Sea World and Disneyland

Unlike Sunday, Monday's drive down to San Diego was great.  We made great time down to Sea World.  By the time we got all unpacked and in the gates, we didn't have to wait long for the park to open.  The weather was nice and sunny, but a little cool.

We got to see all the fun animals and see all the fun shows.  They didn't have the Shamu show running because Shamu just had a baby.  But we did get to see the baby and watch the trainers train the whales, that was really neat.  We almost missed the training because it was hard to find where they were doing it, but it worked out in the end and it was fun to see so many tricks up close. 

We of course loved the dolphin show.  Dolphins are Tony's favorite animals.  They also have divers who do flips off of things, that is fun to watch too.  We got some popcorn to eat while watching the show and Josh just loved that.
We also enjoyed seeing the animals and riding the few rides that they have.  They do have one new roller coaster, but non of us rode it. 

The kids loved the play ground.  Sea World has an awesome play ground for kids and even a little padded area for the little kids (like Megan) to play.  So much fun.  We got to go on some rides and Tyler loved the water rides.   Josh liked the flying ride.  We got to feed the sting ray and the seals.  The boys chickened out on feeding the sting ray, so Tony and I did it.  It was neat.  The boys did like feeding the seals.  Grandma really spoiled us with all the fish we got to feed the seals, so fun.

The next two days we went to Disneyland.  It was cloudy and rained a little off and on during the first day.  One time it started raining pretty bad, but we were able to be under a cover and then on a ride while it was the worst.  We were out in the open for the first little bit of it, so that was an adventure.  We were glad to be protected when the down pour came.  The next day was sunny and better.

We were really happy that Josh was tall enough this time to go on more rides.  Tyler wanted to go on Splash Mountain first so we decided that would be a good one to take Josh on too.  He said he didn't really like it.  He didn't like the drops.  We think he doesn't like the feeling he gets in his stomach when he drops.  Also I think he didn't like the dark.

So Josh went on Winnie the Pooh while we took Tyler on Splash Mountain again.  Josh is still really scared of the dark/scary rides.  He didn't like Snow White, or any ride like it.  It is pretty funny how many rides are scary and dark.  He did like the Rockets, Dumbo, Buzz, the Carousel, Pooh, etc.  He liked the outside rides that were fast, or went up and down.  I think he liked being able to see what was going to happen.  That is hard to do on the dark inside rides...maybe.

Megan seems to like Disneyland too.  The first day she did better being held while we waited in lines, but day two she had enough and wanted to walk around and explore.  So we would let her get down and walk around.  We would get lots of "looks" and comments about how little she was to be walking.  She would just look around and take it all in.

She didn't nap a ton.  She would fall asleep in the car on the way to the park and then she would fight taking another nap later in the day.  The first day she fell asleep in the evening and Tony decided to just hold her so we found Tony a nice and dry place to hang out while Grandma, Tyler, Josh and I went on some more rides.  It was getting chilly that night, but we did pretty good with just our jackets on.

We ended up eating at the place that Tony was hanging out with Megan.  After dinner I took Megan and they headed over to do some more rides on the other side of the park.  Megan woke up pretty quickly after they left, so then I went and met up with them.  On the way Megan and I were able to see the last part of the parade, so that was fun.  We decided to go home after that.  It was getting cold and we were done.  It was a good thing that we left then because on our way back our car it started sprinkling, then about an hour after that it down poured and even hailed...hard.  

The second day the weather was much better.  It was a little cold in the morning, but nice and sunny.  We did go over to California Adventures, but we were not able to get on the new Cars ride.  The line for the ride was always just too long.  That is the one ride that we didn't get to go on this trip just because of the wait time.  It's too hard to wait over an hour with three little kids for one ride.

We did go on Woody's Roundup ride.  It is one of my favorites, super fun.   We had some lunch and then Megan went down for her nap so we decided to let the boys play in the big park they have.  They enjoyed that and I found a nice spot to sit and hold Megan while they played.  Grandma and Tony took Josh and Tyler on Soarin' Over California and Megan and I went for a stroller ride.  I walked her over to the main street and we got to watch the parade.  I also enjoy watching the performances and Megan just sat their nicely in the stroller.  We were able to find a great spot to park the stroller and watch the whole thing front and center.

After that I really wasn't feeling well.  I had starting coughing a little earlier in the day and now my chest hurt when I coughed so we decided to leave the park and Tony took me to the Urgent Care.  The doctor told me I had bronchitis and sent me home with some medicine.

The next day I felt even worse.  So we switched days we were going to go back to Disneyland to Friday in hopes that I would feel better by then.  So they all went to a swap meet in the morning and then after lunch Margie, Tony, and the boys went to the beach.  Megan and I stayed back and hung out at the hotel.  I was feeling  a little better, so that worked out good.  Megan would just eat the sand and be fussy.

I went down hill that night.  Hot, cold, achy all over, coughing, etc.  So Tony took me back to the Urgent Care and they said that I probably have the flu.  So currently, I am at the hotel while Tony and the others are at Disneyland.  I feel really bad that I have messed up plans and that I am putting the others out.  I just really hope that I feel better tomorrow because that is when we start the journey home.  We are going to drive to St. George tomorrow and I hope that it all works out.

Valentine's and The Bigginging of Our Trip

Tony and Megan in the hot tub

We have been busy people at our house.  We celebrated Valentine's Day (and my birthday) last Thursday and then we started on our trip to California the next day.

Margie and Josh playing in the hot tub

The boys had a good time celebrating Valentine's Day.  They both had school and got to pass out Valentine's to their classmates.  After school they liked going through the Valentine's that they had received.  I spent most of the day packing for our vacation.  When Tony got home from work we took the kids to grandma's house so that Tony and I could got to dinner and a movie.  We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  It was really busy and we were glad that we had called ahead for our seats.  Then we saw a movie about witches, it was pretty good.  Tony got me a candy thermometer for my birthday.  I am the big 32 now.  Good times.

Tyler getting his feet wet

Tony and Megan at the temple

Megan liked playing on the statue at the temple

After the movie we went back to our house and finished packing and then went to Tony's parents to sleep there with the kids.  We got there and packed up the car so we'd be ready to leave early the next day.  The boys woke up super early and woke us up and then we all got ready and headed on the road.  The drive to St. George was awesome.  It went by really fast and the kids were really good.  We got to visit with Nana and Papa for a couple of hours before we headed onto Las Vegas.  The boys were so cute with Nana.  She had given them a couple of things (wooden flutes and bandanas) and then she gave them some quarters when they helped pick up branches.  Josh said, "I like Nana." Then Tyler helped Nana cross the street after she got her mail, it was super sweet to watch.

Tyler and Josh at the temple

We got to Vegas and checked into our hotel.  I hadn't brought any swim diapers for Megan and the hotel was charging $3.50 each, so Margie and I went to WalMart to find some.  Turns out that is a "seasonal item" and they didn't have any.  We were pretty annoyed because the traffic was so bad and it took us a long time to get there.
So we decided to just put Megan in a regular diaper and went to the pool...which was freezing.  So we all just got in the hot tub instead.  The kids all loved that.  Tyler said he didn't want to go swimming so he didn't get on his suit, but within three minutes of just having his feet in the hot tub his clothes were pretty wet, so he just went swimming in his underwear.  He had a great time.

Josh with his fat lip

Us in front of the cool tree at the temple

Then we got ready and went to dinner.  After dinner it was bedtime and then we headed to California the next morning.  We took our time and visited a couple stores and then checked into our hotel.

More us and temple, Josh didn't want to be in the picture

On Sunday we went to Church and then came back and changed our clothes before we headed out to see the LA temple.  It was beautiful and fun to go back.  I hadn't been to that temple since my mission.  While we were looking around the outside of the temple Josh lost his footing and slipped on a stair and hit his mouth on one of the stone steps.  He was bleeding pretty good and had a pretty sweet fat lip for a while.  But he was a tough guy and said it didn't hurt or bother him after the first couple of minutes.

Us in front of the Temple

After we decided to go to the Santa Monica Pier...worst idea ever!  It seemed that everyone else in LA decided to go to the Santa Monica Pier the same time we did.  So many people everywhere and so many cars, it was madness.  But we got out of it and got some dinner that night.  Then it was off to bed to be ready for a fun day at Sea World the next day.

Megan's Toes

I painted Megan's toes for the first time and they are so cute.  At my brothers wedding, one of the guest told me that if I painted her toes and then put socks on her for a while, the socks would remove the polish from the skin and make the toes look great.  She was right.  I hadn't even thought of doing it because Megan moves around so much and it would just be a mess, but they turned out cute.  I look forward to the day when we can go get pedicures together.  Yeah for cute toes!

Early Morning Ramblings

Megan was fussing this morning and we got her back to sleep, but now I am wide awake.  She has been sleeping a little better the past few nights.  She has only been waking up once to have a bottle versus two times.  She is a total pro walker, has been for a while.  She never crawls anymore.  It still cracks me up to see her toddle around the house since she is just so little.  I think that she is getting two teeth right now.  They haven't come through, but I hope they do soon.  Otherwise, she just has the two teeth so far.  She has been doing this grunting thing lately...it is super annoying.  I need to remember that she is just a very small and young baby and be more patient with her grunting and neediness.  She really is adorable and a good baby for the most part.
My patience has had a hard week this past week.  Tony started working the late shift this week and whenever he works that shift I have such a hard time.  It is just dumb that I let it effect me so much.  Just knowing that he won't be home for an extra two hours totally effects my whole day.  I am less patient with the kids and more anxious all day long.  I am a totally nut case.  I really need to find a way to get over my issues.  It is not fair to my kids for me to be more uptight just because Daddy works later.
We are getting ready to go to California next week.  It should be lots of fun.  The boys are super excited to go to Disneyland.  We are going to go to Sea World too.  Tony and I love Sea World.  The animals are so fun to watch.  We are so spoiled by Tony's parents and totally appreciate them taking our family to Disneyland.  Tony's mom is the only one going, but we recognize and appreciate Tony's dad too for working so hard so we can go.
Wendy had Baby Ben yesterday.  He had some breathing problems so he has been in the NICU since birth, but they hope he can go to the regular nursery today.  I wish I could be there to see the baby and support Wendy.  It's fun to have more babies and to see our family increase in size.
Well I guess I will get ready to go weigh in at Weight Watchers.  I will meet Julie there and see how I did.  I have lost almost 20 pounds so far.  I have been a slacker this time around and haven't been loosing as fast as I did the first time.  I really need to step up my game.  After Disneyland I will recommit to tracking better.  Until then, wish me luck.

End of Quarter Update

The second quarter of the boys school came to an end last week.  We got Tyler's report card back and Josh's progress report.  Tyler did really good.  A 5 is the best you can get and Tyler got two 4's and the rest 5's.  His teacher wrote this on his report::  "Every teacher would love a classroom full of Tyler's!  He is a strong student with great academic skills.  He is a good friend to everyone and does his best at school.  He is ready for independent reading and we will send home practice books soon!"  When I read this to Tyler he got a big smile on his face and then a couple minutes started crying.  He told me that you can cry when you are happy, and I agreed.  He is such a tender kid and it is so fun to see him do so good at school.  Tyler really likes school and is happy to go each day.  He's an awesome big brother and we love him very much.

Josh's progress report was more about his speech issues.  I hope to get a report on how he's doing academically sometime soon.  His speech lady says that he's making "Sufficient Progress" with his articulation.  He "independently produced initial and final sounds in CVC words correctly, with pictures prompts, with 80% accuracy."  So Josh is improving on his speech - that is very good!  We totally notice a difference and think he is sounding much better, but still not where he should be.  The good part about Josh's speech issues is that he gets the free preschool.  My guess is he will still need help next year and then he can go to the preschool that is at Tyler's school.  That would be great.  Josh can be such a sweetheart.  He is saying "Thank you" on his own a lot more and giving more kisses and hugs (loves).  He loves to do whatever Tyler is doing, which drives Tyler crazy.  Josh is still super funny and we love him so much.

Megan turns 10 months old today.  Still can't believe how fast time goes by.  This week Megan figured out how to climb on the fireplace.  She was so proud of herself when she got up and had the biggest smile on her face.  I was hoping since she was so small that she'd take more time to start climbing things...who was I kidding, this girl is a mover.  She still only has the one tooth.  We keep checking her mouth hoping for another one, but not yet.  She is a good talker.  Ma, Da, Ba, Ga, and many more I can't think of now. She loves to feed her self and be "in charge" of the feeding situation.  She is starting to not like being feed the baby food as much and would rather just eat our food and feed her self.  She mainly walks everywhere now.  She doesn't really crawl anymore.  Walking gets her there faster.  It is pretty funny to be in one room and look down and see this tiny little baby walking around.  Super cute.  She likes to play with the doors and shut her self into rooms - mommy doesn't like that so much.  For the most part she is a happy (yet dramatic at times) little baby and we love her so much.

First Tooth

Megan finally had a tooth cut through.  It was on Monday that she was being really fussy and so I thought I would check to see how her gums were feeling and I felt just a little bit of tooth.  It had been swollen for weeks now off and on and so I thought it would come out anytime, and it finally did.  The next day it was all the way out and we have a tooth.  You can't really see it yet, but you can totally feel it.  Totally funny that she walked before getting her first tooth, but we are glad that it is finally here.

Family Fun

 Megan has discovered suckers, and boy does she like them.  I got out a chocolate sucker we got from Christmas and she loved it.  She did really good sucking on it too.  It didn't take her too long before she took it from me and wanted to do it all by her self.  She got totally messy, but had a great time feeding her self.

After that she went to feeding Tony the sucker and getting him all chocolatey and messy.  It was super cute and fun to see her learn about cause and effect.  So fun, can't get enough of her!

 On Wednesday night the boys had their first tumbling class at the high school.  The first part was a lot of stretching and then they learned "animal" moves.  Each of the animal moves are to teach them the basics of different "tricks."  Tyler did really good and followed the teacher for the most part.  Josh did really good at being silly.  Luckily he wasn't the only wild three year old who just wanted to run around and do things his way.  I think Josh liked it too, but Tyler definitely enjoyed it more.  It will be fun to see how much they actually learn in the six weeks of their class.

 Last night a pretty good sized storm came in.  We got about four inches of snow (give or take).  So we all bundled up this morning and went out to shovel.  We put Megan in the stroller all wrapped up and let her watch.  She did pretty good for the most part, but got bored towards the end and wanted to be held.
Tyler and Josh we big helpers.  They each had their own small shovel and they helped to clear the snow.  It was actually fun to be out their with our whole family "playing" in the snow.
Koda is in doggie heaven with all the snow.  He loves when we all go out and do things in the snow.  He really is such a fun dog.

Our Big Girl!

A short clip of our little girl standing and walking!

We Have a Walker!!!

Megan started taking more and more steps right before she started to get sick.  The day after we got home from the hospital Megan made up for lost time and was walking all over the place.  Yesterday she figured out how to stand up by her self from the middle of the room.  She is so cute when she does it.  She kind of squats down and then goes up from there.  Grandma Margie said she kind of looks like she is a softball catcher when she's crouched down...so cute.
Tyler told us on Sunday that he wanted to marry Megan.  It was pretty funny.  We had to then explain that you can't marry anyone in your family.  Pretty funny stuff.  He loves his little sister so much and is such a sweetheart with her.  He will sit with me and Megan and tell us that we are his two best girls...I love that kid so much.
Josh is super cute with Megan too.  He is starting to feel more confident in picking her up and moving her.  I am not such a fan of that.  He doesn't always grab her how he should and then he's moving her by her head, yeah I tell him not to pick up Megan.  He LOVES to make her laugh.  She is so lucky to have two awesome brothers.

Megan 9 Months

Megan turned 9 months the day she was admitted into the hospital.  We had her well-child visit today.  The doctor said that she is looking great and sounds good too.  So he told us that we can take her off the oxygen - YEAH for us.  Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 13 oz (5%)
Height: 27 inches (27%)
Head Size:  43 cm (20%)
BMI: 7%

So she is still petite.  We love our little baby and we are so happy that she is feeling better.  We are so blessed that she is better and that we had so many people praying for us and sending us their love and support.  Today we even had someone drop off a bag of toys for the kids and knitted hats.  It was very thoughtful and we wish that we could tell them thank you, but there was no note.  So thank you to the anonymous person who brought us such a fun surprise.