Disneyland

Yes! That is Lightning McQueen, Red (aka "Brad") the Firetruck, and one of the tractors from Cars the movie!

Matt had a conference the second weekend of November in Anaheim, so we all decided to go and visit Disneyland....with Radiator Springs being our main stop.

The kids were so excited to get there that they didn't want to go back to sleep, even though we got up at 3am. Eventually we got them to take some short naps on the plane. I thought Hollin looked so funny riding in the car service.

 

I could focus on these aspects of the trip:

*It was cold and pouring down rain our first night at Disneyland

*Hollin got really sick

*she earned herself an expensive pair of Minnie Mouse pajamas from a gift shop after having a blowout diaper

*the combination of daylight savings time and traveling two time zones had the kids up every morning at THREE am.

*flying with a grumpy three year old and a sick one year old is not for the faint of heart

*Zane spilled a bright red drink on the carpet in our hotel room

*and he cried every.day. to ride this Teenage Mutant "Inja" Turtle ride that we saw at the mall. Like, would have chosen this over Disneyland. (Thanks Uncle Rico)

But I won't mention that stuff. Nope. I'll just say that I was super excited to finally see Disney for the first time. Our second day there was perfect! Sunshine and upper 60s. We had a great time! We spent all day at the California Adventure Park. Zane's favorites were Carsland (obviously) and Monsters, Inc.

Zane and Mr. "Uh-tato" Head

Eating at Flo's V8 Cafe

We got back to the hotel at 4pm and both kids crashed! For the night! Good thing we went to bed early because they were up waaaay before the sun the next day! They sure are sweet when they're sleeping.

I'm thankful that we were able to take this trip as a family. Memories made. Not planning any trips with two kids for a few more years....

 

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Nana & I

My parents, "Nana & I", came to Wisconsin the last week of September. South Arkansas was experiencing weather in the high 80s and 90s, so I'm not sure that they were prepared for the little pop of cold weather that we got right before their arrival! It was 34° and raining the morning we picked them up at the airport.

We stayed pretty busy with activities. We went to the park and played a couple of times. We bundled Hollin in this snowsuit from last year. It was a little too small and wouldn't button between her legs! It kept her warm and cozy though! I love this picture of Hollin and my mom. They are twins!

I know this looks crazy because we are all bundled up and he's got on short sleeves. But this little toot head would NOT put a coat on! He had to "do it MY way!" I guess superheroes don't get cold?

Fun grandparents, huh? Wish we lived closer so that they could play more often. Soon....

The cold weather was the perfect excuse to light the fire pit. We cooked brats (like good little temporary Wisconsin residents) and made s'mores.

And Hollin proved that she looks cute in a hat.

We went to the zoo....

And to Schuster's Playtime Farm. We went last year with Matt's parents when Hollin was just 12 days old.

And then this little cowboy flew home with Nana and I.

 

Little sister wasn't too sure what to think about being an only child. One morning she found a picture of Zane and carried it around with her all day.

Daddy bought her some new outfits and she got some good snuggle time in with him.

Six days later we packed our bags! I think it was kind of obvious by the clothes that I packed that we were headed to Arkansas.

One random airport picture that I took during our trip home.

 

Cubs vs. Mets

This year I actually got Matt a Father's Day gift that was a surprise. It's really hard for me to get him a gift that the doesn't know about because I usually need his help picking them out. I would have no idea what kind of hunting or fishing equipment he needed, so it's safer (though not as much fun) for him to do the shopping.

It was SO hard for me to keep the secret when our tickets to the Cubs vs Mets game at Wrigley field came in the mail! I even made sure that we were both off of work (since the game was on a Wednesday) and that our sitter could keep the kids late.

It really worked out perfectly! We dropped the kids off that morning and drove down to Chicago. We decided to park at O'Hare and take the train into town to avoid traffic. Remind me next time to just stay in my own car. I don't think it saved us any time and we had to share cramped, warm spaces with strangers. Ick. I'm from the country and public transportation just ain't my thang, y'all. Other than that...the weather was perfect, our seats were great, the game was fun (we even ran into Matt's cousin), we had a great dinner at Goose Island, and we enjoyed each other's company. In fact, we couldn't remember the last time just the two of us had been somewhere without the kids! Helloooo adult conversation! Funny how most of our conversations were about two tiny little humans that we're pretty fond of....

At first glance you might assume that we have on our Cubbies gear....

 

Oh, no. We were brave and wore our Mets shirts! Matt has been a Mets fan since he was a kid and has never been to a game. That's what made this trip such a surprise. And guess what? Mets won 17-1!

I told Matt to make a goofy face.

Matt did not make a goofy face. Only me. So I just look crazy.

Matt,

You are the best daddy to Zane and Hollin! I couldn't ask for better. Even when you are exhausted from working 24 hours straight, you walk in the house excited to see me and the kids. Often times you even bring home breakfast and cook it for us! You go above and beyond. You are fun, silly, patient, and kind. We are so blessed to have you!

We love you Dad-O Bear.

Bear Mummins, Bear-y, and Bearice

April in Arkansas

Zane flew to Arkansas April 10th to spend a little extra time with our families. Our house was notably quiet without the rambunctious three year old bouncing off of the walls. We missed the little guy. Not so sure he missed us.

He might have been more excited about seeing Lola than anyone else. She slept with him every night. They really are best friends. Lola was probably his first word.

He enjoyed dressing up as a different character everyday. Here he is as 'Pirate Man Zane'. I think the entire third week he was 'Chief (as in Fire Chief) Zane 24/7. My favorite is that he went to Ed's Bakery in his Woody costume. Someone asked him if he was dressed as Woody. His answer: "No. I AM Woody!"

He also had fun being Cowboy Zane while in Hampton. He went to Hogskin Holidays and the rodeo.

Ten looong days later, Hollin and I flew to Arkansas. I felt like Superwoman getting both of us to the airport. I got up at 3:30am, drove both of us to the airport, parked, and unloaded. I then managed to get Hollin, the carseat, stroller, diaper bag, carry-on bag, and suitcase from the truck into the airport. In the rain. When American Airlines told me that my bag was (nine pounds) over 50 lbs I knew there was no way I was going back out to the truck to unload or rearrange. I just decided that I'd pay the extra money. I assumed it would be another $25. Let me just say that I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Wrong times four. There was absolutely nothing I could do other than pay the money and feel totally taken advantage of. BUT, I knew I would see my sweet baby boy in a few short hours, so I just let it go!

Flying with Hollin was once again a breeze. I was also blessed to sit by some extremely nice and helpful people.

A wedding post is coming soon....

‘that airplane lady’

 

Traveling with an almost three-year old and a nine week old…alone. Scary. But I did it and lived to tell about it. Honestly, it couldn’t have gone any smoother.

We had to leave the house at 4:30am and drive to Milwaukee to catch our 6:55am flight. We cut it close, the security line was slow moving, and I got a little nervous that we weren’t going to make it. Zane could’ve just walked through, but he wanted to take his shoes off, too (of course) and they made him take off his fleece. I had to fold up the stroller to put it through the metal detector, dress/undress Zane, take off/put on my shoes, all while Hollin was attached to me in the Moby wrap. Because she was all wrapped up on me, they required me to have my hands tested (for chemicals?…not sure). Needless to say, these things slowed us down. But we ended up making it to our gate in plenty of time, and for some reason there were only TWENTY people on our flight. This meant we could take up as much space as we wanted.

Zane chose the very first row. Once we sat down he told me he needed help with his seatbelt. I told him I would help him. “NO. I want that airplane lady help me.” He later told her he needed help. She had a three-year old grandson, so she was pretty smitten with Zane. Later he said, “I wanna tell that airplane lady something.” She wasn’t around so I’m not sure what he was gonna tell her. When she asked if he wanted a drink he said, “No, I fine. You have pretzels for me.”

He fell asleep right before we landed (of course) and the flight attendants were SO helpful with getting the stroller and him into it, getting my carry-ons, etc.

Our next flight was really empty, too. Hollin barely made a peep the whole time. And was the cutest little flyer. All that morning traveling required a peaceful afternoon nap underneath the Christmas tree.