Sunday, August 7, 2011

Vegas Getaway

Don and I were so excited to getaway for the weekend with our close friends, the Foxes in June. We went to Las Vegas and had the best time! We saw a couple of shows, sat by the pool, went to a movie in the middle of the day, ate a lot of great food (including 2nd dinner at midnight), did some shopping, walked along the Strip, and laughed until it hurt! We always have SO much fun together. We absolutely love our friends!



Thanks to all of Bill's travel for work, we stayed at the Cosmopolitan and loved it! The rooms were so cool and the hotel had these amazing chandeliers that were three stories tall. So pretty!



We saw Beatles Love and it was amazing!!! The music was great and the acrobatics were incredible!






It was so nice to be able to relax by the pool. Our first day there, we found a spot pretty easy, but the second day, it was packed! We stayed pretty entertained people watching!





Don and Bill at the Bellagio Gardens and Tanna and I on the Strip



Someday we want to go to Paris together and see the real Eiffel Tower but this will have to do for now!



Dinner at the Wynn before show



La Reve was pretty amazing too! It means "The Dream" in French and is about a woman having a strange dream. The stage is a huge water tank and there are acrobatics performed under water, on the water and way above the water. Don and Bill were making us laugh so hard later that night pretending to do some of the tricks on our balcony. It was hilarious!





Our last night there, the band "Cake" was performing at our hotel so we got to hear it from our balcony. I was a big fan in high school so it was fun!

We had such an incredible weekend but were anxious to get home to our kids. Our cute niece, Natalie, and her husband were watching them and poor Jayne threw up soon after we left. We thought she had just eaten something too fast or too much, but as the hours went by, she was definitely sick. Natalie is so nice that she never really let on to how bad it really was or we would've come right home. She insisted she was doing fine. She had quite the weekend! Poor Jayne and poor Natalie!

NATALIE'S BLOG POST
Flu-Filled Festivities: Here's to You Moms!!
So this last weekend was quite the crazy adventure. Donny & Summer asked us if we would babysit their ADORABLE three little kids while they went on a fun get-away to Vegas! OF COURSE! They really are such dolls. Elle is 8 (in 4 days), Easton just turned 5, and Jayne is the sweetest, cutest 2 year old in the world.
I got there at about 11:30 on Thursday. Trent had things going on all day down in Provo so he wouldn't be able to make it up until Friday.
Summer gave me all the instructions and they were off! About an hour later, I look over at Jayne sitting on the couch and she has thrown up! What in the world?!

(**Side note: I am finding out that I have a curse. When I was little, my best friend/cousin Erika and I would always have sleepovers. And I kid you not, EVERY time I would go to her house to sleep over, I would get sick and throw up. Like you could just count on it. Every. Time. And every time our families would plan on getting together, someone in one of our families would throw up. We're just cursed! But the curse got turned over to me I guess. For example: Last time I babysat Donny & Summer's kids, Elle threw up in her bed. And Summer even told me last time their kids threw up was the last time I was there with Elle. So naturally, I get there and Jayne throws up :) not surprised.)

So I text Donny, they haven't even made it to Provo yet, and tell him I just must not have good luck. But we decide that it's probably just a one time deal, and hopefully she'll be fine. Oh no. I look over at her sitting on the next couch after I had cleaned up the mess, and she had thrown up again! The poor girl threw up a good 15 times that day. (In 15 different places. Smart babysitter...?)

Poor Donny and Summer felt so bad. And I felt so bad for poor little Jayne that didn't feel good, and I felt so bad that Donny & Summer weren't even getting a true vacation cause they were worrying about me and the kids!

Luckily she slept through the night, and so did I. The next day was Friday, and Trent & I wanted to take the kids to the zoo! Jayne seemed to be better, Easton and Elle were great, so Trent came up and we were off! We felt like a little family! It was so funny. We grabbed 2 normal water bottles and 3 tiny ones (Trent thought this was funny, I wish I took a picture cause it was like a little family.. if that makes sense), some sunblock, packed the kids in their car that we loved driving, and were off to the zoo!

We had so much fun at the zoo! Jayne loved looking at the monkeys, Easton LOVED all the dinosaurs (fake ones, obviously), and Elle had already been there a few times so already knew everything we were about to see, haha.

Well everything was going great until Jayne threw up in her stroller. Everywhere. Luckily Trent had thrown the baby wipes in the stroller, but yeah. We left shortly after haha. Then Easton really wanted a Slurpee so we made a pit stop at 7-11 on the way home. Poor Jayne didn't even walk all weekend. She just laid on the couch and watched movies and drank water from her sippy cup. I felt so bad for her, and she was such a sweetheart.

Well Saturday rolled around and I started to feel sick. I laid in bed all morning while Trent played Candyland and Mario Wii with Easton and Elle. He is gonna be a cute little daddy some day (in a LOT of days...) Luckily Jayne slept pretty much all morning too. But Trent had a Leadership Event that night, so there was no room for me to get sick. So I tried the “Tell yourself you aren't sick” Theory. My cute grandma and grandpa came over and we sat outside while the kids played and Jayne slept. It was fun sitting outside on the grass just having a nice little chat with my grandma. And the fresh air really did make me feel better :) After a while, they left and I walk in to hear Jayne throwing up. Wait grandma! Come back!! Haha. What is this like a 2 day flu?! She stayed up for a while with me after Elle and Easton went to bed. I started to feel sick again and couldn't wait for Trent to get home!

Sometimes Elle gets scared at night, and that night around 1am she came in and was like “Natalie? Ya know the boy that gets lost in Jayne's Strawberry Shortcake?? I can't find him and I'm scared...” I was like what on earth? Haha she must have been half asleep :)

Ugh ya know the feeling where you are like so cold and have the chills and can't get warm? That's how I felt, but then Trent told me how hot I was! He said I was like SO hot! (not the first time... haha jk) Anyways, I hate that whole fever/chills/body aches dilemma. But it all felt better when I woke up at about 1:45 and threw up. (are you loving these details?) Then I slept fine the rest of the night!

Sunday morning we wake up to hear Easton crying and yelling “I'M GONNA THROW UP!!” Haha Trent runs out there and luckily he made it in the toilet. Big boy! So here we are, Jayne is STILL sick, I am sick, and Easton now has it. Oh geez. Well we made it through the day, Donny & Summer came home, and Trent & I went home. Not gonna lie, I was totally physically and mentally just spent. It was 9:30 and I went right to bed. And had the chills & fever again. I woke up early Monday morning and was throwing up a lot and laid in bed ALL day long. It was good to rest though. And my cute husband went and got me some Coke & Gatorade and 8 am :)

ANYWAYS... All I have to say, is props to you moms!!! I don't know how you do it! I learned a lot about being a mom and how it is hard but rewarding. I only did it for like 4 days and it was totally fine, but it must get exhausting after days and days and days and days!!! Needless to say, Trent & I will not be having kids. For a few years. Like 5. or 6.

Monday, August 1, 2011

California

After such a long winter and cold spring, we were anxious to get out of the house and go somewhere with the kids. So we thought it would be fun to take them to Disneyland. I love surprises so we decided that we wouldn't tell them until we were on our way there. And because I grew up only an hour away from Disneyland, we couldn't pass up the chance to make a trip of it and see my sister, Sena, brother-in-law Chris, get together with some of my high school friends and spend some time playing at the beach. Of course, I knew Elle would be in heaven if we stopped at the American Girl Doll store on our way to Disneyland too. We had planned to go in May but it didn't work out until the week before school got out in June. We told the kids we were going to St. George for the week and they were so thrilled that we almost thought maybe we should really just stay there. We drove to St. George and planned to drive the rest of the way the next morning. Before putting them to bed that night, we told them that we had been tricking them and that we were actually on our way to California. At first they didn't know what to think. When it actually sunk in, they were so excited--jumping up and down screaming! Easton couldn't wait to dig for crabs at the beach and go to Disneyland and Elle was ecstatic about going to the American Girl Doll store. Jayne just clapped her hands and said "Yay!" It was so fun to surprise them!



On our way there, we stopped in Las Vegas to see my dad. He is such a great grandpa! They were excited to see him and to get yummy chocolate custard from Nielsens!


We drove to Oxnard and stayed at the Mandalay Beach Resort, just a few minutes from my sister's house and about 10 minutes from, Camarillo, where I am from. Elle and Easton were so excited to be right on the beach and to see Sena and Chris.

Our first morning there, we walked out of our hotel room to an outdoor hallway and almost blew away. It was so windy!!! And the hallways acted like a wind tunnel. We still had a really fun day though--exploring at Rincon beach, seeing all the seals, a stop for ice cream cones and then a visit with some of my high school friends that night.


Our family at Rincon beach




Easton and Uncle Chris looking for cool rocks and shells



Easton with Aunt Sena (The black on Easton's face is tar. Not really sure how you get tar on your mouth. Funny Easton!)



Cute Elle



Jayne loved playing in the sand with her fingers but didn't know how she felt about it on her feet at first



Overlooking the Seal Sanctuary by Rincon


HOTEL BEACH
The next day, the wind died down and the sun came out and we actually got to put on our swimsuits. Our kids loved being able to play on the beach and then go swimming in the pool. It was so much fun!


One of my best friends from high school, Melanie, met us at the beach and brought her cute little girl, Ashley. Elle And Ashley had a lot of fun together!



Digging for sand crabs



Our two girls!



At the hotel pool



Dinner at one of my favorite places in California--The Wood Ranch Grill! Yum! They have the BEST tri-tip salads! It was so fun being with Sena, Chris and my brother, Josh came into town too!



AMERICAN GIRL DOLL PLACE
Elle couldn't wait to go to the American Girl Doll store in Los Angeles. She didn't stop talking about it from the minute we told her we were going. I loved seeing her so excited!




We got to have lunch at the Cafe and it was so much fun! They brought out friendship cinnamon rolls and a box of fun questions to ask each other. Then we had fruit kabobs, vegetables and dip, and the most delicious salmon for lunch.



Elle loved that her doll, Hannah, got to have lunch with us






They let Jayne borrow a doll to have lunch with. It was adorable! She kept "talking" to the baby and feeding him.



After lunch, Don and Easton had a little boy time and went and saw a movie while Elle, Jayne and I walked around the store. The first thing we did was get her doll's hair done at the doll hair salon.



Then we got Jayne her own doll. She was so cute! She loves her babies.



Elle got to pick something from the store and picked out a bed for her doll that she has wanted for a long time



It was so fun to share that experience with Elle. I loved walking around the store with her going back and forth to find the one perfect thing she wanted to get. I love my sweet girls!



DISNEYLAND!!!
I love Disneyland! Who doesn't? It is the happiest place on earth! Sena, Chris and my brother, Josh met us there one of the days. We had the best time! Elle, Easton and Jayne all got spoiled by their aunt and uncles.




All of us--Josh, Don, Sum, Sena, Chris, Elle, Jayne and Easton



Flying Dumbo ride






Jayne kept trying to run in front of people to see the princesses but when it was finally her turn, she became very shy. It was pretty cute.





JEDI TRAINING
As soon as Elle and Easton found out there was something Star Wars in Disneyland, they were determined to find out where it was. We found it! Tomorrowland has "Jedi Training" and they pick kids out of the audience to be trained. My cute sister, Sena, knew how much they wanted to be picked and did everything she could to help make it possible. She sat and saved a spot right in front until the next training was going to start, got a sign from someone from the previous training that had gotten picked and yelled and clapped her heart out when they were choosing kids. Something worked because out of all the kids that were there, Elle got chosen very first. She was ecstatic. I was so happy for her. But then I started hoping and praying that Easton would somehow get chosen too, knowing it would mean the world to him. I doubted they would choose two kids right by each other though. They chose about 15 kids total and Easton was one of the last to be chosen, but he got picked! How lucky is that! We couldn't believe it! They both were glowing with excitement and took being trained very seriously.

Elle was so happy she got picked!



Easton getting trained



Then Darth Vader, some storm troopers and Darth Maul all came up out of the ground and tried to convince all the newly trained Jedis to join the dark side. They all chose wisely and then had to fight either Darth Vader or Darth Maul.





Elle and Easton both fought Darth Mal





Getting their Jedi Training Certificates




Sena and Chris were so sweet to get Easton and Elle the coolest Star Wars souvenirs to remember it all by. I mean who doesn't want a stuffed Yoda or Yoda backpack?



Elle and Easton got more Star Wars souvenirs from Uncle Josh


We were feeling pretty lucky that both Elle and Easton got to do the Jedi training. It must have been our lucky day because it didn't stop there. As we were walking into Disneyland, we saw this poster.

Of course, Elle and Easton were bummed that the new Star Wars ride was going to open the day after we left. Then, as we left the Jedi training, a lady came up to us and said that she had won some tickets online to try out the new Star Tours ride early and they had extras. She wondered if we wanted them. Um, YES!!! Did the Yoda backpack give it away? We couldn't believe it! I stayed with Jayne while everyone went and then Elle and Easton went again with me when they were done. Elle and Easton were feeling pretty special that they got to go on it before it opened to the public.


Then, we decided to check out Space Mountain. Easton said he wanted to go with the boys so Don, Easton, Chris and Josh all went. I was really nervous. Easton loves roller coasters but he's never been on a big roller coaster like that. I thought for sure he would come out crying. Nope! He loved it and was smiling ear to ear! Sena and I wanted to go and thought Elle would like it if Easton did. She was so brave to come with us even though she was a little unsure about it all. Unfortunately, she did not enjoy it at all. When we got off the ride, she said she felt sick and she was crying. I felt bad. A Disneyland worker saw her crying and asked why. I told him what had happened and he said, "Oh no, she can't be sad at the happiest place on earth. Would a magic moment help? I'm just headed to my shift at the Nemo ride. What if I take you all over to the front of the line to cheer her up?" Really? I was really impressed. How nice of that man to notice her crying and then try to make her happy! Disneyland really is a magical place. We walked right over to the Nemo ride with him, which had a 45 minute wait, and got right on. He was the one guiding us in the submarine and kept making comments to Elle and Easton. So cute! It was definitely our lucky day!



Easton on the Buzz Lightyear ride with Uncle Josh



The Jellyfish ride



Soarin' Over California ride



One of our kids' favorite rides was "It's a Small World"




Chris and Jayne have this cute little bond. He loves her and she loves him too. He is always so concerned about her and will just sit and play with her on his own and make her laugh. He is always asking jokingly if he and Sena can have her. Chris says that he loves to be around her because she makes him happy. So true. It is the cutest thing! Tough looking Chris is really a big Teddy Bear.



Jayne's favorite part of Disneyland was definitely Toontown. She loved wandering around knocking on all the little doors and exploring in the houses. It is like one big play house. She was so cute having a tea party in Minnie's house and pretending to drive Goofy's car.






Meeting Mickey Mouse










We had a great time in Disneyland and an amazing trip! Lots of great memories!