California Dreamin on such a winters day...

Ryan and I had been planning an early graduation trip to California/ Disneyland for a while now. Right when Ryan graduates, he is going to be whisked away to AF training. So, November seemed like a perfect time to plan an early grad trip, since Ryan had a break from rotations and November is a relatively slow time at Disney... not to mention it was all decorated so beautifully for Christmas !! Oh what an AMAZINGLY PERFECT trip it was :)

It all started with a pleasantly uneventful plane ride. The flight was pretty empty so we had two rows to ourselves and Beckham had his own seat and car seat which made the flight extra comfy for him.
First, we were able to visit my sweet brother and sister-in-law who have an adorable brand new baby boy, Jack! Oh he was such an angel...I could have held him all day if it weren't for my kids wreaking havoc on their house, being loud and crazy after a long journey and Beckham breaking priceless possessions...soooo sorry Bry and Wendy. They were so sweet to host nearly every member of my family that weekend...
Our only night in LA was spent at a rather frightening motel. Needless to say this is where we spent the majority of our stay there...quarantined to one of the random beds in the front room. At least it had three rooms and both the kids were able to sleep in their own area :) We roped my mom and my sister to stay at the same motel and they had a TERRIBLE experience...sorry you guys...we will NEVER forget at time at the Wilshire Motel hahah!
Bryan took us to the beach and it was soooo beautiful! Jane loved her first time at the beach, though she avoided the water like the plague. She thought the sand and sea shells were pretty special though!
I loved this pic of me and Christina and Mae standing in front of the ocean. I Love those gals :)
Bryan was a good sport and indulged my return to childhood as we dodged the waves together :)
Beckham, was such a patient little angel at the beach. He had a great time, too!
Ryan made sure we made a stop at Greystone Park- a new tradition int he making! It is such a beautiful place! Last time we were there, Jane was 9 months old! Time flies too fast
The house there is simply stunning!
Finally, we traveled to Disneyland. We stayed in the Castle Inn, which felt like a real castle after staying at our previous Motel. Here are the kids all decked out and ready for our first day at Disney!!
Jane loved meeting ALL the princesses. Tiana was the first one was met. Jane was so star struck she could barely move...that didn't stop her from giving Tiana a big hug though :)
Jane got to meet Princess Aurora, her long time favorite, several times and was in heaven!
Jane was thrilled to meet Mulan, too!!
Of course, she met all the Disney characters as well. Here she is giving Minnie a kiss :)
Several of our mornings there began like this...unbelievably foggy!! But it always cleared up and was beautiful our whole stay there.
We had a special Breakfast at Ariel's Grotto where an amazing breakfast was served (what you see there was only an appetizer!) And Jane got to meet 5 princesses here! Yet again, Jane was in heaven!
Jane was particularly excited about Snow White, the first Disney Princess she ever learned about!
And she was totally enamored with Bell's amazing dress!
Beckham had a good time too, downing more food than I ever thought was possible for a one year old...atta boy :)
The kids and Ryan met Pooh bear and friends while I was riding solo on Splash Mountain!!
Another very special treat was when Jane got a princess make-over at the Bibbity Boppity Boutique!! I have never seen her sit so still and be so compliant and polite in my life. They made her feel so special! And she looked amazing :)
Of course, we went to Pixie Hollow to meet Tinkerbelle, Terrence and Silvermist!!
Sleeping Beauty's castle looked GORGEOUS all lit up with Christmas lights at night!!
Here's Ry and the kids riding the Disney train around the whole park.
One of all our favorite rides was the Haunted Mansion all decked out with Jack Skelington and friends... it was so cute.
It got a little chilly in the evenings. Here's a cute pic of the kids both snuggled up in blankets!
Of course, we ate dinner at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, somewhat of a Harper family tradition! It was so yummy and fun!!
And last but not least, a good shot of the circus as we pushed our way through the airport. We were quite a sight. And, yes, poor Beckham IS under the car seat...he was such a trooper though and somehow, we made it work :)
This post just scratched the surface of all the fun we had!! It was such a blast and many life long memories were made this trip :) I love my little family and have sooo much fun with them!!

From Baby to Big Boy in No Time At All!!

My baby turned 1 on Tuesday!! Boy, time really flies by TOO fast these days. I feel like it was only yesterday that Beckham was born. Even though the cord was wrapped around his neck 2 times he was a big healthy baby boy!!
We LOVED him from the very first time we met him. He was such a sweet, patient baby for having such a rough first few days of life...
His circumcision went horribly and he bled far more than he was supposed to. It took around 3 hours for me to get my poor baby back ofter what was supposed to be a short, easy procedure :(
Also while in the hospital, I noticed that he was having a really tough time breathing. I repeatedly asked nurses for help only to be told it was normal and not to worry. It got so bad that I knew something must be wrong even though non of the nurses would take it more seriously. I was very frustrated with the nursing staff. So, the day we got home from the hospital we took him to an ENT doctor. There we found out that he had a nasal infection and needed to be treated immediately...POOR BOY!!
The antibiotics we had to give him really messed up his digestive system and he got terribly constipated and had to be on a very special and EXPENSIVE formula. But at least he was finally happy.
He was such an adorable little tike...I can't believe 1 year has already passed. It was full of trying and wonderful moments that I will never forget!
PARTY TIME!!!!!!
Of course we had a party for our BIG BOY and Beckham was very excited!!
Jane, of course, had to help Beckham open his presents...
He was very distracted by all the people and needed lots of help...Jane didn't mind at all.
And of course Jane had to help Beckham play with his toys as well :)
Bring on the CAKE!! It doesn't look like much but I worked VERY hard on that cake!!
It had a multi colored inside :) Jane was the first to sample the cake...as usual!
Beckham got a turn, too. He was tentative at first...
...but eventually dug right in, though he enjoyed playing in it more than he did eating it.
By the end of the party the kids were exhausted and ready for bed. What a great night we had, though. Thanks Jean, Kelly, Mom, Dad and Christina for coming. And so sorry to everyone else (especially the kids!!) who couldn't come because our kids were still a little sick :( we missed you!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKHAM!! WE LOVE YOU SOOSOSOS MUCH AND ARE VERY PROUD OF OUR BIG BOY:)

Trick or Treating in the rain!!

The very minute we decided to go trick-or-treating...it began to rain...no...monsoon!! Of course, the rain stopped once we decided to be done for the evening. But, we had a BLAST anyway. For trick-or-treating, Beckham was a lion...nice and warm!! He was a good sport :)
Our first stop was Ryan's Parents' house. Jane said "Trick-or-treat" right on que this year!
Jane always scores big at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We could have stopped trick-or-treating right then with all the goodies Jane received from the Dicks :)
Beckham just played and crawled while Jane ate some of her spoils. He is the cutest little lion ever!
I love my kiddos!!
Ryan was a good sport and took Jane to a few more houses in the pouring rain while Beckham and I stayed in the car :) What a good Daddy!!
Here is Jane with her good friend, London. We stopped by their house to visit and trick-or-treat!
While making all the rounds we stopped to visit my mom. Luckily, the cousins were there and we could see their awesome outfits. Braden was Darth Vader...so cool!
To end our Halloween 2010 adventures. We carved our pumpkins on the real Halloween night. Jane had alot of fun- this was her first time!
Here are the finished products! I bet you will NEVER guess who did what pumkin...well maybe you can?!
Well, yet another Halloween come and gone. We had so much fun this year with double the fun (two kids)! I can't believe that next Halloween we will be someplace totally different :) Many adventures await the Dick Fam!! Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween :)

PARTY...Halloween Style!!

Every year we get very excited for Halloween and all the parties...especially our Ward Halloween Party!! Since this is our last Halloween in this ward, we had a lot of fun dressing up the kids and getting ready for the...Halloween treat contest. This is what I came up with this year... My doughnut hole Halloween tree. Some of the doughnut holes have candy coating and sprinkles and others look like jack-o-lanterns!! This thing took me around four hours to make...and NO I didn't win. But I had a lot of fun doing it. Thanks for your help Christina :)
Jane wanted to dress up as Cinderella for Halloween this year. She made the most beautiful Cinderella ever :)
Due to Jane's choice, Beckham had no choice but to be Gus Gus, Cinderella's pet mouse:) He looks more like a wicked monkey from The Wizard of Oz...but he is DARLING nontheless!!
Here's one of the kids together!
At our ward Halloween party Jane stayed beside her good friend, Ava, nearly the whole time:)
Christina and darling little Mae came too! Crafty Christina made her tutu and I though she looked sooo adorable:)
Mae and Beckham hung out a lot- best friends and cousins :)
The very next day at Jane's school, she had a Halloween party to attend! I got to go and help out during her little party. I had so much fun...even though I can't believe I am already helping out with school parties...I feel so old. Her little class was so darling!
Jane got to play funny Halloween games with her calssmates. And eat the delicious cookies I brought from Shirley's bakery...love it!
They got to explore the inside of a pumpkin too! After the party, Jane was in a Halloween concert with her classmates. Many parents came to watch. Oooh it was so darling. Ryan even came from work to see Jane perform. She did great :) A little "deer the headlights" at times...but still my fabulous Jane! Sorry I don't have any great pictures of it :)

Halloween is the BEST and we are looking forward to more of it :)

Pumpkinland!!!

SICK...this past week and a half my two poor kids have been desperately sick. Vomiting, pooping, caughing, sneezing, running noses...the whole bit. It was awful. However, they are finally on the mend and I have time to remember the good times we had right before our week of sickness...

I LOVE fall and Halloween and try to soak up every last bit of it I can. A few weeks ago we went to Pumpkinland with the kids. They loved it! Here is Jane with her typical, goofy smile preparing for the corn maze lined with funny Halloween jokes..adorable.
Here's Ryan and the kids in the gourd hut... it was very cool!
This was our failed attempt at taking a fun picture...the kids weren't cooperating.
Beckham loved being chased by mama in the corn maze :)
Though painfully slow, Jane walked the whole maze by herself.
Just a cool picture with the sun lowering while we were still lost in the maze.
After the maze, Jane got to feed the many goats some cabbage. This had to be one of her favorite things to do.
Of course, we had to take our traditional picture inside the giant pumpkin :)
What a fun fun place Pumpkinland is! We had a blast picking out our pumpkins, too!
Here's Jane and Beckham at home a few days later...sick as dogs... We decorated Jane's pumpkin though to break up the very monotonous and long days. Her's is a scary Frankenstein!!
Beckham got a tiny pumpkin too :) Ugh, please ignore the ugly, giant foot destroying the picture...
Well, some more fabulous, fun memories made and some not so fabulous ones as well. But, life moves on and I can't wait for more Halloween fun!

The Worst Feeling Ever...

Several scary experiences with my kids have unfortunately proved to me that I am no good in stressful situations...I could never be a super hero...I simply lose it altogether and end up being completely useless. Here is a sad example:

I manage property and the office is attached to my home. During the morning hours, which are notoriously slow, I leave the door open and go about my business. A few days ago, I was doing my hair while the office was open. Beckham was playing next to me and Jane had grabbed her second juice box for the morning. I told her she couldn't have it and to go put in on the counter. Seeming unusually obedient, she walked towards the kitchen as if she was going to actually put it away... I am finally making progress with this listening thing, I thought proudly.

I had gotten preoccupied with my hair and realized that I hadn't heard or seen Jane in awhile. I went to go check on her, expecting her to be easily found as usual. Well, she wasn't. Relatively calmly, I checked every room in the house as well as the kitchen, pantry and laundry room. She didn't show. Slightly more panicked, I checked all the closets and even went outside to see if she had somehow escaped our locked tight house. Still no sign of her. Completely losing it, I run around the house again, yelling Jane's name in a panic.

Now, in these situations my mind tends to land on the most horrible scenario and in this case I was sure that Jane had gone into the office to play when unbeknown to me someone had come in the unlocked office door and taken Jane. It took no time at all for me to be completely freaking out, tearing up and screaming Jane's name around the house and even outside. (My poor neighbors again thinking I am crazy).

I was about to call 911 when Jane wandered out of my closet where she had been hiding behind the door sipping the forbidden juice box. She was crying, obviously because she heard me screaming like a helpless idiot for her. I hugged her so tight and didn't want to ever let her go. That was just about the worst feeling ever...

Ryan and I have since then installed a door chime which goes off, quite loudly anytime someone enters the office... Annoying, but great at the same time!!