Spring break... journal entry and endless phone pictures

This week the kids had spring break. Last year we stayed home during spring break and it snowed... A ton. We went sledding and played in the yard. Fun, but not an ideal spring break for anyone. 2 years ago we had an abnormally warm March (70-80° weather, it was soooo nice!). We spent time outside in the sprinklers eating popsicles (: This year, winter doesn't seem to want to leave, but at least we can see the grass and the snow that tried to make an appearance just melted away. Still cold though, blah.

On Monday the kids played with their good friends Brielle and Reid all day. (Their mom had a baby that day, so it was an exciting fun day for them... and us too!)

On Tuesday we headed down to Louisville KY for a day to get out of the house. We went to the Louisville slugger museum and saw how they make baseball bats. We all got our own mini baseball bat and our tour guide was really sweet and gave the girls a second bat that was pink! Now we have a bunch of bats that we don't know what to do with :)

Dallas and I took turns going to the temple and staying with the kids to swim at the hotel. The kids get so excited to swim, but they are terrified of the water at the same time. Oh well, one day they won't mind getting their head wet. (The next picture is Makiah refusing to look at the camera and smile. She wasn't getting her way, so no way was she giving in.)

The next day I got to choose what to do, so we stopped at an outlet mall on the way home, I scored some cute clothes at Charlotte Russe while Dallas wondered with the kids. Later we let kids get something... Shopping with kids is insane. We were crazy tired once we got home.

 (Rest stop and icecream at Mcdonalds, Makiah smiling adorably because she got what she wanted... a strawberry shake.)

Thursday we played it lazy and loved it (after waking up way too early to do an Insanity workout). Oh and later we HAD to make a Walmart run to buy Frozen, because the kids couldn't wait another day to watch it. This was after we watched the "Let it go" music video 30 times so Makiah could memorize the words. Later that night the kids and Dallas cheered me on at a volleyball game, it's nice to be playing again.

Friday, we slept in. After a week of no school this my first morning getting some extra sleep-thank goodness. 

It's cheaper to drive... right?

That's what we thought. But it wasn't.

That's okay though, we made it to Utah, Wyoming and back. We are all in one piece and we had a great time.

We drove. It's a lonnnng drive. We did it once before, and yet we were crazy enough to do it again. This time with 3 kids.

We decided to buy a van a little earlier than planned, so we could drive instead of fly. Then I got this brilliant idea... I could leave a couple weeks early with the kids and Dallas could fly out and meet us there when he can. That way we get plenty of time to do everything we want to. So, I found a friend to drive with me along with her husband and daughter and we headed out at the end of June.

Day one was going very quickly, the kids were doing great and the drive didn't seem half as bad as I thought it would be. Around 4 pm we hit Omaha, and it was a HOT day. Our AC died. We pulled into a gas station, got the kids out of the van, put coolant in the van, called my dad and he told me to take the van somewhere to get it looked at. We put the kids back into the car and headed to Walmart (I really don't know why we didn't think, but Walmart doesn't do repairs like this). Once in the parking lot the van died. We (and some helpful guys behind us) pushed the van out of the way and got the van running again. We pulled around to the service side of Walmart, got all of the kids out of the van only to find out that Walmart couldn't help. We put all the kids back into the (hot, humid) van just to find out that it wouldn't start. We got the kids out one last time, went inside and called a tow.

By this point, if I would've been alone, I think I would have been a mess. Crazy lady crying in Walmart. I am sooooo glad I didn't make the drive alone. I am so glad I had my friend's help.

We waited to hear from the mechanic. Hoping it was an easy fix and that it would be done that night and we would be off. We had two carts full of kids, carseats, suitcases and coolers. We hauled them up to the front of the store to get dinner at Mcdonalds (yeah, we looked a *little* ridiculous). And waited. Little did we know that this was just a start of all the waiting that we would be doing during the next 24 hours.

Yeah, I know. We rock and you wish you would've been there too....

The car needed a new water pump and thermostat. It also needed a coolant flush. It would take at least 4 hours the next day to get fixed. We took a cab to a hotel and got some much needed sleep after a 10 hour drive and almost 4 hours at Walmart. My cab driver was great, he turned off his loud music as soon as I started loading kids in his car, asked about my hard day since he could tell by our situation it wasn't good. And then he wouldn't let me pay him when we arrived at our hotel. It was only a few dollars, but what a great act of kindness. The world could use more people like him.

The next day the 4 hours we thought we would be waiting turned into 8 and we finally got back on the road by 4 pm. Waiting was the hardest part. We spent the day walking outside around the hotel and hanging out in the lobby. We were sure glad to get back on the road.

We stopped again that night. We had to drive a third day rather than the two we planned on and finally arrived in Utah the next day. Overall the ride was not bad. I was amazed at how well all 4 kids did. My friend's daughter didn't cry at all. Daphne sat in the back next to Evan and he took care of her the whole way. She was getting her first two teeth and hardly cried at all. When she did cry she was either hungry or tired and quickly calmed down. The kids kept busy doing puzzles, coloring, stringing fruit loops (best car activity, seriously), playing with glow sticks at night and sleeping. Evan liked to watch the mile markers, the clock and he had a chart of different cars that he had to watch for.

It's crazy, but even though it took an extra day with car repairs the trip wasn't all that bad. I wouldn't mind doing it again. I have a whole month of pictures and stories to tell you!

At the beach

So, we decided we needed a little break from the Midwest and so we headed off to Cali...

Okay, okay. We didn't go to Cali. But for 2 hours it (almost) felt like it :) We went up to Chicago to go to the temple this weekend and took the kids to Lake Michigan. It was soooo very fun. I am kinda sad that we've lived here for three years and have never taken the time to play at the beach. It was the best! So relaxing.

The kiddos had been looking forward to this trip for a week or so. Every day Evan would ask how many more times we had to go to sleep before our trip to the lake. Makiah would tell me that Dad was taking her on a date to the lake and I had to stay home to make dinner or take pictures (apparently that's all I do). 

Finally the day came and (though I tried to warn them of the long drive) they weren't too happy when the drive took a little longer than planned. All I'm gonna say is that my original idea of how to get to the lake would've been a lot faster... and I really don't like the GPS. All it does is mess up our trip every time we drive anywhere. Grrr.

I wish I could tell you that was me sailing out there... I would love to go sailing. One day.

Before we left home I asked Dallas what else we should bring for the kids to do... besides sand toys. For some reason I thought they might get bored. What was I thinking? They could have played for endless hours without getting bored. 

The sand was so nice, I had fun just chillin'.

And that's about all I did... and I enjoyed every second!

My Fam (and the last Utah update)

We are sure missing Utah. My kids ask me all the time if we can go again. They also like to pretend that they are their cousins, Sophie and Demi. Evan likes to reminisce about all the fun things he did with his cousins and Aunt Jillian. They talk endlessly about everyone there and what they did with them. We are already ready for another Utah trip!

Here is the whole crew... except for Alison who was away in Mexico. Joel, why is this the only picture I have of you? Shannon... I think the only pictures I got of you were these. 

Oh wait a sec... I have this one...

(Hehehe...)

We didn't have a whole lot planned while we were there, but that's the way I like it. We enjoyed just seeing everyone and letting the kids play all day long. 

We were also lucky to see practically everyone on my Mom's side of the family. My cousin Rachel planned a BBQ with the whole family. It was so fun to see everyone and have the chance to visit with them. 

Highlights from our trip...

Evan says that he liked to:

Play "animal in trouble" with Jillian, Sophie, Demi and Makiah

Help grandma with the garden

Read the princess book with Jillian and Grandma

Sleep in Jillian's room

Build forts with Jillian

Ride in the truck with Grandpa and Carly

Play in the backyard with the dogs, Carly and Talulah

Hold the bird, Maisy

Flying on 4 airplanes

Swing on the swing set 

Makiah says that she liked to:

Sleep in Jillian's room or in mom's big bed

Play "animal in trouble"

Catch the birds and hold them and put them high in the sky to fly

Eat cupcakes with Bethany

Sit on Grandma Fowler's lap, "she was really nice to me"

Look for deer at Grandma Fowler's house

Play at the park  

Dance with Sophie and Demi and play at their house

Swimming with Sophie, Demi, Evan, and Jillian. 

Playing on Joel's iPad

Dressing up in the ballerina dress at Grandma's house (Why don't I have a picture of this?)

Here are a few more random pictures... oh we miss our family!

Looking for deer...

Dance outfits with Sophie and Demi...

Bethany... Just because this picture is blog worthy...

Swimming on one of the only *really* warm days...

Playing on the iPad with Joel (I guess I did have another picture of you)...

And sitting with Grandma Fowler...

Ahhh. Good times, good times. Until next year everyone! We miss you.

Utah with the Bateman's

The first weekend in Utah we got to see (almost all) the Bateman's. First on Sunday for our nephew, Archer's, baby blessing and then again on Monday for Memorial Day. The weather was not very warm so we stayed inside both days... but we had fun. Evan was looking forward to a camping trip with Grandpa... that was not about to happen because of snow :( Hopefully next year we'll have better luck with the weather. Instead we go to go bowling, which was a ton of fun! The kids really love it. I even got to take pictures of everyone for a picture book that I want to make for the kids. I am glad that the pictures worked out :) Everyone looks so nice!

The kids were still adjusting to the whole Utah trip idea... but after some time they warmed up and we really enjoyed ourselves. I've decided that the hardest part of going to Utah and living far away from family is reacquainting the kids with family. They are still so little. I know they remember faces and memories from last year... but it's so hard for them to be comfortable right from the start. It was this way with both families and with every other person we met up with in Utah. I hope that by showing pictures, talking about things we did, talking on the phone and using the web cam... we can make this easier year after year. 

It was so good to see the Bateman family... Dallas sure wishes he could've been there too! We love you guys!

Utah Friends

So... almost a month ago I jumped on a plane with my two kids and headed off to Utah. This has become a yearly thing that I look forward to... well, all year long. We already miss it there and we talk/think about it often. We had a GREAT time.

I planned the trip around my friend Emily's wedding, and I am so glad I did. It was wonderful seeing her on her wedding day. Emily and I grew up together and later we were roomies at USU. Ahhh. The good ol' days. I also got to see Kristen (who was our roommate), she came to the reception and we also hung out the next day (which was sooo nice and fun!).

I also got to see my high school friends Ashley and Stephanie. They are both single, dating and driving Mazda 3's... I am married, pregnant, and thinking about buying a mini van. It was fun to catch up with them and remember the good old days :)

Amanda and her husband came and played with us at the park one day. She is the cutest girl! I am so glad she came to see us. She is a friend of my sister Shannon and we all used to go dancing at Trolley Square every week. Good times, good times.

There were so many others that I saw... or wish I could've seen. I always wish that I had more time to see you all and catch up with you all.

The Weekend.

For Valentine's Day this year Dallas and I decided to take a temple trip up to Chicago. Things didn't go quite as planned and we didn't make it into the city... but we had a lot of fun! We went to the Kohl Children's Museum that wasn't too far from the temple. We really LOVED this museum! The kids had so much fun pretending in each room. They had fun being shoppers, checkers, mommy's, daddy's, veterinarian's, librarians, painters, builders, chefs, waiters, musicians, and scientists. Basically, this museum had it all :) 

We could have spent the whole day in this grocery store... 

Ummm.... this is so, so cute...

Pickles anyone? I really just love her bright blue eyes and cute smile in this one...

We had a great time going to the temple this weekend. The kids did great in the car and at the hotel. Kiah usually has a hard time sleeping in hotels. After the museum on Saturday we headed to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. YUM. I only wish there was one closer to us... and if only it wasn't so spendy... but we love cheesecake no matter how much it costs :)