McDonald's Baby!

I finally took my kids to the super classy McDonald's Playplace. They had never been before so we met up with some cousins to play in the germ infested toys! :) I actually think it is a great place to take the kids and let them run around, especially in the winter when they are stuck in the house all day. Of course they loved it. Top it off with some chicken nuggets and they were really loving life. It was great for me because I had Chelsie and Aubree to help Ella when she needed it.

Chelsie, Ella, Aubree

Yes, Kash is licking the toys.

Ella kept yelling, "look at me Mom!" I finally found her peeking out of this net.

All of the cousins: Kash, Chelsie, Adam, Aubree, and Ella

Any Ideas?

I was thinking about making a display for Ella's hair accessories. As of right now they are all crammed in the bathroom drawer and I don't even know what's in there. I was considering making one with chicken wire and a wooden frame...I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about? I think it should be easy enough to make? If any of you have made one of these, or something similar, or have a different idea, please let me know! I just want something that is cute enough to hang up but also keeps all of her bows, headbands, clips, barrettes, etc, organized. I am not the most crafty person so any tips would be helpful.
I found one idea that is kind of cute HERE.

Cedar City Fun

When some of my family was in town we were able to go up to Cedar City to see my Uncle Kim and Aunt Heidi's family. They have 4 adorable girls that are the best babysitters ever! We hung out at their house and had a yummy dinner then headed off to the SUU basketball game. I was worried about how Ella and Kash would do during the game but Madeline, Julia, Lauren, and Sydney took care of that! It was a lot of fun and a really intense game.

Surprisingly, they were both really into watching the game. Especially Kash, who would clap his hands and get so excited when the crowd cheered.

Whitney, my mom, and Aunt Heidi.

Madeline, Julia, Syd, Kash, Kar

My sweet Sydney who entertained Ella the entire time for me!

Valentine's Day

Matt and I have never actually been together on Valentine's Day. He is always out of town that part of the year on business. So this year was really fun to be able to spend it together as a family. For breakfast the kids and I woke up to him making us heart-shaped waffles! What a cute husband I have!














And this is the plate that I made for him our very first Valentine's we were married...














Here are the kids opening their gifts:




























As soon as they opened everything they immediately wanted to go play with their new bubbles. It was their favorite thing by far!

We decided we better go all out and get a babysitter because this might be our only chance to be together on this holiday. So along with the rest of St. George we went out to dinner. I know it is crazy to go out on this super busy night but it worked out because we put our name in and had an hour to go shopping! My gift from him was to pick out a pair of shoes and a pair of jeans. Lucky! Here are the shoes he bought me:

Thanks babe for such a fun Valentine's.
I LOVE YOU!

Valentine Cookies

I invited my sister in law, Gina, over to decorate Valentine cookies. She brought her cute little boy Adam and our niece Aubrey who she was babysitting. Kash slept most of the time and Adam could care less about the cookies so it was just us girls! It was a lot of fun and Ella and Aubrey were SO cute together. They were best friends by the end of the day. After decorating, all 4 kids decided to jump on Ella's bed. They were all so crazy I thought someone was going to get hurt for sure! I guess it was all of that sugar. When it was time to go Aubrey and Ella gave each other the longest bear hug, you can see in one of the pics...
So fun! Thanks for coming over Gina.

Matt is BACK!

At this time every year Matt goes out of town for work for close to a month. This year he was able to come home a week early! He got in late last night so the kids got to see him when they woke up. Ella was so happy and at first just wanted to lay with him and cuddle. Then she immediately went in to daddy mode and wanted to wrestle and have piggy back rides and all the fun stuff you do with your Dad. Kash was a little shy at first, but quickly got over it. He finally let Matt pick him up and he put his head down on his shoulder and just laid there giving him hugs. It is so great to have DADDY home.

Ultimate Bath Time

My kids have always loved bath time but nothing quite compares to bath time at Nana and Papa's house! They loved their massive tub! I guess it reminded Ella of being at the pool because she would say, "look I'm swimming!" A few times they even had the bubbles so high that they were spilling over the sides.


One night after diving I was so cold that I decided to try out the tub! It is so relaxing, I never take baths but maybe I will have to start. I have a feeling it might not be quite the same in my tiny tub though...

Look A Like

Does Kash not look like the kid from A Christmas Story? My dad put his glasses on him and we were all dying laughing!

Almost

Ok so I am ALMOST completely certified. I have finished all of the book work, passed the final exam, and finished all of the skills in the pool. We went on our first beach dive and guess what, I didn't die. I am so happy! I did NOT sleep at all the night before the dive and was so sick to my stomach. Walking into those waves was so scary, I wanted to back out. When I had a wave knock me over with all of my gear on I was ready to cry and run back to the car! haha but once we got out there I was totally fine. It was the coolest experience ever! I am so glad that I did it and can't wait to do it again. We have 3 more dives to do (at Catalina) but aren't going to be able to do it this week because of bad weather. So we are going to have to make another trip to CA to finish it up and then I will be a certified scuba diver! Yay!

This is probably the most embarrassing picture I have ever posted of myself but I am feeling too proud to care too much. Now, I am not the skinniest person ever, but please keep in mind that we are each wearing two lumpy wet suits! (or thats my excuse anyways) haha Whitney looks good of course!

An update...

Matt is out of town for a few weeks on business so I brought the kids to my parents house in California. We are having tons of fun and I just can't get over how perfect the weather is. The kids are having so much fun playing OUTSIDE for a change! I have been super busy because I am getting certified for SCUBA diving!! When I got here my dad said he was going to pay for Whitney and I to get certified so I couldn't pass it up. We are taking private lessons to try to get it done in a week. Tonight will be my first time in the water (just in a pool of course) and I am to say the least...a bit nervous. I have a STRONG fear of drowning so scuba diving shouldnt be an issue right?:) I am hoping my next post will not say that I freaked out and sreamed and cried and ran away before I even got in the water. I do have motivation to do this though: My entire family is going to CANCUN in June! So my first real dive as a CERTIFIED scuba diver will be in the crystal clear oceans of MEXICO. My mom, dad, Matt, Nikki, and soon to be Whitney and I will all be able to dive while we are there. So I can't back out right?

Pirate Island

We took the kids to Pirate Island Pizza and it was a lot of fun. I had no idea how big it was and all of the stuff there was to do. They thought it was great that they could just run around and play games. We had a 45 minute wait to be seated, so all of that time was spent playing! I think more restaurants should have a play area for kids, I would definitely choose to go there when I knew there would be a wait!

They both had fun on the play set.

Kash didn't know what to think of the gun...

Ella LOVED the guns, she spent a lot of time "shooting"...or so she thought;) Here is Audrey helping her out.

The McLaws trademark: tongue out while concentrating. Matt got that from his Dad.

They could have stayed in that arcade all night. Ella cried and cried when it was time to go. She kept saying, "more games Mom, more games!"

Our attempt at a picture of the four of us.

We are definitely going back to this place, it is great to take the kids and make a night out of it. I recommend going if you have the chance.

Where is my trash can?

Last night I went outside to take out the trash and this is where my trash can was....


Matt's friends think they are pretty funny!