Disneyland Day 5

We woke up on the last day in California, had breakfast at McDonalds, caught our shuttle and made it to the airport by 11:30. We made it through security with only me being subjected to further screaning, because Matt was holding Paxten, I was the one that had to do it. We had to wait in the terminal for abour an hour and then we boarded a very full plane. On the way there, there were empty seats and we were all able to sit by each other. this flight was very different. We were all spread out throughout the plane in 2 seats here, 2 seats there. There was not one empty seat on the plane. Matt sat with Parker and Paxten and Paige and I were together on the very last rows in the plane. The flight was a little bumpy on the way into Salt Lake because of the weather, but it was a beautiful sight to look out the plane window and see the blanket of clouds covering the earth. It was amazing. Paige slept the mojority of the flight and we landed in Salt Lake to 34 degree weather! We had left California and it was in the 70's so 34 seemed so cold!!! There had been a storm while we were gone and the car had about 5 inches of snow on it. By the time we got our bags from the baggae claim, got the car out of the parking lot, stopped for dinner and gas, we didn't arrive home until 9:30 that night. It was such a fun vacation and we were so glad we made the effort to take the kids while they were young. It was truly magical and the kids were so well behaved, I was amazed!! We were also lucky enough to go with Matt's Dad and Mom Kerry and Tara, and Quentin, Macee, Race, and Tosh. It was so fun to spend time with them and to get to know them better and to create these memories with them. The great news is that after spending a week side by side with each other we still love each other and want to spend more time together. Family Bonding!! We love it!!! The kids are constantly asking me when we are going back....we will be going back, I am just not sure when at this point!!

Disneyland Day 4 Part 2

Some of our favorite snacks were:

2 Dill Pickles ................................................$5.98
2 Churros.......................................................$8.00
2 Mickey Ice cream sandwiches .......... $9.50
5 Diet Cokes.................................................$17.50
2 Mickey Pretzels .w/ Cheese ............$10.00
1 Dole Whip Float .........................................$5.60
1 Watermelon Cotton Candy ...................$4.00
2 Slushies .....................................................$9.00
2 Bananas ......................................................$3.98
1 bag grapes ...................................................$2.99
1 bag cheetos .................................................$2.99
5 Corn dogs .................................................$30.00
1 Cars Collectors cup W/ root beer ........$9.50
.........................................................................$119.40
Priceless!

The food in the park was rediculously priced, but we did splurge on a few items to really get the whole Disneyland experience. They honestly had THE best pickles I have ever had, I would know! The mickey pretzel with cheese dip was also amazing. And one of my very favorites was the Dole Whip Float, pineapple ice cream floating on pineapple juice. It was delicious. Paige and I each had a mickey ice cream sandwhich and it was creamy and delicious as well. Parker like the churros and the pretzels and the cotton candy. I think we really did experience the true Disneyland and loved every minute of it!! The kids can't wait go back. We probably could have spent two more days at the parks doing all the things we missed and visiting stores and stuff that we didn't even get around to. But my feet, as well as everyone else's might not have made it 2 more days. 3 days was just about right!

Disneyland Day 4 Part 1

For our final day at the Happiest Place on Earth, we went back to Disneyland to ride the rides we had missed the first day as well as some of our favorites. When we first entered the park we saw Mary Poppins and Pinnocchio. We went to Mickeys Toon Town and rode a ride there, we went on the Teacups again, rode Mr. Toads Wild Ride, we rode Pirates of the Caribbean again, splash mountain, and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Some of them also went on the Space Mountain again and the Buzz Lightyear ride. We were really lucky to have gone at the time of year when the lines for the rides were pretty short. There is no way we could have ridden all those rides again if it had been the middle of July! As we were about to end our day of fun, It's A Small World reopened and we were able to go on that. That is a classic and a must if you visit Disneyland. It was all decorated for the holidays and they sang holiday songs as well as It's A Small World. It was fun to end our adventures with that ride. Matt and Tosh wanted to ride the tower of terror one more time over at California adventure, so they went over there and the rest of us went to Downtown Disneyland where the kids picked out a toy and a shirt as a souvenir. I was exhauseted after chasing three kids in the store by myself. It had also rained off and on that day and was much cooler, which was nice, but our feet were very wet when we got back to the hotel. We had a nice dinner at IHOP and then went back to the hotel to get our stuff packed and ready to leave in the morning. 

Disneyland Day 3 Part 2

After drying off and getting in a nap, we went back to California Adventure to ride some more rides before the show started. Parker, Matt, Tosh, and Macee went on the Screamin Californis Rollercoaster and Race and Paige went on King Triton's Carousel. Parker wasn't too sure of that coaster after he got off, it was pretty fast and went around in loops a lot. At least Matt was with him. We did some shopping around the Paradise Pier and rode the new Toy Story Ride. It was one of my favorites, you sat in a chair and wore 3D glasses. As the ride moved, you had to shoot different targets in Andy's room. It was really fun. Matt and Parker, and Tosh and Macee went on Mickey's Fun Wheel and then they went on Goofy's Sky School. We bought our family 5 corndogs, and spent $30!, we found a spot to stand and watch the World of Color Show. It was pretty amazing all the stuff they can do with projectors and color. It was about a 30-40 minute show and we were tired of stading in one place for that long, but the show was well worth it. It incorporated different images from years of Disney shows and music to go along with it. It was fun. We then went back to the hotel and the older boys hit the hot tub and I stayed back and got the kids to sleep. We sure know how to wear them out!

Disneyland Day 3 Part 1

We decided to use our early morning pass and get into California Adventure one hour earlier than the regular Park opening. The downfall of that is there ar 500 other people doing the same thing. And on early morning openings they only open certain parts of the park so everyone is congested to one part of the park until 10:00. Cars Land happend to be the part that was open and we all rushed to try and get on the  Radiator Springs racers before everyone else arrived. It was amazing walking into that part of the park, it looked identical to the town in the movie Cars. It was so fun!! The first ride we stopped at was Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and everyone but Paxten and I were able to ride this ride. While we were waiting for them to finish we got our picture taked with Lightning McQueen. The others finished just as we were and they were able to get pictures too before the crowds realized Lightning McQueen was there, so we didn't have to wait at all to se him. We then saw Red the Firetruck and Stanley, the founder of Radiator Springs.  We finally made it to the Radiator Springs Racers and we werent sure they were going to let Paige ride, she was right on the verge of being too short. But she made it. Paxten and I were once again the lone persons not able to ride. So we walked aroung Radiator Springs and took some pictures and saw Mater! We got a drink at the Cozy Cone, in a cone shaped cup and then we walked to another part of the park where Paxten could ride the rides. We met back up with the others and got our tickets for the World Of Color show that night. We went to a Bugs Land and rode the rides there, then went to the tower of terror. Matt, Parker, Tosh, Macee, Tara, and Quentin rode that ride. Grandpa, Grandpa, Paxten, Paige, Race, and I went for a ride on the trolley and saw Mickey the conductor, Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Chip and Dale, and Goofy. After a bunch of pictures, we went on the Monsters INC ride and Tosh and Matt went back to the Tower of Terror. We then made our way to the River Rapids ride, were we all got wet but had a great time. So much so that we rode that ride twice and took turns watching Paxten. After that we decided to go back to the hotel for a few hours to dry off and take a break before going back for the night show.  

Disneyland Day 2 Part 2

Paxten was not big enough to ride on quite a few rides, neither was Paige. A lot of the rides you had to be 40" tall. Paige was about 39.5" so some of the rides she snuck by and was able to go on and some she wasn't. She was able to go on Splash Mountain and she was in the front and boy did she get wet!! She wasn't too sure about how fun that ride was after she came off and was pretty soaked. While they were on that ride Paxten, and Grandma and I rode the Winnie the Pooh ride and then Paxten and I got our pictures taken with Tigger and Eeyore. After those rides we went and rode on Pirates of the Caribbean. That turned out to be one of our favorites and all of us could ride it together in one boat. That really made it fun. After that we decided that we had about had enough walking for the day and we were all hungry. We had packed in snacks and stuff, but hadn't really had a substantial meal all day long. It was about 6:00 and  as we were leaving the park we saw Pluto, and Mickey Mouse! We had to get a picture with them, after that Minnie Mouse came right by us and we got a picture with her. Tara happened to see Aurora and Cinderella walking and she literally chased them down to get a picture of them with Macee. After she got her picture she came and grabbed Paige and they both took off running to chase them down and get a picture with Paige. Paige was so excited to get a picture with some of her favorite princesses and that was a wonderful ending to our first day. We left the park and had dinner at McDonalds right by our hotel. The kids were completely worn out! Matt stayed with the kids in the hotel room and Tosh, Tara, Quentin and I hit the hotel hot tub and relaxed and visited for about a hour. It felt so good to relax and rest from walking all day long. We were very excited about the next day when we would be going to see Cars Land in California Adventure!

Disneyland Day 2 Part 1

After waking up fairly early and getting ourselves ready, luckily we had 3 adjoining rooms and 3 bathrooms, so we were all able to get ready pretty easily. We put on our walking shoes and headed for the park. The park had just changed to winter hours a week or so before we got there so they opened at 10:00 A.M. After waiting in line what seemed like forever, just because we were so excited, we were finally there!! First thing we did was head to the railroad to catch a ride on the train that would take us to the other side of the park. We thought we could beat a lot of the crowd getting to that side of the park before they did. It would have worked if the train hadn't stopped a bunch of times to let people on and off. At one stop they were going to wait for 10 minutes, at that point we all got off and just started walking around the park. The first ride we rode was the teacups, and that turned out to be Paige's favorite ride. Then the older kids went on the Matterhorn Mountain while Grandma, Paige, Paxten, and I went on the Dumbo ride. We weren't having to wait in the lines too long and we were very excited about that. We then rode Autopia, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, and the Asro Orbitor all in Tomorrowland. Then we waited in line to see Tinkerbell and Periwinkle. That line ended up taking forever, we waited with Macee, Paige, Tara and I for over an hour!!! We were about to give up when the line finally made progress and it was our turn. We were so glad we waited because Tinkerbell was amazing! She had an actual conversation with Macee and Paige asking them questions about themselves and actually trying to get to know them. She signed their autograph books and took several pictures with them. The girls were so happy about getting to meet her! We then went to the Tiki Room, and then onto Splash Mountain.

Disneyland Day 1 Part 2

After we arrived at our hotel and got checked in, we relaxed for a few minutes and let the kids run around and get some of their energy out. We went next door and had lunch, artisan pizza that was really yummy. We then let the kids get their swimming suits on and swim in the hotel pool for about an hour. The water was really chilly, but it was 90 degrees outside so it felt cool and refreshing. The kids loved it and wanted to swim longer, but we wanted to walk to Disneyland and look at the stores in the Downtown Disney area. After getting all our stuff together we literally walked across the street to get to Disneyland. We had to go through security where they check all your bags and then we went and browsed the stores. We went to the Lego store, where Race bought some fun legos to add to his collection and Parker got a Luke Skywalker lego keychain. It was pretty cook to see all the things that they had made out of legos that were life size. We then went to the build a bear workshop and Paige made herself her newest stuffed animal Aurora Kitty. She loved the process of choosing the animal, stuffing it, and putting a heart in it. She also loved all the princess outfits to pick from, she choose the pink princess outfit like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. That is also how she came up with the name. It was a Hello Kitty animal and we fused the 2 names to get Aurora Kitty. The other kids picked out outfits for their build a bears that they had at home. Parker picked out a Darth Vader outfit for his puppy at home. After Build A Bear we went to the biggest Disney Store I have ever seen, it was HUGE!! We walked around inside and the kids looked at things they might want to get before the trip was over. We just told them that they were looking and that we would come back if they didn't find anything else they had to have. After a few hours of walking around we were all pretty tired from getting up so early and flying. So we wend back to the hotel and got some sleep so we would be ready for the next day in the park!

Disneyland Day 1 Part 1

And we are OFF! We finally are on our way to Disneyland. We had to get up early to drive to Salt Lake to catch our flight ro California. Although I didn't sleep much during the night and finally decided to get up and get going at 3:00 A.M. We had to wake the kids ate 4:30 in order to get them ready and in the car to leave by 5:00 A.M. Chris and Kerry rode with us so we would only have one vehicle to pay for gas and parking at the airport. Tara and Quentin went the night before and stayed in a hotel and were able to leave their car there for the week. We arrived at the airport a little before 8:00 A.M and had no problem checking our luggage or going through security. It went relatively smoothly and they crowds hadn't grown a lot by then so there were less people to fight through. Our plane wasn't scheduled to leave until 10:45 so we had about 2 hours in the terminal to kill before we left. Luckily we had packed the kids' carry on bags full of activities to keep them occupied while we waited. Finally the time came to board the plane. Paige was a little nervous when she got on and saw the ground below us. When we finally took off, she seemed to like it and loved being able to look out the window and see how small everything got. The flight was great, and we had a very smooth landing in LA. We collected our bags and found our shuttle and then headed for the Hotel.

Parker Turns 7

Parker turned 7 on the 1st of November! How did that happen. I can't believe that I became a mother 7 years ago. It really has flown by quickly (I think I say that after every birthday, anniversary, year!) Parker took brownie cupcakes to school for his birthday treat. I tried to convince him to take cheese and crackers or something like that, since Halloween is the day before and kids have had so much sweet stuff. But that is what he wanted. For his birthday dinner we went to the China Buffet here in town and had Grandpa and Grandma Christiansen with us as well as Grandpa and Grandma Yancey. We all ate until we were stuffed with good chinese food and then went home to open gifts and have cake and ice cream. When we got home from dinner we had the neighbors, the Billings, over for cake and ice cream as well. Parker wanted an Angry Birds cake this year. I decided to make it easy on myself and I bought an Angry Birds game and used it as decoration on the cake. It turned out pretty good. I only had to fix it once when all the blocks tipped over. Parker loved it and that it what counts! He was spoiled as usual and received a lot of great gifts. He got some nerf bullets, angry bird shirts, a remote control car, cowboy guns, a slingshot sort of toy, star wars books, lego set, money, wallet, and three angry birds games. He loved everything he got and felt very special. We had cake and ice cream and then called it a night, since it was a school night! I hope Parker had a great birthday and knows how much we love him and how glad we were that he is part of our family. We are looking forward to next year when he will turn 8 and be baptized!! 

Paxten's Stats

Paxten is now almost 22 months ond! I had forgotten to take him in for his 18 month shots partly because I have been looking for a new Pediatrician. Well I finally found one that I think I am going to like and took Paxten in at the end of October to get his last set of immunizations. He is still a little guy weighing in at 19.9 pounds and he is 31 1/2 inches long. So he is not on the charts for weight and in the 9% for his height. His head was 48.3 cm which was in the 52%. So he has a big head and a little body! Everything else looked great. He is developing normally and has been saying quite a few words. (Mostly only I can understand, but at least he can communicate some!) The doctor wasn't concerned and didn't make me feel like a bad parent for having a small kid! That made me feel better! He did really well as far as the shots go, he cried at first, but then it didn't seem to bother him at all the rest of the day. Although he did seem to get a fever the next few days, which I am sure was from the shots, but he didn't let it slow him down one bit!

Parker's Spook Parade

This is Parker's first year attending Stoddard Elementary and so it was also his first Spook Parade at the school. Paige, Paxten and I arrived a few minutes before the parade was to start and got one of the last seats in the gym. After waiting for 30 minutes and still no sign of the "spooky" kids, I was beginning to wonder if it was going to happen. Then in walked the Principal, Mr. Wilson. Follwed by Parker's wonderful teacher Mrs. Hunt. Parker is number 6 in his class so he was right at the front of the line. He was very excited to see us there and to be wearing his costume, a Clone Wars guys, complete with a light saber. (Can you tell I am not a Star Wars fan, I don't even really know what he was!) It was an easy costume for him to put on all by himself at school, because they did not allow the kids wo wear their costumes to school in the morning, they had to put them on after lunch before the Spook Parade and class parties. Parker also took as a treat to his class a bag of Pumpkin Poop (Cheese Balls) to share with his classmates. I think he had a fun day at school celebrating Halloween.

My Little Trick-or-Treaters

On Halloween, I took out my littlest trick or treaters to visit my Dad and Mom at their work. Parker was at school and we were also going to visit after lunch for his school's Spook Parade. Isn't my Little Red Riding Hood and my little Lion so adorable?! I sure think so! After visiting a few places they were both ready to be done for the day, or at least until the Trunk Or Treat at the church.