Recent Stuff

Since I am working on posting pictures from July, I thought I would just do a quick recap of some recent things.  Just things I don't want to forget before I get around to posting them in March, or whenever I actually get things current.  So, here are some things going on lately.

Bronson practically grew up overnight.  Really.  He had his first haircut a couple weeks ago. Then we left on our trip and he went swimming for the first time, started crawling, got his first tooth and learned to clap and wave.  And turned 7 months.  All within 4 days!  Crazy!  He was the BEST baby on the trip.  He just went along with whatever we were doing and never got too upset if he missed a nap or feeding.  He loved the lights and he really loved all the characters.  He always wanted to grab their faces!  He was great in the car, too.  He is the sweetest thing ever.  Now that we are home, he is crawling all over the place!  I am a little nervous that the tree and presents are in big trouble!  We'll see if they survive...  He has been super fussy since he has cut 2 teeth and is the biggest mama's boy lately, but I don't mind too much.  I know how quickly they grow up and he just might be my last baby so I'm trying to just enjoy it.

Avery is hilarious lately.  Seriously the funniest girl ever!  She makes me laugh all day long!  She is Mrs Personality and has so many funny things she says and facial expressions that crack me up.  I just wish I could remember them all.  She was my favorite age at Disneyland.  The only sad part was that she was about 2 inches too short for the big rides.  She would have loved them!  But, she loved pretty much everything.  She was a little nervous about the characters at first (she has a BIG fear of the Chick-fil-A cow and Big Blue...) but she did great with most of them.  Some of the bigger ones she needed Mom or Dad to meet.  She held out her autograph book and stood back as far as she could when she met Woody.  It was hilarious.  But everything was so magic and real to her.  I loved watching her there.  She was always dancing around and having such a great time!  She especially loved the Princesses and asked to meet "Princess A-wawa" (Aurora) every day.  So cute!  Since we have been home, she has been saying so many funny things.  I love this age.  She talks SO cute and her little voice melts my heart about 100 times a day.  Even when she is a stinker!

My little Rylee has been the biggest sweetheart lately!  Sometimes she is a difficult child to handle because she can be very particular about a lot of things, but lately she has been the best helper!  I love it!  She is always asking how she can help and entertains Bronson for me all the time.  She was so great on the trip.  We usually do a point system for the kids to earn their souvenirs and she had the most because she was an angel!  She rode just about everything and loved it all and even got to meet Merida from the movie Brave, which is her favorite Princess right now.  She loved her autograph book and she loved being the Daredevil to ride all the rides when Logan wouldn't.  She even rode Tower of Terror with daddy!  And she wanted to ride California Screamin' - the big roller coaster - but she wasn't tall enough.  She picked out a Merida Barbie doll at the end of the trip for her souvenir, but it was something I had actually already ordered and was supposed to be shipped to our hotel and it didn't make it there before we had to leave.  My sister was coming the next week, so I arranged for her to pick it up, but that meant that Rylee had to go home without it and she didn't even complain.  On the trip, we were talking about them missing school and that when they got back they could tell their friends about some of the things they did.  Rylee was so sweet and said that her friend Dessie had never been to Disneyland so she didn't want to talk about it at school because she might feel bad that she didn't get to go.  I just love her!

Logan has been a bit hard lately, and that is rare for me to say about Logan because he has always been a really easy child.  He just never seems to want to work, but he wants to do fun things all the time and he has gotten a little sassy, too, which has never been like him before.  I guess we are just entering the next phase of life with our kids and getting closer to teenager-hood...  He was a lot of fun on the trip most of the time.  We had a hard time getting  him to ride things.  I don't really understand why he still has a fear of some things since we have been there SO many times, but we didn't push it too much this time.  He was so excited about the things he loves though.  That is something I really love about Logan.  He is so passionate about things and when he loves something, you will know it!  Anytime we were in Tomorrowland, he was jumping up and down and was so excited and wanted to hurry to the next thing.  As long as we didn't mention the Matterhorn, he did pretty well...  There were a few other rides he didn't want to do either.  It made me a little crazy, but oh well!  I think he rode Space Mountain and Star Tours at least 5 times each!  He also loved Cars Land and a lot of things at California Adventure and was the only one who enjoyed our day at San Diego Wild Animal Park.  He was SO excited to see a cheetah run and to see a California Condor.  Even when we had to hike HUGE hills to see it.  The rest of us were exhausted, but Logan was running up the hills and jumping up and down!  He is always talking about some dream he had or "what if..." and all these scenarios about Legos or things at Disneyland.  His mind is always going a million miles an hour, and he usually is, too.  I just wish I could keep up!  Most of the time, his conversations are very in-depth about Ninjago or Hero Factory and I have NO idea what we are talking about!  Logan says some of the funniest things - I wish I could remember them!  He uses the funniest and most grown-up phrases and terminology.  The other day he had me laughing so hard because he was talking about some new lego thing and he kept saying the word, "Extra-tetestrials"  Haha!  Love him!

Can't wait for Christmas!  I have so much still to do but the kids are so excited!  I think it will be a fun year for them!  Just have SO much to get done! 

And just because I can't stand to do a post without a picture, here is one.  My cute kiddos on Thanksgiving.  I am so thankful for this funny bunch!  They make me happy!  And a little crazy.  But, mostly happy!  

Excuses, Excuses...

So, my blog has been very neglected yet again.  And just when I was starting to make some progress.  This is for a lot of reasons.  And I think they are actually pretty valid excuses this time.  We went to the Happiest Place on Earth last month.  It was FABULOUS!  We left the day after Thanksgiving and we had SO much fun!  It was our favorite trip there ever.  And we have been a lot!  The only thing that made it less than perfect was some rain, but that did help with the crowds and lines.  But, Christmas time there was just so different and felt even more magical than usual, if that is even possible.  We loved it!  And Cars Land was totally amazing!  I could have spent our entire trip just there.  So fun!  It was like being in the movie!

So, that is my big excuse.  The weeks before the trip were busy making autograph books and matching shirts because I am weird like that and sneaking around to pack because it was a surprise.  I even stayed up ALL night the night before we left making last minute preparations and finishing up some special surprises for the LONG car ride.  I think it was worth it.  Last time we surprised them with a Disney trip there were tears, but this time was much happier. No tears - only cheering!  Yay!

We have been back for just over a week and I can't seem to find time to get anything done.  I am still trying to find time to finish up the last of the unpacking and the mountains of laundry and then there is a little thing called CHRISTMAS coming up and it is just keeping me busy.  I still haven't made cards and I didn't have all my stuff up when we got home and there are activities and parties to go to.  Oh, and a teething baby that NEVER wants to be put down.  So, those are my excuses.  Maybe they aren't that good.  But, someday I hope to get this darn blog caught up!  Someday....

For now, here is a picture of our trip.  I took over 1000 so I will hopefully post more someday.  Although while going through some things, I discovered I never even posted our Disney trip from LAST year!  I am SO bad at this...

 I miss this place! 

What Fun Is - Lagoon, Part 1

June 30 - We finally made our FIRST ever trip to Lagoon with the kids.  Darren and I hadn't been for 10 years!  Our last trip was right after we got engaged and we haven't been back since. We have never taken them (even though Logan has been to Disneyland SIX times...  )  Ever since we moved back four years ago, we have talked about going, but it just never works out.  Or we decide to go to Disneyland instead...  But, every time we drive by on our way to Grandma's or Salt Lake,  Logan asks, "Mom, when are we going to go to Lagoon?  You said we would."  And my Mommy guilt sets in.  So, since we didn't have a lot of exciting vacation plans coming up, we decided to go for the day and some of our family joined us.  We went for Aggie Family Day and got a pretty good discount.  Aunt Heather, Uncle Jay, Ethan, Robin, Uncle Kyle, Grandma Boman and Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Brian all went and we had such a great time! (Uncle Brad and Grandpa Boman were at scout camp and Uncle Dean had to work.)  I was really surprised how much the kids loved the rides!  Logan's favorite was Wicked - the biggest roller coaster there!  I was shocked he would ride it and he even did it twice!  Rylee and Avery loved Bombora!  Little Avery's arms were up the whole time and barely went over the seat but she loved it!  We also had fun at Lagoon-a-Beach. 

 Logan and his trusty map.  He loves maps and was excited to map out our day! 

 

Logan was really excited when we got there and couldn't stop talking about the ride, Wicked, the biggest roller coaster at Lagoon.  Darren knows how Logan is and that he chickens out a lot and gets very nervous about a lot of rides, so he decided that he should take him straight there before he changed his mind.  He even rode it twice, but after that he was convinced he would never ride it again. He said it took his breath away. 

 

While the boys were off doing that, I took the other kids to kiddie land with Heather and Ethan and Robin.  We started off on Bulgy the whale.  Its a Lagoon classic!  

Avery looking so excited for her first ride! 

Ethan wasn't totally sure about Bulgy. 

Cute Rylee

Bronson taking a nap in the car seat.  Poor baby!  It was such a HOT day and I think it was roasting in there. 

The kids waiting in line.  Rylee likes to be the little mommy.  She was holding the little kids' hands and herding them around all day. 

Riding the spaceships

Aunt Heather was brave to try the little pirate ship ride.  I was a little worried about motion sickness, so Heather went. 

The kids were really excited to ride Puff.  I LOVED watching Ethan and Avery on this ride.  They were hilarious!  Puff was one of their favorites and they rode it a couple times. 

Look at their cute faces!  They screamed the ENTIRE time! 

Driving the cars

The cute little baby cousins, Robin and Bronson.  Heather had this double stroller and Bronson's car seat was so HOT in our stroller so we put them together for a little bit.  Robin is 6 months and Bronson is 2 months, but they don't look that different in size... 

We HAD to ride the little boats.  That is another Lagoon classic.  I remember these from my days at Lagoon!  The line was FOREVER long though.  I was so happy when they finally got on.  The lady running things was a bit of a stickler.  Logan was just a little too tall, but she was measuring kids with a credit card and wouldn't let him ride.  Avery rang the bell most of the way. 

Avery taking a little break in the shade in the stroller

Bumper Cars!

I don't know why Rylee wanted to ride with Avery.  She changed her mind when the ride was about to start, but by then, it was too late. 

Family picture

There were a lot of new rides at Lagoon since we last went and I was actually really impressed with how nice everything was.  Especially the kiddieland.  The kids were really excited to try the family roller coaster, Bombora and Avery was so happy she was big enough to ride it.  Rylee was a little nervous and wouldn't come with us the first time.  She stayed and helped Grandma Boman with the babies. 

Look how excited they are! 

Avery's FIRST REAL roller coaster! 

Ride buddies - Uncle Kyle and Logan

Watching Avery on the roller coaster was probably the highlight of my day.  She was hilarious!  She looked so tiny in the seat.  As soon as the ride started, she had her little hands up.  They barely reached over the back of her chair.  As soon as the ride got going, her hands would have a hard time staying up and I was behind her.  I would watch them gradually fall down.  There was a certain part where her head would get a little bit stuck down, too, and she couldn't lift it back up.  Daddy would reach over and help her and then her little hands would shoot right back up.  She definitely had the screaming part down, too and wanted to ride this again and again.  It was so fun!  I love my little daredevil! 

We took a break from the ride action for some swimming at Lagoon-a-Beach - Look at these cute cousins!  Ethan's swim suit makes me laugh every time! 

Baby Robin

Bronson and Daddy

Having a little snack

After Lagoon-a-Beach, we got some BBQ for dinner at Pioneer Village.  It was Aggie Day at Lagoon, so we were planning on getting some Aggie Ice Cream, too, but we played a little too long at Lagoon-A-Beach and missed it.  The rest of our group headed for the water rides, but Darren and I both hate to get wet at places like Lagoon.  And Logan was terrified about Rattlesnake Rapids.  He keeps hearing about Rattlesnakes in Utah in the newspaper and the news and has a pretty real fear of them and the name of the ride made him think there might be some around.  So, we set off on our own for a bit... 

The kids really wanted to try the Skyride.  We couldn't all go because of the stroller, so I took Logan and Rylee.  Boy, did this take me back to my Jr High days.  I had a Lagoon season pass every summer with most of my friends.  We rode the Sky Ride a lot looking for "hot boys".  Exciting, right??? 

After the Sky Ride, we decided to go on the train before it got dark.  We were really excited to see the animals.  Bronson had fallen asleep, so he stayed with my mom.  She is the best sport about helping with the babies at these places! 

We loved the train ride!  There were lots of fun animals to see! 

Avery had been begging to go on the carousel every time we went past, so we went on that next.  It was a REALLY fast one.  At least it felt that way.  I got a little sick on it.

This girl LOVES to ride the carousel.  It is always her favorite and she would go a lot of times if it was only up to her. 

Cute Bronson taking a snooze

After we got off the carousel, they were performing one of the singing and dancing shows and Rylee could not stop watching.  She loves that kind of stuff!  I think it might have been her favorite part of the day.

While they were watching the show, I noticed there was NO line for the white roller coaster, so I made Logan go with me.  He wasn't too sure at first... 

He ended up really liking it despite his scared face!  He rode it two more times with Dad and with Uncle Kyle.  I loved that he was getting a bit more brave.

Avery rode the carousel again.  She talked Grandma into it. 

We went back to Kiddie land for a little bit.  We took shifts with the kids.  Darren and I went and rode some rides while my mom and Heather and Jay took the kids on rides.  Then we switched. Except my mom.  She doesn't do roller coasters, so she got double duty with the kids. It worked great though!  Darren and I rode The Spider and Wicked.  Both of them were awesome!  I loved riding them.  However, I totally felt it the next day.  I felt so disoriented and a little nauseous all day.  I hate it!  I LOVE going on roller coasters!  But, getting old stinks!  I get so sick now.  I used to be able to ride one right after the other over and over, but not anymore.  In my season pass days, I think I rode Colossus 8 times in a row!  Not anymore...  Those rides were totally worth it though!  They were so fun.  

Rylee doing some bossing... 

Helicopters

Airplanes

Avery and Ethan after another ride on Puff.  I wish I would have gotten my camera out a little quicker.  They looked so cute sitting there and were pretty deep in conversation. 

The kids wanted to ride Bombora again before we called it a day.  It was their favorite ride!  We had an uneven number so Logan ended up riding with some random kid.  They ended up being little buddies and kept getting back in line together over and over.  I think they rode it 3 or 4 times. 

Avery LOVES this ride!

We finally talked Rylee into going with us and she loved it, too.  We had to take her a couple of times because she was having so much fun! 

Avery with her hands up.  Love this girl! 

Ethan - He was So tired at this point.  I was sure he was going to fall asleep during the ride. 

Sweet Bronson sleeping while we rode Bombora OVER and OVER again! He was the BEST baby ever all day and no fuss at all.

What a great time we had!  Who knew Lagoon was so fun?  I guess it is "what fun IS".  We had so much fun that we even decided to bounce back and go again.  I was a little disappointed when I found out how soon we would have to bounce back - The passes were only good for 10 days and I wasn't sure my body would fully recover by then.  But, we did go again and another fabulous day!  I think this will be a new yearly tradition.