Friday, May 29, 2015

Disneyland! {Photo Overload!}

On May 17th (B's 35th birthday!) we flew to Anaheim to go to Disneyland with B's parents.   This was the kids' first time on an airplane.  Peyton did get a little nauseas on the landing but other than that the kids loved it.  We stayed in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath hotel with kitchenette. It was really nice and only a half mile away from Disneyland.  As soon as we got there we were starving so we checked into the hotel and went to find some food.  We ate a delicious lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then headed back to the hotel so the kids could swim.  They could have stayed there all day.  Olivia would have rather swam everyday than go to Disneyland I think, haha.
 





The hotel included an amazing buffet breakfast, so each day we ate a huge breakfast before we left for the park.  The first day we decided to go to the Disneyland park.  The kids were so excited!


I tried to get a better pic but it was just so crowded this day.

Peyt jumped right in and we did Splash Mountain as our first ride...he sat right in front (as I ducked behind him when we did the big drop-it was early and I wasn't ready yet!)  He has ZERO fear when it comes to thrill rides.


Olivia picked the Pooh ride as her first ride.

Then we headed to the teacups which were a hit

Grammy and Papa in their cup

Flying Dumbo...I think the boys were bored, haha!


It was a nice vacation for B and I even though it was quite exhausting at times, we did a lot of walking!


Thunder Mountain! This is my favorite ride in Disneyland.

We saw several characters throughout the park but it was hard to get my camera out in time to get a photo.  Here I got a pic of the Mad Hatter.

Meeting Iridessa.  Both kids brought along Disney notebooks for all the characters to sign.
And Tinkerbell


Star Tours

Peyt really liked Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Trying with all their might on the Sword in the Stone (my favorite Disney movie!)

Livvy loved all the carousels

Peyt tolerated them :)



Exhausted girl after day one, waiting for our hotel shuttle

Grammy with her two boys

For day 2, we had reservations for a character breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen and then decided we would take on California Adventure.
 
Liv dressed as Cinderella for the day. 

Peyt excited for day 2..waiting for our shuttle bus

Daddy and his princess
At Goofy's Kitchen there was a huge buffet of Mickey shaped waffles, pancakes, crepes, omlets, scrambles, fruit, PB&J pizza (!!!!) pastries, treats and so much more ready for us to dive into.  It was so cool to sit down and eat and all the characters would walk around to interact, sign autographs and take photos with everyone.

Chip (or Dale, not sure)

Pluto

Goofy the Chef

 

Minnie was as sweet as can be.

My breakfast of PBJ pizza, eggs and bacon.  That pizza was AMAZING.  I need to make my own at home.


Papa and his princess
 
The Lego store was really fun to walk through.  The huge Lego figures were amazing.

Lego Beast

 
Cars land was my favorite! It seriously feels like you're right in Radiator Springs.
Flo's

There was a huge line to meet Lightening McQueen so we just opted to take a picture of him.






Mater!

 

The Radiator Springs car ride was really fun.  We went on it twice. 


Meeting Donald.  Peyton said he was his favorite.


The Silly Symphony Swings were Liv's favorite

California Screamin'...oh boy.  I did NOT want to go on this ride.  It goes over 60 mph and has a loop de loop.  I was a total chicken.  Peyton wanted to go on it so bad but I was nervous about him going on it and told B he should go first to see if it would be too scary for Peyton.  B and his dad went on it.  They LOVED it.

He couldn't not smile after getting off the coaster.

In the meantime, Liv went on another carousel...

They finally convinced me to suck it up and go. Peyton LOVED it and wanted to go right back on it again. I  kept my eyes closed for most of it, but had to admit it was pretty fun.  We went on it 3 times total on our trip. 

Paradise Pier Ferris Wheel...we all weren't a fan of it.  Being stopped on the top with the cage swaying over the water wasn't our favorite. 

The army guys from Toy Story

Liv and Papa on the Jumpin' Jellyfish

Bumper Cars in Bugs Land


Intense.  These bumper cars were SO slow it was kind of hilarious to watch

Lady bug ride in Bugs Land

We finally spotted Mickey...but there was a huge line to meet him.
Day 3...we gave the kids the choice of which park we would spend our last day at and they chose California Adventure.  We didn't get through a lot of the Disneyland side which was a little bummer.
Ready to go!

The last 2 days we gave in and rented a stroller for the day.  Best $15 we spent all day.  We could move through the park faster with no whining about tired legs. 

Walt and Mickey

Meeting Sophia..Liv LOVES her!

OLAF!

Giving warm hugs

Chatting it up with Anna and Elsa.  Anna was hilarious.  Olivia just kind of stood there in awe most of the time.


This was the one ride I could never go on again and not be sad about it.  I'm not a huge fan of being dropped in an elevator in the pitch dark.  Weird?  Peyt loved it.

Riding in a takeout box in Bugs Land

I sat out the Grizzly River Run with Liv since she had zero desire to go on it.  The rest of the crew loved it!


Rock Climbing


One last time on Cali Screamin'....this time with my eyes open the whole time.

She's just so stinking cute

Finally spotted Woody and Buzz


I thought for sure Olivia would want some Mickey or Minnie ears but nope, she opted for the hands. 

And a Donald hat for Peyt
They had this place called Ride Makerz in Downtown Disney...it's like a build-a-bear but with cars.  He got to custom build his own remote control car, it was pretty cool.



 

I think this pic was from the Toy Story ride

On the Ferris Wheel..


Loving the swings

Here's an iPhone pic of our picture on the Tower of Terror...can you tell I didn't like it?  haha

My lovah

His favorite ride ever

Olivia was OUT on the flight home.  We were all so tired!

 

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Mothers Day 2015

Mother's Day is so bittersweet for me.  It's a gigantic reminder that I'm without a mother but also a day where I'm extra thankful for my two beautiful kids.  I thought about my mom all day which made me sad and teary.   I was really struggling again with how unfair it is that she isn't here.  I still can't help but feel so incredibly devastated that she cant see my kids grow up.  I try my best to keep my mom alive in my kids eyes.  Trying to explain what she was like to Olivia, who never knew her, is so hard.  She will never fully understand what an amazing woman she was.  The best.
 
I woke up to a pancake and bacon breakfast made by B and the kids along with a much needed new Kate Spade iPhone case.  We spent all day outside practicing baseball outside and then we headed to the park to play, shoot some hoops and we went on a short nature walk. 
 
That night B and I went on a dinner date to Giuseppe's.  Perfect.
 






I love them soooo much!

Liv ditched training wheels!

On April 25th Olivia rode her bike with no training wheels!  She did so awesome and is non stop riding her bike.  She's had a few spills as she like to go top speed all the time, but she gets right back on.
 
 
We are so proud of her!  She loves anything that Peyton has or does so she loves having his old Cars bike.

 


Wednesday, May 6, 2015

My birthday/St. Therese auction

I turned 35 on April 11....MID THIRTIES, where is the time going?!
I woke up to Starbucks breakfast and lots of goodies from my loves!

Flowers, Flowerbomb perfume, tulips and COFFEE! 
That night we got all fancied up and headed out to the  kids' school auction.  It was held at the Oaks Park Pavillion and was very successful! The main item we raised for was a new gym floor.  Total $$ raised was $96k!  Hubers catered the dinner and it was really fun.


My dad and B's parents came too.  
My brother Hugh and sis-in-law Sherri took the kids overnight and they are STILL talking about how much fun they had and can't wait for another sleep over.
Peyt helped make dinner.  He requested a chicken cordon bleu dinner--his fave!

After the auction, we met up with Gina, (a good friend from highschool!) and her hubby Scott, their son Jack is in Peyton's class.  We went to a total dive bar out where we live and had a great time, even with all the old men hitting on us and B!
Maybe had a little too much fun..