Vegas & Cali here we come! Our First Family Vacation

Besides going to Grandma & Grandpa's houses, this was our first family vacation. And really it couldn't have been better. First we went to Las Vegas to be apart of my big Brother's special day. We had great food and partied at Kimmie's parent's house the days leading up to the wedding. Mike & Kimmie were married on May 15th at the Paiute Golf Course & Club. Brielle was the flower girl, though no flowers were thrown. She got to push a lawnmower next to her cousin Jonathan (ring bearer-though not officially) down the isle. It was so cute!! They just about stole the show! (I got this on video so sorry no photos) Brielle had so much fun dancing the night away with Grandma & sleepy Jonathan.When we checked into our condo, Brielle was so excited!! I asked her if she was excited and she put her hands on her face (she could hardly contain herself) and exclaimed Yes!!! Not sure if she was excited to be somewhere new and on vacation or just to be out of the car. We spent one afternoon swimming in our condo pool and a few hours on the Strip.Sunday after the wedding we headed with Grandma & Grandpa Stilson to California!!! We drove instead of flying, but Brielle was great! I have learned that with a portable DVD player anything is possible! We checked into our condos and then went to dinner in Downtown Disney. I have never been there and thought it was a lot of fun! We got back to our condos just in time to watch the fireworks over Disneyland. All night Brie kept saying, "fiyawoks mummy!" We went to Venice Beach & Hollywood the first day. We toured the famous houses in the Hills and saw them roll out the red carpet for the Prince of Persia Premiere.Tuesday we headed to Disneyland!! The forecast said rainy for the morning but sunny in the afternoon. The rain thankfully scared off the crowds. The longest wait was 20 minutes for a ride.Brielle was so excited to see Minnie Mouse. For over a month now we used going to Minnie Mouse's house as her reward for being good. If she was ever having a terrible-two spell we would just claim that we were no longer going to Minnie's house and Brie would stop crying. About a week before I think she stopped believing we were ever going.I think Disney was a little overwhelming for her in the beginning. She just stared at everything showing no emotion. By mid-day she gt her giggles and smiles back. Her favorite rides were Small World and Tea Cups! I think I may have been just as excited as her. I haven't been to Disneyland in almost 20 years. I had not seen California Adventures until this trip either. I still love Thunder Mtn Railroad & Space Mtn. Though Soarin & Indiana Jones are really fun too! We left the park at closing filled with all the magic of Disney, hopefully to last us another few years but hopefully not 20! The next and last day of California we went to Laguna Beach.The sun finally showed up long enough for us to enjoy the beach...but just the beach not the water.Brielle and I built sand castles which of course washed away shortly after. Jeremy explored some sea caves and gathered sea shells on hard to get to beaches. Laguna Beach is so beautiful and the houses along the cliffs were amazing.I could easily live in a beach town. I love the ocean and the laid back attitude. It really made me miss Hawaii. Maybe that will be our next vacation!!! Brielle and I were walking along the beach and I told her "Brie we are going to start driving home tomorrow," her reply; "Yeah!!!!" Not quite what I was expecting.We drove from Aneheim to St. George to stay with my parents before continuing on home. As we were pulling into our neighborhood Jeremy announced, we're almost home! Brielle's reply, "No home, Grandma's." I guess we weren't the only ones not ready for our vacation to be over.

Playing Catch up

I know it has been forever since we have posted, but for some reason our somewhat busy lives went into overdrive over night or at least it seems. So get ready for quite a long post.

Easter we went to Manti which was a little of a change for us. We are usually camping somewhere and usually in Moab. We love Jeep Safari time down there, but decided that this year it was too cold to camp. Mainly because if Brielle wakes up in the night, it is me that has to climb out of my sleeping bag to sit in the cold, rocking her back to sleep. We though it would be a nice change to visit with family and spend some time in Manti since we only go every 3 months or so now. In Manti they have an annual Easter Egg hunt at the city park (conveniently right across the street from Jeremy's parents house) the day before Easter. So we thought the Easter bunny should probaby come one day earlier so that she had her bucket emptied and ready for the hunt. Brielle got a lot from the Easter bunny! She got plenty of candy, a new tutu/ leotard to play in, a kite, some new crayons, and really I can't remember what else. We are still helping her eat all the candy. Sad news was that it snowed the second we arrived at the park. Everyone was bundled in coats and hats, but it didn't damper our hunting party. Brielle found a dum-dum sucker and was ready to be done. But Jeremy of course helped her get much more!! It was so nice to wake up Easter morning and stay around the house to enjoy conference. Another reason I am glad the Easter bunny came a day earlier! About a month ago, for some reason I figured I didn't have enough to do during the day so I decided our basement was ready for some remodeling and an overall upgrade. Our entire basement (& house) is covered with wallpaper-yikes!!!! This wallpaper has been on for well over 20 yrs. But I was determined and really thought it would take just a week or so to complete. Boy was I wrong!!! But I can now say that with new paint on the walls, new shelving and decor, our basement looks 100 times better! I should have taken before & after pics, but I was too busy taking down wallpaper in the beginning to even think about pics. Maybe I can scrounge some up and add some photos.

Well this past month I turned 28! Just another year, but it does make me nervous for 30! Thankfully most of the friends and family I hang out with are all older than I am, so I am usually the youngest in the crowd. Jeremy is very thankful for the friend that sent me an early birthday card too!!! The Sunday before my birthday I asked Jeremy if we had any plans that next weekend, he said not that he knew of. That was the first sign that told me he has forgotten. I know he knows the date of my birthday, but I also knew that he didn't pay that much attention to what day it is. I was going to let him forget it, that way I would get more out of my gift, he, he, he!!! But thankfully for him we received the card in the mail for a reminder.The day of I went to the zoo with some friends. The baby elephant was so cute!!! Our family went to dinner at Madeline's. Then Jeremy and I went to see "Date Night" the movie. It was a really nice Birthday!

Brielle & Camryn (born a day apart) love playing together. Especially if it has anything to do with WATER!!! I am pretty sure Brielle coaxed Camryn into this. It was really nice weather on my Birthday, so Kim & I let the girls play in the sprinklers. Not that we had much of a choice. They jumped in the puddles after the sprinklers were off too. Brielle even laid in it so that she came out all muddy black!! She cried when I pulled her inside to change before going dinner.

The next day we went to our Ward's service project up at "This is the Place" Park & Monument. Our ward did it last yr too but we were unable to make it. After doing the weeding and other yard work we were able to play! We had a picnic, rode the train, pet the animals and went on pony rides. It was Brielle's first pony ride. She is usually terrified! But every time I asked her if she wanted to ride the pony, she said yes! I was so proud of her and excited for her too!

This week has been a really eventful week. And not eventful in a good way! It really started last weekend when I heard from my mother that my grandfather (her dad) has cancer of the bladder. He is in his late 80's so they are uncertain which options would really be helpful. This was just the beginning. I guess when it rains, it pours, eh?
Monday: I went to a funeral of a friend of my family's.
Tuesday: I got a phone call at work from my sitter asking me how much children's Tylenol was in Brielle's diaper bag. Brielle and another friend at the sitter's named Tyler had gotten into my diaper bag and drank almost the whole bottle!! It was a parent's worse nightmare, that thankfully ended a lot better than it could have. I rushed to the sitter's where we talked to poison control. We had to wait 4 hrs from the approximate time that they drank it to go into the hospital to be tested for her toxicity level. We checked into the ER at 2:30 and didn't leave until 7pm. It was a long day!! Thankfully her toxicity level wasn't high enough to do further treatment. Tyler's level was normal and she was at home by 4pm, lucky her! We did one more test before going home. It was so scary to not know if the Tylenol was affecting her liver while waiting those hours for the test results. WE definitely learned a few things that day!
Wednesday: Brielle wakes up the next morning with a runny nose, but figured it was due to her teeth coming in. I am running around trying to play catch up on all the work I wasn't able to do the day before. & cleaning house since family are coming in town. & finished painting the basement!!
Thursday: Brielle wakes up with watery eyes, runny nose, coughing. We hang around the house and don't do much to see how things go. I bring her in the bathroom so I can take a shower which only lasted about 5min when I noticed she was really quiet. I open the shower door and see her covered in lipstick!!! Hooker red lipstick too! This is Halloween make up I swear!!

More cleaning and decorating the basement. Finally sat down for a break at 10pm. Ouch! Just now noticing I have a sore throat too!
Friday (today): I took Brielle to the doctor today and learned Brielle has a small ear infection (first one!!!) and possibly has strep throat. The docter gave her an antibiotic to wipe them both out. Thankfully Brielle is quite the trooper and even when in pain or sick has a smile on her face & giggling! She is stronger than I am! Canceled lunch with friends. Who wants to eat lunch with the sickies, right?
I ran to the grocery store to pick up her prescription and I get a call from my parents who were in Nephi with my grandparents last night (slowly making their way to my house) saying that my grandpa is in an ambulance headed to Utah Valley Hospital. He is going to have a pace maker put in. (PS this is my dad's father). My parents headed to the hospital to take them some clothes for the overnight. Not sure when they will arrive at our house. There goes mine and Jeremy's date night.
I am really hoping this weekend improves. Especially with Mother's Day and all. I am also thankful that we are sick this week and not next! Next Thursday we are headed to Las Vegas for my brother Mike's wedding. The Sunday after we are headed to California for a well-needed vacation. Can't wait for the beach, sun & Disneyland!!!