Disneyland 2017

For Christmas my mom and Gary gave us kids and grandkids a Disneyland Vacation! The last time our family went to Disneyland Braden was 4 and Carter was 2, so it had been six years. Needless to say, we were all excited to experience the magic again and I was especially excited to share the magic with Riley for the first time. We spent 3 days in the parks, spending the first day in California Adventure and the next two in Disney. 

Our Favorite part of California Adventure was Cars Land. 

The kids loved the new Radiator Springs Racers ride.

We got to meet some of our favorite princesses, Anna and Elsa. 

We also got to see Frozen live! 

Braden and Carter, along with some of the cousins, got to be part of the Jedi Training. I didn't know what to expect from it but I thought it was really cool. The best part was watching the kids use lightsabers to fight against Darth Vader and use the force to bring order to the galaxy.

We didn't spend a lot of time visiting characters but there was one special character whom Riley wanted to meet, Goofy! Goofy is her favorite Disney character and has been for as long as I can remember. While we were waiting for Goofy to come out we got to meet Pluto. Riley in the past has been wary of fully costumed "friends." She usually does fine if their faces are showing, such as when she got to meet the princesses. 

Nervously saying "Hi" to Pluto

Hiding because she was scared of meeting Goofy

Only way I could get a picture of her with her Goofy!

The thing that surprised me the most during our trip was Carter's bravery. Last summer we took the kids to Six Flags Magic Mountain and the first thing we did was ride 2 of their biggest and fastest rides, Goliath and Twisted Colossus. Carter went on both and hated them so much that he wouldn't ride anything else other than the kiddie rides for the rest of the day. While in California Adventure Carter did not want to repeat his terror and didn't join us when we rode California Screamin'. He did ride pretty much everything else there. In Disneyland, I knew that most of the rides would be more to his speed but was pretty sure he wouldn't like some if the coasters. As it turns out, he ended up riding them all! It helped that Riley was big enough to ride everything except for Indiana Jones, and since she was going, he figured he could try them too. By the end of the trip Carter decided that Space Mountain was his favorite ride of all! Riley also surprised us with her enthusiasm for the fast coasters. She rode all of them and even squeezed in delight the whole time, usually with her hands waving over her head. She would ask over and over again to go on Space Mountain and her favorite, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

Another highlight was being able to watch the return of the Main Street Electric Parade. We didn't watch the whole parade but did see bits and pieces of it while in line and riding the Teacups and Alice in Wonderland. 

Towards the end of the third day the kids were beat. We took them to pick out souvenirs (Braden and Carter both made custom lightsabers and got stuffies, Braden got Stitch and Carter got a baby Pluto, and Riley got Mickey/Minnie ears and a stuffed Pluto) and then Kam took them home. I stayed behind with my mom to watch the parade and to ride my favorite ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Matterhorn a few times each. 

He was pooped and happy!

Highlights from our trip:

Walking onto almost all the rides because it was not crowded.

Braden and Aunt Megan being pelted with hail while taking off on California Screamin'.

Me missing the Frozen live show but getting to snuggle with my nephew, Jensen, the birthday boy.

Riley screaming with delight while on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Using stroller and fast passes to ride our favorite rides multiple times in a row.

Watching the boys build their own lightsabers.

Discovering Radiator Springs and riding on the speedway.

Seeing the Main Street Electrical Parade.

Spending the week with Family

All the loves, hugs, and thank you's from the kids.

Looking forward to doing it again soon!

Thanks mom for such a fun trip! 

It's Great to Be 8

Over the past couple of months I have watched Carter change from a little boy to a big kid. He doesn't look as baby faced and sometimes acts like a big kid but thankfully for me he still likes to give me hugs and loves and will still hold my hand.

We celebrated Carter's birthday in California playing with cousins but on the night before we left Kam and I took him out to eat at his favorite, Canes Chicken.

After we got home from California, Carter and I went out on a little adventure together to have some special pre-baptism photos taken for his invitation and to display at his party after the baptism.

Carter has such a sweet and calming spirit. He does not like contention or loud voices. His demeanor is very calm and he spends a lot of time taking in the world around him. He thinks a lot about things and as we were approaching his baptism he became very excited and asked a lot of questions and even gave input on how he wanted his special day to be like. Kam and I took these opportunities to have several special talks with just him as well as special family home evening lessons together as a family to help him prepare. At his baptism interview with our Bishop, Carter was pretty nervous. He wan't scared of the bishop, he is his best friend's dad, but he wasn't sure if he would know all the right answers. He didn't need to be nervous because he knew and understood all the things he needed to know. He was ready and very excited for his big day to finally arrive.

Carter was baptized and confirmed by his dad and many family members and friends came to support him on his special day. Afterwards we had lunch at our house and Carter loved the attention. He may have acted shy to it all but deep down he loved it!

Gramma Lucy couldn't make it down (she was sick) but she sent this delicious cake for Carter.

We are so very blessed to have so many amazing people who have shown their love and support in the decisions that our family has made to follow our Savior. I am amazed with the love I felt from so many towards Carter. I know I was so happy to watch my little boy make this special covenant and I know it will bring him much happiness throughout his life as he continues to choose his Savior and follow Him. I sure love this little boy of mine, he makes me so happy!

Happy New Year

The kids and I celebrated the new year in California this year. We left on Carter's birthday (more on that celebration soon) and arrived in time for a yummy dinner (one of Carter's favorites, croissant chicken) and an ice cream treat prepared by Ashely. The next day we took the kids to Chuck-e-Cheeses and to McDonalds for ice-cream and to play. On Saturday, New Years Eve, we took the kids to Discovery Cube and spent all day there. There was so much to do. The kids played legos, went on a helicopter tour, rock climbed, experienced hurricane winds and a tornado, grocery shopped with a super cool interactive store, sorted garbage and recycling, and inspected a house. Their favorite by far was the Science of Hockey exhibit. The boys especially loved trying to make a goal and then try to block goals like a real hockey goalie.

Afterwards, we went home for dinner and then we made marshmallow igloos and played games until the countdown (we streamed live from New York). At "midnight" we all danced and blew our horns. I even got a few kisses from some of these cute kids, although when I first asked Riley for a new years kiss she slapped my face!

On New Years Day we went to church and afterwards decided to go play in the California Snow. I'm pretty sure all of Los Angeles decided to go to the snow as well because the traffic was horrible. It took us 2 hours to get to the off ramp and after seeing the steady stream of slow moving cars headed up the mountain we decided to join some people we originally were making fun of for sledding on a hill with practically no snow on the side of the freeway. It turned out to be super fun!