Dining with the Princesses and other Electrifying Experiences

Today was day two of our Disneyland vacation!  It was AMAZING!!!  We got up early and took advantage of our Early Entrance option on our passs!  We used that time to ride some of the rides in Fantasyland that do not have the Fast Pass option and get long lineups during the day.
After that, we had some time to spare before the California Adventure park opened, so we decided that we would stand in the line to get some autographs from some fairies!  Let me just say that the look on Anne's face when we saw Tinkerbell was TOTALLY worth it!!!  Anne was is Heaven and so that made the morning so much more special!!!
After that, as we were leaving the park to hop over to California Adventures, we ran into some good friends of ours.  We knew that there might be a small chance that they would come to Disneyland, but they hadn't solidified their plans by the time we had left, so it was AWESOME to run into them at the gates!
California Adventure was full of fun shows, rides and more!
Caroline's favorite Princess is Ariel, and from doing my research beforehand I found out that the only place that she is guaranteed to show up at is at Ariel's Grotto.  So, I prepaid for us to all eat lunch there today!  IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!  The food was AMAZING and we even got to personally meet and take pictures with the 5 major Princesses!!!  Caroline was in HEAVEN because we were in Ariel's house and Abby was in heaven because she got to meet Cinderella!!!  (I LOVE living the magic through my kiddies!)
The afternoon started off by watching the AMAZING Aladdin Musical Spectular!!  Because I had contacted a travel agency before my trip and booked everything through them, I was able to get these special passes that gave me preferred seating at every show!  It also gave me the early entry passes, and tomorrow we get to visit Mickey's Toon Town an hour before it opens up to the public and the Mickey Mouse characters that live there will interact with the kiddies and sign their books!!!!  AWESOME!!!  Anyways, because we had these special VIP seats to Aladdin, we were able to sit 5 rows from the stage and be surrounded by the entire musical!  The kids LOVED it and if I could have recorded Dustin's face, you would laugh and laugh.  Everything was so magical to him today!
One of the awesome things we learned about Lee is that his favorite Disney character is Donald Duck!  Who knew hey?  If you are not my friend on facebook yet, ask me and I will accept you so that you can see the cutest video of him calling out to Donald Duck!!!
After various other shows and roller coasters and dinner we settled down to watch my favorite parade which is the Disney Electrical Parade.  It definitely didn't disappoint! The girlies agreed with me that it was amazing and I was a bit sad that Dustin slept right through it.
Tomorrow is our last day here.  It has bee fun!  It has been REALLY magical.  It has been worth EVERY penny!!

Disneyland or BUST!!!

For those of you who don't know, we have been planning on surprising our kids with a trip to Disneyland during our Spring Break vacation.  It was really hard for me to keep it a secret for so long, but I managed and the KIDS WERE SO SURPRISED!!!
We had told the kiddies that we were going to go hiking in the Grande Canyon, but instead we drove to Anaheim.  We stopped to eat lunch at a Burger King that is right next to Disneyland.  The kids didn't even notice! While we were eating lunch with the kiddies, I told them that their daddy and I were thinking about our future vacations and asked them where they would like to go most in the whole wide world!  They all shouted at the same time without hesitation. . . .DISNEYLAND!!!
Otto and I smiled at each other and then loaded the herd back into the car.  While we were driving into the parking lot, I turned on the video camera and reminded them of our conversation at the Burger King.  I then asked them if they would be okay if we went to Disneyland instead of the Grande Canyon.  Abby said yes, Anne wanted more information and Caroline asked if that meant that they would have to be in the car longer.  I told them that we were there and that we just had to park!  They all got so excited and then Caroline, in her own monkey way threw up her arms and said "I'm going to Disneyland!!!  Whooo Hoooo!!!"  I don't think that Anne actually believed me until we were on the bus heading into the park.
Right now the park is PACKED!!  However, we have still had a lot of fun!  The kids have been great about going on every ride without complaining!  We even had Lee on the Madderhorn roller coaster!  (There are advantages to having a HUGE baby!)
We got great seats for the parade where we had a dance party and we just had a blast!!!  As each of the kids said to me at some point during the day. . . . this was the best day ever!
Abby said it best though when she told me that this surprise would be hard to beat in the future!
Oh kids!!!!

St. George

Well, we made it!  After another 8 hours in the car together, we MADE IT!!!  It was so much fun to be able to pull up at my Grandparent's place and see them!  We only live 5 minutes away from them at home and so when they winter in St. George we miss them alot!!!!
As soon as we got here, Grandma and I went fabric shopping so that my friend Annette can make me a beautiful dress for my sister's wedding in June.  Otto and Grandpa took the kiddies for a walk.  When we were all done, we all went SWIMMING in the swimming pool by my grandparent's place.  It was great!  The kids had so much fun!  Otto and I had fun too.  Then it was pizza for dinner followed by some visiting, playing outside with toys and then falling asleep watching Wall-E!
What a great day!
Today we will go to church with my Grandparents and then it will be off to my favorite LDS temple to take pictures with my family!  SO MUCH FUN!!!

ROAD TRIP

Yesterday was DAY 1 of our road trip.  It consisted of 11 hours with 5 kids in the van.  With the exception of a little bit of fighting, I think that it went pretty well.  I was proud of the kids!  Now I just need to convince them that another 8 hours together in the van is something to look forward to!

A Little Uptight

Last night I was lazy and I took the kiddies to Wendy's for dinner because we were running errands and I wanted them to be happy while they waited in the car for me to run into various places.  Whenever Dustin gets a drink he always wants "Black Sprite" meaning rootbeer.  I always think it is hilarious that he calls rootbeer "Black Sprite" and I always giggle to myself when I hand it to him.  Last night, however, having Dustin call his rootbeer "Black Sprite" triggered a memory that has always stuck with me.  I think it is because I was shocked that someone could be that uptight, or maybe it was because I am busy getting everyone ready to go on vacation and I am exhausted.  Whatever the case, here is the story. . . . what do you think?
When Abby was 4 years old I had put her into a FANTASTIC preschool.  I had spent hours researching which preschool to register her in and I woke up bright and early on registration day to go and register her in the amazing school.  I LOVED this preschool.  I loved that they had 3 different rooms that they cycled the kids though and taught them different things in those rooms.  I loved that they had 2 way mirrors so that I could stand outside of the classroom and watch how she was doing.  I loved her teachers and how they interacted with Abby.
One day, I was a few minutes late picking Abby up from preschool.  When I went inside, the director of the school, the principal and the teacher were all waiting with her.  I thought that they were all just waiting to go home and had decided to keep Abby company while she waited for me.  As I walked into the room, they all stood up and introduced themselves.  I greeted them happily and gave Abby a hug while apologizing for being late.  They said it wasn't a problem, but that was not why they were there.  They then proceeded to tell me that there was a little girl who had recently started going to the preschool and she was black.  They then told me that Abby had been playing with a toy and the girl had taken it from her.  This had upset Abby and so she went and told the teacher that the "Black" girl had taken her toy.
THIS IS WHAT HAD CAUSED ALL OF THEM TO GREET ME THAT DAY!!!
The principal made it very clear that they would not tolerate ANY racism in the classroom and that Abby's behaviour was unacceptable.  I was shocked!!!  These ladies were lecturing me about the fact that Abby had called this little girl "black".  They started lecturing me on racial tolerance and teaching it to my kids.  After about 5 minutes I started to get bored of being lectured because I didn't think that Abby had done anything wrong.  So, I told them what I thought.  I told them that I realized that there is going to be diversity in a classroom.  I told them that while it may not be right to label people based on the color of their skin, sometimes when you are 4 and you can't remember a person's name because you have seen them only once before and you are asked to try and name that person, maybe you try to describe them instead.  I would think that the first thing that would pop into a 4 year old's (or 40 year old's) head to describe this one little girl who was the only one who was black would be to mention the color of her skin so that the teacher wouldn't be confused as to who it was that Abby was talking about.  I also mentioned to the teachers that Abby did not actually call the girl "black" to her face and so the necessary apology that they wanted to enforce on Abby would not be acceptable.  I also asked the ladies if there had ever been any other problems with Abby, at all.  They told me "no".  I then told them that this was not going to be something that I would be discussing with Abby because I didn't feel as though she had done something wrong.  I then took Abby by the hand and took her home.
I know that I can be obnoxious and I am REALLY stubborn when it comes to defending my kids.  However, I am curious to know what you guys think?  What would you have done?  Do you think that the teachers were right?  Let me know!

A LOT of laughs and a LITTLE less hair!

A couple of funny incidents have happened around here lately that I think I would be a bad person if I didn't record them somewhere!  For any of you who know my 4 year old son, Dustin, you will understand this first one completely!
DUSTIN:  (climbing into the van) Mom, why is there a rock in the van?
MEGAN: (wondering out of all of the things that are on the floor in the van how Dustin could have possibly noticed a rock) To make little boys ask questions.
DUSTIN:  (Stares at Megan)
MEGAN:  Did it work?
DUSTIN: (A light turns on in his little genious head) YES!!!  I DID ask questions!!!  (Turning to Caroline) Caroline, let's go put this rock out and then little boys will come up to us and ask questions!!!
MEGAN:  (Can't even pull out of the driveway because she is lauging so hard!)

Classic Dustin!

The second event wasn't so funny for me, but I back onto a street and so when I BBQ people can definitely see me.  Some of my friends even honk as they drive by!  Tuesday was a beautiful day, and the forecast for the rest of the week wasn't supposed to be as nice.  I have been really sick for about a week and so I thought that it might be a nice treat if we broke out the BBQ and had homemade (from scratch) hamburgers for dinner.  Otto was at cello lessons with Abby, so it was all up to me.  I usually do the BBQing anyways, so it was nothing new.  I turned on the propane and thought it was a bit weird that I could actually hear it.  I flicked the lighter and BOOM!  A fireball launched at my face.  Caroline couldn't stop laughing at me because of the look on my face.  I immediately thought "Oh no!  My hair!!" and ran inside.  Well, for those of you who don't know, when you get a fireball thrown at your face, your hair instantly shrivels up and it looks like you have a bag of sawdust thrown on your head.  Yep!  I know that from experience now!  I have a spot in the front and center of my head where it now looks as though I took clippers and buzzed part of my hair off.  I am currently researching the latest hair trends to see if there is a trendy way for me to cover up that spot seeing as I just spent a lot of money getting my hair cut and dyed.
So yes, that was funny!  And yes, we will be getting a new BBQ this spring seeing as this one is now fried just like my hair!

I'm at a loss for people who have suffered a loss

Growing up, I have been surrounded by people who are amazing at helping others when they need it.  My mother is the most incredible person in a crisis.  She can keep a level head and look at things very logically.  My mom is a very busy woman, and she likes it that way.  The greatest thing about her, though, is that she will drop everything that she has going on if someone in her family needs help.  She is amazing and she has helped me through some really tough times!
My Grandmother is another example of someone who is amazing at service.  Growing up I would always end up accompanying her to visit someone in the hospital, someone who is sick or just someone that she was thinking about and decided to take a meal to, just because.  Whenever someone would have something happen in their lives, instead of saying "If you need anything, just let me know", she would simply do things.  She would take their laundry and do it for them, or clean their house, or show up randomly with food, or take them to run errands.
These amazing women have taught me so much about service, and because I am such a loyal person, if someone that I really care about needs something, I am always there.  I make sure that I help my family and friends whenever I can because it is my way of showing them I love them.
Right now I am having a bit of a hard time.  There is a person in my church whom I have always admired and her mother has just passed away suddenly.  I have never been in a position where someone who I don't know really well, but still care about has needed help.  What do I do?  What do YOU do???  Do I offer the simple non-commital phrase of "If you need anything, just let me know."?  Do I bring her a meal?  Right now I am baking her a bunch of snacks and quick foods to have on hand as her family comes and stays with her, but is there anything else that I can do?  I tried calling her this morning, but she is having a really hard time and couldn't really talk.  What would YOU do???
I would love some ideas because I am truly at a loss here.

Olympics and Bronze

It has been a very exciting time at our house lately.  My kids have LOVED watching the Olympics!  It all started when their Grandma Wilson got to run the torch and we all got to go down and watch her!  SO MUCH FUN!!  Then it continued with daily updates on the medals and ended with a FANTASTIC hockey game!
I think that the highlight of the weekend was when Abby won her Bronze medal game in basketball on Saturday.  We were told that you needed 2 losses to be out of the tournament, but apparently it was only one loss, so it came as a great surprise to the other coach and I and all of our parents on Saturday!  We were very proud of the girls.  It was a great way to wrap up the season!  Abby wore her medal all day long and then she brought it to church on Sunday.  Four of her other teammates also go to our church, so it was cute to watch them all wear their medals to church on Sunday and show them to their teacher!  Abby told me that she felt as though she won a medal at the olympics.  I THINK THAT'S FANTASTIC!!!!  I was so proud of her!  The other coach and I told the girls that this was their first medal in a long line of medals that they will be receiving for basketball!  I sure hope that's true!!!
So, WAY TO GO ABBY!  Bronze all the way!!!!