Disney Land Trip

Waaay back in July, we took a trip out to California for an awesome Johansen family reunion in Anaheim, California. We got to spend some quality time with our newest niece, Mila, and have some awesome fun with the entire Johansen clan. This is pretty rare, and we totally lived it up. We stayed in a really great house that miraculously fit all of us and allowed us to eat, play, talk, and tackle the children all in the same place. We spent two days at Disneyland, and the rest of the time doing what we do best - eating and playing. Here are some of my favorite pictures we came away with:

We took a trip to the Newport Beach temple. James was keen to see it, since it was still under construction
while he was serving his mission in Anaheim.

 

 

Here are a few shots from Disney:

 Me, AJ, and the baby... waiting in some line. We try to keep it real.

 It's a small world. Isaac actually liked this ride, thought you can't tell from his expression here.

 Isaac munching on something waiting to go on the tram.

 Dad, James, and Isaac in line. I'm sensing a theme here.

 While waiting to go on the Winnie the Pooh ride, the ride actually broke down so a 2 minute wait turned into a 20 minute wait. We were too stubborn to leave, so we just found ways to entertain ourselves. Isaac favored acrobatics.

 And making funny faces.

 My cute family :)

 Here I am with Eli and Isaac - they're one year and one day apart. :)

 Cute Ainsley on the Cars ride.

I made James buy and Indiana Jones hat. Cuz he's so cute in it.

 Isaac enjoyed taking it off more than putting it on.

 Isaac fell asleep in line for Star Tours. Auntie AJ was sweet and held him so we could go.

 Here I am with my favorite C3P0.

And here's James with a very dark R2D2. :)

All in all, a really fun time, and many thanks to my mom and dad and all the family members that made it happen :)

Where did summer go? ... and some funny stories.

Wow, where has the summer gone? I've been a terrible blogger - I can't believe I haven't updated since June. So, I'm currently uploading all the 1005 pictures off our camera and will begin attempting to sort through them and post the relevant and good stuff. Meanwhile, I'll just share some funny things that have been happening around here lately that we haven't gotten on camera.

Lately Isaac wants to do everything Mommy is doing. Today I was in the yard, letting Isaac play in the dirt while I picked up apricot pits (it's a half-hearted effort to make the ground more hospitable to grass). I was just grabbing a few at a time and dropping them into a plastic bag. Well, Isaac eventually took notice, toddled over at full speed, grabbed the bag away from me and plunked himself down about a food away. He proceeded to rip up a tuft of grass and thrust it into the bag. See Mommy, helping! :)

Isaac also really enjoys playing the piano. James plops him on the piano bench periodically, and he bangs away. Recently he has found the demo button and, very cleverly, has learned what it does. He will turn on the oh-so-jazzy Bossa Nueva, stand on the bench and headbang. It's adorable.


The other day Isaac's little friend Johnny was over here to play, and he was entertaining Isaac by basically blowing raspberries on the ottoman. Isaac was giggling uncontrollably. Every time Johnny stopped, Isaac would toddle over and push Johnny's head toward the ottoman again. Don't stop, entertain me!

There are more stories, but I can't think of them right now :( I'm going to try to be better about recording and sharing these little nuggets. Isaac keeps us in stitches around here and I don't want to forget what a funny, loving, sweet little guy we're lucky enough to have around.

Pictures coming soon!

Carnage

Oh, the humanity.

Family Reunion

We had a blast this Saturday at the West family reunion. It was held up in Hobble Creek Canyon and was an all day affair. Unfortunately, we missed the 5k walk/run and the golf game in the morning, but we made it up the canyon (after a few episodes of getting lost in the foothills) in time for the picnic lunch. After the lunch, there was a water fight (headed up by dear Uncle Franklin, who brought a full-on arsenal of water guns in his trunk). There was even a slingshot for launching water balloons.

Later, there was a pie eating contest. Dad and James kindly represented the George West family for us. I claimed Weight Watchers as my excuse for not participating :P.

In the brothers' competition, Uncle John killed it. He ate that pie in like 5 seconds flat, and was only bested by his own son Michael, in the "all others" competition.Our two winners:

 

There was also a small hike (I went about .86 miles- James's watch told me - then started getting worried about my baby so kind Betsey went back with me and drove me back to the pavilion). Turns out I needn't have worried, Isaac was happy as a clam getting all the love and attention he could soak up from his adoring fans.

They even got him to fall asleep!

 

 Most of the time in between and after all that was spent talking and just hanging out with some of my favorite people in the world. We roasted marshmallows and shared family stories. Oh, and there was a raffle, where several family members brought crafts to contribute. All proceeds will go to funding next year's reunion. We bought 5 tickets and I won 3 times! Gotta like those odds. There was also a silent auction, and Betsey and I had quite the battle going over a quilt, but I had to let it go to her in the end. Stinker. Anyway, lots of fun was had by all. Can't wait for next year's!

 

If You're Happy and You Know It

Your face 

will surely 

show it

Isaac is a Stinker Face

Isaac has gotten a lot more mobile lately, and that means a lot of getting into things he shouldn't, while his parents scramble to keep up. Here are just a few examples of things he has gotten into lately:

Chocolate

Yogurt

And then of course there are the things we don't stop to take pictures of, like:
the lettuce in the garden (2 plant victims thus far)
dirt
rocks
forks from the dishwasher
my clean laundry
scissors, ashamed as I am to admit (don't worry, he had them for .00003 seconds and he did not hurt himself.)
phones (always a favorite)
etc.
etc.
etc.

Baby Bam Bam

So, we recently started to use cloth diapers. The reasoning behind this is ... still unclear. I think I wanted to do it because it was something I always said I would at least try. It sort of fits in with my general philosophy of life - it's frugal, it's better for the environment, and it's weird. I'm weird, let's face it. And James, well James is the best husband ever (no contest), and so he just goes along and supports me in my weirdness. Even when it means taking some extra steps I'm sure he would rather not take.

All that being said, I found a good deal on some cloth diapers through KSL, and went ahead and bought some just to try it out. (The trial has gone well, and I've bought more, so I guess we're sticking with this.) The funny thing is, I didn't have much choice in the design of the diapers. So, I got animal skin print. I was a little worried that Isaac would look at pictures later in life and just think I was cruel putting him in "girly" diapers. But then, once I got them on him, I realized how manly they made him look. Like a little Bam Bam, or perhaps Tarzan? Maybe Mowgli. See for yourselves: