DISNEY!

OK so everyone likes Disneyland, right? Even Andrew has admitted that he likes it now that we have kids. Kids really do make it WAY more fun. The truth is that I have become one of those weird people that really adores Disneyland. I love it. We went for 3 days and it wasn't enough for me. Although I think 3 days was more than enough for my husband and probably even my kids too. We drove out there, which made me nervous at first but my kids are awesome and we took our time so it really wasn't bad at all. We got to spend some time with cousins while there as well as Nanny and Poppy and we got a special day at Disney with Dave, Dyl and Whit. AnDee was in heaven. We had a blast and I am really grateful that we have the means to be able to do these kinds of things. We are spoiled. Like REALLY spoiled. Pep is only 18 months old and has already been to Disneyland twice. Crazy.

So you cant see it very well but I made the pillow that is around AnDee's neck. Its just like a normal neck pillow but the back is WAY smaller so it doesn't push her head forward. LIFESAVER. Ill never travel long distances without them...

 You can kind of see my Dad and Buggy in this one... if you look hard..

 Why do I always look so lovely in these pictures?

 This was about the most time we spent with my family. Not sure why we didn't meet up more often. I think AnDee enjoyed just hanging out with them more than going on the rides. We got to watch an entire 20 min parade with them! Next time we will plan for more cousin time.

 AnDee wanted to go on EVERY ride with Whitney. New best friend??? Very possible.

 Poor Xavi boy got left behind on more than one occasion. AnDee was big enough to ride a couple of bigger rides like Splash Mountain (moms favorite.... scared the snot out of her) and Big Thunder Mountain.

 Ok.... So I am a horrible person and snuck my fat pregnant belly on  a few rides that I wasn't actually suppose to be going on "in my condition" (What does that even mean?!) but seriously... I doubt that Splash Mountain is going to cause any real harm. If the kid comes out with brain damage, you can all blame me (please bless it doesn't come out with brain damage)

 Poor Pep... how embarrassing.

 My kids took about a two hour nap everyday... in the park... they are awesome. And of course Andrew would never pass up the opportunity to sleep :)

Pep got a Pooh bear...

He drags that thing with him everywhere now. He LOVED the Pooh ride and made us go on it multiple times. AnDee got a baby Dumbo (you can see it in the parade pic) She too takes it with her everywhere. Again... spoiled. SO spoiled

Winnie the Pooh wasn't the only surprise Pep left Disneyland with...

The day after our last day at Disney Pep looked like this most of the day...

 And then this started to appear...

 yup! Disneyland gave us Hand, foot and mouth disease! Wahoo?!

These pics were taken on like day 3 of the rash... its worse now, so much worse. The skin is cracking and peeling off. He is in pain pretty much always. When we finally got him in to the Doctor yesterday the doctor said it was one of the worst cases he has ever seen. We are just waiting for AnDee to come down with it... as well as Andrew and I (Although it wont be nearly has bad for us) Its inevitable. Ill let you know how it goes.

A Trip to Aunt Gayles

Sometime in October (Dont ask me when. I cant remember that far back.) We took a little trip up to play with Aunt Gayle. She spoiled us, as always. She let the kids help frost and decorate cupcakes and we got to play outside in her trees and swing and boat (I know... its weird but playing in the boat at Gayles house is really high up on the 'fun things' list.

 why did we take this little trip to Aunt Gayles? Because mom chopped her hair off while Gayle watched the kiddos. Almost a foot. Funny thing is... NO one has noticed. How do you cut a foot of hair off and not have it noticed?

Dont be jealous of my super cute pic.

Halloween 2012

Ok so here I am trying to catch up again. We are going to have to go back to some old stuff but I will eventually catch you up with the new.
We got to do a few of Halloween parties this year. One with the ward, one with the Cowley family, one at Daddy's work and then on Halloween day we went to Grandma Naugle's and had dinner and what not.
This year AnDee decided she wanted to be a "polka dotty monster" and Pep got to be the Hulk. I was a lacking a little in the 'wanting to make costumes' department this year so the costumes were slightly disappointing but here are some pics of the costumes and party fun!

 Some how AnDee and Brigham ended up being the same thing except AnDee had polka dots and Brigs had squares...

 Some of the kids getting ready for the balloon popping game

 They were split in to teams and had to run to the end of the yard and find a way to pop their balloon and then run back. It didnt take long for them to figure out that the tiny little lilac bush was the perfect place to pop. Even Pep joined in the fun. AnDee however refused to play. She was totally disgusted that they were popping perfectly good balloons. (dont worry, directly after Pep popped his, he began to pick up all the pieces of the balloon and throw them away. Its weird how much this kid cares about things being clean)

It was a laid back and fun year for Halloween. Its always a blast to dress up AND play with cousins!

Pumpkins and Such

We decided it was high time to get some pumpkin carving done around here so we set out to conquer the giant pumpkin Aunt Gayle brought us. The kids were awesome and even helped me take all the guts out and Pep even ate a few of the extra pieces (he hated the taste... cant figure out why he is always eating things that he hates the taste of)

AnDee posed them like this. She's a natural.

Both the kids have been a little more interested in soccer lately. Maybe because they got to see all their cousins and mom and uncle  Caleb play last week after Billy's baptism? But Pep is definitely more focused on it than AnDee. Im hoping this is something that sticks so its not embarrassing for him to explain to everyone where his name came from.

AnDee made her own swing in the backyard. Ok... maybe I helped a little but I have got to hand it to her, she is one clever and determined little girl. I think she would have got it done with or without me. She is very proud of her new swing.

I am no good at this not having a husband thing. I have a few friends who go weeks on end without there husbands. I seriously have no idea how you do it. My respect for you is great. I am a mess when Andrew is away. Therefor I am constantly trying to stay out of the house and busy... which usually results in me spending more money than I should. So far this week we have been to the zoo, AnDee and Pep got to go to Provo and play with Uncle Dave while Mom played volleyball, we carved pumpkins and made swings and worked on the front yard, yesterday we went to the mall and played on the "winnie the pooh slide" (as AnDee calls it) and then met up with Nanny for some dinner. This afternoon I think we will head to PG so the kiddos can play with Gayle. Just the cost of gas is gonna kill us. Its a good thing Andrew only goes once a month or so because we would be in the poor house if he was gone anymore than he is. 

Its been a fun week though considering his absence. AnDee has been THE BEST kid in the world. She (not exaggerating) cleans my whole house every morning. I have to help with a few things like scrubbing toilets or mopping floors sufficiently but for a 3 year old she rocks it and I cant even tell you how much it helps me. Plus she has just had the best most positive attitude that has kept me out of my -I miss Andrew- depression. Thank you AnDee Lew! I dont know what I would do without you! 

and for good measure... here is Pep in a bucket. I dont know why... he looks pleasant though, doesnt he? 

The Zoo

So after I posted yesterday about keeping myself busy while Andrew is gone I felt motivated and inspired so I packed the kids up and we went to the zoo. This doesnt seem like a very big deal, I know but I dont do things like that by myself. I ALWAYS wait for a time when Andrew can go with me. But I did it! All by myself and we didnt even die or get lost.
The new area with the polar bear and the seals was a big hit with us, as was the baby giraffe.

 Um... it may have frightened her a little and she may have run away

 Not Pep though, he stood up to that bear like a man.

The bear was so funny. It would swim up to the glass, stand up, push off and float away on his back and then repeat the process over and over and over.

 AnDee thought it smelled really really good in there.

It was fun. And I felt accomplished doing something so grown up all on my own. Turned out to be a pretty good day.

Maybe its Weird...

Maybe its really weird... I dont know, but we like to take walks in the cemetery. Its quiet, the kids can run and I dont have to worry about cars, and they find all sorts of treasures ( Pine cones, chest nuts, sticks, rocks) Although I do have a rule that they are not allowed to walk on the grass by the headstones... It weirds me out thinking about walking where people are buried.

We have been obsessed with bugs lately, grasshoppers, lady bugs, potato bugs... and worms! We had an entire worm colony living in a container in our kitchen. Seriously like 40-50 worms. I had to secretly release them in to the wild while AnDee was napping. 

The coolest part of this bug obsession? We have purple potato bugs in our yard. Like really purple!

Its hard to see in the pic but if you look at the second one, I put one of our purple friends next to a normal colored potato bug. They are neat and the kids literally spend hours looking for them while I try to rip up our mess of a front yard. Pep is also a rock moving champ which is awesome because we have more rocks than grass I think.

We have recently discovered something... tv is the devil. I knew it made my kids grumpy but I had no idea what a difference it would make in our lives to remove the tv watching. Dont get me wrong... I didnt get rid of the tv and kids still get to watch a little but it is a reward for getting their jobs and school done and they have time limits. Usually about a half an hour a day, tops. Life has been so much more pleasant without it. My kids are happy and respectful to me and to each other. They listen and obey without complaint, they sleep better, they eat better and we all just get along better. Im not saying that removing the tv has made us a perfect family but in comparison to what things were like before... we are doing pretty dang good. Pretty sure the tv will never make a real return to our home.