Disney for a Day or Two

Taylor's dad has had this tradition for the past few years where he likes to take people on trips with him for his birthday.  It used to be golf trips so only the boys went along.  And then last year everyone went to New York to celebrate with him (minus me and 5 week old Isla and the boys).  This year he decided we should all go to Disneyland as a family.  Woohoo!  We were in!

Check in is one of the kids favorite spots- tiny cute chairs and a TV with old school Mickey cartoons.

For Taylor's dad's birthday we got him a bunch of lanyards and Disney trading pins off of ebay.  We got more than we thought he'd need so he could share with the group.  He passed out a bunch to each family unit.

The kids each got their own.

Jeff enjoyed sharing the fun.

We all got in Friday night and the others went to go ride a few rides.  Isla was tired so I put her to sleep and then went out onto our balcony to enjoy the view.  Downtown Disney is pretty amazing and hopping busy.

And since our original room wasn't ready when we got in (at 6pm) they upgraded us to a room with a fireworks view.  Amazing!  If you look at the dark part of the picture you'll notice those shadows are 3 little boys who made it home from rides in time to enjoy the show.

Pretty cool.

The next morning we all met for a big breakfast at a country themed restaurant.  We ate there at Christmas too and the boys loved it.

Isla was not so sure about the characters.

And then she was REALLY sure... that she absolutely did NOT like them...  AT ALL!

The boys did though.  They went bonkers for them.

And got in on Hokey Pokey.

There was a little bit of eating.

And a whole lot of horsing around.

And a lot of high fives.

And a whole lot of nervous looks from Isla... followed by wimpering... and then full on breaking down and wailing.

And then we were off to the rides.  The lines were amazingly light.  Imagine that- 95+ degrees in southern California.  I bet all the smart people went to the beach instead.

Isla was ready for the heat and sun in her outfit.

It was nice to have Taylor's pregnant sister in law along so he and I could ride together and she could watch the littles that couldn't go.

In truth 90% of the rides were fine for both the very pregnant and the very little and everyone had fun.

My kids were well taken care of by each other and by all their aunts and uncles.  It's so nice to not be constantly watching them like a hawk.  So nice to have help.

And they don't mind.

They love the attention and the extra fun.

We tried out just about every ride because the lines were so empty.  Some crazy people tried out the swinging ferris wheel cars.  And they regretted it afterwards.

We old people- and little Isla, opted for the non-swinging cars and enjoyed the entire experience.

Miles finally got to legally ride Cars and was in heaven.

Isla wasn't big enough sadly but she enjoyed napping in her stroller just the same.

We didn't mean to but we all dressed alike.  The 2 ragnar survivors and then all the red boys.  Okay so I did mean to dress them all alike.  It's so much easier to find them all in the same bright color.

Miles enjoyed Dumbo.

So did Isla with Mack and Sam.

Not sure if Barbara enjoyed It's a Small World in the middle of Clint and Tay.

These two sure did though.  They say they met each other as 5 year olds when the ride debuted at the New York World's Fair.  So cute!

Isla was fantastic and passed out just about anywhere she could- in her stroller, on a bench during a major musical production.  She was a champ.

We saw Mickey and the Magical Map and it was amazing as all Disney productions are.

And then for the last ride of the night we hit up Indiana Jones.  And... it got stuck.  Seriously.  I was riding next to Isaac and teasing him and trying to scare him, and then the car just stopped.  And we waited.  And then the lights all came on.  And we waited.  And waited.  And an Indiana Jones guy eventually came to check on us.  And then somehow the ride was back on.  And they even let us ride it a second time since it got stuck.

It was a great day.  After all those rides we went to dinner and Ethan quite literally passed out.  I mean dead asleep on the bench.  He didn't wake up until the next morning.  The others were pretty tired too so we missed the light show but had a great, very full day with the whole family.

The next day we got up bright and early to hit a few rides we'd missed the day before.  The boys were silly playing with each other in the line.

And we couldn't leave without one family shot in front of the iconic castle.  Such a fun was to celebrate grandpa's birthday!

Esther's Baby Shower

My kids are finally going to get a cousin on the Woodbury side!!!  And one that will live in the same city too!  We can't wait.  And since we're Esther's only family here Taylor's mom, sister, and I decided to throw her a fabulous baby shower.  Esther scoured Pinterest and fell in love with an outdoor tablescape of blues and sea greens.  Ours didn't turn out as amazing as the Pinterest one but it was beautiful on a budget :)

Taylor's mom got these amazing centerpieces.

And Taylor's godfather's wife brought this amazing cake.

These are my super easy, super fast cupcakes.

The dinner spread.

And the whole scene.  My backyard is actually a pretty setting- maybe not in 90+ degree heat at the end of June, but it was nice once the sun went down.  The boys helped me hang balloons from the trees and it was like floating balls of color.

And the goodies.  I cut out colored paper circled and then sewed them together in random patterns.  They turned out pretty cute and were super easy.

It was a fun night.  Can't wait to meet the little guy!

Scout Camp

One of the perks of having a husband with a busy work schedule is that he'd sometimes rather stay home and put the kids to bed and get some work done instead of going to each and every activity.  Cub Scout camp here is 2 afternoon/evenings in a row.  And since that was too much for Taylor to take off (plus he did also help with the Webelos camp another night the same week) I got to go up and hang out with our little scouts.  

Okay so scout camp is basically perfect for 7 and 8 year old little boys.  Silly games.  Silly skits.  Lots of dirt and playing around.  

Panning for gold.

Lassoing fake horses.

Taking silly pictures.

Shooting BB Guns.

Reloading.

Shooting more.

And a fabulous obstacle course to top it all off.

Yep.  They loved every minute of it.  And so did I.  A night off from the littlest ones and a chance to spend more time with my big boy who's growing up way too fast.  I'm glad I get to be a part of his happy little life though.