Happiest Place on Earth

We had our first "official" family vacation Nov 4th - 8th. Oh sure, we've been to Hatch as a family every year, but it's not quite the same if you don't leave the state of Utah. Elle and I went to Las Vegas when she was eight months old, and Hawaii last summer, but our family was incomplete without Shayne being with us. Yep, this was our FIRST OFFICIAL FAMILY VACATION (with my parents, Evan, and Monyka in Mom and Dad's motor home). And - we did it on a dime. Even better!

We left the morning of the 4th. It was early and COLD. Freezing cold. And the motor home felt more cold. After filling up the RV with gas, we headed out for the long journey to Anaheim, California. Along the way, I attempted to learn to crochet. I had a book, "I Taught Myself to Crochet." It kept me busy. I am not even close to making ANYTHING though. Elle played some games, and everyone found things to do to pass the time. Poor Shayne passed the time being motion sick in the back of the RV. :(

Finally we were in California. It was the evening, so we spent much of the first night unpacking our things and setting up for bed. Elle,Shayne, Grandma, and Grandpa did squeeze in some time at the RV park pool, but we all had to get to bed early that night because the next day was DISNEYLAND!!! The next morning we woke up early and were off right at 8:30 a.m. on the shuttle for Disneyland. We met with Dad's buddy, Raliegh and his daughter (and who are really to thank for this entire vacation) to get our free tickets to the park. Raliegh's daughter works for Disneyland, and as a favor to her father and my dad got us seven free passes to Disneyland for two days.

The first day, we took Elle on a few rides. The first thing she went on was "The Haunted Mansion" that was decorated as "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I think this made her scared and un-trusting for the rest of the rides though. "Splash Mountain" that day also scared her. She was enjoying all the happy scenery and Zippadee Do Dah song, and it almost killed me when the song changed and she clung to me as we went over the waterfall. Grandma made it up to her though by taking her on "Peter Pan" and some of the rides in Storybook Land that she really liked. Shayne and I ordered kids meals that day to save money and I have to say..... THEY ARE GROSS. But - it's food (and didn't break the bank) and that's what mattered.

Second day, Elle started the day off wanting to get signatures from a few of the characters. We met Pluto, Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Sally and Jack, Minnie, Mickey, and Tinkerbell and her friend (that I don't know her name....). This was a HORRIBLE day for me. For some reason, my bowels were acting up and lets just say "I got to know where ALL the bathrooms were." I would say 50% of my day was spent in the restroom.

Shayne and I got some time together too when my Mom and Dad took the girls for about 4 hours. We made short list of things we wanted to do and went down the list with Evan and Monyka checking them off. Tower of Terror; check. Pirates of the Caribbean; check. 3D movie (Bugs Life); check. Splash Mountain; check.... it was a very fun time together. For lunch that day, we were SICK of eating disgusting expensive kids meals, and walked to a place that sounded better. Yes, even McDonald's sounded better at the time and it tasted like thanksgiving dinner when we all sat around and pigged out on the food and drank our several free refills. That night we met back with Mom and Dad and all together for the first time in the park watched some Disney shows, ate corn dogs, and saw the fireworks to end our Disneyland adventure. It was a blast.

Saturday, we were so tired from walking and excitement that sitting around sounded WONDERFUL. But- being in California for only a short time, we decided that we'd better go back to Disneyland and shop at their "no ticket needed" Downtown Disney stores. Shayne and I bought some Christmas ornaments, and Elle was thrilled to pick out a toy to take home as a souvenir. Later that night, with nothing to do, we went with Mom and Dad to Denny's.

Little Kaitlyn seemed to do better on the trip than I thought she would. She is only 6 months old so there was not a lot she could do. It seemed like I was always feeding and changing her (or worried that she wasn't sleeping enough or possibly dehydrated), but she was overall a very good baby like she always is. She even managed to go on two rides; "Peter Pan," and "Haunted Mansion." By the way - she didn't like either of them. Note taken; no babies on rides. She did however love the sights, and sounds, and being a part of the group. Grandma gave her a little Minnie Mouse that I know she will treasure always.

Then, the next day - like a dream - we woke up and our time in California was over. We had to leave and get back to Utah again. The ride home was a little different than the ride there. I think we were all worn out and probably not too thrilled to be leaving already. Elle had school the next day, I would be unpacking and doing load after load of laundry, and Shayne had to get back to job hunting. But it was nice going home and knowing that we had a much needed break from reality. It brought our family closer and we are very blessed to have friends and family that helped make this possible for us. Disneyland 2010 was a blast and I hope not the last time we will be going for years. We hope this will be the first of many more vacations for the Munns. ;)

Embracing the Halloween Season

We had a blast this Halloween. As a family, we had a joke that we were going to "embrace the Halloween season" and do everything as Halloween-ie as we could think of to celebrate. It made for a lot of memories and over 200 pictures! We started off the season with our first Halloween dinner early in the month, October 11. Evan, Monyka, Danny, and our little family gathered in our tiny dining room and ate "Monster Burgers" and "Jack-o-lantern Mac and Cheese." Everything looked awesome and tasted delicious! We had a couple of outings this year to the pumpkin patch. One on October 13th as a family (with Danny) to Jaker's where we had a blast picking out our pumpkin straight from the vine, going on a hayride, and watching Elle play in the "corn box," hay pyramid, hay maze, and petting zoo.

Elle rocked the stage at her Kindergarten Halloween Show October 26th. I was so proud to see her in front and center stage. She was so cute. I took some pictures and tape recorded most of the show. She looked adorable in her witches costume. Later that week on the 28th, I was a mother helper for her class Halloween party. I got to help the kids make a craft - little tissue paper sucker ghosts with googly eyes. I also helped pass out some cookies and help with a "mummy wrap" game done with toilet paper. Elle was so proud to have me in her class, and showed off her baby sister and Grandma too (who came to help). Now I am wishing I would have volunteered for more of her school activities.

After a conversation about our old Halloween traditions with our home teachers, we decided that we've been living here two years and it was time to bring out "the ghost." Shayne and I used to put out the ghost every year in front of a main window of our home a week or two before Halloween. Friends, neighbors, and strangers would pass and enjoy the ghost but being in a two bedroom home - if we were to put up the ghost it would be hanging over my head in bed in our room window. Well, since this might be the last Halloween here, sure enough I let Shayne hang the ghost over my head and we kept it there the full two weeks. I heard some comments about how "cool" it was, and that made everything worth it.

We also had the fun opportunity to go with Sarah C. and her girls to Hee Haw Farms Oct 15. We easily spent the day there and the girls had a blast. We enjoyed the corn maze, hay ride, and court yard activities they had. We met with Sarah and the family again on Friday the 22nd, where we carved our pumpkins. We always have our own "competition" to see who can carve the best pumpkin, but in the end I think we all ended up winners.

October 30th of course was the day Halloween was observed and we met again with Sarah, the girls, and Momma J for some fun Trunk or Treating to both of our wards and around a town in Springville. Watching the girls go door to door was the cutest thing I had ever seen. It was freezing cold (it literally snowed that day) but it didn't slow down the girls at all! They looked like they could have trick or treated all night. My favorite part of that day was when my sweetheart won the "Spiciest Chili Award" at our ward dinner. He put 18 long hours of cooking time into his chili, and I was thrilled when he won his Strawberry Shortcake apron! Way to go Shayne!

Kaitlyn was adorable this Halloween. She didn't seem to catch on too much of what was going on but she looked so sweet in the bumble bee costume and dressed as a sweet little lady bug both days. She also tasted her first little bit of sugar sucker and drank her first bits of water from a cup. Even though it was very cold outside, Kaitlyn seemed to like being in her stroller all nice and warm walking around town with us.

Halloween wasn't over yet though! October 31 was our second Halloween dinner with the Burrows/LaTurner family. It was a blast seeing what people brought for our pot luck; Elle and I made some "Potato Bugs" and "Feet Meatloaf." Evan and Monyka brought "Swamp Punch" and "Monster Bean Dip." Mom brought "Roll Mice," and everything looked and tasted WONDERFUL. We ended the night with some rounds of MONOPOLY DEAL (our family favorite game) and started planning our trip to California for the next week.

I definitely feel like we "embraced the Halloween season." Now that Halloween is over, we are looking back and glad that we did everything that we could to make it the best ever. This Halloween will be remembered forever.

Bingo - Halloween Style

Shayne and I have always been "Halloween people." In a lot of ways, I think Halloween was what initially brought us together. We started dating 11 years ago on October 23, 1999. It all began when we started buying things to make his mom's house spooky for Halloween night. We bought a few fake crows, some spider webs, and an alien that we hung in the front window. The next year, we added to it with a couple of "dead guys" out in the yard and gravestones, and every year it grew and grew. Before long, Shayne's house was the talk of the town because it was the house with the spook alley on Halloween night. It took a lot of time to prepare for, and sometimes just as long to take it down (which I guess is why Jeanette decided she didn't like us doing the spook alley anymore).

Now that Shayne and I are married, our traditions and love for Halloween carries on and is being passed onto our children. We still like to make spook alley's and decorate for Halloween, but we also love holding our yearly Halloween Party. It is "our big thing" as we like to tell people. In years past we have had the spook alley's, games, big dinners, and contests. Our Halloween parties have made a name for themselves like Jeanette's house became the "house to beat" every Halloween night. I plan at least 2 months ahead for them, and they never disappoint.

This year we had the party at my Mom's house in Spanish Fork. No spook alley though (Dad's house, Dad's rules). We decorated the upstairs with balloons, table cloths, confetti, and center pieces. This year, instead of having a costume contest, we had a Halloween theme pizza contest. I was surprised when eight pizza's entered the contest! Evan's skeleton head pizza took 1st place, 2nd place was my Mom's jack-o-lantern pizza, and coming in close in 3rd was our gluten free Frankenstein by Sarah C. We also had a jar full of candy to guess how many pieces were inside. Guessing 275, Patrick won the closest guess to the actual number of 301. (I thought it was cute to see the kids guessing 15, 16, 10, and 1000.) The kids had their own game of pin the nose on the pumpkin. Arisa was so proud of herself for winning the coloring book.

Lastly, we played BINGO. I noticed some people won a lot of prizes for their lucky cards. Shayne was the only person that didn't win anything :( . We had prizes ranging from $1 - $10 gifts. The grand prizes were socks which Sarah C. and Dad won, a light up jack-o-lantern that Danny won, and for the grand prize - a blanket and pillow ghost set that Patrick won. Elle and her friend Matthew won a couple of prizes too.

When it was time to go home, I have to admit that I was sad that another Halloween party had ended but happy to know that we still have another week of Halloween ahead of us. Thank you to everyone who came, I hope you had as much fun and memories as we did. We are already looking forward to next year's party, and hope that many of our friends and family that couldn't make it will be able to attend next year.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN WEEK! :)

Another Year Older

I remember my 27th birthday (in 2009) like it was yesterday. We had just found out that we were expecting Kaitlyn, but that was also the day that I started to bleed and wonder if Kaitlyn would be a part of our family. So much has happened since then (as you know if you have been reading my blogs) so this year felt like a great celebration of the year that we had just overcome together and how far we have come.

My birthday turned into a birth-weekend, starting with Thursday. My brother Danny treated me to Bombay House for some Indian food. It was all of our first time going there, and we were pleasantly surprised at how elegant of a restaurant it was and the people working there were so very hospitable; even with Kaitlyn crying a majority of the time (sick with a cold and just barely having her 4 month shots). We had a great time, and it was the perfect start to my weekend.

Friday morning as I woke up after sleeping in a little, I noticed at least 20 birthday wishes already that morning. It was a great start to my day. Later, my mom came over and took the girls so Shayne and I could go out on a much needed afternoon out. We had a great time at Tucano's (with our free birthday meal coupon) and went window shopping. Once back home, Elle and Kaitlyn had some presents for me. Elle had went to the store with Grandma and picked me out a nice new pair of black slippers (with snowflakes on them) and a LONG chain sterling silver necklace. She was so proud of her purchases and it made her happy to see me open them and smile. Later that night, we got a Little Caesars Pizza and bread sticks and spent some time at the park as a family.

I thought that Saturday would be my birthday break, but it wasn't so. My in-laws threw me a surprise party at Grandpa Underwood's house. I didn't suspect a thing. In fact, truth be known, I wasn't in the best mood that afternoon so when we walked in and they said SURPRISE I felt foolish later for not reacting the way I would have normally. My attitude changed quickly however and I enjoyed the bbq and cake that they had ready for me. I was touched that they would make such an effort to make me feel special.

Sunday my Mom and Dad had a birthday bbq for me at their house. Dad grilled some kabobs and mom impressed us with the rest. We played Bocce ball and a card game of "Cowboy." It was a great birthday weekend. I can't say how enough how grateful I am for my family who love me and made this birthday so memorable. Thank you so much. I had a great birthday, and I love you all.

A Week of "First's"

This has been an unforgettable week for our family.

PART I - The DENTIST TRIP

We started off with the dreaded trip to the dentist. Elle had two cavities that needed filling, and Shayne and I had been dreading this day for just over two months when we first made the appointment. Danelle is very fearful of dentists, doctors, and any situation like it. She even had a hard time seeing me in the hospital when I had Kaitlyn, so I had already anticipated the whole day going terribly. She was given a prescription for oral sedation, but they warned me that sometimes when the child is really anxious that it would not help and we would have to get her in another day for a local anesthetic. I guess I assumed that Elle would be one of those children...

We went in Monday morning, August 30, and brought her sleepy medication us. For some reason, the nurse INSISTED we give her all the medicine in one shot so she wouldn't complain about the gross taste. I already know this was a bad idea since the syringe was half full of medicine, BUT she knows best I thought and I let her put in the sedative. HALF of the medicine flew out of Elle's mouth and onto her shirt. "GREAT" I thought. "Lets go home because this isn't going to work." Lucky for us, Elle had just enough to calm her nerves, and although she wasn't asleep, the gas they gave her helped with the rest.

Elle was so funny with the medication too. We could tell it was affecting her when she started reaching out to nothing in the air and saying, "I am going to get you Pooh!" (Talking to the Pooh Bear pictures on the wall). She also said we had three eyes, and two noses. After the doctor came in and sat next to her in a chair, gave her the numbing shots, and left the room a moment for the drugs to kick in - Shayne said that he went and sat in the dentists chair during the wait. Elle then said, "Daddy, you are sitting on that man!" Haha. My favorite was when they put the gas mask on that smelled like strawberries. Elle was licking the mask and air! Too funny. We had to watch her when she got home because she was still very out of it, running into walls and falling off the toilet seat. All in all, it went very well, and we were so glad to have a perfect set of teeth again. We are also taking extra precaution that this does not happen again.

PART II - KINDERGARTEN DAY!

It was finally here; the day that we had waited ALL SUMMER for. Elle's first day of Kindergarten!!! We have been excited and preparing for this day since May. We also started a new schedule in our family, which is going beautifully. The first morning of Kindergarten, Elle woke up early and got dressed (shoes and everything). She was ready for school by 9:00 a.m. I should have known better because she got Ravioli's on her during lunch and had got dressed again before school started.

After lunch (and getting dressed into another outfit0 we pulled up the the school, and after a couple pictures with my camera, I hugged her and we said our goodbye's. I was sure I was going to cry, but sure enough - I didn't. I was much to happy for this long awaited day. I keep wondering if those tears will ever set in. It is hard being away from each other so much (and I might cry NEXT year when it's a full day) but - she enjoys the time with the other kids and it makes me happy to see her a part of a class. I picked her up from school, and after a couple of tears on her part (because she had to leave her beloved school supplies with her teacher), all was well and we went home for her first after school snack.

We are looking forward to this year and all the adventures it will bring! She says her favorite part of school is recess (of course!), and you know summer is really over because first week in school; Danelle has a cold. Let the fun of the fall and winter come.

PART III - PIANO LESSONS!!!

From the age of 2 when Grandma LaTurner moved to Hawaii, it was anticipated that when Grandma moved back when Elle was 5 or 6 that we would start her in piano lessons. This week Elle had her first piano lesson! We are taking it slow so she doesn't lose interest and can really have everything soak in. It is so fun to see Danelle practicing her songs, and taking such pride in learning something new. Originally, I wanted to put Danelle in a dance class this fall too, but with Shayne continuing not having work, I think another year off should be ok and she will focus on the fundamentals of her piano playing and school.

We have her lessons on Wednesdays. Mom decided it might be a fun tradition to cook us dinner on those days, and we all look forward to breaking up the week with Grandma. It is so great to see my mom teaching her just like she taught me. Life is coming full circle yet again.

PART IV - Kaitlyn's CRIB

Another big part of this week was moving Kaitlyn from our room, to the crib. Just as it did with Elle, Kaitlyn started to sleep poorly in the bassinet. Maybe because it was too small for her now, but whatever the cause, she needed to move in with Elle. She did awesome. The first night I had the worst time sleeping without her right next to me but I settled in quickly as it seemed like she made the transistion effortlessly. Elle loves having her in her bedroom with her also. She was always scared being alone, and even though Kaitlyn is just a baby, she is with her none the less and even Elle seems to be sleeping better now.

PART V - KAITLYN'S FIRST COLD

Not everything in our week of firsts ended up being good... Elle brought home the first set of virus she came across at Kindergarten and all of us shared it by the weekend. Poor Kaitlyn seemed to be saying, "this is the worst cold of my life!" Poor baby had a terrible time drinking her milk with a stuffy nose, sucking on a binki, and it was more than obvious she felt miserable. She was running a low grade fever and didn't sleep or eat well. I was concerned and even took her to the doctor at one point only to find out it was a viral infection that would go away on it's own. My heart went out to her. I slept by her side on the couch a night, and we bought our first humidifier for her that helped a ton! Thankfully it passed quickly, and even though it may have been her worst cold, we know it could have been so much worse. We are glad it's over.


PART VI - KAITLYN'S FIRST SOLIDS

Now that Kaitlyn was 4 months, and after her doctors approval we decided that it might be a good time to start rice cereal for her. She only weighed 10 pounds 12 oz at her four month visit, so the rice might also help her gain some weight. She is in the 9th percentile on weight, 90 percentile on height. So - we started her on some very milky rice. She didn't seem to enjoy it at first, but she is doing much better with it now. Every night around bedtime is "rice time." I read that they all infants needs are met nutritionally with breast milk until they are 6 months old, and so I am trying to not take away from this for her by skipping feedings of milk at first.

It was a busy and overwhelming week. So much so that I started this blog and didn't finish it until just now, three weeks later. I am happy and proud of my girls and their accomplishments big and small. :)

Look at my BIG GIRL Now!!!

In retrospect, it really doesn't seem like that long ago that Danelle was the same age as little Kaitlyn right now. Time has flown by fast and now she is about to start Kindergarten. I have enrolled her in Art City Elementary in Springville. She will be going for a few hours in the afternoons, and starts on the 31st of August.

I hear a lot of mothers say, "I will probably cry." I might shed a tear (who's to say?) but I am SO excited FOR HER that she is going. Ellie, as you know, has been an only child 5 years until Kaitlyn was born. She has craved to be with other children her age and friendships. Until now seeing her friends and cousins once and a while and going to preschool twice a week didn't seem like enough. She was happy but sad somehow that she couldn't be around other children more. I tried to make up for this the best I could - playing with her, taking her fun places, enrolling her in dance, including her when I would make things in the kitchen - whatever. I am just a mom though - there is only so much she likes of all that. I am not a 5 year old with her same energy level anymore.

We talk about Kindergarten a lot in my home, and we are very anxious for it. She can't wait to be with the other kids her age, and I couldn't wait to take her shopping; the famous back to school shopping. I decided to do this early, so today - we did some school shopping. We bought a couple pairs of shoes (one athletic, one casual), five outfits, a jacket, socks, and a backpack. I haven't gotten her any supplies yet, but that's the little stuff I can get later.

Another step to her going into school was that she wanted to wear earrings. Her four cousins all have earrings (since they were infants) and Danelle has always asked me for some. I wanted her have them when she was old enough to understand that they will need some care, and she can't touch them or play with them while they are healing or they might become sore and infected or get lost. This she understood. She was ready for them (even though I originally planned to wait until she was eight years old and let her around the time of her baptism). Mainly I wanted her to walk to it willingly, and get them and walk away proud of herself. After our successful Kindergarten shot day, I knew it was just about time.

Sure, she shed a tear or two from anticipation but after Aunt Monyka got her second set of holes and showed her that they weren't bad to get, Ellie went forward and got them anyway. They had two women there to do them at the same time. Monyka was a miracle worker. Without her, I don't think we could have done them because I would have quit with the first "I changed my mind" words. Monyka sat Ellie on her lap, and the two gals working came up and they did both ears at the same time. Ellie said, "no don't do it" only to be surprised that they were already done.

Watching the transformation of my daughter was priceless. She was nervous about them before but after she stood by the mirror and admired herself. She bragged about her bravery. She went to everyone in the store, a woman feeding her baby, and even the ice cream lady to tell them what she just did. She was glowing. For the next couple of hours as we finished shopping, I watched Ellie grin and never stop grinning. She was now noticing all the other girls with earrings in. It made me happy. I was relieved and it was a great afternoon.

I will admit I got a little flustered spending so much money in one afternoon, but we enjoyed it. It was an unforgettable day, and I am so proud of my big girl. Danelle looked beautiful before she had her earrings and didn't need them to be any more gorgeous but they look good on her and I am glad to see her so happy.

Hatch again Hatch again, Jiggity Jig

Everything was quiet in Hatch, Utah, July 24 this year. It was 4:00 in the morning. A small cry broke out in the air. I knew that Kaitlyn wanted food. After feeding her, and settling her back into her cozy bouncer chair bed for the night, I looked at the clock and it was now close to 4:30. "Not bad," I thought. I could always sleep a little longer and get up for the 24th of July festivities in a couple hours after the cannons go off at 6:00 a.m. (literal CANNONS, a tradition of the town). But Alas, a half an hour later - BOOM!!!!!!!! then another BOOM!!!!!!!!! The cannons started at 5:00 a.m. for the next hour, every 15 minutes were sounded by more and more cannons as they rolled the cannon through town.

Finally, 5:45 a.m. (the last set of cannons)I thought I could finally catch a couple winks before I had to get up and get ready for the town breakfast at 7:00 a.m. WRONG AGAIN. 6:00 a.m. the town AMBULANCE was whaling all over the town with it's annoying siren on. I was beginning to wonder what I would have to do to get any sleep in this town. Again I tried to sleep but it wasn't long after that my darling 5 year old was waking me up excited to get ready for the town parade that would start at 10:00 a.m. and go until 10:10 - if that. It was a horrible start to my WONDERFUL trip to Hatch.

The 24th of July is my favorite part of our trips to Hatch. These people really know how to celebrate! First there is the town breakfast from 7-9:00 in the morning. After that, the children's parade (Danelle's favorite part because she rides around like Little Miss Hatch and throws out candy). Then they have what are called "the races." We bought Ellie a pile of tickets, and let her play some of their town carnival games. Then we all take a long break and visit until the town dinner (and what a heckova dinner it is!) at 5:00 p.m. Then they have their firework show at dark. It's times like these that I wished we lived in a community like they still have down in this sweet small town (minus the cannons and ambulance sounding from 5-6 a.m.).

This was a strange year for me in Hatch. Less ATV riding, and more laying back, visiting, and tending Kaitlyn; which I didn't mind. If you would have told me last Hatch trip in 2009 that I would bring a 2 month old with me the next year, I would have told you that you were crazy after everything we had been through to get Kaitlyn here. I was happy to bring Kaitlyn and show her off to the town and family that were down there. She seemed to be pretty content and happy about it too.

Danelle had a great time down in Hatch, as always. On the way down to Hatch, we stopped by Big Rock Candy Mountain for her first time (and bought candy rocks for the way home). She went on all but one ATV ride, and caught her very first fish with her very first set of caught night-crawlers. She was so proud to come back to Grandma and Grandpa Burrows' home after a couple hours of fishing to tell me that "she caught the big one!!!" She was so cute as she dared herself to touch the fish, and help daddy wash it out and get it ready to eat soon. Danelle also flew a kite for the first time in Hatch this year too. It's so wonderful to have one child that we can experience these exciting things with and one that is still a baby to snuggle and show and teach new things. It really is the best of both worlds. :)

We look forward to going down to Hatch next year. I already know that keeping our little 14 month old Kaitlyn out of everything will make next year "fun" but I can't wait to see her riding along in the Hatch Parade with her sister and show her every fascinating thing to her over again. If next year is like this past year, I know that a lot could change in my life by that time(hopefully for the better) but I also know one other thing; Hatch will probably stay the same.... and I like that.