Day 3 of Disneyland

Day 3

Today we woke up and headed to Disneyland.  Everyone was just so excited to get there.  We spent the day going on all the rides.  The weather was perfect, it wasn't busy at all and it was a great time!  Marshall was finally tall enough to go on Indiana Jones and he LOVED it!!

 

We ended up in Toon Town and the kids had a blast running all over the place.

 Start of Day 4

We got to go in an hour early on Wednesday.  As we walked in the characters were out and about so we quickly got a picture with Minnie Mouse.  Kambria was terrified of the characters, so that was kind of frustrating.  After we were done with Minnie Mouse we saw Donald Duck walking out of a building so we waved.  He came over and grabbed Kambria's hand and started walking with her.  He walked with her for a good 3+ minutes over to where he was going to stand.  She was so happy, she kept looking over at me with the biggest grin on her face and it could not have made me more happy!!!  After that she had no fear of any of the characters.  If you ask her what she loved she will tell you that Donald held her hand and when he walks he wiggles his butt!

to be continued in post Day 4!

Day 1 and 2 of Disneyland

Day 1

My entire family took a vacation and went to DISNEYLAND.  We started out by leaving early on Saturday morning and driving to Las Vegas.  We stopped in St. George and ate some lunch and then we were off to Vegas for the night.  We stayed in Monique's timeshare at the Tahiti Village.  It is super nice and has the best swimming pool and lazy river.  We checked in and got settled and then we went down and played in the pool for a few hours.  We then went to the lazy river and played and then went to get some dinner.  We stayed in a family suite.  There were 3 bedrooms and 3 couch beds so we were all together.  We all decided to get Pizza and eat it in our hotel.  Ary found the pizza place and her phone said it was 1 mile away!!  So Jake and I headed out to pick up the pizza.  We got in our car and put it into our GPS and it was actually 10 miles away.  With traffic and congestion on a Saturday night in Las Vegas it only took a good 30 minutes to get dinner and it was in a super scary area.  Good thing Jake was packin' his heat, cause it was scary!  It all was good though.  After we ate we went to the Bellagio so everyone could see the water show! I don't know why but that day I did not take any pictures at all!!

Day 2

We woke up, made some breakfast (pancakes, bacon, sausage) and then we headed for California.  We got there about 3:00pm and checked in and got settled in our hotel rooms.  We stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites.  They weren't fancy, but comfortable enough for the price and right across the street from Disneyland.  We then took off to go eat at Pink's, famous for their yummy hotdogs.  Jake went to Pink's when he went to an ICE training in CA and he had bought a shirt, that he loved so much.  I ruined it in the laundry one day and he really wanted to get a new one :-)  It was about a 45 min drive and then a very long wait in line.  We got some yummy dogs and then headed for the pier.

We chose to Drive down Santa Monica Blvdto get to the pier.  And yes I did sing the song several times while driving down "Santa Monica BLVD".  It was fun to see the HOLLYWOOD sign, drive past the beverly Hills homes that were HUGE!  We drove by Rodeo Drive, the temple, which was so beautiful, and then over to the pier.

It was dark by time we made it to the pier, so all the lights were on.  It was really pretty and such a fun atmosphere.  the beach sand was freezing cold, but we let the kids run around in it and then I couldn't resist going to the water.  By the time I ran down and back my feet were FROZEN!!

These two adorable kids are crazy, test my patience, and drive me crazy, but I love them more then anything in this world.  They are so cute, and love each other so much.  I love seeing them interact with one another.  I love hugging them, cuddeling with them, talking with them and seeing their personalities.   I am so very thankful that Heavenly Father blessed me with these two kids.  Do I wish I could have more kids, you bet, but I am thankful that at least I was able to have these two, YOU BET!!

Getaway to Las Vegas

Jake has been working a TON lately and we needed a small break.  Jake found an awesome deal at the Las Vegas (Hilton) Hotel for 3 nights, and my Mom and Jakes Mom so graciously offered to watch the kids, so off we went. 

It was so nice to drive to Vegas and be able to chat the entire time without having to tell children to quiet down, stop fighting, stop for 200 bathroom breaks, and just talk! 

While we were down there, we just walked the strip, went to Bellagio and watched the water show several times, and ate an amazing strawberry/bananna/chocolate crepe.  If you have never eaten one at the Bellagio, you are truly missing out.  They are so yummy, and we didn't even have to fight the kids to eat it fast. 

We relaxed by the pool, walked around, ate yummy food, shopping and had such a relaxing enjoyable time!!

Easter 2012

We had a great Easter. On Saturday morning we went to Smiths and the kids participated in their candy grab. The isles are filled with candy and you just run down and put the candy in your baskets. Afterwards we went to Herriman Park and did the Easter egg hunt there. We haven't been in a few years because we normally go to Jakes work party, but he didn't have one this year. You go with your age group and when the fire engine sounds you run to get candy. There were WAY TOO MANY kids there. they each got a few things, but it was over within 5 seconds. Here is my rant. Easter egg hunts are for your children to have fun and if they get candy great, if they don't great, it is just candy. Parents need to teach their children that if they get nothing it is OK. Parents, need to let there kids have fun. Parents were grabbing there kids and running them onto the field, grabbing stuff and shoving it into there baskets, yelling at there kids to grab it. I say let them do what they want to do and just have fun!!!!!!

That night we dyed our easter eggs.

The Easter Bunny hid the easter baskets and hid the easter eggs for the kids to find in the morning. They each got a church outfit, a DS/Leapster game and candy. On Sunday night we went to my Mom's house and the kids did their scavenger hunt and easter egg hunt and we had a turkey dinner. It was a lot of fun.

We are sure thankful for the Ressurection of our Savior Jesus Christ. I am thankful for eternal families and the knowledge that Death is not the end.