The Croslands take California Adventure

The beach was a little cool but it warmed up enough for a good swim!

 Macey was thrilled to have her cousins and aunt and uncle come to her school play.

The kids all got along fabulously, and even Cody really enjoyed himself thanks to Lucy's deep love of all things Star Wars!

These cute girls played shopkins here and there.

 I have no idea how he ended up up-side-down but we got to watch Rex for a short morning and he is the happiest easiest going baby ever. This was our first time meeting him! He kind of watched himself and we just had fun with him while his sisters and parents went to Disneyland. They took him for the rest of the day and he was a trooper. 

We joined them the second day in California Adventure.

Ben not only came, but took off a day to go to the a place he vowed he wouldn't go back to. (It's just so crowded.) But we did it, and it wasn't terribly crowded, and we - and he - had tons of fun!

It definitely helped to have people who knew how to work the fast passes. Once we got those going it worked out well.

This is our first ride, California Soarin.

Just as we were walking in the park, a decent rain started. Luckily Carly had thought to have everyone get ponchos for the forecasted rain. We pulled them out just in time. 

 Such irony that North Dakota was actually warmer while they were here in California!

 Can you see me in this ride?

I am the great hairy monster in the back. 

  

 I think most everyone's favorite or at least one of their favorite rides was California Screamin. It was definitely the kids! They went on it a ton of times.

Rex was a champ. The ferris wheel is the perfect time to eat :) ! 

Tower of Terror!

 

 The little girls watched the Pixar parade while the older kids went on the roller coaster once.

 The clam chowder bread bowls on the pier rival the bread bowls in San Fran.

 Toy Story Midway Mania is such a fun game!

Mackayla was my buddy each time and she seriously did awesome. Her accuracy was right up there with mine. Clearly I'm an expert :p  

 

Ended with World of Color.

I can see the vision of Disney now. It was not ideal only being able to go on rides a two year old could go on when we had passes, but this was so much fun! And anything is more fun with friends!

 Saturday morning Cody had a game and we went swimming, then out to eat, thanks to Tyler. It was really spur of the moment due to a flight delay...and I had approximately 30 seconds notice, so I went dressed as a bum. haha!

We loved spending time with our cute family. North Dakota is just so far away, thank goodness Disneyland lured them our way!! Come again!!

A Moment with Macey

Macey is my child that if I want something done, and want it done better than I would do it myself, I'll ask her to do it.

She's a natural little diplomat.

She LOVES reading. If I ever don't know what she's doing I can usually guess it's reading a book.

I tried to read Harry Potter with her and finally realized she does better reading on her own. So she read it alone and passed her scholastic reading test in class with flying colors. 

Macey finds true joy in loving other people.

She had a class play "Once Upon a Lily Pad" and was an egret. She did great with her part!

 Second to top row, third one in:

 Front row middle

 Macey and her best friend Gigi.

I snuck this little video of Macey. She dutifully claps for herself after each song when practicing.

Honestly, I love this. We should all do this for ourselves more often.

Macey makes me happy :) 

A Moment with Cody

Cody is always fun to watch movies with. He loves a good comedy and LOVES TO LAUGH.

(This part of the show always makes me cringe!!)

I can't believe we've never seen Home Alone with our kids before - never too late!

This is how Cody reacts to ALL funny movies. 

I always think it's more fun to watch Cody than the actual movie.

 Cody's class had a class singing performance.

Second row up last one on the right.

I have been able to volunteer in their library time this year and always love getting to the know the dynamics of the class. 

Baseball season is winding down.

Cody's team has had some bad luck. They only won one game in their regular season.

That hasn't stopped Cody from loving it!

The league wisely limits the amount of pitching each boy can do to 65 pitches every three days. Well, four games were stacked together and all their regular pitchers had reached their limit.

They put Cody in for the last three innings of the last of the string of games to pitch for the first time ever. He usually catches or plays second base or outfield.

He pitched one scoreless inning of three up three down, and then in the final inning struck the last batter out after a full count. It was a nail biter for me, but so fun for Cody!

This was the only game they won, and fun for Cody to be a part of it!

Here was one of his hits this game:

I mentioned how much I loved baseball now, and my dad wisely noted that it was because I had a child playing that loves it. 

Yes :) !!

Here's a 2 rbi good hit. I'll figure out all the lingo eventually!

Cody is such a good kid. He's intensely competitive, which should serve him well in life, and he also has an innate desire to be good.

He's equal parts responsible and carefree.

He expects us to be on time to things.

I love talking to him before bed each night.

He doesn't love spelling and grammar but loves learning and discovering things in and about the world.

He's growing up fast. 

He's lucky to have a dad that loves to play with him.

A Moment with Mackayla

Mackayla's dance class had a dance showcase.

They showed us what a typical dance day is like and what they have learned.

Start with stretching

  

BANANA! 

BANANA SPLIT! 

 Warm up songs

 A fun song for the kids!

They always end with curtsy song.

It is adorable.

I love the teacher's goals and routines and that she plays classical music for lots of their songs. Children need to hear more classical music.

They do other fun songs too!

The girls each got a medal. 

 Mrs. Tracy said that when Mackayla started she would hardly do anything if someone was looking at her, and now she is not scared to perform at all.

Mackayla proudly wears the medal EVERY. DAY.

Apparently the video won't upload...bummer!

Mackayla is growing up. She is quiet but quietly confident. I hope this quiet confidence serves her well, to know who she is and what she wants out of life. I don't anticipate that she will want or need accolades from others and I think this will be a strength to her. Especially in a social media obsessed world.

Mackayla is a fast runner.

She has a very distinct unique laugh and Ben and I love it. 

I heard a cute little girl copying her laugh one day. Kind of hilarious.

Whenever we go to the park she inconspicuously takes Macey's shoes and chucks them somewhere to hide them from her. Not to be mean, just to tease her. Then never says a word to Macey. Just waits until she is totally confused about where her shoes are, and watches:) 

She had a cold for a few weeks, then just as she might have gotten better she got another cold. The cough - ugh, the cough - lasted forever. (There was a month there between everyone coughing that I felt like I had a newborn with as much as I was waking up. ) The cough is better now but she can't hear. We took her in for tests. After an hour of waiting they took us back for a test to tell us she indeed can't hear. Yup. Then they just said wait it out, the fluid will eventually go away. 

Even though she denies up and down that she is ever sick, she was crying and saying her ear hurt today. She just got a fever too, so we will see what happens.

Talking about my kids is sometimes braggy. Isn't that what parents are supposed to do? I love my kiddos and want them to know that I'm proud of them. And this is where I do that:)

Ward Auction

Our ward has an auction each year to help raise money for the youth program.

I was impressed with how many youth volunteered their talents, we have a great group of kids, and a lot of talent here. The entertainment was above and beyond, with a legit U2 cover band. There was a silent auction and as they were counting down the final seconds I panicked and ended up outbidding myself on the wrong thing. I struggle!! But, it's all for a good cause. Cody ran and played with his friends the second we got there and Macey and Mackayla had fun decking themselves out! 

 

 And finally, a moment with Macey Seuss.