New, fun books I discovered:

I bought the one on top- mainly about groceries.

The next one is help for fast-food lovers and the third

is about better food options for children.

The writing is entertaining, pictures are a MUST-

I can finally walk the aisles of the store

and know exactly what choice is a better alternative because

someone took a picture of it for me!!

Factoid: More than 3,000 ingredients are ADDED

to our food today and approved by the FDA.

Do you know what they are and what they're for?

Did you know the FDA allows a certain amount

of maggots and rat droppings in our food?

Ground cinnamon can have UP TO

400 insect fragments and 11 rodent hairs

per 50 grams!

OK, it was good for an education, an occasional laugh,

but most of all, an awareness that

sodium, sugars and fats are hidden and not helping me

nourish my family. We're trying to eat more fresh food and doing quite well

introducing new foods to the fam.

While comparing "apples to apples", you learn what products are better for you and why. The books claim that you can lose 10+ lbs by just switching brands of your faves; chips, candy, drinks, ice creams, meats, cheeses, etc. I've tried it and you're not really trading flavor or satisfaction. I took my book to the grocery store and love it! P.S. I lost 4 lbs this week:)

Rob's vacation

We totally couldn't wait to go to this Cali fave.

We even had to go twice.

Clean and yummy! Never fresher fries.

Can't wait for A.F. and Draper's to open.

Now that's a burger!

This is Rob's view of an amusement park:

Brat's in Fantasy Princess land

(or whatever that huge name is)

Toy Story Mania Hottie;)

Our adventures on Tom Sawyer Pirate Island;)

California Dreaming

Disney Fans, Unite!

Tell us your favorite things about this loud, colorful,

crowded, blissful slice of heaven!

Harrison loved his hat pick:

Yep, it's what dad gets when he takes his kid into

the store and tells him to pick one.

Although we would have gone for a less-conspicuous choice,

we've been children and picked the

watermelon retainer and the 6 foot Sugar Daddy sucker once.

'H' loved California Screamin' and everything coaster,

Toy Story Mania,

Indiana Jones, and more.

Rob and I got lots of hugs and "Thank You's" from this happy guy.

"Muthsterd"- Jess

"Don't let's be thilly"- Mad Hatter

Donovan took encouraging to get on the faster rides

but once he did, he was happy.

Favorite? Definitely Space Mountain.

Not the most complimentary pic, however this is what

one may look like following the 3rd ride on this

nighttime spin cycle.

Happiest on this ride, Tower of Terror (what?!) and chomping on his 4 churros:)

over the course of 3 days, that is.

He was calm, played with his siblings and enjoyed everything

except the "stupid Nemo boat" and Splash Mtn....until it was over.

Ivy has found her future permanent residence...

-"I could just live here"-

and I have to say that the girl can pose at any time, any place:)

Favorite rides for Ive:

Autopia go carts

Soaring over California

and of course, the *Tea Cups*

and everything Princess.

What a sport! We didn't mention the word "coaster" before any ride, we just went on and she took it all so well. I warned the kids that it would be a while before we came back and we would want to try new things...WE really wanted them to try all of the things that [I] wanted so that was that. They concurred by the end and felt brave and excited to tell their stories. Did I mention that I was 12 before I rode the rickety coaster at Lagoon? I try to steer the kids from being freakishly wimpy:)

It's so magical watching your kids' faces here. I love it.

Here we all are showing how brave we just were. Fun ride, the Matterhorn.

This is still one of my most colorful, happy rides (Small World).
The song doesn't bug me so that helps.
They have added a few hidden surprises for those of you who
haven't seen it in a while. It re-opened this month
after renovation.
I won't give it all away, but I love the huge white,
utopian melting pot room. I got a good
chuckle out of that.

Other faves: California Screamin'

It IS the Lexus of coasters;)

Peter Pan ride

and touring Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Walt, Thanks for everything.

I love Huntington Beach.

Huntington and all of the other beaches too.

I love watching the kids exit the car,

tossing off clothing, piece-by-piece

as they run for the water, get shocked by the cold

then throw caution to the wind and dive in!

This moment had to be one of my best mommy moments ever though:

Wave jumping. They grabbed hands and watched

the waves swell. Jump! Laugh! Run away!!

Burial at Huntington- 73 degrees, surfers, and relaxation.

Yea, I'm gonna ride this wave for a while-2/19/09.

Disney, here we come...

Steelers won the Superbowl,

I'm going to Disneyland!

Rob's favorite pro-football team IS the Steelers, and yes, we're going to Disneyland on Saturday, but these events are purely coincidental. The castle is Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany- this is the castle Disney modeled Sleeping Beauty's castle after. It's amazing in the Fall and the grounds are *magical too*.

The kids think the trip is for them. Don't tell them it's really for me so I can finally ride the Mickey roller coaster in Cal Adventure and get out of a week of work while I'm at it! It's like being a kid again.

I love road-tripping, reading with the ipod, sunshine, Pacific Coast Hgwy, the beach and losing myself in the chunky, cartoony world of Dis- I love "It's a Small World" even. I remember wanting to live in that ride as a child. I could do without the whole character chasing, autograph thing, but anything for a little twinkle in the kids' eyes too.

See you guys on the 20th! Love, Jess