Perfect Getaway

Last year when my mom in-law, Shellie, and I took the kids to Logan while Jon was on a hunt we decided it needed to become a tradition. We took off the last weekend in September to enjoy the beauties of Sardine and Logan Canyons. This year my mom was able to join us. So to start off a perfect getaway I have to admit how blessed I am to be able to spend a weekend with both my mommy and mommy in-law! I know...don't hate me :).

We left early Saturday morning and marveled at the gorgeous leaves of Sardine. Coming and going to school during the falls at USU was always a favorite. I don't know many places more beautiful. We called in some take out from The Bluebird, picked up Happy Meals for the kids and headed to a park to enjoy the fabulous weather. Garrett was insistent that we go check the hotel out, so that was our next stop. He was so excited and recounted every detail of our last experience there. He and Rylee immediately climbed into bed to watch a movie with the grandmas while I went shopping.

Next, I wanted to take them to one of my favorite spots up Logan Canyon...Tony Grove. The kids loved throwing rocks into lake and then we went "hiking" around the lake.

It was a little longer than I remember but they enjoyed climbing on the rocks, watching a hawk fly around with his dinner, and pointing out all the pretty colors.

Garrett wanted a turn taking a picture-he didn't do too bad!

Since we were on vacation we let them have dessert before dinner as we stopped at the Nutrition Building to have a scoop of the famous Aggie Ice Cream. YUMMY! Then we went to Fireside Pizzeria and had a delicious meal.

Garrett got a little impatient over dinner because he wanted to go swimming, but other than that the kids were super good! So back to the hotel and a little dip in the pool to finish of the night.

Sunday morning we enjoyed a tasty breakfast at the hotel, got ready for the day and then went to Willow Park Zoo. The kids LOVE this place.

We ended up staying there for most of the morning. It was so peaceful and relaxing! Around the zoo are 3 playgrounds,we went to the one with "THE PINK SLIDE, MOMMY!" so Rylee could indulge in her favorite color.

We had a picnic at the park and the kids played for 2 hours! We finally packed up in the car and headed home.

I love my munchkins!!!

It was the perfect company, the perfect weather, the perfect scenery, the perfect grub, the perfect (almost) behavior! It seriously couldn't have gone any better!

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

My friend Crystal has a daughter, Sydnee, who is in Garrett's preschool class. She told her family that she has a boyfriend at preschool. His name is Garrett! When informed of this budding romance I asked him, "Garrett what are the names of the kids in your class?". "I don't know". "Is there a girl named Sydnee?" "Yes." "Do you like her?" ....long pause, "okay."

Birthday Boy!

I had no intentions of throwing a "friend" party this year since Garrett had one last year. When he got an invite to his friend's party five days before his birthday you would think he would be excited. Quite the contrary. I read him the invite, he let it drop from his hands and with puppy dog eyes and a frown he says, "but what about my dinosaur birthday party?". Now, had he thrown a fit my "no party" idea would have stuck. But to see the absolute sadness in his voice and face killed me. So the next day we bought and delivered invitations (FOUR DAYS BEFORE PARTY) and I apologized profusely to their moms. Garrett was thrilled! He also had preschool the morning of his birthday so he wanted to bring dinosaur sugar cookies. Monday evening was spent making and decorating cookies, making a cake, and planning a party! I decorated the house before I went to bed and was exhausted when I finally hit the pillow. When Garrett woke up the next morning he was in awe. I brought him to the kitchen to see the cake and he went nuts! All morning he kept saying, "Thank you so much mama for my dinosaur birthday party!". The thing is, it was so heartfelt and sincere it made it all worth it. He thanked me when he saw the cookies he could take to preschool. He thanked me for the "Happy Birthday" signs that were hung up. He thanked me for the big dinosaur posters on the wall. He thanked me for the cake...over and over again. The thank you's just kept coming.

Papa Gray came over and Grandma and Grandpa Smith all to wish Garrett a happy birthday.

When 3:30 finally came he could hardly contain himself when his friends starting showing up. We colored dinosaur pictures for their placemats, played pin the horn on the triceratops, dinosaur "bone"lling alley, had cake, opened presents and decorated cookies to take home.

The boy couldn't have been happier. Nana, Grandma Sue and cousin Alek were there to help....and with 8 kids I needed it! After the party Nana let Garrett pick a place for dinner so we headed to Wingers. They have popcorn you know! We came home just in time for a visit from Great Grandma and Grandpa Gray and Aunt Mary. He finally made it to bed and fell asleep with a smile on his face! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARBEAR!

F-I-V-E

Garrett,

Today is your 5th birthday! It's hard to believe that just five short years ago you were born. I couldn't wait to see your little face, count your fingers and toes and hear you cry. Luckily, you didn't cry too much! You have been such a great little boy and I have loved watching you grow and learn new things. Recently I told you that you were getting so grown up and you, in a very concerned voice replied, "But I don't want to grow up, I want to stay little. I want a machine to keep me small." How I wish that were possible! You are such a great big brother to Rylee and a big helper to me and dad. I love you so much and am so thankful that I get to be your mom!

Love,
Mommy

Preschool!

Garrett started his first day of preschool yesterday! He got his backpack on and was ready to go long before we needed to leave. Luckily he was excited and didn't turn back when I told him goodbye. I thought I'd have a hard time - not so much - I was just as excited for him! It's just hard to believe how quickly time flies! He'll be graduating high school before I know it.

August Highlights

August was a little more tame than July, but we still managed to have some fun. On the 7th we went to our ward campout. This was Rylee's first camping experience and she was so excited. They had their backpacks, sleeping bags and flashlights ready hours before Jon was even going to be home. Once we got there and set up our tent it was time for dinner. We enjoyed visiting with our friends and getting to know others better. Garrett couldn't wait to get in his sleeping bag and officially start camping. Rylee on the other had wasn't going to bed without a ceremonial marshmallow roast - and how can I blame her!

While we were roasting marshmallows, Garrett and Jon were laying in the tent when Garrett told Jon, "this is the best place ever!". We slept pretty good and woke up to the lovely smells and sounds of the canyon.

Most of the ward opted not to sleepover since there was a chance or rain so there were only 14 of us for breakfast. Considering they planned for 50 - there was plenty of food and my kids loved it! More pancakes please!

We went hiking around the campground and then loaded up for home. Although we were gone only 16 hours Garrett and Rylee thought it was fabulous and want to go again.



On the 23rd we had the Oquirrh Temple Dedication. I watched some of our little friends so their parents and older siblings could attend. After breakfast they all wanted to get right in and play. I'm sure the Hoehne's would be so happy to see their sweet Henry running around with his partner in crime and their machine guns. It doesn't exactly scream Sabbath Day activity, but they were having so much fun!

We went to my parents for a yummy Alaskan salmon and halibut lunch. My dad was kind enough to share his catch with us. Then I went to the dedication with Shellie and really enjoyed the spirit that was there. It was one of those days where I kept thinking how nice it would be to just take a nap but it was definitely worth going!

On the 27th I went with Kristie, Amanda and Ashleigh for girls night. We got to see Kris' remodeled kitchen which is amazing and then headed up Ogden canyon to one of her favorite restaurants-Taggart's Grill. This is 1 1/2 hours from my home but I would go there again in a heartbeat. Although the service was less than stellar, the food was awesome, and the atmosphere (peacocks wandering around the rock fountains, beautiful flowers, etc) was great. Go there - it's in Morgan! The longish drive only meant more chatting with girls so it was a wonderful evening!

On the 28th Rylee had her first haircut. She was so excited to go until we walked in - then she froze. It didn't look so fun to her anymore and I couldn't get a smile to save me. She kept looking over at Garrett getting his hair cut also to make sure this was all okay. The girl layered her hair and cut some bangs.

Honestly, it doesn't look that different to me but at least it's not so crazy when she gets up from sleeping! After haircuts my parents offered to watch the kids so Jon and I went on our second date of the month! I think that's a record for us!

On the 29th we celebrated Shellie's birthday with a tasty dinner at Tepanyaki's - a family favorite! She's the best mom in-law a gal could have. Happy Birthday!!!

DISNEYWORLD 2009

Several months ago Jon's sister and brother in-law invited us to join them on their DisneyWorld vacation. We were so excited to spend time with them (they live in Ohio) and go on our first REAL vacation with our kids. The day of our departure arrived, July 20th, but our vacation got off to a rocky start. Jon's eye had been bugging him for a few days and since rejection of his transplant is always an option he figured he better get it checked out before leaving. One hour before we were going to leave I got a phone call from Jon saying that he had a serious infection in his eye, a corneal ulcer to be exact, which was going to require daily check-ups for the next two weeks. So, we canceled the trip! Much to our disappointment there wasn't a whole lot else we could do. I canceled our flight and the rental car and figured we'd try to sale the Disney tickets on ebay. I drove Shellie and Jordan to the airport to see them off. We cried and figured we'd go another time. The next day I went with Jon to his appointment. This doctor thought it was looking much better since starting the hourly eye drops and gave us the okay to go. We're on, we're off....it's a cruel game to play with me. So we bought last minute plane tickets and headed off to Florida to join the rest of the crew. We arrived at 12:30 am but had no rental car as all 16 places I called were sold out. Luckily our bro. in-law, Javier, was kind enough to pick us up AND they found a rental closer to where we were staying so we could pick it up around 7:30am. Next came a few hours of sleep and then off on our first official day of vacationing!

DAY 1 - EPCOT

The boys didn't get to the rental place at 7:30 and the beavis gave our car away. After a near fight and at least 1 1/2 hours later he "found" one more car....

a Mustang convertible. Now this may look like fun - and it would have been 6 years ago, but two kids, two car seats, two strollers and all the other stuff made this a less than fabulous ride for the coming days.
By now we are just hungry so we head to Downtown Disney for lunch. Lindsay had already done her research and thought T-Rex Cafe would work. It's owned by the same company that has Rainforest Cafe so you can imagine the enormous and life-like dinosaurs moving about and growling. It scared Garrett to death! Once we were able to convince him they were not real he settled down and really enjoyed the place. And the food was great!

Now off to Epcot. We went on the Finding Nemo ride that was very cute. The ride ends in an awesome two story aquarium that you can walk around and see dolphins, sea turtles, manatea, and all sorts of fish.

Garrett fell in love all over again with his Aunt Lindsay and had a hard time letting her be a mom to her own two boys. He wanted to go on all the rides with her, sit by her, be pushed in the stroller by her, etc. He went on Soarin' with Lindsay and thought it was the best.

Overall there wasn't a whole lot for our kids to do. I would have loved to walk around the countries, but that's something that would be good for "just the girls". I don't think Dante and Julian, our nephews, were that fond of it either. If I knew then what I know now we wouldn't go there. But it's all part of the experience, right!

DAY 2 - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

I was pleasantly surprised on our first day that it wasn't as hot and muggy as I had anticipated. That must have been a fluke. The rest of the trip was almost unbearable. I'm not a hot weather fan to begin with but we could only stay at the parks for 4 or 5 hours because it was just so uncomfortable. You'll notice in most all the pictures there isn't a trace of a smile on Garrett and Rylee. I don't think they knew what to do with themselves!

Anyway, we started Hollywood Studios off with the big rides when the lines aren't so long. And you have to master the art of the "fast pass" to really maximize the number of rides with the least wait time. We did pretty good. Shellie was kind enough to stay with the kids while Jon and I got to go on Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster, an A+ in my book, and the Tower of Terror. Then we took the kids to see the Little Mermaid show which they both loved. We saw the Beauty and the Beast show and Rylee was in love with Belle. Dante and Julian both got picked for the Jedi training which they were ecstatic about. We took Garrett on Star Tours even though he was whimpering the whole time but once he actually got on the ride he loved it. That was pretty much it for my kids. It was too hot and we weren't about to wait 90 minutes to go on the other little kid attractions. Kinda had the same feelings I did about Epcot.

When we got home we swam and just had fun playing and visiting with each other.

Dante teaching Garrett some of his new Jedi training moves!

Dog pile on Aunt Linds! They just gobbled up her attention.

DAY 3 - MAGIC KINGDOM

Rylee was ready for the magic of Disney with Tinkerbell in tow.

We decided as much, as possible, to stay together which was nice since the point was to spend time with each other. We went on Pirates of the Carribbean, Aladdin's Magic Carpet and then the Jungle Safari. Julian got picked to "steer" the boat and our tour guide was hilarious!

Garrett was tall enough to go on Splash Mountain & Big Thunder Mountain. I think they were a little spooky for him but he laughed when they over and was so excited to tell Nana of his bravery.

Waiting to get on It's a Small World...this is pretty much a good shot of how the entire day was!

Did I mention how hot it was! There were several meltdowns, but honestly, if I wouldn't have created a scene I probably would have done the same thing.

The gang having a GREAT time!

It's only fitting that the princesses be captured in front of their castle!

We headed home to cool off in the pool with plans to return that evening and enjoy more rides...

that plan was deterred when Jon was helping Rylee get dressed after swimming and heard a "pop" and Rylee freaked out. I was just coming home from grocery shopping with Linds and Jon was in a panic. I suspected she pulled her elbow out of socket but since I wasn't there AND she was holding her wrist and not the elbow I didn't want to try putting it back in (my sister taught me that trick). So off we went with a diaper clad child on a 40 minute drive to an Urgent Care clinic that would accept our insurance. It was the elbow and a quick flick of the wrist and all was right again in the world. We got back to the home, had this yummy salmon dinner and were too tired to head back to Magic Kingdom.

DAY 4 - ANIMAL KINGDOM

Upon entering Animal Kingdom the ticket man asked if I wanted fast passes to the "Festival of the Lion King" show. Sure! It's probably not something that would have been on my "must see" list but I'm so glad we went. It was my favorite part of the Disney experience. The performers were incredible. I felt like we had a 30 minute Broadway show. AWESOME!!! My kids loved it and it was the first time Garrett wanted his picture taken. Too bad it didn't turn out well.

Garrett on the Lambeosaurus in Dinoland

Heading in to Africa to go on the Kilamanjaro Safari. This was an open space safari were we saw rhinos, elephants, giraffes, crocodiles and a lion just wandering around. It was GREAT!

Rylee and Lindsay waiting in line for the Safari

Dante, Shellie, Jordan & Julian

The last ride was the Everest Expedition. A fabulous, surprising roller coaster that definitely rivals the Rockin' Roller Coaster. We went on this several times! I would have traded Epcot for another day here, we barely scraped the surface with all there was to do.

DAY 5 - MAGIC KINGDOM

Our flight didn't leave until 5:00 so we had time to visit one more park in the morning. We decided to split up so my kids could on the smaller rides at Magic Kingdom that they didn't get to earlier and the big boys went back to Hollywood Studios. It worked out really nice and we didn't have to wait in lines! A bonus was that Garrett got to have Lindsay all to himself. He wouldn't go on a single ride with me. The stinker! This was one of the best days. We went on Peter Pan, the Carousel,

Mickey's Philharmagic (so fun), Teacups,

Goofy's Barnstormer Roller Coaster, Winnie the Pooh ride, and met the Princesses (Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty) - definitely a highlight for Rylee.

Ry walked out of the princess tent and immediately found these mouse ears, princess purse and bracelet that were must haves!

Garrett and his loot.

On the way out of the park we stopped at a little store for us big girls to get a souvenir. The parade started and I stepped out with the kids so they could watch. We caught the end so when it came back I walked out of the shop again with Rylee despite a torential rainstorm started. Apparently Shellie and Linds didn't hear me say I was going out and when they didn't join me after a few minutes I went back in the store. They weren't there. I looked around, went back outside looking up and down the street. You could barely seen through the rain. I went back inside the shop when I noticed that the store was connected with three other stores and I figured they walked through all of them since it was raining. Needless to say we were got lost. It was pouring rain and my cell phone wasn't working. We ran to the main gate where I bummed a phone of someone to call Jon so that he could call Lindsay and tell her where I was. No one came. I bummed a phone off someone else and was told they were coming for me. At last I was found and we made our way home....soaking wet.

So concludes our days at Disney!

Goodbye Clavere's! We've loved spending this week with you!!!

I have to admit, it wasn't the trip I had dreamed about. You can justify the money spent, the heat exhaustion, the elbow issue, lack of sleep, etc. when you look at your kids and they're having a ball. However, our kids seemed less than enthused. So occasionally I wondered, "is this worth it". The answer is YES! My kids weren't bouncing off Cinderella's castle...it was too damn hot. BUT they had a fabulous time just playing with the family and apparently they did love DisneyWorld since they talk about it every day. Garrett pulls out his maps that he kept from each park and points out all the rides he went on. They keep asking for Aunt Linds and want to go swimming with her. Indeed it was worth it all!