Our Poor Little Blog . . .

Thank goodness Chad got our blog moving along the other day. I have definitely neglected making updates on it and so so much has happened since THANKSGIVING!! Time has flown by and there have been so many things to write about. There are just not enough hours in the day to do half of the things I need to do. So, I am officially back to blogging. Here is what we have been up to . . .

Since November we've snuck in two trips to Disneyland! We can't get enough of our season passes and are determined to get our money's worth. I absolutely LOVE Disneyland at Christmas and we have tried to make it an almost yearly tradition with Chad's family sometime in December. Our first trip was with them and then we went there right after New Years with TJ and Carrie and their little family. Both trips were so fun and I am already ready to go back.



Justin is still obsessed with Mickey Mouse and we got him some Mickey ears of his own. He insisted all day long that "I am Mickey Mouse!" Also, I am so proud to announce that he has overcome his fear of all the rides. When we went in October he was terrified of everything, and gratefully he now loves it all. His favorite ride was Small World. He loves Autopia and has to steer the whole time which makes for a very bumpy ride. He even went on Pirates and the Haunted Mansion.

Here is our family at Pooh's Corner next to the best bakery EVER!! We always load up on lots of their giant cookies. It is usually one of our first stops when we get to the park. The kids also love that little Winnie the Pooh ride and seeing the characters. And, of course Splash Mountain is probably Tyler and Julia's favorite ride.
Did I mention I LOVE Disneyland at Christmas? We always have to pose at the sleigh.Justin is obsessed with Wall-E. I can't quite figure out why, but he and all the kids go crazy over that movie. He was so excited when he saw Wall-E set up at California Adventure. I think it was the first time he actually requested to have his picture taken.Another one of our favorite stops at California Adventure - the new Toy Story ride. The kids (and Daddy) get so excited to wear the 3D glasses.Here are the kids with Minnie. This picture cracks me up because Justin always insists on shaking the characters' hands whenever he goes up to meet them. He cries if he doesn't get to and tells me he has to "say nice to meet you."One of the best purchases we ever made for Tyler was his "Hidden Mickeys" book. He has to carry it with him everytime we go and searches all over the park for the hidden Mickey Mouse heads. It's actually really fun and anyone that knows Tyler knows he lives for stuff like this.Julia got money from Santa so she could pick out something at Disneyland. She begged and begged for these Minnie ears, then took them back the next day because the headband was too tight. At least we got a cute picture.Here are Julia and her cousin Madison when we went in January. It was SO COLD that trip so we definitely had to bundle up.

Here are the kids and I after a long day. Going to Disneyland can be exhausting, but we are already ready to go back for more fun.

Another exciting event that happened on December 20th is that . . . Tyler turned 9!! I thought I'd keep it simple this year and have a little party at our house. We decided to do "Tyler's Favorite Things" and he planned the whole thing. We had a noodle buffet(his all-time favorite food), a quiz about Tyler, played baseball at Cochise, and had a Pokemon cake. It was a success for sure with his friends from school and cousins to help him celebrate. I quickly realized though that a house full of 9 year-old boys can be pretty wild!! They had a blast though, but were a little too fascinated with all my breakable Christmas decorations. I barely saved my Nutcracker music box from the boys trying to knock the ballet dancers down with their "swords" a.k.a. fingers. Not good . . .
Tyler blowing out his candles - I can't believe our baby is 9!!!

Justin, Brock and Julia helping Tyler open his presents.

Chad playing baseball with the boys.

Cousins Logan and Brockie - two of the cutest little boys ever!!

Tyler with his pokeball Pokemon cake. I don't understand Pokemon at all, but this made Tyler one happy birthday boy.

So, that is my attempt at trying to update our blog. Next up - Christmas. . . . Hopefully I'll be back on track soon.