Disneyland- again.

In February we took a little trip down to Disneyland- after all we have to put our annual passes to good use. This trip we mixed it up a bit and took along two extra kids, our nephew Sam and niece Abby, which meant Jason and I would be outnumbered. We all had a great time and everyone behaved themselves quite nicely.

Abby

Lauren

Sam, Jace, Abby and Lauren at Sleeping Beauty's castle

riding the cute little car

Sam and Jace ready to ride Thunder Mountain

Whiplashed on Muholland Madness

Lauren and Abby ready to get wet on the rapids

Abby, Lauren and Sam

The Gang at Paradise Pier

Nice glasses!

In the dark on Pirates

Ready to celebrate!

Mickey wearing his party hat

Riding the double decker bus

Lauren and Abby were complimented by the driver for having such good manners

Tarzan's Treehouse

Dessert at California Pizza Kitchen

Nice face Jace!

Ahhhh AhhhAhhh

That's supposed to be the noise Tarzan makes.....

Sam and Abby on Peter Pan

So you see it was a fun little trip for all. Jason said that if we asked a stranger which two kids they thought belonged to us they would most likely pick Sam and Abby over our own. So true!! Can't wait to go back....... maybe next month......

What's That Smell?

Track break. A time where a kid can be free from the worries of institutionalized learning, unfair bedtimes and the ugly four headed beast called homework. Parents also tend to relax their demands during this time. At least as a mom I tend to get beaten down a little easier, well, with all the asking and begging it's hard not to. A few weeks ago we experienced one of these "trackbreaks" and from it sprung a little tale:


Frequent bodily cleansing is not a strong point for Jace. He must be reminded several times of this task and at times must be escorted to the shower. Having taken a shower Sunday morning he knew he was entitled to a few days before this annoyance was to be repeated. Sure enough Tuesday evening I requested that he take a shower, after all he had been playing outside all day and I had even spied him rolling around on the asphalt. I must of gotten busy and then it got late. "Just take one in the morning" became my final request. Wednesday came and went and once again Jace had succeeded in eluding his hygienic task. Thursday night I was attending to some important homework on the computer (or maybe it was Facebook) when Jace came into the office wearing his oversized t-shirt he regards as pajamas. With all the weak enforcement I could muster up I begged "Jace you HAVE got to shower tonight, that is just gross!" Then Jace looked at me smiling and announced "Mom, I'm still wearing my church socks from Sunday!" I looked to his feet in horror and sure enough his navy blue socks were still enveloped around his feet. At that moment I knew that I had failed him that week as a parent, but as I looked up at his huge grin and the pride in his eyes, I knew that he had succeeded at being an eight year old boy.

He didn't shower that night, I didn't have the heart. Late Friday afternoon when necessity set in and we had a party to attend, the issue was forced and Jace finally showered. He did have a good run though and I'm sure he enjoyed every minute of it!

The infamous blue socks