Fourth Week of December

December 20th: The kids got to open and read a new Christmas book. This year it was Christmas Oranges. After church we drove down to St. George for Great Grandma Phillips' funeral.

^My boys hanging out in the hotel room.

December 21st: We went to Great Grandma Phillips' funeral. Rog spoke and did a great job honoring a wonderful lady. 

At the luncheon after the funeral, Corbyn and Jaxon put together this puzzle. They wanted to give up, but I wouldn't let them.

We ordered Cafe Rio on their website (on my phone) on our way home, so we could just stop and grab it. Sadly when we got there, we learned they were all out of pork. (They gave us one of our meals free to make up for it.) So I got chicken and Rog got beef and we were both sorely disappointed. Why do they even make any meat other than pork?

After putting the kids to bed I sat down and busted out a stocking for Logan. Well technically, the one I made (4th one from left) became Peyton's stocking. So I took Peyton's stocking (2nd one from the left) and Logan got my stocking (5th one from the left).

December 22nd: We went to the Ririe Christmas party. We had dinner at Golden Corral and then went to my Grandpa Ririe's house for a short program and presents. Kiera did the program and she taught us about a Christmas tradition they have in England (where she grew up). I can't remember what they're called, but basically they were oranges with a candle stuck in the top and decorated with candies. We didn't light the candles (because the little kids would have burned down the house), but we sang Christmas carols while holding them after we got them decorated.

Corbyn got the Hulkbuster Lego set.

Peyton got Doc McStuffins Duplo Legos.

And Logan got the Little People 101 Dalmatian car and the Little People Jungle Book car.

December 23rd: We decorated a Gingerbread House (from a kit). Rog and I don't love this activity, but it is always Corbyn's favorite activity.

December 24th: We had egg rolls and fried rice for dinner. Then we watched the Living Scripture Nativity video and had cake (this one - the buttercream frosting version) for Christ's birthday.

After getting the kids to bed, Rog and I finished prepping some food for Christmas morning and got Christmas all set up in the front room.

^I snapped this picture right before heading up to bed. 

Fourth Quarter Reading

I read 8 books last quarter bringing my year's total to 35 - which is seriously huge for me! And I think it should be noted that I actually read all my books. (Not that listening to books doesn't count, but I think it's a little harder to fit in actual reading time.) I can listen to Harry Potter, but as a general rule I hate listening to books.

Excellent:

1. In This Together by Ann Romney - It's no secret that I love Mitt and Ann Romney, so it was pretty much a given that I would love her book. She talks about being diagnosed with MS and how she overcame that trial in her life. After struggling with anxiety this last year, I was particularly interested in how her disease affected her mentally. And I loved reading about the Salt Lake Winter Olympics and Mitt's Presidential Campaign from her point of view.

2. The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty - It's also no secret that I love Liane Moriarty's books and this one was no exception. I have now read all of her books and I'm dying for her to write another! Ellen is a professional hypnotherapist who recently started dating Patrick. On one of their first dates Patrick tells Ellen that he is being stalked by his ex-girlfriend which Ellen finds intriguing. She even wants to meet her and of course she doesn't know it, but she already has.

Great:

3. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - Blink is a book about how we think without thinking and make decisions in an instant by "thin-slicing." I found it incredibly interesting, but spent most of the book wondering, so what? He attempts to answer that question in the final chapter, but I was still left wondering. Even so, I really enjoyed reading it.

4. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - Precious Ramotswe is a sassy lady who starts a detective agency in Botswana after inheriting money from her father. She solves mysteries relating to missing husbands, wayward daughters, con men, impostors, and the like. I read this for my book club and based on the title and cover, wasn't sure I would enjoy it. I was pleasantly surprised - proving once again that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover!

5. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson - The Herdmans are known throughout town for being the worst kids in the history of the world. Everyone is surprised when they invade church one Sunday and take over the annual Christmas pageant. I figured it was about time I read this Christmas classic. It was a quick, light read that had a good message at the end. 

Good:

6. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell - This book was hugely popular a few years ago although everyone I know who read it, didn't like it. For some reason I decided to read it anyway. It had way too much language for me, but aside from that it was enjoyable. It is the story of two misfits who fall in love. It led me to reminisce about the times I have fallen in love which is why I think I liked it.

7, 8. How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse, How to Twist a Dragon's Tale by Cressida Cowell - Corbyn and I lost a little steam on our dragon reading this quarter. We still enjoy reading them together, but most nights Rog reads to Corbyn while I am nursing Logan and putting him to bed which makes fitting in our dragon reading a little difficult.

First Quarter, Second Quarter, Third Quarter.

10 Months

Logan turned 10 months on January 18th. 10 months seems dangerously close to 1 year. Why can't he stay little forever?!

Logan at 10 months:

*Unloads drawers and cabinets like it's his job.

*Is very confident on the stairs. He can go up and down by himself. He just needs to be reminded to turn around and go down backwards when he's starting at the top.

*Is becoming quite the messy eater. He's always getting food in the hair behind his ears.

*Likes to clap toys together.

*Got his first teeny tiny tooth.

*When he jibber jabbers it's always, dada. But when he cries it's always, mama. 

*Always has a morning pooh when he first wakes up.

*Seems pretty content to crawl and isn't in a huge rush to learn how to walk. Since Peyton walked at 9 months I feel like he's behind and I have to keep reminding myself that Peyton was a freakishly early walker.

*Wants to climb everything. He tries to climb into the tub when he's standing outside it. Once he actually was able to climb out when my back was turned for a second (and he landed flat on his face).

Logan's 10th month in pictures...

He loves to chew on the kids' toothbrushes, so he got a toothbrush in his stocking, but he knows it's not the same (because it doesn't have toothpaste on it).

He likes going out with the kids to play in the snow - until he decides he's done and then he's DONE!

Messy, messy. This was after lasagna. He loved it!

Matchy matchy with his big brother. Enjoying every minute of this because I know it won't last forever.

He loves playing on the lower bed in the kids' room.

He climbs over and under the bars like it's his own personal playground.

And yep, this happened. So far he can only get up to the first step. He's trouble!

Having fun playing with daddy.

He's becoming more resistant to falling asleep in the car and while nursing which is nice because I don't have to worry as much about his nap being ruined when we have to go somewhere close to nap time. He pretty much never falls asleep on our walks anymore, but this time he did fall asleep on our walk and it reminded me that he's still a baby (even though he's trying so hard to grow up on me). 

"Helping" with laundry.

Hard at work unloading drawers.

Cutie at Costco.

Oh how we love our Logan guy!

Third Week of December

December 13th: After surviving our crazy Saturday, we took it easy on Sunday. Peyton was sick and I had told them to find someone to teach my Relief Society lesson for me because I wasn't sure if I was still going to be at the hospital with Corbyn, so we stayed home from church. After Sunday dinner, we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional (since we missed it the week before) and helped Grandma and Grandpa decorate their tree.

December 14th: We finally picked out our tree!!! We waited until after Disneyland because we didn't want our tree to die while we were gone and then I was planning on taking the kids on Saturday without Rog, but that obviously didn't happen. There was a pretty big storm that day, but we couldn't wait any longer. Initially it was the most uncooperative tree we have ever had - we couldn't get it to stand up straight and the ornaments kept falling off the branches - and I'm pretty sure it was because it had so much snow on it when we picked it out. But after we struggled with it and got it how we wanted, it was fine.

We also picked out presents for our ward angel tree. 

December 15th: We decorated our tree.

And took the kids to pick out their ornaments for the year. Logan got a Baby's First Christmas ornament, Peyton got a Rapunzel ornament, and Corbyn got a Megatron Transformer ornament.

December 16th: We rode Frontrunner and TRAX up to Salt Lake to see the lights.

We told the kids about how we got engaged at this spot and Corbyn and Peyton walked around holding hands the rest of the night saying they were going to get married.

December 17th: We made Christmas cookies (Peppermint Brownie Bites and White Chocolate Gingerbread Truffles) for my Dinner Group's cookie exchange.

December 18th: I helped with Corbyn's Kindergarten Christmas party. I was in charge of the senses smell and taste, so I blindfolded the kids and had them guess what different Christmas treats (cinnamon bears, chocolate kisses, peppermint patties, and gingerbread cookies) were by smelling and tasting them. After the party Rog, Peyton, Logan, and Grandma met me there and we got to watch him perform a song with his class (Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer).

We also baked 12 dozen Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins to give out as neighbor gifts.

December 19th: We delivered our neighbor gifts.

And then we watched BYU play Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. Utah started the game out with 5 touchdowns that came from interceptions and other flukey things and then BYU fought the rest of the game to come back, but ended up losing 28-35. (It sucked, but it kind of felt like a win because overall we played much better than Utah. Just saying.)

I also got our Christmas cards out. This might be my favorite one yet!

A Day of Firsts

The day after we got home from Disneyland, Rog went down to St. George to visit his Grandma Phillips before she passed away. We decided I would stay home with the kids, so they could sleep in their own beds and get back into a routine. (Ha Ha.)

That morning one of our neighbors brought over some caramel popcorn. I looked at it and didn't notice any nuts, so I let Corbyn have some. He had a small handful and soon started complaining that his tongue was itchy. Then he threw up and I started noticing a rash on his face. He wasn't having trouble breathing, but he only throws up when it's a more serious allergy, so I called 911 (mostly to ask if I should use his Epi-pen). They told me I probably should, so I did. An ambulance came and the paramedics checked him out. All his vitals were good and he was doing fine, but they said I should at least take him to his doctor to be seen. 

Our pediatrician's office is open from 11-2 on Saturdays, so I called and got an appointment. I had my parents come over to watch Peyton and Logan while I took him. While we were waiting for the doctor to come in, he threw up again. The doctor thought something in his throat looked a little swollen, so he gave him another dose of Epinephrine and called the ambulance to take us to the hospital. Again he was fine, but they wanted to watch him because an allergic reaction like this one can have a rebound reaction hours later. 

Since we got home pretty late from Disneyland, I hadn't charged my phone overnight like I normally do and as we were on our way to the hospital it died. I took this picture right before it died.   

They got him settled in his room at the hospital and then I used the hospital room phone to call my parents and get a plan since I was going to have to nurse Logan soon. My dad picked up my car at the pediatrician's office and they all came to the hospital. And they brought my phone charger, so I could charge my phone. Corbyn was covered in a rash, so they gave him medicine to take care of that. He got to watch shows all afternoon and pick out whatever he wanted from the hospital menu for dinner. My parents got the rest of us dinner from Zupas.

He had great nurses and the day doctor was great too, but I really didn't like the doctor that took over that evening. When we got there they said they would observe him for anywhere from 4 - 24 hours. When the night doctor took over, I asked him when we could go home. Before he even examined Corbyn or looked at his chart or anything, he got all crazy on me and started saying, "This is America, you can leave whenever you want, but you really should stay overnight." Eventually he calmed down a bit and looked at some of the facts, and then he changed his story saying that usually the rebound happens within 8 hours and it had been about that long, so if I wanted to take him home I could. 

If it really was necessary for him to stay overnight, my mom would have stayed with him, so I could go home and take care of the other two kids. (Since Logan still wakes up a couple times a night and wants to nurse.) But I knew she probably wouldn't sleep well at the hospital and I didn't want to make her do that if she didn't have to. 

So we went home and I had Corbyn sleep in my bed (with his Epi-pen on my nightstand) just in case... But luckily he was completely fine and this story ends there!

It was a crazy day full of lots of firsts - first time calling 911, first time using the Epi-pen, first time riding in an ambulance, and first time having a kid in the hospital (other than when they were first born). Of course Rog had to be gone that day and miss out on all the excitement!

And now Corbyn doesn't get to have caramel popcorn unless I make it and know for sure there are no nuts in it!

Disneyland 2015

In the interest of getting my blog caught up sooner rather than later, I decided for this Disneyland trip instead of doing a detailed post about each day, I'd just do a summary post about the highlights. I tried to be selective about which pictures to post, but I still ended up picking about 1/3 of all the pictures we took. (So if you think this is a lot, I could have included many more!)

Traveling to Disneyland/Logan's First Flight

We went to our sacrament meeting at 9:00 am and then after quickly changing, went straight to the airport. We were going to be rushing, but our flight got delayed an hour, so we had some breathing room. We let Logan crawl around and get some wiggles out before boarding the plane.

He did great for his first flight. He fell asleep during take off and then slept most of the way.

After landing in LA, we took a shuttle to our hotel and got settled in our rooms.

We decided to get annual passes (so we could do this trip, a few days after Ragnar in April, and another trip next November before our year is up). After getting some dinner, we headed over to the park to get our passes printed. And then we couldn't resist going into the park for a few rides. (Don't judge.)

Logan's First Visit

We've taken all our kids to Disneyland (or for Peyton, Disney World) for their first visit at about this age. It's a great age because they are old enough to enjoy it (as much as a baby can), but not so old that they hate being in the stroller too much. Logan was no exception. He was so good and so fun to have with us.

This picture is a good representation of how he was most of the trip. Happily eating puffs with Papa George while we were on a ride.

He got pink eye on Tuesday, but he was still pretty happy (although he didn't look so cute). Fortunately Peyton had pink eye a few days before our trip, so we had some drops with us that helped clear it up pretty quickly.

(While we're on the subject of sickness, my dad was unlucky enough to get the stomach flu we all had the week before our trip while we were there. No fun!) 

Rides

We were excited that all the rides were open for us (especially since so many were closed last time we were there). The parks were packed full of people, but with Fast Passes and Rider Swap, we didn't have to wait more than about 15-20 minutes for any ride (other than Peter Pan - we waited an hour for that one). Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters was still Corbyn's favorite and we rode it at least a few times daily. Peyton says her favorite ride was Ariel, but we only rode it twice. (I think her favorites were actually all the big kid rides she got to do for the first time.)

Toy Story Mania consistently had about a 30-40 minute wait, but that one's always worth the wait!

For Christmas they turn the Jungle Cruise into the Jingle Cruise, Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday, and "it's a small world" into "it's a small world" Holiday. After going on Haunted Mansion Holiday a few times, Corbyn and Peyton became quite obsessed with the Nightmare Before Christmas and watched it daily until we finally had to "take it away" because they were starting to say they were scared of ghosts, zombies, etc... at bedtime. All of the special holiday rides were very well done, but "it's a small world" was our favorite.

Peyton and Rog were the only ones brave enough for the Mad Tea Party.

I love this picture of Peyton and Grandma on Dumbo.

A happy Logan boy on Casey Jr. Circus Train.

For some reason we'd never been on the Monster's Inc ride before, so I made sure we did that this time around. It was fun to get to experience a new (to us) ride.

Big Kid Rides

We knew Peyton was getting close to hitting 40 inches (the magic height where you can ride almost every ride). So for a few months before our trip we got her to eat her vegetables by telling her they'd make her tall enough to ride the big kid rides. She made it to 40 inches and Corbyn made it to 46 inches, so he got to ride Indiana Jones.

Peyton's first time on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - she loved it!

Rog put Peyton right up front for Splash Mountain - she was so brave and she got SOAKED!

Corbyn remembered Tower of Terror and as you can see, he was pretty terrified for it! 

They had made some improvements to the Matterhorn and we were very impressed with the new abominable snowman. Corbyn didn't really like it last time, but was much more into it this time. It's one of my favorites, so the two of us rode it many times. One of the times we rode it, they had to move our sled over at the end for some reason, so they let us ride it again without getting out.

Parades/Entertainment

Normally we aren't big fans of parades, but we do love Disney parades. Monday afternoon we got great seats for the Christmas parade. 

And then after dinner we got great seats for the new Paint the Night parade. 

It really was amazing, but the best part for me was watching the kids watch it. Corbyn is getting older and I didn't know if he would be too cool for Buzz and Mickey. Mickey was the very last float in the parade and when he came by Corbyn was so excited. His face lit up and he was waving at him and saying, "Mickey! Mickey!" That's the magic of Disney right there!

Right after the parade we moved into the center of the street to watch the fireworks. Those were pretty cool too, but not as awesome as the Paint the Night parade. By the time they were over the kids looked like this.

And this!

Tuesday night we watched World of Color - Celebrate! Logan and Peyton were already asleep in the stroller, but Corbyn enjoyed it. We made sure to get there plenty early. As we learned last time, World of Color is pretty terrible if you can't see. This was during one of the fire parts.

They also had a Frozen World of Color for Christmas, but we decided to skip that one in the interest of getting our kids to bed at more normal times the rest of the nights we were there.

Jedi Training

They just started doing Jedi Training again in Tomorrowland. Corbyn wanted to do it and even though I'm not a huge fan of Star Wars, it really was fun to watch him. 

The rest of the day he was using the force on us everywhere we went.

Rog was excited to have someone to go on Star Tours with him. 

Meeting Characters

We didn't spend a ton of time meeting characters, but we made sure we got our perfect picture with Mickey for our Christmas card. I paid $15 for this one taken by the Disney photographer because it was much better than the one my mom took on our camera (not her fault).

When I was taking a picture of my parents with Minnie for their Christmas Card, Minnie was so cute with Logan.

We had to meet Buzz. Corbyn was still excited to see him and Logan thought he was pretty cool too.

And it wasn't a coincidence we met Elsa and Anna on the day Peyton was wearing her Elsa and Anna shirt...

Doc on the day she was wearing her Doc shirt...

And Cinderella on the day she was wearing her Cinderella shirt!

Frozen

In California Adventure they have a place were you can meet Olaf, go sledding...

And play in the snow. It was fun, but I'm sure we would have been more impressed if we didn't have an abundant supply of real snow in Utah.

They also have a Frozen Sing-a-long next door that is pretty fun too.

Corbyn saw this funny hat and wanted a picture with it.

Swimming

I never want to do anything other than Disneyland, but the kids really wanted to go swimming in our hotel pool. Rog and Grandpa took them one afternoon. The water was a little chilly, so Logan, Grandma, and I just watched. We had great weather this trip. The first couple days were in the low 80's!

Stunning Night Skies

One evening I noticed a lot of people taking pictures of something behind us. I turned around and was blown away. Well done, California.

Our last night there Grandma watched the kids after we put them to bed, so Rog and I could go back to the parks for a little date. We did a little bit of everything, but made sure to go on "it's a small world" to see it all lit up at night. Incredible. 

The castle was pretty amazing too. I love how the lights make it look like a diamond for the Diamond Celebration.

Food

We try to eat outside the park as much as possible since eating in the park can add up quickly. (Denny's is our favorite place because it's right outside the park and the prices are the same you'd find anywhere else.) We do allow ourselves a few treats. A Dole Whip is always a must. And also not a coincidence that we got one the day I was wearing this shirt.

We heard they had candy cane beignets shaped like Mickey at the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square for Christmas. (We also got good old fashioned beignets at the Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney.)

We got Peyton and Corbyn ice cream and Logan did all he could to sneak a taste.

When we were at Disney World I had a hot dog with pulled pork and coleslaw and I've been dying to have another one since. I was delighted to find that they had one on the holiday menu at the Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country. It was a dream come true.

I've always seen people eating soup in a bread bowl, but had only ever seen it with clam chowder. This trip I found Creamy Corn Chowder in a bread bowl at the French Market Restaurant in New Orleans Square and Broccoli Cheese soup in a bread bowl at the Pacific Wharf Cafe in California Adventure. Yum!  

Photo Opps

A few fun pictures at popular photo spots... 

Sword in the Stone

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

We have a picture in this spot on our Honeymoon. Now over 8.5 years later there's a few more of us and we're still living happily ever after.

Last Day/Traveling Home

Friday was our last day. We were busy doing our favorite rides one last time and buying souvenirs we'd been eyeing all week. Corbyn got a Baymax toy, Peyton, Logan, and Rog got shirts, and I got a sweatshirt. We also got an ornament and a Thomas Kinkade Disneyland 60th Anniversary Puzzle.

We finally got a group shot - on our way out to catch our shuttle to the airport! It's always so great to have my parents come with us. We could do it without them, but it's SO much easier (and so much more fun) with them!

It's never easy saying goodbye to the happiest place on earth, but it was a little easier this time knowing we'll be back so soon. We had an uneventful flight home and then jumped head first back into the craziness that is December.

We went to Disneyland in early December when I was little and back then it was pretty much dead that time of year. This time with the Diamond Celebration going on and all the special holiday stuff they do now, it was very busy - probably the busiest I've ever seen it. But it was still so much fun and definitely a magical trip we will always remember!