School Days

My kids started school Monday. I know. It is crazy early. But, with 113 degree heat here, it only makes sense to start school a little early. I mean, it is not like anyone is playing outside!

They make up for it with a nice long break in October, and another in April. I like it that way. It makes for some fun in Utah where we can crunch leaves under our feet.

Here are the big kids! Ready for their first day! Note to self: if you are going to buy Abby a cute shirt and cute pants... she needs cute shoes to go with them. NOT her rainbow stripped tennis shoes. . (Check)


We had to book it pretty fast. . in true form, we were late for the first day and missed lining up. . .
You know, I just wanted to see them sweat a little . . HURRY KIDS!! WE ARE TAKING PICTURES AS WE GO!!!!


OK! STOP HERE AND LOOK AT ME! I NEED A PICTURE OF YOU NOT WALKING!!!

The standers by. . . Wade only asked for Abby or, "Where's Abby??" 300 times the first day. . only 289 the second. We are making some improvements. . ..

parting with his other mommy is such sweet sorrow. . .

Next up? 2 BIRTHDAYS (in a row) and a BAPTISM! :)

You Should Be Embarrassed

Jon Gosselin.

Seriously.

Because you are looking like a total and complete idiot.

And if I DID ever feel sorry for you,

because sometimes your wife seems REALLY over the top,

Now, I DON'T.

Because you pierced both your ears (and I am pretty sure you are over 30)

And because I just read THIS story, and it is seriously SO DUMB.

And I think you and Kate have had just a WEE BIT TOO MUCH ATTENTION.

But at least she is not galavanting around the world with a paparazzi pack.

She is at home with the kids.

And right now, she is looking a whole lot more put together than you.

And your 30-something mid-life crisis.

You crazy crazy Twilight Fans. . .

If you haven't already seen these, you can thank me! :) THE NEW MOON TRAILERS FROM COMICON!

I AM LAME

I just can't quite seem to get back to my old bloggin' ways. Maybe that is because my lap top is DOWN. I can no longer lounge in my bed and watch tivo and blog at the same time. . . . It makes for a pretty quiet blog. Sorry about that.




It could also be that:



I am getting the kids ready to start school on Monday



I am still unpacking boxes



I am planning a baptism



I am trying to get back on a "routine"



I am trying to work out (that isn't happening much)




I am trying to plan/think about 3 birthdays coming up





I am still going through 3 weeks of mail (ALMOST DONE!)





Anywho. . .




For those of you that don't know, my sister and I maintain a food blog. My OTHER sisters are supposed to contribute too (HELLO!) but really, it is just me and my little sis. We love to cook, we love to look at food blogs. . . we love food. But, she says we are LAME because we don't take pictures of our food. I have COMMITTED to adding pictures to our food blog, and so, while I was in SLC, she made me the Leige Sugared Waffle Recipe. You might ask, what the heck is a Leige Sugared Waffle . . and to that I would say, "A PIECE OF HEAVEN!" Here are some pix to prove it.

Just about ready to be shoved in my mouth. . .

It is sooooooooo good I might not waste it on the kids. . .

BON APETITE . . HERE I COME!
If you have a small soiree of people coming for breakfast, I would highly recommend pulling this recipe out. It is like a cross between a waffle and a bread? (It is kinda bread-like dough) and you put these special sugar crystals in it (found at your nearest European market) and boy. . . does it make for one FABULOUS CULINARY EXPERIENCE.

Thanks again Hillary for making them for me. . . L.O.V.E.D. them. Believe me, these pictures, as good as they look, don't do them justice!

Summer Bloggin'

We finally made it back to the land of 114 degree weather. It was a looooong ride back, but we made it. We had so much fun on our little excursion and I am so far behind in blogging I promise to catch up. I definitely want to share all the fun we had, but first, let me just say . . .

THANK YOU!

If we saw you, hung out with you, stayed at your house or basically breathed the same air in the last three weeks, I just want to say THANKS! We had so much fun. It was so nice to get out of the heat and leave behind the mess that was our newly moved into house. We enjoyed every bit of our Northwestern Tour, it was awesome.

I think I was hoping that I would come home to an un-packed house that was all organized and such. . . yeah. . didn't happen. As a matter of fact, it was just how I left it. It was kind of a depressing return home, but, we had so much fun I have been able to look past it and look BACK to all of the fun we had and it was well worth coming home to an incredibly messy house.

My kids got back to school NEXT Monday, and I can hardly believe it. I have a "TO DO" list that is very, very, very long. But, I still want to share some of my fun pix. Since I can't decide what to start with, I think I will start with a picture dialog. . .

"What happens when you take pictures of your frustrated 2 year old"

Here goes. . .

You give your toddler a hot chocolate chip cookie! He smiles in delight!

He looks at the cookie and tries to imagine how he is going to eat it, because it is warm, and not quite set up.

He looks at you in frustration, because it seems as if you are pulling an evil trick on him. I mean, warm cookie, gigantic mess. . I mean. . how is he supposed to get around THAT one?

You start to snicker, because it seems kinda funny and. .

He kinda laughs, but kinda gets mad too. . . so,

You take a picture of the cute baby who is watching all go down.

But, you have to go back to the funny toddler and as you start to snap away, this happens. .

You start to feel bad so, you take a picture of the person who thinks it IS funny,

(because, really, it was)

Then, your toddler decides that eating he cookie is much more important than getting mad at you for snapping pictures of it. . .

And you have to sneak one more in of the cute girl with the curl RIGHT in the middle of her forehead!

Check back soon for the rest of our summer adventures!

HOW TO TRAVEL WITH KIDS

We have completed the first part of our trip and have made our round trip flight from SLC to Spokane for the 4th. In all honesty, the drive from PHX to SLC is what scares me the most. . I mean, shakin' in my boots scares me. We stopped in Las Vegas which helps tremendously when you are traveling with small kids. YES there are shorter routes to SLC, but lets be honest. . would YOU drive 12 hours with a 4 month old? Um, no. . . You wouldn't. We head back that way in a few days. . . can't wait to give it another try. Seems like I am tempting fate. But, we will see.

Our trip has been so far, FABULOUS, and we have had tons of fun with family and friends and even a few BLOGGERS! I will do more trip details later, but as promised, I wanted to post my tips for TRAVELING WITH KIDS!

There is NOTHING like the ego boost of traveling by yourself with small kids. Everyone ooohhhs and aaahhhs at your bravery. For the most part, it REALLY isn't that bad. However, I have learned some serious tricks of the trade. I will share them with you FREE OF CHARGE! You're welcome. These tips probably only work best if you are traveling with a 7, 5, 2 and 4 month old baby though. Keep that in mind and adapt to your own children's ages. But SERIOUSLY! YOU CAN DO IT!

I had one woman who sat behind me and said to her neighbor, "I am just watching this lady with her four kids and I just can't believe how well she is doing!!" (Insert ego boost). I told her it wasn't that bad and she proceeded to tell me that she has to fly to her daughter, pick her and her kids up and fly back with them just to get them to visit! You REALLY don't have to do that people. . REALLY. Here are my best tips for getting through it WITHOUT making someone come and get you!

1. FLY DURING NAP TIME. Now, this can be tricky, because your kid might fall asleep on the way TO the airport, but if you can keep them awake and you know they won't throw a fit in security because they're tired, DO IT. It worked on the way there, but not on the way back. It was still ok on the way back because I . . .

2. BUY YOUR TODDLER HIS/HER OWN SEAT. I know your kids fly free under 2 and Wade is over 2. . but I am almost THANKFUL for the day that I have to buy him a ticket because that means that. .

3. HE WILL BE IN HIS CAR SEAT! Put your toddler in their car seat on the plane. You may think you don't want to haul that buggar down the corridor. Especially if you have an infant with you like I did, but DO IT! It is TOTALLY WORTH IT.

4. One other trick I learned, is CHECK THE STROLLER AND BAGS CURB SIDE. It is worth every penny of the $2 a bag charge they give you, and if you are traveling by yourself with small kids. . IT IS WORTH IT and you DESERVE IT.

5. You might think you want that stroller but. . DON'T BRING A STROLLER IN THROUGH SECURITY. Check it as a bag if you need it, but there is NOTHING worse than having to take everything off that stroller that you stuffed into it just to take it all out at security where you THEN have to fold it up and put it on the conveyor belt. Seriously. If you have a toddler, just let him be. Hold his had until you get to the gate, and then

6. TRAVEL WITH YOUR BABY UNDER 1 YEAR IN A FRONT PACK CARRIER. Seriously. That is what I did with K and it was great because my hands were totally free and she was totally entertained, and it left a hand free to carry Wade's car seat in one had and my bag on my other shoulder or even Wade's hand if I had to. However, I usually relegated that responsibility to Abby. If you are REALLY worried about having to carry that car seat, rent a luggage carrier in the hall. It can also act as an impromptu stroller if you put the car seat on in and then put your kid IN it!

7. TRAVEL AROUND MEAL TIME. We traveled right around lunch and it is a great time kill and keeps your kids in one place if you can feed them right before you get on the plane. In the SLC airport they have little "kiddie playlands" which are great, but, if you are traveling to an airport that doesn't. Just take a lunch, or buy one there. It is worth it to keep them busy and in one place until you are ready to board. It also keeps them from wanting to get their toys out and losing them before you even get on the plane!

8. When you board. . You have to have your toddler in the window seat because that is where their car seat has to be. PUT YOUR TODDLER IN HIS SEAT FIRST! I was lucky to have Abby to hand the baby to when I was putting Wade's seat in, but I put him in, handed him his blankie and binkie and NO TOYS. I wanted him to get the idea there was nothing else to do and so he would just go to sleep. WORKED. :)

9. BRING A VIDEO ON YOUR IPOD. You can rent videos on itunes and it is a great way to keep ONE child (your most difficult i.e. Jaxon) busy on the plane. They have to wait until they are in the air, but, that is ok. . you can usually keep them entertained until then with looking out the windows and watching the plane takes off. NOTE TO MYSELF AND ALL YOU IPOD USERS! IF YOU RENT A VIDEO YOU MUST COMPLETE WATCHING IT IN ONE DAY OR WHEN YOU TURN IT ON AGAIN IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY DELETE!!! I didn't know this and actually still don't know if I really understand it since rentals are SUPPOSED to be like 20 days long, but when I went to turn on the movie on the way back to SLC for Jaxon I couldn't. . . it deleted itself because it had not been watched all the way through. If you know what I am talking about and know a way around it, please leave a comment and TELL ME! Anyway, Ipods are WAY better than bringing a HUGE BULKY video player with you. But remember to down load the day before because sometimes it can take a while and then you have to sync! I learned the ipod trick for THIS trip.

10. oooh ooohh. I forgot one thing. GO TO THE FAMILY BATHROOM BEFORE THE FLIGHT! This is my most favorite activity because it is always mass chaos. Changing TWO diapers and washing at least 4 pairs of hands and all watching each other go is all very exciting but saves you from having to take them on the plane. . which is totally not fun. So, just do it. . it is a good time burn too.

Any other tips and tricks I missed? You can leave them in the comments! I would love to hear YOUR tricks for traveling! If you are reading this post because you googled "How to travel with kids" GOOD LUCK! Will post more vacation details later!

I NEED A VACATION. . Wanna Come?

Friday, after spending almost two hours at the DMV getting a new drivers license that was expired by 4 months even though I just got it two years ago, [I know, long run on]. I came home, furiously packed the kids up for 3 weeks, and left the house in a crazy frantic mess of boxes and move in blow-up. It seriously looks like a tornado hit my house on the inside, but no where else. Sad.

I called my husband and I told him how miserable I was. . how hard my life is and how bad I hate it. How horrible it is to have to drive 4 kids by myself to SLC and what a down trodden life I lead. I seriously did. Please tell me you, at some point in your life, have done the same thing. . . cuz, he wasn't very impressed with my attitude.

I drove to Vegas. Stayed overnight. Drove on to SLC the next day and got there by dinner on Sat. I chilled out on Sunday. Woke up Monday morning and hopped a plane with all 4 kids to Spokane to stay with my in-laws. By the time I hit SLC, I had recovered from my melt-down for the most part. I had made it. I knew I would. But that didn't take the fear from spending 12 hours in a car with a 4 month old baby. It just didn't. No confidence in the WORLD can take that fear away.

By the time I hit the SLC airport I was back to my old self. Confident. Self assured. The security guy checked my tickets and said, "Four kids, all by yourself. . .huh?" I said "Yep. It will be fine." Little did he know I had already conquered 12 hours in the car with the little angels.
It was no biggie. Seriously. It went ridiculously smoothly. I will go into more detail on that later.

Yesterday and today, I have spent time 'keeping my husband updated' with what I am doing. You know, I don't want him to worry. . . Here was my first text. . .

“Miss you, wish you were here!”


Then for some reason, I started to feel a little snarky. . and texted this.
“Neener Neener”

I am sure he replied with something extra witty, so, I sent this. . .

“So, so, suck your toe”

You’re impressed with my level of maturity. I know.
I was starting to feel so much better about my life. I mean, who could feel bad about their life when they are doing this. . .

I texted: “Geez, this is so awesome. I wish you could take a week off.”

I really wanted him to be here with me.

Then I texted: “Someone likes boat rides.”

She really did. . out like a light.

This morning I woke up so happy to be here. You know, everyone needs a vacation now and again from their regular everyday life. EVERYONE. I don’t care if you can’t get to the most beautiful lake and river in Washington. Just take a trip. Get out. See something else beside the catastrophe that is your house (read 'life').

So, this morning, I wanted him to know, I was still ok. . and getting better. So I sent this. .

“I am so, so, sorry.”

Then I wrote. . .

“Holy CRAP. This is the LIFE!”

(Yes, I am in my pajamas and had not showered yet in this picture. . that is right. . I am on VACATION!)

I am doing much better now. Personal crisis meltdown averted. Thanks for asking. If you would like to join me on my personal vacay, please check facebook next weeks for days and times that I will be hostessing visits to my personal vacay. I would LOVE to see you, and wouldn't you LOVE to come sit at the lake with me?

Mkay, see you there.

ZING ZANG ZOOM!

We went to the circus last night because I won tickets from here! My kids were MORE than thrilled to be going and Peter and I tried our best to keep our eyes open after an exhausting move and for me, two days of cleaning at the old house. Our "new" house is in complete shambles, but I wanted some "family" time before we go in search of cooler weather.

A few years back, we attended a "home town circus" in Spokane, and I thought it was so well done and well thought out. It wasn't as "big" as the regular circus, but I thought it was amazing. Last night seemed like a scaled down version as well. Although they didn't market it as a "home town circus" because they were in the GIGANTIC city of Phoenix, I think they probably have made it smaller than in years past. The economy has trickled down to even the circus folks.

To be honest, there were a lot of great parts to the show. Tight rope, flying circles, tight rope, trapeze artists, rope artists (think cirque), as well as horses, dogs, elephants and tigers. However, I have to admit I like the "home town circus" a whole lot better! There was a weird feel to this show. Their theme was "Don't try this at home" and since I have younger children, it may have been a little much for me. Along with that, there was a nemesis named "gravity" and it wasn't very well planned out in my opinion and as the night went on, I got tired of seeing "gravity" running around.

The kids thought it was amazing and I love sharing a part of my childhood that I loved with them. The tricks and animals were always so incredible. Now, as an adult, the circus hasn't changed much. But I still love to see it when it comes to town. . just so I can see the smile on their faces!

Life as it is.

Most of you know, we just went through a move. . . (no links to past stories today, your just gonna have to believe me) It was chaotic. I think anything is chaotic when you are trying to take care of 4 kids. One being a 4 month old, and one being 2. Oh, and one being Autistic and well, Abby is perfect.

It went pretty well. Except that I wasn't fully packed . . eventhough I thought I did really well. Which resulted in at least 8 car loads being brought over one by one. It is only a few blocks away. .. but that was a major pain. I highly don't recommend doing that. Pack every last little trinket. Just do it. You will be happy you did. I had to do that on the way here, because movers were moving us here. But when you do a close move, it is too tempting.

I am getting ready to start an extended vacay on Friday. Driving myself (and 4 kids) to Utah. I KNOW you are all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for my trip stories. The last ones were so amazing. I am hoping for no stories. I had enough last time to last me a LIFETIME. So, hope that for me, okay?

All in all, I think I am doing pretty well, and well, after the last year (it being a year since we have moved here) I have decided that I can pretty much deal with ANYTHING. Yes, I said ANYTHING. Bring it on. I can totally hack it. Seriously.

That being said, when so called "law suit settlement" stopped coming our way (again, do your own homework people, I don't have times for links today) we started down the path of trying to rectify that. . . How you might ask? Well, the only way that we can. Yup, by getting the stores back.

You might say, "Wait! Didn't your husband get a new job?" and I would say, "Why yes, he did!" and then you would say, "But isn't he getting a masters?" And I would say, "Um, yeah, he is" and THEN you would say, "Well, then how are you going to take the stores back?" And then I would say. . Your lookin' at her. Yup. Me. Me and my 4 month old baby. . . runnin' a couple of pizza joints. Wanna pizza?

I will tell you all about the CIRCUS TOMORROW (picture that was a link).

CIRCUS WINNER!

MICHELLE!

You won the tickets to the circus! I went to Random.org this morning and plugged in our numbers and VOILA!!! #1 came up! WOW! I would have never thought it would be #1 CONGRATULATIONS! I will probably see you there!

Thanks to everyone for playing!

I WON and YOU CAN WIN TOO!

You know I am right in the middle of a move. . . and probably shouldn't be doing this, but I was so excited that I won some TICKETS TO THE CIRCUS that I asked if I could do a giveaway too!!! I love the circus and jumped at the chance to win free tickets! The circus is next week here in PHX! AND I CAN'T WAIT!

Guess what? I finally won a GIVEAWAY and YOU CAN TOO!

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

Leave me a comment and on SUNDAY I will randomly pick a WINNER! And it could be you!

If you have friends or family that live in the area, please send them a link to the blog and have them leave a comment! GOOD LUCK! If you link me to your blog to let your friends and family know, you can add another comment telling me you did so! Want another option? Send a link to your friends via Facebook!

GOOD LUCK!

IF YOU DON'T WIN THE GIVEAWAY, YOU CAN STILL GET TICKETS THROUGH TICKETMASTER.COM. IF YOU ENTER THIS SPECIAL CODE, YOU CAN GET 4 TICKETS FOR $44! ENTER THE CODE "MOM" IN THE MC PROMOTION CODE BOX. CODE NOT GOOD FOR RING SIDE OR VIP SEATING.

We have some great cirucs memories! Check out Abby's Circus Dream Video on my sidebar, and you will see why we can't WAIT to go back!!!

Peek A BOO! I see you!

So I have left blog land. Kind of. Actually, I am still keeping a close eye on all of you. After all, when you are packing your life away, you still need to take a break now and again. . . and my FAVORITE nursing past time is reading blogs. Sorry if I am a little shy on the comments these days. I am visiting your blog and having fun too!

I am also keeping busy with all of the screamin' deals out there! Kmart is doubling coupons this week, and I have already done my diaper run. They had an AWESOME diaper deal scenario, and if you haven't added THIS BLOG to your reader yet, you are MISSING OUT!

I also hit CVS this week for a few of their deals. Although their diaper deal didn't work for me, it might work for you! I DID take advantage of the Candy deal though. There were some M&M coupons in the mail lately, and I got 6 packages of candy for $1.66 each. (not that I need any more candy-- HEY! BTW! I have lost a few pregnancy lbs. . .FINALLY! But still have a long way to go)

The other thing I have been doing is getting back to my passion for cooking. I LOVE cooking. Have I told you that? Oh, and one other thing. . . I have found a site that fuels my LOVE FOR COOKING like no other. . . I had visited a few times before, but now SHE is on my reader baby! I was looking at the site the other day and ooooooohing and aaaaaaaahhhing over all of the stuff on there... Peter decidedly declared the website "foodie p@rn" . . and rightfully so. So far, I have made THIS and I am GONNA make THIS, THIS and THIS! If I could have Pastor Ryan over for just a short minute . . . OH BABY!!! Moving on. . . . (Just read the blog, ok?--- Consider it my foodie gift to you)

I have another cutie pie friend who just started a blog! HI CASSI! I love love love it when people from one of the MILLION places I have lived start blogging. I love it as a way to peek into their lives and see how they are doing. I just STINKIN' LOVE IT! Anyway, she put a great recipe for bagels on there. I know, BAGELS? Yes, and they are fast and easy and fun! Open up a bagel shop with your kids. . .just for today. They are gonna love it and so are you.

Here is me. . .checking back out. LOVE YA!

Where in the world is Lindsey Long Legs?

I know. . . I thought I would be back by now too. But to be honest, it is gonna be a while. Because:

A. We have to move. Shocker. I know. But since this guy stopped paying us, we need to "downsize" or more like "lose the expensive yard". We're outta here, in 2 1/2 weeks.

B. Have I found a place to go? Yes, thankfully. It is hard to do that around here. The rental market is H.O.T. and there wasn't much to choose from in our kids school boundary. (Try two houses) Luckily, we got the bigger one. . It truly was a blessing.

C. Have I packed a box yet? No.

D. Kaylin is still waking up in the night, and is THE ONLY BABY KNOWN TO MAN THAT HATES SLEEPING IN HER CAR SEAT! Which means running children around to various activities is a very noisy and sometimes unpleasant experience.

E. Wade has determined that 5:30 a.m. is an awesome time to wake up. Today, 5:00 a.m. was even AWESOMER! The sad part is, I had just fed K at 4:30. So, basically, I was up at 4:30 a.m. This makes for a very long day and a very grouchy mommy. Can blog-land please unite in fervent prayer that Wade will sleep until 6? Thank you.

F. I haven't filed my taxes yet. I don't think I did last year either. They were done, I just didn't mail them in. I had just moved about the time they were done. Woops.

G. Of the TWO rental houses that we have back in WA. . . BOTH gave 30 days notice at the beginning of this month. . You know. . . because I wasn't busy enough. . . . I needed to field tons of phone calls from people interested in renting and making and sending contracts and BLAH BLAH BLAH.

H. 7 days after moving. . I am going on ANOTHER road trip. By myself. I bet you CAN'T WAIT to hear the stories. . . . Don't worry. I will be sure to fill up with GAS. Hopefully, there will be a mexican fiesta somewhere along the way home.

See ya in a few. . . .MONTHS!

FOODIE ALERT!

Hey, my blogging break has been nice. Did you miss me? I can't say that I am ready to come back quite yet, but, to keep you busy maybe you can help my sister out!

For those of you who don't know, we have a food blog. You can check it out at

http://favoritefamilyfood.blogspot.com/

Me and my sisters post our favorite recipes from time to time and you can be rest assured that if it is here. . . It is awesome! We are a family full of foodies. . . My sis posted a question for you all on the food blog, so, give her a shout and let her know your favorite Costco secrets!

Let us know what your favorite Costco find is!

Sleep when your baby sleeps. . .

The age old advice that no one ever follows. . .

However, I have tried to over the last few days because K has decided that sleeping through the night is not all that it was cracked up to be. She enjoys our little night time visits a little too much I guess.

She has been a little unpredictable as of late, and actually spent 7 hours awake yesterday. Oh yes she did. You better believe I was ready to put her down for the night last night. . . Oh yes I was.

The problem was, the husband and I had lots of issues to discuss. Just when I thought we were out of the woods, we have had them "re-surface". It is making me feel a little like this. Not to mention I heard more of "this" just after I had drifted off to sleep last night, making my night a little longer, or would that be making my morning a little longer. I am not sure.

And today when I laid down on my bed. . . covered myself up with my soft sheets, placed my head on my fluffy pillow and curled up with Harold (my body pillow), I heard this. . .

I feel a little like I have been walking up a hill with boulders rolling down it. For the past two months, I have managed to jump over or stay clear of most of the boulders. . . Except, I got a little lazy and just got plowed over by one. Or a couple. . . meaning, 5 or 6.

Thanks for the comments last post. You all are nice to respond to my complaining. I guess blogging to me without comments is like talking to a brick wall, or telling jokes without a laugh. Sometimes, you just want to know that someone is listening.

Since I am still lying on the ground from boulders rolling down the hill, I think I am going to have to take a little break. Somethings just need more attention than others. . . like this. .

And the bags under my eyes. TTFN.

PS- This photo shoot with K was tons of fun. It involved me saying things like, "WORK iT! WORK IT!!" And "Give me more!" "A little more on the pouty side, GOOD!" "That's iT!!"

Alright Already!

Well, to the 6 of you who wanted to hear the rest of the story. . . hear it goes. (If you think I am obsessed about comments lately, I am. Because I still have not gotten over this. . Sorry, I am feeling jaded)

After our 2 hours and 10 minutes on the beach (I know, because that is what my meter said after I plugged all of the change I had into it), we started to head home. The big part of my master plan for traveling home worked. . . kids worn out after ocean time. . . take a nice nap. Ahhhhhhhh quiet. They ALL slept, being warn out after D-land and the beach. It was the nicest 2 hours in traffic I have ever spent.



I have NO idea where all of the people in Southern California were going. . . Indio? I don't know, but they were all going there and they were all going there with ME! I was just grateful to have some peace and quiet. However, we didn't reach Indio until about 4:00 p.m. The good news is, there is a McDonalds in Indio with a pretty great playland. (Wait, was I even IN Indio?I can't remember) We stopped and went inside. I was hoping to find the playland empty, but no. .

There was a FULL BLOWN MEXICAN FIESTA PARTY! With Tias, Tios and Abuelos included! (Thanks for the terminology Jessica!)





We had only been in the playland for a few minutes noticing the birthday party going on when all my kids got plates of cake and were heading to tables to devour it. (They can all thank Jaxon for asking) The nice gentlemen (we will call him Tio- Uncle in Spanish) dished them all up a 4x4 piece of cake. WONDERFUL! Sugared up kids for the car! YAY ME!





They continued to play with the kids in the party and a few minutes before we were about leave Tia (the Aunt, in Spanish) started handing my kids gift bags. . . as party favors!! I protested saying, "No! That is ok!!!" But, they got them anyway. I shoulda looked in those gift bags before we hit the road. They were loaded with MORE candy! All of it was candy from Mexico and my kids had tons of fun trying new kinds of candy that they had never seen before and couldn't pronounce the names of! They kept quiet about it until I looked in my rear view mirror and saw this.

See the guilty character with candy in her hand? And barrettes from her gift bag in her hair? (One was a Big Bird clip-- It was an Elmo themed party) Yeah, she was already all the way through her candy. :)

We hit the road again and I was doing my best to make up some time. Unfortunately, we had to make a pit stop when Abby's tummy was doing flip flops from eating all that candy! We pulled into a truck stop and an Elderly trucker was standing in front of the parking space we pulled into. . he was just havin' a smoke. Abby shot out of the car and into the gas station to find the bathroom.

I got out, and walked to the back to let Jaxon out to stretch his legs. . . Then, I walked around to the other side, and let Wade out. This encouraged the man to scoff, "YOU GOT MORE IN THERE??????" Yessir! Just me and my clown car! They just keep hoppin' out! I pulled K out to change her diaper. . .yep, right there on the pavement. I threw down a towel and did the dirty work as quick as I could. Flies a swarmin' and everything! I am sure it is quite a site to see a 3 month old baby spralled out on a towel in the middle of nowhere behind a parked car 1/2 naked in 98 degree weather. . . You can picture it, No?

After that, I walked into the truck stop (with all the kids) to find Abby, who was STILL IN THE BATHROOM! We walked in to the bathroom and she said she was going to be done in a minute. We waited and as she came out, she noticed a dispenser on the wall... (this may NOT be "G" rated- Warning Noted) She exclaimed, "LOOK MOM! THEY GLOW IN THE DARK!. . . IT SAYS WATCH IT GROW! CAN WE GET ONE?" Me: "Um, no Abby, we can't. Those are NOT TOYS! " Crickets chirping, Abby: "Then what are they?" Ugggggggggggghhhhh.. Do we have to have this talk right now?????

9 hours later we got home. Yes, I said 9 hours and YES, it is only supposed to take 6.

END OF STORY.

Just the facts

I can sense some of you doubting the hilarious and incredibly absurd trip that I took to California with my kids.... but, it was all REAL.... 100% of it. Just ask the guy from Parker Towing.

We DID have SOME fun! Here are a few more cell phone pix for you to enjoy.

Wade LOVED KC Jr. One of the great rides that we don't have to wait in long lines for because of the "Jaxon Pass". Hmmmm. . now that I look back upon the FIRST experience with the Jaxon Pass, I am starting to wonder if trips to D-land are just doomed for us. Abby insisted being in the "Monkey Cage" on KC Jr. I wonder why. I would have some more great pictures to post here because I WAS with people who DID get out THEIR cameras, but they haven't sent me any pictuers, or posted any on their blog yet.

HINT HINT HINT! HOOK ME UP PEOPLE!Right before we left CA, I took my kids to the beach for a couple of hours. It was overcast, and windy and I would say, kinda cold. . . but you would have never guessed it by my kids who were having the time of their lives playing at the beach.

I asked them on our way home if they would rather hit D-land, or the beach, and they said in unison, THE BEACH! There is just something about the sand and the surf that makes for a great time!

We had a few more "experiences" on the way home. . . Anyone care to hear the rest of the story?? Please post in the comment section if you want to hear about the trip home which includes a Mexican Fiesta Party with Elmo, and a VERY interesting trip to the bathroom at a truck stop!

Lemme know!!!

As if that wasn't enough. .

If you are just joining us, I am re-counting a VERY memorable trip to Disneyland. You can see Part I and Part II here.

We finally arrived at D-land just about 30 minutes later that I thought we would. Not bad with the aforementioned pit stops. We met up with my parents and wondered around the park for the rest of the evening. D-land closes at 8:00 p.m. on a week night when school is not out. I thought my kids would be fine staying until the park was closing. They usually go to bed at 8:00 p.m. but we were vacationing and had a long day in the car, so, I thought they could make it.

We headed out to our car which was parked in the D-land garage. Those of you who have been there know that place can be a zoo. Everyone is getting off the tram and making their way to their cars in mass droves. I, of course, have a stroller and have to wait at the set of Elevators to get to our level. After a nice wait, I push the mickey button and proceed to our floor. . . except, as I stroll out on to the level, I start to walk down the corridor with my parade until I realize. . . we were in 3D. . . but I don't really know WHAT level that was! WAS it Mickey? I have no idea. I start to think this is going to be a very long night of trying to find my car with 4 tired kids.

We head back to the elevator and I am mentioning that I am not sure where are car is to Abby and she pipes up. . . WE ARE ON DONALD! I looked at her in amazement and said, "How do YOU know?" And she said, because I LOOKED! And because I remember walking on BLUE TILES! Wow. I couldn't believe my luck. Thanks to my little braniac, we were not going to have to spend any additional time in the parking garage.

We loaded up and went through a drive through (don't you LOVE being on the road?) and headed for our hotel, which was not to far from the park. Nevertheless, Jaxon had fallen asleep before we even got there. In my mind I was wondering how I was going to get me and ALL THE KIDS up to the room without multiple trips, or without leaving the kids in the room while I get the stuff (HELLO!! Madeline!) Abby says she will get the dolly, we will load it up and get all of us up to the room at one time.

As I was checking in, K picked that moment to throw a COMPLETE hissy fit. Screaming uncontrollably and all. The lady was kind, and understanding and tried to check me in (while fielding a phone call) as soon as she could. Although it wasn't seamless, we were getting through the check in process ok. We got up to our room with the dolly loaded up and wheeled it in with our food (just purchased) and the kids immediately started unloading their stuff, taking off shoes, and eating their food. I requested that we have a hand washing before eating and went to turn on the sink. . . .

NO RUNNING WATER.

NONE.

NOT A DRIP.

NUTS.

So, I call the front desk, and she says she will send her maintenance guy. It is just after 9:00 by this point, and as we wait for the maintenance guy more things start to get unpacked. He comes to our room and says he thinks the water tanks have been turned off. Ummm... not a good sign. I call the front desk and she says she will assign me another room, but I have to come down and get a key.

Load up all the kids. (Now TOTALLY TIRED, and TOTALLY UNRAVELING) Take them to the lobby, get a new key, go BACK up to the room, load up our stuff on the dolly. Now DRAG ALL THE SCREAMING CHILDREN to room #2 and start to unpack. . . AGAIN. By this time, Jaxon was BEGGING to go to sleep (nearing 10:30) and I granted his wish. Wade (just recently learning to sleep in a bed) chose this point to get out of bed several times until I was at the end of my rope. . . (REALLY? DO YOU THINK I WAS AT THE END OF MY ROPE??? NO??)

Finally. . . Quite. . . Dark. . . Kids asleep at 11:00 p.m.




Wake up call by Wade?





6:00 a.m.

Not much further down the road . . .

Believe me, if you have EVER been on a road trip with your kids, your gonna want to read this:

We passed Blythe. I am not too familiar with these stretches of land in between here and Disneyland. I guess I should have made myself a little more "familiar" because after we passed through Blythe, I started to wonder when my next gas stop is going to be. Trying to time it to be a good leg stretch for the kids.

The road signs said there were a few stops in between Blythe and Indio . . . I kind of consider Indio as the "your gonna make it!" city. Too far to turn back, and not much further to go. It was a good thing too because I was under a 1/2 a tank and due to my calculations, I was just BARELY going to make it to a city called DESERT CENTER. Pretty creative name for a place that is . . . you guessed it. . . in the middle of the desert. I started to get anxious when my fuel light went on (who wouldn't with 4 small kids in the car) but instantly felt relief when I saw the exit for Desert Center. . . .until I saw the little signs below the name of the town. There was this sign . . .

THIS SIGN

BUT NOT THIS SIGN

I broke into a sweat instantly. I blinked my eyes several times. Trying to make sure I saw the right thing. . . maybe trying to blink back some tears, I am not sure. But I thought, if there is someplace to eat and someplace to camp, SURELY there has to be someplace to get gas!

We pulled off the ramp and saw the gas station, with dust covered windows and tumbleweed blowing through the gas pumps. I swallowed hard, determined to not let me kids know that I was in a panic. We pulled into the "place to eat" called Desert Center Cafe.

Does it look like it is from out of a movie? Because I felt like I was IN a HORROR FLICK! I didn't have the where-withall to take pictures with my regular camera, so, my cell phone would have to do. We hopped out of the car with the kids yelling. . "Where are we going? What are we doing? I thought we were gonna get gas?" and my response was, "WE ARE". Even though I didn't exactly know how that was going to go down.

There was a older woman mopping the dirty and cracked floor and a kind grandmotherly lady behind the counter. I am sure she was wondering what on earth I was doing traveling by myself with 4 small kids, and at this point, I was too. There was one couple sitting in the cafe, eating, I think, over in the corner booth.

Jaxon instantly asked me why the place was so dirty and old (autism is great) and I immediately shushed him as I didn't want to make enemies with the people who were going to SAVE MY BACON. . . (I am sure they have some BACON!) I asked the lady behind the counter how far the nearest gas station was. She said it was 19 miles down the road. Since my gas light had been on for at least 10 miles, I didn't want to risk actually running out on the SIDE OF THE ROAD. I figured, for now, I was in a better spot than having to walk, or be on the side of the road. She said, "You outta gas?" I am sure a sheepish grin crossed my face and I said, "Yes, it should have said on those road signs that you don't have a station here!!!!" She said, "Oh, they just shut that station down about a year ago, sorry."

She then hollered over her shoulder to Jed, "Hey Jed! Do you have any gas you could sell this poor lady?" His reply, " I just sold it to the last guy!" [Insert multimillion dollar scheme of selling gas for $10 a gallon in Desert Center out of gas cans for poor suckers who think there is going to be a gas station there] Anyway, "Jed" (I am pretty sure that was his name. It at least fits his description) asked me if I wanted to step outside to talk about "it". His woman friend instantly protested noting that I had a 3 month old in my arms and it was hot out. We stepped out and he said he would get me gas, but it would take him an hour. AN HOUR??????? Good gracious, my kids had already started to dismantle this eating establishment and it was only gonna get worse! I asked if there was anyone who did AAA and he said maybe Parker Towing.

[Insert Angels Singing] I asked the ladies inside for the number to Parker Towing and had Abby take my cell phone over and enter it in. Meanwhile, I was changing an "explosion" (you all know what that means) of my 3 month old (NICE TIMING!) in a vacant booth.

Parker towing said he was just down the road, had gas, and he would be there in about 10 minutes. He said it would be $85 for the service call and $5 a gallon for the gas. I asked if he took AAA and he said he did. (AAA paid for itself on this instance alone) He arrived in just a few moments and walked into the Desert Cafe. He snorted to himself when he saw me standing there with my 4 kids. Two of which were running in circles and one of which was keeping herself busy with a scale that took pennies.

Wade running in circles. . .

The kids entertaining themselves with the penny scale.

After our 25 minute "rest stop" we were on our way with two gallons of gas to get us to Chiriaco Summit (19 miles away) to get ourselves some gas. . . All the kids had time to stretch their legs, use the bathroom and have a fun little run around the Desert Cafe. . . . Yeah, I planned it that way.

Is that all? Oh no, that is not all, that is not all AT ALL!