Life feels like it is settling into a pace that we can keep up with.  It is different being on our own now without the help of my parents.  We miss them all of the time.  But we are learning to  make it work.

We have really good friends who we enjoy spending time with.

Even Ty is learning who is boss...but he still has some work to do.

We are finding fun things to be interested in and learn about.

 And of course we have each other.  When we lived in Vegas we learned a lot about relaying on each other and the wonderful family that we made through work and church and each other.  We are applying those skills again.

And we are enjoying the time we have to entertain ourselves.

Carter is 4, A&K visit and Amanda is Home

So last week was pretty normal for the most part.  Threw an Epic birthday party for Carter, started the kids in soccer, took G to school, pretended to have time to do house chores, worked and played.  The major difference was that Andrew and Katherine have been here visiting and we started the week off with a trip to the ER. Oh and we finished it off with Aunt Amanda returning from her mission to Kobe Japan.

So here is some of the details...

The kids started soccer and loved it.  Carter almost got in a fight at his first practice. I guess he doesn't like the part where someone tries to take the ball from him. :)  Georgia and her good buddy Madi loved it too.  They stuck together with another friend Braelyn, who are the only girls on their team.

Carter turned 4!  This kid he is really something.  He drives me bat crap crazy but I love him.  He is my little man.  He went swimming with Stephen and Georgia the other week (way too cold form but those nut jobs are more than welcome to go) and decided that he wanted to have an "Epic" pool party for his birthday.  Sure.  Why not.  Your birthday is in January.  Let's have an "Epic" pool party.  But we do live in South Florida so I decided to indulge him.  (Side bar real quick...Our whole marriage Stephen has said "why do we have to throw big parties for their birthdays, they are gonna get spoiled?" To which I reply "blah blah blah." But I compromised last year that we would do small parties every other year like a play date at the park with cup cakes a couple friends over to watch a movie and do make overs, etc. and then the opposite year I could plan and prep a little bigger party with Pinterest food tables and three to four weeks of planning. So this year was supposed to be totally small for Carter.  Until Dad decided it would be fun and jumped on board. I can't really complain too much.  I got to have a party either way and this year Dad did way more work planning it. Win Win)

Ok, so back to the party.  I was nervous about the pool aspect.  Even though it is Florida and 75 degrees I wasn't sure how the swim would play out but despite a cold snap on Thursday it all seemed to work out. The kids had fun swimming and coloring and we had fun visiting and nibbling. Carter seemed to really enjoy it and we definitely helped him feel special and loved on his birthday.

Saturday night/Sunday morning just after midnight I go to check on Ty because he is fussing. He sounds congested and so I pick him up and nurse him.  While nursing I notice how terrible his breathing sounds.  So when we finish I ask Stephen what he thinks.  His breath is labored, he is wheezing and seems to really be having a hard time so Stephen says we should take him in.  So I get dressed and take him to ER here in Coral Springs.  I always worry about ER's because they are so busy and the wait is sooo long.  So I check him in and within a minute a nurse is taking us back to a room.  Within 30 minutes we were with a doctor.  That was great and they seemed to know what they were doing too.  Even better. :) Turns out he had croup.  Which is treatable with a steroid and breathing treatments. So we stayed for the next hour while he did those treatments and then when he was finally feeling better he laid himself down on the hospital bed.  Snuggled up to a blanket, put his thumb in his mouth and went to sleep.  He seemed to be bouncing back quickly until he came down with a really bad drippy nose and tons of drool.  Then I found his third tooth was breaking through.  So we have been helping him to get over the major congestion and I think we are on the mend, finally.
 

We are really excited to have Andrew and Katherine visiting this week.  We got to see them several times.  It is always fun to play and visit and joke about the past. Some of the best times are watching Andrew get experience the babies.  The video below is really funny watching Andrew try and use the aspirator to clear out his nose.

Another week of soccer.  Getting better each week and rockin the high pony tail.

Welcome home baby sister!

Gigi is 3 and Terrific!

Of the many lessons that I have learned from my parents I learned birthday's are important. To me a birthday is celebrated with the same kind of excitement and enthusiasm as any important holiday. The whole day should be filled with examples of how life is better with you in the world. However, Stephen looks at the celebration of birthdays a little different. I think he agrees that it is a day to treat the birthday boy or girl special, but I know he would be happy with simple cake and ice cream and that's that. Though I agree that not every year do we need to go over the top. I haven't quite figured out which birthdays should be the whole production and which should be more simple. So, for Gigi, we have had one simple year and two pretty big celebrations. But I loved the planning and carrying out of her party. I really love all the work and time that I get to put into every detail. It is so nice to have a creative outlet.  This year, my parents offered to pay for the party as their gift to G. We were happy to accept that gift and get to work. It was also fun because then they were excited to hear how their money was being spent. Knowing that it was their money and not mine I tried my best to keep it reasonable.

Gigi decided that the theme would be Princess Tea Party. I then went to work. I looked at tons of websites and pictures. I asked around and payed attention to what was going on at other party's. Then I came up with ideas that I liked and how I wanted to carry out the big day.

At age 3, kids need structure and varied activities. So I came up with different activities that I wanted to do and then put together a schedule. In the invitation the girls invited were encouraged to attend the party in Princess attire.  When they arrived at the party they had their picture taken with the birthday girl and then came up to the party room where they decorated a tiara to wear for the party.  It was so fun to see each girl dressed for the event.  Gigi invited several girls and most of them came.  I was surprised to see there were no repeat princesses.  That is a good sign.  After the first craft they played musical chairs.  We put pillows on the ground for the chairs.  At Gigi's age I learned very quickly that winners and losers are not an understandable concepts.  So...everyone won.  We kept enough pillows in the circle for each girl and they had fun going around in circles and sitting down quickly.  After this fun game the girls made a beaded bracelet.  It was nice that we can so many moms stick around and help their little girl with her craft.  After the bracelet it was time for the main event.  The tea.  I made little sandwiches and fruit and Gigi's favorite chip, Cheetos Puffs.  Then the kids drank pink lemonade from a tiny little tea set.  It was darling.  I taught the little girls to clink their cups and drink with their pinkies in the air.  After the feeding was over it was time to open presents.  Gigi got lovely gifts all of which were right on theme.  Then it was almost time to go.  So we had cake!  As the kids were eating their cake I read to them from a Princess book.  We were going to read Pinkalicious (Gigi's favorite book) but I couldn't find it for some odd reason.  Luckily one insightful friend (or mom) gave Gigi the cutest princess story book.  So I read to the kids from that book.  While I read the kids ate their pink cupcakes.  After the story was over Gigi helped give the kids their party bags and a balloon and off they went.  Done.

I think it really turned out so nice.  Gigi was a gracious hostess.  She seemed to include her friends and have a great time.  She insisted that Coco be awake during the party (he still takes two naps a day and is bed by 8 pm) and she asked that he wear his dragon costume.  Bubba wore a crown he won at a carnival and I threw together a fancy gown using a slip from my wedding dress and a bridesmaid dress.  Why didn't I think of this on Halloween I do not know.  But it was fun that the whole family was dressed up and working together.  Stephen even found the cutest little princess rings that we used for toppers on the cupcakes.  I used all the creativity I had left and made teacups and saucers out of marshmallows and sugar cookies dipped in melting candy.  They were just a dessert option but they were pretty cute. 

Gigi is the best!  I am so glad she let me put this together for her.  Next year maybe pirates or western.  Then the kids can have a joint party.  We shall see. :)

Coco Baby is 1!!!!

Twelve Months of Coco Baby!!!

Blue baby in the NICU.Key to sleeping: Fisher Price Sleep and Play. I Love You!!!Big Sister and Little BrotherHappy Easter!Loves his MommaFirst trip to the pool. Loves water just like sister.
Summer fun. Relaxing and watching some t.v.Two handsome boys ready for church in their suits.Someone gave this boy some whip cream on mommies birthday.Favorite person: Georgia First Word: Georgia First thing he looks for when he wakes up: GeorgiaLearning to stand up: Happy Thanksgiving!First trip to the beach and the east coast.

That's our handsome little man!

My little Coco baby is now Carter boy! Well not quite but he is getting there. I can't believe our little man is already one. Since yesterday I have been thinking a lot about this time last year. It was a whirl wind. On Monday I went to the hospital for an amnio. On Tuesday the prepped me for the c-section. Then took Carter to the NICU immediately. Then he and I tried to get strong as quickly as possible from different hospital rooms. I hated it! I know the Lord has a plan and believe me I learned so much from this experience, but I hope we never have to go through that again. Some things I learned were that #1 The rain falls on both houses. Looking at the different moms and their babies I realized that trial come regardless of who we are but the way we live our lives prepares us for the rain. We can face the trials of life with clarity, support and faith when we follow the gospel principles that we find in the scriptures. #2 of those principles I was taught how important fasting is again. I don't fast very often because of my health but when I do it is usually from something not a full fast. I fasted from sweets for 24 hours. I knew through prayer and the faith of Stephen that Carter would be okay but I still felt so sad and worried. I fasted with the purpose of feeling closeness to the Lord. I know that the spirit was strong with me because of that effort I made to sacrifice. #3 How blessed I am to have my mom. She went through a loss of a baby when I was 11. I was so grateful to have her here to support us. She was able to understand my crazy that week I think because she new what I was feeling. #4 How much I love my children. I was so worried about Carter and wanted to do all I could to help him but I also worried about Gigi and her ability to understand why her mom was gone and couldn't come home with her. I know some moms who don't leave their babies sides but I felt a need to take care of both of my children. Luckily the nurses at the NICU were amazing. I had complete confidence in them and what they were able to provide for my baby boy. So when I left to take care of Gigi I knew he was in good hands. (But I was still pumping every two hours to make sure that I was providing him the nutrition he needed to get strong and come home.) #5 I have a wonderful husband. Bubba was so strong and supportive. He puts up with my crazy better than anyone. When I feel like I am falling apart he is always there picking up the pieces and keeping us all together. He doesn't show his fear because he knows I need him to be my rock.

Carter has come a very long way from the 5lb 15 oz baby in the NICU. He is so bid and strong. But he has always been a strong boy. Carter is just a happy, curious, loving boy. He is happiest when Georgia is in the same room as him or he is following her around the house. They play well together and G loves her Coco baby too. She calls him things like Coco baby or Coco boy and Son. I love when she calls him son it is too funny. He also gets really excited when he sees his Dad. I know he loves me so I think it is too cute how excited he gets to see his Dad.
Carter currently is walking, making talking noises, gives momma kisses, eats most things put in front of him especially protein like chicken, turkey, eggs and hot dogs. He loves doing Itsy Bitsy Spider and Patty Cake. Just today in church I noticed him trying to sing the hymns in Sacrament meeting and Primary. He likes t.v. for a few minutes and then he is off again. He likes some books with things that stick out of the pages like the fish counting book. He says Georgia, Hi Dad, Momma, sometimes it sounds like Nana and he loves to point at things. He doesn't like his car seat, diaper changes or sleeping through the night. He is a flirt and very social. Out with his Dad the other day he got a free balloon because he kept flirting with the people at the party store. Bubba thinks he might be more active than Gigi. Heaven help us! Carter smiles a lot and loves to show off all three (almost 4) of his teeth. He also just started learning how to color. He likes to try and color but then he gets hungry and tries to eat the crayons. He is in the process of switching over to cows milk which means we will miss out on some special bonding time. But we'll make it up somehow. On Carter's actual birthday we drove out to the hospital so that Carter to could make a donation of some clothes and blankets for other little baby boys. The nurses were excited to see us and thankful for our gift. They couldn't believe how bid Carter was and that he ever started out in their NICU. It does seem crazy to think. He really is such a big boy now. On Saturday after his birthday we through a little party and invited a few people for cake and ice cream to help us celebrate. I now there is so much more to say about Carter. He rocks! He has made such an amazing contribution to our family and we are so grateful to have him. He helps me be a better person. I am so glad that we figured out a way that I can work from home and be with him and Gigi.

I'm Nana!

Gigi has started to enjoy the world of make believe. She will walk around the house all the time talking to herself and making her little play worlds. She sings "Once Upon a Dream" to her babies. She dresses up like a fairy with her costumes and just the other day she played a new game called I'm Nana. She pretends to be Nana and I get to be someone else in her life. Some days I am Amanda or Jayni or even once I think I was Grandma Marci (my mom's sister). It is too cute. She pretends she has money and goes shopping and on airplanes and changes into imaginary pants before she get's on the plane. Different rooms in the house are different people's houses. I got to be a bad fairy the other day, but I seemed to be very nice, I let her come to my house and she didn't want me to be mean. I am not quite sure why I was a fairy. I guess just because she watched too much Sleeping Beauty. It is her favorite I think because she wears the pink dress in most pictures you see here in. Pink is her favorite color. I love her little mind. It is amazing watching her grow and mature and develop new ideas and thoughts. The other day we tricked her on which body part was which and now she tries to do it to us. It's a little game I learned from my Grandpa Don. I love that she loves to play and be funny. She is great.

Andrew and Katherine's Wedding!!!

Where to begin... First I would like to recognize that I need to take more pictures. I have become completely overwhelmed in this crazy life and I need to take more pictures. Well on my camera that is. I have tons of pictures on my cell phone, but let's be honest the quality is never as good. (At least not with my phone). Bubba and I have decided that time has come for us to get a fancy camera. So we are going to ask Santa for one.

Okay back to Andrew. Andrew and Katherine decided to get married in Navoo. Which though very romantic seemed like it would be quite the ordeal (more for us than for others, we are the only ones with small children) but I have to say it all went way smoother than I would ever have expected. My only regret of this trip is that we didn't have more time (and take more pictures). Andrew was so happy. I can't believe our little boy, "the boy" is married. I am so happy for him and Katherine. I think she will fit right in to this crazy family of ours. Even if she's a democrat. :)



We started out the trip in Chicago/Naperville. After Jayni and Amanda picked us up from the airport we drove out to a very nice suburb of Chicago called Naperville. I had been here before to visit friends including BFF Stephanie "HotRod" Rodriguez and her family years ago. But I guess I didn't realize through those visits how great this place is. Then again at those times in my life I really wasn't looking for a place to raise a family when I visited before. We all loved Chicago. The drive from the airport took at really long time. Someone in the car decided that she needed to eat Boston Market for lunch because they don't have it where she lives and somehow instead of stopping at the one in Napperville she led us on an almost hour detour to one if some town in some ghetto looking area that I can't even remember now. But once we got to the restaurant it was in a really cute little downtown. And she loved the food and everyone was mostly happy after that. So I don't think anyone is still holding it against me, I mean her.

Out flight got in just late enough that we missed getting to go to the Chicago temple with Katherine but early enough that we had plenty of time to make it to her shower that night. I was nice meeting her friends and her mom and getting to know more about Katherine. The next day we headed into to the city for some sight seeing. The Chamber's (my dad's sister's family) and Grandma Mary came from California to support Andrew. We got to spend the day with them and that was really nice. We went to Navy Pier and had other plans for after that but with the kids and the traffic and having to be back in Naperville for dinner at Katherine's families favorite deep dish pizza restaurant we headed back after walking around the pier. I think all of us girls were hoping to make it to a little more shopping but it happens. It wasn't our main priority. Gigi and Carter were really good. They are little troopers. They both had more attention than they knew what to do with. We didn't get to even do everything you would want to do while at the pier but Gigi did get to ride a train, we got some Garrett's Popcorn (a Chicago must, the Carmel/Cheddar Chesse mix is really good) and we sampled some of America's Hot Dogs. This place of course carried the Chicago Dog (hot dog, pickles, tomato, onion, mustard (I think) and jalapeno on a poppy seed bun), they also had about 20 other types of hot dogs from around the country. We tried the Memphis Dog (pulled bbq pork, fried onion and I think some slaw) and the Richmond Dog (mac n cheese and bacon crumbles, oh yah). Granted what did Bubba and I need three hot dogs for but they were so good. Beside, what would Quinn and Bubba have said if I came back without the Richmond dog. I think I would have been kicked out of the family.

That night we had some deep dish pizza (you eat it with a knife and fork). It was really good but I am not sold. I am still all about the New York style. Thin, dripping with cheese and delicousness, fold it up and allow it to melt in your mouth. I am getting hungry just thinking about it. But the Veggie pizza at this place was great. It was really fun sitting around visiting and enjoying each others company.

On Friday morning we set off for Navoo. It was a four hour drive and the happy couple had to be in Carthage before close of business to get the marriage license. That drive was really long, not to mention the 2 year old who is now potty trained needed to stop and go. We decided to buy diapers when we got to Chicago but didn't need them until we were on our way to Navoo. Did you know there is nothing? I just figured there would be a Wal-Mart. But there was not no convenient Wal-Mart. It would have added another hour to our drive getting to the Wal-Mart once we left Carthage. So we went to the local Piggly Wiggly (or whatever it was called) and bought diapers. Note to self, know where you are going. I love small towns but you just never know what you are going to find.

In Carthage we went to the jail where Joseph Smith Jr. and his brother Hyrum were martyred. It was a need place and a good opportunity. I am glad we got to go and take the tour. Again, wish we had had more time to visit the church history sites. We finally made it to Navoo. I was getting pretty hungry and guess what they don't have in Navoo, fast food places. I am telling you, next time we go I am gonna be prepared. We checked into our hotel. It was darling. #1 We stayed in the Joseph and Emma suit. #2 We were able to share the suite with my whole family (parents and siblings and Polk's) #3 It was really nice. Three bedrooms, two full baths and little kitchenette and a huge balcony looking out at the back of the temple, gorgeous. I can say other than the distance the kids picked a really nice place to get married. We only had a couple hours before the church history sites closed for the night and before we had dinner with all the people who had come down for the wedding. My parent's friends the Lake's came out to support. It was really fun seeing them. They have been really good friends to my parents over the years. I know they are both really lucky to have each other. :)

In the morning we got ready for the wedding. Of course this can be dramatic trying to get that many people ready on time and out the door and leaving my children to get ready by my sisters while B and I went to the sealing was fine but of course I would have liked to be there to help. But when we all came out of the temple there everyone was ready and waiting. Andrew and Katherine looked so happy. It was so nice to be there and experience this with them. The Navoo temple is really just that wonderful inside and out. Gigi thinks this is where she will be getting married. She is so in love with the temple and getting married there to of course her boy ( a darling little boy from our ward named Matthew, who's parents and us have joked about them getting married since Gigi was born). It just melts my heart. I don't know who taught her that she could get married in the temple, I guess us talking about the temple and taking her up to the Las Vegas temple and walking around, she put it all together. She really is bright :). Any chance she got she would go out on the balcony to see the temple and tell anyone who would listen that she was going to get married there to her boy. Just lovely.

The temple has a waiting building across the street which was so nice. We changed after the wedding and pictures and headed back up to Naperville for the reception. We had already helped decorate on Thursday night so when we headed back things would be mostly ready to go. The four hour drive seemed to take so much longer. Again with the potty breaks. On the way down my Dad was very focused on getting Andrew and Katherine to the court house to get ther marriage license so we didn't stop for good, on the way back we stopped for every thing we saw. Not really, but I feel like we ate a lot. I just wish we had had one more day in Navoo, it was just lovely.

I swear she had shoes on at one point. That girl and her shoes.

Aunt Jayni and Carter in his suit.Big Cheese. I think this is the picture I bribed her with a lolly pop for. She doesn't mind pictures but once you take it let's move on. She is not a fan of sitting in front of the camera for hours trying to get the right shot.

I was trying to make the same face as Carter. I think I got it. :)

So here is a prime example of my lack of photography, where is my picture of the happy couple , no where to be found. Oh well, I will still some day from my mom.

At the reception Stephanie's parents came by to say hello. It was fun to see them and visit for a minute. Just made me miss my Steph. Then after the reception (well after the happy couple left) my family left. We stayed in a hotel in near the airport. Again wish we had stayed longer at the hotel. It was nice but the real reason was because when we got to the airport at 8 am we found out that our flight had been delayed until 2:30 pm. Awesome! I really thought I would cry. But I learned a valuable lesson that day. Life really is what you make it. If you have a bad attitude then life stinks, it you have a good one then you really can make the best out of a bad situation. The kids were exhausted from staying up late the night before. We got up really early to make it to the airport and then my parents flight was on time so there we were stuck. After waiting with my parents and sisters to get them on their plane we started to go for a walk. We had already checked our luggage and we thought about taking a cab to the city but what it something changed with our flight, we didn't want to be too far away. So we started to walk. It dawned on me that we needed to make the best of this situation. I turned to Bubba and said let's just pretend this is what we wanted to happen today. Let's have a good attitude about it and enjoy our day in the airport. We ended up getting to do some of the things we missed out on. We found a play area that was an extension of the Chicago's Children's Museum that we didn't get to go to but had wanted to. Gigi played there for a long time and loved it and even made some friends. I walked all around the airport terminals and did some souvenir shopping. Carter took a good nap. We ate lunch at my favorite restaurant Chili's with our meal vouchers from the airline. That's right Spirit you charge me for everything on you airline but I got lunch out of you. When we got back to the gate at about the time we would have anyway, Gigi passed out. We played on a blanket on the floor with Coco and it turned out to be a pretty nice morning. The flight home went smooth and the kids did great.

If it didn't snow if Chicago and get so cold in the winter we might think of going back. It was really nice and it seemed clean and fresh for some reason. It was lovely being with the family and sharing in this wonderful time in Andrew and Katherine's lives. We wish them the best and hope to someday live close enough to all our family to enjoy them more often. We did get of course that time with the Chamber's which as it turns out was our third visit with them just this summer. So even though we don't get to see our parents and siblings much we do get to build these great relationships with our extended family.

California!!!

We all needed a family vacation. Stephen more than any of us. So in June we started planning a little family get away. We were looking at just spending a couple days on the beach, maybe go camping, visit some family, try a theme park. We really weren't sure what we wanted to do but we did know we wanted to get away and California always holds so many options for us. I thought it would be fun to take Gigi to Knott's Berry Farm. They have a lot of really cute activities for little kids and I have always been a fan of the Peanuts characters. However, Stephen wasn't overly impressed by Knott's (poor me) so he suggested Disney. (Of course I would have but I didn't think I could convince him to take us to Disney!) So I agreed to that wonderful idea. Only I have ever been to the Disneyland so I was really happy to get to share my childhood memories and love for Disney with my family. I know that Disneyland is not for everyone. I believe there are two ways to enjoy Disneyland. Either you go as a child and grow up loving it or you go as an adult and watch the excitement in your child's eyes. Stephen went to Disney World once for Grad Night. He wasn't that impressed. I knew this trip would change all of that for him. We also got to share our trip with my little sister Amanda who really wanted to come out and spend a little time with us this summer so it worked out great to have her come with us. Another set of hands is never a bad thing with two babies. It was a lot of fun to have her. I am glad she wanted to use her last summer of her high school year to spend time with me and my little family. We also meet up with my Aunt Margaret and my cousin Becca in Anaheim. It was really nice to get to spend time with them. Not only was it great to spend time with them they are the best tour guides we could ask for. They new where we were always, how to get to the next place, what we would like in each part of the park, where food and bathrooms were. It was great. They were great about doing all the little kid stuff. But we did make time to do a couple big kids rides. I was even more impressed with Disney now as an adult. The restrooms were clean with little lines (I personally never had to wait), the whole park was clean, and the staff was friendly and helpful. We got to the park a little after it opened and we were able to get on a bunch of rides with little or no lines. By 10 am we had done Dumbo, Casey Jr.'s Train, Tea Cups, Alice, Peter Pan, Carousel, met Princesses and we were on the big train. It was great. The big girls went off for a little while to ride Space Mt. .then we all met back up in Toon Town where Gigi finally got to meet Mini and Mickey Mouse and enjoy their houses. She loved it all. That took just a little bit longer. While we were waiting in line to meet Mini, Stephen decided to spoil the kids and bought Gigi and Amanda really cute Mini Mouse head bands and Carter a traditional Mickey hat with his named embroidered on the back. We took some pictures and then Gigi went on the roller coaster. She was a little scarred but she loved it, unlike the indoor rides. We learned they were too dark and scary. After a nice relaxing lunch I got to change Carter's clothes (thank you very much). Gigi even fell asleep for a little bit. Then Bubba and Margaret went on the pirate ship with the kids and the girls and I went on Big Thunder Mountain. This was my first Roller Coaster Post pregnancy. I know it isn't the most intense ride but it was great fun. Amanda and I tried to keep our arms up the whole time. It really does make things more fun. Oh and you also have to scream. Then we went and saw the Tiki Birds. I was pretty surprised that Gigi liked it because it is in a dark room but I tried to teach her that the animals were just toys and that they move because they have batteries. Then she wasn't scared of the birds. There is even a bird named Gigi. I told her that and she called all the birds that looked like that one Georgia birds. It was cute. She even stood up and danced along. We took a big group picture in front of the castle and then we split up for a little bit and Margaret and Becca went shopping with Amanda. We were told we should try the corn dogs on Main Street so we started making out way over there. By then it was close to Parade time so we found a good spot to sit and watch the parade. Gigi found some older boys to make friends with. They were really nice to her. While waiting Bubba and Gigi went and rode a rocket ride by where we were waiting. Then we got to enjoy the parade. It was really the highlight of my day. Ok I admit I really liked the parade, but Gigi did too. It was so cute watching her. During one of the floats the gorilla from Tarzan came over and gave Gigi high five. She was a little nervous at first but she did it and was so cute about it. We then met back up with the others for our fast pass for Indiana Jones. I didn't remember that ride being so intense. While we rode that Stephen took the kids on the Jungle Cruise. We really liked how many of the kids rides we could carry Carter on too. That was really nice. Carter didn't get scarred at all, he is so brave. :) We also did the the Winnie the Pooh ride which Gigi call Winnie the Poop and then the Monterrail. After that we looked our pictures from the day, Margaret and Becca left to start going home and we finished up some shopping and buying some food we wanted to try including a Turkey Leg. Yum! We really had such a great time. Maybe the Disney magic worked on me too. I loved Disney as a child but I think I love it even more now that I have experienced it with my own child. She woke up Sunday morning asking if we could go to Disney and ride the Tea Cups around and around. It makes me so happy to see my kids happy and learning new things.

On Saturday we headed down to San Diego to spend time at the zoo. That was really fun too. We didn't get to the zoo as early as I had hoped so by the time we did it was pretty busy. Not to mention that there were some other events taking place in San Diego that weekend that made things even more crowded. One of the best parts of our trip to the zoo was getting together with the Coopers, Tommy, Brittany and little baby Kennedy. We haven't seen them in some time so it was really nice to catch up while we all walked around the zoo. Gigi and Carter were a little spent from their big Disney adventure and so were not as well behaved at the zoo as they had been the day before. We learned that in the future we plan a lazy day in between fun days. I think they were just tired. Gigi fell asleep in the stroller at one point and slept for a long time. It was okay we still go to see a lot of neat animals and spend time with friends. Apparently Amanda has never been to ta zoo before. I was surprised by this but she loved it too. After the zoo we went and got dinner at Wahoo's Fish Tacos. They were pretty yummy. Then we went our separate ways. It was so good seeing the Coopers I can't get over it. I missed them a lot and playing meeting sweet Kennedy was such a treat. After that we headed over to the beach to watch the sunset. That was of course beautiful and there was a big grassy park there too so we let Gigi run around and get some energy out before heading to the hotel. Sunday we woke up slow and got breakfast which was even slower and then headed home. I don't know how relaxed Bubba was at the end of the trip but I think all in all we had a great time. I am sure he could use a couple days uninterrupted to just sleep but we have two kids. I don't know it that will ever happen.