The McGarys : April 2014

This month Brad and I spent a few days at Universal Studios Orlando for the first time. We left our babies in the hands of our good friends, the Fraileys. We're still determining whether or not they brainwashed our kids. So far the results are inconclusive.

I forgot how exhausted I get after walking through amusement parks all day. We went to a movie after dinner our first night and I slept through most of it. We weren't told until we arrived in Orlando that we had to go to one of those timeshare presentations because our stay was part of this cruise package we bought a long time ago but we can split up the activities (we'll go on the actual cruise later at our convenience). We were told the presentation would last two hours and we'd be back to our fun but it went on for more than four hours! Basically took up the first half of our day. Lame-o.

Our family is growing out of our Magic Bullet so we bought a Ninja and we are in love! It came with a food processor and a dough hook so I've made pizza dough, lots of smoothies, and I put an entire package of Oreo's in the food processor. They were completely crushed in exactly one second. I know Oreo's aren't the most durable food in the world but I was still incredibly surprised. Mostly because I had never even thought to crush them that way. So cool.

Look what we found in the sale bin at Costco!

We started camping this season. It was fun for one night. Our camp spot was literally the first one inside the entrance so we were next to a lot of traffic and our firewood was damp but our kind neighbors gave us some of theirs, and it ended up being a TAD cold that night. We were bundled up just fine, so being cold wasn't a problem but Jayda was SO bundled up she couldn't really move. So she cried. All night. Oh, and she had crazy mood swings. After crying for a time she would suddenly turn all happy, start giggling (more than she's ever giggled) and play peek-a-boo with the tent divider. We didn't sleep that night. Her playing was so cute though, I wasn't that mad. We stopped at the beach on our way home the next day and it was adorable watching the girls play.

Fleece footy pajamas covered in fleece pants and we added a sweater on top after this was taken.

Brad took two of his boy scouts on a three day road bike trip this month. They've been going on practice rides every Saturday for the past couple months and then hit it hard core. My brother Joel went as the second leader. He's not in our ward anymore but he has a passion for road biking and a lot of experience. The four of them camped both nights so everyday someone from church drove along and transported their stuff to the next spot. They had a lot of fun! It was a really good experience for them. The girls and I drove down to meet them at the finish line and bring equipment back.

Brad's slideshow video

We arrived a half hour early so we got out of the car and walked the bike path while we waited. I saw a nice little ant hill with TONS of busy little ants scurrying around so I showed it to the girls and then Jayda continued on walking. Suddenly she started crying and I looked to see her sitting on the ground. I figured she fell down lightly and was just being a "baby" about it. When she didn't stop I finally picked her up and realized she was being bitten to death by ants! The poor thing got eight or nine bites on her foot. For the record, Minnesota ants don't bite. I heard stories growing up about huge red ants that do but I hardly ever saw those. Regular black ants were as nice as ladybugs. These evil Florida fire ants are new, and not cool.

We all went to lunch before heading home

I think I hate the dentist even more as I get older. I really dread those cleanings. My last appointment showed no cavities (miracle!) but I apparently chipped a molar and didn't even notice. Ever since I got a crown a year ago I've had a huge space in between two teeth that collects SO much food it's ridiculous. I had to floss every single time I ate and then my gums were sore and painful. This time my dentist fixed that problem and I'm so happy! But I still dread my next visit.

Hugs on the toilet

Jayda is a year and a half! And her doctor thinks she's gonna be 5' 9"! She's in the 85th percentile for everything. I am absolutely in love with this age. It's so adorable because she looks little like a baby but walks and "talks" and laughs and plays with her big sister and basically acts like a toddler. She learns how to do everything WAY sooner than Kallie did. I swear, Kallie couldn't drink out of a regular cup without spilling all over herself until two and a half. Jayda's already been doing it for months. Jayda suddenly developed a LOVE for reading books. I thought Kallie loved to read but Jayda is constantly bringing books to me and won't go to bed without two or three. Since she's always been more mobile and wiggly than Kallie, I treasure the cuddle time with her and books. I'm starting to wonder if she'll potty train earlier than Kallie too.

Kallie knows her books really well now and recognizes rhyming so when I pause at the end of sentences she knows what words to say. So it's been fun reading with her too. And she's really taken to singing. Our primary music leader asked if our family will sing a song in primary because she's heard Kallie sing all the words to a lot of songs. She showed me a song that's not in the regular songbook and I'd never heard it before. It's pretty wordy so I didn't think Kallie would be able to learn it in a month. We started singing it to her every night before bed and she had the whole thing memorized in less than a week and can sing it by herself. Dang, I underestimated that girl.

Speaking of primary, I started playing piano this past Sunday and it actually went alright! I've never played in front of many people besides family because I get really nervous and mess up, no matter how well I can play on my own. I want to get past this obstacle so I asked my friend Paige, the primary pianist, to let me practice in her place. My heart was pounding but after a few songs I started to feel better. I'm excited to keep practicing.