So Where Have I Been?

Well let's see, it's been since November 1st that I've last posted to my blog. There is no way I can ever catch back up with all the stuff that's gone on since then so I'll give you the cliff notes:

From November 14th to November 25th we took a trip to Disneyworld! It was an amazing trip and we had an absolutely incredible time. The boys were the perfect age to thoroughly enjoy every aspect of the trip. We stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter Resort and were very pleased with our decision to stay there. We had a great room close to the food court and most importantly the bus stop. I could tell you everything we did but that would take a separate post for each day and frankly I don't have time for that so I asked the boys what their favorite part of the trip was and this is what they had to say:

Cameron: Singing the song. You know the Carousel of Progress song. He definitely takes after his Grandpa Carpenter on this one. I have to admit, it is a catchy tune. His favorite rides were Test Track, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh.

Colby: The boat rides! We rented these little two seater boats called SeaRaycers that we could take all the way around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. Which means we could even take them all the way to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. I have to agree with Colby, it was really fun, especially since Colby was riding with me and our boat seemed to go faster than everyone else's. His favorite rides were the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Stitches Great Escape, Spaceship Earth, and Mission Space.

Chris: The hotel and eating everywhere in Epcot.

My favorite part was probably being able to take that long of a vacation so we could slow down and actually take the time to enjoy everything instead of having to rush around. I also enjoyed the time of year we went. The first week the parks were empty and the weather was perfect! My favorite rides were Test Track because I loved watching the boys' faces and riding Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh with Cameron. He was truly obsessed with them and watching the delight on his face was incredible. Since Colby is so big now he went on most of the big rides with Chris while Cameron and I hung out on the little ones. Thinking back about it now, I missed a lot of fun times with Colby on the big rides. Next time I'll have to remember to take time with them both.

Since we went during free dining we were able to enjoy several character meals and the boys definitely filled up their autograph books. We took over 500 pictures so I'll share a small few.

Riding Splash Mountain

Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights at Hollywood Studios

Adults only dinner at Narcoosee's

Loving the pool and the serpent slide

Chris' awesome night picture taking skills

Eating with chopsticks for the first time at Teppan Edo

My lil Indiana Jones

The famous Sea Raycers Colby loved so much

One of our favorite places to feast morning, noon, and night

The Mouse himself

Baloo torturing Colby

For some reason this is the only picture of our hotel

The Peoplemover aka the rest your feet ride

An empty Fantasyland!

So this is where we were in November. We flew back on Thanksgiving Day and rested the rest of the weekend. Well except for my Black Friday shopping at 4am.

Next up, Christmas!

I've Been Inspired!

Yesterday I attended the first ever local Celebrate and Connect meeting for Thirty One. It was held at the home of the one and only director in Utah. There were only 10 people in attendance including myself and the Director but boy did we have a good time. I've always been a shy, not talk to you unless I've known you for 10 years kind of person. All that changed yesterday! Once I walked into the house I felt an immediate connection with these ladies. It was a weird but GREAT feeling to have. Not once did I sit back and let the others do the talking-I participated and without a red face and sweaty palms!

After listening to the story of this Director, I've decided I need to head full force into Thirty One. For the last few months I've kind of "forgot" about it but not any more. This lady started selling Thirty One in June, a mere 4 months before me and last month she made $9000. Yes, $9000! I would love to make that much money on a part time business, heck I'll even take half that much. In order to do these things I'm going to have to start getting out of my comfort zone to which I've already started. I've dropped catalogs at the local vet, salons, schools etc and to me that's a big step. I firmly believe in Thirty One and all it has to offer! As of right now there are only 61 consultants in the entire state-plenty of room for me to grow my business. I just need a way to get the word out there to the people of this great state. I haven't yet figured out how I'm going to do this exactly but it started last night as I searched for hours for local boutiques that I might be able to set up a display. I was only able to find a few but at least I took the initiative. Baby steps, right?

For the three people that read this blog, I ask that you keep an eye open for any boutiques you see and let me know about them. I think this will be the first step at getting the word out there.

If you're wondering why I felt the need to blog about this, I guess I just had to put this out there to hold myself accountable! Oh and I'm pretty excited about this new venture.

Halloweentime!

What a busy but fun Halloween weekend we had! Friday started off with Colby's Halloween party at school. I was in charge of the craft station which consisted of making mummy's out of bottles of water. They turned out really cute but were a little hard for some of the kids to do. Cameron was able to come with me and he went from station to station with Colby which both boys thought was really fun! After his Halloween party Cameron and I went back home for an hours rest and then we had to go back to the school for the costume parade. The gym was packed with parents eager to see their kids in costume. Cameron and I found a seat next to some friends. Unfortunately, I was towards the end of a row and Colby was the line leader so by the time I got my camera up and ready he was past us. Here's a picture of Cameron waiting for the parade to start.

After our fun time at school we came home and met some friends and headed to Gardner Village to check out the Witches. It was a great day and we had a ton of fun with our friends. Colby apparently saw Chris putting two fingers in the air on their pictures on the roller coasters so now he thinks it's funny to pose this way. I DO.NOT. LIKE.IT! I told Chris he is going to have to rectify the situation with Colby before we head to Disneyworld. I don't want him posing like this in all our pictures. Sure it's cute a couple of times but not in every single picture.

The boys claim the sun was in their eyes which is why they look mad.

Saturday night we went trick or treating with our neighbors, the Feeley's and the Hoenes'. Even though it was raining and FREEZING, we still had a good time. By the time we got home I couldn't feel my feet or my fingers. It was so bad I couldn't even get my fingers to work on my phone. After trick or treating we visited with the Feeley's for a while then headed to our friend's The Payne's house for their Halloween Party. The boys played, the women talked, and the men watched the Utes game-we all ate a lot of food and a good time was had by all.

This is the first year Chris and I have dressed up for Halloween and it was so much fun I think we'll do it every year. Of course it helped that Halloween was observed on a Saturday and everyone was out and about in their costumes. I'm already thinking about what we can be next year. I have to admit Chris and I look pretty darn good considering we pulled this together the night before. My neighbor and I ran to the store and ended up pulling four costumes together in one night. They went dressed as a pirate and a bubble bath. It was so cute. I wish I would have taken some pictures of their family to post. The Hoenes' were planning to dress up too but mom Hoenes was sick on the couch all day so they weren't able to partake in costumes this year but I'm sure we'll see them decked out next year. Mom Hoenes was a trooper and did go out for a little while with her kids.

Here's a couple of pictures of Cameron in his Luke Skywalker costume. Colby had just woken up from a nap and he was not into taking pictures so I don't have any of him. If you want to see him in costume look at my previous post from Disneyland. He was Anakin Skywalker and looked cute.

Disneyland

Over UEA we braved the crowds and headed to the Happiest Place on Earth! Chris and I hadn't been since April and the boys since last November so we were all really looking forward to it. We were excited to be able to go for 4 days this time. Since we got a good deal on a hotel through Get Away Today we decided to try somewhere new. We stayed at the Garden Grove Sheraton and loved it! In our package it included parking, taxes, and a shuttle to the park which was by far the best shuttle we've ever used. It was prompt and after along day at the park no one wants to be waiting for a shuttle to come pick them up. I highly recommend this hotel! Even though the crowds were heavy we still had a really good time. In fact, on our last day we stayed from open until close, 15 straight hours at Disneyland! This was also our first time without a stroller for Colby. Chris and I were pleasantly surprised at how well he did. He did not complain about walking one time! That makes us feel much better about our decision not to take a stroller with us for our 11 day trip to Disneyworld next month. Here are some highlights of our trip.

We went to Mickey's Halloween Party and did some Trick or Treating with Luke Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker, Grandpa and Grandma Carpenter, and Jason and Jen.

And got 25+ pounds of candy.

We took a family picture. Maybe one of these days we'll all look the same way!

Colby went crazy over silly bands and had them almost half way up his arm.

We got to ride in the caboose of the monorail all by ourselves. Who ever knew there was a caboose like this? Not us!

We got to spend a day with our friends, The Hoenes Family.

We rode a LOT of rides. This was Cameron's first time riding Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. He did not care for either one so it's highly unlikely he'll be riding them again in the near future. Colby, on the other hand, was tall enough to ride California Screamin' and LOVED it! He wanted to ride it over and over again. I got to ride with him his first time and he was so darn cute.

Got tons of pictures and autographs with characters.

Tried on silly hats!

And truly enjoyed the Happiest Place on Earth!