The Happiest Place on Earth

We are now the proud owner of annual passes for Disneyland Paris.  Not something I thought we'd do but definitely glad we did.  Our kids are really a good age for it which I was initially a tad bit skeptical about.  It was so much fun to see their faces light up!
We rented a house about 5 minutes from the park with some friends.  They have 3 little boys to help liven things up.  The first night, Kherington peed the bed.  I finally stopped putting a diaper on her at night awhile ago and we'd only ever had one accident.  I guess having her sit in a car all day and down water wasn't the best for her bladder.  Thankfully the pee stayed on the comforter and there was a washer and dryer so we stuck it in.  Well, it ended up being too big to be successfully spun dry in the washer and too heavy to be dried in the dryer so we had to get creative.  We hung it up on a dry rack in the garage and at the end of the day there was water all over the day.  It took 3 of us to wring it out...then is dried and was good to go by the time we checked out :).  Later that night, all the kiddos were asleep aside from Kevin...he was downstairs watching bball with his daddy :).

Each day we went for the morning, stayed until 1 or 2, went home for naps then went back around 5 for a couple rides and the night show.

They LOVED the night show.  We had originally planned on only doing it one night, but Kherington really wanted to do it again and we were only going to have to stay another 30 minutes until it started so we went for it.  I'm thinking it would be nice to go again when it is not FREEZING.  A little sun and warm would go a long long ways.

 I thought it was kinda funny that the first day when we left the park around noon for naps,  the kids decided to 'ride' the moving walkway as we excited the park.  It really does make you tired walking around.  It is a good mile long hike to get from the car to the buzz light year ride (I looked it up online).

Saturday we got checked out at 7:30 (no fines which is always a good feeling) and go the park early. 
Since we had annual passes, we got to enjoy 8am-10am at the park with only other annual pass holders and those staying in Disney hotels.  We found that if you're walking through the gates to the park at 8am you can ride about 5 rides in about 30 minutes....compared to 2 if you arrive at 8:30.
The favorite ride hands down was Buzz Lightyear.  We probably road it 20 times (no joke).  The kids also enjoyed autotopia (Kherington could drive the car) and Small World.  Some of the ride were pretty scary though.  Kherington was not such a fan of Snow White, Pirate of the Caribbean or Peter Pan. 

We went to meet Mickey one of the days. They had it setup pretty nicely with a cartoons playing on the big screen so you could watch as you stood in line. Plus it was inside so we were able to thaw out a little. Aside from Mickey, Kherington also go autographs from two of Cinderella's mice. I made both her and Kevin little autograph books which turned out pretty cute...but for the most party they just colored in them themselves.

After a couple rides we went over to Disney Studios for a show featuring Mickey & Donald then walked out to catch the parade. I don't think we could have planned that any more perfectly.  We stopped for some Happy Meals on the drive back to Brussels and the kids ended up eating then sleeping the rest of the way.

We had fun...enough so that I'm hoping we go a couple more times :).

March Madness 2013 Picks

We've been fairly creative each year with how our kids have picked their bracket.  This time around we figured they were old enough to do it the normal way.  Kherington did it by herself (Ryan just had to cover up the columns she'd already selected) and Kevin pointed while Ryan actually clicked it with the mouse.  The only rule was that the first selection was the one that stayed.

Here's who we each picked to win it all:
Kevin: NC State
Kherington: Minnesota
Erin: Gonzaga
Ryan: Indiana

St. Patty's Day

St. Patrick's day fell on a Sunday this year.  Ryan started talking about how lucky the leprechaun was going to come the night before.  He and the kids built a 'trap' out of Lego's to catch him, but in the morning the kids just found it smashed.  When Kherington went to bed, she was very concerned that Lucky was going to come in her room while she was asleep...and even woke up to a nightmare...no worries, Lucky stayed out of the room. He did leave shamrocks all over the house and some cool glass's, hats and green M&M's.  Ryan made the kids green eggs and green milk in the morning for breakfast.

I brought some shamrock stickers and paper to church which kept the kids decently quite during sacrament meeting.

I thought a lot about what to make for dinner that would be something out of the ordinary but still healthy and yummy.  I decided on Green Lasagna.  The sauce is just pureed cauliflower that has been boiled in vegetable broth and dyed green.  I layered the sauce, noodles, chicken, sauteed zucchini, broccoli and  spinach, and ricotta and Gouda cheese.  After church all I had to do was pop it in the over.  Kevin had 2 plates full.  Kherington (who normally eats everything) took some convincing, but one she tried it she said it was her favorite.

Right before bedtime the kids found a bar of gold and shamrock in their room.  Lucky didn't want them to go to bed without a treat.

'Trimming' the Hair

Kherington's hair was getting a long.  Long enough that it dips into her food.  Lot of kids have long hair and it works for them.  Kherington hates having her hair brushed and we constantly have fights over ponytails or headbands...she needs one or the other with long hair.  Anyways, I convinced her to let me trim her hair a little.  At least that's what I had planned on doing.

I got her setup in the bathroom with Little Mermaid playing on the laptop and started cutting.  My first go around I took off a little.  Then I notice she had her head tilted to the side.  I asked her to keep it straight and started 'fixing' it.  Well, after a could go around of going shorter and shorter, I decided that close enough was what I need to go for if I wanted her to keep any hair.

It actually turned out pretty cute.  Oh and part way through the process she started asking why Ariel got to have long hair and she couldn't.  In the end she loved the haircut.  I look and it and see choppy layer spots and an uneven length but all in all it is pretty cute on her AND she doesn't need a ponytail or headband for it to stay out of her face.

I NEED Warm Weather

Yesterday there were little snow flurries when I walked Kherington to school.  I wasn't even wearing a jacket because it didn't look like it was that cold outside.  I was kind of bitter that it started snowing again.  I mean it's mid-march!

Well, today I woke up and I was supposed to go for a 4 mile run...I looked outside to find that it had snowed a couple inches.  UGH.  I am so ready for some warm weather.  I'm not talking hot I'm talking like mid 50's.  That would feel so warm right now.

At least the kids are having fun.  I didn't have Kherington go to school today so that she would be able to play in the snow.  Currently I'm thinking that was a big mistake.  The two munchkins have been fighting all morning.

Two Mom's, 5 Kids

Ryan L. and her kids made the trip from Fontainebleau, France to visit.  It was perfect timing.  She asked if she could come a couple days earlier than originally planned (her husband was studying for his finals), then Ryan came home from work the day before she got her and told me 'busy season' started the next day so we wouldn't be seeing much of him.

I had an awesome time.  It is amazing how much more enjoyable it is to have another adult around.  I felt like I'd been off lately and the weather had been cold and gray which makes having a positive happy outlook much more difficult, so I was in definite need of some easy friend filled days.

 The first day we just chilled.  We opened the doors and let the kids run wild in our backyard.  We were both amazed when we got to 6pm and neither of us were annoyed with our kids (that never happens).

The second day we made a trip over for Aachen, Germany.  We got some groceries (mainly almonds, spelt flour and oats) and a kebab and headed home.  The kids did great....it also helps that German people are friendly and thought our kids were cute.

I hadn't had these Kebabs for a couple months so I was pretty excited for them.  I now order 2, let the kids eat what they want and I get the rest.  Both of them at at least half the kebab...that's a ton! 

Most of the nights, after dinner we threw the kids in the tub for bath.   This must have been one of the first night because after that we decided a max of 3 in the tub worked the best :).

Saturday we had an extra set of hands with Ryan around. I went for a long run (9 miles) in the morning  and when I walked in, Ryan L. was cooking breakfast for the kids.  Kind of awesome.  After getting everyone ready, we walked to the bakery for some delicious pastries. Yummy! I love cream filled things. We hung out the rest of the day. Ryan L. and I made a deal that if she stayed longer, Ryan and I had to go on a date...pretty sweet trade on our part. So we did. We left her with 5 kids and took the bus downtown to a little Italian restaurant.  After dinner we didn't really know what to so we went for a walk and ended up walking 4 miles home.

Sunday we made it out the door to church on-time and the kids look adorable.  They hadn't planned on being her for a Sunday but we managed to get all the kids Sunday clothes from Kevin and Kherington's stash.  The kids even did good sitting through Sacrament meeting.  We came home to a delicious pasta lunch that Ryan L. prepared the night before while we were on our date. 

Monday was another awesome day.  In the evening the kids were running around with some superman caps that I'd made a couple years ago.  Lily and Jay liked them so much, Ryan L. and I decided to make some with some leftover supplies I had.  It took us until about 1am to finish them off.  It is so nice to have someone to do this kind of thing with. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were definitely a little more rough.  It really wasn't that bad, but kids stopped taking good naps which made them more cranky and us more cranky...and Kevin became very possessive of everything and went from one kid to next taking toys, pushing and hitting. At least we kept the nice weather.  

Tuesday we spent the morning running errands (hardware store and ikea) to be able to fix the smoke detectors and holes in the wall.  Ryan L. was amazing and filled all the holes we've made.  They now look awesome.  I smile every time I look around the room.  We also cleaned the house.  My landlord was coming by with someone that was appraising the property so I wanted to make sure it looked  good.

We went to the park a couple times which was a hit and also walked up to a cheap craftish store.  After the store, we were going to be late picking up Kherington so we ended up running the last quarter mile or so.  I had Kevin on my shoulders with a sucker in one had and a bouquet of eggs in the other hitting me with both as he bounced up and down and Ryan L. was pushing double stroller with two kids piled on top of each other in the front and one in the rear.  We must have been a pretty funny sight.  We made it just in time.  Wednesday's all the kids/teachers leave so if you're late they take the kids over to a different school which is another 15 minute walk away.  They locked the gate right behind us.  Whew!

Stefan took the train to Brussels and then public to our place.  He walked in the door a couple minutes before I walked out to teach Faith in God.  I once again left all the kids home (Ryan had to go to the Church too).  Yeah...we really got the better end of everything.  It was so so nice to have a friend to do everything with.  I'm hoping they'll come visit again soon.

We've also decided it would be awesome to live on a cul-de-sac with a couple of our good friends.  Our husbands all get along (kinda funny...they are all pretty easy going guys that get along with everyone), the kids could roam from one house to the next and we would always have other adults to chat with at any time of day.  One day :).

Just like when we went to visit Fontainebleau, after everyone left the kids were exhausted.  They had way too much fun and can't wait to do it again :).

Gaasbeek Castle w/ Daddy

We headed over to chocolate Neuhaus chocolate outlet since we hadn't been in awhile. After a generous helping of chocolates, we took Ryan to Gaasbeek Castle.  We had been a couple times, but never with Ryan.  Some day we'll go on a nice day with a picnic and explore more of the grounds.