Braden Tyler Carter

Silly, Mischievous, Middle child, Carefree, Headstrong, Energetic, Independent, Rambunctious, Dirty, Friendly, Mamma's Boy, Brother, Spontaneous, Cute.

Currently:
Age: 3
Birthday: March 21, 2006
Favorite color: Blue
First words: All right!
Favorite snack: Goldfish crackers and fruit snacks
Something that makes me laugh: teasing Mommy and Sadie, pillow fights with Daddy, Baby Mackenzie's laugh.
Favorite thing to cuddle: Blankie named "Twinkles"
Favorite foods: "Cars cereal" (Cheerios), Pizza, chicken nuggets or anything with ketchup.
What I like to do: Play with my toy cars or trains, Play with Sadie, ride in Daddy's truck, see friends and family, go to the park, go on the boat, run as fast as I can(sometimes I crash into walls because I like to watch my feet go when I run), get really dirty.

Happy Birthday, BRADEN!

Our Trip To

D - I - S - N - E - Y - L - A - N - D

"The Happiest Place on Earth"

We are seriously ready to make it our full time job to explore Disneyland, hang out with the kids, eat good food, and just have fun around the clock. I'm sure we could find somewhere to live in the park where no one would even notice us. That place is so big and there is so much going on all over, how can anyone possibly keep track of it all!!

We went to Disneyland/California Adventure last Thursday - Saturday with Jason's parents (Nana and Papa).

The last time we went to Disneyland was 4 years ago when Sadie was 10 months old. The Roberts taught us the ropes of Disneyland that time. It was our first time there (besides the one night Jason had been there for his senior trip).

So since Braden's birthday is on Saturday and Sadie's is in a month and a half so we decided instead of spending money on big birthday parties this year, we would go to Disneyland! Braden was free since he is under 3 until this Saturday so we only had to pay for Sadie. We had so much fun watching their expressions and reactions to everything. Sadie loved dressing up as a different princess everyday. Nana brought 3 dresses, crowns and wands for her to wear while at the park. She loved that! Sadie was excited to try all of the rides (that doesn't mean she wasn't afraid while she was on some of the rides!) and Braden was the most excited about the characters. He wanted to give them all hugs right away, but most of the time there was a long line to get to them. By far his favorite "character" was Lightning McQueen at CA Adventure park. I could barely contain him to wait his turn in the line and once he got to him he ran his fingers up and down the car. It was hard for him to part once he got to him. :)Even Mackenzie caught on to the excitement. She was smiling and bouncing the whole time.

The kids LOVED having Daddy and Nana and Papa with them. I thought it was fun taking the kids on our Disneyland adventure too, but they're used to seeing me everyday. :)

One of their favorite rides the whole trip was the ones on Nana or Papa's lap!

They rented this motorized wheelchair for the trip so that they wouldn't get worn out walking all over the park. The kids loved riding around on it and almost all the rides had special access for people in wheelchairs to go to the front of the line. Everyone in the group was able to get on without waiting in the lines. The Nemo submarine ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Alice in Wonderland, Small World, Peter Pan ride, etc..... no waiting, so nice! As Jason's dad said... "It's tough being crippled." ;) Ha, ha... It was a life saver for them anyway, we did so much walking and it saved their legs since they took turns driving it.

Jason's mom also made reservations at some really fun restaurants for us! Goofy's Kitchen was a big hit with the kids! It was a yummy buffet and a whole section dedicated to kids. PB&J pizza, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, hot dogs, all the things kids like. I think all the adults got something from the kids section because it all looked so good. :) And lots of characters stopped by our table and said hi to the kids. Sadie was excited to talk to Sleeping Beauty. Mackenzie loved rubbing noses with Minnie Mouse. We also ate at some really nice places in the park and The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney (I didn't even know about Downtown Disney until they took us there! Its not part of the park, its between the two parks). There's some neat shops there!

While we were there we ran into quite a few people we knew, which was pretty cool. Sadie was super excited to see her friend Maile Roberts (also her Disnleyland buddy 4 years ago!)

(Maile, Melanie and Sadie clapping for the Parade)

They got to go on the California Soaring ride and The Tower of Terror together. They were just tall enough to do them. Sadie LOVED the California Soaring ride and was SCARED TO DEATH of the Tower of Terror. She swore that she wouldn't be scared and didn't need to hold Jason's hand the whole time right up until the part that the elevator went up and then she held on for dear life. After the ride was over she was shaking so hard that she couldn't even walk. She could barely even talk for about an hour afterward. Poor thing. But the next day guess what ride she wanted to go on.... Yep, the TOWER OF TERROR. We tried to remind her of how scared she was the last time but she insisted that it is fun to be scared. She takes after me. A complete CHICKEN but loves a good scare. Ha, ha!

The roller coaster in Toon Town was a big hit with both of the kids. I was going to list their all of their favorites, but I think they liked everything! We saw the light show and the fireworks at Disneyland and the parade at California Adventure. All really good.

Other fun pictures of our Adventure:

TOON TOWN

Silly faces ;)

Sadie and Braden make music inside Micky's house

Pixie Hollow

We had so much fun, we cant wait to go again! We were pretty worn out after the drive to get there and all the walking in the park, trying to see everything there was to see, but after 3 days we still haven't even seen it all! So much left to see, so much left to do....

Happy St. Patricks Day!

My favorite little green Leprechaun (Braden 12 mo.) wants to ask you on this "Green Holiday" to please vote for your favorite green theme photo at http://ilovejep.blogspot.com/2009/03/let-voting-begin.html!

I entered a photo into the contest (photo #2), a picture I took of an old fence at Anchor Bay. Help me win the "pot o' gold"!

Contest ends on Friday

I Hate Goodbyes.

A week ago we greeted my Dad and 2 of my brothers to California from Idaho. We visited with family in the surrounding area the first day and then we set off for a trip to Anchor Bay. The weather was a little cooler than last time we were there and it was a little breezy but it was still good weather. I was able to take some pictures of our bike trip and a little of the beach before Braden DROPPED MY CAMERA IN THE OCEAN! I'm not so happy about that. I'm usually careful not to let the kids take my camera without my supervision but I guess he took it sometime while I was changing Mackenzie's diaper on the rocks near the water. Here's some of the last pictures of my deceased camera...

Dad tried to teach Brigham to ride a bike. I don't think he wanted to learn very bad but we tried anyway. After crashing into the trees 20 or so times, we gave up and let him run the trail instead of bike it. He almost had it several times but was convinced that he was going to fall so that's what he did.
Braden got some practice on his bike while Brigham was working on riding his bike.

Then he got a comfy ride in the bike trailer with Mackenzie behind my bike when we started on the trail. Here Bryant poses next to Braden and Mackenzie. (Yes that's right we had a Bryant, a Brigham and a Braden... I was constantly getting the "B" names confused!)

We went on a trail in Gualala that led down to the beach. It was a nice ride and perfect for kids, since it wasn't too long or too difficult (not too hilly).

The view from the start of the trail.

Brigham running next to Sadie and Jason.Dad and Bryant with Brigham in the background next to the Ocean waves.

Sadie and Jason riding behind Dad on the way back.

Mackenzie seems to fall fast asleep every time she gets in this. What a nice brother Braden is to let his sister rest on his arm. :)

Braden, Sadie and Bryant on the beach at Anchor Bay. A little different than the way we left it last. The sand had all washed out, revealing lots of big rocks where it was sandy beach before. Here's the same view in the summertime:

And that's the end of pictures from my camera. Goodbye, camera, I miss you already. Looks like I have a track record of 2 years per camera...

Anyway, I did enjoy having family visit me, the long lost daughter/sister in California. I know Sadie and Braden loved all the attention from their Uncles and Grandpa as well. We don't get to see them here very often. Thanks, Dad for making the trip! And thanks for bringing B-day presents for the kids and fresh meat from the dairy. We love you!

Improvise

What do you do when the kids are restless and you're tired of the TV and they're tired of their toys but you can't send them outside because its stormy and raining?

Well, if you have no furniture in your front room and the house layout allows you to go in circles around the center then you let your kids ride their bikes in the HOUSE, of course!

Its like a big indoor race track!

Sadie loves her new "cruiser" bike. I thought she looked like a girl from the 50s in that outfit with this bike. :)

I have been working with Braden on pedaling and he just recently really "got" it. Now he is so fast that Sadie can't keep up with him! She yells for him to slow down and he reminds her that he is "Lightning McQueen" and "faster than fast"! I can't keep him off of it now!

SWEET Sadie

HANDSOME Braden

Chasing each other around the house.

I had to TIME when to open the refrigerator door while cooking dinner tonight.

*excuse the mess!*