Early in the year Disney announced a new race weekend at Disneyland for 2014....Avengers weekend! I somehow sweet talked Luke and the boys into doing the 5K on Saturday and I would do the half on Sunday. Of course Tubbs hurt his knee in September, so he was unable to do it, so we sold his bib to a lady I work with.
Friday we picked up the kids from school and raced down to Anaheim to pick up bibs at the Expo. Traffic wasn't too bad until we got near Anaheim and near the park. I was worried we were not going to make it in time before the Expo closed at 8. We did end up getting in to the expo by 7:30 pm but it was way too close for comfort.
After picking up the bibs we went to Claim Jumper in Buena Park for dinner, then to the hotel to check in. We got everything out and situated for an EARLY wake-up....4 am to be exact.
I woke up right after Luke woke up and I helped get them out the door without forgetting anything. They were down to the shuttle by 4:30 am.
They didn't get their times for the 5K but they were very happy about not getting picked up by the sweeper. Luke said they had a great time and surprisingly said he would do it again with the boys!
The race started at 5:30 and I knew we needed to be down at the finish lined before 7am. I got the kids up and ready to go and they grabbed a hot cocoa on the way. Unfortunately it was a long, convoluted walk trying to find the finish line and we didn't make it. Luke sent us a text after he crossed the finish line, so we found them in Downtown Disney afterwards. We were disappointed we didn't get to see them finish.
After walking back to where I parked the car, we went to Denny's for breakfast, then back to the hotel again to get cleaned up. Luke and I took a little nap while the kids relaxed in the other room. By noon we were back out the door and headed to Knott's Berry Farm.
While Luke hung out in Snoopy Land with Wiggy and Bubba, Tubbies and I went on Silver Bullet. I love going on the fast roller coasters with this kid! We waited almost an hour, but it was worth it!
Our last ride of the afternoon was the water ride. Luke and Tubbs got soaked....and the other kids thought it was very entertaining.
We left the park around 5pm, headed to Cheesecake Factory for dinner, then back to the hotel. Wiggy and I passed out pretty early (before 8pm) from the early morning we had. I was planning on getting up at 4am, so I was motivated to get some shut eye.
The next morning I ended up not getting down to the shuttle until after 4:30am. At around 4:50 the shuttle arrived, then proceeded to take the wrong route. It was a mess. Everyone on the shuttle thought we were never going to get dropped off. It was nuts. We obviously made it, but with little time to spare before the race started at 5:30 am. I think I walked over a mile to the starting line, so I was warmed up. I was in a different corral than Cassie and because I was late, I didn't get a chance to see her before the race. This was the first time I started a race alone. Sniffle-sniffle.
Running through Sleeping Beauty's Castle....
The weather conditions were less than ideal. There was a dist storm going on and the winds were strong. I blew my nose several times into my shirt to get the dirt out and I had dirt all in my eyes...and wishing I brought my sunglasses like I did last race.
The finish line!
Thankfully Luke and the kids were right at the finish line so I got to see them as soon as I crossed. I thought I was going to see them at mile four, which was right outside our hotel, but no luck.
Love this guy.....
Well...it was bound to happen, but I never thought it would. Wiggy Witherbottoms came home with lice. She was in the bath tub on a Thursday night and she said her head was itchy. She began itching it all over so I took a look. I didn't know what I was looking for so I called Luke to look at it. Yep...lice. I was mentally flipping out and trying to stay calm. This girl gets into our bed every night and I didn't know how long she'd had it. Luke went to the store and dropped about $50 on stuff to treat it. He put her in the tub and began the meticulous process and getting rid of the critters. My head began to itch. Thankfully in the end it was just sympathy itching, but I was flipping out. While Luke handled Wiggy I was stripping our bedding, tossing hair brushes, boiling combs, stripping her bedroom. I read for hours (and hours and hours) on lice.
I know too much now. I am a lice expert...unfortunately.
Needless to say, I am a bit paranoid. The next day I went through her hair, strand by strand, in the sunlight to get nits out and I gave myself a chemical treatment. A few days after the first chemical treatment I treated both of us with Listerine, which also kills lice. (You spray it on your head and put a shower cap for two hours) After rinsing that out, I applied unfiltered apple cider vinegar which gets the nits to unstick from the hair...because they're like glue. I wasn't taking any chances and it was completely overkill, but I am glad I did it. I have heard too many horror stories and I didn't want them to resurface. Our hair was nice and shiny...and smelly for days!!
Good times. Not really.
Needless to say, this girl wears her hair back in a braid EVERYDAY to school and I apply some spray every morning that has tea tree oil and rosemary. (Apparently lice don't like these)
The day after we found the lice Luke and I were planning to take a trip together out of town, to celebrate our anniversary. Thankfully we were still able to go as planned and everything was under control. I just needed to stop dreaming about lice! Haha.
Aunt Jenny picked up the kids from school and took them to Chick Fil A before heading up the hill to Grandma's....meanwhile Luke and I blasted off for Costa Mesa.
We ate dinner at Outback in Valencia on our way down, with the gift card we got from Bob and Nancy for our anniversary. Thank you!
Saturday morning we lounged around and finally made our way to lunch at Claim Jumper. We walked around South Coast Plaza a bit before heading for Fashion Island in Newport Beach. It was a great day exploring the city and the shops.
Saturday night we headed to a late movie before calling it a day.
Bob and Nancy sent us pictures of the kids' activities all weekend, which included going to the park, kayaking, watching movies and flying paper airplanes.
Sunday morning we ate brunch at El Torito and then got on the road for home. We drove up to Bear Valley to pick up the kids!
Now on to the real news of the month....
I have bangs. For the first time since I was 16...I have bangs. I have been asked three times in the last two days if I darkened my hair. Nope....must be the bangs. So far they aren't too annoying and people tell me I look younger, so why did I wait so long to do this?! haha.
A few days later we were headed to LA for our second youth temple trip of the year. I love taking Bubba and the youth down for the day. It's such a blessing and an experience I hope he always remembers.
The weekend of Halloween we headed up to Bear Valley to stay the night with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Jenny. The temps finally decided to drop on Halloween night and a storm came in. We were READY for a cool down.
Sunday morning was CHILLY and foggy outside. Grandma made a big breakfast and of course hot cocoa. These bugs were very happy.
On Saturday evening we had a birthday dinner for Luke and I. Homemade brownies and lemon bars!!
Someone got to lick the beater after making whipped cream.....
This year Halloween was on a Friday....the best day of the week!
Thursday after school Tubbs decided he wanted to dress up and asked me to take him to Party City. Let me just tell you that going to this place the day before Halloween might be one of my biggest mistakes in life. I think it took us over two hours to get in and out. Ugh. But I am happy to report that Tubbs did in fact find a costume....which I completely doubting an hour into the excursion.
After we got home and ate dinner we did the traditional pumpkin carving.
At school the kids aren't allowed to dress up, but in after school daycare they could so Wiggy made sure to stuff her back-up costume in her backpack. Luke and I had parent teacher conferences in the afternoon, so we got to see Wiggy on the playground playing in her Elsa costume. She wanted to bring her wig to school too, but I nixed that idea.
After picking up all the kids after school, we headed to an early dinner at Tony's Pizza. After dinner we came home, anxious to get trick-or-treating. Bubba had no idea what he was going to be, but he knew he wanted to get candy, so he grabbed his pumpkin off the porch, carved a hole in the bottom and put it on his head. That kid got comments on that costume at almost every house. We thought it was quite comical. The pumpkin head was a good idea for Bubba since he can't smell anything. He pulled it off well.
Happy Halloween!!
That Stop Wasn't On My Itinerary....
So the Hogue's made it to Florida for our first official family vacation. It was Sawyer's first plane ride....and Simon's first plane ride that he can remember. We were excited....the boys were stoked. We had everything we needed! But it seems that Sawyer packed something with him that wasn't on our checklist: a big case of pneumonia. Yes, the little fella made it almost one whole day in Florida before he started heading downhill fast. Our 2nd day in Orlando we were in the Urgent Care south of Cocoa Beach. (By the way, to see a doctor more quickly, it helps if you vomit all over the waiting room in front of the receptionist. Little tip for ya) After chest x-rays they advised us to head to the ER in Melbourne, where they eventually admitted him to the hospital. So, we had 3 night deluxe accommadations at the Holmes Regional Medical Center. The little whipper snapper was a trooper though! The nurses loved him, thankfully, and made us all feel right at home. We were going to send postcards out with pictures of the hospital since we spent 40% of our trip there...but they didn't have any. Imagine that!Hmmm.....maybe its something they should consider.
