A Magical Trip

How many adults does it take to take two children to Disneyland?  

Did you know it takes 7?  The parents, 2 grandparents, 2 uncles, and an adopted uncle who lives in California.  

I don't want to brag, but it was probably the ABSOLUTE BEST trip to Disneyland I have ever had.  Disneyland at Christmas is indescribable and the cooler air means few crowds, which means happy boys who would be unbearable if lines were longer than 20 minutes.   Here are a few fun pictures from our trip.  Tom and I both had cameras and tag teamed the picture taking so bear with me because there may be post number 2!

We spent our first day in California (after a 6am flight, yikes) in Huntington Beach with my cousin Elyse.  Porter loved the beach.  Jack, not so much.  The water is freezing but the weather was fairly warm.  

On Sunday we enjoyed a laid back morning, a visit to the Newport Temple and Sacrament Meeting.  Then, it was off to Disneyland. (ok I know not the most righteous thing to do but we did go to church and we had limited time)  We walked in on the Holiday Parade and Porter couldn't be more excited.  All the the characters were decked out in their Holiday wear and Porter couldn't believe he could see all his favorite characters.  With the crazy winds, it was a bit colder in the park than I had anticipated and I confess I didn't pack exactly right.  

While Porter is my safe, dare I say sissy, of a child, Jack is my thrill seeker just like his mama.  The child is so tall he could go on a lot of the rides.  My 1 year old did in fact go on the Matterhorn and actually enjoyed it.  The ride operators kept pushing his fluffy hair down to be sure he was tall enough and indeed he was. 

Porter had a fantastic December 5th and EVERYONE wished him a very happy birthday because he got to wear a giant button that said it was his birthday.  This darling Bullseye was his Birthday Present and is perfect for Woody and Jess to ride on.

Porter's Favorite Ride:  Buzz Lightyear and Winnie the Pooh (both of which we went on 4 times each!)

Porter had a special birthday guest come with us to Disneyland-Ryan Boucher(his adopted uncle)

Jack's Favorite Ride:  Small World

The kid stood up and danced and clapped and couldn't get enough of it!  And it was quite a darling Christmas transformation and rather than hearing the same song throughout, they had different Christmas songs going as well and all the countries are decked out for Christmas.

We lucked out on the character sightings and managed to snag most characters right as they came out and didn't have to wait to see them at all!  Notice the awkward way in which Porter touches the characters.  He loved to actually feel their faces.

And here is the most magical part:  IT SNOWS ON MAINSTREET!  Look at the castle!  I guess I couldn't ask for a better way to kick off Christmas.  Now on to the spiritual celebrations!

Oh, and the most enjoyable part of the vacation for me?  Jack SLEPT every night, all night long and took naps in the stroller everyday!  I thought maybe something had clicked but he jumped right back into his routine last night.  So. . . I may just consider moving to California and going to Disneyland everyday!

Here's how my kiddos looked every night, and our nights at the park ended at 6 or 7pm!

Happy Birthday My Blue Eyed Boy!

Porter turned 4.  I have a 4 year old.  How do I have a 4 year old?  

Porter is such a joy in my life and I couldn't ask for a better first born.

He has the most inquisitive mind and keeps me on my toes.  He has an incredible testimony and teaches me something new everyday.  He absolutely LOVES preschool and primary and it about kills him if he ever has to miss.  Everything is magical to him and his zest for life is infectious.  He loves learning and is currently enjoying rhyming games, workbook pages, and loves finding out what letter words start with.  I honestly can't keep up with him.  He can be the sweetest boy in the world and about makes me cry when he tells me how beautiful I am, or how happy he is, or how much he LOVES everything.

FAVORITES:

Song:  Praise to the Man (seriously)

Color: Green (blue is a close second)

TV Show:  Dinosaur Train

Food:  Pizza although he is on a healthy kick lately and likes to ask if things are healthy before he eats them .

Book: The Book of Mormon (according to him)  Five Little Monkeys (according to me)

He loves Super Heros, Toy Story, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Legos and Dinosaurs.

 Although you wouldn't think December is the most ideal month to celebrate your birthday, Porter probably loves Christmas more than any child I have ever seen.  He loves decorating and parties and baking and could play with the nativity set everyday of the year.  He has such a tender love for Jesus and although he enjoys presents, he truly already understands the the true meaning of Christmas.

I feel privileged beyond belief that I have been blessed with this child and although there are times when he can be a challenge I wouldn't trade it for the world.  It is truly an amazing thing being a mother!

   

Thanksgiving

Like any "NORMAL" American Family, we kicked off the Thanksgiving Festivities at Wheeler Farm checking out the turkeys with our friends the Jacksons.  Ok, so it is a bit morbid and Porter happens to now be terrified of turkeys, but we did have fun.  

Minie, Porter, Jack and Poppy

 We had Thanksgiving at my mom's house this year and Porter and I had a lot of fun getting the kid's table ready.  We made Mayflower boats filled with candy and pilgrim hats with crayons to color the coloring pages.

Porter and Sadie getting prepped for the meal

Jack and MacKay getting ready for "loves"
Who can resist Jack, right?

Sade, MacKay, Josh and Porter

 Jack may not have been that interested in the main course, but he sure did love the Banana Cream Pie!

Now on to the fun part. . . Cutting Down the Christmas Tree!

We opted for a much easier route this year.  Rather than driving a ways, we headed down to Alpine to the Beck Family Farm to cut down our Christmas tree.  And let me say, it was still a fabulously fun experience.

Porter with his first love, the Cupcake (or just the frosting)

Porter, Tommy, Jack and Trent getting ready for the hunt

Jack was in HEAVEN running through the tree farm

After our Christmas tree hunt, we headed to Pizza Pie Cafe for a delicious lunch and on to Cabela's, Utah's Indoor Zoo, for some free kid entertainment.  Yep, after our pre-Thanksgiving Turkey visit, cutting down our own Christmas tree, and an afternoon at Cabela's you may be wondering just what type of classy people we are, but that's how we celebrate in our family.  It's ok, you can be jealous!

What Do You Do When You Are a Boy in a Neighborhood Full of Girls?

What do you do when you are one of the only boys in a neighborhood full of girls?

Attend a Lalaloopsy Pancake and "Tea" Party of course!

My good friend Michelle hosted just such a party and all the attendees were asked to bring their Lalaloopsy Dolls.  In the absence of said doll we opted for Woody instead.  

Luckily, Michelle provided gifts for each of the attendees and this was Porters:

Patch Treasurechest
(you have to admit he is kinda cute)

Porter and Jillian pre-pancake opening their gifts

Just Chillin' with Hallie under the table

Thanks Michelle for such a fun activity to do on our day off school!

With Thanksgiving approaching, I have to say that although I wish so bad for a House with a Yard and a garage and I never thought we would still be here in our townhome, I wouldn't trade the friends I have made here.  We have so much fun together: craft night, date night, girls movie night, and play dates during the day.  They are all so creative and supportive and so much fun to be around. I am thankful for my FRIENDS!

Disneyland Ice

Sadly, the Best Picture I took

We took Porter to Disney on Ice, or as Porter calls it Disneyland Ice, Friday afternoon.  Yes we, as in me, Tom, my mom and my brother Justin. Apparently that is how many adults it takes to take one child.  But none of us wanted to miss out on witnessing Porter's delight.  And I can't blame them.  Porter loved every minute of it!  He is at that wonderful age when everything is real and magical and you don't question how, you just believe.  I LOVE THIS AGE!  He sat there with his bowl of popcorn clapping and cheering and singing.  And you've gotta hand it to Disney, they know how to do it!  My favorite part was when he saw the Seven Dwarfs came out.  He flailed his hands in the air and cheered and then abruptly stopped.  In the split second that the dwarfs came out Porter had astutely noted that there were only 6.  I've never met a child so observant. 

Family Pictures

We had these taken a few weeks ago by my friend Brooke.  This is a first for me because we haven't had our Family pictures done, like ever.  Just usually the boys.  But I think they are pretty dang cute:

This is Halloween!

Man alive, Halloween is a crazy quick whirlwind of parties and then it is gone!  But it definitely can be said that my kids partied their little hearts out.

Jack's favorite part?  Hoarding candy wherever he can find it.  His preferred method of consuming said candy?  Well, if mom isn't looking, he loves to suck on the wrapper and suck in all the chocolate.  DISGUSTING!

In the course of 6 days, my kiddos attended 2 trunk or treats at which Porter guessed the correct amount of candy in a bowl and added more to our candy hoard, trick-or-treating at Daddy's work at which Tom guessed the correct amount of candy in a bowl and won the candy to again add to our stash, movie tickets and pizza for his department, the English Family Party, the LeBaron Family Party, trick-or-treating at my mom's work and finally Trick-or-Treating itself.  Yes, it can be said we did every possible Halloween celebration we could get our hands on.  And let it be said, trick-or-treating at work is so much more efficient, my kids only lasted like 4 houses on Halloween because they had to walk much further than 2 feet to get to the next pile of candy (mind you we live in connected townhomes so the actual walk is still not realistic, they'd never make it in the real world)

Porter celebrated Halloween on Saturday night with two of his favorite people, my cousins, Josh and McKay.  Yes, McKay is indeed a Hamburger, cause who wouldn't want to be such a delicious inanimate object?

In English family tradition, the Halloween Pinata, because we don't think kids get enough candy as it is.  Here's Jack tacking a whack.

 And my possibly slightly athletically challenged Porter.  He definitely makes up for that in brains!

And onto the LeBaron celebration!  How cute are my nieces and nephews I ask you?

And then the accident occurred.  My niece Caroline ran inside to inform me that Porter had fallen off the swing.  I'm thinking he's fine until I get outside and the poor child is sobbing and covering his mouth.  He removed his hand to uncover a mouth full of blood and a HUGE swollen nose.  The picture doesn't quite do it justice.  We can only assume he fell off the swing on his face?

After an otterpop, a Fresca and an episode of Avengers, he had recovered just in 

time for donuts on a string.

It definitely looked broken at first and we all know how children hate icing things so it sat 

bloody and swollen.

Now on to Halloween!

Captain America aka Steven Rogers aka Porter's Favorite Super Hero

Now, mind you.  Originally Jack was suppose to be Thor but wouldn't wear the cape or helmet.  We tried just a superhero with a Batman cape and finally Porter's old Winnie the Pooh costume without success.  After just about giving up, my friend Michelle informed me she had an Incredibles costume that would work.  How fitting actually since Jack began his life as Jack Jack attack and whose temper rivals that of the fire baby!

I just absolutely love this picture.  That is Porter's best friend Jillian.  How adorable is Jack right in stride?

Now you may be wondering how Porter's nose is doing?

Well let's just say I was worried I would be receiving a call from Preschool Tuesday wondering what happened.  I'm trying to convince him he is turning into the Hulk as the swollen side is turning a ripe blue/green.  Oh my poor boy, at least it doesn't hurt.  But if we thought the kid snored before, wait until he almost breaks his nose!

And the weeks has just continued to feel a bit like this.  Jack has carried on his costume's persona as I pulled him out of the full tub fully clothed after I decided the tub would be a good idea because I couldn't keep him out of the kitchen sink.  Later that day I was canning my chicken (hooray, it was a success!) and my dad got home from his new job (another hooray for him having a job!) in his new clothes and Jack puked all over him and now I have been sick all day today and nauseous throwing up mommy doesn't mesh well with a 3 year old that needs constant stimulation and a baby who is completely hyperactive.

Here's to a more calming rest of this week!