Disneyland on a Monday Afternoon

One of the benefits of Ryan going to school here in Southern California this year has been that she gets out of school each Monday at 1:15. We have been able a few times to leave right after school to spend a few hours at Disneyland. It only takes us 45 minutes to get there and usually the crowds are pretty light. We spend a few hours wandering around and riding rides, then it's time to head home (because a certain 6, almost 7, year old has school tomorrow!)

Today was one of those Mondays! I was extremely tired from the weekend, but since I had promised them we could go, I loaded things up and away we went. I even took my camera this time! We had such a nice day. It was WARM out, but that just made rides like Pirates of the Caribbean even better!! I never thought the day would come that I would go to Disneyland by myself with 3 little girls and not think it was a big deal. I definitely have my system down and each time it gets easier!

My girls love the tea cups! Sophie wanted to turn that wheel SO bad, she just couldn't figure out how to reach far enough without falling over!!

My girls favorite ride is Storybook Land. I let Ryan take a few pictures here.

Do all kids love carousels? My girls LOVE going on carousels. I even sit on a horse with Sophie and she is happy as can be to hold on to that pole!

We went to the petting zoo this time. Sophie hung out in the stroller!

Peyton made sure to give equal petting time to each goat!

I know most of this is boring to everyone but my Mom, but I'm trying to be better about taking pictures of my kids. I'm HORRIBLE at it and someday my kids are going to wonder why there are no pictures!

Happy Number 7!!

My "little" girl is turning 7 next week so we had a party tonight to celebrate! She chose to have a "movie" night here in the theater room at our apartment complex. We figured we needed to take advantage of some of the amenities we have here while we can.

She invited lots of her new friends here in California and all of them came, including her 1st grade teacher! We ended up with 21 kids and lots of parents!!! We had pizza, chocolate popcorn, salad, strawberries (fresh from the field today!), candy, and cupcakes! The kids watched "Despicable Me", but in all honesty they only lasted for about 30 minutes of the movie.

They then entertained themselves by doing shadow puppets on the movie screen and playing "ring around the rosies". Each time they would try to sing louder and jump to "fall down" harder! It was REALLY loud!!

Ryan's friends gave her so many wonderful gifts. She says her favorite was the "Squeakies", I'm still not sure what they are!

We then sang happy birthday and had cupcakes, which were super yummy if I do say so myself!!! It was such a fun night and I really appreciated all the wonderful friends that came to celebrate Ryan. This is the complete opposite of when we moved here and she was so lonely and crying to go home. Now I watch her with all her sweet friends and know it's going to be so hard when it's time to leave. That is something I'm not looking forward too. What a fun night!!!

1st Grade!

My very "big" little girl had her 1st grade program tonight. I have been watching Ryan so much lately and realizing what a "big" girl she is becoming. Her performance was so sweet and fun to watch. The program was called "How Does Your Garden Grow?" They sang the cutest songs and did the cutest actions. She really enjoyed preparing for this and learning all her songs. She was so proud of herself and I couldn't have been prouder.

I have seen Ryan make such amazing progress this year both emotionally and academically. Her teacher, Miss Paddock, has been such a great influence on her. I am so very greatful that Ryan has had the opportunities she has had this year!

My American Girls!

After months and months of promises, we were finally able to take our girls to American Girl! After searching the whole store for the perfect doll, they BOTH settled on Laynie, the 2010 doll. Heaven forbid we be different.

Sophie's Blessing

While we were in Arizona for Christmas, we had the opportunity for Troy to give Sophie a name and a blessing. This was such a sweet experience because were were able to have so many loved ones with us. Three of my siblings and their families were there, Troy's sister, Mary and her family, my parents, Troy's parents and our good friends J and Shannon who happened to be in town from Vegas. For both Ryan and Peyton we were only able to have both sets of parents and a few close friends, so this was a new experience!

Our family of 5! And this was on December 26th (not really missing Seattle)!

Even though Sophie was a little older than Ryan and Peyton were at their blessings, she was still able to wear the same dress, that was my niece's dress. It is so sweet that my sister and I were able to have our blessed in the same dress!

Such wonderful men who are great examples to our girls!