Disneyland!

We recently went to Disneyland with my parents, my siblings and their families.  It was so wonderful to be able to spend time with my family and to see Brayden and Emma spend time with their cousins and grandparents.  We had such a wonderful time!  My sister spent many hours formulating a plan for us using a software program called "Ridemax" (which I highly recommend to anyone who will be visiting Disneyland.)  Even though we went during the middle of summer, were able to minimize our wait-time and maximize our fun-time!  Thanks also to Mike and Brian who ran around the park and got FastPass tickets for everyone.  Brayden's favorite part was, by far, the Star Tours ride, as well as the Jedi Training Academy show.  We tried to get him to go on some of the bigger rides like Space Mountain, but as it was kind of like trying to get a cat in a bathtub.    Mike got waved off of Space Mountain, as he was physically trying to force hysterical Brayden to sit in the ride.  Emma's favorite part was all the characters, especially Minnie Mouse.  She LOVED Minnie!   We went to a character dinner at Goofy's Diner and loved and kissed Snow White, Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Pluto, and Fairy Godmother.  The highlights of the trip for me were seeing the kids faces at the character dinner and at the parades, and a really great Broadway-quality performance of Aladin, and couple really great rides at California Adventure, Soaring over California and California Screaming. After my brothers and parents had to leave, we went with Ashlee and Brian to Newport Beach for a day.  We went to the beach and visited the beautiful Newport Beach Temple, which was paid for by the members in the area.

Brayden and Emma's Birthday Party!

Since Christmas, Brayden and Emma have been asking how many days until their birthdays (Brayden actually got really good at counting backwards).  Their birthdays are only a day apart and so we decided to throw them a "Star Wars and Starlets" birthday celebration!  We had a water party with balloon lightsabers and a Darth Vader helmet for boys, and feather boas and star-shaped sunglasses for the girls.  My friend Alison helped me make an invitation, and my friend Kerri made a two awesome signs as well as let me borrow her super fun waterslide.  We had pizza and cake and ice cream.  Except for the chaos that ensued during the gift opening, I think it was hit.  It wouldn't have been the same without the kindness and generosity of my talented friends!  

Bringing Back the Mullet

A few weeks ago while I was in the shower, my darling Emma decided to give herself a little haircut.  She came to me with a huge smile on her face and said, "Mom, look at my hair."  And then I noticed the scissors in her hands.  And then I noticed she now had bangs.  I kind of freaked out and she ran off sobbing.  I think she really thought she had done a good thing.  On closer inspection, I discovered she had cut her hair really short on one side of her head, creating a sort of "mullet" effect.  UGH!  Just when I thought I had cleaned up all the hair, I would feel a lock become tangled in my toes walking around the house.  We took her to the hairdresser to even things out a bit.  Good thing she is cute enough she can even pull off a mullet!