Spring Break 2009!!!

Warning! Picture overload and waaaay too long post ahead! Have fun reading! We had a great time as a family down in Las Vegas! It was so nice and warm there! I needed that weather break so bad. We drove about 9 hours to get there. The kids did great on the drive. Jacob freaked out towards the end because I think his legs fell asleep or something! Poor kid. Maybe we should've stopped more so he could stretch his legs! This is how the kids were situated for this trip:



I love, love, love our dvd player in our van!!! Even Jacob would watch the movies and we wouldn't hear a peep out of any of them! They are great travellers. I packed a special bag for each of them, filled with new toys and fun activities to do. I told them that if they were good for each hour of the trip they could choose one thing out of their bag. Asia would ask me every hour to get something out, but Ethan couldn't care less! He got a couple of things out, but mostly just played his DS and watched movies. Jacob didn't quite get the jist of it, but he still was exciting about the new things to play with. He even got to color and play with clay.

It was bedtime when we got there so we all got ready for bed and all slept really well. We stayed in a resort just off of the strip that had a separate bedroom for Mike and I, a hide-a-bed for Ethan and Asia, and pack n' plays for Jacob and Mia. It even had a full kitchen and a continental breakfast every morning with snacks in the evening. It was a great stay and a great deal. I wanted to get pictures of our room so I could remember what it looked like, but I kept forgetting! We only went out to eat once (yummy Japanese food) so we could spend our money elsewhere. We brought some leftovers from home so I didn't even have to really cook.

Anyway, the next morning we had our breakfast and went to Mandalay Bay to experience the Shark Reef. It was pretty fun. They gave us each little phone things to listen to what each exhibit was all about.




They had crocodiles, komodo dragons, all kinds of fish (of course), and all kinds of sharks. Jacob loved to run (he doesn't walk anywhere anymore!) to every exhibit and say fishie, fishie! They had a couple of see-through tunnels where you could walk through and the fish would swim all around you.


Near the end they had a shallow pool where you could touch sting rays. Asia was a little cautious at first, but once she touched one, she didn't want to leave!



Ethan wasn't scared at all. He almost dove right in with them! He liked the sting rays, the sharks, and the jelly fish. He wanted to take a few pics so here are a few of his shots:
Mia and I with the jelly fish:


A star fish:


A shark:



Jacob running away again:

Daddy and Jacob:


Jacob watching the fishies:


On the way to the Shark Reef they have this projection on the wall where you can "swim" on the wall with the fishies. Pretty cool!


After the shark reef we went back to our hotel to swim. It was almost 80 degrees that day! So nice. I kept forgetting to bring my camera down with us to the pool, so no swimming pics. Oh well. It was a pretty nice pool with a hot tub and tons of lounging chairs.

The next day, Ethan wanted to see the pyramid, so we went to the Luxor. They used to have a bunch of Egyptian exhibits, but they were all gone. So this is what we got to see:


Pretty lame, but the kids enjoyed it. Then it was off to NY NY because Asia and Ethan wanted to ride the roller coaster. They were too short for the roller coaster, so we just played some games. Jacob saw the Dance Dance Revolution game and didn't want to leave! He loves music and dancing. It was so cute to watch him push the buttons and dance to the different music:



Here's Daddy and Ethan playing a game that wouldn't end! They were in heaven. Who says you can't buy happiness! And it was only a quarter!


Here's us in front of the "Brooklyn Bridge":


Then it was off to M&M world. It was basically 3 level of all kids of M&M paraphernalia that you could buy. We got to make our own concoction of M&M's, watch a 3D movie with the glasses and everything, and go through how M&M's are made.





Here's our 3 and a half pound bag of M&M's. Ethan chose white and silver milk chocolate ones. Asia chose mini M&M's and Easter colored ones. I chose peanut, peanut butter and almond ones. YUMMY!


Then we went back to the hotel to swim again. It was even warmer! Loved it! Then it was dinnertime and off to Circus Circus. We watched an acrobatic show and looked at all of the stuff we would do the next day.
Here's us waiting for the show to start:



A fun day.
We spent our last day of vacation at Circus Circus riding all of the rides. My batteries died on my camera so not too many pictures about it. Here's Asia and Ethan on the carrousel:



Here's Mia having fun and Jacob not so much!


Here's Asia having fun on the hot air balloon ride:


Here's Asia not having so much fun!


She had just gotten off of the roller coaster that scared the poop out of her! Almost literally! She was fine, at first, and actually excited to go on it. So was Ethan. So they both went on it together. As soon as the harnesses went over them, Asia started crying. Then they were off! I was surprised that they were even tall enough for this one. It had 2 corkscrews and 2 loopdy loops. Asia cried the whole time and Ethan just closed his eyes, he said. We probably won't be doing roller coasters again for a while!
We went back to our hotel to eat dinner and then go swimming again before bed. We brought down cookies, Cheetos and root beer to snack on while we swam. The kids were in heaven because we don't usually eat stuff like that! That was the end of a fun-filled vacation. This is what we drove through coming back to Idaho:


So much for 80 degrees! Welcome to spring in Idaho!

Photo Tag

Julie tagged me. You have to go to your 6th picture folder and publish your 6th picture. Could be scary! :) This is me getting back from whitewater rafting in June of 2007. My in-laws watched Asia and Ethan so Mike and I could go with Mike's brother Nathan and some friends up to the Hoback and raft. I was almost 8-months pregnant with Jacob. It was so much fun and Nathan took good care of me. We didn't even flip, thank goodness!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We celebrated St. Paddy's day with a breakfast of Leprechaun champions! On the menu was green eggs with ham and cheese, green pancakes in the shape of shamrocks, and green milk of course! We took some breakfast to Daddy who didn't have anything to eat. He goes to the Apple at 4:45 a.m. and then goes straight to EIPHD without time for breakfast. I think he liked that. Normally he just has a yogurt and cheese. He loves a hot breakfast!




Asia had to have green milk with every meal today.



I actually had a bit of a hard time eating green food. It's all in my head, I know, but there's something to be said about the appearance of food. I guess I should color everything on my plate green, then I wouldn't eat so dang much!

We all wore green shirts except for Ethan who doesn't really have a green shirt. He just had to wear one that had a green stripe in it. I had to give him a talk about pinching people and that he'd probably get in trouble at school if he pinched anyone not wearing green. He refrained from pinching and didn't get into trouble. Yaay! Not that he has trouble keeping his hands to himself, but you never know with boys!

I was going to make a wonderful St. Patrick's Day dinner, but I ran out of time and we had stroganoff instead. Russian food I think. That's close enough to Ireland, right?!

Mia's 4 Months Old!

We just went to Mia's 4-month old check-up with Doctor Packer. She is doing great! She is already 14 pounds (56th %) and 26 inches long (95th %). She's almost exactly the same size as Asia when she was 4-months old. Asia was 26" long and weighed 14lbs. 8 oz. They could be twins!



Mia likes to play with her hands and suck on them. She has become quite the drool monster. I hope she's not getting teeth already! She can roll from her tummy to her back and she likes to hold onto her toys and shake them.



She also likes to swing in her swing and be outside. It's actually been pretty nice lately so she can finally go outside without freezing her little tooshie off! She also does this funny thing where she puts her chin to her chest so it looks like she has no neck. Then she'll stare at you with funny, googly eyes and raise her eyebrows! What a silly girl!

Look What I Can Do!

My little Jacob is growing up to be quite a little character! His favorite thing to do lately is get the vacuum out and pretend to vacuum. He likes to try to "help" me vacuum also. He grabs onto the vacuum and wants to help me push it along. He kinda slows down the process, but he's learning right? Hopefully he'll still be enthusiastic about it when he can actually do it the right way and really help me out!




Another vacuum story. Jacob likes to sit right in the middle of the vacuum hose while I'm trying to vacuum. I don't know what it is he likes about it. Maybe it's like his own little play space and he feels safe inside of it. Sometimes it will get a little tight around him and he cracks up so hard! He's crazy!




Another funny thing. Jacob was eating his froot loops one morning and decided it would be fun to stick his finger inside the hole of the froot loop and eat them that way. I guess it was easier than using his spoon! When he got one on his finger, he smiled so big and was so proud of himself! Funny little dude!

Mia's 3 Months Old

Just wanted to post a bit about Mia. She's actually 3 and a half months old. She likes to play peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake, and sing Itsy Bitsy Spider. She's starting to grasp toys and bat at her toys in her play gym.

She looks just like her big sister with her big blue eyes and her big cheeks.

Here's Asia at 3 months:


Here's Mia at 3 months:

They definitely look related! Mia's even getting the fuzzy hair look that Asia sported for 6 months!

Mia has also found a new talent like her big sister; sucking her thumb!



She loves it! She will even suck both thumbs, not at the same time, but she will alternate. If one thumb is covered up, she will find her other thumb and suck it. I used to suck my left thumb and Asia sucked her right thumb. I think she sleeps so well because she can pacify herself with her thumb. She will sometimes be just in her crib in the morning, sucking away at her thumb, just content as could be. What a little sweetie.

She's getting to be very ticklish on her neck and sides of her belly. She will nurse about every 4 hours and will sleep 10 to 12 hours at night, with 3 naps during the day. She's a very happy, content baby and we love our Princess Mia!

Happy Heart Day!

I know, I'm playing catch up once again, but that's just how I am I guess! Love it or leave it! We started off the festivities on Wednesday since that's when Asia's party at preschool was. She even put all of the names on her valentines all by herself. She loves to write words and read books. What a little smarty. Totally different than her big brother. Although, Ethan put all of the names on his valentines too this year. And he didn't even complain! Big change from last year!

Anyway, Asia decided she wanted to have me put hearts in her hair for her preschool party. I tried, but didn't have enough time to get it quite right. Also, not enough time for a picture. Oh well. We tried again on Friday with her friend Mara. It turned out better this time.




Later that afternoon we invited some of the kids' friends and we decorated heart cookies. They were so yummy! It's become kind of a tradition now I guess. Fun times.






Valentine's Day was a fun day, especially since it was on a Saturday. Mike and I went out Friday night so we could spend the whole day with the family. We started out with yummy heart shaped huckleberry pancakes.




Then I HAD to cut the boys' hair. They were all getting some unruly mops. Then I got to go shopping with my friend Emily. Kohls was having 25% off their clearance so I got a couple of things 80% off and then 25% off that. I found some great deals and had great company. I got back in time to do my neighbor's hair for the sweetheart dance at the school. Then my neice called and needed her hair dome too. It's fun to do hair. I should've went to hair school. Maybe later.

Anyway, then we went to Dave and Emily's for a night out with the kids. I made heart shaped pizzas for the kids and we had a lovely steak and potato dinner. Then we watched the 3-point shoot-out and the slam dunk contest. It's crazy what these guys can do with a basketball, especially the little short dude! Unbelieveable! So, all-in-all a fun, low-key v-day. Just the way we like it! :)

Another Cheer Camp and Another Visit From the Tooth Fairy!

Asia got to go to another cheer camp a few weeks ago with her friend Mara. She really enjoys it, although she's not very flexible and doesn't have any rhythm! She's pretty shy also, but when they did their little performance, she performed her little heart out! We'll just have to work on the rhythm thing!



Notice her friend Mara on the left. Mara's 4 months older than Asia, so you can see how tall Asia actually is. I will have to get her into basketball next year instead of cheering for the basketball team!



A couple of weeks ago, Asia lost another tooth. This time it was her bottom right tooth. It had been loose for a couple of months. So when her cousin Breanna came over and showed us her missing teeth, Asia wanted hers to come out too. We tried a couple of times to yank it out with a tissue, but it wasn't quite loose enough. I yanked on it one more time and it popped out but we couldn't find it! Luckily it had just fallen onto her pants. It was such a tiny little thing! We put it in the tooth fairy pillow and the next morning she had fifty cents under her pillow. What a brave, tough little girl!

Ice Skating

On one of Mike's days off, we decided to go ice skating as a family. We invited my friend Mikki and her kids and we had a great time. It was a perfect winter day with the sun shining and no wind! Asia and Ethan both have their own skates and so do Mike and I. We went to a free outdoor rink by the zoo. It's a pretty fun, cheap way to hang out with the fam. Ethan and Asia are getting to be pretty good, actually moving a bit without falling on their butts! Jacob just liked sliding in the sled and the hot chocolate afterward. We brought his "bob" skates, but didn't put them on him. Maybe next time. He also liked pushing Mia in the stroller. Mia just hung out in the stroller and eventually fell asleep. She's such a great baby!

Mia is 2 Months!!

Time really flies by! Mia is actually almost 3 months old but I need to post some pictures of her when she was 2 months old. She's starting to smile more and has big chubby cheeks like the rest of the kids had at this age. She loves to be sung to and loves to play patty cake. I can almost get a giggle out of her by clapping her hands together. So cute!