Day 2 - On the Road and Downtown Disney

Sunday morning we got ready and zoomed over to the local McDonald's since our hotel didn't come with breakfast. By the way, never get orange juice with your breakfast meal. It doesn't come with it, which we didn't realize. We ended up paying $8 just for orange juice. Anyway, we found our way onto the freeway and headed out.

We made it to Anaheim in pretty good time. On the way though we did let it slip to Lydia that Grandma Ellen would be flying in to join us for a couple of days on our trip. Adelle had already figured it out earlier in the week from discussions. The girls were excited. We checked into the Fairfield Anaheim across the street from Disneyland and then we went grocery shopping. We bought stuff for breakfast and lunch for each day and figured we would eat dinner at the park.

While Wes went to the airport to get Grandma the girls and I hung out at the hotel and we discovered that Violet likes watching the portable DVD player as well, especially Shawn the Sheep.

Once Wes and Grandma made it we decided to head out to Downtown Disney (shopping district) to buy autograph books for the girls. I also wanted to buy a Winnie the Pooh for Violet. I had the funnest time showing her all different types of Winnie the Poohs. She laughed at each one, especially the big one, which I ended up getting. I think he is as big as her.
We then headed to the Lego store and we all had a fun time looking around.

Adelle really wanted her picture taken on the GIANT Lego. I'm so glad we did! It is one of my favorite photos of the trip.

We walked back to our hotel around 8:30 because Violet was getting tired and cranky and because we knew we had a big day ahead. We discovered that the fireworks are SUPER loud at our hotel when they go off from 9:25 to 9:40. I think they set them off behind Space Mountain which was directly across the street from our hotel. The explosions even set off car alarms. Violet didn't seem to phased though which was good. We managed to get some sleep despite the noise and snoring.

Day 1 -What happens in Vegas should Stay in Vegas!

We started our road trip Saturday morning with a brand new car thanks to the Toyota not passing inspection and deciding that it wasn't worth putting money into a car that has over 200,000 miles on it. We found the portable DVD player at the last moment and hooked it up, but later remembered that Adelle gets car sick, so it was on sparingly. Violet did pretty well driving and we made it into Las Vegas in the late afternoon.

We stayed at the Best Western Mardi Gras instead of directly on the strip. We got a killer deal; the best rate of the whole trip and the room was pretty nice! Wes and the girls had never had a chance to visit the strip so we thought we would venture out for a little while to see the sights.

We decided to drive instead of taking the hotel shuttle so we could come and go as we pleased. The "sights" began early. Lydia spotted a vehicle that was advertising for female escorts. She was shocked to see the girl wearing next to nothing. Adelle was mesmerized by some girls partying in a SUV with their mega drinks. We all caught ourselves staring which encouraged them to liven things up even more. I asked Adelle to stop staring and she said "I can't resist".

It took us a little while to figure out where to park, but we ended up making it to the the mega MGM parking garage. We started our innocent walking adventure. I assumed we needed to go through the casino to make it to the actual strip. We found ourselves in a large lobby and took some pictures in front of the lion statue.

From there we headed through the casino section. It was a Saturday night and perhaps that should have kept us away. Things were wild, from girls in skimpy bikinis, and men in next to nothing showing practically everything (including some pink tight shorts). We felt so out of place with our little family. We knew though we were invading on their territory. We ended up walking quite aways into the hotel until we realized we'd gone the wrong way and sure enough we had to skirt the casino floor again which this time gave us a view of more party people including an inflatable female doll. At least she was wearing a shirt. Lydia was clinging onto me with all her might and looked so uncomfortable.

When we finally made it to the strip we took more pictures, this time in front of the giant, gold lion in front of the MGM. We then made our way further down the strip to be greeted by characters ranging from Michael Jackson, a smoking Jack Sparrow, a shady Hello Kitty and a Disney Character that looking a little off. Adelle seemed thrilled but I kept her walking and advised her she would get to meet a lot of characters in the park.

We tried the M&M store but with our stroller it was somewhat difficult and we decided not to hit more floors of the store. Instead we headed across the street to see New York, New York. On the bridge we met quite a few homeless folks and their signs, including one that was doing "alcohol research". We headed into the shopping area of New York, New York to be greeted by more party people yelling, whooping and flinging their drinks around.

We quickly made our way back to our car and heaved a sigh of relief. Lydia said Vegas was completely awful and she never, ever wants to see it again. She appeared to still be in shock from the sights, which mostly had been missed by Adelle. With Lydia being almost 11 she was much more aware. I have been to Vegas before and have seen it's better sides. The only thing I can figure is that we hit it at it's bewitching time on a Saturday night.

We snuggled down in our room and listened to the monorail zooming by and the party continuing on. I was more than content to leave it behind to head to Disneyland the next day :)

Violet is 5 months!

I know this post is overdue, but on 5/21/10 Violet hit the 5 month mark. I can't believe how fast she is growing. I think there is a huge difference between the first picture taken right after she turned 4 months and the last pictures. Violet is changing and growing in leaps and bounds. Wes said yesterday that he thinks her personality is starting to really take shape. She is starting to take an interest in certain toys and loves playing and visiting. For awhile she really loved her phone. Then the batteries got low and it was put to the side.

Next Lydia introduced Violet to the White Rabbit I made and she just thought he was the funniest thing. She just laughed at him and loved to suck on his ears. She also has taken again to her gym which she had grown tired of for a little while.

We tried rice cereal again and it went pretty well.

I don't think she cares much for the taste.

She can now sit at her high chair and join us at the table for dinner which we all love.

I love that smile! Just after her 4 month appointment, after I told the doctor how well

Violet sleeps, she decided to started waking up 2 -3 times a night. I thought perhaps if she started sleeping in her crib during the day for naps it would help her nighttime sleeping as well. The naps were rough at first and some crying was involved, but she is doing much better now. It is much easier to get her to nap in her crib which has improved her sleeping and mood during the day. There are still times when she will wake up 2-3 times a night, but overall the night sleeping is getting better.

I noticed a couple of weeks back that Violet has one little tooth trying to come in. It is on the left side of her mouth towards the front. There is just the tiniest, hard white spot. I don't think it has made her too cranky. It will be interesting to see how she does as it comes in more. She seems to be getting teeth much earlier than Adelle.

Violet absolutely loves the cat! She loves trying to pet her and just laughs and giggles when the cat is near.

Violet is rolling over more and more. In fact this morning she started on one side of the room and she made it to the middle of the room in just a few minutes. She will often get stuck on her stomach, but I have a feeling that is going to change super soon. I'll need to keep an eye on her!

Violet does pretty well on the go. She likes riding around in her car seat and the stroller. She does great at Lagoon and enjoys watching everything. I hope this will continue when we take a road trip to Disneyland in 5 days.

I love how happy Violet is becoming. I love her laugh! I love how she is less afraid of other people and how much she enjoys chatting. Yesterday a woman was visiting with me at church and she just started laughing and trying to interact with the women! Cute thing!!! We all feel so blessed to have her in the family!

"We Did It"

On Thursday Adelle had her "We Did It" Kindergarten celebration and performance. The kindergartners were super cute. They sang a lot of songs! I really enjoyed watching her. I got a little teary when they sang "What a Beautiful World". Adelle was nervous because they were also giving awards and she wasn't sure what she was going to get.

She really didn't need to worry though. She got two gold medals and was one of the top readers in her class. She was so happy and proud!

Her first year in school went pretty well. I think it will be nice for her to be more challenged next year though. She even had a little boyfriend she would hold hands with. I told her they should just be good friends, but I don't think she listened. I have a feeling that this is a sign of things to come :)

Lydia and her Violin

Recently Lydia had her orchestra concert at her school. She did great! It was great to see the progress that was made by the orchestra from earlier in the year. Lydia's Dad even flew out to see her. Lydia also auditioned and was chosen to sing at the talent show with one of her friends. They were excellent! It is amazing how much Lydia is growing up. I am grateful that she is open and will talk to me freely about the things that are happening in her life. She often looks to me for advice and I hope that continues for a long time. I love my grown up girl!

Lagoon with Uncle Phil

A couple of weeks ago, while Wes was still on the mend, the girls and I headed to Lagoon with Uncle Phil. He had really been looking forward to going and the girls will never say "No" to Lagoon. Phil and the girls jumped right on the rides and had a great time. Adelle especially took to Uncle Phil and loved holding his hand and wanted to ride almost every ride with him. Phil was a great bumper car driver!

Phil enjoyed making us laugh.

We enjoyed going on a few rides all together like the train, the merry go round, and Dracula's Castle.

Lydia snatched the frog on the merry-go-round.

Phil got the chicken and enjoyed clucking the whole ride. He thought he might have been too silly when the ride was over, but I told him he should just enjoy himself.

We were tired when the day was done, but had a wonderful time with Uncle Phil! We will have to go back with him again sometime soon.

Surgery, School and Mother's Day

Well things have been a little hectic recently. Passing by our house and viewing the ever growing grass you would wonder if someone actually lived there. We have been BUSY. Wes had surgery this past Thursday to remove his tonsils and he was pretty busy trying to catch up with work before his two week break. He was very nervous for the surgery on Thursday, but thank heavens it went all right. The doctor said there was quite a bit of nasty puss coming out when they cut his tonsils though (sorry for that visual). They sent the stuff of to a pathologist. I'm hoping it is nothing too bad. My mother in law watched the girls while I was there with my man. Wes was pretty funny coming out of anesthesia and said things that made me love him even more. He kept smiling and saying "I did it". It was quite a feat for him. Recovery was going pretty well until this morning. He had some bleeding and lost consciousness a couple of times. He seems to be doing better now, but the doctor did ask that I bring him into the office tomorrow. I have been pretty much here at home though keeping an eye on him and making sure he is drinking and eating enough. We are all a little stir crazy. It is all for a good cause though an I really hope he heals quickly, especially since we are planning on going on vacation at the beginning of June.

On another note, Adelle got accepted to go to an advanced reading program at another school. We are super excited for her. This means she will be taking a bus all by herself to a school on the other side of the valley. Hopefully that will go okay. I know it will be good for her to be more challenged.

Also, Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms! Adelle gave me a sweet little gift from school. Lydia forgot her gift at school and Wes...well he is in recovery mode so Mother's Day has been put on hold, especially since I am pretty busy taking care of the girls and Wes. I am very grateful to be a mother though. Motherhood can be rough at times, but when it really comes down to it I wouldn't trade it for the world.