Annual Trip to CA

We were lucky enough to make our annual trip to CA at the end of May.  We had originally planned on waiting until Oct/Nov to go - so we could take the new baby to meet the family and so the weather could be nice and cool.  However, I got an email from JetBlue with a deal that we just couldn't pass up.  So, off we went!

The girls on the plane ride - Emery is such a good kid - she watched her TV shows and snacked on cookies and sprite and was really good.  Paisley was good too, but a little more active - I had to do a lot to keep her entertained for the short, 1 hour flight.

 As soon as we got off the plane, we drove to Grandma Ruth's to visit with family.  We have been lucky the last two trips to have Grandma Ruth make us Kraut cookin's.  They are a German dish that don't sound all that appealing (hamburger, onions and cabbage mixture made in rolls and baked) but they are so, so yummy!  The girls gathered in the kitchen to cook and Emery helped roll out the dough for almost all 50 Kraut cookin's that we made.  She loves to cook, bake and just be in the kitchen!

 The next day we were off to Disneyland!

 Randy and baby Austyn ..

 Michelle and Issac ....

 Makayla, Emery and Paisley

 We got to meet Mickey Mouse - here is Michelle's cute little family ..

 The whole gang (minus Ivan, he stood this one out)

 The girls were so excited to meet Mickey Mouse - especially Paisley.  She's been in love with "Hot Dog" (what she calls Mickey Mouse) for the last 9 months or so.

 At the end of the night.  We had a great trip - the weather was perfect, lines were short and all of the kids were good and there were no melt downs.

 Paisley got a cute little Goofy hat ..

 Emery picked a pink Princess hat ...

 The next day, we just relaxed at the hotel and had a low key day.  When we planned this trip, I thought I would be 6 months pregnant and would be fine.  Well, once my due date was changed, I was 7 months pregnant.  I did OK at Disneyland, but I definitely needed the next day to just hang out and relax.  Ivan did a great job of entertaining the girls so I really could rest and relax.  He's such a good Papa to the girls!

 Paisley isn't a huge fan of swimming ... instead, she decided to make a little bed on the ground.  Yup, that's an empty lawn chair right next to her that she could have laid in.  Silly girl!

Paisley took a little nap to recover from Disneyland and swimming.  Emery was patiently waiting for her to wake up and I was lucky enough to catch this moment on camera!

 We were able to visit with Grandma Peggy, Shannon, Michelle, Randy and Austyn.  Here are the cousins giving each other some love - again, this picture is not staged.  They really do love each other and have a great time playing.

 The next day, we were off to California Adventure!  This day, it got up to 97 degrees - I was dying and miserable!  My body doesn't do well in the heat, when I'm not pregnant, so add that in, and I was pretty useless until about 3p when it finally started to cool off.  Like always, Ivan was a champ and took on both girls and I just walked along and tried to keep up.  Despite the weather, we still had a really good time.  We just may have rode The Little Mermaid and Monsters Inc 5+ times each since the lines were short and the rides were inside and air conditioned :)

Here is crazy Paisley - it was 97 degrees, and she had to have the blanket over her legs ..

 On the plane ride home - Paisley thought she was still at Disneyland and raised her arms for the plane ride.

As always, we had a great trip!  It was so nice for the four of us to just be able to spend quality time together for a few days.  We mixed in visits with my family, relaxing and of course fun at Disneyland and it was awesome!  Already looking forward to our trip next year ....

Easter 2013

We celebrated Easter at our house and had a great time as always.  Here are the girls' Easter baskets - Paisley has a love for babies these days, so we got her a little baby doll as the main gift.  Emery is all about asking the definition of words (like all day long, might I add), so we got her a little electronic dictionary as her main gift.

 Easter baskets from Grandma Phyllis - they were spoiled with candy and treats, just like grandmothers do.

 Next up, dying eggs.   

 Paisley, sitting on top of the kitchen table.  We have yet to break her of this habit, but she is getting better.  She does now understand that we don't sit ON the table at meal time.  Small progress is still a win, right?

 

 Our hands were a hot mess ...

 Emery starting to freak out when Ivan told her that the dye wouldn't come off and that her hands would be stained like that forever. 

 Paisley didn't quite understand the concept of being gentle with the eggs.  She would hold the egg above the cup of colored water, and just drop it in.  We had quite a few cracked eggs, but it added some character to the eggs :)

 Next up ... hiding and finding Easter eggs.  We got lucky with some great weather and were able to hunt for eggs outside in some beautiful weather.

 Uncle D, Auntie Silvie and Carter got into hunting for eggs too ..

 Another great holiday spent with family.  We couldn't have asked for a better Easter ...

St Patty's Day

Can I just say again, how much I love Pinterest?  It is like the best invention ever in my mind!  It has changed my life and I love it.  OK, maybe I shouldn't admit that it's changed my life, but I really feel like it has.  I can find so many ideas, recipes, cleaning tips, everything in one place and I love it!

Anyway, now that I've gone part time at work, I've got a little more time to actually follow through with the crafty projects with the girls.  For St. Patrick's Day, we made rainbows out of froot loops and cotton balls.  Emery is absolutely obsessed with rainbows, so this was the perfect project for her.  Paisley loves to eat cereal, so it was a good project for her too.  Here are the final projects.  The whole family participated and it was fun and cheap craft.  

Field Trip to Wheeler Farm

Emery had a field trip to Wheeler Farm a few weeks ago with her preschool.  We were supposed to go in March, but it got cancelled because it was snowing the day we were supposed to go.  So, our make up day was in mid-April.

I gave Emery the choice to allow Paisley to come or not.  At first, she said she didn't want Paisley to come.  I was really sad and hurt by her decision, but it was her field trip, so I let her make the decision.  A few days later, Emery decided that she wanted Paisley to join us, so the three of us went to Wheeler Farm.

Emery's preschool has AM class and PM class.  Emery attends PM class, but here is a picture of all of the kids from both AM and PM. (Emery is in the middle, standing)

 The kids got to see how a ring is made out of metal ..

 And where the cows are taken when they get milked ..

 At the end of the field trip, they got to feed the ducks ...

We all had a great time and it was fun to see Emery playing and interacting with her friends.  She has made a good connection with a little girl named Allyssa in her class.  She's already told me that she' sad she won't be able to go to kindergarten with all of her friends from preschool.  I'm not looking forward to the last day of preschool - it's going to be a rough day for Emery.