Spring Break

My beautiful new niece Madysen Claire Lovelace (Mady)
Toby & Conner
Arielle & "Izy"
Mady & her Daddy

My bro & his cute family
Arielle with her cash after the lemonade stand

Lauryn, Kim & Natalie at Arielle's party

Annie, Kim, Arielle, Kylee & Victoria

Party Girls

Ahhh....Spring Break! Wasn't quite as fun for me as it was for the kids since I spent most of mine at work behind a desk..BUT the kids had a blast! Lemonade stands, neighborhood ball games- basically running around with their friends. The weather was delightful and just what you'd expect from March in St. George. Arielle had her birthday party at the Hidden Valley Park. Invited about 10 girls, horse theme of course. Toby was a great help with planning the entertainment. They each made their own horse treat bag then went on a treasure hunt for the goodies (Toby had it all mapped out for them with clues). Then they played mustang tag and dug in the sand. Very low key & inexpensive but packed with fun. When the weekend finally came for me I took the kids to SLC for Mady's baby blessing. Jim had to work so he got left at home (sorry honey). We had a great time! Crystal, Julie, Toby, Arielle, Mady, Izy, Conner & I went to buy our Twilight movie at midnight on Friday. The actress who played Victoria was signing autographs at the Walmart we went to. They also had food & face painting. Over the weekend I got to sneak in a haircut and trip to one of my favorite stores (IKEA). The kids had a blast running around with their cousins & grandparents. Scott did a great job blessing Mady and we had a really nice evening at my parents with yummy food. Drove home at midnight in a snowstorm so I could be at work Monday morning. Quick trip, but totally worth it!

Disney '09 !

Ashley, Scott, Toby & Arielle- California Screamin'
Scott, Taylor, Ash, Roxy, Tobes, Arielle, me, Jim

Us on the front row of Tower of Terror

Me, Arielle, Jim & Toby in front of the castle

Arielle & Mr. Toad

Us on Space Mtn with bonus random guy

Jim & me at longboard surf competition, Huntington Beach

Parade at California Adventure

Arielle on her birthday!

Toby, Roxy, Taylor & Arielle

(Tobes & Arielle loved pushing the strollers)

Toby, Arielle & Taylor getting ready for the new Toy Story 3D Midway Mania ride

(a favorite for everyone!)

Splash Mtn (we got pretty good at posing for cheezy pics after our 3rd time on the ride!)

Arielle celebrating the big day (#9!) at the happiest place on earth!

Toby & Arielle waiting for Todd to get us into the park (do they look excited to you?)

Tobes at the beach (Arielle dancing in the background)

A little BD sundae at Rainforest Cafe (Downtown Disney)

Conner, Lincoln, Toby, Winston (well half of Winston anyway) Isabelle & Arielle

Conner showing Toby his newest Pokemon acquisitions

Isn't he cute?!

The young gals

The old gals

True Sloan boy form right here

Ahhh...Huntington Beach Pier

We LOVE Disney (and the beach)! Growing up in FL 2 hrs. from Disney Jim & I were spoiled and got to go to "the park" often. Some of our favorite dates were to amusement parks before the kids were born. Now we are carrying on the love for Disney with annual trips to Disney. THANK YOU TODD for the sweet hook-ups. Couldn't do it without you. This year it was super neat 'cause we met up with both of my sisters. First day was a Huntington Beach day with the Sloan crew. The kids loved digging in the sand and getting wet even though the water was COLD! We ate pizza down by the beach, good times. Had dinner at Downtown Disney (Rainforest Cafe) Did a little celebrating there for Arielle's BD- she got the free BD Sunday. We learned that Lincoln has become a VERY good skateboarder, Isabelle is making cool sewing creations including purses and food with personality and Conner continues to build his Pokemon collection and excel at computer games (smart kid). Next day was Disney with just our little fam. SO fun! Toby & Arielle are big enough to love the thrill rides and we just run from ride to ride without a care in the world! Monday was Arielle's 9th BD and we spent it in "the park" with the Wagstaffs. We got a kick out of Taylor & Roxy and their endless energy. We got to spend some time with the cuties while we did the "stroller swap" so Scott & Ash could ride some of the big rides. Toby & Arielle LOVED seeing all their cousins. The trip was wonderful, too short of course. I would have loved another beach day to wind down at the end of the trip. We stayed at Ayers Inn Orange which was super nice.

Bowling With The Girls !

Liz, Mandy, Me, Lenae

Me, Sara, Lenae, Mandy, Liz, Shauna, Andi, Brandy, Des

I'm lucky to have some GREAT friends in my neighborhood. We went to Sunset Bowl for a fun Girls' Night Out! Highest score that I can remember bowling (ok, only a 91- but for me that's GOOD! (Pics courtesy of Liz, stole 'em off her blog)

Colorado City

Ok- I may have sucked you in by the title which is a bit misleading. Yes, these pictures were taken in Colorado City but only in the park. I'll have to take some "around town" pictures soon for another post. Jim had never been to Colorado City (the polygamist community where I hang out 1-2x a week for work) So after some arm twisting I loaded Jim & the kids in the car for some good times at the park. Colorado City has a fabulous hidden gem- Cottonwood Park. They have huge trees, tire swings, a LONG slide and other neat finds. It was a cold day as you can see by the snow in the background, but we had a ball. A plus, the kids got to see what it feels like to be the minority. Instead of us staring at FLDS people in Walmart, we were the ones feeling a bit out of place in our jeans (all other women & girls were wearing dresses at the park of course)

Valentine's Day !

Valentine's Day/ President's Day weekend has been cram-packed FULL of activities and its not over yet! Phew...Looking forward to some down time! Friday I was able to help with Arielle's school party, it was great! The kids played bingo and ate lots of junk! Then Friday night Arielle & I went to Nat's baby shower which was tons of fun (no pics unfortunately). Saturday Jim & Toby had Boy Scout Pow Wow (Jim was teaching First Aid), I ran the Dam to Dam 5 miler at Sand Hollow Resevoir with a couple girlfriends- THEN after THAT Toby went on a Hike with Boy Scouts (Bro. Patterson & Bro. Postma are such fun leaders- they plan lots of fun stuff and Toby loves them!) Meanwhile Arielle went to Stella's BD party at Pirate Island Pizza followed by Lauryn's BD party at Washington Community Center...are you tired yet, 'cause I sure was! Jim & I were able to fit in a quick lunch at Texas Roadhouse Saturday while the kids were at their activities. It was the first time I'd been there and even being a vego- I can still see what all the hype is about. It was YUMMY! Icing on the cake was that Jim's friend was working there and comped us a big luscious smoothie drink and decadent chocolate dessert! We spent Sat. night at home maxing and relaxing- watching All Star Basketball Shoot-outs and eating Chocolate Fondue. Thank goodness for Sundays- a day of REST! Don't know what we'll do on Monday, but hopefully we'll take it nice & easy. Oh- and this pic of Toby in the "greek getup" isn't from Valentine's, but from his Social Studies' project- wax museum. He dressed up as Plato (but he could almost pass for Cupid- don't you think...wink...)

Photo Tag

Michelle tagged me so here it is: Arielle took a little dance camp at Pineview HS back in Feb. 2008 (one year ago). I cheated and posted 2 pics, one of her dancing (which was #6 in my 6th photo file) and one of her getting her certificate.

I tag Kathy H., Ashley, Julie

The Great Outdoors

Had a wonderful weekend with Jim, Toby & Arielle. As an early BD present, I signed Arielle up for horseback riding lessons. She had her first lesson on Saturday and she was in heaven! She's ALWAYS loved horses. Through a friend at work I found out about Red Ridge Riding School. The owner is a wonderful woman who has spent a lifetime teaching children to ride. Arielle had a ball and can hardly wait to go back next Saturday. Later Saturday Jim, Toby, Arielle & I hiked the Temple Quarry Trail. The company, temperature and views were PURRRfect!