Chocolate anyone?

YIKES. Did I really just eat all of those???

Night at the farm

We took a little time out on Monday night to go to Hee Haw Farms.

YEE-HAAAW!

Emmie was thrilled to be there, as you can see. Just try and find a picture of her without her grinning, scrunched up little face. Go ahead and try.....

(try baby, try! ha ha)A storm was rolling in so we ran around trying to do as much as we could before the storm hit....Chris and Parker braved the giant slide....

And Emmie braved the giant pumpkins!Feed my sheep....NO --REALLY! And hurry! FAST!
These were the most forward, aggressive sheep I've ever seen! They were trying to get the food from Parker before he had even gotten it out of the machine. They had Parker a little freaked out but it was really so funny and Emmie and I and Chris were cracking up from the sidelines.
Emmie loooooved seeing all the farm dogs. Er, so she called them.
In Emmie-Land every animal is a "dog. dog. dog.". (Said with a pat on her thigh) Parker had fun on his rooster ride, which was followed by a good old hay ride. What would a trip to the farm be without a hayride? And a mighty rickety hayride, might I add! Oh wait, it gets better! Hiding in the cornstalks throwing candy at us were "spooky" (?) friends like the one above. Needless to say, with Parker being the ever-welcoming recipient of anything sweet,
our night at the farm was a big hit! Even Emmie had her taste of chocolate, as she unbeknownst to myself must have caught a line-drive tootsie roll and had it half eaten before we discovered she had it...the little sneak.

The storm decided to really make it's presence known right as we were going to pick out our pumpkins, so we ditched the pumpkin patch and ran for the car
....pumpkinless!
Oh well, at least we got in some fun things to make our $5 per person worth the hour we spent there!

Now I wish we could just press PAUSE and freeze the seasons for the next six months and by-pass winter! I'm not ready for hibernation yet but I know it's looming right around the corner...

As a Utahn and knowing what we are in for, that prospect is a little depressing!

But FALL? I could easily do six more months of Fall.

It's definitely my favorite time of year! :)

A long post about not alot...

I have been a little unmotivated in blogging lately.... I have no great explanation except maybe for the fact that my most recent discovery of any interest is that diapers (unused) make for great accomplices when trying to clean up gobs and gobs of vomit.... other than at least one person being sick at all times in our home ever since we got back from Disneyland --- we have been pretty boring around here! And germy! Read on if you really care for a few other uninteresting items on our recent agenda....

My mom came up last week for couple of days (from St. George) and it was fun to see her for a minute. We visited my brother at the cemetery... it was the second year anniversary of his death on October 6th. I can't believe it's already been two years! I miss him so much. It was a gorgeous Fall day and the cemetery he is laid to rest in in Holladay is so beautiful. I told Chris that I hope we can be buried in such a pretty place as that, and his response was that it didn't matter where we were buried. I told him "good", and that if he doesn't care, then we can be put where I want, since I do have an opinion about it! :) Back to Michael... What would have been his 32nd birthday in August was hard for me, and even harder were my kid's birthdays in July and August. Knowing how much he would adore them and knowing that he is missing out on their lives and their darling little personalities was really difficult for me this year. At the same time I feel him around us and I am so grateful for the knowledge and comfort in knowing that we will get to see him again someday. I can't imagine having gone through such a tragedy without that surety and faith. I am so grateful for the gospel! It doesn't make sad things just"go away" but it helps lift the burden and offers great peace and comfort and assurance that we can get through the hard times, even though they still really, really stink. I want to be better because of this experience in my life. I need to be better. I need to live more because he doesn't get to. My maiden name is Fuller, (my brother was often called this by his friends) and I've come to the conclusion that I need to live a "FULLER" life. We truly don't know how much time we will be allotted in this earth life, but I've resolved that it needs to be FULL and meaningFUL!

As you can tell by this picture, he was definitely an example of being full of life! :)

May we all live a little FULLER!

The next night, my Mom, myself, Chris and the kids met up with my Dad and my other brother and his wife Kylie at the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It is kind of a sentimental restaurant to our family and so we had a dinner in honor of Michael. It was nice to get together.

Another thing going on around here is that we are in the midst of finishing our basement! I am so excited to be getting this done! We are drowning in toys over here and my sanity is slowly slipping away, so I am soooooooo looking forward to kicking 95% of the toys downstairs once this is through! The drywall was just finished today and Chris is hoping to get started painting on Saturday. We've been running around trying to find a good sectional couch so that I can base the wall color and carpet off of our furniture choice. Which is kind of funny, because we can't even really afford a couch right now, so those choices will be based off a couch that we HOPE to buy, in the coming months. Chris will tell you in the coming years. Whatev.

I forgot to post Emmie's one year stats, and Parker had his three year check really late....but the results are in, so better late than never right?

Here are their latest Statistics:

EMMIE'S 1 YEAR:

Weight: 19.2 lbs, 20.33 %ile

Length: 29 inches, 48.21%ile

Head: 17.75 inches, 51.6%ile

PARKER'S 3 YEAR:

Weight: 31.31 lbs, 39.59%ile

Length: 37.5 inches, 40.03%ile

BMI: 15.65, 39.66%ile

Other than that, Parker is enjoying Joy School (we all are!) and Emmie is loving her newest mode of transportation -- walking!

Well I am impressed if you made it through that post. But if you didn't, that's A-okay. Don't blame ya. All that journaling is for my own sake anyways! :)

One is too fun

When Emmie disappears, I often find her HERE: Sitting on the stairs, swinging her legs, with a teasing, proud grin on her face.

(Don't mind the nap-head hair :))

Lately, I also find her HERE: On top of the picnic table (brought inside last week for Joy School)....once again - with a triumphant grin on her face. She thinks she's pretty hot stuff to stand up on the bench or crawl up onto the table.

She was taking 4 or 5 steps by her birthday in August, but it hasn't been until this last couple of weeks that she's really taken off!

She also just sprouted one more tooth on the bottom. That explains the constant runny nose lately and the unusual sad face. This is tooth #7 - four on top and three on bottom.

She LOVES to be chased up the stairs - especially by her brother! Parker shrieks in delight when he sees her start up the steps. He takes off after her, tickles her under the chin, and informs her in a giggly squeal that she's a "Stinky Little Bug!". So funny!

That is a moment in my day that never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Going up the stairs is still kind of a no-no for her because she still hasn't mastered the art of going down the stairs yet.... we're working on it.

Seriously, how can you resist that cute little face?! So --- I might be a little biased. But really, she is just the sweetest thing!

Even her center-of-attention-seeking big brother is starting to think that our little Emmie is pretty darn cool.

And I will second that.

She is pretty darn cool!!! :)

Disneyland Fun

I know, I know.... these collages are on here 2x, but the ones below won't let you click to enlarge, and these will...I can't figure it out but until I do I'll just leave these up! The post really starts below....

OUR DISNEYLAND ADVENTURE
September 14-19th, 2009

Get ready for a major overload of pictures!!!Above are Parker and Emmie as we walked in through the bright & shiny D-Land gates on Monday morning. Parker glowing with anticipation....
Emmie.....SOUND ASLEEP.

That's right. Right next to the marching band!

Our week at the Happiest Place on Earth was full of excitement, big smiles, exhaustion, and a few (to be expected) break downs. Overall, it really was so magical! There is just something about Disney that makes for an incredible experience. Watching Parker and Emmie's faces light up at every turn was absolutely priceless and we definitely created some memorable moments!

10 of our FAVORITE THINGS on this trip.....

(in random order!)

10. Meeting Disney characters!
Parker was so excited to get everyone's 'autograph', and the cute little book he had them signing also provides a place to put each character's picture above it. He is going to love looking through it once we get the pictures developed!

9. The Tiki Room!
This is a show of dancing and singing birds and Parker and Emmie loved it! Chris and I loved the A/C that accompanied the show! :)
Also a favorite in that neck of the woods was Pirates of the Caribbean. Parker referred to it as the 'scary' ride and told us the first couple days that it was his favorite.

(Keep reading to find out what quickly became his true #1)

8. Turning 30 at Disneyland! (That's right - I said T-H-I-R-T-Y!!!)
Celebrating my birthday at the park (Tuesday, the 15th) was so much fun. I was given a Happy Birthday button to wear with my name it and every time a Disney employee spotted my button, they would say, "Happy Birthday, Michelle!" For some reason it was just fun to have random strangers constantly yelling out "Happy Birthday!". Plus they gave me a $72 gift card to use on merchandise in the park. I totally recommend going for your big day. It was really, really fun!
After our day at Disney, we went to the Cheesecake Factory (now just down the street) for dinner. I was blessed to end my Big Day with some Oreo cheesecake.
Now THAT is something to celebrate!!!


7. Feeding the ducks in Critter Country at lunch time.
Parker loved this when we did it with him at 20 months, and he loved it at three!


6. Finding Nemo!
We only went on this twice due to lines, but Parker and Emmie both really loved it!

5. Toy Story Ride!

There is a new Toy Story ride over in CA Adventure, and it is sooooo much fun! We went numerous times and it was definitely a top favorite!

4. Emmie meeting the characters!


Her face would just light up every time we got close to a character. Some kids were afraid of them... Not our Emmie. She was grinning ear to ear and would try to grab their noses and even attempted to eat a few of them....! (Surprise, surprise.:))

3. The Pixar Parade in CA Adventure Park!

This parade was soooooooooo well done! The kids loooved it and the choreography was amazing. Definitely a highlight!

2. Parker meeting his beloved friend, Mickey Mouse.
Parker has been infatuated with his buddy Mickey for about a year and a half now. He was Mickey for Halloween last year, is a HUGE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fan, sleeps with his two Mickey's every night.... you get the idea. We've been talking about meeting Mickey all summer and he was really looking forward to it! Luckily, we had several run-ins with Mickey during our stay. It was very exciting! :)


1. What was Parker's favorite ride you ask??? None else but
THE MATTERHORN!!!
That's right, my (barely) 3 year old looooved one of the fastest rides in the park! He went on it four times, and it would have been a lot more but the lines were long. This was the only 'big' ride that he was tall enough for....can't wait to see what he thinks of Space Mountain in a year or two!

Amidst all of the excitement, by the end of the day (like 5:00!) our kids were more into DREAMland than DISNEYland. It was such a fun trip, but truly exhausting for all of us!

We are so grateful that we could go and spend such adventurous, quality time together.

We LOVED it and can't wait to do it again! :)

All About Cali Part I

We just got back from California last Sunday. We were gone for almost ten days and had such a great time! I feel like family vacations are a true necessity in that you really get to spend quality time together. You know, meaning those oh-so never-ending, obnoxiously continually beckoning chores of laundry, cooking and cleaning are simply just not a worry! WHAT A RELIEF!!! Just good times and making memories is the focus.

Seriously, what is better than that???

So we are a little CRAZY and decided to DRIVE! It actually wasn't so bad- it only took us ten hours total, and the $1500+ we saved by not flying and renting a car was definitely worth it!

The nicest part was that my Mom and Stepdad live in St. George, so we stopped there for a night on the way there and back. It was nice to see them and a great break from driving, not to mention a nice place to stay overnight!

Here are the kiddos doing one of their favorite activities -- playing in Grandma's Jane's guest tub!

That was Friday night, September 11th. On Saturday, we left for LA, where we stayed for a night at my Uncle Mark and Aunt Susan's home before heading out on our Disneyland adventure.

A little sidenote for the family history....

My Uncle Mark (my Dad's brother) is the founder and CEO of WET Design, a firm that designs and makes fountains all over the world. He is truly a creative genius! He has done numerous fountains for Disneyworld and Epcot Center, many of the water features around the LA area including at The Grove and the Watercourt at California Plaza, not to mention works spanning from Hong Kong to Madrid. Probably his most famous water feature however, is the Bellagio Hotel fountain in Las Vegas, which you may also know by it's four-minute scene in the movie Oceans Eleven. Locally, he did the fountain at Gateway in downtown Salt Lake that all the kids love to play in, he did the 2002 winter olympic games huge spiral torch of glass and water that was lit during the opening ceremonies, and his current local project is in the works is for the new downtown Salt Lake City project by Temple Square.

Phew! Just to name a couple. :)

Mark is genuinely one of the most humble guys you'll ever meet. I've never heard him boast about any of his work, even when they obviously deserve some sort of recognition and praise! In fact, most of the time we have to really coax him to get him to tell us much about his projects, as world-renowned as many of them are!

We are so proud of my Uncle Mark and continue to be awed by the many talents and the inspiration he has delivered all across the world.

We were honored to get to stay in their guest house for a night and Parker and Emmie looooved playing with their two kids (their second cousins), Harrison and Madison. Parker gets along great with these two and had such a fun time playing with them!

Thanks Mark and Susan for letting us be your guests for a night and for such great accomodations! :)

Next we were off to Anaheim for six nights! I will post the Disneyland excursion separately, but the other non-Disney adventure we had was going to

NEWPORT BEACH!!

On Wednesday morning we took a break from the parks and headed for the beach, sand and sun.

We all had the best time and the kids totally loved it.

Parker looved looking for seashells with Dad, and Emmie couldn't get enough of the water. She would scream when I would move her away from the waves hitting her little legs.



An excited (and pretty cute) little explorer at Pirates Cove (Newport Beach)Emmie also looooved the sand! No, I'm telling you, she REALLY LOVED THE SAND! EW!

For the girl who puts EVERYTHING into her mouth, why wouldn't she try a mouthful of

sick, germ infested, birdy pooped-on, fishy-smelling DIRT?

UGGHHH!!! LOL

We still love you, Emmie. :) Despite that little incident that unfolded before my camera-catching lens, we still loooooved our morning at the beach!

If I lived in Cali, I think I'd have to arrange for play dates at the beach at least weekly! I might blind fellow beach goers with my glowing white skin as I did on this trip, but eventually I might just end up with tan.

*Sigh*

I think it's been at least a good 8 years since I had one of those... :)

Haircuts for two please

We just got back from a way fun, 9 day trip to California today. (more about that later...!)Parker and Emmie were going to be meeting Mickey & friends and we didn't want them looking shabby, so the day we left I took the kiddos in for haircuts.

This was a special event for Emmie, as it was her monumental, very

FIRST HAIRCUT! :)

Here they are in their before picture:Wild and crazy!

Emmie was a little nervous to cut her luscious locks, but she took it like a big one year old and sat bravely as the hair stylist snipped away, giving her a cute slight stack in the back.

Ahem...

Drum roll..............!

THE FINAL PRODUCT:

Ta-Duh!

My reaction?

I love it! Finally got rid of those uneven ends!

Her reaction???

"Hmmmm.... I thi--ink I like it....it might take some getting used to....."

Finally a slight smile....
"Yeah, okay. I think I do like it!"
Such a girl I tell ya! :)

And as for Mr. P.... he's always happy to get his haircut as long as he gets to watch a movie, play on the slide and get a balloon and sucker on his way out the door.
We love Cookie Cutters!
Too bad I don't think I can afford it much longer now that I have to pay for TWO kid's cuts!