Day 3...the 4th of July

Since we started planning this trip, we decided we were going to do Legoland instead of Disneyland, because it was much cooler in Carlsbad than in Anaheim in July, plus tickets to Legoland were cheaper. I was able to get a ticket for Kaden off Craigslist, and I got a B1G1 free coupon off ebay so we were going to be able to go for pretty cheap. It was a 2 hour drive from where we were and while driving Cathy called and said her friend was in Carlsbad, and was trying to get rid of their tickets to Legoland because they decided not to go. We were able to meet up with them and she sold us her 2nd day for super cheap. When it was all said and done we were able to take a family of 5 to legoland, eat, and buy suveniers for $80!!! Awesome!

Our family minus the camera man. We needed our jackets most of the day, it was chilly!

Zoey decided not to nap in the car so she was not having the stroller. Good thing we brought this!

Kade before the first Roller Coaster....Joel wasted no time and took him on the car roller coaster first!

The boys and I waisted no time and took on the pirate ships

Kaden kept trying to spray Joel

I was so suprised Gavin went on this big slide...he is much more reserved than Kaden but he wanted to go on just about everything!

Joel got Gavin onto the Dragon Coaster by fibbing a little on his height...he may have been on his tippy toes when they measured him! He LOVED it...I totally thought he was going to freak out, but nope:)

Kaden wasn't tall enough to go on his own, and there were only 2 people allowed per car, so this nice lady said she would sit with Kade so he could go at the same time as Gavin!

Zo FINALLY fell asleep while the big boys were riding the Dragon.

Kaden liked these cars, but told me they weren't fast enough.

Gavin didn't mind the speed, but he thought they were bumper cars..oops :)

Our Crazy Lion

Zo Zo woke up and had fun being toted around by daddy.

Kaden: "Mom this train is made out of Legos!"

your a sharp one buddy!

After dinner we had some time to kill before the fireworks started so we went to Sealife Aquarium. Those are some big jaws!

Kaden compared just about everything he saw to something in Finding Nemo

Hey, how'd they get in there?

Time for fireworks...some light up swords were in order!

Watching the fireworks show. It was pretty short, but perfect because we had been there all day and we were pretty wiped out!

The kids had a blast, see:

All three kids asleep before we left the parking lot!

Joel was a little tired too!

It was a great 4th!!!

Vacation Fun....part 1

For Christmas this past year Joel's parents gave us a trade out in their time share. We decided we wanted to use it for our family vacation this summer. We new we had to go somewhere close enough to drive, so we figured we would go to California. We couldn't find anything in Southern Cal, so we booked a week in Palm Springs and left town last Friday!

We caught lunch at Chik-fil-a on the way out of town. Look at how cute these boys are asking for ice cream!

It was a long drive, and we did not arrive at the hotel until about 7pm. The kids never really got a good nap in the car so we pretty much went to bed when we got there. The suite was really nice and the boys had their own room, which was really nice for us! They liked having their own tv :)

The next morning we got up and this was the view from our patio! It was great:)

I think these two were a little excited!

"can we puh-leeeeze go down to the pool now?"

Breakfast anyone?

Yay!!!!

Zoey looked preety snazzy in her suit too!

Kade wasn't tall enough for the big slide, but he went down this one probably 100 times!

Later that day we went into Downtown Palm Springs to check it out.

These boys had fun posing for pics

Cheese!!!

He is Superman, ya know!

We asked Kaden to take a picture of us! I think this is the only picture of us together the whole trip...

Much more to come....Day 3....the 4th of July at Legoland!!!

Pushups, Dresses, and Family Pics.

Zo Zo REALLY wants to crawl. Bad. But, she just can't put it all together yet. She can get up on her hands and knees, but then she tries to move everything at the same time and just plops down. So lately, when she is trying to move, she holds this pose: Push ups anyone?


Needless to say, I am quite proud she has the strength to do this, and I am convinced that all those push ups and planks I did while she was in the womb is the reason she is so strong!

In other news, I have been inspired. Those of you that know Jen know it is easy to be inspired by her. She sent me some great "how-to" instructions on making dresses, and I am hooked! This was my first attempt, I bought this fabric orignially to make something for me, but it turned out to be much better for Zoey.

I think she likes it!

Matching hair flower to go with it!

This was my next Creation! I found this fabric @ Hobby Lobby (my new favorite store) for $3.99 a yard! I didn't even use a half a yard so really this dress cost me $2!

And Lastly, my friend Cathy just got her family pictures done, which made me realize it was time we had some nice pics that included Zoey girl. We went the same great gal, Carlee, and she did a wonderful job! If you live in AZ, check her out. She is offering and amazing summer deal! Here just a few of my favorites:

This is just a sneak peek! They were just done yesterday, and I am so excited to see the rest next week!!!

summer fun

The first few weeks of summer have been wonderful! We started off with two weeks of swimming lessons for the boys. Gavin HATED it, but through the tears, he still did everything Miss Nicole told him to do. And by the end of the two weeks, he finally came around. Miss Zoey loved to eat her snacks and watch like the good girl that she is!

Kaden floating

Thats Gavin....under water!

Floating

Thats right, she was able to get him to JUMP off the diving board!!!

Kaden practiced his dives. Most of the time they looked like belly flops but this one wasn't bad!

With Miss Nicole

Next on tap was a day at the zoo with my sister. Last Saturday was unseasonably cool and it was the most wonderful day.

The two girl cousins. I hope they are like sisters when they get older. They are only a year apart!

Unfortunately this was the only pictures I got of the boys while we were there. Oops!

Hannah was supposed to be eating lunch but the sand/dirt looked much more fun!

Zoey fell asleep like the rockstar that she is, so we coverted her up in my sister's stroller.

I think I need to get a stroller with a tray, she really liked sitting up and reaching for her puffs!



A few days later we spent the day at Joel's parent's for some more water fun!

Kaden wanted a picture just like Zoey was HERE. I got the picture right before he fell!

Gavin seems to really like the water now! Look at him jump to Grandpa Dave!

Me and Zoey just chillin'

He is showing us his muscles here, but I am pretty sure his belly consumes the whole picture!

We have been ending lots of days like this too! Gotta love the summer!

oh, these kids!

When I am not tearing my hair out from frustration, these kids of mine crack me up and make me so thankful I am their mom.

Let's start with baby girl....she is getting soo big and her smile is captivating. I really do want to take a bite out of her but I restrain myself so as not to leave unsightly bite marks in her chunky thighs. Did I mention she has her two bottom teeth already? Yeah, she got them a month ago! Crazy huh....the boys didn't cut their first teeth till they were almost a year old! Just check out miss cute face here, you can see her two little toofers popping up:)

Then there is Gavin....oh this kid kills me! So smart and witty, with an amazing memory and attention to detail. The other day at dinner, Zoey was screaming (not cuz she was fussy, just because she likes her own voice) and Joel was a little aggrivated. He mumbled, "c'mon Zo, quiet down!" Gavin proceeded to say, "She' a baby, Dad, that's what babies do!" I may have told him that several times while driving.

He has also been quite into being a superhero lately so he can"get all those bad guys away!" as best stated by him. I made him a make shift cape the other day and he went around the whole house like this:

And last, but surely not least, there is Kaden. The one who I am convinced is responsible for my hair turning grey so early. Oh man, he keeps me on my toes! The other day, the boys were coloring with markers at the table. Joel and I were chatting in the kitchen and when we looked over we saw kaden drawing all over his face! We said "Kaden!!! What are you doing?" And with the most impeccable timing he lokked up at us, paused, and then just said "MEOW!" Then he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm a tiger." We were rolling on the floor laughing!

He did, kind of look like a tiger: