Taking a BREAK

After last weeks sad and frustrating events we decided we just needed a break, needed to get away from everything for a little bit. We decided to go visit our friends the Caldwells in sunny California. The Caldwells lived next door to us when we lived in Provo and we did basically everything with them during those childless days- dinners, Fri/Sat/Sun movie nights, picnics, games- basically it was a blast. Reconnecting with good friends seemed like the medicine we needed. Mike and Meghan were game for our last minute trip, so Monday morning super early we took off for Orange County!

Our first stop was to see my brother Nate in Cedar City. Chase was so excited to see him (it's been over a month since we last saw him). It was a good break for us after 4 hours of driving and we enjoyed some Wendy's. After a little lunch we were back on the road!

 Driving all the way from Kaysville to Orange County in one day with two babies was.....long. But the boys honestly did great! We had to stop every 2 hours to feed Hudson, so it was obviously a little slower than it was when Ben and I have done that drive together. The boys mostly stayed happy until the last 90 minutes, when they both started to lose it. Needless to say, for more reasons than one, we were all VERY happy when we pulled into the Caldwells home. We were so happy to be back with our good friends and so appreciated their hospitality in hosting us! We put the little boys to bed and enjoyed staying up late chatting with Mike and Meghan and watching our favorite TV show, Castle. It was just like old times! (Except that we felt like it was so late staying up until 11- but hey- our kids were up every day by 5:30!)

We spent Tuesday just hanging around the house. The boys took turns napping and then finally we got everything together to take a lovely little walk around their neighborhood. We made pizza for dinner, which we did all the time in the olden days. Again, once we got the little ones in bed, we enjoyed staying up late together. We tried to get to bed a little earlier so that we'd be well rested for Wednesday and DISNEYLAND!

Wednesday we enjoyed a beautiful, fun day at the happiest place on earth! Chase was so excited to see Mickey Mouse again and talked about it all morning until we went to meet him! (And how cute are these two little friends holding hands!)

 I love how Chase is holding Mickey's hand! We filmed Chase meeting him again and it just tickled me to see him run up to give him a big hug! The park wasn't very crowded, so we hardly waiting in lines at all! Hudson was a little angel and mostly just ate and slept in my arms. Chase is so fun to do things like this with- he was so brave and went on pretty much every ride he could! I was afraid he would freak out on Pirates with the big drops in the dark- but it didn't even phase him! Other than Hudson crying all the way through the Haunted Mansion (he was tired, and it was loud, and I felt like an awesome mom taking my crying baby on a ride that is mostly meant for older people) it was smooth sailing all day! We stopped to see Tigger and Pooh after the Winnie the Pooh ride. Chase was so excited the whole time we stood in line and kept trying to get through the ropes to get to the characters without waiting. Then once it was our turn Chase lost all confidence and would not even look at Tigger! Here is the photographic evidence of how the encounter went down...

 ...I thought he might do a little better with sweet, lovable Pooh Bear, but Pooh got much the same reaction from Chase.

 It was at this point we decided Chase was probably spent and we should head back to Caldwells home (since they are season pass holders and Ethan wasn't feeling too hot they only stayed for the morning). It was a beautiful, magical day though and we were so glad we were able to go! Chase was a little easier to put to bed that night, completely exhausted from a day in the park. I'm not going to lie, I was totally exhausted too and fell asleep right in the middle of our grown up movie watching that night!

Thursday we headed to the pool. These two boys looked so darling in their little swim suits. I can't believe what good friends these two are! The summer that Meghan and I were both pregnant with these little boys we did a lot together- walks, shopping at Park City, and nightly dinner together (I was too sick to cook and Meghan wasn't feeling like cooking either, so our husbands took turns cooking for all four of us!). We talked all the time about how these little boys were going to be best friends, just like their dads, and they definitely are! Every time we see them these boys don't stop laughing and playing together (and occasionally fighting over the same toys- they are two years old). I wish we lived closer and these boys could play together all the time!

 And here is our sweet Hudson. He is the easiest baby to travel with! Seriously, as long as he gets to eat every 2 hours and people hold him, Hudson is happy no matter where he is!

 After the pool we headed out to show Chase the Newport Beach Temple. Chase has this serious love for temples so we knew he'd like it. We were right- he loved it. I agree with him though, it is beautiful!

 This was after a serious wrestling session between the boys and their dads-

it was hilarious and adorable and wound the boys up nicely right before bedtime!

 All too soon it was time to pack up and head home. We were sad to say good-bye to our good friends, and I was dreading the real life awaiting us upon our return, but it was definitely good to get a little distance and have a little fun! The boys did great on the trip home. We stopped in Cedar again for hamburgers and picked up Uncle Nate to bring him home for the weekend. Chase was once again delighted to see him and we really enjoyed having his company for those last couple long hours! (Even if it did mean I was sitting in the backseat, between the two carseats with my feet on the hump- I couldn't have been happier when we pulled in to Kaysville.) I had to laugh at the contrast of my two kids- Chase started to lose it somewhere around Provo and kept throwing tantrums, and I would look over at Hudson and he was flash me a huge gummy smile. Oh how we love that baby! I know someday he'll be a crazy two year old too, but for now I'm soaking up his 3 month old sweetness!

**Thank you for all your sweet comments on my last post. I have received so many sweet comments along with emails, phone calls, hugs and visits. Nothing like a big trial to show you how amazing the people in your life truly are. I have been comforted so much with the love and support we've received from our family and friends, it's been its own little miracle. So many people have shared with me a thought they've had, or a quote from an apostle, or some other word of wisdom that has been just what I needed to hear at the moment. Thank you! Thank you!