Road Trip

As I mentioned in my last post, Ammon was on TDY in May.  This was his longest TDY yet...3 weeks.  Being a single mom for a day isn't fun, let alone 3 weeks.  As soon as Kent finished preschool, a week into the TDY, the kids and I took off for Washington.  The kids and I started the trek alone, driving all the way to Boise, at which time we picked up my dad from the airport, spent the night, and drove the rest of the way to Pullman with him.  Some may think I am spoiled to have my dad fly down to drive with us, but I am a horrible long distance driver.  I get so tired so easily on car trips, I need someone with me and the kids don't count.  I knew I could make it to Boise by myself, but beyond that it probably wasn't safe.  Not to mention it's entirely freeway between Ogden and Boise, which allows for me to take care of the kids easily by myself, but anyone that has driven from Boise to Pullman via McCall, knows that those roads aren't quite as straight which makes it hard for me to drive and take care of the kids at the same time.

Before we picked up my dad at the airport we stopped and visited Ammon's sister Aspen and her family.  The kids were so excited to get out of the car and play for a while.

Grayson and Addy swinging

Addy manhandling Audrey's bunny, that was so much mellower than the one I had as a classroom pet.

The kids enjoying the trampoline.  This was my kids' first time on a trampoline and they loved it!

There is no better view to welcome me home then the wheat fields.  They were so green while we were there.

Preschool Graduation

Kent officially finished his first year of preschool in May.  We have been so pleased with his preschool and how much he has learned.  They tend to put a little more emphasis on reading and writing than other schools, which I like.  We are sad that he won't get to attend this preschool next year (we are moving) because 95% of the kids that go to the school two years in a row can read by the time they go to kindergarten.  We are also sad because the price of preschool in Washington is at least double what we paid here.  At the end of the year they have a graduation for all the classes in North Ogden and also the classes from the school in Tremonton.  I had no idea how big the graduation was going to be until I walked in the gym 30 minutes early and the bleachers were almost full.  There were so many people there, lots of the kids had extended family attending too.  Poor Kent only had Addy and me (Ammon was on TDY) and my mom's cousin Wendee who was so nice to come and help with Addy so I could take pictures.  I thought it was funny that more people attended Kent's preschool graduation then attended the high school graduation of Ammon's brother James in Rosalia.  

Since we now live in the digital age, I took a picture of all his art work before it went in the trash.  Does that make me a bad mom?

Performing the songs.

One happy graduate.  

There's an Artist Among Us

The kids and I spend a lot of time drawing with sidewalk chalk outside.  Sometimes Ammon joins in the fun and wows all of us and the rest of the neighborhood.

Spiderman 

Buzz Lightyear

Addy's Hair

Addy's hair is continually growing, we have even trimmed an inch or two off of it to even things up.  Her hair is pretty thin and wispy, but she has a lot of it.  It doesn't curl, which makes me sad, but we manage.  It also doesn't stay put too long either, which results in me touching it up a few times a day.  Normally she is pretty good at letting me do her hair, as long as she has something to occupy her attention, i.e. the iPad, Duplos, a sink with water running, etc.  Here are a few of my creations when she stays still longer than normal.

But sometimes she is just not interested at all, which results in her hair in her face all day long, which also drives Ammon and I crazy.  Exhibit A...

Everyday Life

We were blessed with a fairly mild spring.  We were able to enjoy being outside a lot more than I remember in the past. Here is an assortment of pictures worth sharing from the last part of spring..  

Sometimes Addy just can't make it through a trip to Walmart.

Playing at the "Sand Park".

Abby and Kent cuddled up on the couch playing the iPhone.

Who needs a double stroller?

Sometimes we have so much fun Kent doesn't make it through dinner.

Feeding the ducks.  The ducks by Lee's are super friendly and would probably eat out of hour hands if we tried.  

 I told Kent to put his arm around his sister...this is what I got.  

One day I got out a bucket of water and some rags for the kids to wash the Little Tikes car and these three moved on to bigger and better things.  

Disneyland - Miscellaneous

This is just a modpodge of pictures that didn't fit into any of the other categories.  And I must mention that we missed Lance and Robin.  I have promised Lance we could go back as a family as soon as his oldest child is old enough to ride all the rides the little boys could.  That gives us a good 4 years.  

This is how we traveled around everyday.  I am just glad we weren't the only big clan pushing double strollers everywhere.  

The whole gang in front of Goofy's kitchen.

Kent picked out his souvenirs the first night there, a stuffed Bolt and  stuffed Pluto to add to his already large stuffed dog collection.  

Kent with Brett, Rachel, and Cade in Cars Land.

Naps were taken in the stroller.  

Kent happy to be reunited with his grandpa.  

Just the family.

One night we looked over and saw Kent crouched on the ground, if you look closely you can see an Iron Man sign in the back that he was copying.  

On the way back to the hotel, he was one tired boy.

At a shopping center where we ate dinner after everyone arrived in Anaheim.  I am sure at this point my parents were wondering what they got themselves into.

Just our little family, Kent has been into being really cheesy in pictures lately.  

Dancing the day away!!!

Disneyland - Rides

Considering how many people we had in our party, I think we did well getting on as many rides as we did, not to mention taking turns with the girls when they couldn't ride.  We were all grateful for the rider switch passes which we used all the time.  We made Kent go on every ride at least once, perhaps that was mean of us as parents, but we like Kent to try new things and we knew he would survive no matter how scared he got.  Addy wasn't so fond of any of the rides and would often cry or hide her head, it didn't matter how happy and cheery the ride was, she even cried on It's a Small World.

Rachel and I with the girls while we waited for our turn to drive the cars with the boys.  

A typical Addy while on a ride.  

Tower of Terror, which Kent was not fond of. 

There is a few things I love about this picture.  One is my husband, I don't think any explanation is needed.  Two, is my mom who loves rides and is always one to put her hands up.  I love that only one hand is up because she is being protective of Kent and holding on to him.  And three, is how much fun Kent looks like he is having.

Look how scared Kent looks, this was his second time on the ride.  Ammon was pretty good at convincing Kent to do things again.  My dad and I each got sick on this ride.  

Ammon and Brett waited in a fast pass line for about an hour to make sure that we all got a chance to ride the main attraction in Cars Land.

Kent on the swings.

Again, Addy is not a fan.  

This was by far the most ridden ride.  Everyone loved it, even the adults, and most of the time the lines weren't too long.  

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

More than once I got the chance to stay back with both girls while everyone else was on a ride.  They were good troopers for the most part.  We occupied ourselves by playing with anything and everything we could find, AND...

electronics.  

Disneyland - Characters

Back in April, we went to Disneyland with my brother Brett's family and my parents.  It was so much fun and exhausting at the same time.  As much as I would love to just direct you to my sister-in-law's blog for a rundown of our trip to Disneyland, I know I should probably blog about it for my own family's journaling purposes.  One of the highlights of our trip to Disneyland was meeting the various characters that we have been watching for so long in cartoons. 

One of the best places to meet characters was at the restaurant Goofy's kitchen.  Of course you pay an arm and a leg, but if Ammon says something is worth the money, you know it's money well spent.  

The characters were great with the kids, this is just a sampling of who we got to meet, but nonetheless the kids' favorite.  I am sure Kent would marry Minnie if Abby wasn't in his life.  I wish I had a picture of Addy with Minnie.  She would follow her all over and at one point Minnie grabbed her hand and walked her back to our table from clear across the restaurant.

Chip and Dale were also a favorite.  

One morning we were even able to catch Mickey at the front of the park, which was a huge relief since no one wanted to wait for an hour in Toontown at his house.  Unfortunately Ammon had already taken off for fast passes and missed the whole thing.  

Meeting Mater

Mickey and Addy

 Kent couldn't have been happier when we ran across Pluto.  Our kid has a dog obsession if you hadn't already gathered that.