The Skippiest, rainiest, happiest place on earth!

We just got back from a great trip to Disneyland and Legoland. Despite the rain, we were able to have a wonderful time. We went with my brother and his family. They brought the girls, we brought the boys and donned in ponchos and saran wrapped feet (our makeshift galoshes) we set out to tackle the lineless, sopping wet park. Here's some of our fun:

Who knew Phil would do happy jacks going to disneyland??!! Yeah!

We surprised the boys. Once they saw their cousins at the airport, they had a pretty good idea where we were going.

This is before the trip!!

The boys earned part of the trip by volunteering for Give a day. Get a Disney Day. We were so proud of them.

The lines were so small we even waited to see Mickey this year!

It was actually quite fun to see everyone walking around in ponchos. But Micah was very glad to get rid of his.

Despite the rain, bonds were made,
the force was with us,
we laughed (Ben kept licking his brothers' rain coats...I guess he was thristy but it was dang cute...the kids were pretty resilient in the rain),
we cried (ok, so just me when we left. I get so sad when it's all over),
we're stronger than ever,
and ready to take on the world again!

I didn't get many great shots from Legoland, but the boys were in heaven.
Look! Blue sky!!
For me, a vacation is being able to take a break from all the little things in life that are distracting and being able to just focus on spending time with my family, and if you get to do it at Disneyland, all the better!!! I'm grateful we had a chance to do this and hopefully make some great memories for our boys. Thanks Bri and Lynette, we had a great time!

Sweet Brothers

It's been a bit emotional around here lately. After Micah's hand-me-down dresser drawers finally gave way, we decided to get a new bed with drawers in it and move everybody on up. We were all very excited. Jacob gets his own room, Ben and Micah share the bunk beds and everybody's happy:
Until this was what really happened the first night:
Jacob ended up on their floor on a toddlers mattress and Ben hopped down out of his bed and slept on the floor by his best friend. They have been so sad about the thought of separating, even just for the night. It is so fun to have boys that get along so well (for the most part). Jacob finally fell asleep in his new bed tonight, but not without being "very lonely." It's hard to know what to do, but it makes me grateful to have such good boys.

I couldn't resist posting this picture of Jacob, in the toddler bed we just took down, for the first time. And Phil wonders why I'M getting all emotional!!! Can that be the same kid?

Lame

So my friend and I drove up the hill to run this morning so that we could get out of the filthy air. It was nice and clear up there and we were joined by many other early morning exercisers. All was well until my van got stuck in an icy parking lot, we had to run back down the hill through the smog (yes we could feel it!) to get some provisions to get the van out (by the way, laying towels down by the tires helps!), and my always supportive husband was not too thrilled with me. Anyway, that's what we gotta do for clean air around here these days. Let it snow!

Give a day. Get great boys.

Phil and I have been planning a surprise trip to Disneyland for the boys. So when I heard about the give a day, get a day program they are doing, I was all for it. We signed up to make blankets for Project Linus and received our vouchers for a free day this morning. Here's the catch. The boys still have no clue that we are going. And they did such a great job making blankets for sick kids that need a little comfort. No questions asked. Jacob finished 3/4 of his by himself and Ben helped Phil and I finish his whole blanket. Micah was a great helper too. I was so proud of them and loved doing the project. And can't wait to tell them what they earned by serving!!
Poor Phil. He always gets dragged into my great ideas at 11:00 pm. He did come up with a perfect way to finish our blankets so that they boys could help. What a guy!!

Happy New Year!!

We've had a great Christmas break. Here are our top ten favorite moments in pictures:

10-Neighborhood giftmaking and caroling (Ben on the Ukulele was priceless! Amazingly, no one slammed the door on our crew!)
9-Micah (and Jennie's) preschool program8-Our Annual Gingerbread Party (Our house is "home", Santa on the Pitcher's mound with our gingerbread outfielders.) We love and look forward to this tradition with some friends each year.
7-Our Christmas Morning lego fest which made the morning last much longer than normal! It was great!
6-Wii finally joined the club!! We've loved our new wii this break (Phil and I included!)
5-Jazz game with some of my family! It was very fun and the Jazz actually won!
4-Cousin time. What more can we say, it's the best!
3-Tubing and more tubing. The boys (including Phil) can't get enough this year. We found a great hill and the snow has been cold and delicious.
2-My mom and dad being home. I didn't get a good picture, but it was so good to gather again at their house and be a whole family again. We're grateful for the service they gave in France, and grateful to have them back. It feels good.

1-The reason for the season and the knowledge that the little baby Jesus became our Savior. We're glad our kids have a tiny glimpse of why we do all this.
Here's hoping you had a great Christmas too and that 2010 is a good one!