Legoland!

I love this blog and am determined to keep it updated - even if the posts are 7-8 months late! But Lars is down for his nap and the girls are in school. None of these posts are going to be Pulitzer worthy (they never have been) but it's a rough attempt at documentation.

In February of 2018 we went to Legoland! My parents got us tickets for a Christmas gift. Then, the Thalmans had been thinking of taking a trip too, so we coordinated and went together. Everything is always more fun with friends!

Here is a photo of the four girls. June, Abby, Willa, Bridgett. Abby was a champ and was June's best friend the entire trip. Whenever we get together, Bridgett and Willa go off together and Abby acts like it's her very favorite thing to play with June. 

The whole gang. Ryan thought it would be very Meta, Meta, Meta to take a photo in front of the Lego version of Las Vegas - a photo of a replica of a replica of a Pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, and Statue of Liberty.

We stayed in the Legoland Hotel, which was a little shabby but convenient. They had a lot of fun things for the kids, including a little treasure map where they followed clues around the hotel the discover the combination to unlock a treasure box inside the room - that was filled with Legos for them to keep (and refilled with new sets daily!). Ryan and I get stressed out by trips and the unknown, so being able to stay on site was nice. I'd say the worst part of the hotel was trying to sleep in the same room as Lars. By the end of the visit, he'd gotten used to it - but the first night he was up several times and ended up in our bed. I'm not going to complain about a little fluffy hairball sleeping in my face - but it was when he was crawling around and not sleeping that it got annoying. We also thought staying on site would be nice if I needed to take Lars back to the room for naps or diaper blowouts - but in that regard he was a perfect baby! Whenever I noticed him getting tired, I would put in him the stroller, lean the seat back, and he would snooze away. It was awesome and probably not repeatable now that he's older. He was about 10 months when we took the trip.

The Lego Friends area was very cute. The girls also loved doing the little Lego people swap. You take some Lego men in and if you see a worker with one on their tag, you can trade them. It became fun (and sometimes stressful and tearful!) to find new Lego characters! It was a challenge to find girl characters... I'll just leave it at that.

Since my girls are total scaredy-cats, Legoland was the perfect place. There was only one or two rides that they were too scared to do! Everything else was super duper slow and easy.

One of the best and most unexpected surprises was seeing some friends from our USC days! They live in Fresno and it was totally, totally unexpected to run into them. I looked up and we saw each other and just looked - like, we looked familiar but couldn't believe it was us because it had been so long since we'd seen each other in person! Seeing Julie and Brian and their two boys was one of the highlights of the trip for me. We wished we could have spent more time together, but we were leaving the next day and they weren't staying nearby. Last time we saw them was probably 2009, yikes! But friends from the USC days will always be special to us.

We spent two days at Legoland. On the last day, we checked out of the hotel and drove further south to spend the night with the Fjeldsted's in Chula Vista. Even though we hit traffic and didn't get there as early as we thought, it was still so nice to be there! Our kids get along so well together and just played and played. We were debating about heading home Saturday or Sunday. We wanted to spend more time with our friends, but we also hate getting back right before the week starts. It's nice to have a buffer day to unpack, unwind, and relax. Willa ended up making the decision for us by throwing up Saturday morning! Eek! So, we packed up, tried to sanitize their house, and said good-bye with Willa holding a bag in the back seat. She didn't end up being sick anymore, so I'm chalking it up to a really large and fatty hamburger in Legoland the day before, lots of other junk food,  and not enough sleep. We were sad to say good-bye, but also happy that the visit happened at all. It was so nice to see their house and their 'hood.

And that was our trip! It was actually the first real family vacation we have ever taken where we haven't just tagged along with my parents or siblings. It was a little stressful at times, but we did it and have a lot of good memories looking back.

Christmas!

Dan, Melinda, and Rebecca were with us for Christmas Eve and Christmas. We did Christmas Eve dinner at our house. We attempted a Nativity, it was semi-successful. My mom had brought down the costumes, but with only two actors who didn't have much stage experience and a wiggly baby, it probably wasn't too recognizable for what it should be. Still, we tried!

Luckily, Santa was able to get some early prep done so when he visited our house, it was a relatively easy night for him. I think the girls and Lars looked perfectly coordinated this year. I love top of the stairs Christmas photos! So much excitement and happiness.

Lars liked his blocks, but probably his favorite thing was having the ottoman moved out of the way so he could roll around on the rug in every direction. I think it's what finally got him really crawling.

My mom sent this photo of Cameron and Celeste at the top of their stairs Christmas morning. It cracks me up! But hey, if you're unmarried and home for Christmas then you've got to do it.

Both girls got new bikes. June got a Frozen bike with a sleigh on the bike that holds a doll - squee! Willa loved getting a bike that had a little purse attached to the front. That purse came in very handy just a few weeks ago when she did a little triathlon and kept her glasses zipped in there for after her swim! June got a hatchimal, which she was dying for. Willa got another big Lego set. Those were the major Santa gifts. 

They got a few other things and some great wrapped presents from family and friends who love them. We ended up getting them Kindle Fires because they were on sale soooo cheap. And I figured with my parents getting the St. George house, we would be making that two hour drive a lot in the near future. Letting them each have a tablet for that drive would be so much easier than trying to hook up the car DVDs every time. So, we gave in. And now they are obsessed with them and constantly want them. They get to play them a couple of times a week, but not too much. Normally, I make Willa earn tablet time by practicing. It's been very motivating and she's faced with a conundrum when she rushes through and wants to be done practicing, but then looks at the timer and realizes she'll only get ten minutes of tablet time if she finishes then.

A great Christmas, again! I love Christmas. A few days later, I went and bought all the Christmas decorations that were on sale. I can't wait to decorate for next year!

Family Pictures

My sister and I decided that for a Christmas present we would surprise my mom with family pictures. This proved easier said than done! When you take seven siblings and their families and try to coordinate work, school, and travel schedules - things get complicated! There were times when we wanted to wring everyone's necks (and I'm sure they felt the same way about us) but we did it! We pick a day and found a photographer in Cedar City, which would be a central location for all of us to drive to.

It was the best when we told my mom about it. We wanted to wait until everything was set before we spilled the beans. We called her on a conference call and said we were going to do family photos and she was like, "Well, it's hard to get everyone together, everyone has different schedules." And it was so great to say, "We checked with everyone! Here is the date." It worked out to do it December 23rd, miraculously. And I have to say, everyone really pulled it together and sacrificed their busy last Saturday before Christmas to make it happen.

It was a 2.5-3 hour drive up and then back. A bit long, but the girls were very good. Poor Lars was just recovering from a stomach bug and had loose stools the days leading up. He didn't complain too much, but I'm sure he'd have rather been home. We had to wake him up when it was time for photos. He was a little dazed through it all and not his usual smiley self. I chalked it up to getting woken up early, but when we finished and went back to the car, I realized he had actually had a wet and poopy diaper the whole time. I'm sure it wasn't comfortable at all in the cold for him. Oh well, we got some great photos and it was nice to see everyone right before Christmas.

December is for Christmas!

Let's start off with a few photos of Lars in Christmas jammies.

With piano student Jacob, who wore his flannel moose pj's to lesson one week.

I love this little face soooo much!

Even though this looks like Christmas day, it was not. My mom brought the girls matching Christmas nightgowns that had matching doll nightgowns. They LOVED them. It was so sweet. I love the innocence and sweetness. I especially love that Willa is still young enough to think that matching with her doll is the best thing ever.

We visited the Santa by Ryan's work. The girls did a great job and I think it was a successful visit. Next year, I want to remember to dress them cute instead of coming straight from school.

Decorating the tree

 Ryan's office building is in the middle of a really nice outdoor mall. They do a Christmas parade several nights a week during the season. We met the Thalmans there one evening. It's short but cute with snow, music, Santa, and little peppermint stick girls passing out free lollipops.

 And the security guard stopped by and gave everyone these Rudolph noses that light up. They were giving them away with Santa visits, but he saw everyone having such a good time that he grabbed them for all the kids.

 

And the absolute best photo of the entire Christmas season! I had to run to Target on one of the last days before Christmas - I think it was the 23rd. I was dreading going with the kids. As I was pushing the cart, one lady stopped and remarked on how cute and special they all looked. And it really helped me appreciate it because by golly, she was right! I grabbed my phone to take a photo and it just turned out perfect. It's the best time of the year and the most magical time of childhood. I think this photo captured the happiness, excitement, sweetness, and everything in between. And Lars's expression is just icing on the cake!

December is for Stockings, Sledding, and Babies

Of course, as soon as I found out that I was pregnant with a boy, I started looking at which stocking I wanted to start making for him. I looked through the Bucilla catalogue and also at the stockings we already had because I wanted them all to be a little different but to fit together. We didn't have any green stockings, how can that be - green is the ultimate Christmas color! So I decided on a little boy's green stocking and started working. And of course, I stopped working and picked it up again and set it down again for the better part of a year. The best thing about this stocking is that it is a vintage design that Bucilla was re-releasing. So it wasn't nearly as complicated as making June's (I've still got a little PTSD from embroidering and stuffing all the individual tree branches on that one!) In the end, it came together a lot quicker than the others.

Ta Da! I love it so much!

 Here it is with the other ones. We only had four train cars for stocking holders and Target discontinued making this one. I looked on eBay and found it but it was $$ and someone else snatched it up before I could even think about spending money on it. In the end, I hung Lar's loop around Mary's head in this little Nativity. Here's hoping to next year! I'm probably just going to have to start from scratch for everyone.

Rebecca's work does a fun tree-lighting every year and this year we finally made it. It was SO MUCH FUN!! I'm so glad we made the effort. It just made everything a little more magical. The girls got to do pony rides, make hot cocoa, and go sledding on snow that they brought in! There was actually way more to do, but that's all we got around to.

And now, Lars' cuteness must be documented! I was shopping in Walmart in December and they had these amazing Christmas diapers. I thought in my mind, "These are so cute! I wish June was still in diapers so I could use them." Then I thought, "What are you, crazy?! Lars is in diapers, you idiot,  grab some!" So I did. They had these little elf ones and then a pair of red Santa bottoms.

Lars loves to play the piano whenever I am teaching. It's not usually very helpful. One day Jacob came to his lesson wearing fleece Christmas pj's so I had to get a photo of the two boys with their Christmas jammies on.

I was annoyed at waiting at the dr's office for a well-check when I looked over and my good friend Lidia was there! She's one of the moms I meet at the park! She was bringing her foster baby in for a check-up. He's just a little younger than Lars. So we had a good talk and almost forgot that we were there waiting over an hour and a half!

December is for Dragon Dancers and Playdates

Willa, forgetting how much she hated staying late after school last year, begged and begged to do Dragon Dancers again. I think a lot of the problem last year was boredom because she would be after school almost two hours and I don't know how much of her time was spent working on her actual dance. I emailed the dance teacher before and explained my concerns and she said they were going to do things a little differently to hopefully avoid some of that this go around. So... Willa did it and complained a little, but overall she liked it. It was Wednesdays until 5 p.m. Ryan had to come home early on Wednesdays anyway for Scouts, so he would swing by and pick Willa up. Score! Anything to avoid a drive, for me. (On Tuesdays when I teach piano, Willa gets a ride home with Gunnar because he happens to be my first student. So for three months I didn't have any pick-ups on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons, double score!)

This year they did Charlotte's Web and Willa will tell you that she really wanted to be a Web Weaver, but she got put with the rats and was a very cute rat, if I do say so myself. I think this is the only photo I have, but so cute. I love the top hat (she hated it!).

June and I have been going to the park in our old neighborhood with some of our old friends and it has been very soothing for the soul. I miss these ladies and little girls a lot. No fear, we decided that once these cute kids start Kindergarten that we are going to do a monthly lunch group together so we can still see each other. Since Las Vegas is pretty restaurant heavy, hopefully we will get to try some fun places and not resort to McDonalds every time, ha ha!

Emi, Lyla, Annie, June

 June also got invited to a Build a Bear birthday party in December too. The girls were all so cute. And yay, one more stuffed animal for their room, eek.

St. George and Thanksgiving

 My parents bought a house in St. George! My dad is still working and they aren't moving...yet, but for now it's a nice southern base for them. It's a nice single-story with a beautiful view. We drove up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to take a look and play. It's so fun having them less than two hours away! Expect lots more adventures up there for us.

There is this amazing park right down the road from the new house!

Decorating gingerbread cookies

Ryan's family all came into town for Thanksgiving and it was so much fun to have everyone together. With our house, Rebecca, and Dan and Melinda's place, there was lots of room. Shannon and Graham rented a house nearby with a fun pool.

Boy cousins and matching hair with Elias!

Slate, Scarlett, and June jumping on the bed

Most impressive about the entire great weekend was that Graham wanted to cook Thanksgiving dinner! He planned, he prepped, he admitted that there may have been a spreadsheet involved, ha ha. He asked me to make rolls but other than that he did it all. It was amazing! So delicious! And on top of the turkey he made the most delicious prime rib!! Ryan took the girls over to play and swim while Lars napped and I finished up on the rolls. I tell you, it was a pretty nice feeling to pack the rolls in the car, turn around and look at my clean kitchen, and then go eat an amazing meal knowing I was coming back to a clean house.

Second most impressive thing was that we got a good family photo. This is one of the outtakes, but I still think it's pretty good! We went back and forth about whether or not to get a photographer. In the end, we just decided to use Dan's nice camera. We posed everyone and left a spot for Shannon and Graham to hop into as they dashed in from the kitchen and it turned out nice! I love in this one how June is looking at Scarlett and they are holding hands. I'm so glad they have each other!

The O'Kelley family did most of the heavy lifting this Thanksgiving and we all appreciated it so much. I didn't get many photos, but that's because we were all just enjoying being together.