PICTURES!

Not from our trip, but this is Brynne eating rice cereal for the first time. She loved it.

Alex and the older girls getting ready to ride on the teacups.
Family picture!
Stoddards and Gardners

Alli meeting Pinocchio. Holly was terrified...
Brynne relaxing in the stroller with her Mickey Mouse toy.
We had ALL FIVE kids asleep at the same time for about 5 minutes. It was amazing.
My girls playing in Minnie's house. They LOVE ToonTown.
Mopping the floors at Mickey's house.

Making silly faces with their friend Natalie when we stopped at my old roommates apartment in Burbank.
Loving the Angels game.
I finally got Brynne to go to sleep. Then we could actually watch the game!
The first teacup ride of the day.

Playing in the waves at Santa Claus beach.

Holly thought this was hilarious. Alex loved burying her, too!

We all went bowling, and we looked over to see Alli and Holly having what appears to be a deep conversation. Don't they look grown up and ADORABLE?
Alli and Brooke coloring outside the condo.
Beach...
How cute! This is Brynne in the stroller walking back from the beach. I love that jacket.
Gotta love the Daddy shots...

And it Starts...

We've been made fun of time and time again for having 3 girls and no boys.  I've always said that if I had to have only one gender, I'd rather it be girls than boys.  Right now it's great fun.  I dress them in matching dresses, we all sit in front of a kid show while I do their hair, we play princess together.  Little girls are so much fun.  

Having three girls within 4 years means we'll have three teenage girls hitting the crazy years at roughly the same time.  That terrifies me.  This afternoon I got the first taste of what those years might bring.

I heard the door to the girls bedroom slam, followed by some screaming.  I ran upstairs to see what was going on.  Alli was sitting just inside the door, crying and yelling at Holly to get out.  I asked Alli what was wrong and she said "I need to be alone!  I need some quiet time!"  I totally respect quiet time (and remember all too well sharing a room with my sister and wanting to just be alone sometimes!) so I took Holly downstairs for some Mommy time.  Within about 2 minutes, Holly ran to the living room couch with her blankets and water bottle and when I tried to come sit with her, she declared (because she always says what Alli says) "I need to be alone!  I need some quiet time!"

Heaven help us...

Sunday 10

I'm totally exhausted right now, but Alex's dad got me in trouble for not having done my Sunday 10 yet. I won't download any pictures right now, but here are the highlights from our Southern California trip:
1. We had a blast! We spent last Friday and Saturday making the drive to Ventura with a stop in Vegas Friday night where we enjoyed an evening with friends.
2. Saturday we got to Ventura and settled in, went out to dinner and grocery shopping.
3. Sunday we went to church and Alex and I took the girls on a walk to the beach. Alex ran into a woman from Ukraine so he got to brush up on his Russian a bit. It's always fun to hear him have a conversation in Russian!
4. Monday morning I went for a run in the most perfect running weather ever! I had to laugh at the cardboard sign I saw on the front door of an apartment on my route: "Dear Robber: Don't try to steal anything from my house. Punishment is near death."
5. We left Monday afternoon to head to Anaheim. We made a stop in Burbank on the way to visit my former roommate Wendy, who just moved down there. It was so great to be able to visit for a couple hours. She has a daughter in between Alli and Holly, and a son a week and a half older than Brynne. We had fun letting the babies roll around each other.
6. We checked into our hotel and spent the afternoon walking around Downtown Disney where we decided that the double stroller we had planned on for Disneyland wouldn't be enough, so we rented a stroller so all 3 kids could sit. We met up with the Gardners that night at the Angels vs. Indians baseball game. It was chaotic and crazy with all the kids, but so much fun.
7. Tuesday was DISNEYLAND day! It was toasty and exhausting, but we didn't want to leave. Alli is at the perfect age for Disneyland. We felt guilty going on any big rides because she loved the kid rides (and Pirates) so much. I have tons of pictures to share from that day. I'll get to it...
8. We headed back to Ventura that night and tried to get as much sleep as possible. Alex and Jeff got up and golfed the next morning, then Lindsay and I handed off the kids and headed to the outlets. So much fun!
9. We spent the next couple days at the beach and hanging out at the condo. Jeff and Alex went to the Dallas Cowboys training camp on Friday. That night we had some amazingly tasty Mexican food at some little strip mall restaurant. SOO yummy.
10. We drove home Saturday and I'm SO glad to be home. We really had a great time, but I'm so glad to have my kids sleep in a different room now! A HUGE thanks to the Gardners for letting us tag along!! We had such a fantastic time!

Half of My Sunday 10

just a quick one for today...

1. We're in Ventura now at the Gardner's timeshare.  It's right on the coast and gorgeous.  

2. We stopped in Vegas on Friday night and spent the night at the Hill's.  We had a great time, but I don't think I could ever live in Vegas.  It was probably 90 when we went to bed, and 95 when we woke up.  Hot, hot, hot.

3. The girls were really good in the car, but we're all officially sick and tired of driving.  Not sure how we're going to get back next Saturday, because I really don't want to get back in that car.

4.  The night before we left, Chelsea and Derek came over and chatted for a couple hours.  We're so excited to have them moving back next month!

5.  Congrats to Chris and Katie Clark on the birth of their 2nd daughter this week!  We love our friends that have all girls, too...

My Sunday 10...a day late

So I've totally slacked on my Sunday 10 lately, and I will again next week because we'll be out of town.  But here's one for this week!

1. I have attempted to get caught up on post-trip laundry and cleaning, and pretty much failed so far!  I have two baskets of clean laundry sitting in my room ready to be folded, and two more loads in the basement that need to be washed. I hate laundry!

2. Brynne had her 4 month check up this week.  She is 14 lbs, 14 oz, and 25 inches.  She measured at 69% for height, weight, and head circumference.  I've never had a kid so well-proportioned.  :)

3.  Brynne also started rice cereal this week!  She's tried it twice and loved it.  She's already at the point where she gets frantic if I don't have another bite ready for her immediately after giving her a bite.  I have pictures on my computer, but I'm using Alex's right now and I'm way too lazy to switch.

4.  One more about Brynne: she now does one of my favorite things of this stage.  If I hold my arms out to her when she is laying on the ground, she reaches her arms out for me to pick her up.  It melts my heart every time.  I love that girl.

5.  Alex had scout camp (if you can call it that -- they went golfing for part of it.  Don't get me started...) from Thursday to Saturday.  Luckily they were just up American Fork canyon, so they could easily come back into town to pick up any items they needed (like ice cream).  So I got to see him for a few minutes both Thursday and Friday.  

6.  On Thursday I went with my friend Mary to visit our friend Ashlee who had a baby a month ago.  He had a bit of a traumatic birth and had to stay in the hospital for a bit, so we haven't gotten much of a chance to see him.  We spent about 3 hours just chatting and having a blast, and we're excited to now have another stay at home mom in the neighborhood!

7.  On Friday I got a sitter for my older kids and spent a couple hours out with a friend from BYU.  We've been trying to get together for months and months, but then it was Christmas/basketball season and we were super busy, and then I had Brynne and life just happened and we never got together.  So we finally did on Thursday.  She introduced me to Wood Connection and The Quilted Bear.  Great, great places!  My head is jam packed with crafty ideas now.

8.  On Saturday Alex and I went to a wedding reception, then headed over to Thanksgiving Point to watch Jason Hewlett perform.  Alex has done some work finding gigs for Jason, and he's gone to several of his shows.  I hadn't had a chance to go to one yet, so it was convenient that this one was a family show and right by our house.  We enjoyed a perfect night sitting out on the lawn watching Jason perform, followed by a fireworks show.  Alli kept saying "they're so beautiful!"  It was a blissful, fun family night.

9.  We had our friends the Gardners and Morris' over for dinner last night.  We had a great time eating, talking, and playing Guitar Hero.  Fun!!

10. This week Alli and Holly dressed me up with a scarf, crown, and magic wand and gave me the title of Fairy Godmother.  My main job: turn on a pretend purple shower for them and save them from the monster.  I love my kids!

Lots of Laughs

On the way home from California on Monday, Alex saw a billboard and said "did you see that? That didn't look appealing at ALL!" I hadn't seen it, so he told me that it said something like "400 miles. 7 days, 3 national parks, 2 skinny trees." Okay. So a couple hours later we drove by another billboard with the same advertisement and he said "There is it again! I don't get it!" That time I looked, and I laughed when I realized that those skinny TREES he was talking about were actually skinny TIRES. Once he figured out that they were actually talking about a bike ride through Utah, he thought it was pretty funny, too.

Okay, so that might not really sound funny now that I think about it, but I promise you we laughed a ton when it happened.

And my little jokester Holly constantly makes me laugh. Her latest thing is to cut off relationships with everyone, and it always starts with Alli (who may or may not be involved in the instigating incident). Here's one example that just happened yesterday:

Holly asked me if she could have fruit snacks, and I said no because she had already had some. So she got her mad face on, folded her arms and said "I NOT going to be Alli's friend!" It's always Alli. Alli rarely is the cause for Holly's anger, yet she always gets the x. Holly pushed Alli yesterday evening, so I took her to her timeout spot and sat with her for a couple minutes where she proceeded to tell me that she's NOT going to be Alli's friend, my friend, Alex's friend, Brynne's friend, and Julia's friend. (By the way, Julia started as Alli's imaginary friend 1 1/2 years ago and she's totally Holly's friend now, too . . . or was, until Holly disowned her last night.) Lately she's been adding "forever" to the end of her declaration. Now she'll say "I NOT going to be Alli's friend forever." Luckily Alli has started laughing when Holly says that. She used to cry and get mad at Holly, and that only made Holly say it more. We laugh a lot around here.

California Wrap-Up

WE'RE HOME!!!

We drove in last night, and I couldn't have been happier to be back at my house! As much fun as I had with my family, there is nothing like having your own bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom. It's great to be home, and I have a ton of unpacking to do today!

We spent the first 3 days of our trip driving to and playing in Carmel with the Hills, McGivens, and the Hill's cousin and her family. We had such a fun time letting the kids play, playing games, shopping, golfing, and exploring Monterey. We stayed at Ryan's Grandma's beach house that was right on Pebble Beach golf course. Amazing view!

Things of note from that trip:
*Brynne had her biggest crying fest EVER the first night we got there. She wouldn't even settle down when I nursed her. I spent probably a half hour in our room with her trying to get her to fall asleep. After that first night, she was a gem. As usual!
*I may have witnessed the first-ever non-matching day for Brady and Easton. Those boys refused to wear matching shoes. And they still looked adorable.
*Monterey was really fun. We saw tons of seals (and a dead one floating right along with them!) and had a great time walking around the little town.

*I finished "The Host". It took me a long time to get into it. While I really enjoyed the story, I think it could have been shaved down a couple hundred pages. It was kind of a slower book for me.
*The wives went shopping at the Gilroy Outlets one morning. It's always so fun shopping without kids, especially with other girls. It was fun to go into kids stores, and immediately Aleena and I would walk to the girls side, and Sarah and Nina would go to the boys side. We found some steals! Here is a picture of my kids in their new skirts that I got for $1.99 each!! You can't really see them well in the picture, but the skirts are so adorable. I get a kick out of matching my kids.
*Aleena and I also got matching outfits for Alli, Holly, and Aria. They loved being "triplets".

*On our last night there, Alex and I took the kids on a walk through the golf course. It was gorgeous! Alex and I both hit a few balls into the ocean (well, mine were more just toward the ocean, as I can't really hit that far!) just to say that we had played on Pebble Beach golf course.


We left on Friday morning and dropped Alex off at the airport to go to Nashville and Chicago for work, and the kids and I headed up to Santa Rosa to stay with my family.

The Run-down:
*I have never been more frustrated at Bay Area traffic than when I was driving into Santa Rosa. I got stopped at the usual places, but it just took SO MUCH LONGER to get to my parents' house than it should have. So frustrating!
*I met my first niece on my side, Abby! She is 6 months old and so cute. She doesn't really like me to hold her that much, but she did smile for me a lot, and she was obsessed with my kids, especially Brynne.
*Brynne took her first bath in a regular bathtub. She loved it!
*We made our swimming debut of the summer. We swam at my aunt and uncle's house. I didn't get a picture of Brynne, but she looked adorable in her swimsuit, and actually liked the water!

*We were actually able to pull off two great surprises for my mom. We were there for her 50th birthday, and my dad has been planning a surprise party. The fact that she didn't figure that out was amazing! We also were able to surprise her with having my sister Cindy and her husband Chad come out for the weekend. We pulled it off flawlessly. The 6 siblings haven't all been together since my brother got home from his mission a year and a half ago. That was only for one day. My two brothers-in-law haven't even met each other, so it was really fun to have 3 days with my entire family. I loved it.
*We took family pictures, and they turned out cute. Now if I could just find the CD to put them on my computer (I guess that requires me unpacking!)
*Brynne perfected the rolling from her stomach to back, and learned how to roll from her back to her stomach! I'm so proud of her! She also got really good at reaching out and grabbing things, which worked out really well for the car ride home. It kept her busy and happy! My parents couldn't stop saying how mellow of a baby she is. And it's true. She is SUCH a good baby.
*We had a fun 4th of July breakfast and my sister and I got matching clothes for the babies. So fun! This awesome girl in my parents ward made bows for all the kids. They're adorable.

*I got to spend an afternoon with my great friend Jamie! Jamie and I have been friends since we were 11. When I was living at home between my freshman and sophomore years at BYU, I spent many, many nights sleeping at Jamie's house to avoid the lovely midnight curfew my parents decided I needed. (Yes, Mom, I'm still bitter about that ... :) ). Jamie was with me when I hit the couch on the freeway one night. Our kids share the same birthday, a year apart. I love any time I get to spend with Jamie, which isn't much as she now lives in San Francisco. So we were able to find a couple hours to hang out at her parents house before she left on a trip. So great to catch up. She gave me the CUTEST little dress for Brynne. I love it.

*One of my favorite things about being in Santa Rosa is watching my parents get to play with my kids. It always makes me sad that we don't live close to them so my kids can spend an afternoon with them, instead of a week a couple times a year.

Quick Update

We've been in California for about a week now. We spent 3 days in Carmel with friends, then we dropped Alex off at the airport so he could do some work stuff in Nashville and Chicago. The girls and I have been at my parents house since Friday. We're having a good time, and we're all looking forward to Alex coming back tonight! I got to see my older sister for the first time since October, her husband for the first time since Christmas 2006, and meet my 6 month old neice who is so adorable and LOVES watching Brynne. My sister, mom, and I went shopping together and got the kids cute 4th of July shirts. I'll have pictures to share when I get home and can download them to my computer. We're having a great time! The only downside is that there are so many fires in Northern California that the air isn't really the best to breathe. I've only gotten to go running one day here. I got all ready to go this morning, opened the door, and WOW! It was so smoky! Hopefully that will clear up soon! It isn't the most fun to have to be stuck inside all day.