Arizona Museum of Natural History

While the girls went to see the new Hannah Montana movie the boys (and one girl - I was corrected) decided to do something a little more manly... You know no vacation is complete without finding at least one dinosaur museum to go to. This one was pretty cool (they had an entire wing devoted to animal poop - perfect for boys)

Max and Collin looking through a meteor that landed in Tucson
They had this really cool dinosaur mountain, complete with stream that floods. The T-rex actually moves little bit - just enough for 2 little boys to get really nervous that it might actually be coming to life :) (Oh, how I love messing with them :P )

We had to go upstairs for a picture with the apatasaurus

Outside they had a place where you can pan for gold!

I told Collin about his great-great-great grandfather, Henry Meyring, who went to Colorado to be a carpenter. When the job dried up he figured he would prospect for gold. He asked a couple of miners where he should dig. Laughing at him, they told him to dig over by that tree over there... So Henry did - and found one of the richest gold mines in the state!

Collin was pretty excited that he's famous (not that anyone has ever heard of him, though I do have a book about the Salina miners if anyone in the family would like to know more...)

They had a fun time trying out all the hands on puzzles and experiments that they had around the museum

They pulled this one apart and were actually able to put it back together again. Collin was excited when they read the name on the spine: K-E-L-S-E-Y

Max & Collin served a little time in the Mesa Jail

I did eventually let them out for good behavior (and because there were no locks on the doors - darn it!)

They had a bunch of Native American art and artifacts but Collin wasn't as intrested - it's not old enough

Collin had somehow talked me into getting him another stuffed animal! He decided that Arizona is the capital of the push-over (though he uses some other weird term for my giving into him again and again here) and bagels - I don't think the two things are related but that's how he says it.

I think what it is is that now that we've got him off of the medication he was on he hasn't had any major melt downs so I'm more inclined to indulge him. I didn't notice the cause of the change in him because it seemed so gradual but now that we stopped giving him the medication it was been amazing! Just last night after shower time, Chad told Collin, "It's so nice to have you back again!" And that's really what it seems like - that our nice, sweet boy is back. I'm hoping that after Spring Break, when we go back to our normal routine, that he will continue to be more even natured...

Arizona Cousins

You just have to look at the pictures to know that Collin is having a blast visiting his cousins in Arizona! I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Max has a climbing wall in his room, a thousand webkinz, and loves to play computer games (and they have 2 set up side by side so they can both play)

Here they are playing with all of the webkinz... I don't think they have gotten into a single argument the entire time, no matter what they decide to do. It has been so nice to just relax and know that the kids are having a great time! It's going to be hard to get them to go home in a few days...

Kelsey has Found Heaven

Kelsey has been in heaven here in Arizona! The cousins actually fight over who gets to carry her and play with her...
Kelsey has at least 3 different hair styles everyday and takes about 5 trips to the park across the street.
Tonight as I was putting K to bed she played our game, "Guess what, I love you!" Then she found a new complement for me, "Mom, You are a great cousin!"

Egg Hunt

One of our friends hosted an egg hunt at her house in place of the weekly park day - wow, she was pretty amazing!

She had several craft projects for the kids, mostly preschool age, to do.
Kelsey was more interested in playing with her girls' cool toys
We had a great hunt in her big back yard.

Kelsey really got into it too
The spoils

After the kids each got 10 eggs we tried to get them all together to take a group shot - I won't even try to name them all - I'd be lucky to place them in the right family :) We did have a great time!

Cottontail Days at the Harbor

We went over to the Harbor for the Easter Celebration...

We had fun seeing the Easter Bunny
We painted sun catchers - Kelsey needed a little help
They both did some spin art too

Collin really liked the petting zoo. I think Kelsey did too until the goats got a little to friendly - I had to wash goat saliva out of her hair - uck!

The best of course was the pony ride!

Kelsey loved it! (Yes, it's really me in the picture - a true rarity)

Channel Islands Visitor Center

From the Harbor we went over to the visitor center and saw some of the ocean life around and on the Channel Islands
Collin took some cool pictures of the animals in the tank

Once again I had my opposite kids... Kelsey was so happy and wanted her picture taken and Collin was grumpy and didn't want to do anything.

Too cute!
I couldn't get Kelsey to stop posing (not that I tried) ... she kept getting on the rocks and ask me to take her picture.

The Volcano Place

Collin's favorite restaurant is the volcano place (Japanese Steak house)

Kelsey was getting into it and using her chopsticks and fork to chop and slice like a pro
We brought along Micah too for a new experience

Luckily they have special holders for the kids chopsticks so they're easier to use - still it's best not to dress your kid in white!

More Sharon

I realized I didn't post all the pictures of our visit from Sharon...

Sarah and Heather are incredible gymnasts and dancers and my kids love watching them do their tricks on the trampoline - or just jumping and having fun with them...

Collin, Heather, Max, Kelsey & Sarah
My kids and their recently returned grandparents
(I don't know why mom's face looks like she was in a flour fight once the pictures were downloaded - she didn't look like that in normal light... weird!)
Me and my 3 oldest sisters, Debbie, Mom, me, Chris and Sharon

It's always fun to visit with family. Man, if we lived nearer to them it would be great because they would totally spoil my kids. I don't think Kelsey hardly walked the entire time, one of the girls was always carrying her off somewhere and Collin loved playing with them too! Still I shouldn't complain since we do have 7 aunts, 3 uncles, 11 cousins, one set of grandparents, a step-grandpa and a great-grandpa that all live in town - the fun of coming from a large family...

More Disneyland

You'll have to be patient with me because if I don't post about each Disneyland trip I forget about what happened and why I took certain pictures and it's much harder to scrapbook later (much, much later)

I was trying to get a picture of Collin and Kelsey in one of the "Picturesque Spots" when we met one of the park photographers...

Collin had to bring his toucan with him to Disneyland this time - which worked out really nice since one of the park photographers stopped to comment about it. "You know that the toucan is the National bird of my home country?" I asked where he was from, though I had a suspicion. He said he was from Costa Rica so I had Collin list his sweatshirt to show him his t-shirt underneath - of course it was his toucan Costa Rica shirt! They started talking about all the places in Costa Rica... It turns out that the 'cast members' are given a certain amount of passes each year so our new friend gave us his cell phone number and told us to call him and he would get in 3 of our friends for free the next time we came - sweet!

I try to get the kids to do new things each time we go... Finally it was not raining when we were there so Tarzan's Tree House (formally Swiss Family Robinson's Tree House) was finally open and we were able to go up and around

Kelsey has no fear but she would stop every once in a while, "Come on, Mom!"

We did get to see a couple of characters this time though we didn't stand in any lines to see the princesses or fairies - maybe next time.

We did finally go over to California Adventure this time though we didn't stay too long. We also saw Mr & Mrs Incredible (Kelsey was scared of them) and we rode the Monsters Inc ride (Collin was crying like a little girl all the way in the line) It was pretty cool - just like the movie and not scary at all!!

This was the first time I went with the 2 kids and no Chad. I was tired but I think we did okay and had a fun day. I was worried about being able to fit 3 on some of the rides but on the bumper cars at Bugs Life Collin was big enough to ride his own and on Autopia we were able to all squeeze into one - so it worked out ok.

Family Dinner at BJ's

Grandpa-Great wanted us to get together for Helen's birthday...

Since Linnae had to work we had it at her work - lucky her, she got to try to serve all 20 of us while working and visiting the best she could...

Collin, Betsy, Ellie & Alaina
Karissa, Alaina & Kelsey dancing

The Missing Tooth Gang!

Malloy, Linnae & Collin

I finally got her to stop for 2 seconds to get a picture

Malloy and Collin had a slo-mo sword fight

Kelsey and her boy-friend

Beth, Andy & Chad

The girls: Ellie, Alaina, Karissa, Kayley
Grandpa-Great and about 1/2 of our grandkids

I Need Some Advice

Someday I'll get back to posting pictures - I've gotten a bit behind in the whole downloading and everything - but right now I need to ask for some advise...

I know there's a lot of great moms that I really look up to that read this blog so I appeal to you for some help.

Most of you know my son, Collin. He's super cool, smart, athletic, curious, cute :) but lately he has been making me crazy. I think it's just a phase he's going through but I still need to figure out a better way of dealing with it.

The problem: he has become an incurable whiner! Mixed in with it is the whole you-never-buy-me-anything, why-don't-I-have___, and the simple I'm-bored! The thing is is that he will say these things right after he finished playing with his new toy with his friends etc. It's completely unjustified and unreasonable which means that even when I try to reason with him it doesn't work.

It's as if he is trying to make even the fun things we do awful and it's taking away the fun of the whole family. I can give you example after example (some of them actually kind of funny because they're so extreme and ironic) but basically I have a ungrateful whiny little kid that thinks he can just yell at me and I'll magically make it better - "If you love me you'd buy me a webkinz!"

So what's your advice? I usually start off patient but after about 2 hours I start to lose my cool - so what do you do???

Do you have any helpful examples, websites, FHE lessons - anything! I'm starting to hear K use the same grumpy demands so I have got to nip this in the bud quick!