Merry Christmas

We Took on Disneyland with 4 Kids!

My MIL stayed in town for a few days after Thanksgiving. Mak had minimum day all week at school for parent teacher conferences so we decided to take the kids to Disneyland after school. What were we thinking!? The kids were really good, it was just so much work!

I had been pumping Bentley up about going to Disneyland and seeing Mickey Mouse. She was so excited to go and kept saying "kiss Kickey Mouse on da nose," and she'd giggle and say, "dat funny mom?" When we first got into the park Mickey was out signing autographs so we ran right up and waited in line. She was absolutely mezmorized by the big mouse and just stood there staring at him in awe while we waited for our turn. When it was our turn she was a little unsure about him. She no longer wanted to kiss him but wanted me to (which she thought was funny and I'll I could think about was how many people have kissed that nose prior to me and how sweaty and gross the person inside the costume was) so with a kiss from me and Mak and Perry hugging him and giving him high fives, she decided it'd be alright to give him a high five too. As we walked away she said "bye Kickey Mouse, I wud you," and waved goodbye. I loved taking her to Disneyland. I go so often that its no longer "magical" to me, but watching Bentley for her first time going since she's become a toddler was very magical.

We went on the carousel and Dumbo, then walked over to see Santa's Reindeer. Then I took Mak and Perry on Thunder Mountain Railroad. I had to do some fibbing to get them on there, like there's no dark parts. They had a blast! When the ride was over Perry said "THAT WAS AWESOME!" Then his excietment quickly turned to fear and said "I don't wanna do it again!" Mak compared the ride to "mom's driving except we didn't hit anything or run over any curbs."

When we got off the ride we found Meema and the girls waiting for us with churros! Yummy. The kids were such a sticky mess after wards. We walked over and watched the new Princess and the Frog show and afterwards we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. I was feeding Stella while we were in the ride and Bentley was so afraid of the little waterfall you go down and was on my lap so fast. Stella wasn't at all amused and quickly fell asleep. Bentley liked the pirates.

All in all it was a good day in between a few Bentley breakdowns, she just hates strollers and holding somebodys hand, which is a bit stressful at Disneyland. I loved hanging out with my kids. They were so good. My favorite part was Bentley meet Mickey and going on the roller coaster with my kids. Even though we had a lot of fun, it'll be a while before I dare take them back.

Stella's Blessing

We blessed Stella over Thanksgiving since all of our family was out here. The blessing was great. Stella didn't make a peep and the spirit was so strong. We got lots of compliments on Stella's blessing dress. It was quite amazing! We bailed right after sacrament to avoid her from getting passed around and breathed on by all of her many admirers. (I have been so paranoid about the swine flu and flu in general. It terrifies me to think what could happen if she got sick so young). We went home and had a few friends come over too and ate lunch and just hung out. It was great having the family here for such a special event.

Boys & Girls

Tonight Perry said the difference between boys and girls is that " boys fart and girls toot."

Gobble Gobble

This Thanksgiving was busy, I just had a baby 5 weeks ago and we had all of Mikes family in town. We started the morning off at the Dana Point Turkey Trot, it is definately my favorite race so I was not going to miss it this year! Besides, I can't eat all that pie and stuffing without exercising that day. Me, Mike, Matt, and Richard ran the 5k and I made us all wear stupid hats. It was a lot of fun and next year we are all going to wear turkey costumes!!!! I'm so excited! Anyways Matt only ran once before the race and totally kick everyones butts! He ran it in 26 minutes! I hate him, I'm so jealous. I cam in second and Mike and Richard were a very close 3rd and 4th. Mike came in speed walking an looked so ridiculous, I was a little embaressed.... or a lot. Anyways we had a lot of fun running it together and Megan did a great job taking pictures for us. I can't wait to kick everbodies butts next year. I already started my training :)

After the race we came home, I put the trukey in the oven, got ready and took a nap. We almost didn't have a turkey dinner because they never delivered my groceries so Mike had to call Von's and set them straight. After I woke up Bentley and I got cooking. She was a great little helper, the night before she helped me make the pies. Dinner was delicious and I did a lot of carbo loading to get ready for Black Friday, it's my favorite holiday.

Place Your Bets

My FIL, BIL, Hubby and myself are all running the Dana Point Turkey Trot this year. My FIL thinks he can beat me. Before you place your bets let me tell you a few things first. First of all let me point out the lack of confidence he has in himself, he choose the girl to challenge, which are usually slower than boys. Second he choose a girl who just had a baby 4 weeks ago, it'll be 5 weeks and 2 days on Thanksgiving and I will only have been running for 3 weeks 2 days. He didn't choose to challenge Mike or Matt cause he knows he's weak and can't beat them, he choose me who in 3 weeks of training has logged 40 miles. He choose the girl who is super competitive and would run with two broken legs if I had to JUST to beat him. And my third point, he runs on a treadmill! AHAHAHA, he isn't even a runner!

Yesterday he texted Mike saying that he ran 3 miles in 30 minutes (on a treadmill). What a wimp! Today I ran 3 miles in 27 minutes with plenty of hills, pedestrians, and traffic lights. Did I mention that I just had a baby?

So, who are you putting your money on? Grandpa Richard OR me?

Pictures of the Bun in my Oven

To Cut or Not To Cut

Ok, so I've wanted to cut my hair ever since I got knocked up but didn't since every preggo girl cuts their hair and regrets it. It's been 4 weeks since I had Stella and I sooooo badly want to chop it. My husband says he likes it either way. REALLY!?! He has to have an opinion. I certainly have opinion on his hair style. It'll just be so much easier and quicker to style. But I also don't want to look all mommy, double GROSS! I was thinking a little past the chin with a side sweepy bang. Whata ya'll think?

Sunday Hike

On Sunday we went for a hike with all the kids. It was a lot of fun and the weather was nice. Perry was the ranger and showed us which way to go to get to the secret hideout. There is a hideout under some really tall bushes with a swing in it. The kids thought it was pretty cool except Bentley was a little afraid. Stella slept in the sling the whole time and was a good little trooper, and Bentley laid on daddys head on the way back. I love spending time with the kids and my hubby, we don't get to do it enough!

Goodbye Roman

After much talk and NO looking, we finally found a home for Roman. He was just to much puppy for me to handle after having Stella. I always felt guilty because I was either neglecting his needs to take care of the kids needs or I was neglecting the kids needs to take care of Roman. I just had to much going on and couldn't live every day feeling like I'm not being a GREAT mother.

Roman now resides in Laguna Niguel with a family with two teenagers, 2 Great Danes, 1 little 10 lb dog, 2 cats, and a bird. He has had a lot of fun playing with the dogs and tormenting the cats and bird. He no longer sleeps in a crate. He has free reign on the house, and has a doggy door that he can go in and out of whenever he wants. The doggy door leads to a huge yard that he can run around in. He goes to work and goes to camping. He is in a great home and is adjusting well.

I miss my dog, he is the sweetest most loving giant lap dog ever. He was so great with the kids, he took so much abuse from them and loved them dearly. He was always ready to play. He loved going on walks to the ocean and playing in the water. He was very good at digging holes in the sand for the kids and loved chasing seagulls. He loved to play fetch even though he wasn't so good at it. He's such a social dog, and loves the dog park. He would always play chase with the other dogs but couldn't keep up, he was the big lanky goofey dog galloping slowly behind all the other dogs.

We miss Roman but know that his new family can take better care of him and love him just as much as we do.

My Birthday

I had a great birthday! I called my girlfriend Mia to see if she wanted to go get a pedicure with me since my mother-in-law was here and could watch the kids. It was so nice to just sit and get some much needed pampering, it also forced me to get out of my pajamas and get ready for the day. (I have been living in pajamas since I had Stella). Thank goodness I got ready because my hubby threw me a surprise party (that I knew about). He told me he was going to throw a party for me on friday, which I was really stressed out about! I had just had a baby, who was going to watch the kids, and who was going to get ready for this party since he works all day!?! I thought I'd be doing all the planning and preparing for my own birthday party that my husband was "throwing." I called my friend Patience in a panic, and she spilled the beans. Thank goodness for that! She had it all under control and all I had to do was take a shower and get myself ready. My mother-in-law got all the food and put the kids in bed and we had a lot of fun. It was really low key which was perfect. My husband is so sweet and thoughtful, I've never had a surprise party and he did a great job. I shouldn't have gotten so stressed and I should've trusted him. He does a great job spoiling me. I had the best birthday ever.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday cake and crazy hubby!

Brandee, Michelle, Amanda, Stella, Me, Patience, Tara, & Mia

2 Weeks Old

I can't believe 2 weeks has already passed us by. We've been stuck in the house and I'm sleep deprived, and somehow that was a very fast 2 weeks. Our house has been filled with the spirit amongst all the chaos and it has been great. Though Stella sleeps a lot, I have learned so much about her. She hates being swaddled to tight. She is a very hard to burp, and Enfamil Lipil makes her constipated (which is unfortunate because I stocked up on it prior to her birth from Costco). She makes the funniest faces and bats her eyes already! She is a great sleeper. She sleep 5-6 hours at night, I'm a happy mom. She's perfect.

Trick-or-Treat

Halloween was a lot of fun. We went to El Morro's Boo Blast. Nobody could believe that I was out and about. Stella stayed home with Grandma Jeanne while Mike and I took the kids. I was absolutely exhausted afterwards but had fun with my kids. The kids went on every ride and played games. They even went through the haunted house. The were absolutely terrified of the unknown while we were standing in line. We looked like awful parents dragging our kids in there against their will. Mak and Perry were gripping my hands so tight, after we got in it wasn't so bad. They even let go of my hands and walked ahead of us. When we got out of the haunted house they kept bragging about it and acting tough. "That wasn't scary at all.", "That was so stupid." It really wasn't scary, even Bentley wasn't afraid.

For Halloween we went up to Michelle and Tony Kimball's house for a Halloween Party and Trick-or-Treating with all of the kids friends from church. This was Bentley's first year that she actually trick-or-treated and she loved it! She was running as fast as she could behind everybody trying to keep up from house to house and she was carrying this huge bag and would not let us carry her candy! Mike and I were laughing so hard at her enthusiasm.

Bentley Bumble Bee

I taught Bentley to go around saying "bzzzzz STING!" and she'd poke people really hard. Oooops

Roman was a fire dog.