Happy Haircut

Every time, literally every time I cut Parker's hair I vow that the next time I'll take him to a salon and let someone do it that actually knows what they're doing.  And then a few weeks pass and he needs another haircut and I think that it will just be easier if I do it, and hey, I'll save some money, and oooh! maybe we can go out for ice cream with the money I just saved.  Anyway, I figured that I'd had a pretty good five year run and it would be good to see how a professional does it so I can take notes.

I knew that it would not be a happy, fun day at the salon. Parker does not like getting his hair cut.  He's not necessarily scared of the clippers or scissors, it's more that he doesn't like the itchiness of the cut hair on his skin.  We've tried lots of things to alleviate the problem, but nothing works with 100% efficiency.  So, I bribed him with a Happy Meal if he got his haircut at a salon.  We made it through the parking lot and to the door of Great Clips before he lost it.  Tears, screams, falling to the ground.  It was not pretty.  Finally he sat in the chair, but was still crying so I had him sit on my lap.  Once the stylist started cutting his hair he did a great job!  No more tears and he held so still.  I was hoping to take a picture of his first real haircut while it was happening, but it was a little difficult with him sitting on my lap.

But here are some after photos!  Yay McDonalds!

Playing in the Snow

A few weeks ago we headed up to the hills to play in the snow.  I love that we can enjoy beautiful, warm weather here almost year round, but when we want to build a snowman we can be playing in the powder in just 45 minutes.

Parker loved the snow and especially sledding.  Kate was not really a fan.  She didn't like walking or even standing on the snow, I think because it made her unstable, so I had to hold her or have her sit on my lap almost the whole time.  Parker is kind of a timid guy and Kate is so easy going, I actually thought their reactions to the snow would be the opposite.

It might surprise you to know that the population in Southern California is quite dense and in this land of eternal sunshine, opportunities to play in the snow are few and far between.  As a result, the mountain was packed. There wasn't really a destination or a parking lot or anything- people just parked on the side of the road and hiked back into the mountains a bit. Luckily we got there early enough to get a parking spot, but as we were driving home the highway was backed up for miles.

We're Moving!

Again.  People, it's just too much.  In our eight years of marriage, this will be our seventh move.  Parker has never lived in a home longer than 16 months.  I hate moving.  I hate that it turns me into a mean mom and a ball of nerves.  But, we're getting kicked out, so what can you do?  Our landlord is selling the townhouse we're living in, and although they did offer to sell it to us, we're going to continue to rent at a different location.  One thing that makes it a bit easier is that we're moving into a house!  With a yard!  And no shared walls!  And a driiiiiiiveway! Paul finally has an excuse to be mad at me for throwing away his yardwork parachute shants (pants that zip off into shorts) all those years ago.

Before I start the ghastly task of packing all our belongings into cardboard boxes, we made a movie so we can remember the wonderful 16 months we lived here. It's a long one; I tried to go slow to avoid the feeling of seasickness.

New Year's Resolution Complete! Happy Christmas Card

I had only one New Year's Resolution for 2015 and that was to send out a Christmas card. I love getting Christmas cards- I love seeing our family and friends' year in recap and it's nice to know that we were thought about during the busyness of the season.  It came down to the wire, but we got it done and I'm so happy we did!   If you're reading this and didn't get a card from us, send me your address!  Who knows, maybe I'll send one out this year too.

As for resolutions this year... I haven't made any yet, but I'll get around to it eventually. Paul is anti New Year's Resolutions.  I think he doesn't want to set himself up for failure.  I, on the other hand, love New Year's Resolutions!  And I'm okay if I break them before the Christmas decorations come down.  The point is that you've reflected on your life and really considered what you could do to make yourself a better person or reach a lofty goal and that in itself is awesome!

Last Day at SeaWorld

Today our season passes to SeaWorld expired.  There have been rumblings that they're going to do away with the Shamu show, so even though the kids and I went to SeaWorld two weeks ago, we felt that we needed to go see the Shamu show as a family to give it a formal farewell.  It's crazy how much Parker and Kate have grown this year!

TODAY: 

LAST FEBRUARY:

 (This is a really weird picture of Kate, but I wanted to use it for reference.)

TODAY:

LAST FEBRUARY:

When we first got our passes, we had some trouble redeeming Parker's preschool pass (kids two and under are always free, but in order for three- to five-year-olds to get free passes, you have to register them online for a preschool pass at the beginning of the year) and so the lady who was helping us gave us four vouchers for complimentary trays of fish to feed to the sea lions.  We redeemed the vouchers today and fed the sea lions.  We learned that you have to be fast or else the birds will swoop down and steal the fish right out of your hands!

We have LOVED visiting SeaWorld this year!  Parker will miss the sharks the most, for sure.  It's his number one request when we go, and we often went through the exhibit multiple times.  I'll miss the Sea Lion and Otter Show and Paul will miss the churros.  Kate is just happy to be along for the ride and will probably miss getting out of her naps for a full day of fun. 

Scooter Reunion

Paul let his poor dental student friend borrow his scooter for the last two years.  Unfortunately for all parties, the scooter stopped working shortly after the scooter traded hands.  Paul's friend didn't want to spend the money to get it fixed and Paul didn't either.  Paul's pretty handy when it comes to cars and he wanted to see if he could fix it himself.  Well, after ho-humming about the issue for months and months, Paul rented a truck and drove to LA to pick up the scooter.  What followed was six stressful Saturdays and too many trips to the Pep Boys (a 35 minute drive there and back), but hallelujah, last Saturday he fixed the dang thing.  There were celebratory chest bumpings and high-fives all around.

The Happiest Place On Earth

Last month the stars aligned and we met up with the Fjeldsted clan for some memory making at Disneyland. Neither Parker nor Kate had ever been before and it was so exciting to introduce them to the magic that is Disneyland.  As excited as they were, though, I think I may have been more excited.  I love Disneyland.  I love the thrill of the roller coasters, I love how nostalgic I feel when I'm there- remembering past visits and how enchanted Disneyland felt when I was young, and I love that everyone is just so happy there.
Two days before The Day: We met up at the beach.  The cousins played in the sand while the adults chatted. We got lunch at a local taco joint and then headed our separate ways.  John and Trudy rode the train from Oceanside (where they had been with Peter and Amber) to San Diego.  Paul picked them up from the train station downtown and they stayed the night with us.

Kate surprised us all by loving this Mexican style corn. 

Look how popular Grandma and Grandpa became with all these churros in front of them!

The day before The Day: Paul went to work while John, Trudy, Parker, Kate and I caught the train downtown and rode it to Anaheim.  We picked up Chloe, Mae and Simon on the way.  That evening we walked through Downtown Disney and had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen, which is an awesome buffet-style restaurant in the Disneyland Hotel where various Disney characters come say hi to you while you eat. It took a few minutes, but Parker really warmed up to the characters.  Kate, not so much.

The Day(!!!): We got to the park just a few minutes after it opened and we hit the ground running.  And so it can be recorded: the very first ride that Parker and Kate ever went on at Disneyland was Snow White.  We filled the day with kiddie rides, and threw in a few adult rides here and there while grandma and/or grandpa watched the grandkids. The "scariest" ride Parker and Kate went on was Pirates of the Caribbean.  We took the kids back to the hotel after dinner and had Paul's cousins who live in the area watch them so the adults could Disney 'til they dropped (we dropped just before midnight).  Of course I love our kids and was so excited to share in their magical first experience of Disneyland, but I'm SOOOO glad we got to ditch them and ride the roller coasters to our heart's content!  Honestly, it would have been a sad day if we had only been able to ride Dumbo and the like all day.

So to sum up, we went to Disneyland and it was the most awesome thing ever.