Surprise! We're at Disneyland!!

So, my mother-in-law is just like her son.  (Or, I guess that should be the other way around.)  They both have an affinity for spontaneity.  On a Sunday she informed us that they would be going to Disneyland in 2 days and wanted to know if we'd like to come.  Three days later I was driving the kids across the desert in my minivan to meet up with them.

I decided that surprise anticipation was better than the entitlement that would otherwise occupy my children's persona, so I didn't tell them where we were going until we got there.

Here they are ready to embark.  Their guesses as to where we were going?  "Grandma's house in Utah" and "camping".  I snickered to myself and reveled in their ignorance.

Upon arriving at the Disney Grand California Hotel, Eliza was still clueless.  She thought we were at the Salt Lake City Airport and even got excited that it appeared that there was a "carnival" at the airport.

Ezra was asleep so he wasn't there for the initial unveiling, but here's a little snippet of Eliza sharing the good news:

For the record, I had a nasty cold the entire vacation.  It was tiring and annoying, and Shiloh wasn't even there to help out until Saturday because he had to work.  But, I am normally pretty good at sucking it up and pushing through.  Which is exactly what I did.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.  Enjoy!

She has an official DisneyLand Autopia License too.  Good thing it's only good on this ride because it was a doozy of a drive.

This is in "It's a Small World", and BOY DID SHE LOVE THAT RIDE!  

I'm ready for my close-up.

They are holding hands because they are scared of the HUGE dinosaur next to them.    Awe...  I'm not sure if I should have felt alarm for them.  I couldn't get past the cuteness.

After being soaked by the Jurassic Park Ride

On our way to the Universal studios back-lot.

Be afraid Jaws.  Be very afraid.

Hello Mr. Shark.

I couldn't help myself. :) Ashlyn's face!!

Cheese!... I think?

I *heart* NY.

Miss Personality

This is a post meant to celebrate Ashlyn and her 3 years on this earth so far.  A Birthday Post, if you will.  Prepare yourself:  It will be mushy and sentimental.

Recently, Ashlyn has proven that she has a flair for life.  She is Miss Personality.  Herein is a brief character profile of my little Ashlyn girl...

Ashlyn is... Graceful. 

Here she is on her first day of preschool.  The picture says a thousand words about her personality, but let me take a moment to draw your attention to the pointed toe.  Can we say "strike a pose"?   Not a single dance lesson, and I certainly didn't teacher her that!   I can only assume she came this way.  She has natural grace and movement and is a huge advocate for anything involving dancing or performing.

Ashlyn is... a Performer.

Here she is posing again.  She loves to show off her modeling and ballerina skills.  Want a show?  Ashlyn is On Demand.

Ashlyn has... Attitude.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, the Star is a little high maintenance.  Certainly, some high-maintenance attitude comes with being 3 years-old and having the entire universe orbit your tiny body, but I dare say Ashlyn is blessed with a little more than the others because she is also the baby of the family.  For the most part she is incredibly sweet, friendly, snuggly, generous, and easy-going.  But, she has also been known to be demanding, stubborn, strong-willed, and manipulative.  (She knows the power of a well-timed eyelash batting, that's for sure!)

This picture was an accident.  (She has no clue what it means to flip someone the bird.)  But I thought it was hilarious. 

Ashlyn is... Silly.

She has a belly laugh that will get you giggling and has a talent for laughing at will.  She loves to joke with her siblings and, as evidenced by this image of her and Grandma on their birthdays this year, loves to be silly.

Ashlyn is... Beautiful.

I can't go anywhere without at least one person remarking on some aspect of her beauty.  If only I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say, "Wow, look at those eyes!!"

Ashlyn is... Mine.

Yes, I am going to go there.

How Grand is the Grand Canyon? Pretty Grand.

We recently took a trip to northern Arizona.  We watched some fireworks, played with friends, rode horses (more on that later), and took a gander at the Grand Canyon.  Of my little family of 5, I was the only one who had been to the Grand Canyon before, so you can imagine the size of everyone's eyes as they witnessed the largest canyon they have ever seen.  My children were bursting with excitement! (An excitement that I did my best to contain because, well, have you seen the cliffs??)

I am so glad Ashlyn is out of the tiny toddler stage because otherwise she would have been strapped to daddy's back.  We set some pretty strict ground rules before we ventured out of the car--as in, "keep your feet on the ground, in the path, and within reach of an adult".  That kind of stuff.   In the end, though, we probably didn't need to even go over the rules so strenuously because the kids were scared out of their wits of the edge.

Of course, we couldn't help but take them a teensy bit off-road... Can you see the fear in Ashlyn's face?  She was a little nervous of the impending doom that lay just 4 feet behind her.   Yah. We are awesome parents.  She will NEVER forget this trip.

    
Honestly, I had forgotten how GRAND the Grand Canyon really is.  It's incredibly humbling, and I couldn't help but talk to my kids about how God created it...  They were quite in awe of the whole thing, and I am looking forward to the day that we hike down into it as a family.

Feeling the Burn

You know that feeling you have when you are doing a set of squats, and you just don't know if you can do any more because  your quads are screaming from the burn?   I think the first week of school is a little like that for me.  I don't remember being this fatigued last year, but then again, I didn't have double to load last year.

A day in the life of...

5:45 AM  Ashlyn wakes everyone up.
6:15 AM  Help children off to school.
7:00 AM  Drive seven loud and energetic elementary school children to school.
7:45 AM  Clean as much as I can before going to get the babysitter.
9:00 AM  Get said babysitter and start work.
2:00 PM   Emerge from my Web Design cave and blink hard as my eyes adjust to the real world again.
                 Return babysitter.
                 Organize chaos.
2:45 PM   Gather children for violin and homework/reading.
2:55 PM   Attempt in earnest to gather children.
3:00 PM   Violin with Ezra.  He's fairly on-task.  Eliza does her work in the background.
3:15 PM    Switch. Eliza begins her new whining tactics regarding violin.  Nothing is truly accomplished a midst the rubber-arms and tears.  ...   Ezra quietly reads.
{20 minutes later}   Eliza has recovered her senses.  We can finally have a productive violin practice.
4:00 PM   Try and figure out what I am supposed to do for Webelos.  Realize I should have looked much sooner.   Cramming for time.  Realize that Ashlyn decided to paint about 1/4 of my kitchen table with fabric paint while I was doing violin with the others.  No time to attempt a rescue.
5:00 PM  Webelos swim party.  Ashlyn has a poop accident all over the bathroom and the bathroom carpet.  Thank Lysol again for inventing sanitizing wipes.
6:05 PM  The last Webelos leaves, and I realize that I didn't plan anything for dinner and my children are starving.  Gather the children and hop in the car to go pick up something.  Practically vomit in my mouth as I watch myself drive to McDonalds at the pleas of the children....
6:30 PM  Get home to a friend dropping her baby off for me to watch while she and her husband go to an appointment.
7:30 PM   Bedtime routine.  
7:55 PM   The last light is out.  Give baby back to frient.   Collapse on my couch.  Immovable.

Yuck. Somethings got to give here.  We haven't even gotten to the hard part yet where the kids get real homework and start tumbling and wrestling and such. I think that it will get a little easier once I get the hang of things, but sheesh am I feeling the burn.  I don't think I properly warmed up for this workout.

First Days

I believe this summer was the shortest summer of my life. 

Eight weeks... that's it?? I am still feeling a little dazed by the fact that my children are in school already! 

Eliza sat up last night in bed feeling all sorts of anxiety about homework and reading and math.  I tried to calm her fears, but couldn't help but empathize with her--school has never been her strong suit.  For that reason, we held her back and she's going to 1st grade again this year.  She was one of the youngest in her class last year, and she really struggled to stay on top of her work.  So, in an effort to give her a better foundation, we decided that repeating 1st grade would be best.  

Much to my surprise, Eliza whole-heartily agreed.  In fact, she was excited to be one of the oldest in her class and have a jump-start on what she could expect to learn. 

Ezra starts Kindergarten this year.  He has been looking forward to this day for weeks.  He got up and wanted his hair combed just right.  He was first to the car and first to the sidewalk.  

When it came time to enter the Kindergarten play area to await "Kindergarten Line-Up" I noticed Ezra's initial zeal deflate into a subdued uneasiness.  I introduced him to his teacher and he clung to my leg.  When asked if he felt a little nervous, he looked at me and said, "No Mom, I'm not nervous.  I'm just scared."

Smile.  Of course you are. 

Thankfully, he soon found his best friend, Jens, and his fears soon subsided. 

By the time they called for all the Kinders to line-up, he was his usual confident self. I'm going to miss  having this kid around all day...

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