$1.00 movies

 On Tuesday's and Wednesday's at our local theater they offer movies for $1.00. They are mostly movies that came out during the last year or so, so they aren't new releases, but it's still fun for the kids to get to go to a movie. Plus that way I can bring Carter and not stress that I wasted a bunch of money on a movie I didn't get to see(or pay a ton for a sitter for just one kid). So we've gone a couple of times this summer. The first time Carter lasted about 30 minutes in his seat and then I wandered around the side of the theater with him. The second time, he was done after about 20 minutes but had figured out how to get OUT the theater door (yes he's strong enough to push it open), so I spent a lot of time in the foyer of the theater. But luckily my friend Becky came with me both times, so at least my older kids got to stay inside and watch the movie. 

My pictures aren't too great, but I'll post them anyway.

I'm thinking next year will be a lot easier (since Carter will be close to 3) and we'll get to go a lot more. 

Last Trip to the Aquarium

.......for a while that is. It was the day before my passes expired, so I had to take the kids one more time. We aren't going to renew our passes for this next year. It's pretty far of a drive, plus we like to mix up our passes and get different ones each year. It was a beautiful day and the drive down was super easy. Got there really quickly. It made me sad that I wasn't going to renew our passes. BUT then when the drive home took us 2 hours (yes, more than double what it took to get there), I wasn't so sad anymore. I guess there was a stalled bus in the middle of the freeway and then a stalled car a little while after that. It had traffic pretty much at a stand still for a while. I was pretty wiped out by the time we got back to our valley, but I guess not so much so that I didn't have energy to stop for some ice cream. I figured I deserved it after a two hour drive. The kids were pretty nuts in the ice cream shop though so I guess I shouldn't have pushed it. At least the ice cream was tasty.

 Anyway, back to the Aquarium. We did our usual bring lunch down and have a picnic before going in. I warned the kids they had to stay right by me at all times (it gets pretty crowded in there). Ashlyn did a fabulous job of listening. Everyone else.....not so much. But they did pretty good and we were there long enough to see everything we wanted to see. 

Enjoying lunch in the nice cool weather down in Long Beach.

I asked a random guy that was walking past us if he would take a picture for me. I guess I should be happy it wasn't me trying to take a picture of all of us....but really dude! You HAD to cut off the top of my head. Oh brother!

So I had to try and snap a few on my own. 

Didn't do so well. My hair is cutting part of Ashlyn's face off.

I was really excited to see the new penguin exhibit, but I must say I was pretty disappointed. It was just one small section and they only had a hand full of penguins. Oh well, this one took a liking to Ashlyn and kept swimming back and forth in front of her.

Then we went over to the touch tanks where I tried and tried to get Carter to pet the sting rays. He was willing, but the sting rays were too fast for him. And with me trying to keep an eye on my wandering Brandon, I couldn't focus on Carter long enough to help him get the sting ray when it came up in front of us. 

Okay, now this was cool. I think I have been to the Aquarium probably 20 times since living here and I have never seen this tank. These little things are real eels. You can read about them below but basically they bury their tales into the ground waiting for plankton to swim by. They really did look like sea grass swaying back and forth with the "current". 

And of course I can't go anywhere with out getting at least one crazy photo of Leah.

We finished off the visit with a little playing in the water. It was starting to warm up and so the kids were more than happy to get a little wet. 

Maybe we'll renew our passes in a few years. That way it will be exciting to the kids all over again. Either that, or they will be too old for it and bored to tears. We shall see.

I'd_blog_but.....

My_spacebar_is_broken_and_it's_irritating_to_type_like_this._New_one_is_coming_in_the_mail._Wish_it_would_come_sooner!!!!

Finally

Middle of July. That's when the beach is FINALLY warm enough to really enjoy. It was the perfect weather. The drive there was quick (took exactly one hour) and everyone had fun. We'll be going back again soon.

I love this picture of my cute kiddos. Too bad Brandon wasn't in it. He spent a lot of time at the edge of the shore playing in the water. They were all really good and it's getting easier and easier to go.

Especially when I have these three cute girls with me. I told my favorite babysitter (Callie, the one in the middle) that I'd take her to the beach with me if she wanted to come. I thought she might think it was lame to go with a mom of four little kids, but she jumped on the chance. I guess when you're 15 and can't drive, any ride to the beach is a good one. She brought her sister Bridgette along and we picked up their friend Christie also. All three girls are in our ward and all are just so cute and sweet. Plus bonus for me, they were quite helpful getting to and from the car. I told them they could come with me to the beach anytime! 

And here the kids are digging a big ole' hole. Deveon started this hole, but after a while everyone jumped in and was helping make it bigger. 

We could only stay a few hours, but that was plenty for me. We drove home, got Ashlyn to ballet class and then hit up Subway for dinner. It was a great day, but by the time I got the kids ready for bed, I was exhausted too and was asleep by 9pm. But I guess that was good cuz 5:30 am came early and I was up and at 'em for my weekly spin class. 

This morning we went to the pool with Brooke and her kids. Now it's time for a little peace and quiet. And possibly a shower too! Leah has her last gymnastics class this afternoon (until it starts again in about a month). We may or may not have to hit up McDonald's for an ice cream cone! ;-)

Another trip to Magic Mountain

SO, I was going to take the kids to the $1.00 theater today, but then my friend sent me a last minute text to see if I wanted to go to Magic Mountain for a few hours. Being with friends is ALWAYS more fun, so we decided to bag the movies until next Wednesday and head to the theme park. After all, the weather wasn't too bad and seriously it's the middle of July. I never thought I'd be going to Magic Mountain in the middle of July. It did warm up by noon, but we got a couple good hours in before the heat set in. We left the park around 1pm and stopped at Wendy's for some lunch. I didn't realize how thirsty I was. I think I drank three cups of water before inhaling my burger (ok, I guess I was a bit hungry too). 

It was a fun outing though. Carter fell asleep on the way home of course, so I tried to transfer him to his crib thinking SURELY he's exhausted enough to stay asleep. Well, he's currently crying upstairs. *sigh* I'll give him a few more minutes before I concede to his ruined nap. Man naptime is hard in the summer with the other kids home all day. I know he needs them, but to be home by noon everyday is tough when there are all these fun outings to go on and friends to hang out with. (I know...my life is so rough huh!)

We got there a bit early (we thought it opened at 10, but it opened at 10:30). Did you know if you have a discover card you get to go in a special SHORT line? Sweet huh! 

They even let us in a few minutes before everyone else. We rushed off to a big roller coaster so Becky's little boy, Dewy, could get a fun ride in for the day (and lucky me got to go with him.) 

Carter got to go on quite a few rides with me today. He's getting big.

Right before we were about to leave we found this water play area. I think the kids could have stayed there for hours. I admit I got a little wet too. It felt so good. Carter dove right in and was soaked. Lucky for him I at least had a change of shorts for him. His shirt actually dried pretty quickly.

Brandon will use any excuse to take his shirt off. Funny boy!

The girls got a little wet, but not too bad. Ashlyn's shoes got soaked, which she wasn't thrilled about, but I'm sure it helped her cool off.

AND, good news. Carter stopped crying. We'll see how long his nap lasts. Hopefully long enough for me to lay down for a few minutes too. 

Chuck E Cheese

I must say we are doing QUITE well checking off items from our "summer fun ideas" list. Today was suppose to be a trip to Hurricane Harbor, but the weather wasn't so great (it actually rained a bit this morning) so we decided to hit up Chuck E. Cheese instead. The kids were SO excited. We only come here 2-3 times a year I think. So when we do it's a special treat. 

Carter was pretty good too. I had to follow him around some, but I also put the older kids in charge of him for short periods too. Hey....they gotta earn their tokens after all. Brandon even played with him some and they all had a fun time. We got pizza, the kids cashed in their tickets and we still got home in time for Carter to get a couple hour nap before heading out for Leah's gymnastics class. 

And so while I should be folding laundry, I am instead blogging because let's face it....that's more fun!

Now this little tike is ALL over the place. He wakes up saying "go, go". He always wants to be going somewhere and doing something. He literally throws fits if I don't get moving fast enough. Good thing he's a fourth kid. Life wasn't nearly as exciting when I just had Ashlyn. 

This is what he did while I was trying to get ready this morning. Climbed up on to the counter and splashed his feet in the sink water and played with Paul's toothbrush. He even stuck his mouth under the faucet a couple times for a quick drink. Seriously, where did he learn that! Oh....maybe from Brandon who does that to our water dispenser quite often. YUCK!

He's a cutie, but don't let him fool you. He's getting close to his terrible two's. He throws fits when he doesn't get his way, he is demanding, and he literally walked up to a little boy at Brandon's soccer class this morning and pushed him. REALLY!!! This poor little boy was totally minding his own business and BAM... It wasn't a hard push, but still. Carter of course, immediately corrected it with a hug. He's a smart one and he's testing the water. 

A little bit of summer

We've been having fun around here. The girls have had a couple of play dates, we've been here, there, and everywhere, and occassionally we slow down and have a day at home. I've been getting up early almost every week day morning to go exercise. I've decided two-three times should be my max cuz after that I feel like a walking zombie. But I gotta take full advantage of my yogaworks pass I have, so I gotta stick it out a few more days. I have enjoyed yoga though. I'll miss going. Too expensive for a non cardio workout. 

Anyway, I took the kids to the beach kind of on a whim the other day. I've decided I can handle it by myself pretty well. The hardest part is definitely getting the kids half way cleaned up and back to the car. At least at zuma the car isn't too far away and I can even make trips back and forth if I need to. I can't say I have any super strong muscle helpers, but I can count on the girls to watch Carter while I wrangle the heavy stuff. So that's nice. 

Carter got a bit tired while we were there and decided to just lay down right there on the sand. He didn't really sleep. Just rested for a little bit until I came over and disturbed him by taking his picture. Oops.

My sweet Ashlyn.

I can always count on Leah to strike a pose when there's a camera pointing in her direction.

I guess when Brandon's in the mood, he strikes his own kind of pose. Usually involving some kind of weapon.

Sweet Siblings. Carter was pretty good while there. I had to follow him around some, but he stuck with the kids pretty well and played around me too. I'm thinking next summer (when Carter is close to being 3) will be the easiest summer  at the beach since having kids. I'm not gonna lie. I'm looking forward to it. 

These two like to confiscate my bed. The older one gets kicked out eventually. Can't say that much for the younger one. So much for saying I'd never let my kids sleep in my bed all night. 

Oh well. It won't last forever. 

We had Tyler and Audrey over this morning for a few hours while their mom had a work meeting. Audrey sought Leah out first off. She found her painting a picture and quickly joined her. 

And after lunch we all had snow cones. Thanks to my friend Tina who reintroduced them to me. My snow cone machine was packed tightly away in my cupboard. Now it is out for daily use. Boy I need to get some more flavors. YUM!

I should try putting a scoop of ice cream at the bottom first. 

(What?!! Isn't that why I exercise? So I can eat more. Oh....that's not how it's suppose to work? Oops!)

And lucky Ashlyn got to go to work with Daddy the other day. A VERY rare occurrence. Actually besides "take your kid to work day", she's never done it. But I was lazy and didn't want to drive her down to Paul's work that night so he could take her to a special presentation on Space down in Beverly Hills. LUCKY girl! She had such a wonderful time. When I asked her if she liked it or loved it, she said she LOVE LOVED it! 

Her and Paul happened to sit about 15 feet from Buzz Aldrin. Ya know....the second person to step foot on the moon after Neil Armstrong. Pretty awesome huh! She thought so. She also saw a real mars rover and told me all about the next one that was launched this past Thanksgiving and how we can go on the internet and watch it land on Mars on August 4th (I think. I better double check my dates with Ashlyn. She has a better memory than me.)

Ashlyn said she was the only kid there!

That's it for now. I have a Relief Society meeting tonight I'm looking forward to going to. A motivational speaker with treats afterward. (boy I'm not doing so good in the treats department. Or actually, you could say I'm doing REALLY good. haha). Tomorrow Brandon has soccer and then we are heading to Hurricane Harbor. Then, Paul and I get to go on a date Saturday night. I'm definitely looking forward to that. It's been a busy week. It'll be nice to get to relax and have dinner together. We saw Spiderman last week and loved it.