Disneyland

These pictures should have been posted in May... I'm just so slow. However, I knew if I didn't put them up before my summer pictures, they would probably never get posted. And, since this blog is mostly for my own journaling purposes, I suppose it doesn't matter when it gets put on, so long as it makes it to my blog.
Disneyland was great... if I remember correctly. :) I know the girls had a great time. Quinten had his first good day in California and slept for the majority of our time in the park. It made it a little more difficult to take the girls on rides, but was better than the alternative of him being awake, fussy and angry that we had him out and about. It was completely overcast the day we were there; even a little bit drizzly at times. Because we were only in Anaheim for two nights, I had left the bulk of our stuff at the beach house and only brought what we needed. So, we had no pants for anyone to wear, I had forgotten to bring socks, and Andrew and I had no sweatshirts (which were actually left on the couch at home...). It meant a mad dash to Target to get at least socks and sweatshirts. We spent the whole day in the park and left for dinner. After dinner, Andrew took the older girls back and I stayed at our hotel with the little ones. We bundled the girls up as best we could and hoped they wouldn't complain of being cold. Andrew said they were fine and they had a great time picking out their favorite rides to go on again. Leah, Quinten and I watched Ponyo and had popcorn while they were gone.
This was on the roof of our hotel. The girls thought it was cool. So, I promised awhile ago to tell the story of sleeping in the car with Quinten... well, here it is:
We got to our hotel Sunday night. Everything was fine until bedtime, of course. At 10:00, Quinten started to cry. I tried everything to get him to stop and go back to sleep. However, with three other kids in the room and who knows how many to the sides of us, above us, and below us, I couldn't just let him scream. So, at about 10:45, he and I left to take a nighttime tour of Anaheim. He cried for about a half hour before he settled down, and it took about 45 minutes for him to fall asleep. So, what do you do with a sick baby who refuses to sleep when he's supposed to, who is asleep in your car?? You let him sleep. We got back to the parking lot, a reclined my seat as best I could, and I drifted in and out of sleep for hours. It was LOUSY. He woke up around 3:30 and we went back upstairs to our room. Unfortunately, he was restless till about 6:00, when he fell into a blissfully deep sleep. You have got to be kidding me. What a crummy night. I got up a half hour later to get myself ready before I had to wake everyone else and get them ready. I was exhausted. My eyes burned when I turned on the light, my stomach hurt from lack of sleep; I wanted nothing more than to fall back into bed and sleep for hours. And, I probably could have- no one even budged when I tried to get them up- not even Andrew. Yeah, I'm a good mom to push everyone into having a good time even when I don't feel like it. Let's hope they appreciated it....:)
The rest of these pictures may not be in order and may or may not have stories to go behind them... I'll do my best to remember and to not bore anyone who may be reading this.
This was on the Buzz LightYear ride. There is certainly a story behind this picture. Just as we got on the ride, Quinten decided he needed a new diaper. Actually, he didn't decide, I did.... after I stuck my finger in something nasty at the back of his shorts. Yes, I know that is extremely gross... I can't help it- it is what it is. I grabbed wipes and hand sanitizer out of the backpack, sanitized my hands and then had to hold him very carefully throughout the whole ride so as not to ruin his clothes with what was lurking outside of his diaper. Talk about a long ride. It was all that medicine that had been pumped into him in the previous 72 hours! He couldn't help it. :) So, we got off the ride, I hightailed it to the bathroom, and thankfully made it before his clothes were in need of changing and we were on our way back to the hotel.
Yes, we stood in line to see the Princesses: Belle, Aurora, and Jasmine. Poor Leah has been neglected and had no idea who any of the princesses were. We have since been pumping her full of Disney princess movies so she's not a social outcast someday...
We went to Disneyland the day before Leah's birthday. As a part of her birthday festivities, she got to pick some of the things she wanted to do. She wanted her face painted, of course.
Such cute girls. Leah's face paint was my favorite. The others were cute as well, of course. :)

The next three pictures I included because of Leah. Her expressions are hilarious. You can tell what she really wanted to do.

Once she was in the drivers seat, she was a happy camper.
We spent way more time in Toontown that I had anticipated. NOT my favorite place.
Our birthday girl next to cake and balloons in Mickey's house.
One of the only family shots we have, thanks to the run-in we had with the Bushar's.
The one ride we went on with them. Quinten was asleep, Leah didn't want to go, and Callie chickened out on me as we got to the front of the line, claiming she had to use the bathroom. She's our scaredy cat. So, Alexa rode with Selma and the girls and Scott and the boys were on there somewhere. Watching the Bushar's for the short time we were with them gave me hope: they have four kids, all close in age like ours. They just happen to be five years ahead of us. No strollers, no diaper bags, no one asleep or complaining of being tired. Everyone has a partner to ride with, everyone can go on every ride, and they all want to go on every ride. They were having so much fun together! I loved it. Someday, that will be us... when we've done our time with our little ones. :) I keep telling the girls that we won't go back to Disneyland till everyone is old enough to appreciate it. I also said we wouldn't go to Disneyland at all till I didn't have a baby... We'll see if I can stick to my guns this time.

It was a good trip. As we were leaving California, Andrew made the comment that it was one of the best, if not the best, family trips we've had so far. It's the first trip we've taken that was focused around just our family- not visiting my family or Andrew's family, no one we had to visit or felt obligated to. It was just us. And that is what made the difference, I think. It makes me realize how important family time is. There were bumps- it obviously wasn't all fun and games, but we did have a great time. I hope it is something the girls will remember.

Our Santa Monica Pictures

I'm finally finishing our trip pictures from May... ugh. I need to get it done so I can post our summer pictures and our first day of school pictures that will be on my camera tomorrow!
So, these pictures were from our day at the beach. The Bushar's came up from their hotel in Anaheim to spend the day with us. We had lunch at the house and spent the afternoon on a somewhat cold beach. I personally thought the water was frigid... I only stuck a toe in, but I think I would have been miserable if I had gotten any more wet than that. The kids didn't seem to mind.
This is Alexa, Ellie and Josie in the water. Callie was there with them for awhile... until a wave overtook her tiny little form and she got soaked. She wasn't happy and did not return to the waves for the rest of the afternoon. Poor Ellie had a sunburn from the day before; it looked so painful! I can see the red in her skin even from this picture.
Quinten was sick. Poor little thing. The night before had been one of the most horrible nights we have ever had with any of our children. He pretty much spent his whole afternoon curled up next to Andrew. Luckily, he had enough sense to take a nap... at least someone got some rest!
Leah never once touched the water. Last summer, we spent a week at the Oregon Coast with my family. She wouldn't even touch the sand. We had to carry her to a chair, where she would sit until we moved her again. This year, she liked the sand and was content to sit and play. We are making progress! Maybe next summer we will get her in the water.
This is Callie after her "incident" with the wave. She was freezing. Hey, I don't blame her. I was freezing and I wasn't wet!
Selma and I took the girls for a walk down the beach. Leah wanted to collect every piece of a shell that she could find. She stopped every two feet to pick something up and wanted everyone to see it. We conveniently dumped that bucket before we left the beach.
I was truly too tired to feel sorry for him at the time, but looking at the pictures now makes me realize what an angel he really is.
Alexa is getting to such a fun age. Everything is exciting, she can keep up with anyone, and she wants to experience everything. I love it!!
Quinten's nap. I was glad it was Andrew and not me....
The kids tried digging a huge hole. It was fun to see them working so hard. We were a ways up from the water, so when they needed a bucket, Ellie would run down and get it. Sometimes someone else would go, but mostly it was her. She was such a trooper!
Having the Bushar's with us was a welcome relief. We had spent so much time the previous day trying to figure out what to with Quinten, that the girls had really spent a lot of time sitting around or taking short trips to the beach with either Andrew or I. This was the first real day we had done something "fun" and I know the girls loved it even more because they had friends to play with. Andrew and I aren't nearly as much fun as the Bushar's. :) So, thank you, thank you for spending the day with us!

Eclipse

My sister, my mom and I went to see Eclipse at midnight on opening night. We've never done that before. Yes, it was a little extreme. No, we won't do it again. We showed up at the theater two and a half hours early, sat in a very long line and each read a book till it was time to move. We have discovered that: people are crazy when it comes to these movies, people have little respect for others when they care passionately about something (or even if they don't), and movie theater workers do not have rocket science degrees. The theater we went to have Eclipse showing on 6 screens. We had tickets for the very first theater. Little did we know that our theater also housed the patrons who paid to see New Moon before Eclipse started. While every other line for every other theater was moving, we were standing still. Honor and I tried to see what was going on and our not so friendly movie staff informed us that they were not making the people in our theater move to the theaters they had bought tickets for. So, there were not seats for any of us in our theater. They were "trying" to figure out what to do with us. Well, I was a little mad. We didn't buy our tickets months in advance and wait in line for almost three hours to get crappy seats that weren't even near each other. I finally asked a guy if we could just go in and see what we could find. (For crying out loud, the movie was getting ready to start). He shrugged his shoulders, so I took that as a yes. As we walked past a bunch of other angry Eclipse fans, I heard someone say, "How come they get to go in?" Well, the theater had plenty of seats. We got great seats and felt bad for all the other people in line who had to rush in at the last minute. Seriously, if those "helpful" staff members had just taken a look inside, they would have realized everything would be fine. OK, long story done. We liked the movie. It was way too late to stay up for it. And, I was FREEZING on the way home. Teeth chattering, turning on the heat in my car cold. Serves me right for going out at night in Washington. :)

*And, my friends at home will happy to know that I sat in the middle of my mom and my sister. Who took my place at the end?? :)

Our Trip to Southern Cal

As a warning to anyone who may be reading this: there are a LOT of pictures here. And, this isn't the half of it. I will have to do separate posts for the rest of our trip to California. I can hardly believe it's been over a month since we were there. My memories of how the trip really was are already fading slightly. If you had asked me the day after we got home how things were, I would have told you something along these lines: "I think everyone else had a good time. I'm just really, really tired." The trip started out a little rocky even before we left. I took Quinten to the Dr. Thursday night, (the night before we left), only to discover he had a bad ear infection. We hadn't gotten much sleep the two nights before we left, for obvious reasons, so I started out tired. He had a fever that didn't break until Sunday night. Saturday night was one of the worst, if not the worst, nights we have ever had with him. He cried and screamed for hours on end... literally. Our saving grace was the house pictured below.
This is the beach house we stayed at in Santa Monica. One of the owners of the gym is best friends with the owner of this house and hooked us up for the week. It was spectacular. It had three levels: a main living area with kitchen, a master suite upstairs, and two bedrooms, two bathrooms, laundry room and family room downstairs. The garage has this fabulous patio above it with a beautiful fireplace and amazing view. We used the two lower levels and only went upstairs if we wanted to see the view- the house sat right across the street from the beach. I honestly think the only way I didn't pack us all up and leave on Saturday night was because we could separate Quinten from the girls while they were sleeping. They never once heard him.
This was the girls' room. We gave Leah her own bed because the other girls say she moves around too much. :) They loved the beds because they were so high off the ground.
This was in the family room downstairs. We loved the picture behind us- it was huge and so fun.
Saturday night, Andrew and Alexa went to an Angels game. I can't remember who Andrew knows... but, someone who comes into the gym is affiliated with the team... I think. They hooked them up with great tickets. Andrew met a co-worker and his grandson there who drove down from St. George just for the game.
Apparently, Alexa didn't want her picture taken.
The rest of the pictures all took place after a great day at the beach with our friends, the Bushars (who were also going to Disneyland the same day we were), and Disneyland. They will be separate posts because there are lots of pictures. Sunday night we left the beach house and went to our hotel in Anaheim. We were there Sunday night and Monday night. (Sorry, Lauren... the story of me driving Quinten around Anaheim all night will have to wait).
Tuesday before we headed back to the beach house we went to the Griffith Observatory. I think it would have been really cool, except we showed up at the same time five busloads of kids did for a field trip. My kids are probably too young to appreciate it anyway. :)
They really only wanted to see this. We watch way too much Disney Channel. This silly sign is on every show and movie they watch and this is the only thing they wanted to see in LA. Funny girls. Now they've seen it... and they haven't mentioned it since.

This is the Santa Monica Pier. We walked down on Tuesday afternoon to look around.
Callie was terrified of walking on the pier. She thought if she stepped on one of the cracks she'd fall in the ocean. Let me tell you- it took her a REALLY long time to get to the end- even with one of us holding her hand. It wasn't busy or crowded, which was nice.
See Leah looking in the bucket? She was obsessed with finding shells whenever we were near the beach. The problem is she thinks that any broken piece of a shell is a treasure. Ugh.
Quinten spent the majority of his time sleeping in the stroller... probably because he never slept at night! I think I lived off of less than five hours of sleep a night while we were gone. We don't really have any great pictures of him because of this.
On our walk home we stopped to play. Last year when we went the Oregon Coast, Leah wouldn't touch the sand. We had to carry her to a chair from the hotel and then carry her back when we were done. She's come a long way in a year; we are very glad. The weather wasn't great the whole time we were there. We spent more time in our jeans and sweatshirts than I would have imagined. Of course, the day we left it was beautiful. That's always how it works with vacations. :)
My cute, cute girls. They actually look like they are getting along... shocker.
Tuesday night Andrew took Callie to a Dodgers game. He met Scott, Scottie, and Bentley Bushar there. Andrew said it was a different kind of game- not as family friendly as Anaheim... a little bit of a rougher crowd. :)
But, they still had a great time. And Callie even scored some free bobblehead that she proudly displays on her shelf in her room. She has actually packed it to take on our trip to Washington because, "If I am missing Daddy I can hold it and remember that it is something I got from him". My sweet girl.

So, the trip was a success. Even with only a month passing, I have forgotten the worst of moments that may have been. Eventually, I think I will forget them all and will only remember that we had great family time together; and that my kids and my husband were so happy. Vacations will always be work for a Mom, I've decided. However, it's also what you choose it to be. I choose to remember the smile on Alexa's face when she got home from her first MLB game, I choose to remember Leah laughing when she first laid down on her own "big" bed, I choose to remember Quinten trying to climb stairs for the first time and clapping when he made it up one, and I choose to remember Callie telling me about going on her favorite ride again with her Dad... (It's a Small World... twice... isn't he nice??). They were so excited and so happy; and because they were happy, so am I.

Long Overdue Randoms

The girls' latest obsession is pushing Quinten around in the baby stroller. He loves it, of course; and, it terrifies me because they come WAY too close to tipping him over.
My three cute girls waiting for family arrive to celebrate Leah and Quinten's birthdays.

Leah decided it would be a good idea to take black marker and put on ... mascara? eyeliner? I'm not quite sure. She was so proud of herself. It was a pain to clean up.

This was Alexa after her last soccer game of the season. She had a great season- she was the fastest on her team and finally has caught on to the idea of dribbling down the field and scoring goals. At the beginning of the season, we had to explain to her that this wasn't a game where you took turns... that ball could be hers whenever she wanted it- all she had to do was take it. Things improved dramatically after that. :) She scored more goals than anyone on her team. We are so proud of her. So, now begin the days of both Fall and Spring soccer. She wants to do it and we are happy she is improving and loving it.
Before the game. (These pictures were a little out of order.)
This is Alexa and her fabulous piano teacher, Heather West, after her first piano recital. (Heather is one of my favorite people... and she really is fabulous...) Alexa makes us laugh- she is such a perfectionist that it is almost to her detriment. If she can't get it right the first time, she gets frustrated and sometimes crazy. I think she is so used to everything coming so easy to her- she doesn't have to try, it just is. Piano has been great for her because she HAS to practice. It's painful to help her practice when she gets stuck and needs help- she drives me crazy!! But, I know she loves piano and I think everyone should learn how to play, so she will keep doing it until she absolutely refuses. :)

My Callie Girl

Today is Callie's 5th birthday. Callie was my quickest birth- a whopping four hours from the time I got the the hospital to the time she was born. What a blessing!! Callie was a great baby. She was a great eater, she was not terribly fussy, and she put up with moving into a new house when she was a week old. She was my one child who I could lay in her crib awake and she'd fall asleep on her own. She is still a champion sleeper. Callie is my one true brown haired child. All my kids have been born with dark hair, but hers is the only head that hasn't lightened with time. She also has the most beautiful dark brown eyes- they are so dark, sometimes they look black. She is a beautiful girl.
Callie woke up early this morning just as I was getting Quinten out of his bed, came into his room and said, "Guess how old I am today, Mom? I'm five!" I also heard her singing Happy Birthday to herself as I was making dinner tonight. She just makes me smile. Callie is my thoughtful child. She tries to be so helpful with Quinten. The picture above is a prime example of this. If he wakes up and I can't get to him right away, she runs to his room, crawls into his crib and entertains him till I can come get him. I think they have a fun relationship because of this. She's the first to try to make me happy when she knows I'm mad or upset. She is quick to point out that she wasn't the one making me mad. :) Callie has such a tender heart. She hates goodbyes and cries when she knows we won't see someone for awhile. It always breaks my heart to see her so sad. Her chin quivers just a little if she has to watch a goodbye on TV... even if it's a cartoon. :) However, she is also my child with a little bit of bite. Don't get on her bad side or she'll make you miserable. :)
Callie loves to dance and sing. Music makes her happy- it is her passion. She always wants new music to listen to and is the one who always wants me to turn the music up in the car. She'll start dance again in the fall with a new dance studio- she is so excited and can't stop talking about it.
Callie spends a lot of time wishing she were older like Alexa. Sometimes we struggle with keeping things fair... we wish she would understand that they can't be fair! She'll start Kindergarten in August and I'm hoping this will help. She'll have her own "thing" and hopefully it will ease the tension between those girls! I suppose we'll just run into it again with Callie and Leah in a couple years... it never ends. :)
Callie is the sweetest and the best. How did I get so lucky to have such amazing kids??

Quinten, Quin, Quinny, Q... he has plenty of names

How did the year go so fast? I always dread the first few months after I have a baby. The lack of sleep, trying to nurse, healing from giving birth, taking care of other needy kids at the same time... it's never something I look forward to. I anxiously await each milestone that I can put behind me: first smiles, solid foods, sitting up alone, etc. But, there is just something about Quinten that has really helped me enjoy this last year. Quinten just makes me smile. Maybe it's partly because I know he will always be my baby or possibly because he is the only boy... I'm not really sure. This last year has been good. I've still spent the year wishing for more sleep, more freedom, and more alone time, but it's still been great. He is a sweetheart. I love that he loves me so much. He smiles whenever he sees me; if he is sitting with anyone else, he immediately starts to squirm. We've developed our own way of communicating in the last few months. He is very different than the girls: they were all talking by the time they were a year old. So, Quin and I have found other ways to figure out what he needs. He points with his head, he makes different noises for yes and no. I can tell by the look on his face if I'm doing what he wants me to do. He is such a happy little guy. I have friends who tell me all the time that they never see him cry or fuss... I know this is not true, but it's nice to know he keeps his bad moods out of the public eye. :)
Quinten is still a little guy, as all my kids have been. The crazy thing is even though he weighs about what the girls did at this age, he feels heavier and thicker. He's just a boy and we love it. He would play with balls all day if we would let him and actually already has a good arm on him.
He loves his sisters, but when he's had too much he just reaches out and pulls their hair... and smiles the whole time he is doing it.
Quinten is still not walking; it's really no surprise since all our kids have been late walkers. He pulls himself up and walks around the furniture. We're getting there! Maybe by the end of the summer we'll have walking news. He still crawls on his belly instead of his hands and knees, which ruins all his clothes, of course; but, he is really fast, so why change a good thing?? We are still waiting for some teeth to come in- we hope it happens soon just so it will be easier for him to eat. His hair continues to be the bane of my existence. I'm so used to the girls- we get trims a couple times a year. This kid need his hair cut at least once a month! Ugh. I always put it off just because I hate it and he hates it, but he looks terribly shaggy by the time we get it done. I suppose he's lucky to have hair at all... some two year olds aren't as lucky as him. :)
Quinten is just the best. Watching him grow this last year has truly been a joy. I'm so grateful to be his mom. I have been blessed and I know it.

I think he was eating Oreos in this picture...

Finally

I finally got the pictures to upload for Leah's birthday post. If you want to read it, you may have to scroll down a bit to find it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORI! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Andrew & The Kids

My Baby No More...

Today my baby turned one. My handsome, precious baby boy. Believe it or not, I have mixed emotions about such an event. (I know this will shock most of you). With each passing day, I move closer to closing the baby phase of my life. I've had a baby for so long, that it almost feels odd. I know it's the right thing for our family- I feel complete and that makes me happy; but, it is still just a strange idea that we will no longer have to keep baby things around once Quinten outgrows them. I've already purged my house of all my newborn things- my poor sister, Siri, now gets to store them for future use. :) And every time Leah or Quinten outgrow things, I send them away from our home to someone else who can use them. Odd. Eventually, I will stop having to wake up at night for crying little ones. They will get older and will be able to bathe themselves, get themselves dressed, go to the bathroom without help, etc. Someday, I may be able to retire the countless diaper bags that have circulated through our home in the last 7+ years. Odd. We will move into a stage of independent kids who can take on more responsibilities. Kids who can buckle their own seat belts. Kids who may not want me to be around 24/7- kids who will let me go to the bathroom alone. ( I know- it's almost too good to be true).
As my baby years slowly fade into the past, I hope there will be things that are not lost. I love that my kids still want to sit with me and be loved. I love the way Quinten smiles at me when I come in his room to get him out of his crib. I love that Leah tells me I'm her favorite and in the same breath tells her Dad that he is not her favorite (I know- I'm horrible). On the flip side, however, she is the first and loudest to greet him with a huge hug when he gets home from work each day. I love the way Callie tries to make me happy when she knows I'm mad at one of her sisters. I love the way Alexa still draws me pictures and cards that tell me I'm the best mom and that she loves me. They are my precious babies- each of them- and I hope they will always know how much they mean to me.

So, the point of this rambling on Quinten's birthday is to mention that we've had a lot of milestones lately. I've been a horrible blogger and need to catch up. I started a post on Leah's birthday that I still need to finish, we've had another soccer season begin and end, preschool graduation, a family vacation to Disneyland, the end of the school year, more lost teeth, potty training going on, celebrating both Leah's and Quinten's birthdays... and the list goes on. Or I should say, the pictures go on and on and on. I have intentions of catching up. I will catch up. And I'll get it done before we get too far into the summer. We have plenty going on in the next few months before school starts again to blog about as well. So, look forward to my posts everyone... aren't you excited??? I am.

My Little Leah

Leah after her face painting at Disneyland.
Our tiny little girl. She was so small that she hardly fit in her car seat. She was a great baby... but was awake all the time- the most alert newborn I've ever met. She would stay awake for hours at a time without even a catnap... it drove us crazy!

Today is Leah's birthday. It's hard to imagine that three years ago today she was so tiny- three weeks early and just over five pounds. She was beautiful from the start and has grown even more beautiful since. Leah is my one blue-eyed child. Sometimes she will come up to me and say, "You and me are the only ones with blue eyes." And then she smiles. I love that. Leah makes me laugh with the funny things she says and does. I can't get enough of her crazy ideas and thoughts. "I hate green beans because I don't like corn" is one common example. But, on the flip side, she is the loudest child we have... sometimes her voice drives us crazy!! She also trills all of her words... you really can't believe it until you hear it. It's like rolling your r's to speak Spanish, but she does it with words that don't even have an r! I can't even replicate it all the time. We're convinced she'll need speech therapy to get rid of it... or she just needs to learn Spanish and use it as her first language. It really is crazy. Leah gives the best hugs out of anyone; she wraps her arms around your neck and squeezes tight- it's the greatest feeling.
Leah spends most of her time keeping up with her big sisters. She's pretty good at holding her own with them. I've recently had to remind myself (when we went to Disneyland and I realized she didn't know any of the Disney princesses names... Andrew asked her who her favorite was and she said Shauna...hmm) that I need to spend time doing three year old stuff with her. It's not normal for a three year old to want to watch Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers or Suite Life on Deck. When the big girls move out of a stage, Leah moves right along with them. We are trying to fix that and have pulled out all the Princess movies and dress-ups so she can at least learn their names!
Leah is passionate about a few things: the colors yellow and orange, apple juice, and her blankets, which she affectionately calls her "nins." Sometimes after she's crawled into my lap with a "nin" I'll ask her if she is my favorite and my best three year old. She always answers the same, " Yes, and yellow and orange and apple juice" because those are her favorites and bests. She is the sweetest and we love her so much. I'm grateful to be the mom of such a beautiful, fiesty, strong-willed, loving little girl.