Pumpkin Patch Season and California Adventure

Pumpkin patch season is upon us and the heat is intense! My Mom had some extra tickets to the Pumpkin Patch at the parking lot at Laguna Hills Mall so we brought her along and sweated it out!

I was really hard on the kids the day before. I've been trying to crack down on their behavior and I wasn't letting anything slide. It was hard! But I never lots my patience and we are seeing real results. I thought the Pumpkin Patch would be a nice reward for all their hard work and have something fun to do while Parker is off track. It was all fun and games until Rayleigh got bitten by a chicken!

I told Parker that Rayleigh and Jack got to use the tickets to ride 2 rides because we were taking him to California Adventure the next day. So he asked if he could be the one to take pictures with the nice camera.  He did pretty good!

Jack loves to run to me from far away with his arms all stretched out wide. It's the sweetest thing. He's just the best.

Jack fell in love with the Lightening McQueen bounce house and was SUPER mad when he had to get out. I remember taking Parker when he was Jack's age. It was his favorite too! Rayleigh loved running around and checking out the animals.

She was so sad after the chicken bit her. And everyone else was miserably hot and hungry. I tried to bribe them with a trip to Trader Joes to pick out pumpkins and a treat but they were horrible!! The babies ran in the street, they asked for everything in sight at the store, they didn't stick together. It was bad. You win some, you lose some. On the way home, I was feeling a little "off". I was upset and asked Parker to say a prayer. I just felt like something bad was about to happen. Before we got home, I started legit choking on my food. I had my hand on my phone to call 911 as I was pulling off the road. It was super scary but it ended up ok. Thank goodness for Parker extraordinary faith and the power of prayer!

The next morning, Parker, Ella and I picked up my mom and headed to Disneyland to use the last day on our passes. Parker had only 1 day left but my mom and I had 2. We decided to go on a Saturday so Tanner could watch the kids even though we assumed it would be crazy crowded. But it was actually not bad at all! We walked through Downtown Disney on our way in to adore the decorations and grab a Starbucks treat. I've been holding on to a gift card for about 6 months! We felt so spoiled!

We sent Parker on all the rides he wanted to go on as a Single Rider so he basically walked onto every ride and my mom and I just sat in the shade and chatted. I showed her the Redwood Creek Trail while he was on Grizzly River Run and I nursed the baby while he did Cars twice in a row. He did CA Screamin' too! We did Little Mermaid together which was fun and my mom and Parker used Fast Passes to do Soarin'. My mom had never been on it! So that was fun! It's kind of a tradition for us to go to Disneyland with Parker and it had been way too long. It was so relaxing and fun! My Mom is the best to always go on adventures with me!

Parker was stoked to show up the Animation Academy since he took his little class these a few weeks ago.

Sunday was a tough one. Tanner has been under a LOT of pressure at work and has been working long hours. There has been plenty of tension and some of it spilled over on Sunday morning which I know makes Satan so happy. It all ended well, though, as we worked along side each other after church to organize the garage a little bit and clean up the back yard. I was putting away a scooter when it whipped me in the ankle. It hurt so badly, I cried! Parker ran to get me some ice and my dear sweet Rayleigh got me a cup of water and a blanket. She is the sweetest little mamma. I don't know what I did to deserve her. As I sat writhing in pain on the couch, the kids gathered around me to comfort me and make sure I was ok and we laughed as we played with filters on my phone.

 I was wearing Ella. She is so "go with the flow". Rayleigh ran all the way upstairs to get the perfect blanket for me. No one even asked her to do this! She did it all on her own. Notice the little green "kid" cup.

Satan wants us to have discontent in our homes. He wants stress unreleased, tension to boil over, yelling, screaming, blaming, and complaining. And the sad truth is that sometimes he wins. But this is MY eternal family. And he will never win the battle he is raging against us! We are strong and  our love and devotion to each other is never ending. Our love grows deeper each day and each time we are tested we come out the other end better welded together. Raising a family and sustaining and happy marriage is difficult. It takes almost constant cultivation. But we are up to the task and each little blossom of our faith is such a reward. As we were leaving California Adventure on Saturday, we took my mom om the short cut through the Grand Californian Hotel. In the lobby there was a man playing the piano and it was gorgeous. He was playing "A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella and I couldn't help but to dance with Ella ans sing the song softly in her ear. The words struck my heart and I couldn't hold back the tears. "A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heart ache, Whatever you wish for you keep. Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true." I could have never imagined that my arms and heart would be as full as they are today all those years ago when I was dreaming and grieving. My rainbow sure has some smiling through! 

On Monday, Parker and I had to get our teeth cleaned. Jon watched Rayleigh and Jack and they had a blast. I was going to have Parker watch Ella while I was getting mine cleaned but she fell right to sleep on my chest and stayed that way the entire time! She's the best baby!!!

 Jon gave us a few costumes that his kids had out grown. Rayleigh was sad that the lady bug costume was too small.

But she turned out to be THE cutest little kitty cat!

I'm trying to be more present with these kids. I should be doing so much more than I am. I've been trying to get back into working out, having my daily devotional, and having scripture study as a family. But I am failing miserable. I want to have quality one on one time with each kid each day too. Rayleigh loves to play with scissors so this is what we did together...

These kids are the best thing ever and I'm so lucky to be their mother. I hope Tanner starts to see some light at work. He's such an excellent provider and protector to our family. I wish he had the opportunity to relish his accomplishments!