Orlando---Part 4 (Final)

I can't believe it has been a week since I blogged the last pictures of Orlando. I figured I would bite the bullet and just get them all done today before it was 3 months down the road and still no pictures!! It may make more sense if you go scroll down and look at the posts in order, but if not I think you will still get it.

One of our last days we went to the beach in Clearwater. It was definitely an interesting ride there with the way the GPS took us. We were in some pretty scary neighborhoods and I was just waiting for us to be involved in a driveby shooting. No lie! We did get to see the Buccaneer football stadium and the Yankees spring training stadium along the way.
The weather was perfect at about 80 degrees but the water was FREEZING. Carter didn't care and spent most of his time down by the water. Hence, we have no pictures of him actually being there. He did love to come and destroy this big mound that Grandma and Ianthe were building.

Ian was the hole digger of the day. Even with a broken hand he still managed to bury both my kids and had a nice little spot to put his feet into. Helen, I have like no pictures of you! Not sure why? James' sister Helen was there being attacked by some annoying seagulls. She has a major phobia of birds so she didn't appreciate them pecking at us while we ate lunch. They did eventually go away.

Preston loved the sand and seagulls and wanted nothing to do with the water. Here is his sad attempt at a sand castle.

The sand was so fine that it just stuck to you even if you weren't wet. Ianthe had it everywhere, face included. I love this picture.

We got family pictures taken the day before and the kids were hungry for some lunch. We just popped the trunk and had a little picnic in the back.

Sorry this is probably boring for all that weren't there, but I wanted to document as much as possible. I had over 100 pictures so narrowing it down was hard! We had such a great trip and we are already missing the family. We need to do it again soon!!

Orlando--Part 3

We only got a couple pictures from Hollywood Studios because really we didn't love it too much. We went on the new toy story ride there and waited in line for about 45 minutes but the boys did great. They had so many fun things to see along the way that it made it go by fast.

Me and Carter in line
They had a talking Mr. Potato head that sang and danced. Carter broke out and danced and the ladies next to us in line thought he was so adorable. He got embarrassed once he knew people were actually watching him.

We rode the bus ALOT. We would park at Blizzard Beach (Disney's water park)because it was free and take the bus to wherever we needed to go. I recommend doing this if you ever plan to go there. We parked at Magic Kingdom one day and payed 12 dollars to be just as far away and still had to take 2 shuttles. We learned our lesson and stuck to getting the bus. The kids actually loved it and loved to pick their different seat every day. I love this picture with James' parents, Carter, and his cousin Ianthe. So cute.

We also celebrated Carter's birthday early while we were there. He got a fun cake and dinner at McDonalds. He got to choose wherever he wanted to go. He chose McDonalds over Chuck E. Cheese! What is it with kids and McDonalds I'll never know.

The party goers at the cool McDonalds by Disneyworld. It had a big movie screen that played Disney cartoons. Check out Preston in the back just totally fixed on watching the movie.

Posing by Ronald McDonald-Thanks Mum and Dad, Carter loved every second of it!!

We also celebrated Ian's birthday at Texas Roadhouse. That night there was a balloon lady there that made some fun hats for the kids and Ian to wear.

Check out that hat! Ian looking a little dazed while riding the saddle and getting sung to. 37 can't be that bad right Ian??

Carter couldn't be left out and got on the saddle too

These are just some random pictures from along the way. The grandparents gave the boys fun sticker and coloring books. Preston loved taking the stickers out and placing them on Grandma. Quite the collection she has on her shirt!

Carter and Ianthe were best pals on the trip. He was her little protector and loved to help her with everything. It was so cute. Isn't she adorable?? I couldn't get enough of that curly hair.

The 3 musketeers watching a movie on the boys bed...or atleast pretending they were!

Orlando--Part 2

We actually went to Epcot after Animal Kingdom, but this is how the pictures came out so oh well. Epcot was very cool and not like anything I had ever been to before. They had rides but also educational things to learn about and plenty to see from countries around the world like France, England, and Mexico. It is hard to explain unless you have been there, so I hope the pictures will give you atleast a little insight.

Had to get a picture under the golf ball!

They had a little sitting area that had water shooting out of these little pads and leaping to the next pad. They even leaped across planter boxes. This was my boys favorite thing! We stayed there for a good hour just watching the water hop around and getting a little wet too. If you stood in the perfect spot the water would splash you while trying to leap to the next planter box. Preston could not get enough. He and James stood there for a good 20 minutes and he laughed every time the water got him! Kids love the most simple things!

This was a cool play area that made the noise in the picture and lit up when you stepped on the different squares. Carter loved it.

This was in the France area-this guy was up so high it was making me nervous! He was so high and did a handstand on those chairs at the highest point. Incredible!!

This picture just makes me laugh. This was in the England area and she is Mary Poppins for those of you who weren't sure. My brother in law Ian took the picture and we teased him that he is one of the worst picture takers ever. So glad that we have a great view of the roof and Carter's head barely makes the cut! Preston was dead tired but woke up soon after to play with a train table in one of the toys stores we stopped in. We were going going going and the kids hardly slept. They got little bits of sleep when they could without missing any of the fun.

Now for Animal Kingdom---More fun, characters and animals!

They had an area called dinosaur land with all sorts of dinosaur stuff.

Me and Preston on the animal safari ride. This is not like the Jungle cruise at Magic Kingdom, this actually has real animals. We went on this one twice and got VERY close to some rhinos. It is in a fun Jeep vehicle and they are on the lookout for "poachers" that we are trying to catch. Lots of fun.

This was incredible. The Lion King show they had there was just as good as any Broadway play. The costumes were unreal and they had amazing voices. We were all mesmerized the whole time.

Here is the whole crew (minus me taking the picture) at the Lion King show


And finally this was a typical scene at the end of the day. I just loved this picture because Preston was given an "honorary prince for a day" sticker. Too bad the glue is still stuck to his jacket. We had so much fun!

Orlando--Part 1

We have been home from Orlando for about 2 weeks and I am finally getting around to posting the pictures. There are so many that are so cute we will break it up into a few different posts. We spent 10 days there and had so much fun! We hadn't ever been to Disneyworld before so it was so much fun for all of us to experience the fun. We bought a 7 day hopper pass and used it up. We could have gone back and seen plenty more too. There were 4 huge parks there for those of you who aren't experts on Disneyworld like I wasn't!-Magic Kingdom (like Disneyland), Animal Kingdom (Disney's version of a zoo with rides and characters), Hollywood Studios (like Universal), and Epcot. Here are some pictures of us at Magic Kingdom. We went the day after the superbowl and it was pouring rain. We only stayed for a few hours but managed to spot Santonio Holmes (the MVP of the superbowl) in the parade with Mickey and saw Steelers jerseys everywhere! We basically rode the carousel, ate lunch and after that we called it a day! The next time we went back it was still cold, but sunny. In fact the first 5 days we were there it was 50 degrees or less. Not normal for Orlando! The last five days were perfect so I can't complain too much, atleast there was no snow right?

Us in front of the Magic Kingdom castle
James and Preston

walking up the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse-I loved this movie growing up so it was fun to see it replicated. We loved having this backpack for Preston. He was up high enough to see everything and he couldn't run off anywhere. It also had a backpack behind him that we could pack our lunches, water, and snacks in. James definitely got his workout in during the trip!

Carter and Rafiki
We didn't get too many pictures with the characters because we didn't want to wait in the lines. So, the characters we did get aren't the most popular obviously because the lines were short!

James and Carter on the Dumbo ride (on the yellow dumbo waving).

Carter had a hard time at first with having to wait in the line (he isn't the most patient child), but quickly learned that if he wanted to have fun, he needed to wait. Magic Kingdom was definitely my favorite, because it seemed the most "disney" to me.

Next up...Animal Kingdom, stay tuned!

My Wonderful Wife

So seeing as Heather is the one always blogging I decided to write a Blog for Valentines day about how wonderful Heather is.

Heather is the love of my life and I am so grateful that I was blessed to meet her and that she agreed to marry to me. She always jokes that I am lucky to be married to her, but I really am. She is the most loving person and truly cares about the people around her. Some people act like they love people but Heather genuinly cares. I love Heathers honesty about everything, I always know how she is feeling and what she thinks. I love that she is the best Mother, our boys our so lucky to have her and I know they are going to have a lot of her attributes that will make them so successful in life. I love that Heather dresses me, I have zero fashion sense and would never buy clothes if I had the choice. She keeps me looking trendy and making sure I am not breaking any fashion faux pas. Carter can dress himself pretty fashionably so I know where he gets that from. I love that Heather is a good friend, she is often telling me that she is thinking about someone or wanting to take a treat to someone. Carter is sitting next to me and said that "I love that she cares about me". I love Heathers, eyes and smile she is truly the most gorgeous girl. I also love her hair, how could you not love it. I love that Heather is just happy some days to lounge around in he PJ's and others is just ready to hop in the car and drive to Vegas on a whim. I love that Heather is loyal to her friends and family, she stands up for the people she loves. I love that when we eat out I can almost predict what she will get. When she finds something she likes she sticks to it, I am the opposite.

So in conclusion, I love my wife, she is awesome and I hope you have a good valentines my love.

Sweetheart Quiz

I just got back from a trip to Orlando and am exhausted! I don't have the energy to post all the pictures and stories about our trip yet, so I decided to copy a little quiz about my husband from my cousin's blog. I figured it was appropriate with Valentines Day tomorrow!

1- Where did you meet your hubby?

We met in Burlingham, New York at a lovely summer camp called Camp Echo where we were camp counselors. I was in charge of the 8th grade girls and he was in charge of the 8th grade boys and also the tennis instructor.

2- Who asked who out first?
I was pretty aggressive because he was SOOO shy. I asked him to sit by me at "Monday movie night". Cool Runnings was playing but we just sat and talked the whole time and didn't really watch the movie. It is still so crazy to me how shy he used to be. He is a completely different person now.
3- What did you do on your first date?

Our first "official" date when we left on a day off was to Woodstock, NY. It was a cute little hippy town. We just walked around and looked at all the fun shops there.He bought me a cute beaded bracelet to commorate the event. :)
4- What was your favorite thing to do while dating?
Just to be together. We had a long distance relationship for a year, so when we actually got to spend time together we cherished it. We spent way too much money on phone cards!! (okay James did).
5- When was your first kiss by your sweetheart?

The night we went to Woodstock. He was saying goodbye to me at the bridge (a lake seperated the boys and girls camps). Not the best kiss ever, but it has improved greatly over the years. haha
6-Who said I love you first?

He did. I think it was after 2 weeks or something crazy like that.
7-When did you first realize that you loved him?

I think the time when I truly knew I loved him and wanted to marry him was when I flew over to England to see him after we hadn't seen each other for 3 months. It was kind of a make or break trip, and being there with him in his surroundings just drew me to him more. His family was so nice too, and all of the people that I met there told me what a wonderful person James was. I had to agree! He treated me like a queen and loved me for me.
8- How did he propose?

In Vegas on the gondola ride at the Venetian hotel. It was around Easter time so he wrapped up the ring in a towel he had made look like a bunny. Not sure where he learned to do that?? I said yes before he even asked me, and he politely said, "Well I need to ask you first!" So my personality! I hate surprises. Our guide sang us an Italian love song afterwards. It was very romantic.
9-What do you remember about your wedding day?

It was at the Bungalow in Pleasant Grove which is so beautiful. It had rained the night before so we were all worried it would be bad weather. The weather turned out to be perfect, the flowers were perfect, seriously everything was perfect that day. Me and my mom talked about it later and she said the only bad thing that happened was she had a flat tire at the end of the night! haha I also remember being so hungry after it was over so I made James go get us Pizza Hut at midnight. Do I have an awesome husband or what? Good times. Happy Valentines Day!

Love is in the Air

I have had so much fun decorating for Valentines Day this year. It just makes me smile to go downstairs and see some fun things to celebrate love day!

My outside door wreath

Our newest addition- a picture of

Megatron in a heart by Carter

Red heart table cloth

Hobby Lobby basket with fun heart candles inside (thanks Sharonda!) I won it last year at Bunco.Wood conversation hearts

Fun dish towels

My cousin Ann does this with her blog and I love to see inside people's homes to get different ideas. Do you decorate for holidays besides Christmas?

Half Marathon #3/#1 Complete

What a fun race! We journeyed down to St. George this past weekend to do the half marathon there on Saturday. The weather was PERFECT at about 60, and we were ready. James was a little nervous thinking he wasn't fully trained since he had only run about 8 miles at the most. It was also his first half marathon so he wasn't sure what to expect. He ended up doing awesome! The course was so nice with not too many hills, and if there were hills, they didn't last very long. I highly recommend this race if you are thinking about doing one. It was my favorite out of the three I have done.

The three of us before the race (Bethany, me, James)

We wanted to pick up a bagel at a gas station before the race but couldn't find one at two different gas stations! Is that normal? I swear gas stations carry bagels, but I guess not. We had to get something, so we bought these disgusting pre-packaged muffins. We all choked down about 3 bites and couldn't eat anymore.What a way to start a race! I felt fine, it was just so funny. We talked most of the way and it was so fun to have James there with me. We all stuck together until about mile 11. James was going slow to stay with me, but I told him just to go because I was fine, and knew mentally I could do it on my own. He sped ahead and felt great all the way to the finish. I was so proud of him. Bethany also went a little faster than me, but I was happy with my finish. Usually the last 2 miles I am spent and mentally have nothing left. This time I ran the last two miles without walking and even sprinted at the end. Mentally I kept pushing myself to just pass the person ahead of me or just keep running until the end of the song. My body felt good and I was really happy with my results. See, I am even smiling for the camera at the end! I can see huge progress from my first race until now. I still have a ton I can improve on, but I love the feeling that running gives me. I really do have a passion for it and can't wait to do my next race.

Work it

I just had to write this down before I forget, because it was so hilarious. While I was taking a shower yesterday Carter had decided that he needed to "get some exercise." He went downstairs and pulled the stool up to the DVD player to try to put a workout on for him. It wasn't working, so he proceeded to carry my HEAVY stepper upstairs to my room where the DVD player was reachable. He put on a P90X workout and off he went. Preston decided to join him and so I get out of the shower and am greeted by two little boys trying to do jumping jacks together. I loved it! Carter was doing the stretches perfectly too. He stuck with it for about 5 minutes and then decided he was done. Unfortunately James had the camera so I couldn't get any photos, but I wanted to remember it anyway. So funny.

Priscilla Ahn

I went to the movie Bride Wars on Saturday night with some girlfriends. It was a cute movie, I laughed and got teary, but my favorite part about it was the music! I heard this song and fell in love with it. Nobody knew who sang it so I googled and googled and finally found the singer, Priscilla Ahn. Have any of you heard of her before? Her voice gives me goosebumps! I love finding new music that I like, so I promptly bought her entire album (only 6.50 on iTunes) and have been loving it. Here is the song in the movie...enjoy!

2009 Resolutions

I love this time of the year to make resolutions and have goals for the future. My resolutions in the past have not been too many for fear of not meeting all of them, and also been specific. This year is no different.
1. Complete St. George half marathon in 2 weeks
2. Complete Ogden marathon in May
3. Get organized!! I have already started by cleaning out my junk drawer and random cupboard (you all know you have one!) I also want to get my garage, basement, and food storage room done.
4. Drink more water-goal is 64 ounces a day...I need a good waterbottle...any suggestions?
5. Paint my bedroom

Now I have all of my medicines, vitamins, cords, tools, and nails in seperate containers. The green thing on the bottom shelf holds spare change and all the cds are my Christmas ones that I like to listen to all year round. Don't forget the VHS copy of the movie Rad to your far right on the 2nd shelf. I have been meaning to give it back to my brother for 3 years. Maybe I will just keep it! haha What are some of your resolutions/goals for the New Year?

Flash Game

I had to document this because it was so hilarious. Last night we got free tickets from someone at James' work to go to the Utah Flash basketball game in Orem. These guys I guess are the "farm team" for the Utah Jazz so I figured it would be a decent game. Let's just say I have seen highschool teams with more talent. Me and Preston thought a picture sounded more fun.


We didn't make it there until half time because we were busy carb loading at Brick Oven for my long run today. Yes, it was delicious and yes, I did run 12 miles today. I am exhausted. Back to the game. So the half-time show was about the only thing to save this game from being a total bust. These guys were performers from Circus Circus in Vegas and were amazing. I have never seen such strength. At one point one of them was doing a one handed hand stand on the other guys head. Where do people learn they have the talent for this?

The boys were totally bored and I think a little petrified of the scary 10 year old girl sitting in front of us with no social skills. She would turn around about every thirty seconds and just stare at Preston. Usually when a kid knows that you see them staring they will look away but she had no qualms about it. It was so bizarre. Her dad and his friend were also quite interesting. They acted like the game was the NBA finals and high fived every time the team did anything. It got somewhat annoying after the first 15 times. The friend also had a sweet handlebar mustache that Carter commented on after we left. We lasted a whole quarter and then decided to call it quits. I am so glad we left early because we came out to a blizzard outside. All in all, I won't be going again, but it was quite an experience that we won't forget. Go Flash!

James and Carter