Day Two of Our Vacation - Doheney Beach

We decided to spend a day at the beach while we were there. It was torturous for me to watch the surfers and not join in. I love surfing! But this beach was not the best place to take a bunch of little kids, and I had my hands full just chasing them around. But it was fun nonetheless. There's nothing like the beach.

Here are Joshie and Kolton buried to their waists. I didn't dare go any higher. They loved it and kept climbing back in the hole after I dug them out. Cute boys!It's always a thrill for me to see the wildlife wherever we go. Being the animal lover I am, it's always fun to see all the different animals. There were TONS of pelicans, and seagulls too. We fed them goldfish and raisins. The kids loved it and really enjoyed chasing them away when the whole flock was on the ground. It was quite a sight.Cute Melinda and Jesse goofing off in the sand. They both have such cute smiles!I was chasing this little bug most of the time. He LOVES the sand. He likes to eat it, throw it, dig in it, and especially run in it! He really loved the sand on the volleyball court since it's always so soft. Volleyball anyone? Watch out! This kid's got a mean jump serve! ;)

More of Day One

One really nice surprise was that the boys fell asleep in their stroller every single day we were there. We'd use that time to eat a good meal, ride some "adult rides" or just walk around and enjoy the peace and quiet. I just love how they look when they sleep; like little angels.

Wes and Bryan really liked the teacups. I loved that because I grew up thinking all men hated them. My dad gets sick riding them, and I remember watching all the dads watching the moms and kids ride them. I was really surprised when they hopped on and had a jolly ol' time!

Micah love, love, LOVED the teaups. It was definitely one of his favorites. He like to spin really fast. That surprised me because I wouldn't think a kids so little would think that's fun. But he sure did!
Kolton liked them a lot too. This was probably one of his faves too. It was fun to have a ride where we could all sit together. (It was a tight squeeze with the 2 tall guys, but we did manage to all fit in one teacup. Impressed?)

This was another ride we all got to do together. It's in the kiddie land in California Adventure. They boys both loved it. Micah did a lot of squirming and crying before the ride started (on lots of rides) but he's always settle down and have fun when it would start moving.

Day One at Disneyland

The next morning we were off to the Magic Kingdom! Everyone was sooo excited! As an added bonus to all the fun, Wes's brother, Bryan, met us there and spent our first day at Disneyland with us. Kolton thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Both those boys just love their uncles, and Bryan is a really good uncle. :) Here is Kolton and Bryan heading into the park. Kolton just couldn't wait for everyone to be ready and loaded into strollers, so he and Bryan went ahead. We caught up quickly, of course. He was so cute! He didn't know what to think. He just knew he was on a mission to find Disneyland!Micah really enjoyed the extra space in the stroller without Kolton there. He was tired, but he definitely sensed something was up, and he wasn't about to miss it by falling asleep! He was pretty cheerful considering everything. (I love the way he puts his hand behind his head when he's tired! Kolton does it too. I think it will be one of those cute little things I will always remember.) One of Kolton's all-time favorite rides whenever we go anywhere is the merry-go-round. Especially the horses. (My boy is an animal lover like me already!) Here is a picture of our first ride on one. I think we rode this one 3 or 4 times total, plus the dolphin one in California Adventure. He was sure delighted to have Uncle Bryan next to him. It gave me a little more picture time on the first day. (Thanks Bryan!)
Micah doesn't love the merry-go-round like Kolton. But he does enjoy it once he gets used to it. It takes a few times around. He's always smiling by the end. But his face was classic in this picture. (Micah is the king of funny faces in our family.)
This was another highlight of the trip for Kolton. Just about every single ride, every single line, almost the entire wait, for the entire day, Bryan held Kolton while he walked up and down the railings. He didn't rush him, he held him tight, and Kolton ate up every second of it. He still talks about is all the time, and is now obsessed with walking on railings, curbs, lines, whatever. How sweet of Uncle Bryan to slow down life enough to create such a fun moment for him. I think he will treasure it forever. (I should've snapped more pictures of this, but I didn't. Bryan seemed to enjoy is as much as Kolton. I think he's concentrating on holding Kolton in this picture, hence the serious expression.)

Our Disney Vacation

We finally took a real vacation. It was long overdue. And it was a total blast. We went with my family down to California, and did the beach and Disneyland. Yes, all the little ones came. And we are all still alive.

First we drove to Vegas to sleep there. We figured 10 hours of driving in one day would be way too much with all those little people. Especially because 3 of them are potty training right now. So, we set off on Thursday as soon as Jesse got home from school. We all arrived in Vegas late that night, crashed, woke up, and took off. My parents rented a house in Huntington Beach instead of a hotel. I really liked it, I thought everyone got a lot more privacy that way. Plus, there were bikes in the garage, a hot tub in the backyard, and a park right down the street. Who needs Disneyland when the beach is just down the road? (Just kidding, Mom ;) Anyway, here is the house we stayed in. It was a cute house in a darling neighborhood. I loved all the trees, of course.

After we arrived, we decided to take everyone to the park down the street. I had my hands completely full playing with kids and climbing trees, so I didn't get any pictures. But I did get a cute picture of baby Abby on the way over. She's growing so fast!

What a little doll she is! She was really good for the whole trip. She's such a delightful, easygoing baby. We all love her so much already.
Anyway, that first day we unwound from drving for 2 days. It was fun and relaxing. We did a little grocery shopping and went to bed early so we'd be prepared for the next few days.

Mmmmmm....Fall Baking

Today felt like fall to me today. It was a little cooler, the leaves are beginning to peak everywhere, and I went to the fabric store to buy the makings for 2 dinosaur costumes. Needless to say, when I got home, since I've been eating good all week, I felt like I deserved a little treat. Nothing says fall to me more than pumpkin, bread, and soup. I had soup for dinner, and I made a pumpkin pie cake for dessert. This really is a yummy, easy, more-pie-than-cakey fall treat. I thought I'd share the pumpkiny goodness with all of you. Here's the recipe:
Pumpkin Pie Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the following ingredients in a large bowl:
1 large can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix).
l can evaporated milk
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 eggs
Pour into a 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Combine one cube softened margarine and 1 spice cake mix.
Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over the top of pumpkin mixture.
Bake 1 hour, 350 degrees. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream. I also like to sprinkle mini semi sweet chocolate chips on top. They melt a little when it's warm. Mmmmmm......enjoy. :)

Cute Tag

I saw this tag the other day on another blog. I thought it might be fun since many of you don't know much about Wes.

What's his name? Weston Jeremy
How long have you been married? 4 amazing years!
How long did you date? 2 1/2 months and then we broke up for about 4 weeks, then we got back together and dated for another 2 1/2 before we were engaged. Everyone was so surprised when we got engaged. I didn't think it was that fast, but now I realize it was. I knew I was going to marry him a month before we actually started dating. We were starting to like each other and we drove together up to our friend's cabin in Heber. On the way home, I had a very strong spiritual impression that he was the man I was supposed to marry. It was the strongest spiritual feeling I've ever had in my life so far. I am grateful for that, because it helped me stick it out a little more than I was used to. (Wes is really shy and reserved. He also didn't know a few basic things like calling and asking someone out instead of just showing up. He thought we'd been on three dates when I thought we'd been on zero lol. But he's more than made up for that now ;) We were good friends before we dated. We rock climbed and played volleyball several times a week together with a big group of friends. My best friend married his home teaching companion.
How old is he? 27 (28 next month)
How old are you? 24
Who eats more sweets? Definitely me! Although Wes definitely has a sweet tooth. But we both try to eat clean most of the time. We cheat a couple of times a week and always feel like crap after. But we sure enjoy the cheating while we're doing it ;)
Who said "I love you" first? Wes did less than a week after we got back together. I think he tried to do it several times before he actually did. I of course said it right back. He always tells me he fell in love with me when we broke up, or else he realized he loved me. I think I realized right around the same time that I loved him.
Who is taller? Wes. He is 6'4''
Who can sing better? Me. I used to perform a lot. But Wes is a pretty good singer. He just doesn't like anyone to listen. Shy boy. ;)
Who is smarter? I feel like we are both very smart. I think it's a tossup, although we are smarter at different things.
Who does the laundry? I do.
Who does the dishes? We both do. We just load as we go. After dinner, one of us cleans the kitchen and the other gets the kids in the bath.
His guilty pleasure? volleyball!! He also loves Buffalo Wild Wings (yum! They are in Nevada, but I buy the sauce whenever we go down and we make them at home. They have like 20 or so different wing sauces.) Rock climbing, golf, or anything outside would also be on there. He loves my Tollhouse pie, and my strawberry shortcake. He also loves pork chops, spare ribs, and spaghetti. (my husband makes me feel like a good cook by truly raving about just about everything I make. Thanks love! :)
Who mows the lawn? Wes
Besides you, who is his best friend? probably Kenny
Who cooks dinner? I do, but he likes to cook and will jump in and do it here and there.
Who drives? Wes
Who is more stubborn? Me
Who kissed who first? Wes kissed me.
Who asked who out first? That's a tricky question given the fact that I though we hadn't been on a date and he thought we'd been on three! It drove me nuts to think I'd let him kiss me when we hadn't had an official date, so my best friend and Wes' home teaching companion, Todd arranged one. The plan was to go out somewhere planned, and he'd ask me of course. But the plan backfired when he never asked me out and just showed up at my door! After we got back together, he asked me out right away since he knew that I didn't feel like we were dating right.
Who proposed? Wes! It was so romantic. I totally didn't expect it. The night before, I ran a 1/2 marathon and when we got back, he was there (he'd had an interview in Nevada earlier that day, so I was totally shocked to see him!). He blurted out that he'd come over to ask my dad for permission, because he thought it was obvious. I thought he just came to meet me after my big day since he couldn't be there earlier. After he talked to my parents, he left. He called a little while later and kept asking me to come over. When I did, I was sure he was going to propose. He didn't. The next day we went to a friend's farewell. Everyone knew but me what would be waiting for me when we got home, and they were dropping hints all over the place. I totally didn't pick up on them, and when we left our friends a little earlier than I wanted to so I "wouldn't be late for my meeting" I thought he was seriously obsessed with being early to everything. Then he took me to my house, and I was really confused. But when I opened the front door there were rose petals leading to my room. In my room there were rose petals, glitter, and candles everywhere! He dropped on one knee and asked me, and pulled my ring out of a rose. It was so romantic, and I of course said yes!
Who has more siblings? I do (6) but Wes had more when we got married (5)
Who wears the pants? For smaller decisions, I do. But for big ones, we squish into the pants together.
What's you favorite thing about him? How could I choose? I love how mush he loves me. He is so hardworking, so dedicated to everything he does. I call him the silent leader. He is a great leader, but very humble, and I don't think he thinks of himself that way at all. He truly is very humble. Everyone who knows him very well totally hangs on every word he says. He doesn't say a lot, but when he does say something it's always worth hearing. He would do anything to make me or the boys happy. He is so fun to be around. He is very supportive and caring and sensitive. He's also very patient and softspoken (I love that!). He's the best dad and husband in the whole world! I am very lucky to have him in my life forever. And did I mention his smile, eyes, the way he moves and the way he holds me? He is soooo very attractive! ;) I love you, Sweetheart!

This tag was fun. It's fun to talk about my hubby and how we got together. Now I tag all of you!