Birthday Bash 2009

We had a huge birthday celebration for Anthony, Zoe and Parker last weekend. We started with Zoe's surprise room makeover. She wanted a Tinkerbell room really bad so we did a few little things to make it look new. This is the before picture:
and this is the after:
I started my morning by decorating a cake for all three birthday people. Anthony got a football cake:
Zoe got a star cake with pixie dust:
Parker got a Batman cake (not my best cake ever):
We had a balloonist come and he did an amazing job. Some of my favorites were; The Roadrunner,
Batman,
Donald Duck,
Elmo,
and a penguin.
The kids all did the pinata.



We had face painting too. The kids got way too many gifts (thank you very much everyone).The party was a great success and we had a ton of fun.

Our handsome baby boy

Sam was so excited to go to church in this outfit. He knew that he was handsome and he kept running around and smiling at everyone.

Family Vacation: Day 8

We were up at 4:15am this morning. We finished packing the stuff into the van and headed out around 5am. We had planned to stop in Vegas on the way for the M&M's factory and a buffet. We did a specialized bag of M&M's for both of the kids at Knott's though, and they were both still super tired. So we just stopped at Jack in the Box for breakfast and kept going. Sam decided to scream (scream not cry) for over an hour to express his desire to get out of the van. We had to get Sam an Icee in Cedar City so that he would relax. We made it home just before 5pm (Utah time). We are all so very happy to be back home.
Zoe started bawling after a while though. We asked her what was going on, and she said that it was because, "Dad woke me up super early." We cleaned her tears and snot up and put her to bed.
Here is a video from the fair that we were not able to post until we got home. Harvey rode the mechanical bull and he did a great job. We promised to post it, so here it is.

Family Vacation: Day 7

We were all up way too early this morning. Anthony went out to help Grandma in the garden, and Sam decided that it was a good idea. He went out and helped by throwing things and telling Grandma some interesting babbles.
Grandma went and picked him a tomato. He ate a few bites and then threw it in the garbage and went looking for some mud to play in.
After a short morning nap (for me and the kids), we went to Knott's Berry Farm to celebrate Zoe's fifth birthday.
It was not even busy today at the park. There was no wait on any of the rides. For some of them, we just stayed in the seat and they did the ride another time. Anthony and I took turns watching the kids and running up and riding the "big kid" rides.
Another fountain!
This picture is a tradition now. I found one of Anthony in the same plane when he was eight, and I realized that I had taken the same picture of Zoe when we went to Knott's a couple of years ago. Now I am going to do it every time we go. Sam was too little to go on it this year.
We also took a picture like this one a couple of years ago.
Sam really liked driving the little diesel trucks. He was getting way into it.
We went over to Ita's for one last visit after the park. They had a little cake there for her, but no #5 candle. So we told her that she could add #2 and #3 to make #5.
Today was Anthony's cousin Iris' birthday too!
Sam and Anthony were really excited for the cake.
We went back to Grandma's and packed after cake. The vacation is coming to an end. I keep telling Anthony that I feel like we need another day. He replied by telling me that he thought we should go home tonight instead of tomorrow, just so that we can have an extra day to be home and relax.

Family Vacation: Day 6

We had ebleskeivers (pancake puffs) for breakfast this morning. Then we headed out to Hunington Beach.
As soon as I set up the beach chairs, Sam was ready to relax (as much as he is capable of). He was climbing in and out of the chairs and they were even folding up on him.
Sam learned very quickly that it is not a good idea to throw tantrums at the beach. He threw himself down on the sand and came up with sand everywhere.
Anthony headed out into the water to do some boogie boarding for a while. He had a lot of fun.
Anthony was out in the water and looked next to him and saw his life flash before his eyes. He panicked and wished for a moment that he had taken out a larger life insurance policy. Then he realized that the shark that just swam up next to him, was actually a dolphin. You can see it right in the middle of the picture if you look closely.
Zoe was very brave this year at the beach. She wanted to go out and swim, but the waves were too strong for her to go far. She had a lot of fun playing with Anthony and learning all about the ocean though.
We went looking for shells for a little while. Anthony found more in the water than we did on the beach. I found one that was closed and had an oyster in it still. Anthony took it into the water and washed it out. I owe him big for this he says.
Sam was eating cookies, but they became sand covered cookies very quickly. Zoe said, "MOM! Sam is eating sand!" I told her that they were sand cookies and I made them for him out of sand. She was like, "Oh. Can I have one?" Ha ha ha! I love her!
We finished the evening by going out to dinner with some of Anthony's relatives.

Family Vacation: Day 5

We had a wonderful day at Disneyland today!
Anthony got in for free because it was his 30th birthday today. Him and Zoe both got little buttons that said, "happy birthday" with their names on them (Zoe turns five on the 10th). Everyone kept saying, "Happy birthday Zoe!" She said, "How does everyone know it is my birthday, and how do they know my name?"
We told Zoe that we were going to go into a fun house (The Haunted Mansion) and that it looked like it must be Cinderella's, but she did not believe us. She kept telling us that it looked haunted. When we got in there and things started she was like, "See! I told you it was haunted!" Anthony also told her that Snow White's Scary Adventure ride was really called Snow White's Happy Adventure. When we got out he kept calling it that. Zoe said, "That was more like Snow White's Scary Happy Adventure."
This is us getting ready to go into the It's A Small World ride.

Sam was very concerned whenever we went on a new ride. Anthony started our day off with Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, so Sam was really nervous about what the rides would be. He was pointing at everything and talking about it. This is him on It's a Small World.

Another fountain!
Sam had fun on the teacups, until they started to go. He got so mad when Anthony started making it spin even more.
Zoe wanted to go on the teacups twice because she had so much fun spinning them.
Sam took an afternoon nap while we waited in some lines and even while we rode on the Alice in Wonderland ride.
Zoe got to go into any store and pick one thing for her birthday. She picked some light-up Tinkerbell wings.
We met lots of characters like:
Pinocchio
Winnie The Pooh
Tigger
Minnie Mouse
We finished the evening by grabbing some burgers from In-N-Out on the way home.

Family Vacation: Day 4

We started the morning by going to a police training field. This is where Anthony used to play when he was younger. Sam wanted to do all of the obstacles. Then he wanted to walk on every ledge or piece of wood to prove his balance (he has none).
Then we went to breakfast at Ita's. She had Mexican bread and some rice pudding like stuff (arroz con leche). We went back to Grandma's for a little while and Zoe started to help her make some of "Grandma's Lie Jam". This is a jam that seems like strawberry jam, but it is really made out of figs.
Then we met up with Mikey and Edith at Mimi's cafe. We had the worst service, but our food was free so I guess you get what you pay for. We were going to go to a science museum, but the kids decided that they would rather go see "UP" at the theater. I thought the movie was cute. Sam and Anthony slept through it. After the movie, we rested for a bit. Then we went over to Ita's again for dinner. Anthony's Tio Victor brought his wife and kids over. We had pizza and tamales. The pizza was great, and this was my first time having tamales. They were pretty spicy, but I enjoyed them.
The kids had a great time playing with the soccer ball and the pets.

This is a picture of the guayava fruit that I tried. Anthony loves our new camera and the pictures it takes.

Family Vacation: Day 3

We started the morning with church. We went to sacrament with Grandma Meservy at 9. Then we hurried over to Ita's ward for her sacrament meeting at 11. Ita's was in a Spanish ward, so Zoe and I were a little lost. I acted like I knew what was going on, and I even got out the himnos book. I leaned toward Ita and said, "Here! I cannot read this." She smiled and replied, "Well, I cannot sing." We had the hardest time not laughing. Then we just sat there and looked at the book while everyone finished singing. Anthony had a great time seeing all of his family and friends in church.
Then we went to visit Benjamin's grave. The cemetery was massive, so it was a good thing Anthony remembered how to get there.
We then drove out to see the L.A. temple. It was nice to go on a Sunday, because there were not a lot of people there.

Zoe had to stick her hand in the fountain.
We recreated some of Anthony's parent's wedding photos. This one is our favorite. We had one wedding guest (Sam), and our photographer (Zoe).
Our kids both enjoyed nature in their own special ways. Zoe picked flowers and strolled through all the gardens.
Sam plopped down in the rocks and laughed as he threw them at me. Boys and girls really are so different.
Zoe and Grandma played some fun games again while Anthony made Sunday dinner for everyone.
Then I made some chocolate dipped bananas for dessert. I had never had one and we all thought that they would be fun to try. Sam just sucked the chocolate off and made Anthony eat his banana.

Family Vacation: Day 2

We went over to Mike and Edith's new house in the morning (it is an old house, but they remodeled). Their house looks amazing! They put a lot of work into it and made it very beautiful.?:"
Then we all drove out to the L.A. County Fair. Anthony explained it by saying it was "Like Syracuse Heritage Days". When we got there I told him that he was right, if "Syracuse" were "Los Angeles" and "Heritage Days" were "County Fair". This thing was HUGE. The parking lot was like going to Disneyland. There was so much to do, we did not get to do it all.
We met up with another one of Anthony's cousins there, Harvey. Him and his wife Lorena lead the way around the fair.
As usual, Zoe had to stick her hand in all if the fountains.
Zoe's favorite part was the petting zoo. There were a ton of goats and sheep just running around eating food from the kid's hands. She was fearless and excited to have the animals come to her.

Sam was so nervous about the animals. He had fun pretending to be one though.
We had some fun fair food. We actually had a fried Twinkie. I have been wanting to try one of those for the longest time. Harvey's little one tried some ham too.
Sam was having a really hard time with all of the heat and people and not being able to run free.
But then he did some shopping, and seemed to find exactly what he wanted.
After the fair we went over to Little Letty's house for a BBQ. When we got there, there was a little pool out for the kids. Zoe did not have a suit so I, being the wild and carefree mother that I am, allowed Zoe to play in her clothes.
We came back to Grandma's for dinner and she made Hawaiian haystacks. Mmmmm! What a great way to end a long day.

Family Vacation: Day 1

Getting ready for a nine day family vacation is very difficult. I had so much to do, and Anthony was VERY busy with work and his new semester. So I had to finish packing the van and getting everyone ready while Anthony was in class. Sam sat in the bathroom screaming while I showered. He did not stop until I was actually out and attending to him. Then he did not want me to stop paying attention to him even for a second. Either I am a horrible mother, or he is a complete brat (or both), but he made me strap him to me the entire time that I did my hair. I tried setting him down at one point, and he started screaming again. I know that I should not give in, but sometimes I just want him to stop screaming.
We left the house at 9pm and drove all night to get to California. Sam was screaming to get out of his carseat the entire way there. When we arrived we all took a short nap. Then Anthony reminisced about his childhood at Grandma Meservey's (that is where we are staying). We played games with the kids and had lots of fun. Zoe is awesome at Jenga.
We made a visit to the .99 cents store and bought some fun stuff. Then we went over to Tio Chuy's for Ita's roast and Mexican bread.
My favorite part of the day was all of the fun new things I learned about and tried. I ate my very first fig at Grandma's house. At Tio Chuy's house I had guayava juice, and I tried a guayava. I have no idea what it really is. I like the juice, but not the fruit. I tried a Mexican lemon (they are just little lemons). I ate raw sugar cane. I tried a quince (they taste like very sour green apples). I saw lots of other fruits in their yard, but some of them were not ripe yet. Hopefully I can try some of those before I leave. I also ate dried papaya. It was delicious! The kids played with the dog and cat tonight too. That was the first time Sam was brave enough to touch an animal.
We are having lots of fun so far and are really excited for what else this week will bring.

Ward Luau

Our ward had a big luau last weekend. It was so much fun!

They roasted three pigs. We showed it to Zoe before she ate, and she still tried it. When she was getting some, there was a hoof hanging off the table and she asked what it was. We explained everything and she just went along with it. She really surprised me.

DJ Sam

Sam loves to listen to music on Anthony's headphones.

He is talking on it like a phone. :D
He likes to push the buttons like he is doing something important.