Swings

Just wanted to share some cute pics of my kids on the swings. I can't get enough of these two and their smiling faces.

In other news, my mom has lost 40 pounds! She looks fabulous and we are all very proud!!!

90 days without sweets.

My husband is a little extreme sometimes... after he got back from his trip to Phoenix in early March he came up with this great idea to go on a 90 day fast of all things sweet. (This idea came after we binged on all the American chocolate he brought back)

Terms of the deal were we went 90 days without dessert, CHOCOLATE, ice cream, candy etc. and if we succeeded we got to pick out an item from Lululemon. My first thought was that I'd rather have the chocolate than the new item, but them realized that I may really have a severe problem that I should work on.

I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!! It is my go to comfort food when I'm irritated with my children, had a hard day at work or just need that little taste of sweet after a meal. Trouble is, I can't control myself. If I could just have a chocolate bar in the freezer and just have a square here or there when needed, I'd be thrilled. BUT I just can't stop!

Example, Brett bought some chocolate covered almonds from COSTCO (so we all know how many we're talking about) and they sat on my laundry room pantry shelf. If they hadn't have been open I'd be fine, but the bag was open so every time I went into the pantry- doing laundry, getting breakfast, lunch, snacks for the kids, I'd sneak a few. I couldn't see them without having a few. Wasn't that long before there weren't any left.

Back to our diet. I was doing really well... I was proud of my ability to avoid, and pass up all things sweet. Heather and I went to our running room weekend, and it was a physical struggle to keep myself in my chair and avoid the dessert table. One side of my brain fought with the other over one little dessert not killing anyone, but it was the principle of it, so I abstained.

We've given ourselves 3 strikes in the 90 days. One was chocolate fondue at the melting pot- Very worth it.

Then Easter became a free for all. My mom gifted us a family sized bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs. My VERY FAVORITE Easter treat. I ended up eating most of the bag. Same trouble as the almonds, a couple here and there through the day and the bag is empty. I'm disappointed in myself for lack of self control, but it's re- motivated me for the rest of our fast to get this under control, because as of now, not so much.

I'm still struggling, ( I took a bite today of a chocolate rabbit of Wyatts, and spit it out- frustrated with myself for being so weak) I would love some chocolate right now just thinking about it, but I have a problem.

My name is Leslie, and I have a chocolate addiction!

Why is this so hard?!

I can't figure out how to get myself "into" this whole blogging thing. Don't get me wrong, I like that I have a blog, I love that I can read everyone else's updates, but to find a second to sit down, and write seems to be the tough part. Priorities I guess, I'm going to try better... I've said it before, and most likely will again, but I'm impressed by those people who post often- like daily... I doubt I have enough to say for that, but I'd really like to have a full record of my life with two little ones.

Great example of my life right now, as I sit and type my 3 year old son says " your eye brows look mad" It must take some serious concentration and a furrowed brow to get this done.

We have been enjoying the spring weather. Bubbles in the back yard, bike riding, parks. It was such a long winter, and there really won't be that much warm weather before it hits us again. Sad thought, but if it motivates us to get out while we can then that is what we'll do.

I've been doing some running lately. I always hated running, it was hard and never felt like I was getting the "runners high" that I'd heard about. My sister in law is the best, and we have a pretty compatible pace, and so we've been working hard together to get to a decent distance. As of just last year we were pretty happy with 5K... now we've made it to 10K and I'm seriously considering training for a half marathon. Can't be that hard right? It would be even better if I got to travel somewhere great to run it. Brett is super supportive, maybe he'll get into it too. Anyways, I am now LOVING running. I still love the drop in classes at Millenium- they give my butt a good kick when I'm able to go, but I think I'm going to concentrate on running this summer and see how far I can get.

Brett is working a 6 week long shut down at work right now. It has limited the amount that I can teach, because our childcare trade offs are on hold till he's done. We lucked out with him working days only this time, but it's still a long day for him and for us at home. It's insane work hours- 13 hours per day, and they work 12 straight before he gets a sad 2 days off. Should be illegal!

Well I'm feeling a little caught up. I'm going to be back tomorrow and try some more :)

DISNEY

Disneyland/California Adventure Park did not disappoint. We had 3 days to spend there and filled them up well. We had the park hopper pass, so spent the first day in California Adventure, the second day mostly in Disneyland and then spent the third day hopping back and forth depending on what Wyatt was interested in.

Here is sleeping beauty's castle. WAY smaller that you would imagine. I guess it does have to fit in the park though.

We didn't meet many characters this trip. Wyatt was a little nervous about them, and I hadn't realized that you have to stand in line to meet them like you would wait for a ride. I think maybe next time we go Isla will be older and I'll encourage her to meet a princess or two, but the only characters we met and took pictures with were ones we stumbled upon as they were setting up their line, so we didn't really have to wait.

We waited to go to Disney until Wyatt was 40 Inches tall. That meant he couldn't ride about 95% of the rides whether he was interested in them or not. He was pretty nervous about a lot of them, but I think he still enjoyed himself. We tried to be completely honest with him, and Brett and I were able to have a good sense of what he'd be able to handle and what would freak him out too badly.

I was in awe of how well maintained Disney is. Obviously they see thousands of visitors weekly, and things must get worn down, but everything looks brand new. Brett and Jeremy figure they have a full time paint staff that just repaints the park constantly.

Mickey's toon town. It was unreal, you could barely tell where the real sky started.

Our two favorite rides, above is a Buzz Lightyear ride, where you have a lazer gun and shoot the alien target and Zurg.

Below was Toy Story Midway Mania. 3-D ride, where you are in a ride car, and you pull up to a number of different screens where you play midway games with your little gun. ex. breaking plates with a ball, popping balloons with darts. It is very well done! It always had the longest line though.

I got some flack for liking the jungle cruise, but the tour guide did a good job of making it entertaining with corny jokes and cheesy lines. I thought he was hilarious. The rest didn't agree with me.
Autopia. Wyatt should have been able to drive this car by himself, but he had some trouble, that and it kept stalling on us. The gas petal was difficult to press, and when Wyatt gets ahold of a steering wheel he just twists back and forth really fast. We weren't getting anywhere!
A bugs life 4D show. Wyatt was not a fan of the 4D. You watch the movie in 3D and then they squirt water, or blow air as the 4th dimension. "It's tough to be a bug" was a little intense, and Wyatt and Brett left, but they are just so clever with the things they think of. A must see! On our last day we went back just so Brett could go watch it alone while I waited with the kids.
We took turns on the rides. Brett and Jeremy would go wait in line and get a "parent swap" pass. When they were finished, they'd take over watching the kids and Chantal and I would take the pass and were allowed in the fast pass line, getting us right to the front. It is a really great system.The whole trip Wyatt told everyone that would listen about the dragon he was going to see at Disneyland. Everyone seemed confused, thinking there wouldn't be one. We looked, and looked, and this is all we found. BUT- Wyatt was THRILLED!!!

We had such a great time with the Chiu's! They were perfect traveling companions, and were interested in doing the same things. Even on days when we spent time apart, we always ended up running into each other- we thought a lot alike. It was always very comfortable, and we were happy to be together, and were o.k if we ever wanted to spent time apart. PERFECT!

We will definitely be back!

Newport Beach

Sunday we checked out of hotel #1 and drove the 2 hour trip to Anaheim. We took the scenic route up the coast, and stopped in Newport Beach for lunch. We were in a quiet little spot on the beach and just played in the sand. California really is a beautiful place. Our first hotel was located right off the freeway, and so whenever we had to go somewhere we just hopped onto this HUGE highway with 12 lanes of traffic across. The first 6 days of our trip we didn't see any communities, or really get a feel for the area- just the I5. Once we drove through some cities on the way to Anaheim, and especially when we spent a few days in Anaheim just walking around it became more of a place I thought I could spend some time.

San Diego Temple

Our pictures do not do the beauty of this temple any kind of justice, but when we went to explore temple grounds the sun had already set a while ago, and the flash/ no flash in the dark just doesn't work out well.

This temple is my very FAVORITE. We had big plans before leaving for California to go and do a session as couples by trading off childcare. Once there, we realized that wasn't going to be as easy as we had initially thought, so decided to skip it. I was so disappointed, so decided one morning, that if I had to, I was going to go by myself. Brett was super supportive, and very encouraging and willing to watch the kids while I went etc.

Chantal decided she'd like to join me, so we were able to enter this beautiful building and spend some time. Let me say, it is more beautiful on the inside! It was a highlight of my trip for sure!

That afternoon, we went to Old Town San Diego to the Mormon Battalion Historical something or other. I missed the program because Isla didn't want to sit quietly, but the rest of the crew said it was really well done.

For dinner that night we had some authentic mexican food, (one thing I was looking forward to in the states) Delicious!

The Beach

The day we chose to go to the beach started off windy and COLD. We chose to visit La Jolla coves because we had read that it was quiet and kid friendly. They had some interesting tide pools that we were able to check out, and Brett and Jeremy actually took a quick dip in the ocean. The boys loved building a sand castle, and returning the washed up sea weed to the ocean (feeding the ocean).

It really turned into a beautiful day when the sun came out and the wind died down. One of our favorite days in California. Just relaxing without a busy schedule to follow.

Checking out the tide pools, there were thousands of little hermit crabs moving around. We didn't see any star fish though :(

The girls got along just as well as the boys did!

Isla helping to warm up her dad after his ocean swim. There was a seal/ sea lion ( I don't know which) that was super friendly and came right up to the shore, and was swimming really close to another man that was in the water. It was crazy!

Feeding the ocean!

My baby girl loved California. I think we better go back!

This is how the day concluded. Gorgeous!