Amusement Park Fun!

Legoland!

When we finally got to Legoland (traffic was terrible due to a accident) there was excitement from all the kids, the boys of course just wanted to run off and start the rides...but we took a quick family photo before we got started. :)

The ride lines were pretty long but once on the rides the kids obviously had a great time, they even did really great waiting in the lines. Dylan loves all rides and was up for riding anything and everything. Cadence however is a bit more timid and would only ride the more calm rides and unfortunately Isabelle wasn't able to ride very many with her being too small...although she wanted to. Mark even got in on the water action with Michelle & Cadence. This ride was fun because we could shoot water at each other as they went by. I got Mark good! :)

There is a huge Star Wars exhibit on display right now. Dylan LOVED it. He stayed and looked at all the battle scenes for a long time. Jake kept asking him if he wanted to go ride some rides but he wanted to stay and check out all the details. It was so incredible that someone built all they, so much detail and work. This life size Darth Vader is all Lego's!

Waiting in line for the log ride with Uncle Jon.

Ice cream was needed of course with it being such a hot day.

This was the last stop of the day. We were walking out of the park (we stayed until close) and all the kids jumped up on this bench of a sleeping grandpa made out of Lego's. Funny that is what they picked. We joked that my dad should have been in the picture. :)

Knotts Berry Farm!

I actually like Knotts better than Lego Land. There was a little kid section for the girls that was perfect sized rides for them and Dylan and Mark spent the day together on all the big rides. It was a good mix of rides for everyone, the only bummer was that we were separated...

Janae asked me to ride the Ferris Wheel with her. She had rode earlier with Jolene and Jolene didn't want to go again. When I got done I realized why, it was kinda scary up there! I'm getting to be a chicken in my old age!

This was more my speed. Isabelle loved this ride, she would crack up laughing every time it swung her around the corner.

Grandma & Grandpa hung out with the little kids & Jake (he doesn't like roller coasters) for the day. They decided their days of rides are done (although I don't think my mom ever had a time she did liked rides :))

I wish I had some pictures of Dylan on his rides. He went on some of the "adult" coasters and rides and loved all of them. Jon said he looked over at him at one point on a ride that went in circles super fast and said Dylan's eye were huge and kinda glazed over, but he got done and said it was great!

Until next year and more family adventures!

Thanks Mom and Dad for the great memories and generosity!

Every year we take a trip together with my side of the family. This year we planned to go to Lego Land and the way the timing worked out we went a few days early and spent a few days with Michelle.

She is always generous and let's us stay with her in her 1 bedroom apartment...I know it is a sacrafice to let our family of 5 into her space, even if we are family. :)

The kids were of course thrilled with being able to have some time with her. One of the days we took a walk to a nearby huge park and to the Grove (shopping/Farmers Market). Cadence and Michelle were so sweet holding hands along the walk. It is so crazy how much Cadence looks like Michelle!


The other day we ventured to the beach. We stayed all day and I think the kids would have stayed longer! They had such a great time playing.

Mark dug a huge hole and they took turns sitting in it. :)

Cadence making sand angels. :)

Isabelle having a great time!

Mark bought a boogie board from someone selling along beach. Dylan had so much fun. Even though the water was so cold he stayed in for hours and by the end was doing pretty good on it.

More pictures tomorrow of our fun at the amusement park!

Love this!

The other day Cadence fell off her slide (actually the whole slide fell down) that is attached to her bunkbed. Dylan thought it was his fault because earlier in the day he had been pushing on the back of the slide with his feet while laying down behind it. When she got hurt he was very quick to say sorry and try to fix the problem. He was trying to comfort her and one of the things he asked is if she wanted to watch a show to make her feel better.

I suggested she lay down with a little ice on the red spot on her forehead and relax and that she could pick out the show to watch (usually Dylan picks out what to watch). She picked Tinkerbell...needless to say, Dylan was not thrilled and was vocal about not wanting to watch it. Cadence's solution was, "I know, Mom. We can take turns, Dylans show then my show". I told her that she had the choice of which show to start with. And she answered, "I don't mind Mom, Dylan can watch his show first".

My heart melted at her generous heart. I showed a big smile and gave her a huge hug, I told her what a generous and giving heart she has. She often will give up her own desire for what someone else would rather do or have.

These notes are Dylan's response to her giving him the choice of show. Unsolicited by me, just a idea he had to show her his appreciation...Thank you and I Love you.

Love it :)

Peace of Mind

Today we went to the Phoenix Children's Hospital to have a echo cardiogram done on all the kids. I had been talking to Kati about heart defects (of course because of Eli's heart and all of us learning so much from him) and with us having a genetic condition with Lincoln (although it isn't in our gene pool, just random act) I thought it would be a good idea to have the kids hearts check...really just for my own peace of mind.
They started with having their weight, height, blood pressure and pulse checked. Dylan did not like the cup on his arm...he is the only one who complained. :)

Then they hooked each kid up to check the heart electronically.

And then did a ultrasound of the heart. I was with Isabelle and Mark had the two older ones. Isabelle was amazing, I think she was ready to fall asleep...she laid still the whole time.

My thoughts had been good up until this point. I had been thinking all along that I am confirming that everything is ok. But as I looked at her little heart on the screen some tears welled up as I began to think..."what if something really is wrong!".

Thankfully as is GREAT with the kids. Dylan had high blood pressure but honestly I think it is because he was kinda anxious and moving around a whole bunch. The doctor wants us to come back next year just to have it double checked.

Both girls have slight heart murmurs but the doctor assured me that it was nothing to be worried about and just very little. She said that 50% - 80% of people have them.

My heart is relieved and I am thankful

Jambo Amusement Park

Grandpa R bought us tickets to a new indoor amusement park for some entertainment for the kids. I took them there on Monday morning. They had such a great time, it was the perfect size rides for the girls and had older kid things to do for Dylan (laser tag, mini bowling, mini golf).

There were these giant stuffed animals that walked around. Cadence wouldn't get near them the first time when Dylan took a ride, but as we settled in and spent some time doing other things she decided she was brave enough to give it a try.

She had a big smile on her face the whole time. :)

Isabelle joined in when she could. She's not quite old enough for the mini golf but she still had fun hanging out on the decorations that were around. I love her big cheesy smile!

The golf course was small, but the kids didn't mind. They had a great time!

We even ran into our friend Ethan while there, so the boys played part of the golf together.

Thanks Grandpa for the tickets and fun!

Sleep over

My nephew and niece had a sleep over this weekend. The house was full of play, lots of noise and silliness...as you can see from these two pictures. :)

The day was wild but they finally settled down in the evening for a movie night...and everyone was up bright and early at 6:00 the next morning to start the craziness all over again! :)

In Memory...

of our sick chicken Mr. Fluffles (which I tried to have the kids call her Ms. Fluffles...but she always stayed Mr. :)). She died 2 days ago...I honestly can't believe she held on as long as she did. I had her in the house on and off for about 3 weeks total. The last few days I prepared Dylan that she was going to die soon and he was pretty upset about it and asked if I could please get a feather from her so that he would always remember her. :) So I did and now it sits on his dresser with his other special things.

(this was taken right before she started to be sick)

Boys vs Girls

Yesterday I invited some friends over for a play date and give their mom some time off...4 friends, 2 boys & 2 girls all from the same family. :) Needless to say the house wasn't quiet and the kids had a great time! I decided to get out some old electronic stuff out (I pick them up cheap at yard sales) for the boys to take apart. Dylan loves doing this and thought it would be a fun "boy" thing for them to do. Dylan got all the tools ready for them before they came over. They did great for awhile and then I hear some loud banging from the other room while I was on the phone...I look around the corner and find one of the boys with a hammer held high taking swings at the old printer! They were having a great time...but I had to bring it to a end when pieces were flying all over. All I could think is "only boys". :)

Meanwhile the girls were quietly playing doll house next door :)

We then ventured outside for some water time. I had to do turns on the trampoline of girls and boys...the boys were bouncing them too high. So of course what would naturally come of the boys being in the pool while the girls jumped....

squirting them! Well, because for no other reason then it makes them upset and scream. What is it about knowing something bothers the other person that makes you want to do it more.?

It was good times and I am so thankful my family isn't any larger than the 3 I have...it would be exhausting! :)

Dentist Visit

Yesterday was our twice a year trip to the dentist. Dylan does not like the taste or feeling of getting his teeth cleaned. This was his first time of him moving around and complaining while she was doing it. I'm hoping that will go away by next visit, but I'm not counting on it!

Cadence was her usual quiet and mild mannered self. They couldn't believe how good she was for her age. She had no complaints or problems with them messing with her mouth.

And it was Isabelle's first time of getting her teeth checked. We didn't do a normal cleaning, the dentist just checked out her teeth while she laid back on our laps. She opened her mouth good. :)


Dylan unfortunately has a cavity that is underneath his current filling that he got when he was 4 years old...bummer. They have to remove the filling and refill. If I don't take care of it he will need a root canal because it is so close to his nerve.



But the girls teeth looked great thankfully!

Swim Lessons

This summer the kids had swim lessons at the city pool close by our house. Cadence & Isabelle started off in level 1 and Cadence moved to level 2...unfortunatly they didn't have a level 1 class during 2 and 3 (dylan was in 3) so Isabelle just held the side of the pool during the lesson to keep her cool while the others were in class.

Oh, the coordinating of stuff when you have 3 kids! :)

The girls loved the class and Cadence is swimming great. Isabelle is comfortable in the water but in no way can swim. The first week of class she yelled and refused to go in the water. I made her sit on the cement by class and watch and by about the 4th class she was willing to go in and had no problem.
The girls would get in trouble for messing with each other and talking too loud :)

Dylan is a great swimmer but he really didn't enjoy lessons. Today was our last lesson of the year and he had the count down of how many he had left to do since last week. I think he just wanted to swim and have fun...but he had to pay attention in class. :) He learned some new swim styles and liked that.

Maggie was also in the same class as the girls. They all did great but I am soooo glad were done with lessons....it was so hot for me during their lesson just sitting outside, they don't let us get in the water because technically the pool isn't open yet. It was miserable!