May 7, 2009

Just me and my gal



I love you Rebecca. Thanks for coming to our family and for turning me into a mom. Thanks for your patience as I make mistakes and learn how to be a better mom. You're wonderful.

May 6, 2009

Marriage Counseling from my 5 year old

Rebecca: "You don't kiss daddy very much."

Mom dejected-: "Ohhh."

R: "Only once in the morning and once at night."

Mom: "What should I do about it?"

R: "I don't know. Daddy's at work all day long."

pause

R:"I know. On Saturdays you can kiss Daddy all day long from morning till night. Like this: (repeated kissing sounds)."

Thanks for the advice daughter dear. I'm sure daddy will be thrilled.

May 4, 2009

Disney mania and some tips and tricks

In todays post:
-Disney visits with Grandma Julie
-a few not entirely too well known secrets for a successful Disneyland visit with little ones





This was a big Disneyland week for us. Three times in one week. That is probably a first ever for me. Once we met up with some old friends of ours, and twice we went with my mom who was in town. You see, it suddenly occurred to us that this year is Disney's "Free on your birthday year" and it was my mom's birthday. And they also have their "Two-fer" deal going on right now for Southern California residents so she got a free pass for California Adventure, too. And since she had never been there before we took advantage of the free tickets and took her.

Happy Birthday MOM! We were lucky to have you here for your birthday and had fun sharing some time at Disneyland with you.

So: in case you (faithful readers) didn't get the message yet:

YOU CAN GO TO DISNEYLAND FOR FREE ON YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR!!!

Just sign up at disney.com and then join the birthday club. It's easy and free. If you have an annual pass already you get a gift card in the value of the entrance price ($69 for adults) to spend in stores or on dining. I'm surprised how many people I keep talking to who haven't heard about it, so I just wanted to spread the word.

And as far as my other tips and tricks go: the biggest ones for going with little children are the use of "child swap passes" if you have little kids that can't go on some of the adult rides. You go up to the cast member at the fast pass return line and ask for a child swap pass. Then one person has to stand in the regular line (or if you got fast passes in the fast pass line) and then when that person comes out the person with the baby swap pass can go in the fast pass line, too, or in the case of Space mountain you get to go up the exit (that is really fun to do.) So, the best way to make use of the baby swap passes is if you have a few adults and a few kids, because that way no one has to ride alone. You can actually take two people on the ride with a child swap pass. So if it's just Warren and me and the kids wanting to go on Soarin' over California one of us goes on with Rebecca while the other one waits with Joseph and then we trade.

The other trick is USE THE SINGLE RIDER LINE for Soarin' and for Splash Mountain and for California Screamin' if the lines are long. We saw them take all the single line people together anyway for Soarin' and they hardly had to wait at all. I've stood in line for Splash Mountain in the single rider line and got on with my friend who was waiting with me anyway!

More tips and tricks. Get a Disney Chase Visa. Even if it you don't plan on using it as a visa card it is worth having if you plan on going to D-land because you get two free stroller rentals. Then you don't have to worry about your stroller getting stolen or about waiting in line for the tram with all the other stroller users. Additionally you get 10% off at dining places. (addendum: it is no longer free, but half price on the stroller rentals as of September 2009)

Finally, last but not least, eating dinner with kids at Disneyland. Do not buy the kids meals. They are tiny, a waste of money and there is no guarantee your kid will like it anyway. For us the best deal around is the pasta dinner at Pizza place in Tomorrow land or at the Pizza place in CA adventure. The pasta meals are $8.99 and Rebecca and I can share one and get full (unless we haven't eaten anything all day long.) Plus, BOTH of my kids like the pasta. So for under $20 we can feed our family of four a dinner that we like at Disneyland.

Oh, just one more thing. If you're going to be here on a hot day, bring swim suits or a change of clothes for the kids because there are fun little water places to play in CA adventure. The kids have to wear a shirt and shoes, but bathing suits for girls seem to count.

I'm sure I could come up with more things (like the cookie baking experience for people that have passes-wouldn't want to spend time on it if I didn't, but with a pass it's worth it...), but that's good enough for now. And in case you hadn't figured it out...WE HAVE PASSES for Disneyland this year. And we would love to see you if you're down this way. We're super close, I mean super close and could just spend a little time with you. So, please let us know if you're ever in the neighborhood. Everyone comes sooner or later, right? And we wouldn't want to miss you.

Apr 29, 2009

No good deed goes unpunished!

There I was, trying to be a good steward over my belongings, filling in a few small chips in the paint on my car with this special paint pen I bought from the dealership. Joseph saw me and said: "Paint!" I said, "No, this is a mommy job." I thought he was done. But he found a small felt tip marker and drew on the car. Luckily it wiped right off.
However, I didn't learn my lesson and kept working. After we were done, I discovered - and I'm not even sure how it happened...I didn't see him on THAT side of the car- a host of scratches on my car door. He had found a ball point pen, and just like mommy "painted" the car!

You're lucky your only two, little guy! I explained that he shouldn't do that- he asked why- I said it was because it hurts the car and is ugly. He said sorry in his own little way and gave me a "love."

I do love you more than a car door. But this one will go down in your book of stories-unfortunately.

Apr 28, 2009

The Roaring 20's

We were asked to participate in a skit marking our Stake's 50th anniversary. Our skit represented missionary work in the last 100 years. Warren and I began the whole show by representing the 1920s and not listening to the missionaries and then were also the final scene in the show-this time accepting the gospel. It was fun to dress up and be someone else for a little while. Oh, the days of hats. What fun!



Mr. and Mrs. 1920s



Our Bishop and his wife-the 60s.



Rebecca wanted to be in the show but twas not to be this time. I think she would have been a cute addition though!

Disneyland with old friends





We made use of our new passes to meet up with some old college days friends who were visiting for a couple of days. The girls got along great and the weather was perfect. Just wished we could have had more time to talk! Hope to see you soon!
If anyone else is ever down for a visit we'd love to meet up with you, too. Just let us know!

Apr 23, 2009

My Little Helper





Joseph decided to help me unload the dishwasher. This is one of those proud mommy moments. He really wanted to help me and from his perspective he was doing a great job!
I loved it.

About Me

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I'm a woman who is trying to do her best each day of her life. I laugh, cry, make mistakes, create, make messes and clean. I love life and learning and staying in touch with family and friends. Every year I get to know myself better and how best to use my own strengths and weaknesses to navigate my path.