Crazy, crazy day!

Well, the day started out great. I cashed in my gift certificate that Travis got me for Mother's day. He had gotten me a manicure too! I haven't had one of those since we got married since I can't have long nails while massaging. But I figured this was the perfect time to do it so they can be pretty for awhile;)

We tested out the ipod (with Einsteins) and headphones for J.J. to see if she would keep them on during the flight. It was a huge success since she didn't look up once after Travis put these on. So, it will be a convenient way to keep her occupied.

Unfortunately, this afternoon, my sister's bulldog Cash died. He had some sort of trauma earlier in the day and then my Mom was watching him while they went to the lake. All of a sudden he starts to throw up blood and my poor Mommy freaks out. She got him to the vet very quickly but they couldn't do anything for him. He had some internal bleeding that was slowly killing him. It's just awful and my mom is so upset. I just want her to know that it's not her fault and that she just happened to have him at the wrong time. I was there with her and I have never been there right when a dog has died. I gave him his last kiss and hug for my sis and my stomach has just been upset all day worrying about my mom. I love you!
And then we took our Lady bug over to Travis' moms for her to stay while we are gone. Makenna is so stinking cute! She was upset when we left and said, "I think Lady is thinking of why we are leaving her! I'm going to miss her!" I love that my babies get to grow up with a doggie. It is so special and they learn how to love animals from birth!

And it is now past nine and I'm still not packed!! Ugh! I am so drained from the craziness of the day that I just wish I could wiggle my nose and have it be done. But packing is the worst part for me. I will be just fine once we get on that plane and get on our way. Thank you Nancy for watching our house and taking care of Lady. I am also going to try and post when I can or I am going to have way too much to blog when I get home. So if anyone reads this anymore, check back and see some cool pics in the coming days.
See ya'lls later!! Off to some cooler weather. It's going to be 110 degrees this week! We are getting the heck out of dodge!
*edited to add....I reached my first goal for weight loss just in the nick of time!! Now I just hope that I don't gain it back on the trip;-)

Excited, nervous, stressed, excited

10 days to go until we go on our big trip!!! It is going to be a blast but there are the usual jitters that go along with it all. The packing is the worst part of any trip but especially on a long one with KIDS!!! I feel like I have to take everything but add all the stuff that you have to take for the kids and it's crazy!! I finally have a confirmation number for our New York hotel so that is a big stresser off my shoulders. The guy that does the reservations decided to go on vacation before I got it so I was stressing the whole time wondering if we had a room for New York. Thankfully, we do and it's a suite in Times Square!!! So we should be in walking distance to quite a bit of stuff. I'm so excited!! We get to stay here but at a greatly reduced price;) I'm not nervous about the plane but Trav hasn't been on a plane in many years and my poor mom doesn't like flying. But both flights are straight through non stops so that should help (not as many take offs;) I still have so much to do yet I'm sitting here on the computer avoiding it. I think I will get into panic mode pretty soon though. I just need to figure out what I need to get at the store before Friday so I don't have to make a return trip before we leave (even though we probably will anyway). I get to have a manicure/pedicure right before we leave (gift certificate from Mother's Day) so my nails will be nice and pretty. I figured I would wait until my vacation so I don't have to cut my nails too soon;) I have also been rereading The Work and the Glory to remind me of all that happened in Palmyra and Kirtland. It's amazing what the newest members of the church had to go through. So many trials and heartache. It will be so cool to see these amazing sites in person. I'm hoping to be able to blog a little bit as we go or I'm going to have a ton to do when I get back! Anyway, so much to do, so little time!! I guess I better get on it!!
It's going to be pretty slow at work tonight. Maybe I can sit in the sauna for a bit and try to relieve some of this tension;)

We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship;)

Compared to a lot of people, I haven't been to too many different places. I've been to California and Utah a ton of times but not much further out from there. A couple of years ago, we went as far as Missouri and Illinois but I have never been to the East coast. Well, that's about to change!!! My parents are going on a trip back east in July and taking us with them!!! They got ridiculously cheap plane tickets and they are both NONSTOP!!! Can you believe that??? It's the best time to go since J.J. will be under two and free and I'm not prego! The humidity kicked my butt in Nauvoo when I was pregnant with Jordyn so it will be nice not to be on this trip. We are starting in Kirtland, then Niagara Falls, Palmyra (with pageant), New York City, Gettysburg and finally Washington D.C. We are so excited! Does anyone know these areas well and know how to get around best? We were thinking about staying outside of NY and then taking a train in or something but not sure exactly where to do that or how to do it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Road trip with kids

Here are a few things that I learned on our latest road trip with our now TWO kids.

1. There is not enough room in the car for us and all of our stuff.
2. Kids really do say, "Are we there yet?" Except for Makenna, it was, "Are we going yet?"
3. Even though I have a DVD player with Einsteins DVD's, it doesn't keep Makenna occupied.
4. Makenna does not like long car rides.
5. I really miss Makenna's binky at times like this.
6. Jordyn doesn't mind long car rides as long as she has a full belly.
7. You CAN nurse a hungry baby while she is buckled into her car seat.
8. You CAN drive from California to Vegas nonstop with kids just as long as you have pull ups and can nurse a baby while in her car seat.

This is one of our rare, totally peaceful moments while we were driving with both kids asleep. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

More about our fun trip to Disneyland to come.....