family and I hope that they can move back to Utah some day soon.  I ate dinner with them and it was so yummy! After dinner and chatting Nate took me back to Brandy's where I slept that night.
I was so tired I went to bed early and was able to sleep in a little bit.  Monday I just hung out at Brandy's house.  I took a nap and we chatted lots.  Then she took me to the airport.  I flew home and my dad came and got me and dropped me off at home.  It was a nice break and I am glad that I was able to spend time with my family.

Cousins Weekend Here I Come

I am leaving later today for Portland.  My cousin, Mandy, is also flying in from Boise and we are meeting up with our other cousin, Brandy.  It should be a fun weekend of hanging out, chatting, eating, site seeing, and whatever we want to do without children (or husbands).
It is a much needed break that I am excited for.  I am a little worried about the flight because I am not feeling super great and flying generally makes me sick.  But I am going to be positive and hope for a good flight.  Luckily it isn't that long of a flight so I should be good.
Margie is helping out with the kids while Tony works and then Tony is taking care of them for the rest of the time.  I am very thankful to them for making this trip possible.  I love my cousins and definitely don't get to see them enough.  It should be a great time!

Another Year Gone By

I can't believe it is already January 10th.  Nothing too big has been happening here.  Tyler and Josh started back at school this week.  It was nice having them home for a couple weeks, but it was good to get them back on a schedule.
We had a good Christmas break.  The kids pretty much just played with all of their toys from Christmas the whole time until schools started.  It was nice seeing them enjoy their toys.  New Years was pretty low key for us.  We got some food New Years Eve and then hung out at home.  The kids went to bed as normal and Tony and I were in bed before midnight.  We are super awesome.
It has been really cold and has snowed off and on all week.  It is so pretty and I just love it.  We haven't really been playing in it with school and everything, but maybe tomorrow.  One of the things we like about when it snows is that the air quality is good and we can have a fire.  We all love having fires and it just makes the house so cozy.  Well, it should be a good year.  I look forward to all the craziness and good times!