California

Our flight got delayed 6 hours, not fun.  We kept the boys occupied with the 3 arcade games in the airport.  We gave them each a dollar to spend on the games, and after they used up the coins Marshall said, "I like it better without money."  Thank heavens or else our delay might have broke the bank. 

Seaworld was awesome.  Sheppard and Marshall both want to be marine biologist, so you can imagine how excited they were to see the beautiful creatures of the ocean up close and personal.  Best moment of the day was when Marshall got to pet the dophin and give it commands. 

   Lucy hugs every stuffed animal in sight. 

                                                       Family Pictures at Little Corona

Lou Lou made the girl's skirts, and Lindsee made the boys.  I wish I had an ounce of their talent. 

                                                              All our cute cousins!

                                                               What handsome boys!

Lou Lou and Pampa are the best.  We were sure glad we could have one week of pure fun, and family time with them before they headed off on their international adventures. 

                                                Still in love after 9 1/2 years, not too bad.

Another magic moment was on our first night when we arrived we headed to Manhattan Beach.  The boys went crazy in the ocean.  They learned the art of being chased by the waves that lasted the rest of our trip. 

Aram and Marshall boogie boarding.  We learned that Marshall is quite the daredevil this trip and is willing to try anything.  He has such an adventurous spirit. 

Pretty in pink.  Lucy everything about the ocean, the sand, the water, and the yummy snacks (cookie?)

Tuckered out after a long day at the beach.  Catching some "Z's" on a bike ride down the boardwalk with mom and her other baby cousins.

                                                         Beware of the Sand Monster!

One unexpected highlight of our trip to the beach was a monsterous sand dune created by the beachcombers.  It was a destination in and of itself and the kids were entertained for hours playing cowboys and indians, sand monster, jumping wars, star wars, and just digging. 

                          Aunt Kelsie prepared an adorable Pirate Treasure hunt for the kids. 
                                               They loved thier booty along the way!

                                              Lucy on the Merry-Go-Round..."again."

                                                      What a bunch of "goofballs".

  The Nemo Ride.

Lucy thought this fake tree was a tiger, and everytime we passed by one she had to give it a tight squeeze. 

          Marshall and Dad on Thunder Mountain Railroad, Marshall was in roller coaster heaven. 

Sheppard at the beginning of Thunder Mountain Railroad.  There is no after shot because this was Sheppard's roller coaster hell. 

Marshall getting set for Star Tours.  He was his mom's tour guide, telling me along the way what to do; "Put on your glasses, Mom, buckle up, watch the movie."  He took it all very seriously.

 

This picture captures the essence of Sheps's and Marshall's reaction to Splash Mountain.  Look closely at thier faces, it says it all.  Although, after it was over Shep said as if he was surprised, "I liked it!"

                                                        Enjoying some cotton candy.

Pooped!

Boo Boo got a Boo Boo

One of Lucy's many nicknames is Boo Boo.  A couple of weeks ago she truly earned this grand title.  We were at Marshall's soccer game and I was holding her had as we crossed the field. She went limp so all her weight was being pulled with her right arm and I heard a pop.  I know not to pull babies from thier arms that way, in fact I lecture Aram on it at least once a month.  So, you can imagine how bad I felt when I knew I had just dislocated her elbow.  After 3 1/2 hours at Instacare, three relocations, and three x-rays later the "experts" determined they didn't know if it was back in the socket, or if it had any other problems such as a hairline fracture.  So they put my sweet little, busy body 18 month old in her first, and hopefully last cast.  With the orders to see a orthopedic surgeon on Monday.  Luckily, after that visit the Doc determined she was just fine, just in time for the beach and Disneyland!  She couldn't just get one boo boo, right?  So she added a major rug burn to her chin while horsing around in the car, and a huge bruise on her forehead by falling off our patio stairs. 

An Oldie, but Goodie

This is actually from my highschool days. 

Setting: Utah State Capitol, Junior Prom

Storyline:

 Girl goes to prom

Girl gets crowned 1st attendant

Girl gets punched by 1st attendant boy's best friend

You have to see it to believe it. 

White Trash's Step Sister

On a recent trip to Utah we decided to check out the new, and may I might add very fancy, City Creek Center with Grandma Lou Lou and Amy and her kids.  We had enjoyed a great day with the kids and we were walking around the plaza at Temple Square after lunch at the Lion House Pantry.  Amy and I were worried about Lucy and Bradford toddling right into a fountain.  We were worried about the wrong kids.  Amy wanted Marshall and Carston to take a picture by one of the fountains, as they were posing for the picture Marshall lost his footing and down he went taking Carston along with him falling head over heels about 3 feet into the fountain.  We quickly pulled them out, undressed them from their wet clothes as they were screaming bloody murder, and put them in our coats.  After all the excitement we still had to walk back through City Creek Center to get to our cars.  I put Marshall on my back, Carston went on Amy's shoulders with thier naked bodies hiding under much too big trench coats as we both pushed our strollers passed Salt Lake's fanciest folks and store fronts.  We looked like White Trash's step sister. 

Sun Valley

Aram had a business trip to Sun Valley so we joined him for the tail end of his trip.  It was short and sweet.

The best part of the trip was swimming in the hot pools during a snowstorm with snowflakes as big as a silver dollar.  Marshall would grab huge piles of snow and jump in as the snow dissolved in his arms. 

Lucy LOVES swimming.  She is very independent and thinks she can do everything herself, which can be very frustrating since she is only a year and half. 

Sheppy started kindergarten

Rock climbing at the YMCA Gym is one of our favorite family activities. The boys are awesome on the wall!

Marshall showing off his muscles in his Hondorus soccer uniform that Pampa Kelly brought back for him.

Pretty in pink. Lucy loves her pink cowboy boots and always brings them to me to put on.

An Update

Wow, I haven't blogged FOREVER. But, at the request of some good friends I am going to try to be more diligent. I won't try to catch up too much because that is totally overwhelming but I will attempt to give you a glimpse into life at the Sloan house about once a week from here on out, but no promises. I have come to this sad realization that this time with my little ones is so fleating, and flies by (although the days go by slow at time.)

This picture was taken around christmas. As you can see the boys are totally in love with Lucy and vice versa. Every morning they aren't satisfied until they have their daily snuggle. Lucy has officially taken over the role of comforter replacing the boys blanket, and even mommy's kisses when the boys get hurt.