Disney Day 1

After an incredibly fun (and not at all restful) week-long jaunt as Disneyland, we are back. And while it was a little sad to return from a world of Not Making Meals and Getting Your Bed Made Everyday, we are feeling okay about it since it also means that we simultaneously left the world of Walking Around For 12 Hours A Day. There's always a trade-off, I suppose.

Craig and I spent the first 3 days alone (Alone? What does that mean?) at Disneyland while the kidlings stayed at my sister's house and woke her up early and messed up her house. (Proof that they don't change their M.O. when they are out of state or away from their parents.) I do not exaggerate when I say that those 3 days were Pretty Darn Blissful. It was good for Craig and I to remember that we do have it in us to be fun and spontaneous, and to experience just how carefree Life Without Kids can be. (It was a little reminiscent of our honeymoon Disneyland trip, only this time we appreciated the not-having-kids part.)

First Stop: Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. Try as I may, 

Craig always scores higher than I do on this one.

Thank goodness I am capable of 

losing and yet still having a good time.

Yes, Craig is a veritable Space Scout...

...and even though I look like a pro,

I always hover in the Planetary Pilot range. 

(At least I think that's what that says...

my awesome trigger fingers are covering the word.)

Good times fraternizing with the natives on Indy,

(which we happily rode twice on the first day)

Jungle Cruising (which somehow we 

failed to do when we had the girls...oops!)

and Tea Cupping. 

(Craig spun the tea cup so fast that 

I couldn't watch the awesome parade that was going 

by at the time. I wasn't too sad because I figured 

we'd stop and watch the parade when we had the girls. 

We didn't. Oops again.)

Quick Quip

I took the girls to my brother's house on Thursday to pick something up and he and I ended up sitting in the car for a few minutes chatting while the girls watched a movie in the back of the van. I was feeling pretty impressed that they had sat so quietly while my brother and I were talking, and as I drove away, I thanked them for being so patient while they were waiting to leave. A couple seconds later, Julia pipes up, "Well, actually...I wasn't being very patient in my head."

I assured her that she can be as impatient in her head as she wants, as long I don't hear anything about it.

Can It Be?

After a lengthy summer of strongly disliking any body of water that wasn't contained in a bathtub, Lex finally had a swimming pool experience that she seemed to enjoy...no clinging, no screaming, and no pointing to the side of the pool to indicate that she wanted to get out. We're not sure what flipped the switch, but we think it may have had something to do with the 4 weeks of swimming lessons that she attended in 115 degree heat in which she watched her sisters swim but wasn't allowed to get in the water. Could it be that all we needed to do was forbid swimming in order to make it more appealing??

I didn't realize that reverse psychology worked so well at such a young age...

Now that I know the secret, I think I'll start insisting that Lexa scream at church, spill boxes of cereal all over the floor, and nap for only 30 minutes. That should do the trick.

(Here is Lex in one of her notorious, "let's get the 

heck out of the water and go over there" poses.)

Hot Day at the Zoo

Did you know that it's easy as pie to find a great parking space at the zoo over Labor day weekend? I didn't either. But I bet you can guess why: it's hot as Hades in Phoenix over Labor Day weekend, and no one in their right mind comes to the zoo during such dire times. (No one except us, of course.) We decided to brave the weather, and, of course, the kids had a blast. (Or so I'm told, anyway. Cyndie, Fantasia, and I cut out of there after about an hour so we could go to the mall while the Daddies stayed with the younger kids. We love our families, but we're not crazy, you know.)

Love Love Love this cousin shot. 

Thank you, Annoying Zoo Photographer for 

getting all the kids to stand together for this picture.

Did I mention is was Exceedingly Hot that day?

Sweaty Lexy can tell you all about it.

This poor Utah kid had no idea how to process desert heat.

This one either...at least the pink cheeks are so cute!

Hot days are Old Hat for this desert rat...

...And Daddy handles the heat with 

the help of lots and lots of soda.

A + J

Best cousins forever.

Ahoy there, Mateys! Thar blows the blindin' sun!

I heard that this Kimodo dragon was super-patient 

while Craig took this picture.

Looks like Lincoln takes his posing very seriously.

The kiddos loved the new Orangutan exhibit.

What's a trip to the zoo without shelling out ridiculous 

amounts of money on overpriced concessions?

LaVerl and Lincoln, two peas in a desert-loathing pod.

Lex and Linc, resting their feet after a long day.

Queen Audrina and her royal subjects.

Time to get in the car and blast 

the a/c on these hot, tired faces!

Cousin Depot

My sister, Cyndie, and her fabulous family came to visit for a quick trip over Labor Day weekend. As always, we had a great time together, eating yummy food, playing fun games and talking until all hours of the night. There were also lots of Daddy outings, which left Cyndie and I free to hang out, shop, and nap where appropriate. (Thanks, Craig and LaVerl!) The first order of business was the monthly Home Depot trip, this time with cousins in tow.

Audrina hard at work on her fancy pencil box

Only Savanna can make wielding a hammer look so cute...

Z-bug working hard alongside a bored-looking J-bug

These cutie pies should be featured in a 

Home Depot kids calendar, no?