How fast can you get to Disneyland?

Grace's cousin, Jillian, turned six yesterday, and to celebrate her birthday she went to Disneyland. Grace really, really, really wanted to go with her, but she still had school this week and we didn't want her to miss the last day. We also didn't want Steve to have to miss too much work. (Yes, I did say work. He has a job. A real job. Where they pay money!) In the end we decided to make a super-quick trip.

We left Tuesday after Grace's graduation and drove straight to Huntington Beach. We hung out at the beach, bought some yummy peaches from a farmers' market, and ate dinner at Wahoo's. (And neither of our kids threw up this time!) Yesterday we went to Disneyland all day and then we drove home last night. Whew! We're all a little tired and cranky today. Hopefully one of these times we'll be able to take a trip to California for more than one day.

Grace's Kindergarten Graduation

Holy cow! I didn't know that graduating from kindergarten was such a big deal. I guess I was wrong. They went all out for these kids with caps and gowns, graduation pictures, presentations of diplomas and everything. The cutest part was a song that the kids sang about going to first grade. I don't know why, but I started crying. Since when have I been such a cryer?

And this was the last day of school. All of the kids learned "The Hoedown Throwdown", a line dance to a song by Hannah Montanna. Then they had a dance off, where each grade performed the dance for judges. It was pretty cute.

Random Pictures

This is last weekend in St. George. We were able to go up for a couple of days and spend time with some of my family. Grace and Roman always love seeing their cousins. It may be hard to tell in the picture, but all four kids pictured have different shades of red hair. It's so funny how many red heads we have in the family now. We didn't have any when we were growing up.

This is our pathetic running-through-the-sprinklers set up. We don't have any grass in our yard, so the kids can't actually run through the sprinklers. Instead they just kind of stand there and get wet. It does keep them entertained for quite a while though.

This was taken at the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. We finally made it there a few weeks ago after living here for almost two years. It was pretty cool, but I have to say that I would be pretty disappointed in it if I had to pay full price. Luckily we had some free tickets so I didn't feel too bad. :)

Grace's Recital

Okay, so the recital was a few weeks ago, but I've kind of been apathetic toward blogging lately. Grace did great. I didn't do so great on the pictures though, because I was busy chasing Roman. Steve did film it, but I'm not quite computer literate enough to post any video. :)

Grace did two dances, one tap and one ballet. She seemed to know most of the steps and was really confident on the stage. The recital was held at the Henderson Pavillion, which is a really big outdoor ampitheater, and a really cool place for a recital. What amazes me is that Grace does not even get nervous at all about performing at these things. She definitely didn't inherit my shyness.

Cheap Diapers and the Hurt and Kill Book

So Roman is three, and still not wanting to be potty trained. After six and half years of buying diapers almost continuously, I'm pretty sick of spending so much money on the stupid things. I've been buying Luvs for the past few years. They seem to work well and they're not as expensive as some of the others. The last time though, I decided to go for the very cheapest ones I could find. They happened to be the Parent's Choice brand from Walmart. When I first used one on Roman, he asked if he could look at the diaper. He took one look at the picture of clouds, (not characters,) and said, "These diapers are boring!"

Roman has also decided lately that the illustrated kids' Book of Mormon story book that we have is the best book ever. The reason? It has Jesus AND it has lots of guys that "hurt and kill".

Max the Dog

So yesterday Roman would not let me call him anything but Roman. Not the nicknames I've always used. Not even Buddy. Just Roman.

Today, however, he is NOT Roman. Please don't make the mistake of calling him that. Today, his name is Max. And he's a dog.

Roman at Three

My baby is three. I can't believe it. It seems like only yesterday...

Here are some of the things going on with Roman:

• Roman is still not potty trained. We thought he was going to be so easy when he started using the potty last summer, but I guess we pushed too hard and he decided to be stubborn. We're working on the potty issue now, but trying not to force it. We do, however, have plenty of candy in the potty treat bowl, yellow stickers for our yellow potty chart, and plenty of super-hero big boy undies just in case Roman decides he's ready.
• We finally moved Roman from his crib to his toddler bed. We tried this unsuccessfully months ago. He just wouldn't stay in his bed, especially for naps. This time though, we're going through with it. Even though he hasn't taken a single nap since we made the switch. I'm not sure I like it though.
• Roman is talking up a storm. He had a late start talking, but now he can say pretty much anything he wants. That doesn't mean everyone will understand him, but hey, we're not picky right? Talking is talking.
• Roman is a wild and crazy little man. If he's not running, jumping or climbing something, then he's probably ripping something, breaking something or otherwise making a mess of something he shouldn't be getting into. He is a total sweetheart though, when you can get him to sit still for a minute.
• Roman's favorite things are the color yellow, cars and trucks, pirates, any Baby Einstein movie, his stuffed dog "Baby", (who we were so happy to find stuffed behind a couch cushion,) guns and swords and anything else he can play "shoot and kill" with, and chocolate milk.

We love you Roman! We're so happy that you're part of our family.