Friday, April 30, 2010

The Happiest Place on Earth

In all my life I'd never been to Disneyland and I'm 27. Most people couldn't believe that when I would tell them. So when I heard about the "give a day, get a day" program where you can do a day of service in your community and you get a free day at D-land, I couldn't pass it up! My friend Alissa and I planted flowers/trees for a local nursing home and this week we drove to CA to use our passes. (We left our boys at home so it was just a girls only trip. Thanks Britni for watching Crew!)

Our first stop was Huntington Beach. It was kind of an overcast day and the water was cold, but the kids still had a great time playing in the sand, scaring the seagulls and collecting shells.
I was able to meet up with my best friend from high school, Jenna, and see her two darling little boys, Daniel and Nathan. I hadn't seen her in over two years!
BFF's



Caysja spelled her name in the sand--don't ask me why she wrote that 'A' upside down!
Daniel had brought his kite and he let Caysja help him fly it. It was a perfect day for flying kites.
Alissa's Aunt and Uncle in San Clemente were so nice to let us stay with them. When we got there THE funniest thing happened! Seriously, I am STILL laughing as I write this. The girls were scared to death of their two dogs. We were in the process of trying to get them used to them when suddenly one of the dogs started to jump on them (or something?!) which scared the girls even more and before we knew it they both had fallen backwards into the spa--that was full of VERY cold water! They were screaming and crying and Alissa was afraid they were drowning so she hopped in after them to pull them out! I thought I was going to pee my pants from laughing so hard!


This is the next morning before we left to Disneyland--We're almost there!

We made it to the 'Happiest Place on Earth'!!!




We went on a Wed. and it had rained in the morning which scared away the crowds so we walked onto most of the rides. However, the line to see the princesses was a 90 minute wait. Alissa was so nice and let Caysja and I go ride the train while she saved our place in line. I wasn't sure it was going to be worth it, but if you ask Caysja what her favorite part of D-land was, she'll tell you "the princesses" so I'm glad we got to see them, even though there were only three.

Tiana from the Princess and the Frog
Ariel
Cinderella

One of the most awesome things about D-land is the beautiful grounds. I loved these animals carved out of the bushes.

Caysja was so excited to meet Mickey Mouse! Unfortunately, Minnie Mouse wasn't in her house so we couldn't get a pic with her.

The famous "Sleeping Beauty" Castle
I talked Caysja into riding "Splash Mountain" with me. She was pretty freaked out after the 50 foot drop! (pictured here) She was sitting in the very front and got soaked!! She said she didn't want to go on any more "fast rides" but pretty soon she dried off and she was just fine. I was so proud of her for being so brave!
Waiting for the parade to start
the parade

Caysja and Halle loved watching all the dancers

End of a very fun nearly 12 hour day at D-land!
This is what our girls looked like on the ride back--totally OUT!

We found these waiting for us when we got home. Guess Daddy and Crewser missed us!
Thanks for taking us to Disneyland, Alissa and Halle! We had an awesome time!!

Easter 2010

We had a wonderful Easter! Here are some of the family pics we took after church.

Our Little Lady

Our Little Man

Best Friends...(most of the time, that is...)
The Midwestern Easter Egg Hunt is always amazing. Unfortunately I hardly got any pictures because my camera battery died, but they had some awesome things for the kids-- blow-up slide, bounce house, face painting, prizes, balloons, the Easter Bunny, etc. Caysja loved it all! Then we went to the Easter Egg hunt at San Lagos afterward. Caysja got tons of eggs.
Crew could have cared less. He couldn't figure out what the big bucket was for.
Opening Easter baskets Sun. morning
Easter Dinner at the Hamar's house
Everything was SO delicious!
The girls playing "princess" after dinner
Group shot with the Morris and Hamar families
We're going to miss you guys SO much!!

We love it when Grandma comes to town!

My mom came and stayed with us for a week during Idaho's Spring Break. My kids were in heaven and didn't want her to leave! We had a great week going to the Botanical Gardens, Oasis Gymnastics and the Mesa Easter Pageant with my friend Kristy and her kids. Thanks for coming to see us, Mom!

looking at the moutains

The wildflowers were so beautiful


Crew wasn't so sure about the foam pit





Waiting for the Easter pageant to start