Disneyland Trip March 2011

Well I don't have the time to put a lengthy post on our trip to Disneyland that we took over 3 months ago. So instead I will post some of my favorite pictures and maybe a few small captions. We really did have a great time. The kids are all at a fun age when they can interact with the characters and go on most of the rides. It rained on us a few times and the weather was sometimes chilly but for the most part the temperature was great. It never got too terribly hot.

Our 3 little monkeys :-)

This is on the ride Big Thunder. Nathan loved this ride. Natalie was not tall enough and I couldn't go on it because I am pregnant but Preston, Taylor and Nathan went on it a lot.

GO gadget coaster in toon town. The kids all liked this ride. Natalie was a little apprehensive but enjoyed it overall.

We all were able to ride the matterhorn bobsleds. It was another one the kids all liked and we did it a few times.

I bought the kids Disney autograph books at a nearby Wal-Mart. They liked having them and they only cost $1.50 each.

Ready for the Toy Story 3D ride.

These here are some very expensive toys. :-)

Girls in line to meet Tinkerbell. I was so impressed with Taylor. We had to wait about 1 hour to meet Tinkerbell and friends and an hour to meet some princessess. Taylor never complained she would just stand by me and we would talk about different things.

Jungle Cruise

My kids really do get along pretty well most of the time.

Toon town- Such strong men in our family.

Oh the tea cups. The kids love this ride and they went on it a few times. I don't particularly care for it even when I am not pregnant and more easily suffer motion sickness. So I opted to sit out this ride every time this trip.

May events round 3

Finally finishing May 2011 events. Nathan received the Respect and Responsibility award at school. We were very proud of him. He is really a good kid.

We went to Eagar for Memorial Day weekend and had a really nice time. Nana did the girls hair.

The kids rode the neighbor's pony.

For the record in real life I don't look as pregnant as this picture looks. The wind was blowing my shirt out. I only posted this picture because of Natalie's cute face so pay no attention to the pregnant lady behind the pony.

Nana the girls and one of the kitten's that has made a home in Nana's garage.
The kids riding the 4-wheeler. Preston worked his magic to get the little one working. On Saturday cousin Daniel (8) fell off the big 4 wheeler and fractured the bone above the elbow of his left arm. Not the greatest way to start summer.

Okay so the next pictures actually occurred in June if you want to be technical. Preston went to Lake Powell for 4 days with the Young Men so the kids and I played a little. One of the days we went to Mcdonald's for lunch and play after we saw the Movie Hop at the $2 theater.

We also went to the local library to start the summer reading program. Played at Grandma and Grandpa's house. My sister watched the kids on Friday while I got my haircut. She had all kinds off fun stuff to do. Like playing with shaving cream, drawing with sidewalk chalk, princess game that was like pin the tail on the donkey, and making donuts for national donut day. She is such a fun Aunt.

More happenings in May

Recently they opened a Disney Store at the Mall near our home. I took the girls thinking that they could meet Mickey and Minnie but I had the wrong day. Anyhow they go to take their picture in front of the castle instead.
Mother's day with my 3 1/2 kids. I do feel blessed for my good looking healthy kids.

We started swim lessons on Monday the 9th of May. Taylor is getting a lot better. She still likes to psych herself out when it is time to jump off the diving board. She has done it every time though and she continues to gain confidence.

Nathan is doing great. He has a lot of confidence when he swims. I am very impressed with his form when he does his strokes (especially freestyle). He is very controlled and glides through the water.

This is Natalie's first time taking lessons. This picture was taken while she was waiting on the first day for it to be her turn. She was very happy and excited to be there. Well all things changed right after this picture. I was hoping she would do okay without wearing goggles. She did NOT like getting water in her eyes and she swallowed A LOT of water. She cried the whole rest of the lesson. It was a very long 30 minutes and I ended up being very wet by the time it was all said and done. I sat next to the pool trying to comfort her. Natalie kept getting out of the water and climbing on my lap while saying "All done Mommy" I would put her back in the water for her turn for each skill. We survived.

This picture was from the 3rd lesson. She had her goggles so all was good, she also learned to close her mouth which made things much better. She hasn't cried at all since the 3rd lesson. She cried about 5 minutes of the 2nd lesson. She will mostly sit on the stair and watch everyone else take their turn and wait patiently for her turn. Often she will be sucking her thumb as she watches. Natalie has improved significantly in her lessons during a short period of time.

For the 3rd lesson Miss Allison took Natalie through the hoop anchored to the bottom of the deep end. Then Natalie is to get to the side of the pool grab the side and climb out of the water. Then the kids walk to the diving board walk to the end and jump into Miss Allison's awaiting arms. Well that is how the last segment is supposed to go. Natalie climbed onto the diving board walked to about 4 inches before the end of the diving board and then jumped in. It shocked us all. We didn't think she would actually go in on her own. I figured I would have to drop her off the diving board. So this picture is of my attempt to get a picture of Natalie standing on the diving board at her 4th lesson but as you can see she is already in the water because she didn't wait for Miss Allison to count to 3. At lesson 5 I walked her to the edge of the diving board and held her hand until it was time for her to jump to teach her what to do. She has done it correctly every time since.

Basketball ends, Graduation and Dancing Diane

Those are just 3 of the things we have done in the past 5 days. I have so much to catch up on with blogging and it is a bit overwhelming but I need to start somewhere so here it goes.

Nathan played the spring season of Wham basketball. We had slow going in the beginning but he started enjoying it again about half way through the season. The issues were mainly caused with they joined the 3rd grade teams with the 4th grade teams. So suddenly they were using 10 ft rims and mid size balls playing against teams much taller and a whole lot of rule changes like stealing off dribble now allowed, 5 seconds to pass ball in, etc.
After the last game Coach treated us all to an frozen yogurt party instead of the normal Peter Piper. I welcomed the change.

Coach handed out their trophies at the party. In this picture he is praising Nathan for becoming more aggressive and that people needed to start watching out. Nathan really is not an aggressive ball player (he takes after his mom in this regard). During the last game he had 2 fouls mainly because he was trying to steal the ball so he could get the $2 his Dad promised him if he did.

The team and the Dad's that helped with coaching.

Nathan with coach after the party. This Coach does a great job with the boys. He has coached them since 1st grade and it has mostly been the same group of boys.

Taylor had her end of the preschool program on Monday night. They sang some really cute songs.

The preschool graduate. :-)

Taylor with her teacher Mrs. P. Taylor is excited to be in Kindergarten and she really enjoyed preschool.

Every year for the past 10+ years Nathan's school does a segment with Dancing Diane for all the 3rd graders. Their recital was today. Nathan's class danced to the song Shine by Take That. It is a band from England that his teacher from England decided on. This is Nathan before the performance.

Posing after the performance. Nathan did a great job and so did the rest of his class. Nathan was so excited to do the dance. They all worked really hard and I was very proud of him. I have to admit I cried watching the performance.