Disney Day 3

Boy, next week will seem so boring with one or two pictures a day, huh? I've been snapping a ton of pics "on the go" during our trip ... so fun! They aren't necessarily the best in quality, but I'm so glad I have them :D

Today was a much more laid back day with less of an agenda - gotta have those kinds of days, right? We slept in {8:30 AM ... gotta love blackout shades} and then took our time getting around to much of anything! I went for a run while the girls took some time to focus on some of their homework. Kendyl & Cougar spent some time coloring and Steve checked his Fantasy Football, of course ;)

After a lazy morning, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway into Laguna Beach where we grabbed some lunch at BJ's (one of our faves) and then crossed the street to bury our toes in the sand. Oh, do we love the beach!!! The kids played "Rapunzel" on an empty lifeguard tower, enjoyed a playground right there on the beach, and Cougar made a new friend.

After the beach we headed back to the resort to clean up and head to Disneyland. Our plan was to catch the parade and get in some rides, but by the time we got there the parade route was already PACKED so we ditched that idea and took advantage of the short lines while everyone else watched the parade. Brinley had some girls ask to trade pins which was so cute. Then we headed to It's a Small World - gorgeous at night especially during the holidays!! We had it "snow" on us twice and got to see the light show as the entire exterior was transformed with holiday lights! The perfect ending was that the fireworks show was overhead as we exited the ride ... awesome!! To cap it all off we got our favorite Disneyland meal - corn dogs! The cart at the end of Main Street never disappoints ;)

Disney Day 2

Loads of fun, tons of rides, lots of characters, a visit with Santa, and crashing at the end of it all!! We had fabulous weather and small crowds which made for a near picture perfect day in the parks :D Ashton & Kendyl both got the chance to star in the Jedi Training Academy show and kicked Darth Vader right off the stage! Cougar announced that EVERY ride was his favorite. Tomorrow we plan to lay a little low, let the girls get some of their homework done, stay close to the beach, hit the pool, and head to Disneyland for the Holiday parade and some rides in the evening. I'm just hoping that this growing congestion doesn't turn into something more ....

Disney Day 1

Lots of pics today ... we had a great time!! Cougar finally hit the magic 40" mark and was able to ride on almost everything - Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad were definite faves for him!!

Kendyl was finally tall enough to ride California Screamin' and it did not disappoint ... she loved it!!!

Grammy and Paca rode everything with us and the kids had fun fighting over who was riding with who. We met a few characters and took in some "traditions," too {buying sugar sticks & cookies}. We shut the place down and will be back for more tomorrow :D

Sunday Happenings

We made it to Newport Beach just in time for it to start pouring rain! It was way too dark to get decent pics but I took a picture of the ocean view anyway ;) We spent the evening playing cards {and Kendyl played Barbies w/ Grammy} and enjoying our family time ... off to Disneyland tomorrow!

Piano Recital

Brinley played the theme song from Forest Gump, Ashton played Square Dancing Dolls, and Kendyl played Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Frosty the Snowman. We were proud parents.

After a VERY long day of soccer, granite shopping, packing, piano recital, and a stop at Sonic, we hit the road and arrived at Grammy & Paca's just after 11 PM ... can't wait for the week to come!

That Kind of Week

I filled this jar last Saturday as part of my holiday decorating. The Dove peppermint bark and dark chocolate wrappers were the perfect colors for my display. 6 days later the jar is more than half empty. Apparently my Diet Dr. Pepper and chocolate diet this week is killing my holiday decor. It's not all me, though ... Cougar has had an almost permanent chocolate stain around his mouth, too - funny thing is he continues to deny that he has taken any chocolate. He's obviously my son ;)

Dance Recital Followed by Coldstone

These girls danced their hearts out ... I love to watch them!! Miss Denise is the best dance teacher around and they love her! The Wilsons invited us to ice cream after which was, of course, a no brainer considering the company and the treats. I got cheesecake ice cream with raspberries and oreos. I want to go back tomorrow for more.

December on the Go

Two years ago I posted a photo every day for the month of December sharing snippets of our celebrations, traditions, and happenings during our favorite time of the year. After posting for the past 30 days {YAY ME!} I am not ready to commit to taking and editing pics daily and writing down "all the details" like I did last time ... I need some sleep this month ;)

Instead, I have decided to share our December on the Go!! What does that mean, exactly? I am going to take a photo every day with my phone and post it ... what better way to capture our life as it comes at us over the next 31 days?!? Most days the title will let you know what the picture is of, what we were doing, where we were, etc. Some days there may be more than one picture. Some days may require a bit more writing, but my goal is to capture a memory and post - no worrying about editing pics or long explanations (except for today, of course).

So, today's photo is of our nativity. I found it all bunched together where it was normally spread out and displayed. Kendyl caught me looking at it and asked if I liked what she had done. She explained that since they were all excited about Jesus' birth they all wanted to gather close to see him. She went on to add that the camel was on the outside to protect the baby {insert a mama's melted heart right *here*}.

Now, cross your fingers and hope that this experiment of mine goes well! Happy December!!!