QOTD

A little sweetness from Archer:

I was vacuuming the stairs this afternoon when Archer came tromping up the stairs with a piece of paper in his hand. He told me it was his treasure map (he had drawn a map and crumpled it up to make it look "old"), then he said "And YOU are the greatest treasure of all!" He told me that his treasure map had led him to me.

Awwww! This kid is seriously the sweetest 5-year-old ever!

Legoland

We actually started off our trip with a day at Disney before Legoland, but Legoland was only 1 day, and Disney was 3.5 days, so I'm starting small! 

The boys HAD to go to Legoland. It was a higher priority for them than Disneyland. Weirdo's! :) I'm glad we went, but really. It wasn't that great. There were a few rides that were fun, but when you compare it to Disneyland...well, no comparison in my opinion! It was fun for the kids though, and our longest wait in line was only about 10 minutes. The local people we talked to said there are hardly ever any lines. Definitely a plus! And the kids enjoyed the Lego Chima 4D movie too. 

The police/rescue area was a big hit with Archer, of course!

After Legoland, we hit the beach for a little bit. We didn't have a ton of time, and of course the kids were soaked within 10 seconds, but it was so nice to enjoy the sand, sunshine, and ocean! I've said it so many times, I know, but I miss the beach! The OCEAN beaches. Lake "beaches" don't cut it for me. They're okay - and much better than nothing! - but it's just not the same as the ocean. John and I both thought we could've used an extra vacation day just to spend it relaxing on the beach, but maybe next year.

I wrote "Bryton" in the sand, but B wanted to write it too...so, double Bryton!

Vacation!

Winter in N. Idaho makes me feel blah. It's SO cold. And snowy. And just blah. I thought I could go without a vacation this year (that was the plan, given the new-business-owner status), but about a month ago, John and I started to get the travel bug. We thought maybe we could swing another cruise (by far our favorite way to family vacation!), but when it came down to it, we couldn't justify the cost. I ended up finding a pretty spectacular deal on a Disneyland vacation - after way too much time searching and piecing it together! John only had to take 2 days off work, which was a definite bonus, and the kids only missed 3 days of school. Plus, we got to enjoy some BEAUTIFUL weather! It was close to 80 degrees most of the time we were there, and lots of SUNSHINE! 

So, while it wasn't necessarily a "relaxing" vacation, it was a much needed getaway for us. I'm a little sad to be back to the cold, drizzly weather, but I'm thankful that we had a few days of warmth, and also thankful that there is no snow here right now!

On the way to the airport

Stopping for milkshakes on our way to the airport at John's favorite spot

Kitty Baby & Ducky

This kid is constantly bouncing around!

No, this didn't last. We had to separate them before we even took off!

Disney/Legoland pics to come!

Dr. Seuss Day

This week is Spirit Week at the boys' school, and today was Dr. Seuss day. I actually probably would have forgotten about it, but thankfully a friend reminded me (and gave me the idea for star belly sneetch!), so I scrambled around and came up with some last minute Dr. Seuss costumes. Thank goodness for hot glue and a stash of craft felt!

Green eggs & ham, star belly sneetch, and the Lorax

Weekend of Skiing

The boys were off school Friday, so we decided to do a family ski day. I'm not a good skiier, so I usually avoid it, but I did quite a few runs on Friday. The boys are SO much better than me though, so they end up waiting for a while at the bottom. Oh well...they had Saturday to go crazy and ski all they wanted! 

Friday was perfect conditions. It was quiet. The snow was good. It wasn't too cold. I actually had fun (mostly). So I thought I'd try it again on Saturday...yeah. Not so great. It was well above freezing, and the snow was super sticky. I made it down one run (the easiest!) and called it a day. I camped out in the lodge until P's ski practice was done.

I ended up riding solo on the lift most of the time. The older boys want to ride together of course, and I'm not capable enough to help Archer get off the lift!

I took this pic accidentally as I was putting my phone in my pocket, but I love it. John is seriously always happy when he's skiing!

QOTD

Me: Bryton, why didn't you eat all of your carrots? (In his lunchbox)

B: well, because I always eat my carrots last and I ran out of time.

Me: soooo...eat your carrots first next time.

B: NO Moooom! Everyone knows that you eat the healthy food LAST so it takes over the bad food!

Birthday, take 2

We had Preston's "friends" birthday party this past weekend at Strike Zone (it's a Nerf gun arena place). It was so much fun, and despite the fact that there was a crazy amount of 8-9-10 year old boys there, it was pretty fun. Even a few of the dads got in on the action! We had quite a few boys show up, and even though it was pretty loud, Strike Zone was definitely a good place for it! 

I didn't get a good picture with all the chaos, but we did a "build your own" Minecraft "cake" - brownies with green frosting (dirt), Rice Krispie treats (made with chocolate and regular Rice Krispies, for coal), little bundles of red licorice (TNT), red jello (lava), and blue jello with gummy fish (water).

The next day was spent skiing, as are all of our Saturdays. Preston is still loving the race team, and B & A have definitely far surpassed my skiing abilities. I'm still working on enjoying the weekend being consumed by skiing. I'm not there yet, but hopefully soon! I do really want to enjoy it since the other family members do, but it's not really my thing!

In other big news, we have a trip to Disneyland coming up! It's been a few years since we've been there. I was hoping for another cruise, but logistically, it's hard for John to take that much time off from work...and a spectacular deal kinda fell into my lap, so Disney it is! (And Legoland. Archer wouldn't want me to forget about that!)