New Years Eve fun... and not so fun

So this is the only picture I have of New Years Eve. We all (minus Taylor who missed his connection in Atlanta and had to spent New Years Eve in a hotel) went to a local outdoor mall where we shopped, played laser tag and had dinner. Then the adults (minus me- the mother) all went to see movies and then ring in the New Year with fireworks. Then the plan was to sleep in the next day and enjoy one more day together of golfing, sun and sand. That WAS the plan until someone picked up a really nasty flu bug and spread it throughout the group.


As we were ordering at dinner Ethan informed me that he needed to use the bathroom so I took him and left Miles and Isaac at the table with everyone else. As we were coming back we passed Arty and Isaac. Arty said "Isaac needs to go to the bathroom. Can I take him?" Can you take him? Would you like to take them all??? I sure don't mind especially without Taylor here. So we went back to the table and settled in. A good while later Arty comes back with Isaac who has a wet shirt. Now this isn't that surprising since Isaac is mostly potty trained but has on occasion somehow managed to fall in the toilet while he is peeing. Yep, did that while my visiting teacher was watching him back in November. I try not to laugh. Okay I don't even try, I just laugh at him. So I wasn't that alarmed that his shirt was wet- until Arty told me he had thrown up- A LOT and some of it got on his t-shirt and so he'd had to wash it off. WHAT? Seriously? You're THAT GOOD of an uncle. You voluntarily took a child to the bathroom- who told you he needed to throw up (apparently I missed that part of the dialogue as we were passing in the hall) and you took him back, helped him do his nasty deed, and then cleaned the poor kid up. Okay, we officially love you and adopt you as the favorite uncle (okay maybe Mack ties since Ethan smeared pigeon poo on his shirt). No more "the other Uncle Mack" for you sir. We'll make sure they know your name now!

Of course after throwing up Isaac was feeling fine and actually WANTED to eat his dinner (this is rare for him) and since he hadn't acted at all weird beforehand I decided to stay. He ate a plateful of buttered noodles and lots of bread and we had a great meal as a family. Then the others went off to the movie and fireworks and I took the boys home thinking maybe it was just a fluke and he wasn't really sick. Of course just as we pulled in the parking garage Isaac said "I'm sick" and started to throw up. No warning. Just, yep.

So I spent New Years cleaning up the nasty and listening to Taylor be sad in his hotel in Atlanta. And then woke up New Years Day feeling really nasty myself. The kids watched non-stop Star Wars cartoons while I barely survived on the couch. When Taylor arrived he informed me the other condo was faring no better than us. In total only Taylor, Mack, and Sam escaped the flu bug. Lovely New Years Day. I don't even remember what we did that night but we were together and after a quick family picture and one last meal at Waffle House we were off.

New Orleans Here we Come

When Taylor's dad first suggested the south we were all a little surprised. It does fit the basic criteria of being warm and having golf courses, but we weren't sure what else we'd find. He really wanted to support the Gulf Region after the recent oil spill.

One of the first suggestions made was that we HAD to make a trip to New Orleans. And since it was just 3 hours away we decided to brave a 1 night road trip in the middle of the big trip even though Taylor wasn't around.

We spent the first afternoon walking around the city but unfortunately arrived at each of our kid friendly destinations (aquarium/children's museums) just 10 minutes before each closed. There might have been some tantrums and unhappy children- especially after JUST missing the first and promising the second. Okay so there might have been lots of tantrums and sobbing. But who can blame them. It's slightly cruel to dangle toys, freedom to run and play, fish, and even sharks in front of them and then not deliver. A lovely walk through the French Quarter didn't improve their mood but getting picked up in the van by Aunt Barb sure did... and then dinner and TV at the hotel helped too.

One funny story I have to record in case it isn't written somewhere else. When we visited Portugal, Ethan was 3 1/2 and Isaac was barely 1. We brought a single stroller for Isaac but Ethan had to walk the whole time. And we did a LOT of walking- through towns, through castles, along the beach, you get the picture. And Ethan was a trooper. But you could tell when he was getting tired and hungry because he'd just start dragging himself along- literally you'd see his feet start to drag. And as soon as we'd stop and feed him and get his blood sugar back in check, he'd start saying things like "I love you guys" "This place is really fun" and always in this sugary sweet glazed over grin. Totally hilarious. New Orleans was the same except it was both Ethan and Isaac walking miles from place to place around town. And funny to see how a little food goes a long way with little bellies.

That night Taylor's dad volunteered to watch the kids while I went out on the town with the rest of the adults. New Orleans is AMAZING!!! Burbon street is a little over the top but the rest of the French Quarter and surrounding town is just neat. We window shopped and sampled ben-yeahs (yep I totally slaughtered the spelling on that but I think my spelling is more appropriate anyways because every mouthful was like a little yeah!), ate gumbo and forgot to take many pictures. Oh well, I guess that means I'll just have to take Taylor back some day. Such a hardship!

Because I felt so bad about torturing the boys the previous day, I made sure we went to the Children's Museum even though the rest of the adults were going to do more shopping and sight seeing. This museum definitely didn't disappoint. Here Ethan is encasing himself in a giant bubble. Miles was happy I was so intested in Ethan's bubble and taking pictures so he could sneak away and eat the bubble solution on the table. Lovely!

Isaac enjoyed the train table (although again wouldn't open his eyes for the picture).

They had an amazing baby/toddler area that I wish Salt Lake's Children's Museum would copy.
And even though Ethan is way too big for this stuff he enjoyed building bridges and forts and then climbing and toppling them.

He NEVER sets foot in the boring baby area in Salt Lake which makes watching 3 of them solo just a bit tricky. So it was nice he was so excited to play here while Miles...

played here... He seriously spent almost a half hour climbing up the different sides into the center and then back out again.

And he tried out his first slide with Ethan's help.

After enough time in the baby area we ventured out to the grocery store where Ethan and Isaac would have stayed forever.

But Miles was too destructive (imagine a kid in a candy store- except Miles doesn't even need candy to get that giddy- just tons of shelves with tons of plastic toys at his eye level he can grab and then drop when he sees something he'd rather have, grab and drop, grab and drop, you get the jist).

So we moved on to the appropriate boat and ferry section where you could drive, ride in, slide through, haul freight, and general love riverboats.

We'd have stayed all day, but there was lots of family to see so Grandpa came and got us. We sat outside the aquarium for a while enjoying the 75 degree weather and took the time to call Taylor who informed us that Salt Lake got 2 feet of snow that morning and it dumped fast enough that one of his cousins and even his uncle got stuck and had to abandon their cars. Ahh, we love Christmas trips! We had snacks and the boys chased pigeons around. Tragically cute Mack played with the boys and picked Ethan up on his shoulders only to discover that he had stepped in something less than lovely which was now smeared on his white t-shirt. Poor good uncle!

L to R Ethan, Clint, Barb, Miles, Sam, Mack, Jeff, Sonia, Arty, Esther. Who knows where Isaac is? I sure didn't. He wandered off SEVERAL times on this trip even with 9 adults trying to corral that ball of energy.Sometimes I'm sad my kids won't have cousins their age on Taylor's side of the family, but then they get days like this where it's 3 kids on 9 adults and they get chased and played with and swung through the streets.

And I think maybe cousins are overrated when your aunts and uncles are so much fun.

We had lunch at a little diner just to experience what the locals eat and then drove back while the boys took naps in the car. Of course being Woodburys, we stopped for dinner at a fine Scottish diner McDonald's. Bizarrely we found a newly constructed one that had these computer screens bolted to random tables and the computers had hundreds of games on them to play.

This is when 9 adults and 3 little boys turned into ALL little boys- except for Sonia and I who chased Miles around since no one would give up their computer to a 14 month old.

A good way to end a good mini-trip.

Perdido Beach

One of my favorite things about our Christmas trips is getting to explore and experience a different part of the country or world. And Taylor's family takes this charge to the max- especially when it comes to food.
On one of the chillier days while most of the family was golfing, Arty and I and the boys ventured off to the local zoo "The Little Zoo that Could". It's really named that I promise! And it really is tiny but it's quite amazing and I'd go back there in a heartbeat. First off because it's so small, there's very little walking so it's a constant animal after animal experience. The zoo seems more like an animal rescue zoo since it's not really planned out. There are tigers literally right next to monkeys and then these miniature horses on the other side- and just separated by chain fences. Sadly for you I was so interested in all the amazing animals- white tigers, lions, leopards, panthers (never seen those before and they're pretty freaky looking), regular tigers, bears, monkeys, lemurs, crazy loud birds all flying around in a house you walk through, lizars and komodo dragons, and so many more.

My boys were in heaven. Normally they run (literally) from animal exhibit to exhibit and barely stop to see the animals. This zoo was no exception besides that the zoo keepers gave them little cups of food pellets to feed to the animals. Yep, heaven. And in case I haven't convinced you to track down this tiny zoo, you can also do "meet the animal experiences". Most zoos do this too but with baby white tigers??? We watched through a window as an 8 or 9 year old girl and her mom bottle fed, played with, and cuddled the tiniest little white tiger. Jealousy! Unfortunately none of my kids were old enough so maybe in a few years we'll have to go back. They also have a kangaroo meeting experience.

Taylor's dad was on a mission every night to find "authentic" southern food and we hit the jackpot when he found Lambert's Cafe. We had to wait almost an hour outside since it's so popular but luckily the entire front of the restaurant has a full-on wooden train play area for the kids (or for anyone who considers themselves a kid).

And once you're inside the insanity and obesity fest begins. Lamberts is home of the "throwed rolls" and that's literally what they do. You order your drinks- which come in those crazy large trucker mugs you see in the picture (the yellow and red ones are sodas- the blues are hot chocolates- monstrous!) and then they start bringing you around the sides that come free with your meal- fried okra, collard greens, others I don't remember and then the throwed rolls come out. Some large waiter guy will come into your area and holler "throwed rolls" and you just put your hand up like Ethan here...

(so they were being nice to Ethan in this picture... since they'd already beaned him in the head once with a roll and a second time spilled his hot chocolate all over the table.)

And the literally chuck the rolls at you. Rolls the size of your head- flying through the air. And they don't care if you drop it and they have to throw another. I was full on just rolls and hot chocolate and then all the monster sized portions came out. Let's just say Lamberts isn't helping with the obesity crisis in this country. But a fun experience none the less.

Taylor got to take long weekends but ended up having to go back to work in Utah the week between Christmas and New Years. Thankfully there were lots of aunts and uncles and grandparents to help out with the boys and entertain them.

One day the boys and Grams and I took a ferry out to Dauphin Island. It would have been annoying that we arrived at the ferry 45 minutes early except that the boys were so excited..

and perfectly happy to entertain themselves climbing all over the rock walls.

They'd have stayed here climbing all day.

Have you noticed you get more pictures when I'm bored but they're not.

They loved the ferry ride. We got out of our car and went up to the observation deck. We spotted dolphins once and lots of birds fishing in the wake of the ferry.

How cute are these two? Unfortunately Miles is not trustworthy walking around a moving boat but he was happy to be carried by Grams.

On Dauphin Island we visited their "estuarium" and saw lots of fish that inhabit Mobile bay and the gulf. Again I was more interested in the fish so you only get a picture when the kids were playing and I was bored.

Lots of adventure and a fun part of the country to explore. December is really their off season since it was just in the 50's and 60's and thus hard to enjoy the white sandy beaches and the ocean. But it was nice to kind of have the place to ourselves and to be warmer than Utah.

Hanging with the Aunts and Uncles

The Woodbury Christmas trips really should be called Family Reunions because that's what they are. Although Taylor's parents try to get us all together for family events like graduations and weddings, it always seems like someone is missing. So it's nice that at Christmas we can all be together at least for a few days. Taylor was the one missing this year so my boys got extra time with aunts and uncles.
Apparently we were all on the same wavelength (or maybe they read my previous blog about the castle) since almost all their presents were knights and catles. Arty and Esther gave them a cardboard castle you color and then it folds into a really neat castle with windows and towers, doors and a courtyard.

And Taylor's mom gave both Ethan and Isaac playmobile Knight sets (she's smart like that and realizes they should each have their own to cut down on the non-sharing).

We kept the big felt castle at our condo and then this little set at the other condo so wherever they were they had castles and swords to play with. They loved them then and they still do. Almost every meal of the day I have to ask them to clean their knights up so we can eat.

Here's a silly group shot we got the last day before everyone got on airplanes.

L to R : Esther, Arty, Ethan, Taylor, Isaac, me, Miles, Gram, Clint, Barbara, Grandpa, Mack, and Sam.

And we have a fun announcement to make... Mack and Sam got engaged at Thanksgiving and will be getting married in October 2012. Yeah! We can't wait. We love Sam and think she's perfect for Mack! Plus she's from Maryland so we'll get to come visit some of our "still in DC" friends. Can't wait!

A Merry Christmas Weekend

We woke up Christmas morning to sun and sand instead of snow (yeah!) and to this cute message someone wrote in the sand.

Santa managed to find us (although one 5 year old was very concerned that he wouldn't) and was smart enough to have made drawstring bags to put his toys in (since someone unnamed forgot to pack the stockings). As it turned out this was a blessing that may continue to happen in future years. Since none of the 3 boy's bags were labeled, no one knew which was theirs so the decision was made to share all the toys and movies that Santa brought. The following 3 hours (until the other condo woke up) was filled with sharing and sword noises as Star Wars Jedi's fought dragons and Toy Story figures. Who knew everyone could live so harmoniously?

And then the chaos and family fun began. Of course Grandpa had to be festive with his red Santa shorts.

And once again we "made" a Christmas tree. This years was an obliging fake lemon tree bush thing beside the TV. Sadly you get no pictures of the paper being ripped or the jumping up and down excitement since I was enjoying the moment and forgot to take any pictures.

After the chaos, we settled in for a long weekend of hanging out around the condos. We went out to play in the sand several days. Miles was very excited to have his own bucket and shovel.

But much less excited by the cold sand until we showed him how to scoop and dump. Then he was sold. Isaac was sold at first glance- sand, buckets, water! But of course he won't open his eyes for the picture. Somehow this is still hilarious to him.

Ethan was quite the little engineer building his sandle castle and then quite the little monster trying to defend it was Isaac who finds delight in every aspect of life- including torturing his brother by destroying his sand castles. Yep, random weird shot of me in the background, but pretty beaches.

A little less wind or a little more warmth and I may just have stayed there the whole week. Not a complaint from the boys though.

And in true Woodbury fashion, we had to take on several puzzles as a challenge.

Which of course they overcame (after finding the few random pieces Miles was able to snatch without being caught).

And of course we ate way too much junk food. What? Watermelon and marshmallows aren't a balance diet?

Looks like a few of us were a little pooped after all that fun and food.

Off we go, and a Happy Birthday boy

Every year one of the best parts of Christmas for us is that we get to leave cold, snowy Utah for a warmer, sunnier place to explore. This year we already had our crazy exotic trips to London and Dubai so we were happy when Taylor's dad chose the gulf coast of Alabama. Traveling across the US is so much easier than across the world with kids in tow.
We left several feet of snow in Utah and temperatures in the 20's and had a layover in Kansas City which was already much warmer and missing the snow. This picture is mostly for Kristina.
And since Taylor's mom grew up in Kansas City and our layover allowed for a little exploring, we decided to go visit her old house. She and Taylor and the kids tried to sneak up to take a picture but in true midwesterner fashion, the people were at home and insisted on inviting everyone in to reminisce about the house. Sonia's mom actually designed it herself and they moved in when Sonia was in elementary school. Apparently the only thing the new owners have changed is the kitchen so it was neat to see how she grew up.

And then we were off again. These guys look like they're really suffering through the trip don't they?

We got in late that night and hurried to unpack and set up Isaac's presents so he could be surprised on his birthday morning. I especially wanted him to open presents in the morning so that he'd have all day to enjoy them and have a true birthday, not just an early Christmas.

If you're gonna be a knight you need to start with the right equipment.

And of course a knight needs a castle to live in and defend. Each Christmas trip has been a little different in our lodging. At first we were all in different hotel rooms which was good for privacy but hard to get everyone together and much harder once we added kids and tried to mesh their early to rise schedule with college students who don't. Then for a few years we stayed in large houses together which was great for schedules but we were all on top of each other. This year Taylor's dad rented 2 condos right next to each other which was perfect because we could all be together when we wanted but alone when we needed kids to take naps, etc. We ended up with a whole condo to ourselves for most of the time since Mack and Sam didn't come til later. Which made it convenient for us to take over the dining room with the castle and all the other toys the boys got for Christmas.

Was it a hit? Yes it was!

Isaac was not as interested in the gardens on the side but once I set them up Ethan was all over them and has since converted Isaac to planting, picking, selling, and cooking his fruits and vegis.

He is completely in love with the mailbox and picking the flowers and replanting them in their boxes.

Miles is just happy to go with the big boys. He bumbles his way into the tent and then finds a new way out each time- sometimes through the door, sometimes through the doggy door and sometimes just underneath a wall. Luckily the walls aren't connected to a floor since he has no concept that they're not solid and often leans on them and falls backwards to the floor. Pretty funny to watch though.

I'm glad I made the castle big enough that lots of people can fit inside. The boys have enjoyed having lots of friends inside at one time, and even sometimes their favorite big people like Aunt Barb.

And even though everyone was still in pajamas, Grams, Grandpa and Barb came over to open Isaac's birthday presents from them- legos! He's so enthralled he won't even look up for the camera.

Then of course it was back into the tent to open and play with the legos (cause where else would you rather play with your new toy than INSIDE your new toy?)

After the previous long day of travel, the kids were happy to just explore the condos and the beach outside. For dinner we tracked down one of the best diners, drive-ins, and dives places in all of Alabama and all had amazing shrimp po-boys. This picture has no relevance but he sure is cute- although in need of a bath.

And because Isaac has an uber-fabulous grams, she made sure we stopped on the way back from dinner at the only open store on Christmas Eve (CVS) to get candles we forgot so we could have red velvet brownies with cream cheese frosting. Yep, they were amazing and I'm drooling just typing this.

A good birthday I think- even if he refuses to look at the camera and even when he does turn, he closes his eyes and laughs because it's just SO FUNNY to do the opposite of what mom says. You'll be noticing that's a theme this Christmas.