Day 93

Cute huh? I had a hard time deciding on a photo for today because I, personally have been feeling lazy (in need of recovery time from vacation I'm sure) and haven't done anything noteworthy. The kids have been pretty cute in the things they were playing today. Kaitlyn dressed up herself and Hello Kitty as "twins" (with "matching" jewelry and headbands) then pulled out her camera and had Ty pose for a photo with Kitty. She also directed me to get one of her and Kitty. I have also been having fun watching her incorporate things from our trip into her playtime. After lunch she had me play Princess with her. And this afternoon they were playing "rollercoaster" on the seats from the car (that are lined up in our living room waiting for us to put them back in the vehicle). Tyler is usually pretty good about going along with whatever plan his big sister has concocted.

Day 92

I spent the day doing "recovery" from the trip. Everyone slept in and then we took it slow, with me slowly working my way through the laundry and unpacking. We also spent some time outside with the kids playing in the new 12" of snow and me shoveling it. (ick) The kids I think are enjoying being back at home and rediscovering all their toys because they have entertained themselves pretty well today. The cutest part of the afternoon was when Kaitlyn brought Tyler out, both of them wearing their Mickey ears (that I had forgotten to pack for the trip! I didn't beat myself up too much because they were the only things I had forgotten this time). I took a quick photo and the disappeared back to Katy's room, to return a few minutes later even more decked out. Kaitlyn requested that I find her some flowers and told me they were having a "Mickey Wedding." She then presented me with 2 dress-up rings and told me to walk in front of her and Tyler. At this point Ty decided he was done cooperating so Katy and I ended up doing the wedding without the groom. :)

Day 91

Headed home - what a long drive! We all just wanted to be home and it seemed to go on forever and ever. And poor Ty. He took a nap but it didn't last long and he is awful when that happens. Whining and crying for hours. Seriously. No matter what I tried it just went on and on. Sam finally yelled TYLER! and scared the poor kid. So he pouted behind his hands for a few minutes before finally settling down and letting us finish the rest of the drive (another hour and a half) in relative peace. When we stopped for dinner shortly after this incident we realized his diaper had leaked BAD. No wonder the poor guy didn't respond to everything else we tried to make him happy. Then we walked out of the restaurant in SLC to realize that it was snowing and the roads were nasty. Ugh! But we made it! We're home! Phew.

Day 90

Today we went to the beach with Sam's aunt Jerilyn and her family, and Colette and her family. The drive to the beach was through the beautiful Napa Valley which was really interesting to see. The beach itself was great! The water was cold and it took a while before we could take off the jackets. But eventually the kids did end up in swimming suits running in and out of the surf and making sand castles/pits all day long. They absolutely loved it. And for Sam and myself, it was the most relaxing day of the trip. Our kids each ended up with one of the older kids as a buddy and they kept them entertained and out of trouble. It was wonderful. Thanks Jerilyn and Paul!

Day 89

Czar and Robin's wedding. I was asked to do the photographs - an intimidating job and one I don't feel like I carried out very well. But the couple looked very happy and that's all that matters.
It was a 7 hour drive for us from Anaheim and we arrived in time to help with a little of the setting up. The wedding went well. Tyler found a new friend, Andrea (Sam's cousin) that played with him and carried him around all night. And the kids (the cousins and Kaitlyn) finished up the night with a swim in the pool (so funny!) while we were cleaning up.

Day 88

A wish come true! Kaitlyn LOVES making wishes - on stars, on birthday candles, and during our trip, in every fountain we let her stop at. And one of her wishes was for a "stuffed animal Hello Kitty" that she saw in the Build A Bear catalog a few weeks ago. So after doing the parks until naptime and then hitting the pool (Katy and Sam did at least - Ty was SUPPOSED to be sleeping but due to a nap in one of the lines he wasn't tired enough) we were ready to go on a souvenir shopping trip. It just so happens that Downtown Disney has a Build A Bear so Kaitlyn got her wish. (she got the Mickey ears for Kitty but we couldn't talk her into getting one of the adorable Princess outfits for her. I just might have to go back and get one for myself!) And Tyler got a tractor and a loader from the giant Lego store.

Day 87

Christina and Kayla joined us at Disneyland today. It was so much fun! (how could it not be??) Kayla was a bit shy at first but by the end of the day you would have thought she and Katy were the best of friends.

I was almost too tired to blog tonight - can you believe it?? I continue to be surprised (not sure why) at how exhausting it is to be out having fun all day.

Oh and C - if your version of this pic is better (meaning Katy's eyes are open!) send it my way please.

Day 86

Disneyland! Need I say more? :)

Day 85

We made it! Here we are at the Disneyland Hotel after spending the whole day in the car. (I know the pic is bad but that's all I took today) The car ride wasn't bad at all - the kids handled it really well. Now if we could just get them to settle down enough to fall asleep (that's the drawback to sharing a hotel room - you can't just turn off the light and close the door and count on them falling asleep)! Oh, but how can you sleep when you have a terrific view of the fireworks from our balcony?! Amazing.

Day 84

We've spent the whole day packing and prepping for vacation. Kaitlyn is very excited but a bit sad about leaving her fish. Here she is giving the tank a hug before we took it over to my dad's house so he can feed it for us. When we got home Kaitlyn told me "I'm going to call every day to check on her!"

Day 83

I hosted this month's Saturday with The Girls - so much fun! I always look forward to our Saturdays. This month we made some spring decorations and finished up with lunch and these flower cupcakes.

Day 82

March 20 - the first day of spring. And what perfect weather for the first day of spring. Kaitlyn couldn't wait to get outside and have another picnic. Some of our favorite neighbors were out enjoying the sunshine too and we ended up having an impromptu picnic party followed by time in the sandbox and riding bikes. We were all so reluctant to go back inside that Ty's naptime was an hour late. And then the kids were back outside as soon as naptime was over. The

only drawback to the day - I forgot the sunscreen in the morning (but not the afternoon!) so we are dealing with a few pink spots.

Day 81

First picnic of the year. Yay Spring! Kaitlyn said, "I love hearing the birds on such a beautiful day."

Day 80

When in doubt, build a train track. At least that was today's solution to the after dinner "Mom, I don't know what to do!" conundrum. Too bad it didn't keep them busy as long as I had hoped.

Day 79

I chose this photo because it illustrates the polarity of the kids today. Kaitlyn has been happy and helpful and oh so excited for all the Saint Patrick's Day fun. And Tyler has been a bit moody and whiney and when he's not moody then he's making a mess!

Day 78

I tried, really I did, to keep the kids out of the mud today. But it's the first time we've made it outside in what feels like forever (without freezing or someone having a coughing fit) and the kids were SO tempted by the mud puddle that I finally gave in and let them put on their rain boots and have at it.

Day 77

Bed head :) I just love naptimes.

Day 76

Wonton night. This is one of our kids' favorite meals, particularly Kailtyn who can never get enough wontons/pot stickers. Tyler favors the yakisoba noodle stir fry. But both of them love the added fun of using the chopsticks to eat.

Day 75

Ty had us up all night last night with his fever so it was another low key day. To keep himself occupied Sam has been playing Guitar Hero. And tonight I joined him for a couple of hours. He claims he is better than me. I say there's no way to tell since we were doing co-op. Plus I have a huge handicap - or two or even four handicaps LOL (especially if you count the two kiddos hanging on my knees during part of it)
*please oh please let all of us get some decent sleep tonight so we can lick these colds!

Day 74

"Hat, ma!"
Tyler has insisted on being wrapped in his blankie for most of the day and also insists that part of it needs to be the "hat." Too cute. The problem was that the "hat" didn't stay on the head of my little wiggle worm so I heard "hat, ma!" (his request for me to fix it) many many times.

Day 73

A bright end to a horrible day. My stupid cold got BAD in the night and I spent the entire day being miserable on the couch. The kids played with Grandma and Granda (thanks!!) all day. Then they got to come home and see DADDY! Yep, Sam drove like crazy and made it home before the kids bedtime last night. Ahhh. I felt better just knowing he was home.

Day 72

"Mom I wish I wasn't sick."
"I'm not feeling the best today"
"I wish it wasn't winter so I would not be sick."
I have been hearing these and many other laments from Miss Kate today. Not that I blame her. I'm still not feeling the best either. But hopefully that Princess Noodle Soup will help. I'm so happy that she has her appetite back today.
It has been a day pretty much devoted to Katy Time. Kaitlyn's fever continued through the night, waking her (and me) up at 2AM for an hour of cartoons while we waited for the Tylenol and the wet rag on her forehead to do its job. I called the doc first thing and took her over there a few hours later. Ty ended up going over to grandma's which left it just us girls - a situation Kaitlyn loves. The prognosis, inconclusive but we are treating her for sinus infection just in case. We got her RX filled then had lunch and ran a couple of errands. Once we got home we've had a lot of cuddle time while watching a movie. She can't get enough of the cuddle time.

Day 71

I have the best sick kids ever. I decided to take a photo of Katy for today to show how miserable she has been and as soon as I turned the camera on her she perks up enough to make faces. Amazing. We thought she was getting better but Kaitlyn has had a fever all day today (as high as 103 at one point) and all she really wanted to do was cuddle. And play with a friend :) Poor baby doesn't want this cold to keep messing with her fun but it's taking it's toll on her. Those dark circles under her eyes make me so sad. Here's hoping she can lick this thing for good - and soon!

Day 70

Day 69

I had to help Dad pull a calf today. It actually the first time I've ever done it. Sure I've been around a couple times when I was young but I didn't have to help then. Luckily, my job wasn't the messy part (I don't think I could have handled that). The cow was a first time mommy. And from my perspective everything went really smoothly - or as smoothly as something like that could go. Turns out Dad was pretty stressed but he didn't really show it. And there you see it - the first calf of the season! (we had a couple early ones but this is the start of the real calving season)

Day 68

Another day, another mess. I don't know what the pillows are supposed to be but the kids sure had fun with them.

Day 67

We are not strangers to snow, but the amount that fell last night was unusually high. 8" according to Katy's ruler. I grabbed it to illustrate exactly how much snow I had to shovel this morning before taking Kaitlyn to preschool. I wasn't really up to shoveling but I was the only one around to do it. Thank goodness the coughing fit held off until I was back in the house.

Day 66

Just playin'. (and wishing we could get rid of these icky colds and finally get a decent night's sleep!)

Day 65

Kaitlyn has been an extra helpful big sister lately, helping me a lot with "her buddy." I was able to snap this picture of them this morning when Kaitlyn was "reading" Tyler's backhoe book (one of the sales magazines my dad is always getting in the mail) to him, patiently pointing out each different vehicle and telling him its name.

Day 64

Tonight I humored my sick, sleep-deprived self and gave in to my sweet tooth. Katy and I make sugar cookies. And I have to say - my idea of freezing half a batch when I make cookies is genious. Today we only had to thaw, roll, cut and bake.

Day 63

Lazy Sunday morning - we made muffins and stayed in pjs until the afternoon. It would have been perfect if we all weren't still sick. We're going on more than 2 weeks now with this round of colds and just when I think one of us is getting over it, 2 days later the fever hits again. It's bound to be over soon though, isn't it?