Accidents Happen

Last night we had planned to take my parents out to dinner and a movie to thank my dad for all the tutoring he's done for Chris (Chris is taking a math class right now that is really tough). We got a babysitter for the kids and headed Lucille's for dinner. At the end of our meal I got a call and Sawyer had apparently fallen and hit his chin on the coffee table. So we headed home and found that his gash looked pretty deep and needed stitches. The poor babysitter felt so bad. Her mom had come over and took her home. Chris stayed with the kids and my Mom went with me to the ER. It really wasn't that bad. We waited a couple hours and the Dr. said she could glue it instead if I didn't want stitches. He was so good, I was proud of our little guy. He held still and they didn't even have to wrap his arms up. He cried a little bit but then calmed down. It looks like it is going to heal up great (as long as he doesn't pick at it). Such an eventful evening!

Before

After

Dodgers Opening Day

Luckily Chris was able to get tickets to Dodgers opening day and he was so excited to take Carter to their first game together. They had a great time and it was a fun to see them bonding! Carter loves baseball and can't wait to go to another game.

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. The kids got up early and followed the string tied to their bed to find their baskets. They spent most of the morning playing with their toys and eating candy. We don't have church until 1:00 so I spent much of the morning getting ready for primary (as usual).








When we got home from church, Sawyer fell asleep and we found Carter cuddling up next to him.
Then we headed over to Grammy and Grampy's for Easter dinner and an Easter Egg hunt. Our dinner was fabulous. I took a few pictures to show how beautiful it was.


My cousin Rob and his wife Kim came with their 3 kids. We had a great time and it was so much fun catching up with them. Our kids hunted for eggs and we had a wonderful dessert.

Carter's Birthday

I'm a little behind in posting, so pardon me while I catch up. As I previously posted, Carter's birthday was on April 7. He had more of a Birth-week this year. While we were in San Francisco (just a few days before his birthday) we had the waitress sing to Carter. That was the start of many birthday celebrations for Carter! On Monday night (before his birthday) we decided to go to Spaghetti Factory to celebrate since he was going to Disneyland the next day with Daddy. Here are a few pictures from his birthday dinner.





The next morning on his official birthday we had him open one of his presents, a Indiana Jones toy, which he'd been asking for.



Then Daddy took Carter to Disneyland where he got his free ticket and he applied it to an annual pass. They had a great time and Carter felt very special. On their way home we met them at Chick-fil-a for a quick dinner.


A couple of days later Grammy and Grampy came and picked him up and took him to the Long Beach Aquarium for his birthday. Grampy was on Spring break so it was perfect. He had a great time and they sent me this picture.



On Saturday April 10, we had his birthday party. Here is the invite. As you can see it was a Mario Kart Tournament. We just invited family so it was low key. We had pasta (a Mario Bros. favorite) and salad and garlic bread. We started the Mario Kart tournament and once everyone got a chance to play it was getting late so we opened gifts and did the cake. We had a great time and Carter loves his new Mario Super Sluggers game, he's played it non-stop!









Grandma Faye and Grandma Debbie had a great time playing Mario Kart!
(warning you may want to turn your volume down)


Carter had a great birthday!

I Heart San Francisco

Ever since Chris and I had a little second honeymoon in San Francisco when Maddie was one, I have just loved San Francisco. I think it is the coolest city with so many neat sites and such unique architecture. We've been back a couple of times since when Cisco and Heather lived in the Bay Area. So when I got an email to train a dental office in Alameda (located across the bay from San Francisco) Chris and I jumped at the chance to take the kids for a quick weekend get-away in one of our favorite cities. It was conference weekend which I was a little bummed about since I was really looking forward to soaking in all the talks. We drove up Friday night and arrived at our hotel at 1 am. I had to work the next day until 3. Chris picked me up and we drove across the bridge to San Francisco. It was a beautiful day- cool, crisp and clear.

We headed over to ride the cable cars first which we thought the kids would really enjoy. The line was really long and we waited over an hour! Sawyer was impatient but when we got on it was well worth the wait. We were kind of disappointed to see the the Cable cars had become more of a ride than a form of transportation. Gone are the days of hopping on and off throughout the city (as you see in the movies). We took the cable car to the end of the line in the Union Square area of San Francisco.

Sawyer sitting in an empty cable car while we waited.

Maddie doing one of her famous poses

The view from the park where you get on the Cable Cars

Silly Carter!

Once we got to downtown there was a big line to get on the Cable Cars to ride back so we decided to walk around. It was interesting walking around in a big city with 3 little kids and no stroller. Lets just say our patience was tested more than once! When Chris and I had gone to San Francisco years ago we ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on top of an 8 story Macy's building. We thought it was pretty cool and loved it. Since we were downtown we had the crazy idea to take the kids to eat there. We put our name in and there was an hour wait so we walked around Macy's until they paged us. It was so neat because we got to sit outside on the patio right next to a glass wall where you could see down into Union Square. The kids were really good since it felt so cool to be outside up high on top of a building with all the city lights around.

Here is my camera's measly attempt to capture a view from our table.

Maddie and Carter acting Silly

Me and the kids

After dinner it was almost 10 o'clock and we headed back to where our car was parked. Which was clear up by fisherman's wharf. We were pleased to find the Cable cars still running and we were able to "hop" on the old fashioned way at an intersection. After our ride back the driver let the kids ring the bell which was pretty exciting for Sawyer. He has talked about the Cable Cars ever since.

The next morning we listened to Conference on our computer, packed up our stuff, and headed out. We stopped at the Oakland Temple which looked beautiful and the view from the temple was gorgeous.

Another Disney Post

On March 31, I took Sawyer and Maddie to Disneyland for a Mystery shop. Carter stayed home with Daddy since he was going to go on his birthday a week later. It was very crowded due to all the Spring Break crowds, but we had a good time. Sawyer is such a Disney boy. He is obsessed with Mickey and just loves Disneyland. I think it is such a treat to take my kids to the most magical place on earth!

Maddie was thrilled to be able to ride Dumbo all by herself! Aparently you have to be 7 to ride alone.

Sawyer begged to on the rockets which we hadn't been on before. It was really fun and even got a little rush from it!

Maddie loves her little brother!

Carter Jones Nielsen

Five years ago today we welcomed our first son into our family. Having a boy felt different. I remember immediately feeling a special bond with him as soon as he was born. He was my boy and I was his mama. It is hard to believe that 5 years has past since that day. Carter has grown into such a wonderful boy. He is truly every mothers dream and I feel so lucky to be his mama. I call him my dream boat. When he smiles it makes me melt. I love you Carter and I look forward to many more birthdays! (not really, I wish you'd stay 5 and I'd keep you forever!)