DISNEYLAND on the DOC

Working for Dr. Elison 8 1/2 years now, this is a tradition all of us girls look forward to. Every once in awhile our boss sends us all (including our spouses and our kids if we wanted to pay for their flights) on a trip somewhere fun. This year it was to California! Nate and I weren't super excited about the Disneyland part of the vacation so we took the first couple days to ourselves. We left later afternoon on a Sunday while my mom watched our kids.

We spent Monday just hanging out and enjoying our time to relax and spend time together. We slept in, worked out, and then went to lay out by the pool. Later we got ready and shopped around downtown Disney until it was time to meet up with the office for dinner at the ESPN zone. Such a fun group of girls I get to work with. Unfortunately Dr. Elison has to always put up with us! 

Tuesday, Nate had to take a couple work phone calls that morning, but after he was done we took a drive along the coast to visit the San Diego Temple. I have always wanted to see this Temple and since we were so close to it I thought it was a perfect time to check it off my bucket list. Because of the timing we got there we had just missed the endowment session, so to pass time until the next one we we did initiatories. Then we were able to do the next endowment session where we were asked to stay for a little bit longer to help with some sealings. This ended up being the only day it was stormy and overcast so to me it was the perfect day spent together in the Temple doing service. 

Since the Temple took most of our day, we headed back to towards the airport so we could meet Tina and the boys because they were joining us for the rest of the time. It was so fun picking them up and seeing how excited they were to be in California! We took them back to the hotel and got them all settled in before the real fun started in the morning.

Wednesday was the beginning of our Disney adventures. We started at California Adventure the whole day. We let the Elison family and Keela show us how its done and followed them around most of the day. We made sure we hit the Cars ride early and then all the the other big rides right off the bat to avoid the long lines. The boys weren't too sure what to think of it all. After we had ridden all the big rides they were begging for the pool to beat the heat and to get off their feet.

Before we started Thursday at Disneyland park, Nana took us all out to breakfast with the characters. The boys loved this and it was a quick way to check off the characters from our to do list at Disneyland. 

Disneyland was a lot of fun too! Nate and I don't get the Disney magic but it is a lot of fun to watch your kids enjoy the Disney fun. I loved that the boys enjoyed the big rides with us rather than having to spend hours on the kiddy rides and chasing characters. Some of our favorite rides were both the Toy story rides, splash mountain, and Star Tours where Jackson was the rebel spy in the video. Jackson's favorite ride was the California screamin' and probably rode that 3 times. And Andersen surprised us all with his favorite ride being the Tower of Terror! He went on this twice and was so brave! Before we left on Saturday morning we told the boys they could each pick a favorite ride before we left for our flight... of course Jack's picked California Screamin and Andersen picked the Tower of Terror! But just like the day at California Adventure the boys were begging to go swimming after only 5 or 6 hours a day at the park so we always cut the days short so we could head back to the hotel for some swimming. Good thing we were just within walking distant of our hotel!

Friday, the last full day we had before it was time to leave, we took the family to Newport Beach. Who would have thought the boys could have more fun in the sand and water than two days at the Disney parks? Crazy, I know, but they did! They loved the beach. We had lunch at Charlie's chili and spent the afternoon playing in the water and building in the sand. 

Its amazing how the littlest things can make these boys happy! Of course the hotel pool was their highlight of the vacation, but the Lego store took a close second. Jackson LOVES Legos and had heard of Lego Land from his friends so he really wanted to go. After seeing this Lego store and telling him we'd buy him a set from the store if we didn't have to take him to all the way to Lego Land (we heard is was kind of lame and not worth the money!) we had totally changed his mind. They only thing he was worried about now was which set he was going to pick out. He finally decided upon this giant Star Wars ship. It was so big he had to carry it on the plane. Whether is was the beach, the Disney parks or swimming these boys were exhausted EVERY night and crashed before we even had to tell them to go to bed.

What a perfect get away! A little time to ourselves, but then a lot of time and fun with Nana and the boys. So glad she was able to join us! The only thing we were missing was Maelyn, but she was at home in good hands with Grandma Kay. Thanks Doc for another fun trip and an unforgettable family vacation! 

Bedtime Ritual

Its pointless for us to have a family room because more times than not our evenings consist of all of us watching TV (way past normal kids bedtimes) on mine and Nate's bed. Our kids LOVE to cuddle and as long as they are calm and relaxed we will enjoy their company for hours. No better way to end the day than some scriptures, family prayers and some quality cuddle time. Love my little family!

All about Jackson {age 6}

Where has the time gone?!? I can't believe Jackson is already 6. Seems like yesterday I was miserably pregnant awaiting his exciting arrival and now he is a big kindergartner losing teeth. Me and him butt heads often but honestly I couldn't have asked for a sweeter little boy. He is always so obedient (in general), thoughtful and very kind to those around him. He definitely is my soft-hearted one that loves deeply. He thinks he is bigger than he really is by getting his little source of school independence but I am loving watching him grow up to be such a great kid. He tries so hard to be silly and he is most of the time but most of the time he is just the nice boy that is going along with the crowd and whatever trouble his brother tries to get him into. Every always compliments on how spiritual he is and how he knows all the answers in primary but my only comment is he came that way. He is one that just "knows"! I love that at the beginning of new primary class his teacher gave him a CTR ring. He wore it for days, green finger and all! He even slept with it on. I love that I was able to capture it on camera because that picture is perfect for Jacks. This year he has lost 2 teeth and loves it. He can't wait until he loses more. Although Jackson's naps are few and far in between, I love capturing them on camera because it reminds me of his innocence and what his real age is compared to his size. Jackson LOVES being with friends and making new ones no matter where he is. I love that he is so social and I love that he has some good friends in and out of the neighborhood to play with. Jackson recently had a little medical scare and thank goodness Dr. Boud is so good to work with because he set me at ease. But for days Jackson was really lethargic and tired with no appetite (totally not like himself) and after 3 days of laying around I decided to call the dr. They immediately wanted to see him and draw his blood to screen for anything major. This was Jackson's first time getting blood drawn, but with a few tears and a bunch of pokes from the nurses they finally got the blood they needed to run some tests. We waited for an hour or so in Dr. Boud's office and eventually he came in to tell us that everything look good except his glucose count for diabetes. With Jackson not eating much all day and then eating a granola bar right before we went (just because I was trying to get him to eat something) his test wasn't completely accurate. Dr. Boud said his numbers were border line diabetic but that one granola bar could have changed everything. He didn't seem too concerned but said it could be that or just a yucky virus and only time will tell. With a virus the symptoms will go away, but with diabetes they would continue and get worse. It was a long few days especially because he developed a freaky rash all over his body that stayed for days. Luckily after a week things started going back to normal and the diabetic scare went out of my mind. It was then that I realized how fast our lives could have changed but if it was going to be any of our kids, I knew Jackson could have handled it because of how strong he is. Our family wouldn't be the same without this awesome sweetheart. He is the best big brother, especially to his little sister! My favorite thing right now to do with him is cuddle with him at night before he goes to bed. We have the best pillow talk conversations and he is the best cuddle bug. I just hope as he gets older he will stay just as sweet. Man, we LOVE you Jacksie! 

Maelyn {6 Months}

Man, I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast! Here she is 5-6 months in most of these pictures. She has mastered rolling over and has definitely learned to use her voice and is so proud of it too. She is enjoying her variety of fruits and vegetables rather than just her oatmeal and rice cereal. She has even learned to hold her own bottle and my personal favorite is her back bend. She hasn't quite figured out the crawling thing but she has realized if she stays on her back and lifts her hips up she scoots backwards across the floor. Not a good cause in helping her hair grow but its pretty darn cute. She still hasn't really grasped the muscles to sit up independently and with her being so skinny she falls out of the bumbo but I did catch her lounging away in it the other day. Maelyn is still a little girl that loves her sleep and continues to bless her mommy with full nights sleep without a peep. She loves getting her toenails painted and her day wouldn't be complete without cuddling with her Daddy. 

CHECKUPS! {6 yrs & 6 mos.}

I couldn't have two more opposite children!! Checkups went great like usual. Jacks measured off the charts still for his 6 year old check up and Maelyn barely hit the charts at a big 1% for her 6 month visit.

Everything EASTER

What a busy but FUN weekend we had having Easter and Jackson's birthday just two days apart. We celebrated Jacks all day Friday but still managed to fit in the Easter Egg Dive! My boys definitely did better this year, but anything more than Jackson's bag of water that he got last year was great! Andersen was finally brave and big enough to go by himself and definitely scored the most eggs. We were also happy the Balls could join us because everything is better with a friend around our house. 

Then Saturday we did the traditional decorating of the eggs

And then my favorite, EASTER MORNING!! I love the excitement holidays bring with little kids. I know there is always a spiritual side to holidays but I think if the kids enjoy the fun side now as they get older they will appreciate the spiritual side that much more because of the fun they had as kids... or at least that is how I feel. They loved waking up to see what the Easter Bunny brought for them and then finding all the eggs. They even made sure they found a couple for sister.

After our morning fun, it was off to church we went in their new church outfits. I don't know what I am going to do when the boys tell me they are too old to match each other but until then I will enjoy it as long as I can. 

Then it wouldn't be Easter without Nana's egg hunt. This has been a fun tradition even for Nate and I because Nana knows how to do to a hunt!! There is always plenty of candy to go around and always a surprise or two with some cash stashed inside as well. The last few years its been all for us, but Natalie and Chase joined us so we didn't mind sharing. 

Then a new Easter tradition we started last year was throwing our decorated eggs down the hill! I LOVE doing this because its the one time a year they get to smash eggs and its ok. I am pretty Jamie (Landon's mom, not me!) thought I was crazy when I told her we were going to the park to throw our eggs but I think Landon Blackwell enjoyed it too and man that boy has an arm! I love spending $2 on double the fun. One fun activity to decorate them and a few days later another fun activity getting rid of them since we don't ever end up eating the cooked eggs. Its definitely more fun than just throwing the eggs in the garbage. 

 This long weekend of birthday and Easter definitely wore me out but we had many fun moments and created many memories together as a family! Man I love this little family of mine!

Birthday Boy turns 6!

With Jackson's favorite buddy Landon leaving town over his birthday, it was mandatory that we do the party before he left. So the Saturday before Easter we invited all his neighbor friends over for pizza. Instead of blowing out candles on a cake, we stuck 6 candles in a slice of pizza and let the boys sing away. After we fed their tummies we did presents where all his friends spoiled him! 

After lunch we packed up all 3 cars and took all ten little boys, including Andersen, to see the movie Croods. Jackson has always wanted to get those little movie kid packs so I rather than having a big party and spending the money on a fancy cake I told Jacks we could get all the boys movie packs to snack on for the movie. Now that right there made his birthday, but we still celebrated all week because his birthday was that following Friday. He had his annual Nana birthday date on Wednesday where he already knew what he was going to get from the store before she even came to pick him up. Jackson came home with a big Lego pack that him and Nate spent the night working on together. The morning of his actual birthday he got to open all his presents before school and then a couple hours later we brought his class a little treat. That night we did the egg dive at the Rec Center to celebrate Easter with the Balls. After the boys each had a turn to dive for eggs, Jacks picked Red Robin for his birthday dinner.

I think this big 6 year old definitely got SPOILED!! After his long birthday week, Jacks still continued to celebrate by getting his Nana dinner and then going on his shopping spree with is birthday money for a new bike from Grandma and Grandpa Hansen. Man we love this boy! I can't believe six years ago all 9lbs of him brought me into the unknown world of parenting and changed our lives forever and for the better. We love you Jacks and I am so happy you had a fun day all about you!

More Soccer!

We started the year with another fun season of indoor soccer. This time both Jackson and Andersen played just on different teams. So we spend most of our Saturdays back and forth to the rec center to cheer them on. More than half the team was Jackson's buddies so it was fun to watch them play, especially because they are grasping the concept of the game. With the games being so fast moving and enjoyable I slacked at taking pictures of Jackson's games because we were too busy cheering them on. Sorry bud! I did keep track of your goals though... you probably had over 10 goals total with 3 in one game being your record.

Andersen wanted nothing to do with his soccer team the first game, but it wasn't until we ALMOST asked for a refund of our money that first game that he snapped out of his craziness and got out there to play. Once that had passed he got out there and was awesome at going after the ball. He even got a goal this season... he ended up on his bum because of how he kicked it, but hey it was a goal!  Jackson and his buddy Landon were always the best cheerleaders from the sidelines and I loved watching them cheer on their little brothers while they were playing. 

Soldier Hollow Part 3

It seems like every year I see the coupon for discounted lift tickets to Soldier Hollow so now after 3 years of going with the Christensen's, it has become an annual tradition for us! Back in late February on a Friday afternoon, I dropped off Maelyn to Nana's school and then me and the boys met Nate at his work. We have so much fun doing this as a family but I think Landon and Jackson have the most fun!. They are finally big enough to ride together without us adults so they spent the entire 2 hours linked to each other. It was colder than usual and windy which made for a cold ride down the hill, but besides that it was another successful tubing session. After tubing we made our usual stop at Diary Keen for some dinner and shakes. A funny story that happened while we were at dinner... If you have ever been to Diary Keen you know they have train sets for the kids to play. Well after the boys were done eating they all were playing with the trains. Us parents didn't hear the whole thing but what we did see was HILARIOUS! From what we gathered is another kid playing with the trains at the same time as our boys was having an issue with Parker, so his big brother Landon went to step in to protect him. Well the kid didn't like that and started going after Landon. Jack's being the protective friend saw what was happening (and this is when I started noticing something going on!) and decided he would step in. Lets just say this little kid wasn't expecting Jackson the giant to step in and take control of the situation. The look on that kids face was pure terror... and I couldn't help but laugh! Who knows who was really at fault but it was good to see Jack's stick up for his buddy and protect him and even better to see that at age 6 he already has the intimidation factor! 

St. Patrick's Day

Yes, I was one of those crazy Moms again this year that had a "leprechaun" come to our house this year to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. With Jackson learning all about the holiday in school and hearing all the silly traditions I couldn't help but play along. Its totally unnecessary and more work on my part but the kids loved it! They all woke up to a treasure hunt around the house and green paint on their noses. They noticed our silly leprechaun left footprints all over their bathroom this year and they loved the green "pee" in the toilet. The Sunday fun lasted for ten minutes as they enjoyed their "gold" candy that was found at the end of the treasure hunt. Maybe the sugar rush wasn't a good idea because this was the best group picture I could get of the 3 of them... but I loved it! If I can't get all three of them smiling I am happy to capture their silly personalities. Andersen is always the family goof ball that is always distracting Jackson and then there is Maelyn that is just along for the ride.... at least for now!