Our Disneyland Trip

So this was last March, but we had so much fun that I want to preserve the memories! It's one of those possible once in a lifetime things. Such a dream come true! So glad we took this trip!


Goofy's kitchen was a bit of an expensive breakfast, but so relaxing and enjoyable to sit and have the kids eating and entertained while the characters came to them. We had a great time and agree that it was worth the money. We would definitely do it again!

Spencer informed us at the start of the trip that the characters were not real. They were just people dressed up. But despite his discovery, he had a really fun time. He was just as excited about autographs as the other two, and it was so good to see him smile!! Matty literally bounced everywhere we went. He climbed through the barriers, flower beds and line queues. He wasn't being naughty, just Matthew. His curiosity pulled him and it didn't occur to him that those barricades were for him! We definitely got our work out keeping up with him!


John and I spent our 12th anniversary together by sending the kids back to the hotel early with Grandma, and enjoyed a romantic dinner by the "riverside" at the Blue Bayou restaurant, overlooking the relaxing waterway entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We had spent our honeymoon here, and it was so romantic to celebrate our anniversary in the same place. If you ask John what his favorite part of our trip was, he will tell you it was running hand in hand through the park to make our dinner reservation, and then closing out the night by watching the fantastic fireworks show snuggled in each others arms. They even gave us buttons that said "Celebrating our Anniversary" to wear. But nobody could believe we had

been married for 12 years! I guess we still look so young! Disney is incredible at creating magic, memories and romance. They are masters at what they do!

Of course there were the princesses! Olivia insisted on wearing her princess dresses everyday in case she met one. And she was in heaven as the "cast members" aka ride operators and shop keepers called her "princess" every where we went. Even Matthew who wouldn't have a thing to do with anything "girly" absolutely fell for Cinderella!

We loved the parade, the music, the shows and the atmosphere! Our favorite rides were Pirates, Buzz Lightyear-which Matthew just knew Buzz was real and talking to him! We rode this ride many, many times!, Toy Story Mania, Indiana Jones, California Screaming, and Soarin', plus a bunch of others!

We had a great time! And as they say in the song, "When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true!" Our dreams did come true! And if wishes have anything to do with it, we will be going back again someday because this is the wish our kids make more than any other!!

So Matthew

Matthew is our bundle of energy! He never sits still! I can honestly say there are moments when some good, industrial strength velcro would be nice to keep his behind in a chair! He literally climbs walls, does flips off the couch and runs through the house as fast as he can. He LOVES sports with everything in him! He has never lost that. His goal in life is to be Big Blue - the USU Aggie mascot. He can dribble a basketball better than kids MUCH older than him. For a talent show at church, he dribbled his ball around the court to show every one and they were all so impressed! Matty loves his brothers, and loves to teach Jacob all kinds of ball tricks. He is never so cute as when he puts his arm around his little brother and says "Come on Jakers, lets go shoot some hoops!" So cute! Matthew says the funniest things: John: "Matthew, how come you are so good at math?" Matty: "Because I'm 'MATH-ew!'". He also loves to tell knock-knock jokes, and any other thing he finds as funny. He is the kid everyone wants for a friend. He is such a fun, happy, friendly kid! He is incredibly smart! Already at three, he can name every letter of the alphabet - upper and lower case and can spell out three letter words. He loves to sit down with a calculator and type in other's phone numbers. He is also starting to read Olivia's kindergarten readers! And he doesn't start school for 2 years! What are we going to do with him?!! Keep going, Matty! You have great things ahead of you!

Little Jakers

Jacob is the sweetest little guy. Everyone says this. But he is most happy in either John's arms or mine. He is definitely our most clingy child. He cries if anyone else takes him, or he thinks that they may take him from us. But he is doing better, preparing for a new baby. We will see how he adjusts. His few words all pertain to basketball or other sports. He doesn't even say Mom or Dad. And just as his vocabulary revolves around sports, so do his favorite activities. He LOVES basketball, soccer, football, baseball and anything to do with a ball! He follows Matty around with admiration on his face, and anything Matthew does, Jacob will try it too. He loves to give hugs and kisses, and each time John gives me a kiss, Jacob leans in for a kiss, too. He is such an expressive little man, with his insanely long eyelashes batting and his smiles that melt you, it's hard not to give into his wishes. But he does have his moments. He has a fiery temper, and will throw things, kick and bite. But not without being provoked. You almost can't blame him when one of the other kids takes something from him because he's the little guy. I have said to him many times, "It would be a lot easier to say 'No' to you if you weren't so cute!" He loves his blanket (John calls him 'Linus' when he's dragging around his yellow blankie), and pillow, and his favorite character is Buzz Lightyear. Each morning when he gets out of bed he hands me his cup and says "Zss" which means juice, then he runs into the living room shouting "Couch", "Go!", "Buzz!". He wants to sit on the couch and watch Buzz. He is so fun and so sweet and we are so thankful to have him!

Our Spencer

Spencer is one of the coolest kids we know!He is so talented at drawing, building things and using his imagination. He is polite, as far as boys go:), and kind to everyone. He is a huge help with his brothers and sister and will be wonderful to hold the new baby. This past year in school, he had a terrific year! He was awarded as Mrs. Wiser's most improved student for the year, He also received awards for the neatest handwriting, and was given lunch "out with a deputy" for getting inducted into "The wolfcub 200 club". I was so proud of him as he was called to the stage for his end of year awards. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Very few people in that audience knew how much of an effort it was for him to accomplish all that he did!
We still have our rough days, and even weeks, but he has improved so much and we are grateful to everyone who helps us in encouraging him!
He is a bear in the cub scout program, and loves it because they build lots of things. He also took first place in his group in his very first pinewood derby race, and second overall in the ward!
Now Spencer has been selected to play Joseph Smith III in 'My servant Joseph' and even has a short solo singing part! We are anxious, and excited for him! He will be great!
Spencer's favorite time of the year is the summer when we plant a garden and irrigate the entire yard. He asks constantly as soon as the weather warms up when 'flood day' is. He can't get enough of that cool mud! But he is also a great gardener and takes good care of his plants. He loves to check over them each day, and especially loves the zucchini - they always have something to harvest, and the pumpkins because they are just so amazing!
Spencer's smile and laughter are irresistible! We love to hear him happy!
Keep up the great work, Bud! We are so proud of you!

Princess Olivia

Olivia is all girl! No mistaking her! She loves all things Princess, barbies, dolls and it is a fight to get her to wear anything that is not a dress. She sees nothing wrong with going to the grocery store in one of her favorite dressups, complete with crown and several beaded necklaces. And I must admit I do indulge her and let her come along on shopping day in all her fluffy-ness! She loves to hear others say "oh, aren't you beautiful!" and she has her curtsy ready and answers them with her eyes batting and a nodded "Why, thank you!" But listen closely, because she is quite shy and speaks very softly unless you are immediate family. Olivia is very well liked in her kindergarten class. Mothers have told me that their little girls often come home and say they want hair like Olivia's, or hair bows like Olivia. W e remind her frequently that it is most important to be sweet and kind to others. Her teacher reassures us that this is the case. She is kind to everyone, never says a mean thing and loves to help when someone is hurt. At home she is just as sweet! I love to have her snuggle to me, or ask to hold my hand at night as she falls asleep. She loves it when her daddy goes into her room and sings her songs in his tone deaf way, and asks for her own personal princess story that he wrote for her. So sweet! But she also has her spicy side! She is a fantastic foot stomper and hair flinger! She can hold a grudge with the best of them! Do NOT forget to get her her drink of water before going to bed yourself, or she may not speak to you for days! :)
Olivia does very well in school. She is one of the very youngest in her class, and still one of the best readers in the class. Her teacher adores her and has been such a blessing to us by working with her on her peanut allergy! Thank you Mrs. Allen!
Olivia is super tiny! She weighs only 33 lbs at 5 1/2 years. I worry about her being so skinny, but she loves to eat-and many things that other kids would certainly turn their noses up at, and my mom says I was exactly like her as a kid. She definitely gets it from both parents! Olivia is SO excited for a baby sister! She helped to wash and put away all the baby girl clothes and loved the idea of sharing all her tiny little things with her sister. It will be so much fun to see Olivia's sweet little outfits used again and remember...She is absolutely sure that Heavenly Father hears and answers her prayers. Whenever anything is lost, or hurt, or anyone has an owie, she will go and pray. And then when it is better, she will say with confidence "I asked Heavenly Father to fix it, and he did!" Olivia, remember this sweet, innocent testimony. It is the foundation for the strong one you have within you! One of the funniest stories about her this year is the "Ogre" one. Because she is so into girl things, she is anti anything NOT girly, and ogres top her list. Even if Princess Fiona is an ogre. One day as she was acting quite snotty, I said to her "Oh, Olivia. That doesn't sound very sweet. You know, I think I see a bit of green up there on your eyebrow." That straightened her right up! Then a while later, Jenny painted Moira green for a class project where she was an alien. Olivia was certain that people really do turn green! From that day on, all we have to do is say "Do you think that is how a Princess acts, or an ogre?" and she will stop that behavior and think about it! Olivia, remember that you are so very beautiful. And you are even more beautiful on the inside! We love you so much!