Caleb's Birthday

It was Caleb's 30th birthday on May 18th. We had a simple birthday, breakfast, dinner out, and the traditional fruit pizza as dessert. Caleb had to work the evening shift so he had to run off right after dessert, but it was still a fun day.

Disneyland

Caleb had one of his Vacation weeks. We were going to go to Southern Utah and camp, but realized that it still got really cold at night and would probably be pretty miserable for the kids and therefore us at night. So we decided to go to Disneyland instead. The first couple days of his vacation we hung out at home and did some work on the house. Three days of it we spent at Disneyland. We got the So Cal limited year pass which is not very much more than just a regular park ticket. It has a lot of black out dates.. all of which we would not want to go anyway because they are peak times and blazing hot. Anyway we live exactly one hour away so the first day we drove there and back, but the second day we got a hotel close by to make it feel more like a vacation and make it easier on the kids. It was such a fun vacation. We were there on a Monday, Tuesday and, Wednesday so there were hardly any lines. And since we knew we were there for three days we did not rush around at all. I grew up going to Disneyland but we would always do a one day thing so we would literally be running from ride to ride trying to squeeze it all in. This time we just relaxed and went slow and totally enjoyed ourselves, it was different from any other Disneyland experience I had ever had. I loved it.

The first day we stayed the whole time in Disneyland. We got on the tram from the parking gargae and Joshua was so excited to be riding on a train...he had no idea what was coming.

The second day we stayed in the California Adventure side. Joshua loved the Grizzly rapids ride and made us take him on it five times. Each time we got soaked but he stayed perfectly dry. I was amazed he was not scared of it. He went on every ride in both parks, I could not believe he was tall enough for everything. This ride and Thunder mountain were his favorite rides, we went on both five times with him. He did not like the Matterhorn (scary snow monsters) and space mountain (too dark), but pretty much loved every other ride.

He got to meet his favorite character Lightning McQueen and Mater, he was thrilled and talked about it all day.

We spent a lot of time in the adventure trail. The kids loved climbing in and out of the trees and rope bridges. You can see Joshua was getting a little tired.

The kids loved the bugs life section. Joshua laughed and laughed when he got to crash into all the other cars.

It was in the low 90s on the second day so the kids loved the little bugs life water squirter park. They both got soaked.

Abigail loves to smile for the camera!

Abigail wanted to pet all the characters. There were always lines but we hit Sully before any lines formed so she got to pet him. Joshua wanted nothing to do with any of them, he thought they were all scary and big. I think Abigail just thought they were gigantic stuffed animals.

Abigail LOVED the carousel and we ended up taking her on it at least 25 times. Every time she would pick out a new horse and make a galloping sound with her tongue the whole time she rode.We got a little dizzy but loved seeing how much fun she had with it.

Joshua liked them too.

Dumbo was one they both loved so we ended our trip with one last ride.

It was bed time and the kids were both so excited they did not even notice, but when we headed home they both fell asleep before we got to the freeway.

Easter

Caleb was on call for all of Easter weekend. So again I decide to go up to my Parents instead of be alone all weekend with the kids. It was actually really sad leaving, it was the first time Caleb and I have ever been apart for any real Holiday. But I figured if I stayed home we would still be apart and probably even more sad. Despite not being together as a family it was a really fun weekend.

On Saturday we died Easter eggs. The kids had a lot of fun and got all colored the eggs got colored too. They were all outside playing in the mud before the Easter egg dyeing so it was perfect to have them take off their muddy clothes and go right into egg dyeing.

Sunday we went to Church of coarse.

Abigail is getting so big, and she is so smart. Since Easter she has almost completely potty trained herself. I few days before we left to go up to Santa Barbara we were all out in the backyard. All of a sudden she disappears inside. I go to look for her and find her inside sitting on the potty trying to go! I was shocked I had never really talked to her much about it, I figured she was way too young. At least from my experience with Joshua who had no desire to even talk about going potty in the toilet until he was at least 2 and a half. Anyway since then she has been wearing pull ups and has only had a few wet diapers and never any poopy. I almost don't know what to do because it has been so completely different form Joshua, so I really have not done much beyond cheer her on and get her some underpants.

Joshua is really fun to talk to, he has so many questions now. It is constant stream of why. He wants to know about everything. He is so smart and getting so big.

We had a great Easter egg hunt after church. We hid 330 eggs! It was the biggest Easter egg I think we have ever done. The kids loved it.

Travis and Susan were in Europe meeting up with Kristin after her BYU Jerusalem semester so all the rest of their kids came up to be with us for dinner and the Easter egg hunt. It was funny Jared came in and said man I don't know how you guys all do it I am exhausted from taking care of these kids and driving them and feeding them it is insane. It is nice to know that we are not the only ones who get worn out from it even young college kids get worn out from it. It was great to see them all.

We stayed on for a few days after Easter and this is what Joshua and Ezra looked like for most the day everyday. They love making mud in Grandpa's backyard...I don't know how much Grandpa loves it though. They are upset in the picture because it is time to come in and wash off for dinner, not because they are covered in mud. They had a wonderful time, and it brought back many memories of my muddy childhood days. I was a lover of mud and my mom always thought kids should be able to be kids so I regularly played in mud pits and loved it. So I let my kids do the same. The clothes will wear out eventually anyway, but the memories of fun days in the mud with your cousins will not. Besides oxy clean is magic stuff.

Visitors

Caleb's family came during Joseph spring break. It was amazing. They were here for five days and did months and months worth of our home projects. First of all they tiled our two upstairs bathrooms. They were both carpet and so gross and hard to deal with. Then they insulated and drywalled our whole garage,a dn hung up shop lights. Our garage gets full sun all day and had no insulation so it would just bake all summer and heat the house. It has gotten in the 90s a couple times now and it has stayed nice an d cool out there. And Caleb and I keep going out there and turning on the light just to see out there...we had no lights out there so it was always such a pain to do anything out in the garage. It really was an amazing amount of work they got done and we are so grateful and excited.

While they were here it was also Josephs' 16th birthday so we got to celebrate with him, the kids were very excited. Joshua loved having them all here and was right there trying to help do jobs the whole time, I had to try to keep him busy and out of the way.

Right after Caleb's family left Elizabeth and her family came to visit. They were here three days and we had a great time. Joshua was so excited to have them visit him and see his house and toys. We went miniature golfing, and on a little nature hike in Oak Glen. For some reason I forgot to take any pictures except this one. I have been bad about brining my camera and using it lately...I have just been tired I think. Too bad I can't sleep like Abigail in the back pack. She has been up at nights with molars breaking in, so I have been up, but she naps I don't. The life of mothers...being so sleep deprived all the time that you don't even realize that you are sleep deprived, it's just normal.

On a whim...

I talk to my mom on Friday and she mentions that my dad is tired of working on the house and so they are going to tape the afternoon session of general conference and rent the big bikes on the beach, swim in the pool, and go out to lunch. Caleb was on call all weekend...so Saturday morning I drove up and met them. I was only there for the weekend but it was really fun and much better than trying to watch conference all by myself with the two kids.

Abigail is wondering why Levi would not want to wear his helmet, she is very happy to be wearing and accessory and did not touch it the whole time.

Joshua and Ezra are attached at the hip the whole time they are together. Most days he asks me when he is going to see Ezra again.

We took a little drive and walk up to grass mountain after the afternoon session of general conference on Sunday. It was Beautiful.

These two love eachother, but they try to kiss and hug each other so much that they end up falling over and getting hurt.

Abigail is getting so big, she is hilarious.

Joshua is full of energy and lots of questions. We are getting in to the "Why" stage.

Lately we have been spending lots of time in the backyard splashing in our baby pool. The kids will spend hours out there playing in the water.

San Diego

I love to go on ridiculously long adventure walks so when we woke up and were trying to plan our day I said lets go on an adventure walk. Caleb was not thrilled and bored of all our adventure walks near by...so I said lets go to San Diego for our adventure walk today. It is under a two hour drive so we packed up a picnic and the double jogger and left on our adventure.

We started at Balboa park, ate lunch and let the kids run around.

Then we walked to the marina and downtown areas, Joshua loved the big Navy boats, Abigail likes posing and smiling for pictures, Joshua doesn't. Therefore you get a picture of her in front of the boats instead.

This boat just returned from filming Pirates four. It was pretty cool.

We ended the day at the Old Town and Mormon Battalion monument. It was so neat to see, I learned so much about what all those brave saints did for California and Utah. They taught the Californians how to fire bricks and build with them. When they all left and went to Utah they taught the Saints about desert irrigation and farming which made it possible for them to survive in the Salt Lake Valley. It is a must see if you ever go to San Diego.

It ended up being a wonderful fun day together, and a very long adventure walk. According to the gps we walked just over 11 miles! It was a blast, and we were tired.

Mickey mouse and Donald Duck

While is was in Santa Barbara my sister and I were talking about chickens and how we loved our pet chickens growing up. Then she started telling me about backyard chickening. There is a woman in her ward who has a few in her yard in a more urbanized neighborhood. I started researching it and got really excited. There is a whole society of backyard chickening, or urban chickening. I loved it. Got totally excited about the prospect of chickens and started researching breeds. I found that the best mix of egg production and docile temperament were buff orpington chickens. They look and act a lot like Cochin, but are better layers and less prone to disease because of the bare legs instead of the fuzzy.

They are supposed to make the best pet chickens. Growing up we had a dozen chickens, 6 Road Island reds and 6 Black and white Barred rock. They were great layers and we would go around the neighborhood selling eggs. They were our pets...we would watch movies with them, walk around the yard with them on our shoulder, when ever we went outside they would come running up to us. We loved our chickens and have the best memories with them. I actually could not picture childhood without chickens.

Anyway, I got this backyard chickening in my mind and started thinking...we easily have enough room for two chickens to roam in our yard. I have a slug and ant problem which they would eliminate, along with poor soil quality. Win win situation. So I sat down and looked for feed shops. I found one...

...and came home with Mickey and Donald. They are five day old Orpintons and the kids LOVE them. I can't keep them away. I have to admit I am as excited or even more excited than they are. Joshua named them, I tried to explain that they were girls and Minnie and Daisy would be better but oh well. The chicks have six weeks under the lamp and then we will let them roam our whole yard. I have already drawn up plans for a chicken hut. It is basically a little box with two lay boxes a roosting stick and door that I can close at night once they have gone into roost. At 18 weeks the chicks should start laying (point of lay) and should produce about an egg a day each. Well that is if they survive all the petting, hugging, and snuggling they have been getting. So far they are doing great and will hopefully end up being the friendliest chickens in the world probably the chubbiest too. The kids love to feed them...several times an hour.

My Birthday

My birthday was a few weeks ago. It was wonderful. Caleb was off the day before my Birthday so we celebrated then. We went out to eat and Joshua and him made me a delicious cake.

Caleb was on call on my Birthday so I drove up to Santa Barbara to be with my family, and to take Joshua to Ezra's Birthday party. We had a great time and got to see the whole family. Joshua even got to have a sleep over at grandma's house with Braddock. They all had a great time. We went to the zoo and beach the last day we were there and unfortunately those were the only pictures I took on my camera. I will have to get others from my mom :).