NFR

We LOVE a rodeo!  You can’t beat the NFR – especially when you end up on the front row.

Long story short, Wes & I had tickets to go to the NFR and 2 more tickets became available very last minute so we could take the boys.  Lets just say it was their lucky night!

These cowboys are absolutely amazing and it’s so fun to see them so close.  So close, in fact, that dirt sprays up on you and you can basically pet the horse standing right there.  It’s a long time for Ryan to sit still in one place so we managed to buy every delicious treat that comes at the rodeo.  I wasn’t complaining!

It was a fun night out as a family.

Grandma Aline Rogers

Wes’ sweet grandma passed away on November 20, 2012.  She is such a nice, sweet, kind lady.  Wes and I went to visit them a few times in Albuquerque and I enjoyed being in their home.  She is such a lady.  Grandpa Rogers always took care of anything that a “proper lady” shouldn’t be doing.  They have such a great marriage and relationship – I look up to them in a lot of ways.

She raised an absolutely amazing family.  She has 6 children who are quite remarkable.  They come together like siblings should and have taken care of their parents for quite a while now . . . each flying in for their turn to be caretaker.  Grandma Rogers has 38 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren who are equally as amazing as their parents.  Almost all of those cousins made it to the funeral because that’s just what they do.  They love and support each other ALWAYS.

We will miss Grandma Rogers.  Her body has endured years and years (8, I think) of dialysis three times a week and so I know she is in a much better place.  We will always remember her sweet demeanor and the example she set & look forward to seeing her again someday.

About a year ago, Wes said he wanted to go see his grandparents knowing that it could be the last time.  He was able to go in March & I am so grateful he was able to do that.

Love you, Grandma.

Christmas at Disneyland

Just when you think Disneyland can’t get any better – you go during Christmas time.  They somehow make it even more magical.

My mom joined us on this trip so it was Sam, Grandma, Me & the boys.  It was great!   It was a little more low-key – Grandma doesn’t need as-much-Disneyland-as-possible jammed in to each day so we took some time for shows, etc. during the day.  It was great to have her along.

We spent all of Day One at Disneyland.  One of the highlights was that Nate finally got picked to do the Jedi Training!  He’s been wanting to do this for such a long time.  It’s a fabulous show!  He fought Darth Vader and was so proud he didn’t’ join the dark side. 

We took Ryan to Toon Town for the first time and he loved it.  He especially loved the Toon Town Roller Coaster – he had his hands up the entire time.  He’s going to be our rollercoaster dare devil, I think!

We watched the Christmas Disneyland Parade & it was getting a little chilly and Ryan was exhausted so there was talk of leaving but I was not missing out on the Christmas fireworks and snow this time!  We walked around the park a little and a small miracle occurred – Ryan fell asleep in the stroller!  If you know Ryan at all – you know this has never happened before!  He fell asleep about 5 minutes before it all started so we all got to enjoy the best firework show I’ve probably ever seen with the snow.  Good work, Disneyland.  It was quite amazing.

We headed to our hotel and got all settled & I crossed my fingers for a miracle that night since Ryan is NOT a good sleeper when we travel.  Our last hotel experience was not ideal but this time I was without Wes.  All was going quite well until the hotel fire alarm went off at 2:30am.  It of course woke us all up and we marched down from the 7th floor to the cold outside.  False alarm.  We all fell back asleep and it went off AGAIN.  {turns out it was a teenager that pulled it.  lovely.}.  This time my mom and I stayed in the room with the boys while Sam went to check it out.  She found the hotel manager in the lobby at 3am and basically said in a not so happy way – “if this happens again, I am going to freak out on you.”  It didn’t happen again.  Kids went back to sleep and all was well.  I even negotiated a free night for our next visit which turned out to be a pretty good deal.

We started Day 2 at California Adventure.  Grandma had never been there so we had to show her our favorites.  She didn’t quite understand why we were anxious to get to the park early and get in line until we stood in a rather long line for Toy Story that we could have avoided with an earlier arrival.  I think she slowly began to understand our Disneyland tactics!  My mom absolutely loved Soarin’ over California – her favorite, for sure.

Day 2 is rough with Ryan.  He’s officially exhausted from Day 1 {and the hotel fire alarm} so I get to hold him most of the day.  He won’t let anyone else!  He still has a great time but it’s exhausting.  He gets really particular and quirky when he’s really tired.  He wanted me to hold him but Grandma to tickle his back.  Every once in a while he’d let Sam hold his weight if he could rest his head on me.  It was nuts but we were all willing to do any of those things to keep him happy!

Ryan tried his first Disneyland corn dog and he was a fan.

A few new characters we met:

We rode this ride for the first {and probably last} time.  I usually have very few complaints after a day at Disneyland but the workers of this ride were absolutely the slowest moving people around. 

Both of my kids are obsessed with any live entertainment at Disneyland.  They will stop and watch every single show from start to finish.  We managed to watch the Phineas and Ferb show a number of times this trip!  The holiday version was great.

The peppermint ice cream special was absolutely delicious.

Even though we’ve gone quite a few times this year – I am always ready for more. What a great trip! 

Thanksgiving

We decided to try Thanksgiving at the cabin this year!  We’ve always talked about it and finally made it happen.  While I love our usual Thanksgiving traditions, it was fun to try new ones this year.  {Although Sam & I felt a little weird not Black Friday shopping on Friday morning at 3am!}

There wasn’t much snow right by the cabin – which was nice for practical reasons with the kiddos – but Papa found a fun sledding hill about 10 minutes away that was perfect with feet of snow!  On Thanksgiving Day my mom hurt her back a little so she was nice enough to stay back and work on dinner while the rest of us went sledding.

Nate & Ryan had an absolute blast sledding.  They were ready to tackle just about any hill we could find.  It’s fun to watch them just go for it without much hesitation.  Both of them grabbed a sled and went head first and loved it.  The only downfall was Ryan’s boots.  I brought up a bunch of snow boots and his were too big and kept coming off every time he climbed back up the hill.  So his little toes were pretty much frozen in the snow.

 

We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner that night – thanks mom!

Thanksgiving Day was also Abbie’s 7th birthday which she opted to celebrate on Friday.  Unfortunately, Wes’ grandma passed away so Wes left the cabin on Friday to fly to New Mexico to be with his family.  While we will miss his sweet Grandma – I know she is in a much better place & Wes was able to be there with his entire family and almost all of his extended family.

While he was away, we did more sledding today – this time I switched Ryan and Daisy boots and these worked great for Ryan.  His toes stayed warm today!  And he was a champ walking up the hills all by himself.  Thank goodness because he is heavy!  We did some crafting today with more rides on the 4 wheelers before the birthday celebration.  Sam also made a really cool teepee for the cabin which the kids enjoyed this trip!

Happy Birthday, Abbie!  I can’t believe you’re seven.

Saturday brought all kinds of new traditions.  Santa comes to Duck Creek Village so we went to see him as well as decorate cookies and make ornaments at the local True Value hardware store.  We also participated in the Christmas Parade {well, my parents take all of the kids in it and the rest of us get to watch}.  And then that night they have a tree lighting ceremony in the village.  Quite a fun day – it was a great way to start the Christmas season.

I love Thanksgiving.  I’m thankful for so many things . . . my wonderful husband, 2 goofy boys, my family & Wes’ family, friends, jobs, our health, a place to call home & most of all a loving Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ.

Halloween 2012

I’m always ready for the month of October.  It’s still way too hot here for it to be considered a true autumn – but it’s still fun.  I love it all. 

We love the Bartlett Fall Festival [this is the school where Nate will go to Kindergarten next year].  Ali & friends always invite us and it’s a great time.  Nate was a very excited cake walk winner.

We also got to go with the McDonald’s to Hadley’s school’s festival which was also fun!  We need more night’s out with Kiley & Brandon.

As far as Halloween goes – the boys are obsessed with Star Wars so I thought it was only fitting that we dressed up as a family: Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Storm Trooper & Yoda.  We managed to get a few cute pictures with my parents and cousins and that’s about it.  [Next year, I will be sure to get out the real camera to document Halloween.]

Nate loved going as a Storm Trooper to his school parties.  Here he is with wonderful Ms. Joy & a few of his classmates.

Our friends, the Schenkers, had a pumpkin carving party at their house.  One nice thing about our October weather is we can stay outside all night!  They set up the bounce house and had a ton of power wheel cars for the kids to drive.  I thought for sure Madeline & Daisy were going to kill someone with their stellar driving.

We always go as a play group to the pumpkin patch.  This year we went at 9am and it was perfect.  We had the entire place to ourselves!

Our ward has a wonderful trunk-or-treat tradition.  It’s a party.  Our primary presidency has been in charge for 3 years running and so while it is a lot of work – it’s great.  Ali was nice enough to do my Princess Leia buns!  It came with a wig – but I’m pretty sure the buns of my natural hair were bigger than the buns on the wig.

And then finally – Halloween night!  We had a group of friends over in our ward for dinner & then we went out and did some trick or treating.  It’s a fun night surrounded by friends!

We heart October.