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!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the seven year anniversary of Chris and I! Since we hadn't really done much for our anniversary in the past Chris decided it was time we did something fun this year. We debated on what to do between just going and staying downtown Salt Lake, staying in Park City or Midway but we finally settled on Las Vegas. Chris' parents kept the kids all weekend so we left Friday after Chris got home from work and drove down. We stayed in our favorite hotel, the Mandalay Bay.

On Saturday we did a lot of shopping and then went to see The Lion King. It was AMAZING! After the Lion King we went in search of some dessert but after walking all the way to Harrah's from Mandalay Bay we found out that the Ghiradelli Ice Cream Shop was closed. So we headed to Serendipity but we missed it by just 15 minutes. Tired from all the walking and frustrated with no dessert we decided to cab it back to the hotel. All the lines at the casino's were too long so we decided to walk all the way back to our hotel. It was A. LONG. WALK. We stopped in at NYNY and shared a slice of pizza and continued on our journey back to our hotel. We finally landed in our beds at about 2:00 am.

Sunday we got up, went and had breakfast, and made the 5.5 hour drive back home. It was a fabulous much needed weekend! I'm so blessed to be married to such a good and caring father and husband. I've enjoyed these last seven years of our roller coaster ride and look forward to seeing where the next seven years take us.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CHRIS!!! I LOVE YOU!

Colby and the Red Sox

Colby had his first ever baseball game last night. He tried soccer and it just wasn't his thing since he's not aggressive so he decided to give baseball a try. We are so proud of how well he did. He hit the ball his first time at bat which to me is a big accomplishment since he has never really practiced hitting. He was definitely a little upset because he didn't get to field any balls but it wasn't for lack of trying. Since they don't really play positions he set himself up around shortstop but most of the balls were going between first and second base. Hopefully tomorrow night he can station himself over there so he can do some fielding. As a child I played softball from the time I was five up until twenty one so I'm secretly hoping this is something he's going to enjoy so we can share it together. GO COLBY and the RED SOX!

Oh yeah, Chris got a new video camera and he's been loving making videos, enjoy! (You'll have to excuse the end of the video where the camera isn't on Colby, Chris said he was being a dad at that point and not the videographer.)

Preschool!!

My sweet, innocent, adorable, smart, funny, did I mention sweet little boy started preschool today. I am a very sad mama right now! It's hard to send the baby off anywhere. This morning he was very excited about it up until it was time for me to leave. He started getting a little clingy so I walked with him into his classroom and showed him where to hang up his backpack. He sat back down on my lap and we had a small little chat. I pointed out all the toys and told him I promise to come back and get him in two hours. He said, "no, one hour". I said, "ok, I promise I'll come get you in one hour". That's all it took, he hopped up and went over to the toys and I made a beeline for the door. Thank goodness he can't tell time yet! When I picked him up he had a big grin and told me how much fun he had. His teacher said he was a little standoffish at first but warmed up just fine.

Me and my BABY! (Colby took this picture, didn't he do a good job!)

He's so grown up!

We Have a Birthday!

Today this sweet little boy turns 6 years old! I don't know where time has gone, it feels like just yesterday we were at the hospital with him. I love this boy more than words can even describe. He is so smart and funny. I can't believe some of the things he comes up with. For the most part he's a good big brother to Cameron and loves playing with him. His favorite things to do are play outside with his friends riding bikes, scooters, swinging, playing on the tramp, or just hanging out with them. When he grows up he wants to be a ROCK STAR!

Happy 6th Birthday, Colby, we love you more than you'll ever know.

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Chris and I took a trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago. It was the first time I had ever been there and I absolutely fell in LOVE with the place. We were only able to spend about a day and a half there and I didn't want to leave. Since it was my first trip we did all the touristy things like Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, Chinatown, Cable Cars, Street Cars, Harbor Cruise, Union Square, Lombard Street etc.

The weather the first day was very very chilly as in like 58 degrees, cloud cover and breezy! We were not dressed for the weather at all. The second day it was much warmer and very pleasant.I thought I'd share a few, err, I mean several pictures from our trip. I cannot wait until we can go back again and stay a few days!

A real live cable car! I had no idea how much effort it takes one of the conductors to run the thing. It's a very manual job!

Chris was dying to eat from the fresh seafood stand. I was in such amazement that he would be so brave to do such a thing that I had to document it

We weren't able to take a tour of Alcatraz because all the tours were full but we were able to get up close to it with our harbor cruise.

Famous Lombard Street

Biking on Four Wheels

Cameron has been watching all the fun the kids have been having on their bikes and wanted to try it for himself. Our gracious neighbor had a bike the perfect size for him they were no longer using so he gave it to Cameron. He's still not very good at keeping moving but he sure gives it his best effort. And I have to admit he looks adorable doing it! Hopefully he'll be zipping up and down the alley in no time at all!