Halloween at Disneyland

We just got back last night from an amazing, but exhausting week in California. Brock's parent's have been talking about taking Jace to Disneyland since he was born, and they figured 3 years was long enough to wait. So Monday we flew into Long Beach and drove to San Diego to visit the zoo. I tried to tell them that it was pretty much just like all the other zoos only bigger, but they didn't believe me. They had to see for themselves that the animals still just sit there doing nothing - even in San Diego.
Then Tuesday we went to Sea World. I had never been there, and really had a good time. Brock, Jace and I braved the "soak-zone" for the Shamu show and got really wet. Luckily we were wearing ponchos so only our hair stayed wet. Jace loved it and was laughing the whole time.
Wednesday we relaxed and had a pool/beach day. Our hotel was right on the beach. It was really fun. The water was FREEZING, but Brock and I decided to be daring and played in the waves. I got stuck in a rip currant and seriously could not get out. There was even a guy on the shore telling Brock's mom to stop taking pictures because I was about to drown. I was swimming as hard as I could and was going nowhere. I got tired fast and told Brock that I was starting to get scared. He was so calm and after about 10 or 15 minutes we were back on shore. I have a good man.
Thursday we drove up to Anaheim to our new hotel right across from Disneyland. We were there the whole day. Jace loved it. I have never been a big fan of Disneyland, but it is an entirely different experience with a 3 year old. He honestly thought he was chatting with and hugging and high-fiving Mickey Mouse, Spongebob, Mr. Incredible, Tigger and Pooh, Mike and Sully, etc., etc., etc. He loved all the rides and would tell us how much fun he was having. He loved Buzz Lightyear and shooting all the bad guys. He really made me have so much fun. It was decorated for Halloween and it was soooo cute! Candycorn everywhere you looked, a huge pumpkin with Mickey carved in it, kids in costumes, it was so fun.
Friday we went to Universal Studios and again, had a blast.
Saturday we had "Magical Morning" passes and got to go on all the little kid rides before the park opened. There were no lines and it was so fun.
Sunday was a day at the pool followed by Disneyland, and then we were on our way home. The week flew by. Jace has been looking forward to this for months thanks to Brock's dad, and it did not disappoint.
Thanks Dale and Shauna for an amazing experience that I will never forget. Hopefully Jace won't either. And thanks to Brock's sisters and brother-in-law,and aunts, uncles, and cousins for being so great about letting Jace do what he wanted to do. In three more years we'll have to do it again when Beckett and Nixon are 3! Yahoo!
I am at work, so I can't post pictures, but I will tonight when I get home. That is, of course, if the boys will allow. Brock leaves in a couple of hours for Denver for the week, so we'll see if they let me.

Back to Work

Yes, it's true. I have started working again. I started last week, and so far so good. Its a company called Heritage Festivals. I work in the air department, and set up flights for students in junior high, high school and college going to our festivals all over the world, and performing at bowl games and such. It is full time so I kind of jumped right in. I worked when Jace was 8 weeks old, and always planned on it, but haven't worked since Nixon was born 7 months ago, so it was pretty hard that first day, and since. I know my boys are in great care with Brock's mom, but am still trying to make the adjustment. I am hoping that this will be a good thing for our family, and I hope I really love this job. For some reason I can't help but feel guilty for doing this, but at the same time, I always felt guilty when I was at home too. I sometimes wish motherhood was easier, and we never had to question the things we do. I love my boys and want the very best for them. Now if I could just figure out what that is.

Jace's 3rd BiRtHdAy!!!

My BIG BOY is 3!!!

Jace turned 3 on Friday, October 3rd. We did lots of fun things, and he got tons of fun stuff. Friday morning Jace when Jace woke up, I said, Jace, its your Birthday today! He yelled, I'm three!!! Then said, I'm not two anymore, I'm three. (Of course, he says free, but I didn't want to embarrass him!) I was going to the temple so I dropped Jace and Nixon off at day care. I took cupcakes, and Shauna, Brock's mom, had made him a cute hat. Jace passed cupcakes out to all of his friends and then they sang Happy Birthday to him. He loved every second of it. Then I was off.
Then Brock left work early to pick him up and take him to lunch at McDonald's. I know, lame, but that's what he wanted.
When I got home, and after he got a nice nap in, we took him to Kangaroo Zoo. It is such a fun place and right down the street from us. There are a bunch of those big blow up slides and bouncy house things. They also have miniature golf in black lights. Jace loved every second of it. He ran around and jumped and slid for 3 hours strait. We then went to Wendy's and got ice cream, then home to bed.
Then Saturday, we had a little party with our families. It was supposed to be at a park, but alas, it rained ALL DAY! We had pizza and a fun "Cars" ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Jace opened about a million presents. He loved all the toys, and every time he would open a clothing item, he would set it down and move along a little too quickly. It was funny.
Anyway, Happy Birthday big boy! I love you!

Friends

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is almost nothing that I love more than being with my friends. I have been so blessed to have the most amazing, caring, funny, silly friends. This past weekend all my girls from high school (well, most of them) were able to leave our children and husbands behind, and spend a night downtown in a hotel. We had sooooo much fun. I just want to say thank you to all of them for remaining my closest friends through all of these years. The last time I was up until 3 or 4 in the morning was probably when Brock and I were dating! We laughed, and cried (not all of you were there when tears were shed, but those who were, thanks for listening and sharing). We played, and ate, and soaked illegally. I love you all. Thank you for all you do for me. Lets do it again soon.

And remember, this Wednesday, my house at 1:00.

A Visit with a Fire Fighter

Learning about fire safety.


Inside the fire engine. Jace is in the front of course.


He got to spray the hose. He loved it!


In his whole gettup. Some of the kids were a little frightened. Mostly the little girls.


They got to see the inside of an ambulance.


And of course, they all got cute fire hats and stickers to wear.




One of the men in our ward works as a fire fighter at the station just up the street from us, so a bunch of us thought it would be fun to take our kids for a tour. Jace loved every second of it. He ran from place to place making sure to be the first in line, and the closest to the cool fireman. Thanks ladies for making this possible!

Bungee Jumping in Whistler, BC Canada

Okay, so I know this is old, but I just got the DVD with the pictures on it. We jumped from a 160 foot bridge over a beautiful river. It was seriously so much fun! Its so funny to see my pictures because as I was falling, it was as if I couldn't move. I stay in the same position the whole time on the initial fall. Always with a smile on my face though. It was awesome!

Jace goes to Preschool

Some of you have said that your kids needed to hold your hand the whole way in, not Jace

I wanna do it myself mommy!

Notice the other kids hugging their dad, crying that He has to leave, not Jace.


He had to bring his balloon



Okay, so I felt a little weird taking pictures of Jace's "first day of school" because he has been going to this day care/preschool since he was 8 weeks old. But he will be three in a couple of weeks and can now attend the preschool part of it. He was excited to be there, and waved me off like always. There are a couple of ladies that teach, one of which is Brock's mom, Shauna. Jace loves to go to school and see grandma. He gets whatever he wants, the rules don't really apply to him, or so he thinks. The other day they were playing on the playground and all the kids took their shoes off. The other teacher told them all to put them back on, and of course, everyone did...except Jace. She told him to put his shoes on, and he looked around, and back at her, and said, "Where's my grandma?" in a matter of fact tone, like, I guess you don't know how it works around here. I am allowed to do whatever I want, whenever I want, just ask grandma. She started laughing, and told Shauna, who of course had to tell us. He is such a brat!

Ward Campout

Ward Campout

Last weekend Brock and I took the boys on our ward campout. We are on the activities committee, so we had to go, but we did have a good time. It was in Coalville, which is about 20 miles past Park City, and we got there around 7:30 Friday night. Just in time to set up our tent (in the dark, with no instructions), roast marshmellows, tell stories, and drink hot chocolate. It was FREEZING! We all huddled around the fire until we decided to go to bed. Brock and I had a pretty miserable night trying to stay close for warmth, and worrying about the boys. Jace slept just fine the whole night, Nixon woke up once and got mad when we tried to stick a frozen binkie in his mouth. Luckily he only cried until his binkie warmed up, and then he fell asleep. He was so bundled, he kind of felt sweaty, but I was just glad he wasn't as cold as I was. Brock and I tried to spoon, but we couldn't get comfortable and warm. Needless to say, we were exausted the next morning, and all day Saturday. We had french toast, hashbrowns, sausage, and hot chocolate for breakfast which was so yummy. Then we packed it up and headed home. Next year I will suggest going in July!

Jaylee's Blessing

Jaylee's Blessing in St. George

Nolan and Treo decided to have Jaylee's baby blessing this past weekend, so my parents and all of my siblings made our way down to St. George. We stayed in a nice condo and spent our time swimming, golfing, watching lots of football (my whole family roots for BYU, while Brock and I were outnumbered cheering for Utah. Luckily they both won!) eating some great food, and just spending time with each other. The weather was a lovely 100 degrees (BLECH!), so I took the boys swimming in the morning while Brock was golfing, then I went again by myself during the BYU game, and then Brock joined the boys and I between games. It seemed like I was in the pool all day!
Sunday was really nice. Nolan gave a beautiful blessing that had us all in tears, and then we went to Treo's Brother's house for lunch and dessert afterwards. We all headed back up North and realized that the weekend went by far too quickly. I love to see Nolan and Treo so much, and wish they lived closer, but it was really nice to get to hang out with them all weekend. Thanks for being such great hosts! Love you guys, hope to see you soon!

Facebook | Photos of You

Facebook Photos of You

Nixon is 6 months old

I took Nixon in for his 6 month well check-up today. He is doing just great. He is growing and is now 14 lbs 15.8 oz (yeah, I thought they should just round it up to 15 too) which puts him in the 30th percentile. He is 26 inches and in the 45th percentile for height, and his head is 16 1/2 cm and in the 15th percentile. Okay, so he is still tiny, but all of his percentages are up, so I'm happy about that. I have been feeding him rice cereal a couple of times a day for a while now, and the doctor said I can feed him fruits and vegetables. I know its silly, but I am excited. I think I want him to grow up too fast. Nixon made me so happy this week...he started sleeping through the night! I am always nervous to say anything because its usually a fluke, and I don't want to jinx myself, but Saturday to Tuesday night he slept from 10:00 pm to 9:00 am! I was so ecstatic! Then Wednesday night he woke up at like 1:00 am and I decided to let him cry it out. It was hard. I did the whole 5 min. - check on him, 10 min. - check on him, 20 min. -check on him etc. and about 45 minutes later he was asleep for good until 9:30 am. Then last night he went to sleep at 9:30 and slept until 4:00 am. I figured he really must be hungry this time so I fed him. I can't decide what to do. I know he can go all night now, so do I let him cry it out any time he wakes up? My doctor said to feed him only if its been more than 8 hours since he last ate. I will take her advice for now, unless one of you knows something different. Anyway, he got his shots and took it like a trooper. He stopped crying as soon as I picked him up, and was over it. Gotta love boys. He is healthy and all is well.

Canada Part II

Canada Part I

Kids

This is what happens at my house when I leave Jace alone with Nixon for more than 5 seconds. This is what Jace has been doing while I have been working on getting my blog updated. Such a nice big brother. He even got it up Nixon's nose. I would love to know what Nixon was thinking.

Canada, Eh?

Brock and the kids and I just got back from Whistler, British Columbia in Canada. We left a week ago Saturday, and got back this past Saturday night. It was our Sanders Family vacation and we had a really good time.

We flew to Seattle with Justin, Maria, and Julia and met up with Grandpa Sanders, my mom and dad, Dane, Annie, and their girls. Justin, Maria, and Julia stayed in Seattle for the night to go to the Brandee Carlisle concert while the rest of us made the drive to Whistler. Its a town kind of like Park City with cute shops all around, lakes, mountains, trees, and rivers. In fact, the 2010 olympics will be held in Vancouver, with a bunch of the events to be held in Whistler, just like when they were here and we used Park City for a lot of the venues. Anyway, it was sunny on Saturday and Sunday so we took advantage and went swimming at the hotel.

Monday through Wednesday was cold and rainy most of the days, but we still managed to have a good time. Luckily the Olympics were on, so we watched them, played card games, and went to yummy restaurants around the village.

Monday we went to a fun lake with a little sandy beach area, volleyball courts, and a big grass area. Again, it was cold, but Brock and Justin didn't mind. They went ahead and jumped in. They must have been excited from the olympics because they each thought they were as fast as Michael Phelps and decided to have a race. Justin won by about a hundreth of a second!

The kids played in the sand, and some of us played with some little plastic rackets seeing who could hit it back and forth the longest. Julia and I lost, even with our record of 5! Justin and Brock got something in the 20s. (these are the games we play when its too cold to get in the water!)

Tuesday Mom, Dad, Justin, and Brock went golfing. The weather cooperated just enough for them to golf. It had rained a little that morning, but stayed dry while they golfed. Brock came home a little upset at his game. It was a beautiful course (so they say) and even though he did win, he was disappointed.

Wednesday we did something called Hydro Bronc. Unfortunately we have no pictures of the contraptions we floated down the river in, and its kind of hard to explain, but we each got in these huge floating "hamster cages" and floated down a rapid river for about a kilometer. (everything in Canada is measured in kilometers) It was really cold slipping into the already wet wet suits, but then once we were in the water I had totally forgotten about that. It was so much fun! Click here to see a picture http://www.whistlerriverball.com/

Thursday mom, dad, Justin, and Brock went golfing again. This time the weather was much better, and Brock played much better. He was 12 strokes better than Tuesday, which made him extremely happy.

Friday it was a beautiful day. We spent the morning in the pool. Jace has become quite the swimmer. We bought him some arm floaties and he loved them! He loved being able to swim by himself. He would jump in and go under the water and just love it. He never wanted to leave. Then we all headed out to go BUNGEE JUMPING! It was so awesome! Justin, Maria, Julia and I all jumped. Brock is a little afraid of heights (okay, a lot) and my grandpa and parents were way to afraid! Annie is pregnant so they didn't jump. We were on a bridge 160 feet from a raging river below. Maria almost didn't go. They had to count down from 5 like 4 times before she finally decided she could do it. Everyone on the bridge was counting! Then it was Justin's turn, and he didn't even want a countdown. As soon as they opened the gate he said, "Am I good to go?" They said yes and he walked right off. Then Julia went. They counted her down and she paused for a couple of seconds and then jumped. Then it was my turn. I decided to jump backwards. They counted me down and I jumped! I screamed for a couple of seconds, and then I couldn't even make a noise again until I bounced at the bottom. I just kept thinking holy crap, I'm still falling, I'm still falling, I'm still falling! It was seriously so much fun. I love stuff like that.

Saturday we got up and packed and made the 5 hour drive back to Seattle. Brock was stressing out so bad because we had to wait an hour and a half to get through customs back into the U.S. By the time we got through, it was 2:00 and we had a 2 hour drive to Seattle from there and our flight was at 5:00. We still had to get gas, return our rental car, and check our bags. We rolled into the car rental place at 4:10, and now he was really freaking out. When we got to the airport we hurried to check our bags and then saw Justin, Maria, and Julia coming in. The gate agent said they only had three minutes to get checked in before the computer wouldn't allow it. They hurried and made it. Then we had to get through security and down about 6 different hallways carrying two carseats, two kids, a diaper bag and Brock's laptop bag. Thanks to Justin, Maria and Julia for helping out with that. We walked on the plane just in time, and Brock had practically no fingernails left! We both sat down and let our breath out! It was crazy. Anyway, we made it home, and look forward to our trip to Disneyland in October!

What Do You Think...

My cousin Michelle Ross wrote this on her blog. I always love reading what she has to say. Some of you may remember her, she went to Jordan our Junior year. Anyway, you should check out her blog some time for some interesting reads - mostly just her thoughts - but they always get me thinking. I just wanted to hear all of your thoughts on this subject. I shared some of my thoughts with her, and will again on my blog if I ever get time.

marriage - the anti-consumer mindset
Last night I wondered...why do people ever get married? Statistics show that satisfaction in marriage drops drastically after the first year and continues to drop...forever...Why would anyone wish such unhappiness upon themselves I ask?In speaking with some of my classmates today about this very topic, one mentioned that marriage goes against everything we are taught in our consumer society. We are brainwashed to think that there is always something better to come. This year our ipods are the "it" thing but next year it will be completely different and we will inevitably be unsatisfied with our current novelty. We are bombarded with messages that make us feel that what we have isn't good enough. Our phone is considered old a few months after we get it. Our computer software is suddenly incompatible with something 6 months down the road. Our car is a year old and doesn't shine the way it used to. Our clothes aren't in fashion 3 months after we buy them. The list goes on and on, but the message is clear: change is needed for satisfaction and happiness. Maybe that's why so many people are unhappy in marriage. Things were so great at first but then you realize after a short time that you are with the same person and expected to still be satisfied? When we are taught to want something better and newer and fresher? It goes against everything we have experienced in life. That is why marriage is the anti-consumer mindset. You have to learn to be satisfied with what you have. Is it possible I wonder? I just see so many unhappy marriages. So many disillusioned couples. So many people who don't know how to connect anymore with the person they once trusted the most. Being a hopeless romantic I want to believe what a religion professor at BYU once told me: that marriage is a miracle. I want to believe that it doesn't have to follow the consumer culture we are wrapped up in.

Bee Haircut!

Okay, so as you can see, Jace desperately needed a haircut. He calls it a bee haircut because of the way the clippers make a buzzing sound like a bee. Smart kid, I know. We decided to bring back the mohawk for a little while before we shave off the entire thing. Cute isn't it?