My Happily Ever After: April 2008

Saturday, April 26, 2008

The Deadliest Catch, Valdez

Shrimping officially opened on April 15 and Brian had the boat in the water that week to drop pots. We took the boat out for the weekend and met up with Jaime & Mel, and their two friends Becky and Corey. We camped in Sawmill Bay and had a great time being outside in the warmth.... come on summer! Along with an octopus, Brian caught about four dozen shrimp, so he was happy!

Already calling ducks!!! Lord, help me!!!!

Mel, Jaime, William, & Cassidy

Becky & Corey

Here's a quick video of the Dall Porpoises that hung out with us for about an hour, and even stayed with us while Brian pulled pots and the boat was stopped. I was a little nervous a couple of times that Willie and Cedar were going to try to jump in and have a Dolphin Encounter of their own, but we managed to keep them in the boat.

Charles Thomas

We found out on April 10 that our little baby has a scrotum and a penis, to use the technician's exact words. He was pretty dry, but either way, the point was made.... we are having a little boy!! He is measuring about the same size as Kailyn was at this age, and all seems to be going well. This picture looks eerily similar to Kailyn's 20 week ultrasound, so I am excited to see if they look alike when he is born, too....

Ashley's visit/ ADPi reunion

I had camera issues for the trip, but hopefully Jaime and Ashley will send some copies on a CD for me (please????!!!).

Let's just say we had an adventure! We picked Ashley up in the mom-mobile and put Teresa, Ashley, me, Kailyn (2), Lyla(3), and Keenan (1) all in and headed back to Valdez. I am happy to say that the trip was pretty low-key with a couple of squeeks over a forgotten sippy cup, but mostly everyone was happy thanks to the DVD player and multiple showings of Cinderella.

Jaime & Mel plus their two kids came down to Valdez, also, and we all stayed at our house. It was packed and FUN!!! There were kids everywhere! And they all LOVED Ash!! I think that the biggest fights came over who was going to sit next to her and who was going to hold her hand. My favorite, though, is Kailyn

refusing to let anyone else wipe her hiney after going poo..... I still laugh when I think of how different this Spring Break must have been for Ashley!! Five kids, two pregnant ladies..... spooning with 2-year olds.....

While here, we got to go sledding, have a birthday get-together for Ashley, Jaime, Brian, Justin, and Teresa. We also got Ash out on the water and caught some fish, and Brian took her on a snow-machine ride one afternoon. Then we went back to Anchorage and added Brian to the mom-mobile mix.... let's just say it was fun. We had a great dinner with Mike, Erin, Tyler, Alayna, Tom, Jaime's sister and her daughter, and then our whole crew, and got to spend alot of time shopping and swimming - it was GREAT!!!! My all-time favorite part was that Ashley got to come to the ultrasound appt with me for our first glimpse of Baby Charlie.

Bolsa Chica again

Our last night in the RV, we headed back to Bolsa Chica and had a relaxing sunset picnic.

San Clemente State Beach

Since we were only here a few days and the beach was a pretty steep hike down a sandy pavement (and quite slippery) cliff, we decided to go to Sea World both days instead of the beach. We also celebrated Easter here, which was really great. We were nervous that the Easter Bunny might forget us since we were all up so late hanging out with the family at the next campsite over. But luckily, he must have made a second round in the morning, because there were hidden eggs all over the campsite! He even brought some Reese peanut butter cups for Brian!!

Sea World

The shows at Sea World were great... even Kailyn stayed entertained by them!

Kailyn's favorite part was the Touch Tank - she loved the starfish!

We signed up for breakfast with Elmo and got to visit with all his friends, too. Kailyn was definitely a hit when she and another little girl were dancing with Big Bird!

Friday, April 25, 2008

DISNEY LAND!!

I have to admit, I was wrong on this one! I thought that Kailyn would probably be a little young for Disney and that we would only spend a little bit of time there. Thank goodness Mema got us the 5-day pass!!! It was so magical, to be completely unoriginal! There is just no better word to describe how amazing it was to see Disney through Kailyn's eyes. From dancing with the Princesses, to getting to ride a pink Dumbo, to the fireworks, to Snow White blowing Kailyn a kiss.... I could not have dreamt up a better time with our family. It was fabulous!

Of course, we had to visit the Disney Fire Station!

These were all in the Royal Court, where you can wait for an hour and a half to meet the Princesses. The first day, we didn't know any better and all stood in line, but were pros by Day #2! I stood in line while Dad took her to the Royal Coronation and let her check out the Castle. Jasmine was by far our favorite - she actually remembered Kailyn the second day that we brought her back!

Disney Land seemed a lot smaller than I remember Disney World when I was growing up. Not sure if it really is or if it's different as an adult, but I loved it. We never felt overwhelmed, and easily got to go on everything that we wanted to without having to wait in too many lines. It was great.

Brian literally ran out to the Dumbos to snag a pink one. He is such a great Dad!!!!! Kailyn could not have possibly been happier!

Watching the fireworks. Kailyn was really sweet and put her arm around my shoulder at the beginning, comforting me with, "don't worry, Mom, they will make a loud BOOM but it's not scary. Kailyn's here..." (Yes, I cried, but I am pregnant, too, so I get a little slack, right?)

This one's for you, Papa! We tried to get one as big as the donut!!

Everyone at the park was so great as our little Princess danced around. Is it bad to laugh at the end of the clip?

Bolsa Chica State Beach

This was our second campsite, closest to Disney Land. Although it was more like a parking lot than a campground, I have to say that it was my favorite... that fence is the start of the beach. It was sooo nice to wake up in the morning to the waves crashing, walk down to the beach and see the dolphins playing and the surfers searching for a good wave.

The beach was pretty much empty, with the exception of a few joggers and bikers. We were told that it was still early, and people don't like to pay the "expensive" state beach parking fares. Whatever the reason, we weren't complaining! It was nothing like the FL beaches!!

We've never really stayed in an RV before, but this was one of many benefits. Kailyn made friends everywhere we went! This is her friend Lauren from Southern CA - Brian was impressed to find out that this family was alot like ours would probably be if we lived Stateside. They have four wheelers and a toy hauler and try to get out camping at least once a month. I was also excited to find out that Lauren's mom was pregnant, too, and our girls were just a few weeks apart!