The best made plans

So I finally decided on a hotel for Disneyland, thanks to comments made by you guys. Park Vue Inn, had pretty much everything I wanted with a price I was willing to pay. Bunk beds, great extended continental breakfast, walking distance to the parks, free parking, free wifi. . And then we went and moved our plans up two weeks. We never get to vacation with my family, so I thought it would be fun to go at the same time as them. Plus, then my kids won't have to miss school. But, then Park Vue was booked for those days. So were both the Best Westerns close by that I chose as my second and third choices. So was the Red Lion. My choices were narrowed down and I had to make some comprimises. I found a good deal on a room at the Carousel Inn and Suites.(Still a tad more than I wanted to pay, but I know it will be a nice room.) They charge for parking, but are within walking distance of the parks. I heard their continental breakfast is very limited, so I might just have to pack some Costco muffins and fruit. They don't have bunk beds for the kids or a seperate "suite" area that I really thought would be nice, so I could watch a movie when the kids passed out. But I'm guessing that they will be exhausted enough that I'll still be able to do that anyway. So the count down is on. I'm so excited!

Is swimming season over yet?

 Thursday was really long. I was in the car way too much. Luckily the day end with girl's night. Unluckily, I didn't get any pictures. Friday I was not feeling well, and the DayQuil slowed down my production level even further than normal. We left right when Tucker got home for our ward (local church congregation) campout and had a wonderful evening with friends in the cool air and pine trees. We left immediately after breakfast in the morning because Trent needed to be at the parent/coach meeting for the kid's soccer teams

  Then we got to spend some good times with Sarah and her two little boys. They came swimming after their football game. The water has cooled down too much for me, but they didn't seem to mind.

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I wish

I wish I could go to this sale.  But alas, we will be at the ward campout. And also, I have no money to spend.

Hey, I thought I would say that my favorite part of Paisley's party was the flag banner cake. What was your favorite part?

My Baby is 2!



The latchboard was a hit.



Paisley turned 2 yesterday! Yep, it's the first time since I've had kids that one of them has turned 2 and I wasn't pregnant again or already had another baby! First thing in the morning (and I mean FIRST THING) we had Paisley open a couple presents and have her birthday doughnut. She liked the singing but wasn't too sure about the candles.



Pailey loves books and animals.



We just celebrated at Trent's parents house with the aunts, uncles and cousins. I wanted to make it really cute and took some inspiration from blog land. Here's how the little party turned out.

I used this napkin flower banner I made for a baby shower last week.



I made this "Hooray" banner based on one I saw on the Full House blog that I read.

I think teeny tiny clothes pins are adorable.

Displayed some photos of the birthday girl.

Fabric painted this 2 on a shirt (at this point she had already eaten a strawberry in it!)

Made a lemon cake with flag banners and nesting dolls. (Looked better than it tasted I'm afraid). And made some cake pops as well.

Paisley does the nose-lick quite often. We can thank her dad for teaching her that one!

She loved opening the presents! She would reach in the gift bags and pull out each individual tissue and hand it to Trent before pulling out the gifts.

Saying thank you to Uncle Troy.

To Trent's Dismay. .

This kitty adopted us. And the kids and I love her.

She just showed up last sunday on our porch, let us all pet her, and hasn't left since. I'm sure the fact that I kept letting her in the house and feeding her probably didn't help. I knew Trent didn't want a kitten which is why I haven't gotten one yet. I would've picked one a little younger just to enjoy the super tiny and cute phase. But how can I turn down a cute kitty that magically appears one day that is nice to my kids? Obviously I can't.

Tidbits

Okay, so I am in the throws of planning our first family trip to Disneyland and there is so much to consider. I am not a very organized person or a great plan ahead type of person, so this is taking me loads of time. In my quest for an affordable hotel, I am considering a few main amenities that I want. None of the hotels have everything that I want, but I have narrowed it to 4 that come close. My top priorities (in no particular order) were to have 2 beds plus a pull out couch, free wireless for Trent, free breakfast, free parking, and a free shuttle. All are missing at least one element, but here are my top 4 choices The Anaheim Marriott Suites, The Peacock Suites, The Candy Cane Inn, and The Holiday Inn Express Anaheim Maingate. I am sort of leaning towards the final one and if you know me well you could probably guess it is because they have the best free breakfast, but we would be paying for a shuttle. Anyway, I've made much progress. I have found a disneyland tip website that has proven quite helpful.

In other news Charlotte has a terrible sore throat (after a long night of awful coughing and weezing I think it is croup, so we will be visiting the doctor today). I have a terrible lack of motivation to diet and exercise. And Trent has the inability to stay awake past 9pm lately. So that about covers it. My kitchen is not entirely finished, but the paint, one set of curtains (I need to shorten the other) and the new light fixture is up. I have collected quite a few plates for my plate wall and should be able to start on that soon. Soon is a relative term, maybe in the next month. 

P.S. I ordered my shabbyapple dress last night. I didn't get any of the ones I was considering. I ended up getting one of theiur brand new ones called Gray Fox. Here's to hoping I like it and that it fits well!

Tuesday's play date

Tuesday we got together with my cousins Abbie and Stephanie and some of their kiddos. I finally got to meet baby Elliot. And then we said goodbye to Aunt Emily, Jonah and Elora and they were headed back to Utah shortly after we left :(

Labor Day

Tucker was doing flips

Trent was doing double front flips

Uncle Bart was throwing kids off the diving board

Trent's brother has a gorgeous house with a huge backyard, where we spend a lot of time with Trent's family. Labor Day was no exception. All the kids had a blast. Paisley has no fear and was jumping off the diving board and going down the slide just like the big kids. That girl will be 2 one week from today. I can't believe it. It's kind of hard to think that my baby is that big and I'm not pregnant. That was my life for a while, so it is fun and new to be moving to a different stage in life. It's also a little weird and sad. But good.

Catching up from last weekend

Henry, Charlotte, Tucker, Jonah, Grammy Donny, Elora, and Sarah

Sunday evening we spent with my family and had tons of fun!