Last Disney Days, Baby Beach with Friends, and Gift Card Day

 This week was busy and I’m now questioning why I have so many kids. I’m just kidding. But they were kinda ganging up on me and I almost cried twice.

Monday was a “stay at home” day. The kids saw the orthodontist in the morning and I ran some stuff to Goodwill. We cleaned and got stuff done. Jack and Ella had piano and did REALLY well! Danja was very complimentary and said how proud she was of all their progress. I’m proud too! They both practice without complaint and are blossoming quickly with piano. Ella had her first soccer practice and it’s actually so nice being out on the soccer fields in the evening. If Tanner can ever not be busy, it will be nice to be out there together walking and talking.

Tuesday was our last big full Disney day all together. Parker took the day off and we packed lots of snacks and were looking forward to a fun day. And it was! But the kids bickered constantly and then when Parker would insert himself it was like throwing gasoline on the fire. They wanted to be touching me at all times and asked me questions non stop. I was WAY over stimulated and at my breaking point when Parker was mocking and everyone was giving me a hard time. I took them all to Toontown and let them play while I sat by myself and listened to a Marco Polo from Angel. It helped me to reset which was good. I’m thankful for my friend.

But Parker had never been to Blue Bayou so I asked if we could have a table and they got us in! We weren’t hungry so the kids shared kids meals and I got ice cream. I still spent less than McDonalds but let me tell you, McDonalds would have been way better. Ella got “seasonal fruit” with her meal and it was literally like 12 grapes just rolling around the plate. It was nice to be indoors with the AC and have a server bring me Diet Coke. But Blue Bayou didn’t impress, again. And no one said thank you!!! I got them all churros and took them to that fancy restaurant and TOOK them all to Disney. And all they did was bicker and complain. So I was sad. I felt really hurt.

 I texted Tanner and he texted Parker and then Parker stepped it up (he’d just been playing on his phone LITERALLY the entire time- like, even on Peter Pan, he sat next to me and was on his phone during the ride) He put his phone away and engaged with the kids and we went to Star Ward Land to see the firework show from there. And it was cool! We ended on a happy note. But I’m glad our passes are expiring cuz I think this era is over.

Wednesday I took the kids to Baby Beach and we met up with Ashlee and Nichole. The kids had a blast with their friends but we had to leave early to get Ray to her Animal Shelter gig. We got stuck in bad traffic and barely made it on time. But at least we had Mc Donald’s! And ice cream! Ella really wanted to play with a puppy and I tried to talk her out of it but she insisted. The puppy was so aggressive (naturally) and made her cry. Sheesh. So we got kittens and that was better. We left Riverside and drove home to get Ella to soccer on time and luckily Tanner was able to come with us and we took a walk and he let me vent about all the things I had on my mind. I wasn’t quite able to finish because we ran into Kristina. But it was good.

Thursday, I took the kids to California Adventure and it wasn’t crowded so we had a great time. We could have probably hit all the attractions but we had to leave early to get Jack to soccer. We had a great time despite the bickering again… we’ve got to work on that. We ran into Jami and David ward who were there with Jessica and her family. That was the highlight for me. Great hugs from my favorite people. Made me so happy! And thank goodness I wasn’t yelling at the kids at that particular juncture! Whew!

Jack had a blast at his first soccer practice and his coach (who’s a girl this time) was really sweet and it was nice getting to know her.

Friday was “Gift Card Day”! We grabbed Starbucks on the way to my mom’s and helped her with a couple of projects like putting old photos into an album. Then I took the kids to Marshall’s, the $1 Store, and Target for shopping with the gift cards we had (mostly Ella’s from her birthday). We then met my mom and dad at In n Out for dinner and then Yogurtland for dessert. Yum! We nabbed a lottery ticket KNOWING one of us was gonna win (we didn’t). After that, my parents took Rayleigh and Jack home (my mom took Jack to the park) and I took Ella to the Rack for a little more shopping. I had a gift card from a student but it had a zero balance! Dang! I tried on a ton of things and nothing looked good. I ended up getting a few tshirts and a sweatshirt and Ella got the cutest Twinkle Toe shoes that were majorly marked down. Score! We got home a little late but it was a fun day.

Saturday was spent getting ready for Ella’s big birthday/baptism day. We cleaned and did laundry and ordered groceries. I made a bunch of food and we had the trees and bushes trimmed. Tanner mowed the lawn and I packed up all the things for Ella’s baptism. I also made a bunch of “Great to be 8” donut treats. It was a productive day!

Sunday is going to be a major day for our family and I feel like we are very well prepared for it. Ella is ready! And that’s the most important thing.