October

The rest of our trip was pretty chill. The Henshaw's came to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday. We had so much fun playing with them! The cousins camped out in the backyard again (except Beckett and Talia). It was so fun getting to hang with Joy! Yay! Saturday night Joy and I shopped at Old Navy together and both got fun new outfits for church, so we had to get some pics Sunday morning. Love my sisters! Saturday night after our shopping we met up with Jules for some Golden Spoon too. Yum.

Sunday was church and then yummy dinner all together. Joy and the girls headed out that evening. I got us all packed up and the kids and I headed home to Utah early Monday morning. We were doing so great and making good time. We stopped at this Maverick that had a playground next to it and played for a bit and were all excited since we only had less than two hours left before we would be home. Right after we left though we hit a dead stop behind a semi accident. We sat for about an hour. It made us all a little grouchy. We did finally make it home that night around 7:30pm.  I'm so glad we did the trip. It was a blast and the kids were so so good! Yay for Fall Break!

While we were gone Ian made good use of his time. He played lots of zombie video games, went and saw a movie with friends, and mountain biked with Steve. I guess I should go out of town more often to give him some more friend time! :)

When we got back it took the week before I felt like we got all settled back into our routines. That week the kids played in all the leaves that fell off our tree while we were gone. They loved it! We also went to the pumpkin patch and picked out ginormous pumpkins to carve. The weather was pretty amazing for October too!

Davin had a little drama presentation at school. He did a great job with his part! Poor kid ended up having pink eye though so the next day was a sick day. He barely made it to the 24 hour with drops mark before the school's Fall Carnival. I just took the big boys this year and it was much more fun. They played games, ate fun food, danced, and got prizes. Success!

We had a pumpkin carving FHE. Weston and Davin were able to do most of their pumpkins by themselves. Talia and I did one together, but since Talia didn't want to get any goo on her I did it. Beckett was totally content watching. We had donuts off the cat that night too, of course!

We went to the new children's museum as a family one evening. That place is always really fun and we have finally figured out the best times to go when it's not too crowded.

Weston finished up his soccer season at the end of October. It was a pretty good season. He still hasn't scored any goals, but he is improving! He had great hustle this season and got a few opportunities to try for goals. He had fun playing with his friends. Fall means stake volleyball for me, which I love. It's so much fun to play volleyball with the ladies in my ward! We had a hard time getting enough people every time, but we played anyway and had a blast!

October finished up with Halloween! It was another fun year with the kiddos. During the day while the boys were at school I took Talia and Beckett to Provo. We got donuts at Krispy Kreme then visited the Bean Museum. It was a fun outing!

The weather was perfect for trick or treating and our neighborhood is so fun! This year we had a banana, Mario, Pirate Captain Zarina, and one of her scallywag pirates. This was Beckett's first year trick or treating and he loved it. He had his mouth full of candy the whole time, but he still was adorable and would ask for more after people put candy in his bag. He and Talia lasted about an hour, then I brought them home and handed out candy while Ian took the boys with their friends for another hour or so.  They were super excited about all of their candy and sorted it out before bed.

What a whirlwind, busy October we had! It sure was a fun month!

Legoland Day 2 & Brick-Or-Treat!

Friday morning we were up bright and early for breakfast at the hotel. Then we all got ready for the day and packed up our stuff. We checked out of the hotel and got to Legoland right when it opened again. This time we headed around the opposite side of the park. We got on a few big rides right away. We also discovered a ride that Beckett could go on. He loved the little airplanes and we rode it over and over again with him. 

Grandma took the big boys on The Lost Kingdom Adventure where they got to shoot laser guns at targets (a lot like the Buzz ride at Disneyland). Then I took Weston on the Technic Coaster. Davin said he didn't want to go on it, but then randomly showed up in the line with me! Turns out he had come over to the line because he didn't see Grandma. That was a scary couple of minutes since Grandma couldn't find Davin. We figured it out (thank goodness for cell phones!) and Davin got out of line and went and played in the Pharoah's Revenge ball area with Beckett. Weston and I had a blast on the Technic Coaster. It was probably the biggest roller coaster ride in the whole park. The first drop was really good. The rest was a lot like the Coast Rider at Knott's.

After the Techic Coaster I took Weston on the Knight's Tournament ride. It was pretty crazy. It looked like mechanical arm the moved us all around. It made me a little nauseous and we only chose level 2 of intensity! Weston loved it though. :)

While it was just me and Weston we also ran onto the Dragon. That was a fun coaster that had lots of cool Lego creations to see throughout the ride. I thought Davin would really like it, so we went and met up with Grandma and the other boys. Davin and Weston went on the Dragon with Grandma. Then they went on the Royal Joust. Beckett was too little so we wandered around together while we waited.

After those rides we took an ice cream break. It was a fun treat and perfect to sit and have a snack at that point! We did a few more little things in the Castle area before moving on.

Grandma took the big boys on the Bionicle Blaster. Beckett had a fruit snack break while they rode. Then I took the boys on the Wave Racer. It was in the water but we didn't get too wet. Just a few splashes. I forgot to get Grandma's pictures of us on it! It was really fun though.

Next it was building time. The boys chose to spend an hour building in the Hero Factory. The wall in that room was super cool. All made of Lego's! The boys each built a Hero Factory guy. Grandma took Beckett across the way into the Duplo room and he built a cool train. We saw the vampire guy come through the Duplo room and Beckett followed him outside and was first in line for a photo op!

When we were done building we went on the boat tour. It was pretty hot in the sun, but Beckett loved the boat. It took us all around the lake and we got to see some of the Miniland areas we had missed. The Eiffel tower was cool and Beckett got an up close glimpse at the elephants.

We were all pretty hungry, so we headed around to the other side of the park to buy a Lego set at one of the shops and eat by Driving School. On our way over to Driving School we saw Emmett! That was pretty fun! Beckett had fallen asleep in the stroller, but at least he's in the picture.

We ate burgers for lunch while Beckett napped. When the boys were done eating they went on Driving School again. Beckett woke up from his hour-ish nap a little grumpy. We headed over to the mother's room and the Lego Clubhouse. I changed Beckett and then we all built with Lego's in the Clubhouse for a bit. Weston put together his own minifigs and bought them as a souvenir. He made a chef, a surfer dude, and moustache man. They are really cool!

While the boys were busy building still I took Beckett outside and got him a hot dog for lunch. He only ate the bun. Most expensive hot dog bun ever. Oh well. Once Beckett was finished we headed over to the Lego Movie Experience. It was fun to see the basement set from the movie and a bunch of the scenes in Lego's. There was a Plexiglas barrier around all the scenes because ironically they were not Kragled together. :)

Our next stop was the Sea Life Aquarium. It was a cool aquarium with some different animals than we see at ours. There were a few Lego creations in the tanks too. The boys did a quiz and earned a prize at the end. Beckett really liked seeing all the fish.

Finally it was time to go to the car and change into our "costumes" for the Brick-Or-Treat party! This was an add on that I'm very glad we did. It was an extra $20 to upgrade our tickets for the party, but it was awesome! We went with a superhero theme for our costumes and I thought we all looked pretty great.

We got into Brick-Or-Treat right when it started and took some pictures. There were cool Halloween characters wandering the park. The kids got a trick or treat bag and there were stations set up all around where they could get treats. The last one (which we went to first) was where they got a full on Chima speedor Lego set. That alone was worth half the price of the party.

Since the park had cleared out for the party we walked onto a few rides. We did the Technic coaster and the Lost Kingdom. Beckett rode the airplanes probably 15 times in a row. It was perfect. After we rode a few rides we started trick or treating. The party filled up as the evening wore on and we kind of just filed along the trick or treat route in a giant line.

We took a break and went up to the witches dance party. The boys were going crazy and having so much fun dancing. :) Weston even got invited to be part of the big dance off contest for prizes at the end of the night. He was super stoked about it. Davin was a little disappointed he didn't get picked too, but he managed his emotions really well.

We finished trick or treating and went on a couple last rides before the big dance off at the main stage. It was pretty chaotic with quite a few kids in the front for the dance off, then during that they chose 5 finalists to dance on the big stage and one main winner by applause. Weston didn't get picked for that, but he had fun dancing in the front. At the end of the dance off the lights went out and there was a fireworks show. That was the end of the party and the park closed.

It was a very fun, long day. We had such a blast. We got out of the park and drove home. The boys were all asleep by the time we got home at 11pm. I'm so so glad we were able to go. The boys really earned it and it was the perfect time to take them. They were great ages for it. I am also so grateful that Grandma could come with us. And extra super grateful that Auntie Jules could watch Talia while we were gone. What an awesome Legoland adventure we had!

New Year!

It's a new year and you may have noticed how much I slacked on blogging this past Fall. I got hung up on our Legoland trip and couldn't seem to get anything done after that. I plan on finishing up the detailed posts about our trip then transitioning to a new blog style for this year. I will be blogging monthly family updates with less pictures. I still love having the blog to act as my journal, but I just don't have the time to sit and post as often as I used to.

Speaking of having the time...that is one of my goals this year, to be more wise with my time. It's weird to think that this season of my life is going to end in just a few short years. Then my days of being home with little people will transition to going back to school and/or work (while also helping with homework, chauffeuring to activities, etc.). I am trying to simplify.

I love the "fresh start" feel of the new year. I like setting goals too, even if I don't always stick with them. It helps to refocus and strive to do better and make positive changes. This year is a big year for goals. Here are my resolutions for the year.

Physical:
1. Cut back processed foods/sugars
2. Eat more veggies (always having to work on this one since I don't really like veggies)
3. Go to more group fitness classes (trying to make it to at least two each week)
4. Try new healthy recipes

Spiritual:
1. Read the New Testament
2. Pray more often and with more sincerity
3. Have daily morning devotionals with the kids before school (scripture, discussion, prayer. I'm using THIS series)

Home/Family:
1. Put my marriage first. Give it my best effort, not just my leftovers.
2. Less TV/Screens. For everyone.
3. Keep the basement organized.
4. Discuss family finances regularly (We are following Dave Ramsey's plan. Main goals are: don't incur any new debt, pay off all debt this year, monthly zero based budgets, weekly check ins)

Personal:
1. Be a more generous person. Look outward to find ways to serve and love.
2. Take better care of myself (make appointments for dental, physical, OB/Gyn, optical, lasik consult, etc.)
3. Don't yell.
4. Be more flexible. It's ok/normal to not have everything in control all the time.
5. Use time wisely.

In other news, I got to kick off my year with a "fresh start" hair cut and color. I am loving having short hair again! :) I'm hopeful that 2015 is going to be an amazing year! We have big plans for fun and family!