Michelle & Tony Trip: Day 1: Travel

We started our adventure with an early morning flight out of Salt Lake to Washington Dulles airport with a layover in Denver.
We took the kids to Margie's the night before after Josh's scouts.  They were all very excited to get to have lots of sleepover's at Grandma's and said that they would miss us lots.
We left our house at 3:30 am to make sure we got to the airport, parked our car in long term parking, and then got to our gate in time before our flight left.

We made good time and had time to relax before we had to board the plane.  I knew I would get tired of sitting so I walked around the airport while Tony played his phone.  It was a super small plane but it did it's job and got us to Denver safely.  It was chilly in Denver but the sunrise was beautiful.
We had about an hour before our next flight was to board so we bought us some breakfast and found our gate.  We ate our food and then boarded for our next flight.  That plane was much bigger and more comfortable.  The flight was good and we landed at the Washington Dulles airport.
We then found our way to the car rental place where we picked up our rental car for our trip and then made our way to our hotel that was about 40 minutes away from the airport.  Our room wasn't ready yet so we picked up some lunch to eat on our way to Arlington.

Josh's Friend Birthday Party

Josh wanted to do a How to Train Your Dragon party.  I really didn't know what to do with that kind of theme.  So I thought we would get the supplies to make marshmallow shooters like they were shooting fire like dragons.  It's a stretch but the kids had fun making them and shooting mini marshmallows all over the house and yard.
After the kids made their shooters Tony glued them together.  While they dried the kids played video games together.

One of the boys had to leave early so we had Josh open his presents before they ate dinner.  He liked all his gifts.  After he opened them we all ate dinner.
Josh wanted pizza and soda pop for dinner.  So Tony picked up some pizza and Sprite and Root Beer.

The kids then played some more before having ice cream.  We still had Root Beer so the kids wanted to make Root Beer Floats.  They loved it.  I think that they all had fun and Josh got his friend party.  Good times for all.

Josh's 9th Birthday

Josh told us he wanted a "Toothless" stuffy for his birthday.  We found out that Build-a-Bear had some so on his birthday Tony and I took him over to the mall to get him one.  We left Tyler home with the girls and the three of us went to have some quality time.

Josh asked the worker lots of questions while she was stuffing his Toothless, he is good with his questions.  After he was all stuffed, he pretended to wash him and dry him.  Then we found him a saddle to go with Toothless and then printed out the birth certificate before buying him.  Josh was super happy with his present and his special time with just mom and dad.

After that Josh wanted us to pick up Panda Express and take it home to eat.  He loves their orange chicken and wants to eat there often (but we don't).  After we all ate dinner Josh then enjoyed playing the computer.  I think it was a pretty great birthday for our big 9 year old!

Josh & Allie Birthday Dinner

After the party the kids said that they wanted to got to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  It's a favorite for us all.  We had to wait kind of a long time to be seated, but it was worth it.  The food was yummy and Allie and Josh liked getting ice cream for their birthday's.  We are very thankful to Lloyd and Margie for taking us out to dinner to celebrate two very special kids for their special day.

Josh & Allie Family Birthday Party

Saturday afternoon we had our family over to celebrate the birthday's of Josh and Allie.  The kids love having their cousins come to our house and love opening presents.  Both Josh and Allie got super spoiled from their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

We had brownie sundaes for dessert instead of cake and I think it turned out pretty good.  Everyone was able to have it just the way they wanted it.  We love our family and appreciate everyone who came and supported us at the party in our home.

Allie's 4th Birthday & 1st Day of School

Our baby girl is four years old.  I can't believe it.  She was lucky enough to start her first day of preschool on her birthday.
She was very excited to go back to school.  She is now the big kid in her class and did such a good job going in and knowing exactly what to do.
She got to take Ring Pops for all her class mates for her birthday treat.  I had to go to a funeral that started when she got out of school so Margie picked her up from preschool and took her out to lunch for her birthday.  She got to go to McDonald's and get a Happy Meal.  She was very happy about that. 
I picked her up after the funeral and we had a great rest of the day.  She had a great day and says it's great to be four.  She is getting so big and starting to do more by her self.  We love her so much and are so glad to have her in our family.

Allie's Friend Birthday Party - Part 2: Presents & Cake

Allie's Friend Birthday - Part 1: Activites

Allie started talking about having a birthday party with friends a few weeks before her birthday.  She was very specific on what she wanted to get for her birthday...a tent and real nail polish.  She is so funny.
So I decided that I would do a friend birthday for each of my kids this upcoming year.  So I invited all the kids from her primary class to come over for a party.

Only three kids were able to come but we had fun with those kids.  One of the boys, Knox, didn't want to do any of the activities that I had planned.  He just wanted to play with the toys downstairs.  That was fine with me as long as long as he was happy.
I bought some crowns for all the kids and then I had them decorate them with stickers and markers.  The girls seemed to like it (and Josh).

After they played for a little while with their crowns we went on to our next activity.  I gave the kids animal crackers and vanilla frosting and then they made an animal farm with a bunch of different candies in the frosting.
The kids all loved doing that (even my big boys), except Knox again.  He watched.  I am pretty sure Megan just put as much candy on her plate that she could.  She loves her treats.  It was fun to see the creativity in each of the kids and how they chose to make their farms.

After all the kids were done with their farms they decided that it was time to open presents.  Allie loved this part.  She got some super fun things from her friends and she loved them.  After all was opened it was then time to eat small cupcakes and ice cream.
Allie asked for everything to be small.  So we did small cupcakes and then each of the candies were miniature like M&M's, Swedish Fish, Star Burst, etc.  I thought it was fun and cute.

The parents then came and picked up their kids and the party was over.  Allie had a great time and was happy with her friend birthday.
She was sad that she didn't get a tent or real nail polish but I do know that Margie got her a play tent and I will make sure that she gets real nail polish by her actual birthday.

I wasn't sure what to do at first with a bunch of four year olds, but I think it turned out pretty good.  I need to not let myself get over stressed about these things.  I never know what to do so then I just don't do anything.  I don't want to be like that all the time.  I want my kids to remember having fun parties.  Sometimes I let my anxieties or concerns stop me from doing things and I am trying to be better and do more.  I think I am doing better.

First Day of School

School has started once again.  They were all excited (Tyler especially) to go back to school.
Allie spent the night at Margie's house the night before so that she didn't have to go to Back to School Morning with us and because she doesn't start preschool for another week.
Tony and I walked the kids to school.  Josh didn't realize how nervous he was until we got to the school and then he started to cry.  It was heartbreaking.  He took some deep breathes and then pulled himself together.
Tony and I took the kids to their class rooms and then we went to the cafeteria to hear a presentation from the principal.  After he was done we then went to each of the kids class rooms to meet the teachers and hear their spill.  We went to Megan's class first, then Josh, then Tyler.
I think that they are all going to have a great school year and really like their teachers.  After we saw all the teachers Tony and I went out to breakfast before picking up Allie from Margie's house.
Allie had a great time at Grandma's house and we enjoyed spending a few hours with just Allie while the other kids were all at school.
The kids said that they all had a great first day of school and were excited for the school year.  Megan asked if she could take a relaxing bath to help with her stress.  It was pretty funny.  She did take a bath and had a relaxing night.  Yah for school!

New School Year Blessings

It is that time of year again to give the kids blessings before the new school year starts.
It is such a special thing for me as a mom and wife to watch her husband give her kids a blessing.  He always does such a great job and the kids really seem to enjoy getting their father blessings.
It didn't take long for Tyler to get all weepy during the blessings.  He is so sensitive to the spirit and really takes things deeply.
I am thankful to Tony and his priesthood.  He is so willing to help others with blessings and takes it pretty seriously.  We are so lucky to have him in our lives.  It is going to be another great school year.