Easter Dress 2010

solution

Basic but effective. Hopefully.

What do you do?

What do you do when your seven year old daughter doesnt make her bed for the one thousandth time? We've talked about this all year long. Some morning are better than others, butI have made a conscious effort for the last three mornings to drill into her the importance of doing this morning ritual. SHE IS OLD ENOUGH TO DO THIS WITHOUT REMINDERS AND IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!

Any advice?

Right now I am thinking- strip the bed and she sleeps with nothing tonight. Too cruel? I also thought about going to her school, taking her out of class, and bringing her back home to do so. If I had enough energy I would do that - but lets be honest that solution is harder on me than her.

UTAH

So - Utah had its ups and downs.

Ups:
-Great tubing (we stayed in Park City)
-Wonderful hosts - Thanks for your hospitality Kit and Kate - you guys rock!
-Fun to watch a snow storm
-Nathan loves the snow and wanted to be in it all day
-Touring the fabulous St. Regis hotel. If you have an extra couple thousand dollars I would suggest staying here
- Seeing all the sights of Temple Square and watching Caitlyn eat it up. This was by far the best part.
- A close second was finding killer brown knee-high boots at the BCBG outlet for $49. Yes I said $49.
-The Grand Canyon. We decided last minute to stop. We were so close that we couldnt pass it up. nathan woulnt go within 20 feet of the edge.

Downs:
-the drive - heaven help me I will never drive that far again. I am a plane kind of girl. Well, i could do it with just Chad. Kids are the variable
- the Kanab Best Western beds.
- Nathans tantrum at the top of the tubing hill. Chad got kicked hard enough in the face to draw blood. It wasnt pretty.
- Traveling on St. Patricks Day - so we didnt get to celebrate in style at home, but we all wore green.
- Oh, and here's the kicker.... getting our car broken into while visiting the Conference Center on Sunday. yeah, it is a bummer, and yes they got a lot of stuff... our laptop, our Kodak camera, a Motorola walkie talkie, our telephoto lens and all of our camera chargers. We're pretty sure that we interrupted them. They must have seen us walking back because all of our ipods were still there in the second row like they didnt get there yet. We're also pretty sure that they were sitting the car next to us. Chad didnt know anyone was in the car, but I did. There were two hispanics in the car not talking to each other, but very intensly listening to us. I had a bad feeling about them and while we were discvoering what was missing the car, my attention was drawn back them several times. They had a Utah plate with Sonora mexico bumper stickers. I kept writing it off. I shouldnt have done that, but what was to be done at that point. Chad says that had he known anyone was there he would have talked to them. What if they had a gun. Chad and Ben had guns. It could have gone really bad. What if, What if, What if. Its all that goes through your head.
It wasnt until Nathan swung his door open in a rage and it smacked their car that I truly realized that they had done it. Again, they didnt act normal. Wouldnt you get out of your car to see what just happened and if any damage had been done? They didnt. They started their engine, circled around us while watching us and headed for the exit. That is when I yelled at Chad "they took our stuff. Those are the guys!" by that time they were out of the parking lot and down the street. Chad didnt want to risk chasing them. We also had not realized that the laptop was gone yet. If we had I think that we would have done it. maybe we can chalk that up to blessings. Who knows that those guys were capable of.
The biggest blessing of the trip: all of our photos (maybe minus a couple months worth) are backed up on our external hard drive at home. If we had lost 7 years of pictures I would have been truly devestated. So - here's your lesson. BACK EVERYTHING UP. twice if you can. We are going to back ours up online too. Seriously - dont wait. We didnt think this would happen to us, but it did and in a way we were prepared. So now I am dealing with insurance companies, the police department, and a room full of laundry that desperately needs my attention. We lost some of our photos from the trip on the Kodak, but good think we had our nice Canon with us. We have pictures to share, but I will need a new laptop to load them onto. Until then you will have to imagine our fun :)

The experience put a damper on the trip, but it didnt define it. We had a great time because we made ourselves. Life goes on. Temple Square was fantastic. I loved looking at all the art, and I loved the "I am a Child of God" exhibit at the museum. Go if you get a chance. So cute. I felt the Spirit several times there and even get a little choked up now when I think about it. Despite the the evils of the world we are able to know what is right and true. The hall of the prophets was amazing and the exhibits on the pioneers in museum is moving and breathtaking. The work that they did it mind boggling.

In the end, Chad and I realize that it is just stuff. Expensive stuff and a headache to deal with, but just stuff. All in all we're glad we were able to go and we hope that all the church history made an impression on the kids.

Oh - and Miki did have her baby. On Sunday at 5 somthing in the evening. Welcome Chase!

Heading to Utah for a family vacation today. Wish us luck :)

Miki - havent you had that baby yet?

Late but cute

My Valentines babies. I can still say that right?

(Nathan had already successfully changed before I could get him for a picture after church - but he was wearing a red and white striped dress shirt. It rocked.)

Oh - and Caitlyn had an awesome heart braided into her hair that you cant see. Yep Becky - I did it again this year :)

Sorry for the lack of blogging. I'll promise to be better... for the four people who actually look at this :)

The much anticipated photos from Disneyland:

On the drive out. She was so excited!

Outside our hotel, waiting for Disneyland to open. If you are looking for a cheap, clean place to stay by Disneyland then check out the CandyCane Inn - but dont expect it to have anything to do with candy canes, red/white, or any candy of the sort. It has tropical themed rooms. They should have thought that through.

At the beginning of the day

Attention: They have changed The Little Mermaids Grotto into Pixie Hollow. Caitlyn was estatic, but I was a little sad. I hate to see the classic movies being replaced by the new, trendy movies. Its the same travesty that happened to the Swiss Family Robinson's house (into Tarzan themed). Dont get me wrong - loved Tarzan, but I think we should keep the classics alive for our kids. Come on - you agree, right?! I knew it.

We always take a picture in front of the castle. Apparently everyone else does too. It was a busy place.

Okay - not the best photo, but this reminds me of one of my favorite parts of Disneyland. We were just walking around and came across the Fairy Godmother. I LOVE just running into the charaters. It makes it seem so authentic. Much more so that waiting in line forever to meet the Princesses (which we did later that day). I totally get that they would be mauled if the more popular charaters just strolled around the park, but I wish it could be so.

One of the only photos I'll let you see with me in it :)

Most of what our day consisted of: goofing off.

On the Toontown rollercoaster

At the end of our day. This was right after the parade - which Caitlyn was pulled out into by the dancers. She went to town. Dont worry, Chad took video of it, and when I can figure out how to upload it from his phone I'll put it on here. In the meantime - go to his Facebook account and watch it there. I PROMISE it is totally worth it. It may make you cry.
Side note: they totally tried to get me into the parade as well. That is pretty much one of the worst things I can think of to do. I am in no way a dancer. I wish a was, but I was not granted that talent. This guy was relentless, so I pushed an unknowing bystander his way so he would release his grasp on me. She willingly went and danced. Seriously - I pushed her his way, well - nudged forcefully :) Had I know that it was "The Twist" I might have joined. Organized dancing I can do. It doesnt help my cool factor, but anything that requires spontenaity does not bode well for me.

We had a great time enjoying our company of just Caitlyn, but I was ready to get back to Nathan and Alison. I missed my baby. Next time we're taking the whole family.

If you get a change to give a day of service for a day at Disneyland do it. When you get there and check in they give you a big volunteer button that you wear all day. All of the characters ask you what you did. Caitlyn was so proud (thats what she is doing in the picture with Tinkerbell). Then there are designated people who walk around the park looking for volunteers. If they find you then you get to ride IN the parade. Pretty cool. we werent found - but Caitlyn dancing in it more than made up for it!

FYI - the baby center and Disney ROCKS! Since I am still nursing I had to pump in the middle of the day. It is the coolest place that I found out was designed by Walt Disney himself. They sell diapers, baby food, formula... pretty much anything you would need they have, and they dont charge too much for it (like everything else). They have highchairs available and a separate nursing room, and separate changing room. If you need to pump they have a curtained off area with a table and outlet. I was so relieved to have that service there!

Ok - this post is seriously long.