DISNEYLAND!!!!!

I just got back from a super fun trip to Disneyland for my 28th birthday. A few weeks back my mom called me with a wonderful idea. She wanted to take me to Disneyland on my birthday (free admission) with all my sisters! So after a bit of persuasion, David agreed to play both daddy AND mommy for a few days (bless his heart), and I took a "girls trip" to California with my mom, my sisters Heather and Heidi, and my sis-in-law, Heather. SO FUN!!!!!! It had been over 10 years since I had been and it was SO worth it. I will post pictures as soon as I find my plug-in.

MEMORIES:
*swapping seats on the way up to avoid the hot one.
*the squeaky bunk beds that Heather and I slept on.
*games and TONS of giggling
*waking up at my normal time (about 6am) and then rolling over and going back to sleep.
*the excitement of GOING TO DISNEYLAND!
*having tons of people telling me "Happy birthday, Valerie!" even though I didn't know them (I wore a big 'ol pin that said it was my birthday).
*going on Thunder Mountain at least 8 or nine times (the last time was the best!)
* randomly meeting up with some of the Higginsons and having lunch together.
*no kids!!!!!!!!!! just us girls.
*ScReAmInG my guts out.... just for fun.
*very SORE feet, legs and hip by the evening.
*fabulous fireworks and light show.
*the foot rub my mom gave all of us.
*getting carsick on the way home, and eating only a few sips of soup and saltines for lunch.
*a quiet, relaxing evening at my mom and dads before the drive home Sunday morning.

.....and tons more.

THANK YOU girls for being my sisters, my mom, and my friends. I LOVE YOU!! What a great way to spend a birthday! There will definitely be more girls trips!

The kids

I would love to post a picture or two for y'all but I can't for the life of me find my computer plug-in, so sorry. But here is an update nonetheless.

Nathan turned SEVEN on the 31st, and just loves "being 7 like all the other 2nd graders". (yes, he is quite young for his grade)... but very smart too. He had a fun little party/ family home evening/ dinner with all the Peterson family and even my parents too (all the way from Mesa!) He got some pretty fun gifts, and a brand new Book of Mormon (just a cheap blue one) with his name on it. My cousin Jessica gave me the great idea of having your kids read the Book of Mormon all by themselves cover to cover BEFORE they get baptized. I presented the idea to Nathan and he has taken it full steam ahead. He is reading every night, "Just one page and a column". He is such a great reader and super smart, so I knew that it wouldn't be too big of a challenge for him...until he hits the Isaiah stuff!! He is now in soccer, and his first practice is on Monday. It will be his 3rd year, and he is getting excited, it is "his sport". I am also starting him on piano lessons next week.

Aubrey is really taken a liking to school. She is so excited to go everyday, and bummed on Saturdays and Sundays when she CAN'T go. It is so good to see her enjoying it. I had some serious fears about it. She is so happy to show me her papers everyday after school, and does so in a very strange way. She unzips her backpack, sticks her head inside and yells to me about each paper as she blindly hands it to me. =) It is a cute little ritual she started and I thought I would write it down...before I forget. Aubrey is also in soccer, and had her first practice on Wednesday. It is always very entertaining to watch a team play soccor for the first time. =)

Emily is still SO tender hearted. It drives me crazy sometimes. She has started being quite naughty lately, and so it is particularly difficult to try and discipline her. She just starts bawling and then is bummed for quite a while after. Even through it all I still love her like crazy though. It is super spooky to look at her lately, because she looks almost EXACTLY like me at her age. In fact, there is a picture of me in a little collage in the hallway of me at about her age, and even she thinks it is a picture of her! I always get comments about how much she looks like me... and heck, she does!!

Betsy is quite a character lately. Her personality is coming out in full force. She is very opinionated, does NOT listen well, and loves to just do her own thing, to her own rhythm. She has such a sweet little smile, that she flashes often. She is such a smiling child. Not only her mouth smiles but her whole face...eyes and all. When she shakes her head yes to a question I ask, her whole body shakes yes too. She has such crazy hair that WILL NOT be tamed, and feet that are two very different sizes (one foot is size 6 and the other is a 7 1/2). Weird huh?? What a wonderful girl, I wouldn't trade her for anything. I am going to put a serious effort into getting her potty trained this week... she is SO ready, and I am SO ready to have her out of diapers...so is our wallet.

Jay has just recently moved out of his crib and into a big boy bed. Yes, I cried taking that crib down for the last time EVER. It has held all of my 5 babies, AND David and his siblings too. (yes it is that old, at least 35 years old). We are passing it on to Davids sister Eva for her newest arrival who came on August 22. Thomas Reed Tenney. He is such a beautiful baby. Anyway, Jay has adjusted well to the bed (it took a few days), and is very much into climbing and water lately. I often find him on top of his dresser, or on top of the island in the kitchen. He loves to play with the hose out in the backyard and I am not looking forward to the day when he figures out how to turn on the spigot... that hose will NEVER be off. He has no fear, and is incredibly tough... which I have discovered is a pretty bad combination. =) He is acting like he wants to be potty trained too, so I might just do him and Betsy and him together. (We had Nathan potty trained before he was two, and it seems that Jay wants to follow that tradition too.) It tugs on my heartstrings almost daily, watching my youngest baby growing up... I wonder if all mothers feel that way? I just want him to stay little forever.....