It's been awhile....

The months keep going by faster and faster. So here is a recap of what we've been up to. First off Easter. The Easter Bunny made three stops for Hunter; Hunter's house, grandma's house and he even left a basket at grandma-great's house. Hunter had a blast looking for the eggs and putting them in his Elmo basket. He got a Thomas kite which Craig was determined to fly even though there wasn't even the slightest breeze on Easter. I love the picture of Craig mad dashing down the street with a $2 kite dragging behind him. That's one dedicated daddy. No pics of us dying the eggs because for those of you who haven't attempted this with a toddler, let's just call this activity an extreme sport. Hunter loved the "colors."



Nice weather means we get to re-open the SANDBOX!!!! Hunter was thrilled to have his old buddy back and mommy was happy to find it not filled with spiders and buggies. Hunter has taken up residency in the sandbox and on nice days he will only come in for naps and meals. In most of the pictures he is laying in the sandbox. He thinks this is funny and will strike his goofy pose and say, "Mommy, picture!" and so I oblige.



Of course all sandbox adventures usually end in a tub. Craig introduced Hunter to the concept of "bubble baths." Hunter is a big fan. He likes to put bubbles on his chin like a beard and then in as low a voice as he can get he will say, "Hellloooo!" What a ham.




A few weekends ago we took a trip up to Midway to soak in some fresh spring air. Hunter loved running around and feeding the horses. We love Midway.

And yes Hunter and Makenna (or should we say Hukenna or maybe Munter) are still together. Here's the happy couple out for a dinner date. After dinner they took a stroll to the local playground for bubbles and slide races. And yes, there were a couple of kisses. The first kiss Makenna freely gave, the second was after Hunter politely asked for. These two are a riot to watch. We love Makenna visits.

And then there was Mother's Day. Craig ditched me to go to Vegas, but before you all give him Husband of the Year, I have to say he had permission ;). Craig got to meet one of his closest pals from Seattle to go to the Dave Matthews concert. They had a blast and Craig deserved it after finishing up another tough semester. He made it back home in time for dinner on Sunday, so all was well. With no dad, Hunter and I decided to have a sleepover at my parents house. I loved going to church with my parents and my dad took very good care of my mom and I. Every mother's day my dad turns in to Iron Chef Don and cooks up the most amazing dinner. He really goes all out and won't let any lady do a thing. He spends most of his time shooing his wife, mother and mother-in-law out of the kitchen (I don't have to be asked to keep clear of the stove). This year shrimp cocktail and cedar plank roasted salmon were the highlights of the menu. And kuddos to Clayson for being a great assistant chef!

I have to say I am trully blessed by the women in my family. I am surrounded by the best. My mother is the most supportive, upbeat, caring person alive. Growing up as the only girl in my family created a super bond between my mom and I. She was also my best friend. I love chatting with her on the phone and hanging out with her. She's a good time. Then there is my Grandma E. or as Hunter calls her, Grandma Verla. She is the kindest, most loving person. Each time I see her she greets me with her signature hug and says in my ear, "I just love ya." And then there's Grandma Q. or to Hunter, Grandma-Great! There's only one word for this lady and that is spunk. She acts more 17 than 84. And while we are on the topic of age, how many 84 year olds do you know who painted their entire backyard fence this year! There's no slowing this one down, she has such an infectious zest for life that makes her the life of the party. I am also so thankful for my mother-in-law. She has been so warm and open to me and makes me feel like one of the fam. She is a true lady and wonderful example. So, thank you to all the wonderful woman in my life.

Tagged

So the name of the game is to name 10 things begining with a letter the person (Melis) picked for me. So here are my 10 favorite...H's:
1. Husband
2. Hunter (so far this is easy, I've covered my two favorite boys).
3. Hot Tubs (aaahhh)
4. Holidays
5. (the) Holiday ...greatest chick flick, get your tissues.
6. The Hills (If this was 10 H's I hate I could say Heidi)

7. Hershey's
8. Hot... like St. George or on a beach.

9. Hiking
10. Hangin' Out (friends or family)

One of my favorite pictures of "H"usband and "H"unter.

I tag: Lindsay R.(A), Tanya(B), and Genesis(C).

Spring Break 2009

I love, love, LOVE family vacations. Nothings better than getting to do lots of fun things with my two favorite boys and not having to worry about work, school, or dishes. Last week we loaded up the car and headed off for 10 days of fun. Since this is my personal public journal you'll have to endure a lot of words this post. Here we go!

1st stop ST. GEORGE! Hunter loved climbing on the redrock and playing with his cousins and grandparents. Aw family, we just don't see you all enough.











Then, it's back in the car, but just a short trip down to LV. Hunter didn't know what to think about all of that maymem. We arrived on St. Patty's day so things were even wackier. Hunter was excited to see the Excaliber and began pointing and yelling, "TEMPLE!" Um, no. We had lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe at the MGM. If only every resteraunt we went to had fish tanks, waterfalls and elephants maybe I would get to actually eat my food while it was still hot every time we ate out. We fled from the strip before our little man became completely corrupted. We jumped aboard a plane which Hunter helped take off by patting on his lap and yelling "Blast off!" Anyone seen Little Einstiens? Obviouslly Hunter's a big fan, which is why he should have been giddy because we were on our way to see them for real, in their house along with all of his other friends, Mickey, Donald, Pooh, and Handy Manny. This little guy had no idea what he was in for.





From our hotel we could see Disneyland. That first night we gave Hunter a preview for what he was in for the next 3 days by taking him up on the sundeck to see the fireworks. He was a big fan and still tells me about them each day. So now here we are, the happiest place on earth. As we walked through the gate the "choo, choo" pulled in to the station as if on cue. Hunter bounced all the way on to the train. When they train passed through Splash Mtn. and Hunter could see all the critters singing Zippity Do Da, he just stared. His mind was blown. What is this place? First official ride was Small World. We decided to start out pretty mellow even though Pirates ended up being his favorite ride. He loved the big drop at the begining and thought the pirates were "awesome." He's a thrill seeker already. Back to Small World, Hunter was excited to get to ride on the boat, but then the boat took us to this magical land of singing children and once again, silent stare, mind blown. He will now request the "boat song" as a lullaby at bed time.





So when we told people that we were taking Hunter to Disneyland lots of them would tell us what cute pictures we would come back with. I mean can you imagine, cute kiddo+disney= adorable pics right? Um, no. Cute kiddos do not want to pose for a picture when standing next to a cool ride or someone like Tigger. They rather be chekcing it all out, not looking at mommy with a camera. So most of our pictures are the back of Hunter's head or him yelling at us because we aren't letting him do what he wants. So by the time we were half way through day 2 I gave up on the pictures and left the camera in the bag and decided just to have fun. So here's an example of us trying to take a picture of Hunter with mommy on the dumbo ride (which he loved, weee Dumbo).








A lot of work for one picture. Here's our efforts on trying to get just one cute family group shot. Hunter's wondering why the heck we want him to sit on mommy's knee and smile at some lame guy with our camera when Lightening McQueen is right next to us! Cars is one of Hunter's favorite movies and he totally got prancing, happy feet when he saw them in real life. Oh kids are so fun!


Too much fun. Back to the room for a rest.








Like I said earlier, Hunter was awesome on the rides. Not once did he cry. The only time he showed any nervousness was on the Haunted Mansion, he kept twirling my hair which he does to soothe himself sometimes. He was incredible. The bigger the drop or more whirly the ride, the more he loved it. Craig was convinced we should get him a goofy hat and some platform shoes so we could sneak him on Splash Mountain. He would have loved that ride, seriously, he's crazy. He loved the pirahhnas on the Jungle Cruise and flew out of his chair when he saw Nemo on the submarines. Winnie the Pooh was another one of his favorites. When you get off that ride you get dropped by one of the many gift shops, and this one is of course full of Pooh stuff. Hunter saw a stuffed Pooh bear, grabbed it, kissed it and snuggled up to it sighing "Pooh Bear." We bought the Pooh Bear, suckers.





We went to California Adventure where we got to see Disney Playhouse live. This was one of my favorite things. They do this cute little show whith puppets and all kind of special effects that make it seem like you are really a part of this little adventure. There aren't any chairs so everyone sits on the floor and the kids can get up and dance and be excited. Sooo cute. Hunter was in heaven. Another one of Hunter's favorite things at CA Adventure was a fountain in Bug World where water shot out of the ground randomly. Hunter named it crazy water. He giggled and chased the water around. Everyone watching was cracking up over his antics. It was really hilarious. To get him away from the crazy water we had to bribe him with a sucker. And that his how we became the parents of the only naked child with a giant lollipop at Disneyland.

We didn't meet Mickey until day 3. We were nervous about this because Hunter and Santa were not BFF. Hunter had a major freak out at South Town mall, so we weren't sure how he would take a 5 foot mouse. As we stood at Mickey's door we braced for impact, but when Mickey answered the door Hunter's face lit up and he said in his precious little voice, "Mickey Mouse!" Mickey gave him a high five and a hug and Hunter kissed his nose. It was one of those mommy moments where you get an embarassing lump in your throat because you are just so tickled that your little guy is in complete bliss. I'm lame I know. I get worked up over halmark commercials. Anyhow, Mickey was a huge hit! Day 3 was extra fun because the choo, choo brought Hunter a special surprise. Grandma and Grandpa Q. I was GQ's b-day so we invited her and gramps to spend a day in Disneyland with their only grandchild. My dad said he was fulfilled now that he has ridden Small World with his grandson. Hunter had lots of fun and so did they and Craig and I got to ride the big kid rides and have a day just the two of us. I must say Craig and I know how to have a good time.

We were so sad to leave CA, but eased back in to things by putting off reality a couple more days by making another stop in St. George. More cousin time, lizards and a necessary game of Balderdash. Uncle Steven helped the little ones catch lizards. Hunter thought they were pretty cool and was totally chilled letting one hang out on his shirt. After I took this picture I realized someone had put a lizard on my shirt without me knowing it. I was not chilled, I freaked.

So more good times and good memories. I love my boys and I'm so happy we got to take another fun trip together. Here's to reality (which with these two really isn't that bad) until we make our next escape.

AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVERAFTER.

THE END.