Surprise Weekend in California

Last weekend, we took a much needed vacation to California. The best part was that we kept the whole thing a secret from Jack. He didn't catch us packing, he didn't seem to notice the cooler getting filled with food, and he wasn't even suspicious when we dropped our dog off at the cousins' house so they could watch him for a few days. I told Jack on Thursday evening that we were going to have to pick up Dad from work, so we headed up to his office with our loaded car and Jack didn't seem to think anything was out of the ordinary. When Ty started driving and took us on the wrong freeway, though, Jack realized something was going on. He kept telling us that we were going the wrong way and that he wanted to go home. When he started seeing signs for Los Angeles, he guessed that we were going to California. We told him he was right and that we had a hotel room waiting for us. That changed everything and all he could say was "Oh, Thank you! Thank you!"

We got into Anaheim at about midnight, but Jack was 100% alert and awake when he realized we were going to be going into an elevator. He gets so excited about checking into hotels. We all crashed until about 6:30 when Jack climbed in bed with us. Finally, we told him that we needed to get dressed and ready because we were going to Disneyland!

Brave little boy in line for Matterhorn

It was such an amazing day. The whole park was decorated for Christmas and Christmas music was playing throughout. I know I'm such a baby, but I teared up a few times. Jack's favorite ride: Peter Pan. Surprised?

Saturday morning, we slept in and hit the hot tub. I think we finally rolled out for the day around lunch time. The weather was a bit chilly, but we went to the beach and walked along the sand for a few hours. So relaxing.

After the beach, we went for a drive to do some sight-seeing. I actually ended up falling asleep for an hour, so instead of taking us to a mall (like we talked about), Ty drove us to West L.A. to find the Russian district. Yep. He found it. And this cute little Russian bakery, too:

Ty was in heaven. He got to chat in Russian with the two shop owners and sink his teeth into some authentic pastries at the same time. Of course, we stocked up on some things for the freezer, too. It was really fun and we didn't get mugged, so that's a good thing.

Thank you, California. We needed that.

Halloween

About two weeks ago, Jack saw Peter Pan for the first time and fell in love. I don't know why but he's just crazy about that movie. So, we made him Peter Pan for Halloween. Right before we left for the ward Trunk-or-Treat, we went outside for a little photo shoot and these are the poses he gave me:

Who is this kid? Seriously?...

We had a great time at the ward party and Jack loved playing with all his little friends.

This here is us with the "scarecrow." Ty dressed up like this and scared the pants off kids (and a few adults) all night long. Happy Halloween!

Two-Six

Well, it was my birthday last week. It's official. I'm closer to 30 than 20.

I had a great day. Jack took me out to lunch at Jason's Deli. Then, JoEllen took him for as few hours in the afternoon to play with cousins while I had a lovely, peaceful Target shopping spree. In the evening, my parents came over to watch me open some presents. Ty made me dutch oven chicken for dinner and Mississippi mud cake for dessert. It doesn't get any better than that.

Children's Museum of Phoenix

Jack and I went to a children's museum last week and had such a good time. We could have been there all day. He loved all the exhibits, but I think he had the most fun making his "bat hat." Here's a few pictures to enjoy:

October Updates

October is just rolling along and it still doesn't quite feel like Fall to me. Jack is just as hilarious as ever. He got a trivia game for his birthday called Great States that we play almost everyday. All day long I get questions like "What's the Silver State, Mom?" or "How many states border Alabama?" If I'm wrong, he gives me a lovely buzzer sound and tells me the correct answer.

This last week was Fall Break, so Jack got to play with cousins and friends that are usually in school. We had a fun, busy week and Jack even got to have a sleepover at his cousins' house. He felt like such a big kid. 

Here's some pictures of him (since I know that's the only reason anyone checks the blog):

 Hiking on South Mountain

Jack showing off his cornstarch art from his art class at the community center.

Campo Game Night

My brother coaches football at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert. For the first time, Jack got to go to one of his games and he loved it. Well, he loved the nachos, hanging out with cousins, and meeting the team mascot.

 

Tractor Kid

Two weeks ago, we spent the night out in Florence with my parents. We had to go run an errand to some people in my parents' ward that live on a huge farm. Jack was so enamored with all the tractors. My parents' friends were kind enough to let Jack go for a ride in one of the tractors with their 16-year-old son. He totally took his hands off the wheel and let Jack drive it around in circles for 10 minutes.

Of course, Jack now says he wants to be a farmer when he grows up!