Family Portrait

Family Portrait
"But Mom, what if a train comes?"

Monday, October 3, 2011

A Magical Week!

This week was the most fun week we have ever had as a family. We went to Disneyland!!!! Now I know what all the fuss is about. It was perfect. I knew it was going to be from the moment we arrived. We stepped out of our shuttle van to check into the Disneyland Hotel and Cody got all excited about the garbage can out front. Yes, there was Disney stuff even on the garbage cans. Boy we he happy about that.

Cody's favorite thing while we were there was the ride "Alice in Wonderland". Don't ask me why this was the winner for him, it just was. I think it was because it was the very first ride we went on and we were the first people to ride it in the park that day. So he thought that was pretty cool. He loved it so much we rode it again and again. A couple of time is broke down and we couldn't ride it. But one time, he decided to wait for it to open again. So I stood there and waited with him (it only ended up being about 10 minutes). But the best part was that people saw us waiting so they started queuing up and before we knew it there was a huge line to a ride that wasn't even open. All thanks to Cody.
Kami (a friend of ours) told Cody that all his dreams would come true at Disneyland. So all he wanted was to see a dog. The first thing we saw when we walked into our hotel (besides the garbage can) was Pluto. He was so excited that all his dreams came true the minute we walked through the door.
Then about 5 minutes later, in walked Aurora. That was the one thing Kathleen wanted: to see Princess Aurora. Dreams really do come true (just don't tell Brandon. All he wanted was to see Mickey, but he didn't walk in). Someone should really tell my kids that there is more to do at Disneyland than see characters.
They got balloons and we could see Disneyland from our hotel window, which was cool (although you can't see it in this picture). There is a whole story behind our hotel that we will leave out since we are focusing on the highlights of our trip and not the low-lights.
Our first night there we went to an Angel's game. They played the Rangers. It was super fun.

Dumbo:
When we were touring Sleeping Beauty's castle, this guy popped into the window and it freaked Brandon out. I have never seen him duck so fast! Luckily I had the camera ready for the shot when it happened.
The kids LOVED Jedi Training. They got to fight Darth Vader and Darth Maul. The whole time they kept saying how excited they were to tell their cousin Tanner about how hard they were working on their Jedi Training (that is a game they play every time they get together).

We did a lot of 3-D things while we were there. Aren't they all cute getting ready for Star Tours?
Goofy's Kitchen:
Cody played fetch with a fake ball with Pluto for about 5 minutes. Dinner at Goofy's kitchen was the best!
Kathleen and Belle had fun discussing their favorite books.


Cody LOVED the peanut butter and jelly pizza. He had some for dinner AND for breakfast the next morning.
The Mickey Ferris Wheel had cars that rocked while you were in them. They slid on a track and it was actually quite terrifying...ask Cody.
Kathleen even cried at one point she was so scared. But Brandon LOVED it and couldn't get enough. He even said it was his favorite ride.

The Tower of Terror (this one made Cody cry, but he did it). See if you can find us.
Finally, after being at the park for a couple days, Brandon got to see Mickey. He was on stage dancing, so he didn't get to hang with him. But it was still cool to see Mickey rock out.
Sully!
We loved talking with Crush. Brandon got to be the kid that had a conversation with him. It was really funny. When Brandon told Crush we were from Idaho, he pretended to swim to Idaho. It was hilarious.
Kathleen loved the Grizzly River Run. She even talked her dad into a nighttime run. It was a little creepy.
Everything was decked out for Halloween, which was super fun. The best part was the Haunted Mansion was completely changed to a "Nightmare Before Christmas" ride and theme.
Space Mountain had a scary orange guy for Halloween that freaked Cody out pretty good.
Cody was too chicken to participate in Jedi training the first time. He was so disappointed that we had to go back. He was much more brave the second time around and had a great time. Brandon did too (since it was his second time getting to participate).
When people ask what my favorite part of the trip was, here it is. I got to hold my kids hands the entire time. I know that is cheesy, but I loved it. Anytime I wanted to hold hands, all I had to do was stick a hand out and at least one of my kids would grab it. Then they started to hold each others hands as well. Kathleen and Brandon were ride buddies and went on a lot of rides together. They would hold hands while waiting in line or walking to the ride. I loved it.
Mickey's house:
Cody pretended he was Pluto on Pluto's bed chewing on Mickey's shoe.
FINALLY! Brandon finally got to see Mickey. He was soooo patient waiting for this.


We had the most AWESOME spot to watch the parade. By the way, the parade was amazing. Probably my second favorite thing (next to holding kids hands).

Brandon and Cody were excited to sleep with their new friends. Brandon had Perry the Platypus and Cody had Pluto.
One of the things I can remember from Disneyland as a kid was this flower arrangement of Mickey.
It's a Small World:
We ate at Ariel's Grotto for dinner one night. World's biggest let down. It cost almost $200 for our family to eat there and there were NO princesses. That's right, NO princesses at our character dining and the food tasted like poo. Not chocolate, but poo.
The desserts tasted like poo too. But they sure looked pretty.
We loved World of Color. It was pretty cool.

Here we are getting ready to leave. Just as Kathleen was about to snap the picture, Ryan's phone rang with the shuttle company ready to take us away.
But we will always have our awesome fun memories. Sorry there are so many pictures, but I weaned them down from over 300, so not bad really.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Family Portraits

We had our family pictures taken this week. Our friend, Dana, has a business and she does such a good job. She was even patient with Cody...and I am not joking. She really was. Here is a link to her blog if you want to see other awesome stuff she does. Dana Peterson Photography. But, of course, the best stuff is right here:









We got home the other day and there was a firetruck and an ambulance in front of our house. Luckily it wasn't for our house and everyone is fine. But the boys disappeared. I finally found them sitting in their window, just watching the firetruck like it was the coolest thing ever. But let's face it, it kind of is.
Kathleen is playing soccer and is actually pretty good. Something must have changed between age 8 and age 9 and she suddenly gets it. She is so cute.
Brandon hustling in football:
Lately Kathleen is totally into taking pictures. Sometimes I let her, and sometimes she just sneaks up on me.
This is a very, very important picture. And not just because the handsome man in it is super awesome. But because what that man is eating is important. That's right, homemade salsa from crops in our garden and homemade ice cream with peaches from our peach tree. I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen the picture. We can actually grow some stuff!
I love finding my boys like this. I don't care what they are doing, as long as they are loving each other, all is well.

Oh, and I cut my hair and dyed it brown. And yeah, Ryan didn't even notice. I am done trying to get him to see my hair!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Rest 4 Labor Day!

Ryan decided that we needed to rest for Labor Day. But by rest, he means play with no work, which is so unlike him. So we went on a tour of "daddy's work". The kids had never been there and LOVED it. We thought they would be bored, but as it turned out, they didn't want to leave.

They had such a good time that they actually loved each other in the car for a change.
So we took them to lunch at my new favorite restaurant: Flatbread Community Oven. Mmm.
The kids got to make their own pizzas.
Then we went to a candy store. Can anyone say, "Spoiled!?"
We have had a massive bee infestation this summer. Sorry for anyone who ran into me the week I was attacked by a swarm. I wasn't pleasant for a few days after that.
We went to a fun park on Monday for a picnic and wiffle ball. I had to get this picture to remember the moment when Ryan said to me, "How many kids do you think I can peg with this ball before parents start asking me to leave?" Don't worry, I took the ball away before he could get any kids with it.
This park has super fun walking paths with fish and other fun wildlife. The kids especially loved the 7 1/2 foot sturgeon.

And Cody:

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Present Day!!!

Yesterday was our annual family PRESENT DAY!!! We LOVE present day. If you don't know us very well, then you don't know about our annual tradition. So I will explain it to you. I decided back in the year 2000 that there weren't enough days in the year when one got presents. (Of course, that was before I had children and had to spend millions of dollars a year on presents for them.) But back before the kids, it just seemed like there weren't enough days. And I wanted presents!!!! So I invented a new holiday to sucker my husband into buying me gifts. Magically, he consented. Probably we were still too newly married for him to learn to say, "No! Woman!" But no matter the reason, he agreed and it started a new, and fun tradition at our house.Every year, the Wednesday before Labor Day is Present Day. Everyone in the family gets one gift (with a predetermined budget each year). We love our silly little gifts and have fun keeping the secret from each other of what all the other gifts are.





If you know what is good for you, you very well may start celebrating present day too. :)

First Day of School

What picture would you take for your first day of school?
The kids waiting at the bus stop with their friends:


Cody got a little lost trying to go where he was supposed to go after the bell rang. Good thing mom was there to help.
Don't ask how this little guy got to be the line leader on the way in. Any wagers as to what classroom he led the kids to? Because my bet is that it wasn't the right one.
Cody rode his bike to the bus stop to pick Kathleen and Brandon up.

Kathleen thinks she looks like a "high school kid" if she carries her binder in her arms instead of putting it in her backpack.
So what did my cute kids with closets full of cute new clothes decide to wear on day 2? Well, take a look:
Yeah, we pick our battles. Brandon has worn that jersey every day since his first football game and agreed to not wear it on the first day of school. But I guess day 2 had no such promise.