Tinker Bell Retraction

Okay, so many of you know that I have been totally anti-Tinker Bell. It has always bugged me that she seemed so sexual and had a very immodest outfit. It might just be because I really wanted things to work out between Peter Pan and Wendy and Tink always got in the way. Well, I just watched the Tinker Bell movie and it has changed my mind. I need to issue a retraction on my original opinion on Tinker Bell. I liked that she is a worker fairy and learned to love herself for who she is. I think it is a good example for my girls. (although I still think she is very immodest, but really all the Disney Princesses are too. I mean really, Ariel? Jasmin?) Anyway, I retract my original "Tinker Bell is a slut" comment.

Zits happen, okay?

I had to wait a few weeks to actually post this story on my blog . . . I was too worried you’d want to see the, ah, “growth” and I was too embarrassed. So I waited until it was totally gone before I shared this little gem of a story . . .

So, a few weeks ago I was in my Relief Society Presidency meeting (A new RS Presidency was called, I’m the first counselor, and this was one of our first meetings as a presidency). We meet at the church in the RS room. We sit close together around a small table and we put all our kids in the nursery room to play while we meet. At this particular meeting we had many sensitive and important things to discuss. Our President was discussing these issues and Aubrey came in crying. I tried to quietly hold her and calm her down. While crying on my shoulder she noticed the gigantic zit that I have on my neck, right under my jaw line. Okay, so I’ve had this zit for months now and it really hurts. It is huge and ugly and I can’t get rid of it. Of course I have messed with it and now it just looks ick. Well, it catches Aubrey’s eye and she starts playing with it. I think to myself, “whatever, if I keeps her quiet she can play with it.” I’m pretty sure the other ladies haven’t noticed what she is doing. I really need to focus on what the President is saying. Soon enough Aubrey is fine and goes back to play with the kids. About three minutes later, Aubrey comes sneaking in, with the other children behind her. I notice out of the corner of my eye that she is doing the whole “spy sneak” on her tip-toes and moving stealthily. The other five children are lined up behind her and look terrified. They all follow Aubrey weaving through the chairs closer and closer to us. I am trying so hard to focus on the President who is now discussing things very close to her heart, oblivious of the children. I glance around the table and the others are intently listening to her. I try to refocus, but I hear one of the children whisper to Aubrey,

“I’m too scared, I can’t.”

“It’s okay; you just have to be brave. Everyone, be so brave.”

“No, no, no, it’s too scary.”

“I see it! Just a little bit closer. See it? See it? I’m going to touch it.”

“No Aubrey, don’t! I can’t look!”

I feel Aubrey’s tiny hand touch my gigantic zit and the other kids shrill in horror, “It’s so scary! What is it?” Our President stops mid-sentence, “What is going on?” Oh my heck, is this really happening? I am soooo embarrassed!!! “Um, I’m sorry for the interruption, they are afraid of my zit.” I stammer. Okay really? Did I really just have to confess to the Relief Society Presidency that all of their children are screaming because they are afraid of my zit? This is humiliating. This is worse than seventh grade, I feel thirteen again. The presidency looks at me dumbfounded and I just feel dumb. “So, ah, yeah, sorry for the interruption . . .” Thankfully, Lisa quickly ushers the kids back to the nursery. I try to recover with, “So what were you saying?” Our president looks at me and just starts to laugh, “I can’t even remember now.” Yeah, nothing kills the spirit like a huge zit.

Disneyland!

I posted a few things from our Disneyland trip so you'll have to see those posts below.

For me, the highlight of the trip was dressing the girls up and taking them to Ariels Grotto to have dinner and meet the Princesses. You have to make reservations WAY in advance (like 10-60 days in advance) to get in to this restaurant. I thought our reservations were at five and around 3:50 Ben corrected me and we realized they were at four. We were still at our hotel. I put the girls in the stroller and R A N to Disneyland. Keep in mind our hotel wasn't all that close to Disneyland. The girls thought that was the most fun thing ever (being dressed like princesses with mom galloping them in their carriage). Of course for the full effect I was making galloping sounds between gasping for air. We made it there in the nick of time and the enchantment began. We met all the princesses and had a wonderful time!

Above: Us at Goofy's Kitchen (another highlight of the trip)

Happiest Place on Earth? Kind of scary to me . . .

Upon arriving on our second day in Disneyland I noticed that there were an awful lot of people wearing black lace, corsets, and such. "Huh," I thought, "we'll have to stay away from that group." But the more I walked around Disneyland the more I saw. Pretty soon, people wearing t-shirts and jeans were the minority. Really odd and unbelievable piercings, white makeup and black lips were everywhere. Low and behold, it freaking "Goth Day" at Disneyland! Wouldn't you know it. I asked one of these people what was going on. She said it is "Bats Day" every November 9th Gothic Groupies from "all over California and other states" join together in Disneyland. What luck. She looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "it's all over the internet." Yeah, I really don't think she and I frequent the same sights.
The oddness of it all did not go unnoticed by Hailey and Aubrey. They were a little frightened. I just told them that, "just like they dress up like princesses at Disneyland, some adults like to dress up too. They just pick really weird outfits." It kind of sucked all the pixie dust and happy magic out of the place and it felt really . . . yeah, words just can't describe it.
We were on Pirates of the Caribbean ride and Aubrey got a little scared (the boat wasn't even moving yet, she was scared of the people getting on the boat in the row behind us). As the boat rolled out and the ride began Aubrey started screaming. (I knew she was screaming because she knew she was stuck on the boat with these freaking scary looking people). Thinking that Aubrey was afraid of the ride the Goth girl reached up and patted Aubrey's arm. (which caused more screams). I tried to comfort her and tell her it was alright and she was safe with us. "Yeah, we'll keep you safe" said the girl. I resisted the urge to say, "Um, actually, she's afraid of YOU!"
Overall the Goths were really nice and polite, just a little . . . odd and eerie. I filmed it.

Forget Mickey, Gimme Ryan Seacrest!

Our trip to Disneyland was fantastic with many unexpected twists and turns along the way. I am going to post all of the highlights as separate posts. The first is below:

On our first day in Disneyland they were filming the Disney Christmas Parade that will air on ABC Christmas morning. Little did we know, the Jonas Brothers were performing that morning for the Special. A Disney employee said "this way" to me and I found myself leading my family to the front row to see the Jonas Brothers. They said we had to wait about 20 minutes and then the boys would sing one song. Naw, I'll pass. We left our front stage spot and moved on to Peter Pan's flight. (Yes, I can hear the shrills of shock and horror coming from all of you that have tweens that would "just die" for that opportunity, but what can I say? My girls don't even know who the Jonas Brothers are . . . and I don't really want them to just yet, Peter Pan however is right up their alley.) So we passed on the Jonas Brothers.

However, as we were leaving the park (about five hours later) they were STILL filming the parade. Someone over my shoulder said, "I can't believe how short Ryan Seacrest looks in real life" Ryan Seacrest? Doth my ears deceive me? Ryan Seacrest is here? Ahhhh!!! You'd think I was one of those tweens that was waiting to see the Jonas Brothers. My heart jumped into my chest and I looked a Ben. My sweet hubby gave me a huge sigh and a knowing nod of approval that meant, "I'll wait here with the girls, go" and I took off like lighting, camera in hand, to find Ryan! Of course I had to jump a few ropes, but soon enough I was standing on the second row waiting to see Ryan; who, by-the-way, was there to introduce Corbin Bleu who sang his new single. When I saw Ryan I held up my camera and yelled "Ryan!" He looked right at me and waved! I was thrilled!

All dogs go to heaven

We went to Disneyland (posts coming) this last week and had a wonderful time. However, while we were gone, our sweet Roxy (she's the family dog, if you're new to this blog) was in an accident and died. She was just five months old, and we've had her for three months. We really had a wonderful time with her while she was with us. She will be dearly missed. I am learning that from experiences like this, come a lot of great teaching (and learning) experiences too. We waited until we got home and settled a little to tell the girls. We buried her in the backyard and said a prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for letting us have her and enjoy her. Then I took the girls to Costco. Hailey had to go potty and we were in the bathroom in different stalls. Hailey decided right then is the perfect time to engage in a conversation about Jesus and the Resurrection (yelling between stalls). "You know Mom, people will come back to life after they die because of Jesus, I bet Roxy will do that too! Don't you think Mom?" I mean really, how do I answer that in the Costco stall? So far, the girls have really been at peace with it all. I let them see the body and pet her one last time. Children are so resilient. I am blessed with such sweet girls. We love you Roxy!

Trick or Treat

This Halloween the girls insisted on being "cute bats" (as opposed to scary bats.) It took some thinking and creativity to come up with a "cute bat" costume. I found two awesome black skirts at Walmart that had fiber-optic lights! Now, what's cuter than that? I added odds and ends together and came up with some pretty darn "cute bat" costumes. The girls were thrilled and were far and wide the cutest bats I've ever seen.Above: Aubrey Cute Bat (she insisted that Bats growl and is growling in the picture)

Above: Hailey Cute Bat

Every year the girls go to Grandma Powell's ward Halloween party. Grandma LOVES to dress-up for Halloween. Here's some photo's of Grandma and the girls on their way to the party.

Kharma

So, Karma came and bit me in the hiney this week. Let me explain:

Rewind my life to October 1996. I am a senior in high school and needing to sow my wild oats. (without alcohol, drugs and sex, I find it a little difficult to sow these oats.) On a "wild and crazy" night we decide to go pumpkin smashing (whoo-hoo, what crazy kids we were). I go to a front door, take the pumpkin and smash it in the street. What a thrill! My friend Alisa won't even get out of the car, she totally reprimands me like she's my mother, "That is so rude, I just can't believe you'd do that! That is vandalism and stealing!" To which I reply, "Oh give it a rest Alisa, it's no big deal, it's just a pumpkin!"

Okay, skip forward to June 2008. We have our new yard! I make a special trip to the store with my kids to buy pumpkin seeds. We excitedly plant the seeds and watch the seeds sprout, flower, and turn into pumpkins. We joyfully wait for our pumpkins to turn from green to orange. As a family, we make a ceremonious trip to our pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins. We carefully wash them and place them in specific spots on our front porch. Everyone has picked a special pumpkin and we all know whose pumpkin is whose. We are so excited to carve the pumpkins when Halloween is closer! . . . Then comes UEA. It's 11:30 at night and all are peacefully asleep in bed when the doorbell rings. I get up, get dressed and go to the door. GRRRR! AHHHH! BLAST IT! MY PUMPKINS ARE GONE and I've been doorbell ditched! I am so flaming mad. My heart breaks just thinking about telling the children the horrible news. In my usual fashion I totally overreact and can't even go back to sleep. "It's just pumpkins, Kristy." Ben says to get me to calm down. "Just pumpkins? Just pumpkins? No it's not JUST PUMPKINS! It is months and months of my children's entertainment, joy, fun, learning and excitement!" I am furious, when suddenly, my mind sees the faint vision of Alisa's disappointed face in the dim light of the car. I hear my own voice, "Oh give it a rest, Alisa. It's no big deal, it's just a pumpkin . . . " Holy cow. It's karma, what goes around comes around. Crap.

Braces at three?

Oops, she did it again. I don't know if I have the most accident prone children or what. I've still never had stitches (outside of surgery) or any major accident, but my children just seem to love whacks, bonks and bumps! Saturday, Aubrey ran full speed into my closet, tripped over a shoe and smacked her face on the shelf. The worst thing is, I was putting on my makeup and saw it all happen in the mirror. It was awful. I scooped her up and she was a bloody mess. Her bottom lip was split in four places and her front tooth was up in her gum and bent all the way facing the back of her throat. It was really sick. Her mouth was full of blood and white chips. I thought she shattered all her teeth! Luckily (sort-of) the white bits were pieces of the shelf! We had Dr. Mattinson (an awesome dentist in our ward, and a good friend of Ben's) come over to our house to check her out. (Ben and I were in a heated battle over whether or not we needed to rush her to the Urgent Care or not, we settled on agreeing with whatever Mattinson said). He said we need to wait and see what happens with the tooth and they won't stitch lips so that'll just have to heal. My poor baby. Her top lip started to swell. By Monday morning her top lip was very swollen and her nose was HUGE! I called my dentist and he said I have to take her to a Pediodontist. I took her to Dr. Wall in Syracuse. (I know it's not a direct reflection of his work, but he did have a really cute office that was painted in Dr. Suess. All the techs wore matching scrubs in Suess colors and the office was very fancy and kid friendly, I was impressed). He x-rayed it and said it was pretty bad and needed to be worked on tomorrow. So, Tuesday we went back and they put my little darling under. First, they gave her a shot that separates the brain from the body. It totally sucked. I was holding her in my arms and her little eyes glazed over and started to twitch. She was awake, but totally non-responsive, I hated it. I don't have medical bravery and I thought it was really sick. When they took her from my arms to give her the IV and start the procedure I was just sick. It was so awful to see her carried away from me. I don't know how people with kids with really serious medical problems do it. I knew everything would be fine, but it made me queasy. When I saw her again she was laying on a beanbag (picture). The dentist had "saved" her tooth, did something with the nerve and vein and bent her tooth back to place. He also had to bond the tooth to the other teeth so that it heals in place. To do this, he glued a wire from K9 to K9. (she basically has braces). Braces aren't cute on anyone and she looks kind of funny, but it'll have to do. She only has to have them for six weeks.

When we came home from the dentist I wanted her to look in the mirror. She never would, she was just too tired and worn out. I asked her many times to come and look (because I didn't want her to be scared and I wanted to be there to explain what the doctor did). She never wanted to see. My neighbor Lisa and her girls Grace and Ava brought over some puzzles and a mylar balloon for Aubrey. Aubrey was playing with the balloon and turned it over to the silver side. When she saw her reflection she joyfully exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, I have sparkly teeth! Mom look! Holy Cow! How'd they do that? My teeth are so sparkly!" Much to my relief she seems thrilled with her new look. (I'm sure I'll have to remind her of the thrill of sparkle teeth when she is thirteen and gets the real thing). So, for now, my sweet little rambunctious three year old has braces! Joy.

The cute dentist office. My sweet baby totally knocked out after surgery. (so does it mean I'm a bad mom because I took a bunch of pictures with my camera phone when I was bored waiting for her to wake up?)Wow! Look at those awesome sparkly teeth!

Pepe la Pew

This morning Ben took Roxy out around 7am to go potty. Roxy was sniffing around and came face-to-face with Pepe la Pew snoozing on our front lawn! Okay so it wasn't the real Pepe, this skunk didn't seem French and he didn't wear a bow tie, but he was a stinky skunk nonetheless! Ben sprung into action and quickly turned into Super Ben (our skunk busting hero). He called Roxy back in the house before disaster struck (however, Ben HAS been plotting to "rid" himself of our less-than-potty-trained puppy but having the dog sprayed by a skunk was going a bit far). Luckily Ben returned Roxy to safety. He then proceeded to devise a plan to safe our neighborhood from utter disaster. (I, on the other hand, called Animal Control only to be told they do not respond to skunk problems---losers.) So, it was up to our brave hero to save us all. After pelting the poor thing with dirtballs we were now stuck with a dirty skunk in our front yard and elementary school time was rolling around. (Problem: Elementary age boys walking to school + skunk = big time disaster) Next our hero turned on our sprinklers. The little critter got wet, and that's about it. However, he did move to the driveway for a warmer resting spot. (and I believe he was getting a little ticked off, both the skunk and Ben). Thankfully, Ben the Skunk Busting Hero acquired a sidekick, Skunk Woman. (formally known as Trish Smith our neighbor with four boys dying to get their hands on the skunk . . . ) Trish said we needed to capture it. Ben asked how and Trish quickly responded, "I'm from Hennifer." So, in an effort to prevent her boys from getting to the skunk, she bravely put a Tupperware bin over it!!! What a woman! Next, Ben slid a sheet of plywood under the box. Ta-da! Our dynamic duo trapped the skunk! They carried the little fella to a near (but not too nearby) field. Where he was safely deposited. Whew! What an eventful morning! We are investing in a spotlight with a huge skunk shadow to summon our hero in a time of need. If you would like to donate to the cause please give me a call: 1-800-SKUNK-BUST.

Tons(hell)ectomy

Hailey has suffered from really bad nightmares for the past three months. (We all have suffered). She never sleeps through the night anymore. She wakes up in the night terrified and won't go back to sleep. It has taken its toll on the whole household. Ben and I tried EVERYTHING to get her over this (prayers, hymns, rewards, punishments, spanks, Monster Spray, etc.) but never had success. Finally we decided it must be something physical, not something she is just going to "get over" or "grow out of." She has always snored really loudly. Recently she wakes up scared and seems to be choking (right before screaming). I think she chokes and then has a bad dream as she wakes up really scared. I feel really bad for her, it must be terrifying. We took her to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor that said she needs a tonsilectomy (her tonsils and adnoids out) to create more space in her throat for breathing. So . . . yesterday we did the deed. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed. The Dr. said her adenoids were unusually large and must have caused the snoring, choking, breathing problem and thus cause the nightmares and wakings. We are glad we got them out. Hailey is doing well, considering all. Hopefully we can have some peace at night and have a Happy (not haunting) Halloween season! Here is my little night terror after surgery.
We have been very blessed by the outpouring of love towards Hailey. Many friends, family and neighbors have stopped by or called to wish my little one love and healing. We are so grateful for the love you have shown us. Hailey and I talk about what a lucky little girl she is to have so much support. She loves you all and I do too! Thank you!

Yeehaw!

For Hailey's birthday party I did the big one . . . I rented a pony! When I lived in Centerville my neighbor (Layna) had a pony party for her son. I don't think Hailey wasn't even born yet. I watched the whole party from afar and I vowed that one day, my child would have a pony party. So the day finally came! Thank heavens Hailey's birthday is in a good weather month (else my fantasies of a pony party would be crushed). It was a wonderful party. When the girls arrived (it was mostly girls) they made a pony charm bracelet. Then, we did a pony pinata, finally the pony arrived (he was late) and the kids each got a turn to ride and a turn to walk the pony while someone else rode him. His name was Prince and the girls totally fell in love with him. It was a great party. A little chaotic, but great!

This is the whole party, mostly. The guy holding the little girl is not Ben, it is the girl's father. The guy at the back is the horse guy. My mom is sitting with Aubrey on her lap.

The birthday girl!

Wildcats!

Each year the girls look forward to the mini cheerleader clinics at the high schools. Last year they were mini Vikings, but this year, their cousin Rachael (Kim's oldest daughter) is a Woods Cross cheerleader; so the girls were especially excited to learn cheers from Rachael and to cheer with their cousins Becca and Hannah (Kim's youngest girls). They learn really cute cheers and do a little dance at halftime. It was darling!

Hannah (age 6), Aubrey (age 3), Becca (age 8), and Hailey (age 5)

Aubrey and Hailey with Rachael.

Happy Birthday Hailey

Well, Hailey is officially five. I can't believe it. Time flies. Here is a little tribute to Hailey and some random pictures of her to celebrate her birthday.

Hailey was born on September 6, 2003 at 6:30 in the morning. She weighed 4 pounds 6 ounces. She was a wee little thing. But she was strong and overall healthy.

She is my cute little love bug.

And was best friends with Aubrey from the very beginning. She is a wonderful big sister!! This is Hailey in 2006.

Now she is five and a fireball. She loves soccer and ballet and anykind of dance/cheerleading. She is 100% girl. She loves watching the Barbie Princess movies and is learning to read. Below is a picture of Hailey's little personality. When told to pose for a picture for her first day of school photo, this is what she did . . . when I snapped the shot, she said, "that is going to be such a cute picture!" then she came over to see it. "Yup! It is." She always keeps me smiling. I'm so thankful we have her in our lives!

Oh what to do on a rainy Labor Day?

Bummer. It's raining and it's Labor Day. There goes our annual Labor Day swim and BBQ at Grandma Place's. Now what? Hey I know! Let's do something dangerous . . .

Well, not THAT dangerous!

Or naughty . . . like rob a bank . . .

(Okay, that's Ben and Quin playing indoor paintball)

We could dig for dinosaur bones . . .

We could get another pet . . . naw.

It doesn't really matter what we do, as long as we're together!
That was a great rainy Labor Day after all!

Let them eat PIE!

We went to the Davis County Fair a few weeks ago and had a blast! I always love the fair! This year the girls wanted to enter the Pie Eating Contest. To my surprise BOTH their names were drawn for their age group. I had forgotten to explain to the girls that you can't eat with your hands (or fork) just your face. They put a plastic bag over the girls heads and that kept their arms down. Aubrey was very nervous and just sat there horrified that kids were eating like that. (Although, I don't really see what her problem was, SHE eats like that ALL the time at the dinner table and I keep telling her not to. Now when she can really go for it, she's too chicken. It probably totally was messing up her psyche). Hailey, however, had the time of her life! She thought it was great! At first she was hesitant, then she went all out, then she got that look on her face like, "if I have another mouthful of this stuff I'm gonna puke!" She was a good sport! Now they're gearing up for next year, however I still won't let them practice at the dinner table . . . I'm such a party poop mom.

It's a GIRL!

We got a puppy! We named her Roxy. She is a doll. I love her so much! She is an F1B Labradoodle ( a Labrador Retreiver and Poodle mix) Her parents were a Labradoodle and a toy poodle. So won't get too big, she'll be a medium sized dog. I have been begging Ben for a dog for awhile now. Seeing as how the whole baby idea was nixed. I've been wanting another companion. I saw these dogs on the internet and have had my eye on them for awhile. She is wonderful and the girls just adore her. We are so excited to have this new member to our family (or our pack rather).

Gee, Thanks Mickey (and Hailey)

This is a little conversation Hailey and I had this morning (while Hailey was watching Mickey Mouse)

Hailey- Mom come here you NEED to see this.

Me- Yeah? What is it.

Hailey- Look, Mom . . . look at how Mickey is driving . . . did you see?

Me- (without much enthusiasm) Yeah, that's great.

Hailey- No Mom, LOOK! He's stopping at the stop sign! SEE! That's what YOU need to do!!

Me- WHAT? I stop at stop signs!!

Hailey- No, you don't. You need to Mom, you need to like Mickey does.

It's pretty sad when your four year old is giving you driving lessons! I can just imagine what she'll be like at 15 when taking Driver's Ed!

Disclaimer: I live in freaking Farmington. I swear, I see no reason to stop in the middle of a corn field when there is no car in sight for miles! I have been bad and some stop signs here seem optional, but now that I know I have eyes watching, I'll have to be better. It sucks getting driving tips from Mickey Mouse!

Flat Tire

Tonight for Enrichment I am teaching a class on changing a flat tire. Yes, wipe the shock off your face, I DO actually know how. Anyway I typed up this handy-dandy handout on tips when changing a flat. I thought I would post it, just in case you actually read my blog and need to know. And if you only read the title of my blogs and never really read the actual text, when you get a flat tire you will think, "man, I should have read Kristy's blog, I'm a moron." And then you will read from now on. :)

Changing a Flat Tire Basic Tips

Pull off to the side of the road

Be sure you are on flat ground

Turn on your hazards
If the flat is in the front, turn emergency-break on. If the flat is on a rear tire do NOT turn on your emergency break.

Consult Owner’s Manual

Find where spare tire is kept. NOTE: some SUV’s and trucks have it under the vehicle. If this is the case, you will need a long key thing to let down the tire. Stick key in a hole (about the size of a quarter) usually located above the license plate and lower the tire. This should lower the tire on a chain. Lower it far enough to allow room to unhook the tire using the slack in the chain and pulling the holder to the side.

Find the jack and tire-iron (wrench like, lug-nut losener).

Pop off hubcaps (if you have them) using the flat end of the tire-iron.

Locate the divot in the frame of the car. This is where you put the jack. NOTE: some vehicles, especially minivans, have a little arrow on the molding signifying where the jack goes. Be SURE to put the jack under the frame of the car, not the car molding.

Jack up the car just a bit but be sure to have the tires still on the ground. Loosen all the lug-nuts.
Jack up car all the way and remove lug-nuts and tire.

Replace flat tire with spare.

Screw all lug-nuts into place.

Lower car so the tire is touching the ground. Now you have leverage to tighten all the lug-nuts.

Lower car all the way down and remove jack.

Yeah! You did it!

Throw everything back into the car and get the heck out of there!

On a spare tire (doughnut tire) do not drive over 60mph. Get to a shop to get it fixed as soon as you can, but smile while doing so because you are a rockin’ woman that just changed your own flat tire!!!

So now you know! Wow, what an awesome blog!

Soccer Divas

Hailey and Aubrey are on the same soccer team this fall. They love it! Hailey is actually really good (which is interesting because I totoally was crap at soccer). Aubrey is getting the hang of it. Mostly I just think they look so darn cute in their uniforms!

Place Family Lagoon Day

Okay, so it's not really "Place Family Lagoon Day" it's technically "Western Nut Lagoon Day" but it feels like Place Family to me. (A lot of the family is employed at Western Nut) Once a year we get to go to Lagoon as a family and it is honestly one of my favorite days of the year. I really enjoy Lagoon more now that I am a Mom. Watching how much my children love it is better than any thrill I get on the white roller coaster! (so does that just mean I'm getting old?)

It is so fun to be with the cousins (and my sisters). We spent most the day with Stephanie and her kids Matt, Mike and Bron (Stephanie is pregnant with her fourth baby--A GIRL! and is due in August). Mike was so helpful with Hailey and they went on tons of rides together as partners. Hailey was in heaven with all the attention from Mike. We also had Hannah (Kim's youngest) with us. She was very helpful to hang out with Aubrey and go on Kiddie rides when Aubrey was too scared to go on bigger rides. (of course Kim's other, older kids (all 7 of them) were roaming the park--too cool to hang out in Kiddie Land, but we did run into them now and then)


The best part was having my Mom with us. She deserves a Grandma of the year award. She rode all the rides and made them so much fun! Just look at her in the back of Puff---no hands! What a woman! She also took Hailey on her first Tidal Wave experience. Mom has ALWAYS loved Tidal Wave (I think she rode it 5 times that day!) Hailey was so brave and even learned the "no hands" from Grandma! (Hannah was just scared to death).
Aubrey's favorite ride was The Odysea (this years new ride.) She just loves to sing along with the theme song, I've heard it all week!


After a full day at Lagoon I took the kids home to a sitter and enjoyed the park at night with Ben. We went on all the "big kid" rides together. I pretty much felt like I'd been beat up after the Wild Mouse, and realized that two kids later my bladder isn't what it use to be, I seriously almost peed my pants on the Rocket. My nephews (Brayden, Matt and Mike) talked me into riding Cliff Hanger with them. They promised me that I wouldn't get wet. We waited in line forever and finally got on the ride. Once strapped down, Brayden leaned out and said, "Kristy, I think you might get a little wet" sure, now he fesses up. Mike replied with serious enthusiasm, "Yeah! But you get to hang upside down!!" "Wow." I thought, "What a trade off." Yes, I got wet and yes, I did hang upside down. But it still is one of my favorite family days!

The Powells in Powell

We just returned from our trip to Lake Powell. We had a fabulous time! We were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Powell (Ben's parents) invited us to spend the week with them on their new houseboat with extended family members. Here are some highlights from our trip.

Hailey was a dare devil and LOVED to ride the tube! The girls also loved to hunt for lizards go fishing and rock climb. They were in heaven!

I couldn't believe it. One day a bottle floated to shore and there was a treasure map in it! We followed the map and found the pirate treasure. It was the forgotten treasure of the Pirates of Lake Powell!! ;)

We were also there for the 4th of July. We had a big party on the top of the boat with glowsticks. It was our private RAVE (minus alcohol, drugs, etc.) It was a G rated RAVE.

It was a fantastic trip!