Disneyland - Days 4-6

Hello Disneyland! As you can imagine we were all so excited to go to Disneyland. Kevin hadn't been since he was 7, I hadn't since I was 14 and the girls had never been. Look at those adorable girls and then look at those adorable yellow tulips. Beautiful.

Can you tell how excited Lillian is? Look at her moves in the parking lot.

We headed straight to Fantasy Land, I think with everyone else, and the girls went for the carousel. By the way, get ready for a ton of pictures...

Lillian and my parents on Small World; which turned out to be my mom's and the girls' favorite ride. They're still singing the song, "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all..."

Isabelle had a little accident on the first day at Disneyland. It was really my fault because I couldn't find a bathroom. So we washed out her clothes and if you look closely, we made her jacket into a little skirt. We learned our lesson though, every time we passed by a bathroom we went in.

Lillian went on Big Thunder twice and we were in line to go again, but it broke down.

I was really surprised because Lillian is kind of scared of a lot of things but she was up for almost any ride.

All of us except for my mom got into one tea cup. It was a tight ride.

We love Disneyland. It really is the happiest place on earth. Everything was beautiful and well manicured. I could have spent like a week there; I'm pretty sure Kevin couldn't though.

It was great to have my parents there with us. They were amazing sports and helped us a lot. We all had a blast together.

Here is Isabelle's favorite ride - the roller coaster in Toon Town. It was her favorite because it was the fastest ride she could ride. She was an inch too small for the larger rides, even with her high heeled shoes we bought her.

Day 2 Disneyland

The second day we headed for Splash Mountain. Lillian was skeptical but she was up for it. So was Isabelle but she was too short.

This is Isabelle after we all rode Splash Mountain, while she had to wait with Grandma. So sad.

Grandma and Grandpa supplied the girls with generous amounts of treats, especially cotton candy.

The girls standing by their "L" and "I" as we headed into California Adventure.

The Toy Story ride was a lot of fun. I went with Lillian and she did really well, I was kind of surprised. She did really well for a girl who doesn't play any video games.

So you can give me and Kevin the 'Parent's of the Year' award because, don't worry we took Lillian, our 4 year old, on the Tower of Terror. Yes, thank you, we will accept our award now. How bad are we? We told her it was the 'Hotel Ride'. I know it is so bad. As soon as we got off she said, "I did not like that ride. I am not going on it again." She said it very calmly but she wasn't happy about us taking her on it. I can't really blame her, it was pretty scary, even for me.

Day 3 Disneyland

At the end of the second day Lillian says, "I mean this is Disneyland. Where are all the princesses?"

We went to see them the third day, right after we hit Peter Pan, which is the cutest ride- we loved it. How cute are these two sisters? I love Disneyland.

Isabelle was a little hesitant about meeting the princesses, so I had to persuade her at first, which is why I am also in the picture with Snow White.

One of the advantages of going with Grandma and Grandpa, is that we could leave the girls with Grandma on Small World and go on Space Mountain with Grandpa. After the Tower of Terror incident Lillian didn't want to go on Space Mountain with us. Do you blame her?

All of us in front of Thunder Mountain.

Lillian and Isabelle wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel is California Adventure really bad. I don't do Ferris wheels. I'll do roller coasters but not Ferris wheels. That is my own personal wheel of terror. My Dad took them the first time, but Isabelle wanted to go again. Lillian had had enough, so Kevin took Isabelle. He told me she was crazy - laughing and giggling. That child is without fear. Disneyland will be a blast with her the next time we go.

Can you feel the love? They didn't fight or cry. They were happy to be there and to be with each other, it was wonderful. I love Disneyland.

One last visit to the Carousel.

During the Celebrate parade.

Lillian's favorite princesses are Mulan, Pocahontas, and Belle. I know, kind of obscure. We found this window with Mulan and Pocahontas so we had to take a picture of it.

As we were leaving on the last day we had to wake up Isabelle to get onto the shuttle. She kept crying as I was holding her, then all of sudden she threw up all over me. Thank goodness I was wearing layers. She was sick the rest of the night and on part of the drive home. I felt so bad for her but it was fortunate she got sick on the very last day as we were leaving the park.

Disneyland was just so much fun, I can't wait to go back. It truly is so magical.

Valentine's Day in San Diego - Day 3

Since Valentine's Day was on a Sunday we hurriedly got up and went to church with my Grandparents. When we got home we took a few pictures...

They are sitting in my Grandparent's apple tree that was blossoming.

Kevin and the girls picked a ton of lemons off of my Grandparent's lemon tree. Can you imagine picking lemons in February?

The girls had to have the lemons in the picture with us.

If you notice we don't have on any tights, or jackets, or coats or snow boots. Gosh it felt good.

Here is our four generation picture with my Grandma, my Dad, me and the girls.

After pictures we headed to the beach. Last May when we went to San Diego Kevin, Daniel, Bertha, and I found this beach called Solana Beach. It was one of our new favorites so we took everyone there to see how nice it was. The tide was still in, but going out so the beach space was limited, but still so nice.

Look at how blue the sky and the ocean are! Why don't I live by the beach again?

There are my 3 favorite people. We seriously could not keep the girls away from or out of the water. They love the ocean.

Once the tide went out a little we went exploring. We found some caves and some tide pools. The little sea urchins kind of freaked out the girls but they were sure neat to see.

Kevin's 30 and San Diego - Day 1 & 2

Kevin turned 30, that's right the big 3-0! Since we love to celebrate around here, well mainly I love to celebrate, I was trying to find a really good way to celebrate this momentous occasion. Then it came to us, how about a trip to sunny California and Disneyland? Doesn't that sound perfect? I just hope Kevin remembers how we celebrated his 30th when my 30th birthday comes around...

We had a little mini-celebration before his birthday so we wouldn't have to pack his gifts and take them with us. His major present for his birthday is a truck, that still wasn't there, but he knew it was coming. So, we gave him cleaning stuff for the truck, and a Cold Play CD to play in the truck.
On Kevin's birthday we drove down to San Diego to spend some time with my grandparents before we went to Disneyland. We drove down with my parents, which was so nice. They were such a big help. The kids did pretty well on the trip thankfully but we were so excited to get there!

My grandma made the best birthday meal for Kevin. Prime Rib, with mashed potatoes with sour cream, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese. Kevin's two favorite foods are potatoes and cheese and these potatoes were a perfect marriage of both. They were so good, I am still thinking about them. Then for a healthy side dish we had sauteed vegetables. Here is Kevin holding the heavenly potatoes.

My grandma also made Kevin carrot cake for dessert with cream cheese frosting, yum!

I can count on my fingers the number of times I have touched my Dad's hair. He does not like his hair touched, so when Isabelle started to touch his hair I immediately told her no. But Grandpa said it was okay, so I had to capture this rare moment.

Kevin's birthday also coincided with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. The girls watched it while snuggling with my Grandma Killen.

The next day we went out to enjoy the beautiful sun that we had been so desperately missing. We headed for Sea Port Village to do a little shopping and to soak up some rays.

Lillian couldn't help but dance to some guitar music at an outdoor concert.

There is a carousel at Sea Port Village that is always the highlight of the visit.

That night we headed for the beach to have a fire and a picnic. Kevin had never seen the ocean at sunset and so we hurriedly sped toward the ocean to view it. We go there just in time and it did not disappoint. Every time I go to the ocean I remember how much I love it!

It was a little cool but that didn't keep the girls out of there swimsuits, or out of the water.

It didn't keep Kevin out of the water either!

We roasted hot dogs over the fire and then marshmallows for s'mores. They were delicious and it was so fun to hear and see the ocean while having our picnic. It was so much fun.