february wrap up

so part of my blogging resolution to include more pictures is actually coming to fruition!  unfortunately, we still haven't made the plunge to get a new camera, but to hold us over we have b's parents fancy pants camera that takes amazing pictures.

february was kind of an action packed month for us.  b and i went away for the first time ever from all 3 kids.  i was ready to compose a full blown blog for my trip to vegas, but then i realized i'd probably get a little to heady about the whole thing... you know seeing old white men schmoozing young hookers in upscale bars, or hearing, ahem, some late night entertainment in the next room, or just being indoors for 3 days straight- it was enough to make anyone crazy.  but despite the lows, it was pretty dreamy just being with the dude with no other responsibilities.  i felt scandalous at how selfish i got to be--- spending all day at the spa, ordering an $80 lunch room service, shopping at the world's largest forever 21....  i'll admit to go from getting maybe a half hour to myself each day, which is dreamily spent reading a book or cat napping to 3 whole days of the most indulgent place on earth-- it was almost too much, yet i somehow managed:)  to sum it up, vegas is def not my first choice in a vacation, but being put up at the wynn for 2 nights and having all these cheesy hvac guys buyin us drinks and dinners made it tolerable.    needless to say, i got my 'vegas' fix for the next 100 years or so.
while we were gone, b's parents stepped in, or should i say stepped up to the challenge of 3 crazy mofo's.  here are some pics that proved they not only did stellar, but that the kids loved every minute of it...

preparing for her future.

pop pop logged some serious floor hours running cars with oz

had to call in the reserves... aunty allison to the rescue!

wouldn't be a visit from nonna without her famous sugar cookies

this frosting is pretty good.

besties.

i could gaze into those eyes forever.

probably the weirdest picture ever.  people always say tali is like a doll, but seriously this is creepy.

most of the fun of these pictures was seeing how the rodgers tried to manage t's hair....

table work.

wink wink.

hair bear

so there you have it.  the kids really had a blast, and since everything went so smoothly, we will definitely be employing the rodgers' overnight services as often as possible!  and as for any pictures we took in vegas?  yeah, we don't have a single one to show for our trip. its almost like we were never there.


next up in february, we went to disneyland for oz's 4th birthday.  we took lily when she turned four- kind of seems like the perfect age.  since oz had never been, he really had no idea what to expect, but no joke at least once a week he asks me when we can go back.  it really is the happiest place on earth.
we left early on a tuesday morning with b's parents and brother in tow.  my mom stayed back with tali so we could really maximize our time.  when we went last time, lily was pretty into all the rides, but wasn't tall enough for some of the bigger ones.  this time, lily and oz were tall enough for every ride there except indiana jones.  now, we had pretty low expectations since our kids are extremely cautious-- like to a fault.  they never take risks, and always assess every situation for danger.  we figured we'd be spending most of our time on the kiddie rides, but straight out of the gate they wanted to head for pirates of the caribbean.  with that under our belt, they were fearless!  we worked our way up slowly... thunder mountain, then the mattlehorn, and then thanks to uncle d's urging, we all went on space mountain.  it was crazy!  i couldn't believe it.  i wish sooooo badly i bought the picture they take when you are on the ride.  oz and i had landed the front row with b and lils right behind us.  the look on oz's face was priceless-- sheer terror!  it was so crazy to be zooming around on that ride and literally having to hold their heads up cuz the gravity was so strong pulling them in every direction. i thought for sure oz would start freaking out-- yet the dude just manned up.  of course he didn't want to go back on, and to this day he will randomly announce that space mountain is the scariest place on earth.  another dream was fulfilled on our trip as we opted to spend the big bucks and eat at the blue bayou (the restaraunt that's in the pirates ride).  b confessed its always been a childhood dream of his to eat there, so we told the broyles (who we were meeting at disneyland for the day) to make reservations and just like that, another wish granted.  the day was altogether amazing.  the longest we waited for a ride was for 20 minutes-- and that was for the nemo submarine ride--- last time i checked people wait like 2 hrs to go on it!  the kids most favorite ride was thunder mountain.  since the park was practically empty, we would ride and then literally hop right back on.  no line at all!  needless to say we scored!  the next day was more of the same.  it was a really cool trip and one that i know we will all look back with such fondness...  here are a few pics to go with it!

she basically ate that whole thing

brothers

watching their favorite ride thunder mountain zoom by

why yes, it is a small world after all

too cute

i'm like that guy in the chair from the maxell ad in the 80's

he's a looker alright.

why yes, i am wearing shorts.  

i know, i thought it was captain jack sparrow too!

lily used her toy $$ for a pirate get up.  

and that my friends was february!