Petting Zoo and Jump On It

Yesterday we went to the Thanksgiving Point petting zoo with my friends Julian and Michelle and their kids. The kids had lots of fun. Ethan loves the ponies and horses, but he is still scared to feed to goats and chickens (I don't blame him, they are aggressive!). Austin loved seeing all the animals and was saying all their names and reaching out for them. After the petting zoo, the kids got some ice cream.

Today we went to Jump On It and saw Michelle, Layton, and Haylie while we were there. Ethan was glad to have Layton there to run around with.

Our Last Day in Cali

Here's sick little Austin about 5 minutes after throwing up all over my mom
Ethan at the Newport Beach Temple

On our last day in California, we first did a little shopping (I got lots of cute stuff at H&M). After lunch at In and Out Burger, we took a boat ferry to Balboa Island. There was a cute ferris wheel, merry-go-round, arcade, shops, etc. Adam and Ethan played some games in the arcade and walked around and looked at the cute shops. Then we decided to cool off by eating some ice cream. As we sat there eating it, poor little Austin vomited all over my mom. Luckily, she had her suitcase in the car and was able to change clothes. After cleaning up, we drove by the Newport Beach Temple and walked around. It was gorgeous. Then we headed to the airport! Luckily, Austin didn't throw up again the rest of the day.

Disneyland

The boys woke up at 5:30 am today (only slightly better than the 4:30 of the day before). We got to Disneyland when it opened at 9 and met up with my mom and brother Ryan, who had flown in the night before. We had a great day and, because my Mom and Ryan were there to help, Adam and I were able to ride a few of the less kid friendly rides. Ethan was really good and loved everything he went on. He said his favorite rides were Dumbo, Gadget Go-Coaster, and the Merry-Go-Round. Austin loved everything he went on and cried everytime we had to get off a ride. Unfortunately, Austin got sick partway through the day, and that sickness lasted the remainder of the trip.

A Day at the Beach

Our plan for day 2 of our trip was to wake up, get our swimsuits on, and head to the beach. But when the kids woke up at 4:30 am, (which was 5:30 Utah time, so I still don't understand why they woke up so early) we had a lot of time to kill before we could go to the beach. The kids were going crazy being stuck in the hotel room, so we left around 8:30 am to find a beach. It was really overcast and foggy at the coast, so we drove and drove, and finally ended up at my FAVORITE beach, Crescent Beach, in Laguna Beach. I used to go there a lot when I was a kid because my aunt and uncle live nearby. It is such a beautiful beach. My aunt and uncle met us there and we stayed for a few hours. Ethan loved letting the waves crash on his feet, but only if he was holding our hands. He could've stayed there ALL day! Austin liked it okay, but didn't love being covered in sand. We left at lunch time and went home and napped, then went to the pool at our hotel.

Our California Trip: Day 1

We took the boys to California this past week for four days. It was a lot of fun, but exhausting. Vacations just aren't very relaxing once you have kids.

Our first day there we visited my Aunt Linda who just bought and remodeled a new house in Yorba Linda. The house is right on a little lake and everyone that lives there has little cruiser boats. It looks like such a fun place to live. We ate lunch there and then took a boat ride around the lake. When we finished there, we checked into our hotel (right across the street from Disneyland) and went to eat dinner at Downtown Disney.

My great husband

For Mother's Day I was expecting some flowers or something simple. Adam is very thoughtful, but doesn't usually get really creative with his gift giving. So I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up Mother's Day morning and Adam handed me a piece of paper that took me on a short treasure hunt around the house. At the end was the digital SLR Canon camera that I've wanted for a while now!!! I was so excited and surprised!! I can't wait to learn how it works and start taking pictures! What a great mother's day.

Cousins

My nephew Nicholas came over today and the boys had a great time together at the park. What cute boys!

Team Noah

Today me, Ethan, Austin, and my sister Kristin participated in Salt Lake City's "Walk for Autism" for Kari and Jaren's son, Noah. "Team Noah" was one of the biggest groups there and Kari helped raise almost $12,000-the third highest fundraising group in the state! Way to go Kari! It was a lot of fun; there was free icecream, drinks, and candy, plus fun stuff for the kids to do.