Happiest Place On Earth???

I'm not so sure anymore! Last week we spent three and a half days at Disneyland/California adventure, and we had more than our share of moments that looked like this:

The look on Jeff's face cracks me up. I can just hear him, "Lexi, we asked you not to _________ " (take Jackson's bottle, hit Jackson, hit mommy, hit daddy, climb on the railing, pull mom's hair, etc.)! I don't think Lexi has ever been so naughty! But, despite her bad behavior, the long lines, and the unexpectedly cold weather, we still had some fun.

On the first day there, a women came up to us and was cracking up. She looked at Jackson and said, "now that's JackJack (from the Incredibles) if I've ever seen him!" She couldn't believe that his name was actually Jackson, and we do call him JackJack sometimes. Everyone at the gym daycare calls him that, too.

So, what do you think? Do you see the resemblance? Pretty funny.
On Wednesday our good friends, the Banners, came to spend the afternoon with us. It was so fun to see them. Thanks for meeting us on a cold, windy day!Lexi and Kaitlyn have so much fun together. Here they are giving their CHEESIEST smiles!
That same evening Jeff's dad came and met us at Disneyland. He was so nice to watch the kids so Jeff and I could go on a few rides together. He also spoiled the kids at the toy store.

He got Jackson his first official Disneyland attire!

Lexi picked a pack of princesses. She was in heaven playing with them back at the hotel. I looked over at her right as she was going to sleep, and I loved how she had lined them all up in a row next to the bed.

On Thursday Jeff's sister, Emily, met us with her kids, and it was fun to see them.
One of the benefits of Lexi being a giant is that at 2 1/2 she already meets the 40" height requirement for many of the rides. On this trip she rode the Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain. I think this is how she got through all the big rides!

And I think this was Jackson's favorite ride for the week (as Jeff was wheeling the luggage from the hotel)!

At the end of the trip, we were all pretty exhausted. (I love how Jackson is sucking on Jeff's sweatshirt in this!) We're happy to be home for a while. I told Jeff no more trips until summer!

Miami

Last week ( I guess it's been two weeks now) I drove up to Utah on Monday with the kids. We actually made it the whole 5 - 1/2 hours without stopping, which was a miracle to me! The kids did so great, thanks to our new DVD player. It was fun to be home for a day before Jane and I headed out to Miami...

Day 1 - The Endless Travels

Early Wednesday morning, Jane and I drove to SLC airport at 6:30 am to catch our flight to Miami. It was snowing, and after we boarded the plane, we sat there for three hours (without being able to get up) before we took off. Ugh! We were also starving, and by the time the food cart got to us, they were sold out of everything except bagels! So frustrating. So, we finally got to Atlanta and had missed our connection to Miami. They had rescheduled us on a flight the next morning, but we were determined to make it to Miami that night. We waited on stand-by for a few flights, and finally caught one a few hours later to Ft. Lauderdale. From there we shuttled to Miami airport, picked up our luggage, and headed to the hotel. We finally got there just before midnight Miami time.

Day 2 - Dinner for One
Thursday we slept in until 12:30! (That's only 9:30 Vegas time, so I didn't feel bad!) Jane felt totally sick when we got up, but I thought it was just a little morning sickness or something. I went down to the pool, ordered my virgin strawberry-pinacolada (the first of many!), and waited for her. It was a perfect day with clear, sunny skies. After a few hours, Jane finally came down, but only for about a half an hour. She was so sick and tired. She must have had the 24 hour flu or something. After she left, I went to the beach and swam by myself. I hadn't been to the beach since summer, and the water was perfect. I loved it.

Late afternoon I went back to the hotel and Jane was still feeling sick. I went and got her chicken soup at a deli, but she couldn't even eat that! Anyway, I was sitting there thinking, "I can either sit here in the hotel room, or I can just go out to dinner by myself." So I did! I had never gone to a restaurant by myself to eat, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Jane wanted me to stay close, so I just went to the restaurant on the patio of our hotel that overlooks the pool. Dinner was great, and right as I was finishing this band was setting up. They just looked like a few local kids, and I wasn't expecting to stay and listen, but then they played their first song, and they were AMAZING!! I ended up staying there until 11:30, talking to the band, and meeting some of the main singer's family who were sitting at the table right behind me. They've just been signed with a group that's part of Warner Brothers and have an EP coming out in March. You have to check it out: http://www.myspace.com/jacobjeffriesband. They don't normally play at hotels, they were just doing it as a favor to someone last minute. Lucky for me!

Day 3 - Just Another Day in Paradise
On Friday Jane felt much better - yay! We spent the day at the pool and the beach. We took our lunch to the beach, and all of these birds started coming towards us. While I was holding a sandwich one of the birds flew right by my hand, and it scared me so badly that I threw the sandwich in the sand. That night we went out to a restaurant called Nemos and shopped a little bit. On our way home we got mango & passion fruit gelato - to die for! (Don't ask me what I'm cracking up at in this pic!)

Day 4 - Good Day Sunshine

Saturday was forecasted to have scattered thunderstorms in the morning and afternoon. Luckily we woke up to sunny skies, and it stayed that way until around 4pm. It was so nice to have another day relaxing in the sun. We talked, laid out, swam, ate, walked on the path by the beach, and just had a great time. That night we were heading to the Ritz Carlton for dinner, but it started pouring rain, so we walked in the closest hotel to us, the Delano. Turns out it was the COOLEST place! The lobby was also a restaurant/bar, and everyone was totally done up. You seriously felt like celebrities were going to start walking by. We decided to stay there for dinner. The food was amazing, and it was so fun to people-watch.

When we got back to the hotel, we made some bows for our girls, watched a movie, and started packing.
Day 5 - I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane
Sunday we basically spent the day travelling home. We went to the airport early to try to get on an earlier flight, but everything was full. Dang it! We finally got home at 1:30pm.

It was so fun to see my kids the next morning. We spent the day hanging out and driving around Alpine/Highland looking for homes for Jane. Tuesday morning I packed everything up and headed back to Vegas. We made the whole drive without stopping again. It's been fun to be home for a few days...we're off to Disneyland again this week!

AND THANK YOU TO WHITNEY FOR SENDING JANE & I ON SUCH A FUN TRIP TOGETHER!!

Red Rock

Last Saturday was a perfect day. It was sunny and clear, and we decided to take the kids to Red Rock and do our favorite hike to Calico Tank. It's 2.5 miles round trip, and Lexi walked the whole thing! Jeff carried Jackson in a pack, and he was happy to sit there and look around until about the last five minutes. It felt so good to get out.

Beloved Prophet

Last night we heard that President Hinckley had passed away. It still hasn't really hit me. It is going to be so strange to watch conference in April and not have President Hinckley there. I sort of feel like he has been my prophet. (In the sense that he was the prophet that has had the greatest impact on my life so far.) When he became the prophet I was still in high school, and I have listened to him and his counsel through such important phases of my life - college, marriage, motherhood, etc. - through those years that really shape the direction your life will take. As much as I love him and will miss him, I have to say I am so happy for him that after 97 years of service, he can finally rest and also be reunited with his wife.

Happy Birthday Jackson

Last week Jackson turned one! I can't believe it has been a year since he was born! I was looking back through some of his pictures, and I forgot how small he was! Here are some pics of him

just minutes after being born!
A few hours later
Two weeks old
A few months old
And last week...destroying his cake!
MMMMMmmmmm

It was all fun until I had to clean everything up! :)

More Fun Over the Holidays

Well, I'm behind, so I'm just going to lump the rest of our trip to Utah into one post. Here are more highlights from our week...
1. I forgot to mention in my last post that for Christmas, Jane's husband, Whitney is sending Jane and I to Miami for five days in February! Check out the hotel! It may be pushed back since Jane is due in March and they are buying a house and have so much going on, but I'm so excited for whenever it happens! Here is the pool right on the beach.

2. Jeff and I took our kids and my sister, Jenn, to see the Bee Movie at Movies 8, and surprisingly the kids made it through the whole movie!

3. Celebrating grandma and grandpa Paxman's 65th wedding anniversary. A bunch of our Paxman relatives gathered at my parents house for a nice dinner and program. It was fun to visit with everyone.

4. Visiting with friends. Thursday we went to SLC to visit my best friend from growing up in Hawaii, Kaira. We hadn't seen eachother in a year and a half, so it was fun to catch up (even though Lexi was a total stink while we were there)! After that we went to see our friends from grad school in Indianapolis, the McKees, who now live in Heber. We love them! That night when we got to our car it was -2 degrees. Too cold for me! ( I wish I had pictures of all of this!)

5. Date night! Friday night Kathryn was nice enough to watch our kids (thank you!) so Jeff and I could go out. We went shopping and then ate at Zuppas. It was so good! Then we met Jess & Jaron up at Rich & Brooke's and played games until around 2am! We were tired the next day, but it was so worth it!

6. Annual Pope Christmas Party. Saturday we went to Louis & Chris's house to see all of our Pope relatives.

The Popes live up Hobble Creek Canyon, and there was a few feet of snow up there. Lexi jumped into it a few times. I loved this shot of her laying in it!

7. Seeing Josh in his full BYU football gear he got for Christmas. Santa really pulled through this year! :)

8. Music Appreciation. Saturday night Whitney, Jess, Jaron, Brooke, and I were up talking and hanging out. We got on the subject of music, and Brooke and Whitney, both very musically talented, gave us all a lesson in music theory. Whitney pulled out the guitar to demonstrate different chords, and then we all just sang songs while he played. At midnight Whitney wanted us to hear a new song, but we didn't want to wake anyone up, so we all bundled up in whatever coats and shoes we could find and piled in to his Landcruiser parked on the street out front. We sat out there for over an hour and listened to songs. It was so much fun, and the best part was at the end of it Whitney gave me the three mix CDs we had listened to.

9. Going home. As much fun as our trip was, it's always nice to come home. We got home Sunday afternoon, and that night we got to visit with more friends from Indianapolis. We hadn't seen them in years, and it was so great to catch up. Chelsea (on the left) was the YW president and I was her counsellor in our ward in Indy. She and Brad started dental school the year Jeff started law school. Kristen and Ken came the following year for Ken to attend law school.

Poor Brad - It's hard not to look small when you're standing next to Jeff (6'7") and Ken (6'5")!

Christmas

We had a blast this Christmas. We went up to Utah to spend the week with my family. Christmas Eve a bunch of us gathered at the house for a nice dinner and program.

Jackson
Olivia, Jenn, and I
Grandpa taught Lexi the story of Jesus' birth using this toy nativity. She just wanted to play!
Here is the spread Santa left for Lexi.She loved her dress ups and shoes.
Jackson was happy just to sit on a box! Relaxing with dad after the fun was over.

After we were done opening presents, a bunch of us went sledding. It was Lexi's first time playing in the snow, and she loved it!

That night we went to my grandparents' house for dinner. Lexi stole sprinkles off of grandpa's piece of cake. Me and my greatest gifts!