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The Palazzo in Las Vegas March 31, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Little Man Dallin, Parenthood, Princess Hannah, Trips , 1 comment so far

Las Vegas is about the half way point between Los Angeles and American Fork, so we broke up our 10 hour drive by staying in Las Vegas one night on our way home.

David found The Palazzo for us and our hotel expectations will never be the same.

Goodbye Motel 6.  We never liked you anyway.

Hello Palazzo.  You are the long lost best friend we never knew, until a couple of weeks ago, and now we wonder how we ever lived without you.

The Palazzo opened in December 2007, and is part of the Venetian Hotel.  It is beautiful, and clean, and new . . . you can just smell the new-ness of the place.

Our view from the 37th floor was perfect for watching the pirate show, and fireworks from Treasure Island.

Our room had a step down lounge area and three (count them, THREE!) HD TV’s.

Dallin spent a lot of time with his cars on this marble ledge.

Yes.  we could get used to a place like this.

I convinced the kids that the bathtub was just like a pool . . . possibly more fun!  (OK, so the pool was closed after we checked in and it opened after we checked out, I had to convince them!)

What a novelty to all of us . . . watching TV in the bathroom!

This beautiful butterfly in the lobby of the hotel was made out of flowers.  Um . . . I’m totally borrowing this idea!

Bottom line:  We gave the Palazzo 5 stars!

 

Dallin’s New Sleeping Accomodations March 30, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Little Man Dallin , 1 comment so far

Somebody graduated from his crib to a hide-a-bed . . .

Looks like this somebody doesn’t really need all the extra bed space.

 

Disneyland Day Three: World of Color March 28, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Trips , add a comment

Our last day at Disneyland we attended the “World of Color” water show which is in California Adventure.  I didn’t take any video of it because there are several videos posted on YouTube.  Here it is in three parts.

I wanted to take some night shots because the parks are so magical at night, but unfortunately, I didn’t pack my tripod. In lieu of a tripod, I steadied my camera on a wall where I could balance my camera and then I used my lens cover and camera strap underneath my lens to bolster it up a little bit more.   The angles on these night shots are not ideal, but at least I found something to set my camera on!

This is the ferris wheel.  Also known as: THE BARF WHEEL.

Remind me NEVER, EVER, EVER to get on that thing again.  Dallin and Hannah were laughing as we swung back and forth 4000 feet up in the air while I was taking long breaths wishing each moment would pass sooner.  At one point Hannah handed me a barf bag.  Looks like I am the party pooper!

This is part of the roller coaster California Screamin’.  Again, I needed a barf bag on that ride as well.

This is Aerial’s Grotto lit up.  We ate there on our first day when we had breakfast with the princesses.

I did not try this ride, nor do I plan to.

So who’s going with us on our next Disneyland trip?  :)

Disneyland Day Two March 25, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Little Man Dallin, Princess Hannah, Trips , 3comments

First off, I would like to mention that I wore a pedometer everyday at Disneyland.  I really wanted to see how far we walked each day!

Day 1: 10 miles

Day 2: 10 miles

Day 3: 11.14 miles

If you do that math, we walked 30 miles in three days.  Guess how much weight I lost?

ZIP.

Guess how much weight David and I both gained?

FIVE POUNDS EACH.

HELLO?!

Darn you Dole Pineapple Whips and Churros!

I’ve heard that 80% of weight loss is diet . . . I don’t doubt that for a second!

Now, moving on . . .

We scheduled a hair appointment for Hannah at the “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.”  It was the highlight of her Disneyland experience!  They welcomed “Princess Hannah” and she met several Fairy Godmothers.  She got to pick out her hairstyle, makeup, and face jewels.  She thought she had died and gone to princess heaven!

She was told the nail polish had real pixie dust in it to help the polish dry faster.  She was super impressed!  :)

Hannah chose the biggest hairstyle available (it came with a hairpiece!), with the brightest colored eye shadow on her makeup palette.

She loved EVERY thing about her beauty parlor experience!  She walked away from the salon with a loot bag with everything a four year old would want: a crown, a sash, hair extensions, a ring, makeup, hair brush, and comb.

Somehow, I got talked into going on the Dumbo ride with the kids.  Can I just say how gross I feel after going around in circles for a few minutes? BLEH.   Remind me to delegate the “going around in circle rides” to David.

Too much Disneyland fun . . . We didn’t make it back to the hotel in time for Dallin’s nap, so he caught a little nap in the stroller.  It wasn’t ideal, but it helped  him to enjoy the park  later in the evening.

Our kids LOVE Tinkerbell.  THEY LOVE HER.  I knew Dallin was going to flip out when he saw Tinkerbell . . . I just knew it would be the most defining, memorable moment for him at Disneyland.

Well, wouldn’t you know it . . . HE SNUBBED HER!

Maybe he was star struck?

Maybe she was life size and he was expecting a teeny tiny Tinkerbell?

Hannah thought Vidia and Tinkerbell were pretty awesome.

Thank goodness Hannah didn’t snub them!  (Wait, that sentence doesn’t even make sense . . . Hannah snub someone?  It’s not in her personality makeup.  Dallin on the other hand has that skill mastered!)

We ended our day by purchasing a bubble blower that every other kid at Disneyland had.  The kids LOVED it and so did we!

Honestly, Disneyland is such a magical place!

Disneyland Day One March 24, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Family, Trips , 1 comment so far

We kicked off our Disneyland experience by having breakfast with a few princesses at Aerial’s Grotto.  It was a hit for sure!  The food was great (a bit on the pricey side, but completely worth it!) and every princess came to our table to talk to us.  That saved us a lot of time in the park trying to track down each one to visit them.  We all loved it!  (Well, Dallin loved the food, he didn’t really care for the princesses.)

We saw Minnie Mouse shortly after breakfast and the kids knew she was the REAL DEAL.  Disneyland is so magical!

Dallin with his best friends: Mater and McQueen.

Dallin was a little nervous to see all the characters from “Monsters” up close and personal, so he gladly sat on David’s shoulders why he enjoyed them from afar.

There were so many fun street shows at California Adventure.  We can’t wait to go back!

We had to do it . . .

The official “tourist picture” in front of Mickey at the entrance of Disneyland.  :)

The kids LOVED the train that circled Disneyland.  This train is used to transport  you from one part of the park to another, but hey, we rode it FOR FUN.  :)

Ah, I love this sweet face.

Dancing in the street was a highlight for all of us . . .  The kids danced together . . .

Hannah shook her thing . . .

And Dallin did his thing.

Riding the carousel was a very exciting for the kids.

But I almost threw up.  You can only go around and around and around so many times before  you just can’t take it anymore!

We went to see Mickey at his club house.

The wait in line was just as fun as seeing Mickey!

Last up:  The Tea Cups.  Oh my.  I did not go on this ride.

BLEH!

But . . . the kids couldn’t WAIT To get on it!

They had a wonderful time and wanted to go again!

Stay tuned for Day two!

Learning How to Sew and Make Leather Sandals All in One Day March 23, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, Projects , add a comment

Hannah asked me to teach her how to sew with a “real needle.”

Well.  I’m not exactly an expert on sewing, my skills are definitely in the “beginner” category, so I taught her one of two things I know how to do:

How to sew on buttons.

She loved it!  Her sewing skills almost eclipse mine!  After I teach her how to tie knots and sew a straight line  . . . our skill set will be the same!   Should that concern me?!

Next up:

David made some leather shoes for Hannah and himself.

The kids LOVED helping him.   (Dallin doesn’t want a pair yet, his Lightning McQueen boots fill ALL of his needs and he refuses to take them off, even for bed!)

Look at her cute little toes!

These extra flat sandals that will allow her to run, jump and play all day.

David made himself a pair as well for running and everyday use.  (Sometimes you have to wear shoes you know.)

We are crafting up a storm this week!  I am on spring break, but the weather is still a bit cold for any “spring-like” activities.

I’ll be posting more pics of our trip to Disneyland soon . . . my website has been having technical issues which has made it difficult to upload images . . . so check back!

What’s on “My List” This Week March 22, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Books, Friends , 4comments

This week is spring break for me at AAU, which means I don’t have to think about one thing that requires me to actually think.

To kick off the week, I went to lunch with my sister, Ang, and we ate and mostly talked for five and a half hours.  That is what I call good food and fun!

I have NOTHING on my schedule for the next few days, and by “nothing” I mean I’m going to start reading this book written by my friend Melanie:

(You can pick up your own copy here or you can get the kindle version here.)

David and I just started watching the TV series, “24″ and we are ADDICTED.  We are completely sleep deprived . . . we just cannot turn the show off!

Yes.  I admit it!  You cannot just watch one episode,  you have to watch 10 or more in a row because you CANNOT quit once you start watching!  We keep asking ourselves why we didn’t watch this show when it was on TV?!  What the heck?  How did we miss this golden nugget of entertainment?

Thank you NETFLIX for making it so convenient to stream our favorite shows!  And that’s another thing . . . we just found out you can watch TV shows on NETFLIX, not just movies that come in the mail.  Why are we just now learning these things?

Any other good secrets we should know about?

How to Pierce Ears March 19, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, My Handsome Husband, Princess Hannah , 8comments

Hannah has been asking to get her ears pierced for years.  And by years, I mean several months, but that is like years in little kid land.  Before David and I had kids, we decided that if we ever had a girl, she could get her ears pierced as long as she asked to have them done and she was old enough to be responsible for them.

Naturally, I thought eight years old would be the magic number.

Ahem.

Enter Hannah.  She is four years old going on 24.  Did you see the breakfasts she makes?  Or how she babysits Dallin and reads him books?

Unbeknownst to her, we decided to allow her to get her ears pierced since we knew she wanted them done, (I think asking 14 times a day to get them pierced counts) and we knew she would be responsible enough to take care of them.

I checked around at the mall to price “ear piercings” and my gosh it’s expensive!  Let me tell you, I USED TO PIERCE EARS at the beauty supply store I worked at for three years in high school.  I know I worked there like 12 years ago, but the store I worked at charged $7 to pierce ears.

Yes.  Only $7.

Do you know what the going rate is to pierce ears today?

$40.

Yes.  $40!

When I heard that, I tried to pull my jaw up off the floor, but it just wasn’t moving!

$40?  FOR WHAT?  The earrings are TINY!  It cannot cost that much!  Are you kidding me?  I thought, “Heck, I can do this for her!”

After a little searching online, I found some gold-plated-over-sterling -silver studs that came with a gun.  Grand total?  $10.

Yes.  It was $10 including shipping.  The package arrived during Hannah’s afternoon nap, so she woke up to quite the surprise!

First we told her she was going to get her ears pierced and she was thrilled!  Then we showed her the earrings in the gun and explained the process.

She was super impressed and couldn’t wait to get that cute earring in her ear!

Then, I marked the spot.  Here’s the thing, I’ve seen so many botched ear piercing jobs where the piercing is not centered and they are not symmetrical, so I was happy to have ultimate control over the placement of the earrings.

Next, we had her Daddy (who has never pierced ears before, but I think his resume’ qualifies him to do the job) pierce them!

She didn’t flinch.

She didn’t cry.

She just looked over at us and said, “That didn’t hurt AT ALL!  It was just like a (camera) flash!”

Oh.  Good.  I’m glad she thought it was painless because we pierced the ears one at time!

She is so sassy in her new earrings and she LOVES them!

She can’t wait to show the WHOLE WORLD.  You know what she’ll be showing you the next time she sees you!

While We Were Sleeping . . . Again March 18, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Family, Princess Hannah , 4comments

Well . . .

After the wildly successful breakfast she prepared for us the other morning, she decided to try it again!

On the Menu:

This is my plate.  Very healthy, that’s for sure!

She made a special sandwich for David.  It was a three tiered broccoli, spinach, and kale sandwich.

See?  Broccoli and spinach on the first layer . . .

And then kale on the second layer.

YUM-O I tell you!  :)  David was the lucky one that got to swallow that dry sandwich down!

Honestly, how cute is she?!

While We Were Sleeping . . . March 17, 2011

Posted by Emily in : Family, Parenthood, Princess Hannah , 1 comment so far

While we were sleeping the other morning, we had a very busy elf in the kitchen.  I’ve mentioned before how Hannah is an early bird.  She usually keeps herself pretty busy for a an hour or so drawing, playing with her toys, or getting online (she only has access to two websites) while she waits for us to wake up.

The other day we woke up to a very, very special surprise . . .

Almost bursting out of her skin, she bounded into our room exclaiming, “GUYS!  GET UP!  I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU!  YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO BELIEVE IT!”

Boy.  Was she right.

We walked into the kitchen-half expecting to see a mural painted on the wall or something-and she presented us breakfast!

OK, we were all speechless.

Need I remind you that she is only four and a half years old?!

She served us on her colorful plastic plates (they are within reach for her in the kitchen) and found all sorts of yummy things for us eat:

She is posing in front of David’s plate.  (The blue plate was chosen for him since he is a boy.)

Don’t those raw mushrooms look SO DELICIOUS first thing in the morning?  :)

My plate is below:

Not only did she remember to get spoons for everyone, but she also remembered to put napkins on the table.  (Um, for the record, I don’t remember to napkins on the table 90% of the time.)

Here she is explaining why she made us breakfast . . .

So we wouldn’t have to do “ALL THAT HARD WORK!”

Well, she’s a keeper and I think she really should start earning an allowance!