The Walkers

Disneyland on the cheap!

2010-03-02T18:07:00.001-08:00

So I keep reading everywhere about people trying to find deals and Disneyland. I figure since we go a lot, I would tell those of you who do not know these secrets some things we have found out. (For those of you who go even more than us, feel free to add your secrets too.)

1. Before you go make some treats not only for the car, but for the park. We love to do Caramel Popcorn and Jello popcorn (if you need a recipe for Jello popcorn let me know...it rocks!) We put them in several different gallon bags and bring them to the park with us. We also buy things like swedish fish or licorice that we can take with us too. There is no reason to spend a million dollars on snacks at the park. (You do need to purchase churros and if you like them a frozen banana.) We go to Sams Club and stock up on individual chip bags too. Also, bring extra ziplock gallon bags!!! This is important, see step 3.

2. Stay at a cheap hotel that is within walking distance. This seems like a duh kind of thing, but you can find hotels for about $50 and all you will be doing there is sleeping. Don't feel like you have to spend a lot of money because you will be so dead tired you could sleep in your car if you had to. When looking for a hotel, find one with a continental breakfast as well as a fridge and microwave in your room. Some good suggestions are Desert Inn and Suites (this is a little more expensive usually, but it is literally a 2 minute walk to the front gates of the park) and La Quinta on Clementine (this has bigger rooms and a good breakfast, not just doughnuts and juice). We have also stayed several other places, but for my money I would probably pick La Quinta. If you plan on going a lot, sign up for their membership. My mother-in-law has and she gets discounts on her rooms all the time.

3. Since you have a fridge and a microwave in your room, it is time to go to the grocery store. There is a Food For Less on Katella that we always go to. The room you are staying in has a microwave, so buy microwave popcorn. Pop it in your hotel in the morning and take it to the park with you. Then you have a snack handy. We like to keep all our junk food in a backpack that we can hook on the back of our stroller. We also have a cooler that sits on the back of our Sit N Stand stroller that has a velcro top. Perfect for what else you are going to buy at the grocery store...drinks in plastic bottles. Mine are coke of course, but bring your own drinks. You save a ton of money. You can even keep them cold in your fridge in your hotel. You can get a six pack for what you pay for one 16 oz drink in the park. We also buy our kids lunchables, and this last time we bought a loaf of bread and peanut butter. (We didn't buy the jelly because we snagged it from the continental breakfast downstairs, cheap I know, but that is kind of the point.) The kids are just as happy with this, and we save a lot of money and are not pissed off when they don't eat it.

4. Okay, when buying passes to the park, check out your best deal. It is usually cheaper to buy them on the internet than at the park, plus you save line time. We get season passes, which if you plan to go more than once a year saves you money. Plus you get discounts at food places and stuff with your season pass. If you are not going to go more than once, you will have to check around. I know some people have used KSL. I have not, and I don't know about it. It seems like to me someone could really screw you if they wanted to because passes are only good 13 days after you first use them, so someone could sell you expired passes and you wouldn't know until you got to the park. Be careful with that. This year Disney is doing a Give a Day, Get a Day promotion. This will get you a free 1 day 1 park pass, but you can apply it to multiday passes. It is totally worth it. I have signed up for it. There are a ton of projects to do, so take a look and volunteer. Then you get something and get to contribute to the world too!

5. You need several days at the park. We go for 5 days every time we go. Now, I am not saying you need that many, but 4 is probably good. This way you get to slow down and check out shows and things. For example, go watch musical chairs with Alice and the Mad Hatter by Coke Corner on Main Street, or See Drawn to the Magic in California Adventures. The shows are great, and if you are rushing you miss that. Another thing, if you want to see a parade or fireworks, you have to sit early. So, having more days at the park allows you to do that without being grumpy about it. The parade at California Adventure is not as bad and you don't have to sit as long. Right now it is even the better parade, so if you only get one, do that one.

6. Eating...here is a big deal about eating at the park. There are a few places that are much, much better than others. My favorite, the Plaza Inn right outside of tommorowland. This place has fried chicken to die for. Also, they give you a TON. There is enough to split it if you want to (or not). Another great thing about this place, refillable drinks. When you go through to pay ask for a paper cup, then you can refill before you go. There are only a few places that allow you to do that in the park, so take advantage of it. Another great place to eat (we just found it) is White Water Rapids in the Grand Californian hotel. It has fantastic food and is really quiet. You have to leave the park to get to it, but there is a gateway right next to Grizzly Bear Rapids. They have fantastic nachos. We usually try to eat a late lunch and then eat outside the park for dinner. This works for us becuase we go off season when the park closes at 8. Leaving the park to eat and then going back eats up a lot of time, so only do it if you are ready for a break.

7. Disney Visa Cards. Okay, I am not saying you need to get a credit card, but this has some good perks at the park. You get discounts on food, strollers, merchandise, and you also get into a character meet and greet in California Adventure where you get your picture taken with a character and then a free 5x7 photo of it. These pictures are $12.95 without it, so it's worth it. I believe you can get discounts on Disney hotels, but we are too cheap to pay for those hotels, so I don't know for sure.

8. At the park fantasyland is always, I repeat, always the busiest. Go in the morning and you will get more done. Peter pan is always a long line, so if you see it and it is less than 20 minutes, jump in line. Make sure you use fast passes. These are lifesavers. They have time restraints written on them, but they really do not expire. So, if it is after the time they are good, keep them because you can still use them that day. They are not good day to day. Get a fast pass for Indiana, Space, Splash, and Big Thunder...all the mountains. Also, stroller passes. If you have a kid too little to ride a ride, get a stroller pass, that way the person who has to wait with the kid can go on the ride after (plus another person), or you can ride it again if they don't want to. In California Adventure right now the busiest ride is the Toy Story Mania, that is because it is awesome, the funnest ride at that park. Ride it at least twice! Again, first thing in the morning will save you a lot of wait time.

9. If you have a princess like me, go to the princess faire/Tinkerbell place first thing in the morning. The princess faire opens a half an hour after the park does, so people usually go over there at that time. If you go over as soon as the park opens and wait until they let you in you will spend 1/2 hour waiting rather than 2 hours. (I am not exagerating, 2 hours.) There are three princesses to see, so your kids like it, but it sucks to wait so long, so do it first. Plus Toon Town is right there and opens up about 1 hour after the park, so by the time you are finished with the Princess Faire you can hop over to Toon Town when it is empty. Works great.

10. Another fantastic thing to see is the Star Wars thing. Sean has done it three times and he and I both love it! Go early and sit in the front row. Then jump up and down like mad and you will get picked. It is so much fun and a great picture opportunity to have your kid fighting with Darth Vader.

11. California Adventures is a time sucking warp. Everything is spaced out far and it takes forever to walk from thing to thing. Either plan a day to do the whole park, or pick 1-2 things that you want to do and then go to the other park.

I'm out of ideas. If you have any questions or comments leave them. I am going to post a link to this on facebook so that people can check it out. I am sure I am forgetting something, but I have just run out of steam. If I can think of anything else, I will put it on here.

Ben's funny faces

2010-02-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

Here is the next installment of blogging. I thought that I would put together a couple of my favorite pictures of Ben's expressive face. He doesn't say much, but he has great facial expressions.

I suck...really, I know I do.

2010-02-02T10:28:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I haven't posted anything for five months. I realize that this is awful, and that I have slacked majorly. I blame facebook. Now I don't have to update my blog because I can do short useless little snippets on facebook and then feel like I have contributed my thoughts to the world (or the 20 friends I have.) So, here goes.

Well, we have been to Disneyland twice since my last post. They were both great. The first time was in October with my whole family. It was a lot of fun, and I really just love being with them. They are all almost as funny as me. The next time we went was just a week ago, and it was great. It was so empty we walked onto most things. It rained once, but that was okay. We had a great time, and the kids loved it. One thing that I thought was fun was that Ben really was into the characters. He would hold their hands and get his little autograph book signed. It was fun. Darla and Joe took us to Goofy's Kitchen, which was awesome. We all ate until we wanted to puke because that is what you are supposed to do at buffets right?

Lets see what else...Sean and Katie are both doing really well in school. They are smart little monsters and it cracks me up when Scott and I will try to spell something and they sound it out. No more spelling apparently. Sean is playing junior jazz and loving it. He is a pretty athletic kid, and has decided that he wants to race snowboards in the X games. Great, he is going to end up killing himself, but he just is not afraid of anything. Katie is taking dance lessons and she loves it. She likes to show off her sweet moves. She is so girly that it cracks me up. She is always wanting to put on makeup and stuff. So not like me as a kid. Ben is in speech therapy. He is progressing, slowly. It is hard not to get frustrated and worried, but we just keep trying to work with him. We also found out that his uvula is attached to one of his tonsils, so we are taking him to the doctor to have it checked out. From now on we are going to call him "mutant."

The Fish Farm

2009-08-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

Scott took our kids to the fish farm up in North Ogden with his mom and dad and Alex and Brianne. The kids were so excited and Scott said Ben even caught his own fish. (Apparently he also almost hooked his face, but he missed so we are good.)

Alex is helping Sean get his fish off the hook. I hate that part. But what a good uncle.

Ben is so dang funny. He cracks me up.

Here's Katie fishing all by herself. Everyone knows to stand back.

Ben looks like he found something pretty cool.

Here's Ben and Grandpa. This is some serious fishing. Look how hard they are both concentrating.

The Aviary

2009-08-04T17:36:00.001-07:00

So, Aliesha was nice enough to take us to the Aviary this summer. We had a lot of fun, and the birds were cool. There were these really sadistic pelicans that would try to eat the baby ducks. It was super creepy. Here are some pictures from the trip. Hallie was hilarious because she did not want me to take her picture, so I would call her and she would turn her body so that I couldn't get a good picture.

Aliesha got the kids some food to feed the ducks. They were so excited. She is such a nice aunt (but we don't call her that.)

Here is Katie and Kamrin in the creepy room where the birds can attack you. It kind of wigged me out a little bit.

This is the only picture I caught Hallie in. She avoided me like the plague.

Here is Ben just seconds afterward. He doesn't have a problem being in pictures.

Here is Darla and Ben. She tries not to be in pictures ever. Hahaha.

Disneyland pics again!

2009-04-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

So, we went to Disneyland again (yes again) in February. We had a blast, and my favorite thing about the whole trip was how Ben absolutely loved the characters. He was so much fun. We went to a character breakfast for Scott's birthday and Ben was so funny. Katie got to dance with Chip for a really long time, and she was darling. Here are some pics.

Scott loved going for his birthday. He got a gift certificate for about $70, and was in heaven. We will probably have to go for his birthday every year. Sean is Sean, and so he was so excited to ride big rides. He was so close to being tall enough for Screamin', and we will have to ride it next time because he will be big enough. He thinks he is big.

Here is a picture I took of the castle at night. I really wish I could take better pictures, but I just haven't spent any time trying. I wish I could do a lot of stuff, but I just am too lazy to actually learn. Oh well. Here are our mediocre (but cute) pictures, and I guess they show our love for the mouse's house.

Our next trip is in October. We are really ready, and October is way too long away. But, this year we want to go for Halloween and Christmas, so our trips will be at the end of the year.

Ben's Big Day

2009-03-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today is Ben's birthday. I love that little monster so much. He still doesn't speak at all, well he will say Hi, Wow, and Yeah, but mostly he just makes noise and points a lot. He is so particular about what he wants though, and he still communicates really well with his grunting and pointing. He is so funny to watch, and he makes Scott and I laugh a lot. Ben wants to be big just like his brother and sister, and chases them around all the time. He has this Pluto dog that he carries around and likes to pretend it is licking people. He makes a noise for it and everything. He just has such a funny personality, and he can be full of it.

Here are some recent pictures of him, and you can see why he makes us laugh so much.

Its funny how fast time goes by. I can't believe how old my kids are getting (not me, my kids), and I sometimes wonder and worry about how this will change our family. I am excited for my kids to learn new things and have new experiences, but on the other hand, I dread them getting older. I guess that is what it means to be a parent, but I just don't know how to feel about it.

Yes, I am a slacker

2009-03-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know that Valentines Day was months ago. I have kind of fallen off the whole blogging wagon. I promise to try harder for anyone who even looks at this...it might just be me.

Time for Love!

2009-01-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, Christmas is past, and I didn't do any sort of update for New Years...So, I am getting a jumpstart on Valentines Day. So, I thought that this post will be a request. I had a hard time thinking of good songs for my playlist this time, and I thought I might ask for a little help. So, if you have any good songs to add, let me know, especially if it is something new. I am always looking for new good music. So, thanks in advance for the suggestions...and since I know you all have good taste, look for your songs on my playlist.

These are some talented elves

2008-12-17T16:12:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Mary Kay

2008-11-21T10:50:00.001-08:00

Well, I went to a Mary Kay party at Emily Rodarte's house and loved everything...I went a little crazy. So, then the sales consultant that did Emily's party asked me to host a party. It was really fun, and nice to have my friends come and feel pampered and away from the kids for a little while. Scott and I talked a lot about it, and I have decided to sell Mary Kay. I am hoping to help support our family, and also really looking forward to having fun and the challenge that this will present to me. I am excited to try something new. So, if any of you who read this decide that you want to host a party or see some of the stuff that Mary Kay has, let me know. If you decide to host a party you get some cool free stuff, and then a discount if you decide to buy anything. I have a website if you want to take a look at some of the product.
www.marykay.com/kelleywalker

Disneyland Yet Again!

2008-11-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, last post today (and probably a while.)

We are back from Disneyland again. It was wonderful, of course, and we had a great time. We went with Darla, Joe, Alex, Brianne, Aliesha, Kamrin, and Hallie. On our last day we were there by ourselves. Sean and Katie had a "private talk" and decided they like it better when Kamrin and Hallie are with us. So, I guess that means we will have to plan another trip together.

I got sick while we were there, and Aliesha called Chris, who had a doctor call in a prescription for me. I had an ear infection, and I was so dizzy I could not stand up straight. So, thank you, you saved my vacation.

It was perfect weather and not crowded at all. All in all, it was a great trip. We Love Disneyland!

Here are many, many pictures of our trip...

Here we are with the man himself...Mickey Mouse!

It rained the first morning, so that is why we look like drowned rats. But, how cool was the Halloween stuff.
This is Katie in Drawn to the Magic. She got a picture of Cinderella, and here she is doing her best princess pose.

Sean is showing off his Mickey ears he made himself. Also, he is showing how gum fits through his missing teeth hole. Nice.

This is waiting for the Princess Faire. We got lucky and were there early. We only had to wait 20 minutes instead of 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Ben has figured out how to smile for pictures. He is so funny.

This is after our Critter breakfast. Not as good as the one in the park, but still great. Look how cute these cousins are.

Unfortunately, no one could pull the sword from the stone, I guess no one will be King of all England.

Sean and Katie are plugging up the hole in Goofy's hose.

There is a lot of muscial talent up there.

Katie really likes to pose for pictures. Here she is waiting for Sean to get off of Big Thunder Mountain.

Sean is posing in front of the statue by the castle.

This is the new Pixie Hollow. How cute is our family!

Look at these Goofs!

Here is our entire group. Other than the fact that it looks like Alex and Brianne don't really like us, I think this is a great picture of the family. I think Pluto just might have to take Chris's place.

That's it on the picture front (we actually took 849, but no way will I subject you all to that.) It really is the Happiest Place on Earth...at least for the Walker Family.

Christmas

2008-11-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

So, I know that it is a little bit early, but if I don't do it now, it won't be done. Plus, I love Christmas and Christmas music, and it makes me happy. I have this theory. Listening to Christmas music (at least the good kind) makes me focus my life more on my trying to be like my Savior, and my heart is in a better place. So, anything that will make me nicer, why not? So, if you don't enjoy the Christmas theme yet, wait a couple weeks and you will be there too.

Viva Las Vegas!

2008-11-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I haven't posted for a while, but that has been because we have been pretty busy. We had to make an emergency trip to Las Vegas. Scott's brother Alex told us on Tuesday October 21st that he was getting married Friday, October 24th. Wow, not much warning. So, we figured out a way to go, and off we went Friday morning to Vegas. We got there and hit traffic. We were afraid that we were going to miss the whole thing. Fortunately, we did not. They looked great. Brianne was beautiful, and Alex looked so happy. I took about a million pictures, so here are a few.

Here are the kids, don't they look so cute! Everyone looked so nice!

Hallie cracks me up. She doesn't really care for me too much, but I think she is so funny.

Aliesha will probably be mad, but I thought this was a really cute picture.

This was Ben's favorite part. All the kids played in the fountain. He got really, really wet.

We turned around and came home Saturday morning. It was tough, but we were really glad to be able to be there. Congratulations Alex and Brianne! It was good practice for California the next week...

Here We Go Again!

2008-10-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yea, I am so excited. Only 3-1/2 more weeks until we are off to Disneyland yet again. I am so ready. The great thing is, is that everyone, including Ben, is excited. Scott has the kids watch the parades on YouTube on Saturday morning every week. Ben laughs and waves at the people on the computer. So, to prepare for our trip, I am going to put on a bunch of Disneyland pictures past and present. Hope this doesn't bore all of you...but, you have got to figure we do this a lot and so it is kinda a big deal at our house.

This is just outside of Baker. It is on the way to a Ghost town. We stopped here the first time we drove, and now we stop every time. Here is the first time (actually the second time to Disneyland, but we flew the first time).

Here is the first time (actually the second time to Disneyland, but we flew the first time).Can you believe how big they get. It seems to go by so darn fast.

This is one of my most favorite pictures at the big D. Sean loved Eeyore at the time, and we got him one that he used to have to take everywhere. Wow, this is making me feel nostalgic.

In 2007 we went to Disneyland with my Mom and Dad, and Scott and Shirlee. The kids absolutely love them. Sean would not let go of Scott's hand. They bought matching sweatshirts and Katie got a Minnie Mouse dress that was way cuter than any princess dress.

When we went for Christmas in 2007 it was so fun. It was the first year they decorated Sleeping Beauty's castle and it was so cool. They were also doing a Snow White thing, and although Sean protests and says he does not want anything to do with those princesses, he is always there getting an autograph.

May was our last trip, and it has just been too long. This time will equal 7 for the family. It is Ben's third time (fifth if you count while he was still waiting to be born). We are very excited, and can hardly wait. Like I said...Here we go again!

Do We Have Suckers Imprinted on our Foreheads?

2008-09-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday we were attacked by a door to door salesman...Scott is a big sucker for anyone selling something that way. He has purchased cleaning supplies this way, and now we are proud owners of a home security system. Yes, I know what you are all thinking, and yes, I probably think it too. Scott changes his mind from feeling like it is a great thing to a horrible thing three or four times a day. Who knows what will happen. The benefits I see from it are when we are gone on vacation, or wherever, and someone will be watching our house, and when I am home alone at night with the kids. I don't get nervous during the day, but at night sometimes it bothers me. We have a very dark little circle, and really if someone wanted to break into our house it wouldn't be too difficult. As a matter of fact, I have broken into our house with a credit card in less than 30 seconds. The security system was installed for free and it was activated for free. We have to pay a monthly fee to keep it connected to emergency services, but that is it. The only catch is that we have to keep a sign for it (which is small) in our front yard, but I would think that you would want to do that anyways to work as a deterrent for people breaking in.

Although I am not as susceptible to door to door salesman, I am a sucker for infomercials. I want everything I see on them. Especially if the person doing the infomercial is that guy from the Oxiclean commercials. I think about buying whatever he is talking about. Whats his name, Billy something.

So, if you really want to get some money out of us, come by the house and sell something, I don't even know if it matters what you are selling, just have something, and we will probably buy it.

School Days

2008-09-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

Well, back to school to prove to dad that I'm no fool. (Yes, here again is my penchant for movie trivia. I don't know why my brain can fill up with useless movie quotes and then I can't remember important things for the life of me. Oh well, back to what I was really going to talk about.) Sean and Katie both started school this week. Sean's first day was yesterday. He was so funny. I asked him beforehand if he wanted me to take him into his class. He said "No." I asked if he wanted me to walk him to the door, and again "No." I asked him what I was allowed to do and he told me "You can wave at me from the car." Isn't that flattering. Then he conceded and said I could "get out and wave." That little monster. Once we got there though he wanted me to walk him to class. He was not anxious at all when I left. I was.

Katie is getting ready to go to school right now. She is all dressed and she looks like a hippie. She is such a pretty girl. She is really excited and keeps telling me she is going to be late. She is really excited and not nervous at all either. I guess that is good. It just seems so much harder for me than for either of them.

They also are going to start swim lessons tonight. Again. They love it. I love that they are having fun. Hopefully they will learn to be good enough swimmers that they will always enjoy the water. Scott wants to sign Ben up for a parent tot class as well. We will do that soon. Ben already likes to blow bubbles in the bathwater. He is so cute and funny.

Why in the world did I go?

2008-08-18T21:07:00.001-07:00

So, Saturday was my 10 year high school reunion, and boy was it ever fun. (Sarcastic eye roll inserted here.) There was just not a whole bunch of people there that I cared to see. It is not that I dislike them, it is just that I have my own life to worry about, and I can't really worry about people that I haven't seen for 10 years. The exception though was Jay and Ginger Neuteboom, and Natalie and Josh Fowler. I had a great time talking with them. Natalie is a lot the same as she was, and it just reminded me of why we got along so well in high school. She is about as cynical and sarcastic as I am (which I think is a good thing.) She was fun to talk to and there wasn't any real weird pauses or a lot of small talk. It was just nice to see her. Josh is really nice too. She found someone who is really good with her and a really nice guy. Jay and Ginger are just about the nicest people in the world. I don't see them very much, mostly at Target, but Jay was really fun to talk to. He is just fun to be around. Ginger is so sweet. She and Jay are in my mom and dad's ward, and my mom talks about how nice she is. I believe it. I haven't talked too much with her, but she just seems to be so nice, and not fake nice or icky sweet nice, but just nice and fun to be around.

Dinner was fantastic (another eye roll). I swear, $44 for two tacitos and nacho cheese pretty much sucked. It felt like we could have gone to Maverick and picked up a better dinner. Oh well, I just have to tell myself I didn't go for dinner. It was worth it to see the few mentioned above. I just think that next time we should go somewhere else and ditch out on the reunion.

How can I pick just one?

2008-08-13T15:42:00.001-07:00

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but I put a playlist on here. Let me tell you, this was not an easy task for me. Even now as I look at it I want to change it. There are things that you want to listen to when the mood hits. Other things are classic. When I thought about putting one on here I thought that it would be fun. You know, give people a sample of the stuff that I life. Little did I know that it is like choosing who is your favorite kid. It just can't be done, or at least not well. I pretty much love music. I have no talent except to listen, but boy do I love to listen. Music is something that is pretty important to me. I basically feel like my life runs in soundtrack. All of my memories are associated with songs. Certain songs remind me of people or places, or things that I have done. Basically, I just love it. So, how do you decide which songs are representative of yourself. Well, I don't think that all of these are. I picked some things that I really love, and others just found themselves there because of my mood. I will probably continually change it, and update it, but for now here it is. Hope you enjoy it. Also, there are things on here that some people might not like. Sorry. Just skip ahead to the next song or turn your speakers off.

I Fly

2008-07-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

I was just looking through our pictures and found this one of Sean. He and Scott went and did I Fly (fake skydiving) for Scott's birthday this year. Sean was on board of course and was so excited. When we got there he looked so tiny. He was very nervous and sat in the booth area looking petrified. He loved it though (what a shock). He is so crazy sometimes. Anyways, I thought this was cute and wanted everyone else to see why I am going to have a heart attack at a young age.

Special days and every other kinds

2008-07-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

So, Katie and I had a special day last Saturday. It was our "girl" day. Sean could hardly wait for us to go because that meant he got to watch Transformers. I had been holding out for as long as I could, but Scott really wanted to watch it with Sean. Alex ended up here too, so all the boys watched the movie. Sean loved it, of course, and I think they had fun.

Katie and I had a great time. We went to a place called "Girly Girl Frenzy." Yes, it was just what you might think. Katie had a princess makeover and looked absolutely adorable. They curled her hair and pulled it up, then they added a little tiara and glitter. She loved it and was sad when complete strangers did not tell her she was beautiful. She cried when she had to wash it out that night. She also had glitter makeup on her eyes. She is the girliest little girl ever. It is so funny because I was exactly opposite of that. It just goes to show that they come with their own personalities.

After the makeover we went to Build a Bear and she made a fairy winged ballet dancing bear named Katie. What a shock.

It is nice to spend time with her when we can just have fun and not have to be constantly disciplining someone in the house. Sometimes I feel like the worst mother ever, and the biggest joy kill. Maybe thats what it means to be a mom.

Ben is getting to be hilarious. He is the best dancer I have ever seen. He loves to dance, and will dance to just about anything. He also loves to watch sports. We went to a baseball game yesterday and he would stand there and clap like he was cheering for the players. It was so cute. He has a lot of personality, and I think it is probably good he does not talk yet, because I am sure that when he does it will never end.

One of my very most favorite people in the world just told us she is going to have a baby. We are so excited for Jessica and Ty. They have the most adorable kids and we love them. They are great friends. We are planning a trip to Disneyland with them (and not telling our kids), and I am so excited. It is going to be great. We are going in November and it will be over our anniversary. It doesn't seem like it has been eight years to me. Maybe Scott would disagree and feel like it has been an eternity. Oh well, it will be fun to be in Disneyland for that. We are going to go to town hall and get special badges. It will also be over Paige's birthday (Ty and Jessica's current youngest). She is the funniest kid I have ever met. She makes me laugh so hard. Emily, their oldest, is so cute and Sean swears that they will be married. I can only cross my fingers and hope. We would be lucky to have such wonderful people tied to us in a way that they have to pretend like they like us.

The Plague

2008-07-11T08:04:00.001-07:00

Oooh, I am sick of the sickness. We have the plague in our house, and it is terrible. Ben woke up Monday night screaming like a banshee. He cried and cried all night long. We took him to the doctor the next day, and of course he had strep. While we were waiting the doctor said, "Oh it is probably not strep because babies this little usually don't get it." Well, we proved her wrong. Then Katie and Sean got it the next day. So, they are all on medicine, and I am going to need some (for the craziness) soon. You feel so bad when you can't do anything to help the people you love most. Fortunately, Ben is pretty much better and being his usual self. Last night he was dancing on the countertop. He has my natural grace and rhythm (ha ha ha). Sean didn't eat dinner and we gave him his medicine without thinking about it. He has thrown up 3 times today already. Poor little guy, it is too bad he doesn't have more responsible parents. He says he is feeling better though, so we will see. Katie is good. She says her throat hurts when it is convenient for her, but for the most part she is fine.

Scott and I have to speak in church on Sunday. I am nervous, but I think Scott really is. We have managed to not speak in almost every ward we have been in, and somehow we were trapped this time. Sean also has to give a talk in primary and he is not happy about it. He is not one of those kids who volunteers for it every time it is there classes turn. Oh no, he tries to avoid it just like his daddy.

We have finally started working on our yard, and it is slow going. Maybe when we finish in five years we can have people over. Until then, if you come over you have to close your eyes as you walk past the yard. I am sure our neighbors hate us for it, but we really are trying.

I got a phone call from Natalie, an old friend, the other day, wanting to know if I was going to our high school reunion. Well, I mostly disliked everyone I went to school with, but hey, lets go anyways! Actually, it will be great to see her, and hopefully there will be a lot of other people that I want to see as well. It just seems that when we went to Scott's 10 year reunion most people were pricks. They all wanted to talk about how wonderful they are and how sucessful, and on and on, yada yada yada. Well, it is not like I begrudge them this, but it was basically a bragging contest. Scott felt really out of place because he was still in school. I am just able to say that even though we don't have the biggest house, or the most prestigious jobs, or the most money, we are happy, which seems to be much more important to me. I can honestly say that I am blissfully happy with my husband and my kids. They are all so great. Scott is the best husband/father anyone could ask for. He is so helpful to me, and I know that he loves me. He also loves his kids fiercly. I am one lucky girl.

We have this little thing where we write down stuff about the kids that we want to remember, so I think I will leave you with a final Katie-ism. She and Scott were talking and she said to him, "Daddy I don't like when you yell at me." Scott said to her, "Well if you listen I don't have to yell." Katie, my genius of a daughter then tells him, "But daddy, sometimes my brain is just evil." Yep, there you go, the funniest kids ever. So here is Katie and her evil brain.

Boy I'm bad at this

2008-06-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

So, it seems as if I am as bad at blogging as I am at journaling. Or maybe it is that every day is so repetitive that I just don't imagine anyone else would want to have to suffer through it as well. Life continues on at the Walker household. Things are starting to settle after moving. Scott and I both got callings in church and are now the 14 and 15 year old Sunday School teachers. I am excited about this, and have been preparing my first lesson all week. It is amazing how many things I don't know about the gospel even though I have grown up in it. We were also asked to talk about the Creation on July 13th. That is a surprisingly hard topic. Not because the material is necessarily that difficult, but because everyone has heard it a million times. I am trying to think of a way to present it that will be interesting, but it might just be another Sacrament talk that people fall asleep during.

We have started our weekly field trips, and they are even more fun this year than last. Although it is harder with Ben, it is nice that Wendy lives close enough to go now. Before it was sometimes hard to blend the other kids, and Katie got left out a lot. But this year she is much more able to keep up. We went to Classic skating last Thursday and it was a lot of fun. The kids played hard and we watched. Ben was so funny. He would dance and dance. He has my natural rhythm. You will see him next on Soul Train. Sean was really good on a scooter, and he just went around in circles. Katie was Katie, and she was kind of everywhere.

Scott struggles with his job. He is not very happy in it right now because his company is being dumb. I feel bad when he is unhappy at work, and it sometimes makes home life a little harder, but he is planning to apply for other jobs, and hopefully he will find something that makes him happy. It is important to me to have him feel happy and fulfilled at work. He is much happier at home when he feels that way.

I quit the Children's Place and am happy and sad about that. I really liked the people there, but I missed being with my family. It seemed that I was working whenever something was going on, or at least it felt that way. I also felt like I should be doing something more productive. Anyways, I am hoping to find my niche, something that makes me feel a little bit more like there is still part of me instead of just Mom and Wife. I don't quite know what that means, but am hoping that I can figure it out.

I also just went to Book Club. I absolutely love it. Scott jokes that we are just like The View, and that we don't even read books, we just pretend. That might be the case sometimes (Diana was the only one who read it last time and she didn't even pick the book), but I really enjoy my friends, and feel really happy about being there. The next book we are going to read should be really good, and I am going to make a real effort to read it.

Anyways, like I said, life goes on...

Back from Disneyland

2008-06-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we made our 6th trip to Disneyland, and it was interesting. The first day was way too hot, and we were neglectful. So of course, the next day Ben got sick. He puked in the entrance of Disneyland. Someone came to clean it up, and he asked if we needed a nurse to come check him out. We laughed and explained we travel with our own medical team (Nurse, EMT, CNA, and just in case a lifeguard). Later he pooped all over Scott's shirt and he had to go buy a new one. Then Ben didn't eat well for about three days and I was worried. I think he lost weight too, because he keeps walking out of his pants. The last two days it rained. I don't think we will be going in May ever again. It was just too crowded (lots of school kids) and the weather was really unpredictable. Katie was so proud of herself, she rode Splash Mountain, Soarin' Over California, and Matterhorn. She liked all of them and wanted to ride them again. Hopefully we will get her up to liking all the big rides, although I think she will always love "Singing Dollies" best.

Sean got to fight Darth Vader again, and then he had to use The Force to push back two stormtroopers. He loved it and it was so fun to watch. We did a character breakfast again too, and Scott and I both thought that Ben would love it, but it was when he was sick and so he was just too sad. He was also a little afraid. It was funny though...Scott asked Captain Hook to take his picture with us and he dipped me and gave me a big kiss. I was embarrassed and Scott pretended like he was mad. There were great pictures though. All in all, I had fun, although not as much as I usually do, I was just too worried the whole time. We did get to see the electrical parade, which was really cool because it had been probably 15 years since I saw it last. All in all, another wonderful time at Disneyland, "The Happiest Place on Earth."

Sean--Evil Knievel reincarnated

2008-05-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

Sean is crazy. The saturday before Mother's Day he was playing around on his bed (it seems all the really bad accidents happen there) and he nearly bit his tongue off. It was bleeding everywhere and we didn't know if we should take him to get it looked at. We opted against it, and now I am afraid that he is always going to have this hole in his tongue. Take a look at the great picture Scott took. I swear that kid is going to kill himself one day. He just has no fear about anything. He makes me want to close my eyes about half of the time so I can't see his stunts.

T-Ball

2008-05-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we just started T-Ball 3 games ago, and boy, can they play. It is so much fun to see Sean run around with his friends trying to play. No one is good. They all act surprised when they hit it, and they don't really know what to do in the outfield, but it is fun. It is also great to be able to go and just visit with my friends. The only thing that would make it better was if the weather would be good once in a while. I am really getting sick of this cold weather. I am ready for it to be sort of warm. I don't want it to be hot, just warm.

Scott is the coach along with Drew. He worries that the parents will not think that he is doing a good job, but I just tell him that most of them are probably just glad they did not have to do it themselves. I don't think people expect much. At least hopefully they don't.

Katie is struggling with the idea of not getting treats at the game. She doesn't quite get that she is not on the team, and doesn't understand why they are not for her. Life sometimes gives you tough lessons to swallow. She has fun running around with the other little sisters though, so that is good.

It reminds me of when I used to play ball. I miss it sometimes, although I doubt that I am coordinated enough to do it anymore. I just got lazy I guess. But, I played for so long (10 years) that it brings back memories watching these kids.

Sundays

2008-04-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we had church yesterday...I guess it is hard to get used to anything new. I miss my old ward and my friends there, and that makes it hard to go. I just feel like an outsider, which I guess I am since this is only our second week. Last week Sean said, "I don't think I am going to have any friends here," and I knew what he was talking about. Sean and Katie seem to be doing well though, and they both came home with friends. Scott keeps telling me I just need to give it a little time, and then I will be happy there too, but it is hard in the meantime. It is also hard to get used to going to Gospel Doctrine and Relief Society because I haven't done it in so long. Oh well, I guess I just need to keep going and see what happens.

Other than that our Sunday was pretty relaxing. We went to Scott's moms and had dinner. My kids love to go over there, and she is a good grandma. We came home and I went through some of our boxes that have not been put away. My old pictures and yearbooks were there, and it was a nice trip down memory lane. Sean and Katie buried pictures in the sandbox, and then Scott and I spent about 20 minutes trying to help Sean find his. Oh well.

Disneyland here we come!

2008-04-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

As you can tell from our opening picture, we are a Disneyland family. We love it. We go there a lot for someone who doesn't live close. We are planning a trip in about three weeks and we all are so excited. This will be our sixth time in two years. I know that doesn't seem like too many times to some people (and to others it seems just a little crazy) but we live in Utah and so it is a 12 or so hour drive. Sean is trying to bulk up so that he will be big enough to ride Indiana Jones. He thinks if he eats his meals he will grow tall enough and I allow for that because at least he eats. His favorite ride is Tower of Terror, but he likes anything that is fast. He also LOVES the Star Wars Experience. He got to fight Darth Vador last time we were there and he practices now just in case we are ever overun with Storm Troopers. Katie has promised to try four new rides this time. She is going to ride Soarin Over California, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Grizzly Bear Rapids. We will see. Her favorites as of now are Winnie the Pooh and "Singing Dollies" (otherwise known as It's a Small World) but we will see after this next trip. We took her on Tower of Terror when we went in October 2007 and she made this horrible hyperventilating noise the whole time she was on it. Now she says she hates it and she thinks we tricked her. Sean has to be the one to convince her to go on rides because he is the only one she trusts. Ben recognizes Mickey Mouse and all he does is point and get really excited, but I am happy to see that he is one of us. Scott and I love to go to Disneyland because we enjoy getting away and being together as a family. We have fun watching our children have fun, and that is the reason we go all the time. Needless to say, you will probably see a lot of Disneyland posts on here as we learn even more secrets on how to navigate The Park.

New to Blogging

2008-04-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought that I would finally jump on the bandwagon and start my first blog. As I sit and listen to Ben cry I can tell that this is going to be a fantastic idea. Really, I don't know how people who actually have lives have time to do this. Good thing I don't.

Also, I don't know how people think of things to write about. I mean really, who wants to hear about how today I woke up and changed poopy diapers. Talk about exciting. My joy in the morning is a bowl of Honeycombs and maybe five minutes alone without fighting.

I guess the best place to start is a little about my family. There are five of us now. Scott, who is now a nurse doing home health care, and believe me he has some gross stories. He works really hard and I think he usually likes his job. He also is a great dad and loves his kids. Kelley (myself), I spend most of my time cleaning up other people's messes, which is really fulfilling. I enjoy being a mother most of the time though. Sean looks exactly like his dad except with missing teeth from a bed jumping accident last year. He is in training to become like Evil Knievel. Katie is my princess, and she lets you know it too. She is smart and very helpful. Finally, there is Ben. Ben has just turned one and he is so strong willed. He knows what he wants and you better comply.

We just bought our first house and it is nice to have something that is ours...So nice to have to replace flooring, fix leaks, add air conditioning, clean, paint, replace broken windows, etc... I just love it. No really, I am happy to have a house, but I will be more happy when it is up to par Scott is really good with stuff like that though, and it should be done soon. I just wish we had a yard for the kids to play in.