A great way to start the Christmas season.....

Disneyland, the week after Thanksgiving, was fabulous! The Christmas trimmings were spectacular. The people in the park were sparse, and the lines were short! The weather was just right, and the rides were, as always, out of this world! We had an awesome trip, minus a few melt downs from our terrible two yr. old, and out of control four year old, but one thing was for sure.........Disneyland was magical, and we were so happy to be there!

I took over 400 pics. so, this is just a short view, or some highlights of our trip in no particular order!

Visits with Santa!

We were amazed at all the Christmas decor!The Chapmans came the day before we left, so we were lucky to have an afternoon in the park with our good friends!We brought the double stroller, but Owen wanted Robert to hold him at all times. By the end of the week, Robert's back was ACHING!
The girls and their painted faces!It's a Small World.......all lit up at night!Owen, happy?!

Breakfast with Lilo!
Lunch with the princesses.


Candy store!


Snuggling with Minnie! Swimming in the pirate ship pool.


Riding the roller coasters!


Screaming down slides!

Showing Minnie the mini -babies.

Riding fun rides!

Laughing at their crazy dad!

Playing in Mickey's Toon Town!

Being a good big sister!

Riding the Madahorn, again, and again, and again!

Doing a little jive with Brother Bear!

Building at the Lego store!

Hugging Minnie.....again!

Watching 3D shows!

Pictures by the enormous Christmas tree!

Owen, loving seeing his buddies, Hunter and Tanner!

Avery and Owen each chose a baby Minnie and Mickey and loved them the whole trip!

Admiring Snow White! Avery and Owen were a little nervous!

Having fun in Minnie's kitchen!

Wishing Mickey a Merry Christmas!

Dancing along to the High School Musical presentation!

Riding the old fire truck through Disney's Main St.Enjoying the views while riding the Monorail!Dancing with Goofy at his kitchen!

Admiring the spectacular, nightly, Christmas parade.

Ahhhhh........the castle at night!

More parade action...... Enjoying the view at night from our hotel room!

Owen, crushing on Ariel!
Me, loving the candy store......and going back every night for a bag of candy!

Stitch, stopping by our table for a photo! Owen, loving the candy store too!

Payton, cruising down the water slide.

Us, leaving the Boise airport.......ready for our adventure!
Avery, swimming so hard, she ended up puking and shutting down the pool for an hour!

Robert surprised us with a limo ride from the airport to Disneyland! Woo hoo! We loved the view of California Adventure, from our hotel room window.

I am grateful we were able to take the kids to Disneyland this year. It is such an amazing place. I think Robert and I enjoy it more than the kids! I am sad that the trip is over, but will enjoy viewing the pictures and remembering all the fun things we were able to do and see together.

Oh, the Decorating......

We are spending the day decorating the house with all our Christmas decor. Each year we accumulate more "stuff!" It seems this simple task takes ALL DAY LONG. It is 2 0'clock, and we sure haven't made a lot of progress. Maybe if I would get off the computer this would go a lot quicker!

Tis' the season!

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

We received a surprise phone call from Mickey Mouse the other night. He told the kids how excited he was to see them at Disneyland next week! What, who, when , where, really...us???? The kids were so excited they did a celebration dance in the living room! And then they danced some more.
So, we handed out all the fun stuff the resort sent for the kids.

Boy were they excited!
The trip to Disneyland has been a tough secret to keep. Robert and I have had the trip planned for some time. I wanted to wait until Friday to tell them, but Monday night Robert couldn't wait any longer. I honestly don't know who is more excited, the kids, or me and Robert. We went two years ago with Payton and Avery and had the best time. We truly felt it was the happiest place on earth! We can't wait to go again, and are excited that Owen will be with us too, this time. We are anxious for three full days in the park enjoying the fun together as a family! So, today will be spent packing and getting reading, and then we leave first thing in the morning! Oh, tomorrow couldn't come soon enough! Disneyland........here we come!!!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving

We ate way too much....
Made some sweet crafts....
Played a little football....
Took a wild airplane ride....And a little snoozer....

Loved baby Grant....

And....crashed hard!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving has come and gone! We enjoyed the day cooking, eating, relaxing, playing outside, watching football, making crafts, visiting, napping, movie going, and most importantly........spending the day with LOVED ones.....and for all that.....and MORE......I am THANKFUL!!!!!!!

Twilight

Finally----the wait is over. I saw Twilight last night with a group of friends. We were all giddy and anxious to see the show! I think the consensus over dessert afterwards was....

WE LIKED IT!!!!!

So, who did you dream about last night?!

Bringing Down the Wolf Pack

We made it to the Biggest Little City in the World Friday night. It was a long drive, but having the Chapmans with us and getting my Christmas shopping done on-line while we drove, made the trip fun AND productive! After 7 hours of driving we arrived starving. We found an awesome buffet in one of the hotels. Afterwards we tried our luck at the nickel slot machines, and I won $80! Woo, hoo!!!

The Wolf Pack's stadium was a great setting nestled right down in the Sierras. The weather was warm and the sun was shining down on all the college football fans. Check out all the orange in the stands. We Broncos know how to represent!

We had great seats in the end zone. I loved being close to the field and all the action. Here's my favorite player, Jeremy Avery. When he gets the ball......watch out........he's unstoppable!
I love watching Robert get so excited. He loves college football! Watching he and Brent get into the game is always a crack up.See what I mean?!

I love these pics.! We were having such a fun time!

Oh, no.....this guy is fed up with the taunting of the "wolf pack!" He has the nerve to turn around and give them all "the finger!"There were some rumbles. There were even two men taken out in hand cuffs from scuffling after the game, and NO it wasn't Robert and Brent.......this time........kidding! I told Kim that this weekend I would unexpectedly get a glamour photo of her for her facebook shot. I am thinking this one will do!

Here we are ecstatic after the big win. The game was a little hairy at the end. Nevada had several chances to tie it, but they just couldn't connect! It would have been a MISERABLE drive home had we lost!
Who knew we Bengals would become such Broncos fans? Not us...............but it sure has been a fun ride!
We had a long night of driving ahead of us. Good thing we started the trip out right by eating at In-n-Out! The drive actually wasn't too bad. Robert was amazed I stayed awake the whole time. But, hey, I don't mind road tripping with buddies, it beats driving anywhere with the kids!

Hot Cocoa

It's 9:30 p.m. and everyone in my house is asleep. I have to stay up and grade 65 papers. I am not happy. I needed a treat. I found some hot cocoa and added coconut syrup. Yum! It has been awhile since I have enjoyed one of my very favorite things.....hot cocoa! It will be a new nightly ritual, I just know it!

Who would have thought......

...........you could have so much fun with a pair of thrift store skates? NOT MY KIDS! I found these beauties for $5 at the Good Will. I thought they were an awesome find and that my kids would have fun with them in the back yard. When I brought them home one day, to my dismay, they weren't impressed. They thought they were silly looking and had no interest.

Sunday afternoon while dad was taking a nap, I took the kids outside and talked them in to trying the skates. Payton and Avery had so much fun rolling on the pavement, that we spent the rest of the afternoon outside skating. I think after seeing his sisters take a few falls, Owen was afraid. He didn't try the skates, which was probably a good thing. Every time I aimed the camera at him he would make these weird poses and shout, "Batman", or "I am Spider-Man!" Sorry about the peanut butter cups dripping out of his mouth, it's gross I know. But the pics. cracked me up, so I had to include them! Thanks for finally trying the skates, girls. Did I know you would love them, YES?! Would this mom lead you astray..................NO WAY?!

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