We're off to Disney!

Grandma and Grandpa decided to treat all of us to a trip to Disneyland for spring break. Even Uncle Ross was talked (OK, more like forced) into coming to help with all of the kids. We left for Disneyland today right after school and the kids are very excited!




Okay, we're there! Can we go to bed now (this is at about 12:00 at night our time!)?

Mama and Papa in Vegas-ALONE!!!

JT and I took off on Wednesday for LAS VEGAS-just the two of us! When we landed, JT had the rental car all ready to go. He was so proud of his gold membership--the keys are in the car ready and the contract is hanging on the rear view mirror for you. All you have to do is get in the car and drive out. Of course, you actually have to get into the right car! Sorry, Jon Abraham, we did not mean to take your car. We took the car from stall 36 instead of 38 and only when the guy at the exit gate asked for our contract and JT's ID did we realize we had the wrong car. But, after that little hiccup, things went smooth. We stayed at the MGM grand and had awesome food and saw some great shows. On Wednesday, JT and I went to Tom Colicchio's (Top Chef judge) CraftSteak.


Delicious food and beautiful atmosphere! After that we went and saw the show KA. It was amazing.

They had this stage that could go from hortizontal to upright and everything in between (not allowed to take pictures). People were swinging all over the place from these balconies-it was very cool.

On Thursday and Friday, JT did his driving school while I spent the days relaxing at the pool, the spa and playing poker. On Friday night, we went to see Phantom of the Opera and then we went to l'atelier de joel robuchon restaurant. This was the best dining experience we have ever had, hands down. It was true art in food. We have never seen such beautiful food or tasted such deliciousness! It was a tasting menu, which is where you get small portions of 8 different things. This is what we got to try:

SEASONAL DISCOVERY MENU

• L'AMUSE-BOUCHE
  l'avocat en crème onctueuse sur un fondant de légumes acidulés
  Vegetable fondant topped with a delicate avocado cream
• LE CéLERI
  en mousseline au wasabi dans une gelée de pot-au-feu, aux lamelles de foie gras
  Celery mousse with wasabi, beef stew gelée and slices of foie gras
• LES HUITRES (we had a scallop here-best scallop ever!)
  de Kussi pochées dans leur coquille au beurre salé
  Poached baby Kussi oysters with French « Echiré » butter
• LE CRABE ROYAL
  doré à la plancha, frou-frou de légumes à l'huile de citronnelle
  King crab a la plancha, vegetables with lemongrass oil
• L'ASPERGE
  dans un macaroni gratiné au Comté et poitrine de veau fumée
  Asparagus with gratin of macaroni and Comté, smoke veal bacon
• LA SOLE
  en filets, jeunes poireaux étuvés au gingembre
  Dover sole filet, baby leeks with ginger
• LA CAILLE
  au foie gras, caramélisée avec une pomme purée truffée
  Foie gras stuffed free-range quail with truffle-mashed potatoes

or

• LA HAMPE
  de bœuf à l'échalote
  French-style hanger steak with fried shallots
• LE RIS DE VEAU
  clouté de laurier frais à la feuille de romaine farcie
  Calf sweetbread with fresh laurel and stuffed romaine lettuce
• LA DAURADE
  marinée au citron vert sur une pulpe de tomate acidulée à l'huile vierge
  Snapper marinated with lime, tomato and virgin olive oil
• L'ANANAS
  en crème légère, saveur au citron vert, gaufrette croustillante
  Light pineapple cream, vanilla wafer, lime and lemongrass sorbet
• LA NOISETTE
  en parfait glacé, gelée et suprêmes de pamplemousse
  Hazlenut parfait, fresh grapefruit, praline crunch
• LE CAFE
  Coffee or Espresso

Words simply cannot express how good it was. JT and I thought afterward that we should have taken a picture of each plate as it came out to us! Then on Saturday, we played in a poker tournament and then it was time to head home. The gambling was not kind to us, but you can't have everything I guess. It was such a great trip that JT and I decided that we are going to take a little trip just the two of us every year! Now we are recharged and ready to be good parents again!

Pure Joy!

Finally, a day to be outside! The little ones just love to swing and the sound of Charlotta's laughter is just pure joy! Kellen does anything for his little sister. He loves to make her happy!



Brennen gets a little jealous at times of the loss of "my Kellen"'s complete attention (here he looks on as Charlotta gets pushed)

But Kellen usually makes time for Brenne as well!

Finally, Kellen gets a turn!

Baeba loves her big girl food!

Kellen's nickname for Charlotta is Baeba (babe-a) and it seems to have stuck. Anyway, she is so proud of herself these days. She loves being off the baby food and eating regular food! Her favorite: blueberries! Oh, and a tooth finally poked through!

http://thedeanslife.shutterfly.com/3273

http://thedeanslife.shutterfly.com/3274

A little too much yesterday?

I think Skylar maybe did a little too much yesterday after her mouth surgery and now she is paying the price. She woke up today not feeling good at all. Here, Kellen keeps her company to make her feel better.

Charlotta kept eying Mormor all weekend, like she could not decide what to make of her. This is the look she had.

Of course, by Sunday night when it was time for Mormor to leave, she was finally giving her smiles. We had a great time this weekend and are really going to miss Mormor!

Mormor comes for the weekend!

Mormor arrived yesterday for the weekend and we sure had a great time. We started off today going to Skylar's piano recital. She is so cute when she plays. She seems to be unable to play without singing, but she was the only one at the recital who sang. I heard a couple of "awww, cute" behind me. I was proud of her. Check out the video at shutterfly!

http://thedeanslife.shutterfly.com/3272


Then we went to a craft fair, where there were not a whole lot of crafts, but we still managed to find a few things. Skylar got a new wallet and some nail polish. Mormor got lots of new jewlery and Charlotta got a couple of bows for her hair.

When we got back from the craft fair, the older kids headed off to see Hop with Mormor while the little ones slept. Then JT got a call from the farm and had to take off to Corwith. It was such a gorgeous day that we head off to the park for a few hours. Since Jt was not around to cook us a fabulous dinner, we headed to the Mexican restaurant.

The teeth fixing begins!

It is going to be a long process to fix this mouth, but it all started today. Skylar had a frenectomy (cut the muscle out of the thing that connects your top lip to your top gum) and two teeth baby teeth pulled. On the x-ray, her adult teeth were already on top of each other, so they had to pull the baby teeth to try and make room for the adult teeth. She was so nervous about everything, but she did ok.