The Happiest Place on Earth!!!

I'm finally blogging about this. Yeah...we went in March :)  I've had seriously hold up about blogging this because a) there is so much to say about how fun it was, and b) Blogger sucks.  I hate the new way (well, not new I just quit blogging when it started) to upload and put up pictures.  It loads them in all sorts of crazy orders and it's a big pain in my rear to put them in order.  I'm going to give up on putting in all on here chronologically and just let you enjoy the pictures after I give a brief overview of our wonderful trip!

I was fortunate enough to drive there with the kids and Austin, Chelsea and Myah while Keith flew.  Can you hear the sarcasm in that line? :)  He had to work and it just made more sense for him to fly the next day instead of me and the boys getting there way later and waiting on him. I was actually happy he got to fly because he always whined about how I've been so many more places flying than him.  I'm going to bank on the fact that he rarely reads my blog and won't see that I just admitted to everyone that he whines :)  I can't help it if I had a job that let me fly sometimes...it is what it is!  So this hopefully made up for it because it meant he enjoyed a flight (without me and the kids to bug him) and he got left later and got there a half a day earlier than us.

We started out just fine, following Mom and Al, the kids were awesome, it was nice to visit with Austin and Chelsea, what could go wrong?  Well, as with any trip we take, the car broke down.  Of course!  I think it's the Cobbley curse!  Luckily Austin was driving when there was a big THUNK! and the Tahoe started feeling weird.  We pulled over, looked to see what it could have been and couldn't find a thing.  Started out again, seemed ok and then THUNK!  We finally pulled into a Big O' Tires (there weren't many options) and they took the car around while we waited.  We thought when they took the car that meant it was our turn, but nope.  We waited, and waited, and then I'm pretty sure we waited some more.  This big group of people out on the lawn in front of Big O'.  I'm sure we looked so ghetto.  I can't express how wonderful the kids were though!  I was so proud of them while we waited for hours.  Long story short...they thought they fixed whatever it was.  Everything seemed fine.  Started doing it again and then Austin and Keith conversed over the phone and figured out something to do to get us to Vegas where we were planning on staying anyway.  I was annoyed and stressed, but we made it.

When we woke up the next day everything seemed so much better...naturally seeing as how it was my birthday and all :)  Mom and Al took us all out to a big Vegas style breakfast buffet in honor of the day and that was right up my alley!  We headed out after that, the car was great and we just happily drove to Anaheim.  Naturally as we were almost there, the Tahoe started acting up again.  We made it though and then took it to the Chevy Dealership and had it fixed.  I can't believe I just wasted 2 paragraphs on that but I wanted to remember the whole trip :)

That night my sweet sister Brittani said she'd watch the kids so Keith and I could go out for my birthday.  I was excited seeing as how I'd spent the whole day in the car!  We went to Outback Steakhouse which when we got there realized it was one of the places we had gone on our honeymoon.  It was fun and nostalgic to remember how fun that was!  While we waited for a table we walked through the hotel where we had stayed and had a good laugh as we remembered the breakfast fiasco....that's another story :)

FINALLY...the next day was our first day at DISNEYLAND!  I can't even tell you how exciting it was!  I was so thrilled for the boys to be there and experience it.  Seeing their faces was what I was looking forward to more than anything.  We had a bus that took us there from our hotel/condo place and the boys (especially Max) thought it was great to ride.  This is where it's annoying that my pictures won't be in order (nor do I intend to upload all of the millions of pictures that we took) but we'll just deal.

As we got off the bus and started walking in I literally had tears rolling down my face.  I('m not a crier either.  What a dork.  I was just so excited for the kids.  We had to wait for Mom to get the tickets all figured out and the kids were so anxious waiting.  Finally the time came and we decided to head as big group over to ride Pirates of the Caribbean because we could all go on that together.  If you aren't familiar with Disneyland there are obviously millions of people and they are so good about trying to make your experience great for your group.  There are obviously lots of places to park strollers as well.  Well, Keith had Max in a stroller and I had Gav.  We parked our strollers (keep in mind this is before even getting on our first ride) and I turned around and said to Keith, "Where's Max?"  Seriously.  In the 2 seconds of parking the strollers, before we'd been on 1 ride, we had lost our kid.  If you have ever lost a kid, multiply that by 10 million and that is the PANIC I felt when Max was NOWHERE to be found in DISNEYLAND, the first week of SPRING BREAK, with a BILLION other people.  My sister is always the level headed thinker and she grabbed the employee outside the line for Pirates and told her we were missing a child.  I couldn't even think straight.  I was bawling (remember I'm not a crier and this is already the 2nd time today....) and she just asked me what he looked like and was wearing and kept reassuring me that they would find him.  I just remember saying over and over, "How do you know that?"  I know.  Ridiculous.  I was full on panicking.  I've never felt so devastatingly helpless in my whole life.  I don't even know how long it was because it felt like an eternity, but I'm sure about 5 minutes later, an employee came walking towards me holding Max.  He was grinning and saying "Hi, Mom!"  I just cried and held him and then I finally asked him where he had gone.  He just told me he went to see a truck.  I have no idea what it was, but he was okay and back with me and that's all that mattered.  It was awful, but the people at Disney were amazing and did everything the possibly could to help in that situation.  I'm so grateful to them.

The rest of the days were a blur of fun and excitement.  We had 6 day park hoppers and went back and forth to every park riding every ride.  Gavin was just big enough for everything except the roller coaster at California Adventure and he wanted to ride it all.  I loved how brave he was about it all!  The only time he was even slightly worried was on Indiana Jones when he saw the big snake and the spiders on the wall.  Keith was with him and just told him it was all pretend and so when I went to ride it with him, Gavin kept reassuring me that the spiders were just a movie projector and the snake was pretend.  It was hilarious!  It's ok mom, don't be worried, it's just pretend, he kept saying.  I think maybe he was reassuring himself a bit :)

Max was an angel for a 2 year old.  He was happy to go on rides, happy to be in the stroller and would just fall asleep when he was tired and take his usual 3 hour nap in the stroller.  It was awesome.

Mom and Al took us to a character breakfast and the girls to a princess lunch.  It was kind of fun that I had the only boys because we got Mom and Al to ourselves for our breakfast. The kids enjoyed it and the food was pretty good!  Max was a little unsure about the characters at the breakfast (which was weird because he hadn't been in the park?) but they LOVED getting their autograph books signed.

One other thought I had about it was just how wonderful Disney really tries to make the experience for everyone.  For example.  Max threw his autograph book in the water while we were waiting for a ride.  I have no idea why he did it, but he's 2 so go figure!  I didn't really care (again, because he's 2) and he wasn't all that upset about it.  Well the next day my mom was in a store and saw some autograph books and decided she wanted to get him a new one (I know, that's just how she is :) )  She laughingly was telling the cashier about how he had thrown his in the water when she went to pay and the lady told her told on for a second.  She got on the phone then came back to my mom and unwrapped it, gave it to her and said it's taken care of.  Have a magical day!  Just a silly $7.00 autograph book, but I thought it was such a neat gesture of Disney.  My mom was totally shocked and we all thought it was so nice.   They just want everyone to have a wonderful experience and I loved that about being there.  I really loved everyone telling me to have a magical day.  It was like 6 days of pure magic for us and the kids.  I can't thank my mom and Alan enough for taking us on this trip.  We were so lucky to be able to have this experience and so very thankful!

Max enjoying the bus ride.

Driving is tough...

Waiting while the others were on a ride...I thought this was so cute until I realized the granola bar shoved in his mouth!

Gavin enjoying the Tower of Terror (yes, my 5 year old favorite ride!  He is so awesome!)

Our first Character sighting!

Fun time with Grandma and Grandpa!

Waiting at Big O

More boredom at Big O

They were VERY excited to see Handy Manny!

It isn't a real trip without me and Austin in a dorky picture together!

Love this one!

Our condo

Waiting for the bus!

Add caption

I think this picture is so pretty of Britt!

Some of my favorite girls!

There are quite a few people in Disneyland that day that had Chris photo bombing them in the background :)

MICKEY!

Watching World of Color

Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast

He had no idea that Chip was behind him.  My mom just told him to smile for a picture :)

I loved watching all of the characters sign their names :)

This cracks me up...he was so excited to see a princess.  I'm sure he just thought she was pretty like his dad did LOL

This was supposed to be of us on this ride but turned into a nice big shot of me

Keith, Janelle and their 2 kids...oh wait, 1 is a surrogate :)

Max ADORES Kenna

This moment was PURE HEAVEN for Max!

And the picture that should have been at the beginning.  This was literally moments before we were to walk into The HAPPIEST place on earth LOL

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a Kindergartener!

Can you believe it?  Gavin is now officially in school!  When did he get old enough for that?  He will now be in school for the remainder of his years here at home.  That weirds me out.  Never again will he be my little boy hanging out here all day.  Oh I know we'll have the summers for that, but it's never going to be the same where he is mine and I don't have to share much of him.

He was SO excited!  Because there are so many schools around here that are year round it seemed like we were the last ones going to school.  I was glad to have the extra time, but we were all getting a little antsy and ready for it.  He wasn't nervous at all when we had Back to School Night or his kindergarten assessment.  That doesn't surprise me in the least.  Gavin is my fearless child.  He only says he is afraid of something when he's pretty sure it could possibly get him out of going to bed :)  We got to the school and played for a bit until the bell rang.  Then it was time to line up and head on in.  He had no worries and just waved bye!  I was ok with it...no tears at all.  The only one who cried was Max because he was really sure he needed to go to Kindergarten too. 

Gavin was so sweet.  The day before school started he informed me that if there were kids who were sad he was just going to tell them a funny joke and be their friend.  He can be so thoughtful sometimes.  I love that about it.  I love how he is brave and he absorbs any and all information.  He is easily frustrated, especially if he doesn't understand something, and I hope that he will gain confidence this year in Kindergarten.  He is so amazing and I just love him so much.  I can hardly believe he has been mine for 5 years.  I love you, Gavin.  Maybe one day you'll read this and know just how proud I am of you!

Love this grin :)

Gav and a friend from our ward.

Walking right on in...no worries at all!

Gavinisms

I post a lot of the funny things my kids say on facebook but I'm never going to remember them from there.  Here are a few good ones from Gavin lately.

Keith was changing the oil in the Tahoe.  Gavin came out and asked him what that was (that being the engine).  Keith told him and Gavin exclaims, "All hail the mighty Tahoe engine!"

Keith had forgotten to take his keys to work so we headed out one night to bring them to him.  As we got closer Gav said, "Mom!  My dad sense is tingling!  I think we are almost there!"

It's really funny to listen to Gavin talk to Max about things.  He said to him when we brought Roxy home, "Roxy is chewing on her bone!  Max, that makes her strong!  These bones are like dog weights."

Another conversation with Max he said, "Max?  You want to know what divorced means?  When you are married to someone and you get unmarried to them cause they're being mean and you don't like them."  We've talked about divorce before but I promise that is NOT how I explained it!!!

Today I asked him why he didn't respond when I kept asking him something.  He said, "Oh, that's cause my ears were turned off.  Hold on, let me turn them on."  He flipped a "switch" by his ears and then said, "Now what did you say?"

Roxy Sparkle Dynamite

I know I have so much to blog about but for now I'm just going to go with our exciting news!  We are adding a new member to our family!  Sadly not a baby, much to my chagrin, but when the baby thing isn't working out, get a puppy I always say :)  So without further adieu, we'd like to introduce Roxy Sparkle Dynamite our cute new labradoodle! 

She's so chill...all the time.  I'm sure it will change!

The boys obviously had a hand in naming her!  Gavin really wanted to go with Sparkle Dynamite but I wasn't too keen on calling her to come in with that name so we call her Roxy.  We love her so much!  She is just the sweetest little puppy and just so mellow.  She just lays around or let's the boys maul her to death.  I'm sure once she becomes acclimated to our home, things will change, but for now it's nice to think she'll be super calm!

They are obviously in love with her!

Gavin was being so cute and nice with her when we first got her home.  It was funny to hear him and Max talk to her and call her "Sweet girl".   They were showing her everything that we had for her and telling her what it was. Max was pretty hyper and excited around her, but Gavin just wanted to love her. 

A boy and his dog!

Things have changed a bit with Gavin...he is now testing his limits...and Roxy's!  For instance, she has taken a little trip down our slide...by herself.  She has also been carried in just about every position imaginable!  She's a sweet girl and puts up with it, but we are learning that she doesn't always want to do what the kids want to do!   It'll will be good for the boys.  Can't wait to see her grow up!

Maxisms

Gavin and Max called my dad to tell him goodnight tonight. Max proceeded to say to my dad, "I wanna tell you something. Trains go backwards."

He is so funny! He is OBSESSED with trains and keeps telling everyone they go backwards, but I haven't ever heard him string so many words together!

Working my butt off....

LITERALLY.  Or at least that's what I'm hoping to do.  I've always said how I can't stand when people facebook about exercising all the time, or how they fit into their size 4's.  I do however, enjoying hearing about an accomplishment like a race or something similar.  Now I'm going against everything I've said and BLOGGING about something that has become important to me.  Getting healthy.  I figure it's time.  I'm about to turn 28, thinking about having a third child, and basically just sick of feeling disgusting in my appearance, health and let's face it, emotionally.

It all started with a guy in Eagle Mountain who decided to get fat for 6 months and then try and lose it in 6 months.  Ridiculous, right?  I can honestly tell you that I would NEVER do it.  He said that he was a part time personal trainer who has always been fit, loves exercise, and wanted to know what his clients feel so he can better understand the "struggle".  If you have ever had to lose a substantial amount of weight you know exactly what I mean by struggle.  Anyway, I thought this guy sounded like an idiot and it was kind of one of those train wreck moments where you can't look away.  I was reading all of his blogs, etc. and realized I had just heard of him as he was about to enter the get fit again stage.  The more I read, the more I was inspired by him and I was ready to join with him on his journey.  "Remember, remember the 5th of November", was what everyone following him kept saying.  That was the big day.  And about a week after I'd heard of him, it came.  If you are interest in learning more about Drew and his FIT2FAT2FIT journey you can click here.

So the day came and I was ready for it.  I had tried and not stuck with things so many times in the past year, but something felt so different this time.  I felt like he had sacrificed his health for me and I didn't want to let him down.  The first week went off without a hitch and the best part?  He said we weren't exercising for a whole month!  What could be better? 

And here we are 4 months later...did I keep sticking with it?  Sure did!  I will admit that I don't follow his meal plans anymore, or even his exercise, I completely do my own thing, but he helped me find what worked for me.  The best part about all of it?  It wasn't some gym I had to join, or program I had to pay for.  It was just some guy who wanted to understand what so many people struggle with everyday.  I now know what my body needs to eat to feel fueled and I enjoy healthy food.  I completely gave up pop, diet or otherwise, I've only had 2 sodas in the past 4 months and I feel really good about giving it up.  I exercise...a lot.  It's kind of a new obsession and I finally found time when I realized that I didn't have to get ready for the day the moment I got out of bed.  Sometimes we don't get dressed until the afternoon around here, but let's face it...when you're not going anywhere and just exercising and cleaning house...who gives?  I'm happy to say that I turn 28 in a week and am now 34 lbs lighter than I would have been had I not done something.  I can do real push-ups, not the wimpy girly kind, and I feel strong and amazing. I can run more than a minute without feeling extremely short of breath.  I'm still in shock when I put a shirt on and realize that it used to be skin tight and now it's not.  I love that I fit in cuter jeans again, and it sounds silly, but even my shoes fit better!  I still have a long way to go and doubt I will ever be bragging about fitting into a size 4, but I'm learning to love me for me, no matter what size I wear.  And the number one benefit?  My kids are healthier.  They like healthy food and we are more active together.  I want to start them out knowing how to do this right so they don't spend their 20's trying to figure it out.

I've been putting off this post for a long time for my reasons stated at the beginning, but the last 4 weeks have been kind of a plateau for me and I wanted to recognize that I've done something well.  I'm proud of myself and need to remember that more when the going gets rough.  Thanks for reading and feel free to add "the hate of people blogging about their weightloss" to your own list of annoyances :)