Get the Heck out of Dodge

Tyler number one place to visit was Dodge City, an old western town.  So we decided to go on Fathers Day.  It was a 3 hour drive but it was worth it.  This town really was so cute and a great visit for one day.  We got to see some old trains.  Then we went to the western museum.  We saw the old graveyard, played some old western games and took a tour of what main street used to look like back in the days.  The kids got to see old historic buildings.  One was an old church.  I had the kids sit on the hard wooden benches and put their hands on their faces like they were bored.  We even got to dress up and take a western themed family picture.  I must agree the boys look pretty cute in their cowboy gear and I could totally picture our family living in this time period.  Tyler does always say he was born about 200 years to early!  At the end we even got to see a real shoot out.  What a perfect fathers day for Tyler.  

The Nature center

The nature center was another fun place we visited a few times.  I wish there were cool places like this in Utah. At least that were close to us.  The nature center had a fun building to visit with all different nature facts and stuffed animals to look at.  There are also miles and miles of paved walkways that connect about 20 different ponds.  Everything is green and beautiful.  But the kids favorite part is feeding the turtles.  We went there a few times with the crew.  Tyler and I also took the kids fishing there.  This was both Danny and Aspens first time fishing.  Aspen fished for a little bit and than told us she didn’t want to anymore.  When we asked her why she said she didn’t want to kill any fish.  When we let her know that we would release the fish after we caught them than she was happy.

Downtown Wichita

Our first Sunday in Wichita we went exploring.  We found this great park downtown called Riverside Park.  I love that it has foam instead of wood chips!  We ended up spending a lot of time at this park through the summer.  It was probably our favorite park.  I loved all the shaded trees and the kids loved how big the park was.  There is a great little wildlife park with some fun animals to check out.  If we lived there I would go jogging at this park.  I loved all the paved trails that run through the park.  The river runs parallel with the park and is beautiful.

After the park we walked over to the riverwalk and the Keeper of the Plains.  This is a must if you go to Wichita!  Here is a little history on it:

“It was Bosin’s gift to the city. The five-ton sculpture was placed at the confluence of the little and big Arkansas Rivers which is considered a sacred site by Native Americans and was home to the Wichita tribe for many years. The 5-ton Keeper has recently undergone a renovation and now rests atop a new 30-foot pedestal facing east. The Keeper Plaza incorporates the history of the Native Americans and embodies a “sacred hoop” and the four elements that make up life (earth, air, fire and water).”

We walked along the bridges and enjoyed the view of the Little and Big Arkansas River coming together.  The kids loved running around and seeing the keeper of the plains.  We also went down by the river and feed the ducks.  Before we knew it the sun was setting and it was the perfect day to watch the beautiful sky.  Late at night they light the four different pillars.  It was definitely worth staying for this part!  I couldn’t think of a better way to spend our first Sunday in Wichita.

 

May happenings

May was very busy!  Tyler was already gone in Kansas and I was trying to pack-up a house, see everyone before we left for the summer, plan and host Sarahs bridal shower and get ready for Disneyland!  All in the mix our normal everyday things!  Don’t get me wrong it was a wonderful month, but I went to bed exhausted every night!  Aspen started the month off with her field trip to the fire station.  She loves this field trip and it is done really well.  Her favorite part is the obstacle course.  

Than we got to hang out with Grandma at the Zoo.  They had the lego exhibit which was really fun.  This was the first time Colt really enjoyed the animals.  We watched the animal show this time and Aspen and Danny were so brave to pet the animals!  If you can’t tell we had a blast!

I threw Sarah a princess bridal shower.  I had a blast creating the invites and Kathy helped me do the decorations.  Before the shower Sarah and I got to go to dinner!  We had the “talk” and it was fun to spend some time with Sarah preparing her for her wedding night!!  Lol.

 

Aspen also had her last day of school!  Since we are going to Kansas tomorrow she missed her little graduation, but luckily she will still have lots more since she is just in preschool.  Aspens teachers were Miss Jodi and Miss Jennifer.  She absolutely loved them!  She learned so much from them.  We gave these cute little gift cards to Aspens teachers.  We will miss them!  Aspen has also loved being in school with her friend Lola.

San Diego

We had just as much fun in San Diego as we did at Disneyland!  Well except that Kathy, Allen, Danny, Aspen and Tyler got the stomach bug.  It was a nasty bug that lasted about 12 hours and put whoever was sick totally under with awful cramps and throwing up.  The sickness came in 2 different waves and somehow I was exempt.  So I took whoever was feeling good with me.  We had a blast at the beach.  This was Colt first experience with the beach and he loved the sand.  He did learn the hard way not to thrown the sand because then it ended up in his eyes.  He also liked the waves, but only from a distance!  He wasn’t a big fan of the water getting him wet!  Aspen on the other hand found a new love for the waves.  We spent a lot of time in the water this time which was a new experience for Aspen.  Of course lots of sandcastles were made and it wouldn’t be a beach trip without someone getting buried in the sand! After the beach we got to go swimming for a bit!  I could take a quick vacation to Southern California every couple of months.  I was born to be at the beach and swimming in the pool!

 

On our last day of our trip everyone was finally feeling good enough to go to Sea World!  Tyler and Allen were still a little sick, but they still had a good time.  Aspen was so brave and went on the Atlantis ride.  The dolphin show was a big hit and who doesn’t love shamu!  Sea World is low key and the kids loved it!  Colt even loved getting out and seeing all the animals.  It was the perfect end to our trip! 

The magically Adventure- Disneyland

The kids trip started off with Grandma and Grandpa taking Aspen and Danny to Vegas with them for a few days while Mommy stayed back to pack and clean the house.  They had a blast swimming and riding the carsouel.  Than Tyler flew in from Kansas and we met up with the kids in Vegas.  This was the first time the kids had seen Tyler in 3 weeks and they were so excited!!!  We got to California with enough time to go to Johnny Rockets for dinner.  The food was delicious and it was so nice to sit outside to eat.  When we got back to the condo we got to watch the fireworks from the roof!  That was a great start to our magically trip.  Than the kids got to open up there new outfits for the big day!  This is an early birthday trip for Aspens 5th birthday and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it!

Monday we went straight to California Adventure.  The fast pass line was super long for the new cars ride so we went straight to the line.  Tyler and Allen waited with Aspen and planned to get me a switch rider pass when they were about 5 minutes from the front of the line and the ride broke down.  Not the best way to start off the trip.  They wouldn’t even give Tyler a fast pass ticket and told him they had to wait in line all over again.  Meanwhile I took Danny to go and see Lightening McQueen!  He was so excited and even got to see Mater to.  We than went on all the rides in Cars Land.  That part of California Adventure was a great add on.  The scenry is amazing and both kids loved it.  Tyler and I than decided to talk to guest services about getting some fast pass tickets to the Cars ride.  The lady took great care of us and even gave us fast pass tickets to a few other rides so it ended up working out great!  Tyler, Allen, Aspen and I all got to ride Cars without waiting again!  Than we got a switch rider pass and did it again!  Seriously that is my favorite ride at California Adventure and is worth any wait!  The other highlights of the day were seeing the Disney Junior show, Toy Story Mania, Aspen favorite ride was Little Mermaid and Cars and Danny favorite ride was Tow Mater.  Aspen was also brave and went on the Tower of Terror.  She was terrified, but was brave and didn’t cry.  When we were walking out the lady that worked in the gift shop told Aspen she was the smallest person she had seen ride that ride and she was so proud of her for being so brave.  She had 1 penny that she could give away all day and she gave it to Aspen.  That made Aspen feel so special and now she says she loved that ride.  I think she just loved getting the prize at the end!  After a long day we went to Downtown Disney and looked around at the fun stores and than ate at Rainforest Cafe.  They did a little birthday cake for Aspen.  Than Tyler and I took the kids back to ride a few more rides.  Wow we were exhausted after just the first day!  We went back on Wednesday to watch the Pixar parade and it did not disappoint and that is coming from someone who doesn’t like parades!

On Day 2 Aspen got to dress up as Jasmine and wear the birthday pin!  This was by far the most magical day of the trip!  Everyone told Aspen happy birthday and they loved her dressed up as Jasmine.  I have to admit she did look pretty cute!  I was also amazed at how much Danny loved meeting the different characters to.  We had to wait a long time for jasmine to show up, but since Aspen was dressed up as Jasmine it was worth the wait.  To bad she was ornery, but Aspen didn’t noticed and was so excited!  I hate parades, but the Disney parades are wonderful.  They are short and you get to see all the characters.  I am sure glad we watched them.  While we were waiting Danny started a trend of running around the street and had all sorts of kids following him.  The kids also loved the different story times they did.  By far the best part of the entire trip was seeing Aspen face when she met the princesses for the first time!

By day 3 we were all tired and moved at a much slower pace!  If it was possible next time we come we will split the days up.  But it was still a fantastic day with lots of memories made.  Aspen was tall enough to ride splash mountain.  She was so scared, but if you ask her if she liked she will most definitely tell you YES!  Tyler, Allen and me also got to ride some of the fun adult rides like space mountain the the Matterhorn.  Aspen gave her first kiss, to goofy!  We met Tiana and lots of other fun characters.  I got my first turkey leg and it was delicious!!!  The kids got their faces painted and that was the highlight of their day!  Tyler and the kids also loved the iron man simulator.  All in all it was a magical experience and a great birthday present for Aspen.  It was so fun to see the kids faces and experience Disneyland while they were still young.  Disneyland is one of the places I love to take my kids to, but I don’t understand how grown adults love it so much without kids!  I can happily say that it will be awhile before we go back 🙂 

More April fun

Tyler planned a birthday geteway for me this year and we went up to a condo in Ogden canyon.  It was still cold up there but so beautiful.  It was so nice to spend quality time just as a couple before the summer craziness began!  We watched movies, played games, went to the Temple and stayed up way to late talking!  I love this man so much!  The thought of him going to Kansas just kills me, but I know we will be stronger from it.   

Since Tyler was leaving soon we decided to get some family time.  We invited the Masons to come to Traflaga.  It was cold but it was still fun.  Aspen and Danny even got to do laser tag for the first time.  Aspen sure loves to rock climb and Grandpa even got up there to help her.  Of course we all loved the race cars!    

We were surprising Aspen for her 5th birthday and going to Disneyland in May.  Originally we wanted to just wake her up and tell her the day of, but since Tyler was leaving to Kansas for 3 weeks we thought it would be fun for her to have something to look forward to.  So I made her a mickey mouse countdown and we than showed her a bunch of videos about Disneyland.  She squealed with delight and gave both Tyler and I the biggest hug.  It was the best surprise ever!

Aspen got to celebrate her early birthday at school.  She colored her poster and wrote a few of her favorite things.  Than I made cupcakes for her class to celebrate!  The poster says:

My best friends are: Cade, Kylee, Kaia, Michael, and Owen- Her cousins

Favorite Movie: Tangled

Things I like to do: Ride bikes, swimming and swing at playground

Favorite food: Cake, broccoli

Some places I have been: Seaworld/Legoland, Oregon Coast, St. George

My favorite color: Pink

 

My Boys!

For my birthday Tyler had these awesome pictures of him and the boys and than he had Sarah put them in a collage.  Best present ever.  I love it and i love my boys!  Danny was actually being really soft in this picture, but Colt just wasn’t having it.

 

Danny and Colt like to party

On Monday we through a joint family party for Colt and Danny!  It was a superhero “art” theme and I had a blast planning it.  Danny is really into art right now so we did tons of art activities.  We put together their art easels for their party favors, than painted art easels and than did a color spinning activity.  All the cousins had a blast.  Than it was time for cake!  Colt got the traditional tennis ball cake.  He was not afraid to dive right in.  He is our sweet tooth boy and hes not afraid to make a mess.  Danny is obessed with superheros right now and since we were going with the art theme we decorated this awesome art superman cake.  I came up with the idea and Tyler executed the design on rice cake paper.  I am sure if we were professionals it would have turned out even cuter, but I couldn’t be more proud.  Danny was excited and that was the most important part!  Than it was time for presents! Once again the boys got spoiled.  I love having their parties on a different day then there actual birthdays because than the stress is over with. 

Coltster is ONE!

How is my baby one!  This kid is the funniest baby.  He is easy going and happy all the time.  He can eat more food than should be humanly possible!  He really loves breakfast food.  He isn’t picky and will eat just about anything but he really loves bananas, avocados, hard boiled eggs and rice.  He is a mommy’s boy and really enjoys nursing.  I am nervous and how he will react when I quit nursing him.  He loves to watch Aspen and Danny play, but doesn’t like it when they pick up him or boss him around.  He is walking along furniture and crawling like crazy, but he has no interest in walking.  When Colt cries you know its him because it is a screech and it hurts your ears, but he has brought so much joy into this house and has the biggest smile I have ever seen!  You can tell Colt will be our sneaky trouble maker, but hes so darn cute its hard to keep a straight face with him.  Here is his 12 month stats:

• 17lbs (less than 3%)
• 28 inches (4%)
• 45cm head circ (13%)

We are having his party on Monday with Danny’s so today I made his favorite pancakes, chocolate avocado and we sang to him!  This boy is such a joy!