End Of Awana

The Awana year has come to a close.

Joy getting her Puggles "award"

I am so glad that both girls had WONDERFUL leaders this year. We are so thankful for them and the time they put into Awana.  It's not easy!

 Claire with her first book award.  She is so anxious to get the Sparky Plaque for finishing all three books.   She's going to have to be patient though - you can only do one book per year.

 Next year Joy will be in Cubbies and Claire will start her blue book in Sparks.

Why are they standing so weird?

Disneyland Trip

We had a fantastic time on our short trip in California and Disneyland!

The girls did great in the car and we only had to stop once.

 We stayed at Peacock Suites and it was really nice! We got condo rooms so that Paige could be by herself and not be disturbed by the rest of us. 

 

Paige's room.

 

and this one for the rest of us.

The last thing we want is for her to be awake any longer than she has to be.  

Our room and my parents room had an adjoining door so the girls loved being able to go back and forth freely.  We went out to dinner and hung out at the hotel pool.  

 The pool was heated but it was freezing and windy outside.

 Claire, Joy and Josh went in. 

 

 Joy turned out to be sensible when it comes to cold.

The next morning we got up and enjoyed the hotel's free breakfast and hopped on the bus to Disneyland!!!!

 The lines weren't so bad and we were right up next to the rope when they officially opened the park.  We didn't want to waste time getting pictures first thing in front of the castle.  (Plus we would have been trampled by the crowd.)  "There's plenty of time to take pictures."  I said.  So we didn't and forgot until it was too dark.  Major FAIL.

The only picture we have of anyone in front of the castle is this one Josh took.  Which I am so glad he did.

We planned to work our way around Fantasyland before the crowds got too bad.  Surprise!  The crowds were bad before we got on the first ride.   We went on Peter Pan first with only a 15ish minute wait but by the time we got off all the rides seemed to be 40 or minute waits. Oh well.

No one else would ride the tea cups with the girls.

Paige could go on most of the rides if we held her.  She hung out in the ergo carrier most of the time and the rest of the time she was Poppy's partner.   He doesn't really like rides.  It was so nice to be able to leave the little girls and the stroller with him while we went on the bigger rides.

We waited way too long for the Storybook Canal boats.  Joy was scared of going into Monstroes mouth.

 Mr. Toads wild ride was a bit scary for Joy!

Of course Dumbo was a huge hit.

 

 At this point Claire was getting anxious to go on a big ride so we went to the Matterhorn and ate lunch while we stood in the line that wrapped around the mountain.  It went pretty fast though.

 It was Claire's first experience with a rollercoaster type ride and she loved it.  Nana was right in front of her though so I think that helped her not to be scared.

We then decided to go see if we could get a picture with Mickey Mouse and/or Minnie Mouse.  Joy LOVES Minnie Mouse so we knew we had to see her at least.  We went to Mickey's house because Minnie was at lunch.  Oh my goodness.  We waited in a line inside Mickey's house for what seemed like forever. (an hour) just to be led into a dark room with horrible lighting for pictures, to get a quick snap shot with Mickey.  Why could there not be several "Mickeys" in several different rooms in the house so that the line could go quicker??!?!?!?!?!?!   No one would see them together, the kids would be happier to not wait, the parents would be happier to not waste precious time and you would actually have time to see more than a few characters in one day.  (and there is the reason why not,  they don't want you to be able to do it all in one day)

 Later, Josh took Claire to go on Splash Mountain.  No one else wanted to risk get wet, because it was starting to get cold as the sun was setting.  While they did that, my mom and I took Joy to see Minnie Mouse. 

 

Her house was more fun and wait wasn't so long

 

but still infuriating.

 Joy was so excited.

Josh and I and my mom and Claire all went on Thunder Mountain and we decided it is the best ride at Disneyland.  Claire LOVED it.  She was so brave she put her arms up the whole time!  (well, except in the tunnels)  We went on it twice.

Paige was an absolute angel this whole trip.

  

She enjoyed the rides and watching the weirdness around us. It helps that she was held most of the day but we couldn't have asked her to be any better behaved

 Even as we were all exhausted, getting ready to leave the park she was being a sweetheart.

It was such a fun trip, everyone had a great time.  I feel like we did a lot of the park but now that I think about it we had to leave out many things.  We didn't see any princess.  (60 minutes wait for the regular princesses and 120 minutes for Frozen characters) We didn't see any shows or the parade, we opted for shorter lines instead! We didn't even make it to Tomorrowland (except for Autopia.) Pirates of the Carribbean was closed,  there were a few other rides we didn't go on because of wait times.  

 It was a good first trip.  The girls are dying to go back already!

Off We go!

We are leaving for Disneyland!!!!!

We are surprised too, it came about quickly.  We have been telling Claire for quite a few months that this would be the year she could go to Disneyland during our beach trip this summer.  It is the perfect time,  Claire would be 6 and is finally tall enough to go on all the rides (except Indiana Jones) and Joy would be almost 3 (which means FREE to get in).  When we found out the beach trip wasn't going to happen this year we were a little bummed but my parents offered to take us instead.  We quickly decided to go before school got out to hopefully avoid the peak summer attendance (and temperatures).   We are so excited!  I think I am more excited than the girls!

So off we go!  We are armed with snacks, games, and our beloved Patch the Pirate cd's.

California here we come... and tomorrow Disneyland!

Lazy Saturday

We had a relaxing Saturday.   Claire and Josh went to the church's Kid's Camp car wash fundraiser and I stayed home with the little girls.  It is amazing how quiet and calm the house is when Claire is not here!  I'm looking forward to her week at kid's camp. (yes I am letting her go to kid's camp this year - she is going to love it.)

My mom invited us over to play in their pool while it filled up.  

 

Joy apparently doesn't remember swimming last year,  it was half her life ago!  She was timid and a little unsure without someone telling her what to do but she had a good time.

Paige does NOT like pools or baths.  Snacks helped her cope though and then she got sleepy and sucked her thumb. 

 

  Darling - I've always wanted a baby that sucks her thumb.

Zoo Day

Last week we had the pleasure of going to the zoo with Jenni Jacks and her girls, and Jenni's mom who helped corral everybody! 

 It has been quite  awhile since we've been to the zoo.  

 

It was the first time that Joy has been able to appreciate it.  They liked it very much and we were so happy that the day was cool and cloudy.  All of the animals were out and we stayed much longer than originally planned.

Snack break!

This is the first time ever that Paige fed herself something.  We have been baffled at her inability to self feed but the day before I had worked with her on it all throughout the day and it payed off! It was a joyous moment.

Milking the fake cow

Joy didn't mind the goats!  It was quite a different reaction from the last time we saw goats.

 When we left all the girls felt like this.

 What a fun time we all had!

Getting Back on Track

Here is a post to get caught up so I won't be overwhelmed and will be able to start blogging again.

Our lives have been full the past few months.

Full of Frustration:  Paige is 9 months old.   It seems like 9 years.

  This little girl makes sure my arms are never empty and that every moment of silence is broken by fussing.  She is draining.
She does smile and laugh occasionally and it seems that she is just starting to not hate life.

 Praise the Lord she started crawling last month and trucks herself wherever she wants to go, on her terms.  This has made her a bit more tolerable - as long as you don't go out of the room!  She will sit up, flap her arms and scream and cry if you move away from her too fast.  She likes to eat her mush food - which was a step the other two girls bypassed so I am always making baby food her and hand feeding her cheerios as she is spastic with her hands and doesn't even try to put them in her mouth herself.


Full of School:  Claire's school is going swimmingly.   She likes it after the initial protest every morning. Her reading suddenly clicked and she can read practically anything.
We have yet to cover silent k, gh and a couple other odd balls rules. Yesterday she took her assessment test in reading and scored 96% and then cried and cried because she missed 3 and didn't get a perfect score. 
Math is going well too, besides her everyday math lesson,
we do a few Kumon book pages for extra practice.  She loves to do them and they have REALLY helped her with telling time and counting coins.

 The other subjects are too easy and take all of 3 minutes to complete but she enjoys them.

Full of Joy:  Joy has her moments of 2 year oldness but she is mostly as sweet as can be. She is so fun and carefree!

I love the upper 2 through 4 period of life and she is just starting it.  I wish all three of the girls could be this age all at the same time so we could see how they would all look together and interact.  Joy gets taken advantage of and manipulated often by Claire.  She is starting to realize this and stand up for herself so they are not as harmonious together as they had been.


 
They love each other though and if one is napping or banished to their room, the other misses her terribly.

Full of New Beginnings:  In January my brother Bryan, got engaged to the sweetest girl, Rachel Johnson.  Their wedding was the end of March. With Josh officiating, Claire the flower girl and myself a bridesmaid, we were busy.  I am glad to have a new sister-in-law and friend.

Full of Work:
Three days after Rachel moved out here, a job opened up at my work.  My job is to sort and mail invoices and statements to all of the customers in Arizona and the job that opened up was to do the same for California customers.  It worked out perfectly for Rachel to get the job and now she can enjoy the benefits of working from home which will be great when she and Bryan have kids.  I also lobbied to have the invoices sent directly to my house instead of having to drive into the office in the ghetto of Phoenix to get them.  We started that procedure a few weeks ago and it has been going great! Rachel and Bryan bought a house 2 miles from ours so it is perfect for helping each other and dropping of paperwork.

Full of Old Friends: Jenni Jacks and I have been friends since early high school but after I moved to Laveen and she moved to San Tan Valley we never saw each other anymore.  Since we are a lot closer distance wise now, we make a point to get together every other week and let our girls play together.

What are the odds that we would both have 3 girls in a row?  It's a lot of fun and chaos when you get 8 females together.

 We typically get together in the evening since our husbands both work late and we have dinner together and make freezer meals for ourselves and each other.  I very much enjoy our time together.

Full of Dates:  With family close by to baby-sit and things to do close by, Josh and I have been on more dates the past few months than in the first 8 years of marriage.   We even took dancing lessons with a groupon I purchased. I never knew how complex dancing is!  Even with our lessons we still need a lot of help. We BOTH enjoyed them though and are looking forward to opportunities to try it out.

All right,  now that I gave an overview I will able to go back to my weekly blogging.  Here is another picture of Paige being happy - just because they are so rare.