Thursday, May 22, 2014

My 30th Birthday

In April, the day we arrived home from Disneyland, I turned thirty. I spent most of the day doing laundry and other things around the house.  However, Brandon took the kids to town and bought me some flowers, a cake and pizza for dinner.

The kids were so excited to give me their cards. Each of my children thought it was pretty neat that it was my birthday.  I am lucky to have them and Brandon. I felt very loved on my birthday.

 For my birthday, my present Brandon gave me were new beautiful dishes! The dishes that we have had for the past almost eleven years have had some wear and tear and have started breaking.

Later in the month, I went out to lunch with some friends and once again celebrated my special day.

I was completely spoiled during the month of April. 

Disneyland- Day 3

On our last day in Disneyland, we made sure to hit all of our favorite rides a couple of times.  We started the morning of with one of Lucy's favorites, the Monster's Inc. ride. 

Next, Millie and I rode of the Tower of Terror together. It was a lot of fun. We laughed and laughed together.  I love her.

We then spent a good amount of time in Bug's Life.  The rides were just perfect for Lucy.  Her favorite ride of the park was the Chew Chew Train.    What is not to like about riding a train and seeing yummy food?

After that, we went on the Grizzly Rapids ride and got completely drenched! It felt nice on a hot day.

The kids insisted on riding the Goofy Flying school ride again. For whatever reason, that ride was one of their favorites. 

We also rode the swings again. This time, Emmy was brave and rode with Millie.

Of course we played the Toy Story Mania and went on California Screamin' multiple times since it is one of the kids' favorite rides.

We also rode the Car's Ride again and other fun rides in Car's Land.  We even stopped at the Diner there in Car's Land and had a delicious milk shake; it was heavenly!

Another ride that was one of my dad's favorites was Soaring Over California. We made sure to stop there again ( we rode it the first day ).

On the last day, the kids were able to pick out their souvenirs (the kids had to do jobs and be obedient to earn money to buy their souvenirs) . Lucy picked a bubble gun and a Frozen book, Ben picked a Cars toy and a water mister fan. Emmy picked out cute Minnie ears and a water mister fan. Hyrum decided on a wooden gun and a bubble gun.

It was pretty funny to walk behind Lucy and see a constant stream of bubbles. Lucy loves bubbles! Also, Ben and Emmy really enjoyed their mister fan. 

Next, we went back to the hotel for dinner and to relax. The kids and I went swimming in the pool during our relaxation time.  Also, my parents got KFC for dinner and some cupcakes since my birthday was in a couple days and they know how much I enjoy that restaurant. 

After some relaxation, we went back to Disneyland. We rode Autotopia again, did the Buzz Lightyear ride with the lazers and the Matterhorn many times.  Hyrum thought he was pretty awesome going with just Millie and him to ride Space Mountain.  Brandon and I took the other kids to ride the teacups and Dumbo.  We ended the night with riding the Pirates of the Carribean as a whole family. 

We stayed at Disneyland until the park closed. The next day, the kids, Brandon and I slept in until 9:00 and that was only because Millie woke us up.  During the car ride home, the kids slept a ton. It was cute to see Hyrum clutching his toy gun while he slept and Emmy was wearing her Minnie ears as she was dozing in the car.

It was a great trip filled with fun memories of the people we love!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Disneyland- Day 2

On our second day in Disneyland, we spent our time in the original part of the park.  Emmy wanted to have her hair in two buns, just like last year, so she would look like Minnie Mouse.

The very first ride that we went on that morning was Peter Pan's ride.  Once again, Lucy was nervous, but soon she warmed up to the idea of going on rides.

Next, we went to Space Mountain. Emmy, Hyrum and Ben were very brave and rode the ride!  Emmy decided that she wanted to sit by Papa during the ride.  During most of the ride, Emmy had her head hidden.


The next placed we stopped at was Toon Town! The kids loved all the silly things they found there!  It was fun for the kids to walk around and see and explore things there.


Of course Lucy loved playing in the water!

Lucy was a big fan of Minnie's House when she went and explored it with Millie. 

Another fun spot we went to on the second day was Autotopia.  The kids loved driving the cars, Lucy included.
 
We found a ride that we missed last time called Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.  It was a game ride where you shoot lazers at various targets throughout the ride.  This ride was one of  Papa's favorites.

We rode many fun rides in the main part of Disneyland. The only sad part was that Emmy's and Grandma's favorite ride, It's a Small World, was closed.  However, the kids found new rides to enjoy!

The kids fell in love with the Matterhorn ride.

We also had a fun time riding the Pirates of the Caribbean as a family!

Another fun ride was the Jungle Cruise! Lucy loved seeing all the animals.



Papa treated us that day to the famous Dole Whip ice cream.  It was the perfect treat for a very hot day! 

We were able to talk Emmy into riding Splash Mountain with us (she didn't last year).  Grandma watched Lucy while the rest of us went on the ride. Brandon, myself and the kids took up most of the space in our log boat and my dad, Camille, Sean and Tracy rode in a different boat log. During the ride I told the kids a couple times that when we go down the drop our picture would be taken and to do thumbs up.  Well, I was the  only person besides the random dude in the back to put thumbs up! It was pretty funny.In case you don't notice the white bow, Emmy is sitting behind Brandon. 

The other boat of our party got pretty creative for their picture too!

After Splash Mountain, we rode the Winnie the Pooh ride which is calm and fun and perfect for Lucy. While on the ride, Emmy lost a tooth at Disneyland!  

We decided to ride the train back to the entrance of the park! Lucy loves choo choos and was so excited to be on a train. It was really cute!    

Once again, we headed home for dinner and to rest for a bit before we headed back to the park in full force.



We made it back for the firework show with Tinkerbell in front of the castle! Emmy absolutely loved the show.


After the show, Brandon took Lucy back to the hotel and the kids and I rode the Tea Cups, Dumbo, Matterhorn, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White, and a fun magical boat ride that the kids insisted that Lucy needed to do on the last day.  It was a fun and busy second day at Disneyland!