Happy Days

***WARNING: Lots of pictures!***
There has been a long break in between posts. Some of these are delayed in the dates, but for record sake, I will post them anyway.

Fall Break finally arrived. Wasnt very fall-ish, here in Arizona. We still had temps in the 100's to high 90's. It truly is miserable here! To my relief, there is a light at the end of this hot, terrible tunnel. We are only 6 hours from Disneyland and the beach!
We packed up the kids and headed to Anaheim for a couple days. It was so nice to get a break from the heat wave. It was also nice to have my brother Neal, join us from Utah. Having three adults and three kids made the trip so much better. We had one set of eyes to watch each child, and no one had to wait for others to ride a ride, or sit alone.

Here are some photos of our day at Newport Beach. I was surprised that the water was still warm enough to get in an swim. Not that the water on the Pacific is every really WARM, but in October?!? It was very nice!









Next day was DISNEYLAND! Oh, I love that place. Even as an adult it makes me happy.

Because its not easy to hide my big belly anymore, I clearly wasn't allowed to ride any of the big roller coasters (Splash Mountain, Matterhorn, Space Mt, or Thundermountain). Since Asher isn't tall enough, he and I found other fun things to do in the kiddie sections. Mike, Neal and the twins had their run of all the fun "older kid" rides.
Zachary and Tanner both said their favorite rides were Pirates and Indiana Jones. I thought I.J. was pretty grown up for them. They are my thrill seekers, so it didn't surprise me. There is a funny story here about Zachary. Earlier in the day they went to get in line for Indiana Jones and he was told he was too short. He was only 1 inch shy of the height, and Tanner was just right. He was devastated. He cried non stop.And I didn't really know how to explain that Tanner could go, but he couldn't. I certainly didn't want to punish Tanner and not let him on. It was the one ride they had been dying to get on! Later in the day, Mike decided to be sneaky and get fast passes to get on, in hopes that they could walk right on and not get measured. As they approached the entrance again, they picked on Zach to be measured. It was dark inside and for some reason Zach measured up and was let on. Mike assumed there was some discrepancies in the sticks. Meanwhile, Neal was giggling. As they went to get into the jeeps, Zach was asked to be measured again!! Mike thought "DANG, we aren't getting on this thing". Once again, Zach approached the stick and measured up. Neal couldn't contain himself any longer. When they were out of ear shot Neal said that Zachary had been walking on his tiptoes the whole time. He figured out on his own that if he wanted to get on the ride, he would have to make himself taller. Outside the ride Zach was proud and whispered to Mike "Daddy, I was walking on my tiptoes so I could get on!"- What a sneak!

Tanner getting measured.

Zach being told he is too small. Sad boy!

I think the highlights of my day were seeing all the boys get pulled into the parade and dancing with Donald Duck and Chip and Dale. Seeing their excitement during each ride. Watching the FANTASMIC show, and hearing them ooh and awe over the fireworks. They were all really good. Especially Asher, who loved every ride and was patient in the lines. He LOVED the fireworks. He has talked about them endlessly since we've been home. He has been singing "Its a small world" everywhere we go. He got a round of applause in line at Walmart for his solo performance of it.
Great memories, Great times. Love these boys!



























Even Flat Stanley Joined us!

Update

Before I was married, I dreamed about what my family would be like. How many kids would I have, what would they look like, where would we live, etc.

After 3 boys, I was still waiting to have a daughter. Im not sure why it mattered so much in my head. The prospect at sharing my love for music, dance, singing, piano, and other things of the dominantly female brain, were things I wanted to share with a child.
Inside, I knew that odds were not good for a girl. The cards just didnt seem to be in my favor. Still, I hoped.

I prepared myself for another boy.This is our last I thought,thinking that maybe that would change the outcome. I thought it would be news that would be more appreciated on the day of arrival than 4 months in advance. I wanted to wait and not find out the gender. Mike however, does not like to wait. He was determined to know. Today was the day. And as expected, we are having another boy.

To be honest, I had the same reaction with Asher. I was fine on the outside, but struggled to keep in the tears. Disappointment ruined my day.

Sure, I know I should be grateful for a healthy baby. Which I am.
I should be grateful to have any kids at all. Which I am.
I should have told Mike suck it up and deal with waiting, so I wouldnt be mad at him for demanding to know. Which I am.
I knew the odds favored a male. They did.
I should not have put all my hopes into this last baby to be a female. Unfortunately, I did.
I should be happy I got to see my baby on the screen. I am not. I wished I had waited.

I just feel like I have nothing to give boys. Sure, I can be a good mother. I just dont feel like I can share who I am with them very well. Guys just dont get that girly stuff. The dream of dance lessons and dresses, pony tails and wedding gowns, barbies and boyfriends....its gone.
I would be lying if I said I wasnt writing this with tears streaming. Tomorrow will be better.
Another boy will be loved just as much. But today, just for today, Im sad.

One liners

The kids seem to love the movie IGOR these days. Its lines are heard coming from the mouths of my babes. Sometimes, they are just totally funny.

me: "Zach, where are you?"
Zach: "In the bathroom"
me: " Did you wash your hands?"
Zach: "I had a bat stuck in the belfry, if you know what I mean."
Me: (Laughing) " Do you know what that means?"
Zach: "Nope"

Potty humor. Straight from the movie. wonderful.

Labor Day

Labor Day was alot of fun. We played in the pool with aunts, uncles and cousins all day. It was lots of fun. If there is one thing Arizona is good for, its a great pool party

Mike and Asher

Ready...Aim... FIRE!

Water BattleShip

Lazy in the shade

The boys swim great. Even in the deep end.

Taylor

Mikey

Sedona

We went camping in Sedona last weekend with my brother Cole and his family. It was beautiful down there. Its the only place in Arizona that I have actually thought had beauty (sorry people, I dont like the desert much). We camped right next to a river. In the morning all the men, little men included, went to fish.Since no one had licenses they didnt think to bring their poles. While we were packing the car, Zach threw his little fishing pole and Tanner's into the van. It turned out to be a great thing since the fish were active and didnt care that the marshmallows we used as bait were attached to a Lightning McQueen pole. It was quite humorous seeing grown men using it too. In the end they did end up catching three trout.

It rained for about 3 hours in the night. It was thunder and lightning like you cant believe. Luckily our tent is a huge waterproof blessing. Everyone slept through it but me. I was paranoid about one of the kids waking up and leaving the tent in the night.(Recently a two year old left his tent in the night camping in Sedona. His remains were found over a week later.It was all over the news. It scared me to death!) I tossed and turned and jumped up in my sleep all night to count heads. I know, thus is a paranoid mother.
We ended our adventure with a little drive up to Flagstaff to eat a picnic lunch. Great times. We love camping!

Nothing like a hot dog on the fire. AAHHH! The life.

Watching movies to settle down for the evening.
Goodmorning. ok, maybe not.
Goodmorning sunshine!
Where are we headed this morning Zach ?
One, two, three, four, five. Once I caught a fish alive.
We caught it using this awesome kiddy fishing pole.
They must not want some people using the front door. It may reflect poorly on their business
Cute family
Playing pretend in the forest
I got a stick and I know how to use it!

Kiddos

Here are some pictures of my darling guys. I cant get enough. I think they are too cute.

Frosting anyone?


This is a hat, not a shirt, duh!

Tan the Man
Off to school on "brown day"

In lieu of the "first day" photo.

Isnt he so cute?

Cute kindergarten brothers. Its no

wonder their teachers love them already!

School Days

("RED DAY" on Monday this week)

Its offical! My babies have grown up.

Zach and Tanner started school last week. Kindergarten in our school district is full day. So from 7:40- 2:15 everyday, Im home with only, Asher. Can you believe that? I have never had just 1 child at home. Its very odd, but nice.

Tanner had strep throat on the first day of school so he couldnt go until the second day. And being the forgetful pregnant woman I am, I forgot to get a picture of him on his first day! Im a bad mom.

Zachary was so excited to go. He woke up at 6 am and wanted to eat and get dressed. I drove him to school and he gave me a hug and ran to meet new friends on the playground. When the bell rang he waved and that was that. He went to class without any fuss. I on the otherhand was teary thinking about this little boy growing up. Its another huge milestone in their lives. I was so proud.

Zach has loved school and his teacher. He and Tanner are in different classes and have each made their own set of friends and routines. Its fun to hear about Zach's class pet, Stu. A sonoran mud turtle that sometimes escapes his excersize tub. Zach loves to tell me about the fun things at school.

Tanner is also loving school and has been rewarded everyday for good behavior. He really likes his teacher and he is thriving. He does well with structure, so I knew school would be good for him. He is shy but seems to be reaching out to other kids with similar temperments. Its good for them to grow individually, and develop their own strengths without being bossed around by the other brother.

Zach on his first day