We Went, We Saw, We Conquered..

...and we came home completely exhausted and with way to much laundry! But it was worth it!

We started out our vacation by heading in our extremely full car to Mesquite for the night.



We were at a loss of what to do with all the kids in a casino



so we ended up taking them to the Lego Movie. The first 25 minutes of it were cute and them the remainder of the movie I spent in the lobby with the 2 year old who doesn't understand you have to be quiet in a movie.  But the other kids said it was really good. After the kids were in bed the sisters hit BINGO. We did terrible but it was a fun hour alone.

The next morning we awoke bright and early and headed to California.  We quickly learned that California drivers go FAST and a signal means that they are coming into your lane... right now. But we made it to our hotel room in one piece and let the kids swim and finally we found Grandpa and Grandma!  Yeah the kids were so excited!!

The next day we went to the civil war and hung out with my parents. We watched the battle,






 and walked through the village,


 and listened to the Gettysburg address,



 and played on the playground and colored our hair ( and shirt, and face and hands red)




with some fun toys that one of my parents friends and brought for all the kids.

Next day LEGOLAND and Kardens 10th birthday.

  He is getting to be so big. Its crazy!



We rode all the rides! ( by the look on gavins face not sure he loved this one)



 We got there when it opened and left as they were kicking us out but we had a great day.



 Berkley loved the rides here!!
Look mom.. No hands!



She also loved the characters!



One of the funniest things about legoland was the pirate ship ride. The kids and dads went on the ride where you can shoot the onlookers, but they have cannons they can shoot back with.



 My dad was scoping out which one shot the farthest and basically kicked a little kid out of the way to shoot at our husbands and kids. He was in heaven... Look at the concentration on his face.



 By how wet the dads were I think grandpa won.

It was busier than it was in the past but we got to see and ride everything we wanted.


On Tuesday we hit the beach.


The kids had a blast...so did Ryan!   We built sandcastles,



played in the ocean,



made ourselves mermaid fins




 and  posed with surfers.



  Of course we had to pose for pictures!







Grandkid picture.... Priceless!



 We played in the waves until we were all tired and hungry and headed to the park next door to eat lunch and then headed to Anaheim. :)

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we conquered Disneyland.   We hit all the big rides and saw the parade




The Mickey and Minnie Mouse and the Princess float were our favorites!





 and the fireworks  ( thanks mom and amber for saving our spot even though they about got killed in the process)  It was a magical time!

Don't let this smile fool you!



 The first day berkley was anything but good!
 I packed all 35 pounds of onerier that cat poop two year old that hasn't got a nap in 5 days and didn't understand waiting in lines or having to get off the rides when they were over, but luckily day 2 and day 3 were MUCH better!



The kids loved Dumbo




and the teacups!



We had the Cutest Mice around.. If I say so myself!



We all loved the new Cars land In California adventure! We spent a lot of time there riding rides. Radiator Springs Racers was our favorite ride.



The look on my moms face cracks me up!



The last day we were at Disneyland was soo busy! It was insane. It was the beginning of Spring break and the rest of  the world had the same idea to be at Disneyland with us!  It was a bit Claustrophobic.



I think we were all ready to be done.



 Do you want to see what grandpa looks like after 3 15 hour days at Disneyland!





Saturday we got up, loaded up, and headed to Vegas. We ended up at the chocolate factory, and then the vacation Nazi in me noticed we had 3 unplanned hours and we ended up at Hoover Dam!  It was HUGE!!



We walked out onto the bridge, Karden was a little nervous but it was awesome to see.





 After dinner we then headed to the strip. The kids loved to see all the lights.





Sunday was drive home back to reality! About Beaver I got passed a note from Whitley in the backseat.



  I had to laugh and tell her I was tired of riding in the car too. About Nephi I got another note that said " I am Serious!"

We finally mad it home, exhausted but a good exhausted! I have to admit I'm really glad I will not have to take a 2 year old to Disneyland ever again. :)

End of the year in review!!

Christmas this year was fun!! 

Berkley really liked the advent calendar and decided she needed to eat as much candy as she could until mom busted her! She ended up with about 3/4 of the month gone in about 15 minutes!  But how do you get mad at a face like that! I swear she is cute so she doesn't get beat. 

Santa Clause found out house again this year! The kids got spoiled!  I was super excited this year because everyone still believes!! :) 

Berkley Got a Fisher price Horse Castle , a baby doll and a whole bunch or other toys she didn't need :) 

Whitley got some Monster High Dolls, Beanie Boos and a Karaoke machine... Ryan May or may not be still cussing Santa's logic on that present. But she loves it. But the sound of her and her friends singing  sounds slightly like ferrets on meth. :)

Karden wanted Bon Jovi Cds and ended up with an ipod touch. He was over the moon excited, He was also excited about the guys he got and the comic books. 

We spent New Year Eve at Jon and Sharlyn House. We played some games, Talked, Laughed, ate and Had a great time! At midnight Jon had rigged up a balloon drop.. We did the countdown to midnight and we pulled the string.........Nothing happened. 

Jon went into the garage and got the ladder...

Yeah!!! Balloon Drop... Its okay it was a bit delayed.. 

 The kids had a blast playing with them and all 6 kids made it to midnight!

We toasted with some sparking cider and then called it a night! Welcome 2014.

Whitley celebrated the 100th day of first grade by having to make a tshirt with 100 "somethings" on it. We ended up with 100 pom poms that we made into caterpillars. She loved her shirt and look as cute as ever in it!

We also celebrated Valentines day and got to make a valentines box for Whitleys class. We made her a penguin and it was easy and cute. ( I helped her with this... I am noting this because when she is 30 and says it was her dad that made her valentine boxes I will have proof it was me :) 

We also made the kids classes fun valentines this year out of krazy straw. They were a hit.  Karden didn't get to take a box to school this year and was pretty bummed about it but they still got to have a fun party in class so all was good.

 Karden had the Blue and Gold Banquet for scouts and had to decorate a cake in cowboy theme. He has completed all his requirements for his bear and will be moving to webelos in April.

We went for the sheriff badge and he got the award for the "Most Official Cake". He was so proud of himself! 

The girls had fun at the blue and gold banquet as well. They love to pose for  pictures!

Ryan and I went to Mesquite for the weekend again for the tire convention with his work. This year Becky and Porter came along as well. We had a fun time. We went bowling, played bingo....alot!

 

 Won at bingo...YIPPEE! and spent the night in st George shopping and going to the movies! It was a great weekend. The kids had fun staying at there cousins house as well. It was a win- win for everyone... Well maybe everyone except Dena and Amber who had to be the responsible ones.  Berkley was easily entertained by ambers ipad.

Berkley is officially a big girl now. She is potty trained!! Hooray! It is so nice to not have to change bums or carry a huge diaper bag around. It is also pretty darn awesome to not have to buy diapers anymore!! WooHOO!!

She has not got the concept of not eating your ice cream on the potty.

Whew! The months just seem to fly by but we are now caught up!! :)