ReCALL NotiCe Fun

So,  about a year ago (give or take a few months), we received a notice in the mail that our Toyota Corolla had a recall issued on it.  We  promptly filed the notice away with our other "important" documents (aka junk pile) and went on with life.  Then, about 6 months after the first notice, we received another notice of another recall on the same vehicle.  Once again, I filed the notice in our "important" document file and went on with life. 

Well, I finally got around to the "important" document file and noticed words like "airbag failure" and "restraint system issue" in the wording and decided maybe these recalls were more "important" than I was making them out to be.  I kept having visions of Jarad being involved in an accident on his way to work and the police saying "If only you would've taken care of the recall issues..."

So, today Carter and I took a drive to the SLC Toyota dealership, where we originally purchased the car 11 years ago, to have them fix the issues and help me sleep better at night.  Knowing it was going to be about a 4 hour process, and being smart enough to realize that entertaining a 3 year-old in the waiting room of a car dealership for that amount of time would put one or both of us over the edge, I decided to make an adventure out of it.

Carter and I spent the day downtown riding TRAX, playing at the Children's Discovery Museum and enjoying his favorite lunch; nuggets and fries! Here are a few pictures of our day!

Riding TRAX!  He loves trains!

Just doing a little construction work!

Making his own music.

A indoor foam sand pit!  He was in boy heaven.

Piloting an airplane!

Checking out the workings of the helicopter.

 He seriously ran from one activity to another at the museum!  He was so tired by the time we left he could hardly keep his eyes open through lunch.  I love spending one on one time with each of my kids.  I'm sad that next year Carter will be in preschool and our all day shenanigans will have to end!

DiSNeYlaND...for reals this time

Here are a few pictures of our Disneyland trip. 
A couple words of advice for anyone planning a trip (and also for me to remember for next time). 
1.  NEVER go between Christmas and New Years!  
Yes, we did go then, and it was totally worth it.  However, it is definitely a "once in a lifetime" trip.  It was amazing to see all the Christmas decorations around the park.  The Small World ride was decked out as well as the Haunted Mansion; it was decorated with The Nightmare Before Christmas theme.  I think that's the only way we got Isabel to even consider it.  Even the small little villages on the Storybook Boat ride had teeny-tiny Christmas trees and wreaths and lights.  Disney definitely gives a new meaning to "going all out".
 I can't even begin to describe how crowded it was there (see pictures below).  They actually had workers directing foot traffic most of the day.  They made certain parts of the park a one-way walkway.  At one time I was literally stuck in Frontierland with Carter and Isabel in the stroller.  There were so many people I couldn't move even if I wanted to.
By-the-way, did you know they actually close Disneyland?  They did the day we left.  They had reached capacity.  Capacity? At Disnelyland?  That's got to be nearly a bajillion people, right?
I should insert here that Jarad HATES crowds. He gets jittery with so many people around and it literally took all his mental effort to not run out of the park screaming.  I can't believe he made it through all three days without poking his own eyes out.   The patience award goes to him for this trip.

2.  Eat at Flo's
The line for the Radiator Springs Racers was nearly always 3 hours long.  Not a very conducive wait for three kids 10 and under (or for four adults wrestling them).   Yes, I know you're suppose to go first thing to get fast passes for this ride.  We did.  So did the other fifty bajillion people in the park.  The fast pass line was about a 30 minute wait and all the passes were all gone by about 9am.  So, instead of actually riding this ride, we watched other people ride it as we ate our lunch. 
If you're heading to Disneyland, Flo's V8 Diner is in Cars Land and has the best quality/affordable food in the park. They serve roast beef, pork, or turkey breast with gravy.  They have a variety of sides to choose from including mashed potatoes, corn and baked beans, and the serving sizes are fairly generous.  Our kids liked the selection of kids meals (turkey sandwiches, mac & cheese, etc.) and we liked that vegetables, not fries, were part of the meal.  The adult meals cost around $13 each and the kids meals were about half that.  Watch out for the drinks...that's where they'll get you! However, that $3.50 for a Diet Coke was well worth it after trudging through the crowds all day.    They have ample seating both inside and out.  If you sit outside you can see the Radiator Springs Racers go by every minute or two. 
3.  Take Extra Adults
My parents went with us this time around. I don't think we would've survived without them.  Cole wanted to do the wild and crazy stuff.  Isabel's idea of wild and crazy is flying through the dark on the Peter Pan ride. Carter wasn't quite tall enough to go on a few rides that the rest of us wanted to. A one to one adult child ratio is definitely not overkill. 

Even though we fought crowds all day, this trip was leaps and bounds better than the last time we tried this!  Isabel actually thinks Disneyland is fun now and not some twisted form of torture.  Her favorite ride this time around ended up being the Grizzly River Run.  She giggled the whole time and absolutely loved it.  We rode it three times on our last day there.  Cole couldn't get enough of Screamin' California; the roller coaster that shoots you out like a rocket and spins you upside down.  Last time we went he was about an inch too short to ride it.  This time I think he rode it at least four times.  Carter 's favortie ride was the Tow Mater ride in Cars Land.  In fact he asked me just today if we could go back so he could ride Tow-Mater.

Apparently it was sunny, hence the hand visor over the eyes.  But, look how awesome that castle looks!

A sample of the crowd.  That actually looks mild compared to later in the day.

Where Carter spent most of his time...on Grandpa's shoulders!

Inside Small World.  They had the Small World song mixed in with Jingle Bells...amazing stuff.

Toy Story!

Eat at Flo's!

Cars Land!

Christmas Fun

 Back in  February of 2012 our family went to Disneyland California.  What was suppose to be a fun-filled week with family and good friends turned into a nightmare.  Isabel ended up in the hospital with Guillian Barre.  The only thing fancy about that syndrome is it's name.  If you want all the ugly details you can read about them here. 

After such a horrible taste in our mouths, we were determined to try again!  After all, Disneyland is the happiest place on earth; we wanted our kids, especially Isabel, to actually feel that way about it. 

So, we came up with a plan to surprise our kids with a Disney trip for Christmas.  Jarad nearly blew our secret at least three times in the week leading up to Christmas, but managed to recover after each "mis-statement" he made.  I think our kids were genuinely surprised.  We sent them on a scavenger hunt to find their "master gift".  I've included the video clip of the last few minutes of the hunt.  More pictures of the trip to come later!

The Glorious Month of May: a Tribute to the Best Husband in the World

May is always a big deal in our family.  It's packed with birthdays, dance recitals, school getting out and about 100 other little things that make the days just fly by.  It's probably my favorite month of the year.  Maybe that's just because my birthday falls around Memorial Day and we end up celebrating all weekend long.  Maybe it's because this year it's felt  like a month long celebration.  Here's why...

Let me start by saying, I have the best husband ever!  He has played Mr. Mom quite a bit this month so I could go have some fun of my own.  It started the first weekend of the month when I went to BYU Women's Conference with my mom.  Not only did Jarad take care of all three kids, keep the house clean, run the car pool, and go to soccer practice, he did all of it while taking care of a 2 year old with a stomach bug.  And, he kept the illness all hush-hush until I was on my way home from the conference so I wouldn't worry.  The only inclination I had that something might be amiss was a text from him that read "Do you know where the attachments to the wet-dry vac are?" 

Next came Mother's Day where Jarad and the kids let me sleep in 'til nearly 10am.  I can't remember the last time the clock had a double digit in the hour when I woke up.  When I finally pulled my lazy self out of bed, I was showered with cards and hugs.  To top it all off, I got to spend the evening sitting around just enjoying my little family!

Then comes the next weekend!  May 17th is one of my best friends birthdays. It really stinks that she lives in Arizona and I don't get to celebrate with her.  Every year for the past couple of years I've said how much I'd like to just fly down and surprise Jen for her birthday.  This year I finally did it.  I took my other best friend, Brooke, and off we flew for 72 hours of fun!  We had arranged all this with Jen's husband, Todd, but she had no idea.  When Jen and Todd showed up at PF Chang's for dinner after a night at the temple, there we were just sitting at the table.  Jen was so shocked she was speechless...and with Jen that doesn't happen too often :)  Once again, Jarad held down the fort, made a Sunday dinner better than I can, attended awards ceremonies, and still managed to work a few hours here and there all while I vacationed!  By the way...I told Jarad he needed to slow it down a bit...he was setting the bar way too high for me when I returned. 

In Sunny Arizona with Jen & Brooke.

To top it all off, yesterday Jarad & I went to Pioneer Theater Company's production of Les Miserables.  The tickets were my Christmas gift from Jarad.  I'm a huge Les Mis fan!  It was the first broadway musical I ever saw.  My Grandma Oborn took me to see it at the Capitol Theater when I was about 9 years old and I fell in love!  I love the music!  I love the emotion!  I love the seeing and hearing the talent of others! 

All that and there is still nearly an entire week of May left to go!  I can't wait to see what it brings!