Redecorating!

As previously mentioned, my awesome husband brought up the idea of doing a little repainting while we were in Cali and he was living the bachelor life in the big TX. Completely his idea- for the record. I just hopped right on that bandwagon and suggested he paint the bathroom, also. We had a blue theme going on before. I still was okay with the bathroom, definitely did not love my bedroom though. We always knew we would have to repaint the bedroom one day, but just never really wanted to. The blue was a bit much (in my defense, I originally thought the color would be more slate than royal, but oh was I wrong!), and we decided to tone things down a bit. So, from across the country I collected a million paint samples at Home Depot and phoned in the verdict to Jake. He then got to work neutralizing the rooms. So we went from blue...
to this (the color doesn't show up great)...

And from this...

to this...

Of course I then had to buy new stuff to match the new walls. The bedroom is still a bit bare and may stay that way for awhile. The bathroom is done- it's growing on me. I didn't love the decor I picked at first, but I'm kind of used to it now. I really love the new paint and am so glad Jake was so willing to take on this project!

Besides the redecorating and shopping and returning a million things, Cole has become a climber and figured out how to make his way to the top of the table. It's really great. Jake and I were able to see "Wicked" (still so awesome second time around) and had the best seats in the front row right in the middle of the first balcony. It was amazing!

And the girls prepared for our fun Pioneer themed FHE we had tonight. Glad to see Minnie Mouse was a part of things way back when!

And that about wraps it up. I am now checking off my to do list and preparing to get an awesome tan. I know you're jealous! I just hope my in-laws can survive my crazy kids for so long! They will need a vacation after for sure!

A California Wedding

We got back from our two plus week vacation to California last Wednesday night. I can definitely say that by the end I was pretty ready to not be a single parent anymore. My parents were awesome helpers, but I was still extremely tired by the time I came home. We kept ourselves super busy all the way up until the day before we left when we hit up Disneyland. Cole came down with a yucky cold by the end and made the flight back pretty torturous. It was as I was standing mid-flight with a crying baby and my three other children sitting sort of unsupervised that I really started to feel very outnumbered and very helpless and wanted to cry. Needless to say, I won't be taking a trip with four little ones, solo, anytime soon. And the about two hour delay in Dallas didn't help things, either. Oh well, it was still a good trip. Now brace yourself for the ultimate travelogue, full of pics, dialogue, and some good old Cali fun!

The one benefit to having a layover in Dallas is that they have play places in their airport, and we took full advantage of those. The only part I am unhappy about is that Elle knocked over someones old hot chocolate all in my diaper bag on our way back. And she almost got stuck in an elevator alone. But those things should all be expected while travelling with about 53 kids- or maybe it just felt like that many.

We took full advantage of the ability to actually be outside without sweating while there. The kids loved playing outside, and really got used to the doggies. They even put on an awesome dog show one night.

Cole spent so much time looking at the doggies out the sliding glass door. I'm sure he misses it!

One of the greatest parts about going home is seeing family and friends. One of my best friends Heidi and I each have four kids now and had fun getting together.

We walked to the donut shop one morning and wore jackets! That is unheard of in Texas this time of year!

We helped my mom get the house ready for all the wedding fun by cleaning and making a beautiful decoration!

I cut the girls hair while there- I totally don't know what I'm doing, but I try my best to make it up. It actually came out really pretty cute! My kids also got lots of play time with their cousins, and I got to see my cute niece Jane for the first time!

Friday night before the wedding we had a BBQ with friends and family and wedding guests. It was so great to get to spend time with my grandparents and the Presants. My cousin John and his wife were visiting from Australia, and I got to meet my cousin Lisa's now fiance. Can't wait for the next wedding!

Jake was there for the wedding weekend. I wish he could have stayed longer!

Onto the wedding. And what does a three year old do during the wedding to keep entertained? Takes awesome pics like this...

My mom never goes halfway with stuff and has such a knack for decorating. The wedding was absolutely beautiful!

Jake looking good in my dad's tie. He only brought a red and blue tie which made me realize that I probably need to start packing for six people, not just five. There's a time to be patriotic (not that he was really going for that) and a time to be coordinated- wedding definitely calls for coordinated.

My aunt Lisa made a cake seriously worthy of "Ace of Cakes" and it was sooo good! As was all the other food. The pics from the day turned out awesome and overall it was just a great occasion!

Bryan made some comment that you could rewind time 4 years and that would be Elle and Boston. Crazy how time flies! Our giant sibling wedding gift (a BBQ)...

After the wedding weekend, we got to spend lots of time with my sisters. We saw Toy Story 3 which was so cute...

Had lots of cousin playing time...

Went to a park where Jada learned to climb a wall and run across the bridge. We also visited a really kind of lame nature center and came home and made awesome spider drawings (Jada's is featured below).

We spent tons of time at the pool on my parent's block. Kind of nice to visit a pool without lifeguards and a million rules. Made for a good place to practice my swimming. Also nice to leave Cole at home with my mom most of the time.

Jada had her third birthday party- fitting because she turned three. There was a definite Minnie Mouse theme going on. Warehouse pizza, an awesome cake made by Grammie, a beautiful party dress to wear, lots of Minnie presents, a few things for mommy (including some really cute cover-ups- Hawaii!!!- and some alligator corn-on-the-cob holders), paper for Coley (the kid loves tearing paper with his teeth), and some "sugar" from aunt Kirstie. Good times had by all!

We played in the fountains at Victoria Gardens...

My Aunt Wendy, who is so fun, bought a new little convertible. When I was growing up she drove a little light blue bug convertible. I remember driving around in it as a kid and loving it. I told her she had to especially let Elle take a ride in it because Elle had told me she thought we'd see convertibles in California. Aunt Wendy took all these kids for a spin and let them take turns driving. Super fun Aunt!

We saw Eclipse in our fancy shirts and I actually really liked it. The first two have been a little lame, but this one was really pretty decent.

Cole got so used to the dogs staring at them through the glass that he lost his fear and made some friends.

We met up with some friends for a kind of chilly day at Newport. Funny to go to a cold beach after spending time in Florida. It was so fun to see Allison who was another best friend growing up and her cute girl Emma.

Happiness is Cafe Rio in Costa Mesa. Had this delicious salad twice. Could have had it ten times and been happy.

We took the kids over for ice cream after we invaded Cafe Rio. It was funny to listen to comments about all the kids. One asked something like, "Is this a class?" Nope just a bunch of kids. Just how we like it!

On July 3rd, we celebrated by going down to visit Kirstie in San Diego. We went to a fun beach with a park and BBQed at Kirstie's house for dinner. We went to a park that night and enjoyed the cool San Diego weather.

Cole tackled the stairs. It's been so fun watching him explore the world as he learns to move. He's a much happier kid with his newfound freedom.

July 4th marks Mya's half-birthday so we celebrated with some cupcakes and by making bracelets with Grammie.

Practicing for his upcoming b-day!

My dad had Monday off work, so we headed to Balboa for some more cool beach fun. It really was so strange to have it so cool. At times on the trip I'll admit I almost missed my warm Texas blanket air.

The girls got a little tired by the end of the walk on the island and at one point I was trying to carry Mya on my back and hold Jada. Good times as a mom!

The day before we left I decided to take the two oldest girls to Disneyland. My mom was nice enough to watch Cole and Jada, so I woke up Elle and Mya nice and early and took them out for a fun surprise. Elle started to figure out where we were going when we were on our way. We had the best time. We played it right with Fast Passes and the crowds were light in the morning and we rode ten rides before lunch. We did so many things and enjoyed being with each other and made it through getting soaked on Splash Mountain. Word to the wise- don't go on that ride early in the day, don't sit in the front, and don't wear your jackets! It was fun to do a lot of the big kid rides- Mya claims she liked them although during some she would ask me when it was going to be over. We were definitely tired by the end and left around dinner time not long after Mya walked smack into a tree, leaving a nice bruise on her forehead. My mom survived with the two littlies, although Cole was rather crabby because he was coming down with something. So I came home exhausted to a cranky baby with bags to pack for our next day of fun on the airplane!

In less than 8 years this will be a reality!

I am so glad we were able to go and stay for as long as we did. We probably drove my parents crazy at times but we had fun and made the most of our stay. Jake was ready to have us home. He was awesome and took on the project of repainting our bedroom and bathroom while we were away. Now we are sort of settling back in before the next trip on the horizon- Hawaii!!!