Disneyland 2015

 

We finally made it to Disneyland! It was a quick one day trip but everything went beyond perfect (well except for the 45 minutes we lost Scarlett at the park but she loved it cause they gave her a disneyland pin). Anyway, Jack did awesome and loved seeing all the sites from his stroller. I was worried he would get a little stir crazy but the he literally never made a peep. 

My favorite moment was riding the carnival swings with Alice. I felt like a kid again and i loved hearing Alice giggle and scream. Disneyland really is a magical place!!

Favorite moments:

1. Carnvial swings with Alice

2. Little Mermaid ride with Scarlett and Alice 

3. Ariels grotto with the girls for lunch and meeting the princesses. They loved meeting them and Alice legit thought they were the real thing (if we had waited another 6 months to go she would be past the perfect princess stage)

4. The Cars ride with he girls. They LOVED it and were able to ride it with Nick and I.

5. Getting a huge ice-cream cone with Alice while everyone else rode a water ride that Ali was too short for.

6. Seeing Jack giggle and wave to everyone during the parade. He kinda stole the show!

7. Seeing how happy Scarlett was when the lost and found (for kids) gave her a special pin for her shirt. This girl just loves any present you give her!

8. Riding Soaring over California with Alice. This girl really thought we flew out of Disneyland on a plane. She was pure bliss on every ride and just loved every second. She made it so magical!

9. Thinking of nothing all day except my family and what fun ride we were going to ride next!!

10. Not the 4 hour drive home after we left the park

she just LOVED the Little Mermaid ride

I spy Chole and Scarlett

Ariel's Grotto 

She spots a princess

And just as we are leaving we spot Minni!! Scarlett loved it

what the next 2 days looked like

Halloween 2015

We were all a little tired this Halloween. The day before we spent at Disneyland and then drove home that night...it was a long and fun day. But we were able to muster up our strength and have a super fun Halloween. For dinner and trick or treating we headed over to my parents. My mom made some fun cookies and "witch's brew" (root beer and dried ice). Scarlett loved trick or treating but Alice gave up after a couple houses and just ate her candy in the stroller. This is our first year dressing up as a family and it was a lot of fun! The girls wanted to be Ariel so we all took a character from Little Mermaid. Nick- Prince Eric, Me- Ursula, Scarlett and Alice - Ariel, Jack-sebastian. I just love going all out on holidays and watching my kids enjoy it!

Ghost pumpkin they carved with Grandpa Jon

The Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkin patch is a beloved place in our house. We drive past it almost every day and love watching it slowly be build. They hang the lights, put up bales of hay, build rides and very last lay out the pumpkins. Every year after they take it down I think "well it will be a whole year until we go again". Sure enough another year comes and goes and we go the patch.

This boy just loved playing with the hay

Jackson 11 Months

                       
It has been on crazy month for Jackson (and me)! He was very sick for most of the month and just could not seem to kick it out of his system. Poor baby could not keep anything down and refused to eat. For a week he literally did not eat or drink anything except for nursing (which did not give him nearly enough). He lost about 20% of his body weight and it stressed me out to no end! I kept on taking him back to the doctor only to hear "he is okay it just has to run its course". After about 3 weeks he was finally back to himself. Currently he is doing great and even has gained about half of the weight he lost back again.

This boy really is just too cute! I kiss him and cuddle him all day! He insists on being rocked to sleep for naps and bed. I love those times of day when it is just me and him and we can reconnect.  I just wish I didn't have to reconnect with him those 1 or 2 times a night. We are trying to get him routinely sleeping through the night but I know that it will come eventually. He is such a calm, adaptable, easy going baby that his waking at night bothers me very little and I really don't have the heart to let him cry. I love his eagerness to discover the world and how quickly he gets around. Jack is always on the go and even go kicked out of the baby room at the gym because he climbs over the other babies. Silly boy. My favorite "trick" he does these days is wave "hi" and "bye". He opens and closes his chubby hands and it melts my heart. Whenever he sees anyone he says "hi" in a very soft whisper. So far he says two words "hi" and "dada". Oh Jack please stay small forever!

Hard Week and Miracles

Poor Jack has been sick! Like not eating, dehydrated, high fever, and freaking me out sick. He was such a trooper and I love him for it. He is on the mend and I could not be more grateful for his adorable smiles! But oh man was that a hard couple of weeks. Little sleep and worry completely wore me down! Tomorrow I am going to the gym and sweating A LOT in hopes it perks me up (a good workout and long nap usually do). 

In the throws of his sickness I decided to take all the kids to the park. I thought the fresh air would be good for all of us. We had been stuck in our house for days and I DO NOT handle house arrest very well. I start to get anxious and short tempered. Anyway, I picked up Scarlett from kindergarten and we headed to a park close to home. This park is in a good neighborhood and I have never felt unsafe there. When I pulled up, there were about 2-3 families playing on the swings and eating lunch. By the time I got out scooters, lunch, blanket, and kids the families had all left. I honestly didn't think anything of it. I go to parks by myself all the time. My kids complain of not having any other kids to play with but other than that its never been a problem... except for that day 2 weeks ago. 

We had been at the park for about 15 minutes eating and playing when I saw a man start to enter the park on his bike. This park is on a bike path so people ride through all the time. I immediately noticed the mans appearance and felt a huge sense of urgency to gather the kids and leave. The man was very unkept with matted hair, dirty clothes, and a beat up bike. But what made me extremely uncomfortable were two things 1. The immediate feeling of darkness 2. That he was quite possibly the largest black man I had ever seen  think huge basketball player). I yelled for the girls to get off the swings and get in the car. Of course they put up a fuss because we had only been there a couple of minutes. They whined that they didn't have their shoes on, that they needed help with scooters, and that they hadn't even started their lunch yet. I told them that we just needed to go and we would take care of everything later. It was then that the man on the bike put his bike down and started to briskly walk in my direction. I could feel the panic well up inside of me. I continued to yell at the girls to "just put everything down and run to the car". They must have noticed an urgency in my voice because they started to listen. The man began to "cat call" at me. When I did not acknowledge him the "cat calls" turned to profanity. The tears began to come and I honestly didn't know what to do. There was no time to get the kids in the car before the man got to us. I was completely vulnerable with my three kids against this man and just as full blown panic set in I heard a truck pull into the parking lot. I turned and looked at the man in the truck and noticed he was wearing a University of Utah hat. An overwhelming sense of peace come over me and I knew that everything would be okay. The man in the truck got out and threw some trash away (I am sure assessing the situation). Then he walked over to his truck, folded his arms, and leaned against the hood. The man on the bike immediately changed direction and went to sit on a bench. I collected my things (which took about 10 minutes because once again the girls were putting up a fuss about going). The man in the truck just stood there, arms folded, eyeing the black man until he finally walked over to his bike and rode away.  I was getting ready to leave when the man in the truck yelled through his window "excuse me but are you LDS?". I said yes and then he said "I need to tell you a story. I am a contractor and was doing a bid for a house down the street. Mid way through the bid I had a very strong impression that I needed to get in my truck and drive to this park. I told the owner I would be back in 15 minutes and quickly drove here. I am so glad I listened to the spirit because that man was up to now good! Heavenly Father is sure watching over your beautiful family." I started to bawl and told him over and over how grateful I was that he showed up. I then got back in my car and pulled out of the park. I looked back and sure enough the white truck was pulling out and driving down the street. (side note: The contractor himself was a very imposing man. He was tall with steal toed boots, a plaid rolled up shirt, and a University of Utah hat. He was imposing and bold enough for the black man to leave)

This man... oh this man. I am so, so grateful he got in his truck and drove to the park that day! This man has a life, a job, and probably a million other things on his mind. He was busy doing his job and he literally dropped everything because he felt the spirit. What a lesson to me and everyone about being an instrument in the Lords hands. How many times have I felt a prompting but did not take notice? How many times could I have come to someones rescue but because I was busy it didn't happen? I have a new desire to be just like this man. To feel a promoting and answer the call! I did not get his name and I will probably never see him again but on that day he was my savior. He saved me when I was not able to do it myself. Heavely Father was looking over my family that day and continues to so every minute of every day. There are wonderful people in this world and I am very grateful the Lord used one of them to help me that day!

Watching conference and Jack feeling better