Funderland

With a name like Funderland you know its going to be awesome! And it was just as awesome as I remembered it being 25 years ago.  We were all kind of worn out from the zoo and Fairytale town but we got our second wind when we saw all the cool kiddie rides.  I have to mention that I will not be able to use any commas in my posts because Andrew thought it would be a great idea to remove keys from the keyboard and we haven't found all of them yet.  My phone is also MIA. I am getting off topic back to the magical rides of funderland.  As you can tell from the pictures all of the rides are made for kids under the age of 10.  That didn't stop my husband from getting on with the kids because they were "scared."  Andrew was a little hesitant at first but he got over it pretty quickly.  I hope the kids had as much fun as I remember having.  If you are ever in Sacramento you should check it out!

My life as an old lady

There was an old lady who lived in a shoe, she had so many children she didn't know what to do.  Or something like that?  Justin thought it would be great to get pictures of me and the kids in front of this shoe in Fairytale town.  The best part was the non-cooperation from the kids.  This is real life!  Pretty funny stuff.  I feel like this sometimes when I try to get them places all by myself.  So many people ask me how I do it when I am out with them.  I tell them I don't know!  I am just used to it!  But I do take them out by myself all of the time, and sometimes it is a nightmare, and sometimes it is so fun!  That's just how we roll around these parts.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?  Or it just makes you feel like an old lady in a shoe.

Fairytale Town

I want to apologize in advance for the number of pictures in this post. There are a lot.  I am just so happy that I am almost caught up on my blog! I am just about two months behind.  In June we had the opportunity to go to Sacramento with my family.  We got to visit the places I used to go as a child.  I have so many happy memories from Fairytale Town, I was so excited to take my own kids.  I feel so blessed to have had such a happy childhood, great parents and siblings!  I hope that Justin and I are creating happy memories for our kids as well.  Fairytale Town is a park with lots of different attractions that have to do with nursery rhymes.  It is for younger children mostly, but my kids all had fun.  It was just like I remembered.  

For Cortney

This post is for my sister Cortney who always teases me about only posting pictures of Charlotte.  It is true, I do it a lot.  But, she is my last baby and I am trying to eat up her babyhood.  Some days I don't want her to grow up ever, but some days I can't wait for the next stage of life.  She is walking around all the time now, she stopped crawling about a week ago.  She is so dang cute with her little waddle.  These pictures are from June when I was in the car with her during church.  We were in Fallon and I was so tired and she was not behaving, so I snuck to the car to put her in her seat.  Shhh don't tell, I usually don't ditch church.  She is pretty cute, don't ya think?  I think its funny that she doesn't let me put anything in her hair!  If I try she pulls it right out. I bought a ton of bows and flowers and headbands for her after she was born, and she hasn't worn any of them.  Oh well, at least she has a little bit of hair!      

Utah!

I can't believe that summer is almost over. The kids start school in less than two weeks.  I always feel guilty around this time.  "Did I spend enough quality time with the kids this summer?"  "Did I teach them everything I could have?" I hope so, I feel like I am doing the best that I can, even though I feel like its usually not enough.  Being a parent is hard work!  This summer we had the chance to go to Utah,  and spend some time with the family.  I am so glad we decided to stay while Justin went home to work.  I missed him lots, but we had so much fun with grandma and grandpa.  Here are some pictures of our adventures.         

We played some games, the kids really loved the Uno game that shoots the cards out at you.

Playdough!  My mom had some of the molds and toys I used to play with when I was a kid.  I totally remember making strawberry shortcake figures with them.  The kids loved it.  We even made our own dough.



Swimming at Vanessa's pool.  It was so nice and warm.  I actually swam myself!

I showed the kids my high school, man that place is looking old.

Spent time with my favorite brother Matt, we love him so much!

We always have to visit the zoo when we go to grandma's. 

All the kids in the Eagle's nest.

The kids loved the new to us polar bear exhibit.  The sea lions and seals were very entertaining.

Charlotte tried to fall down the stairs a few times, but never did.

Why are the toys at grandma's always better than the ones at home?

I finally attempted to learn to sew, I made this dress myself.  It only fell apart in one place.  Good thing my mom was there to fix it for me.  Joslyn loved it and that is all that matters.

We got to celebrate Taylor's 9th birthday. I really can't believe she is growing up so fast.  We made cake pops and had a super fun party.

Springs preserve

Andy exploring in the rainforest.

There is quite a bit to do here in Vegas which makes it nice.  One of our families favorite things is to go to the Springs preserve.  It is a park/museum/zoo I don't really know how to explain it.  It has gardens and exhibits and lots of fun activities for the kids.  We decided to buy a membership so we could go whenever we wanted.  It makes a fun activity when we are bored!  It will be even more nice when it cools down and we are able to take advantage of the garden and trails.  Right now we stick to most of the indoor stuff.  There is a Rain forest exhibit and a flash flood demonstration that my kids can't get enough of.  They also have different crafts for the kids.  Ellie's favorite part!  These pictures are from a while ago, but we just went again today.  We left the house early and played on the kids outdoor playground because it has been so cool lately.  Yes, 90 is cool when you are used to 110!  Then we went to the museum again and had lunch at the café.  I can't believe summer is almost over and the kids head to school soon.  I will miss being able to spend all day with them!

Joslyn and Aysha climbing the tree in the rainforest.

Outside in the gardens, it was so hot!

One of the crafts that the kids made, masks.

Joslyn's mask

Ellie was so proud of her mask, she especially loved the big pimple on the forehead. She was cracking herself up.

They even played with them at home.  They put on a play.