Flashback Friday

My cute sister Jana has returned to the blogging world and I am so thankful.  I love to see how her kids are growing.  One thing she has been doing is a flashback Friday.  

I decided I would still her idea.  Arabella and Lily's lives are fairly well documented.  Joey and Jon's not so much. I will be trying to post something from our pre-blog years each Friday so that it too can be documented.

 Joey- first powdered donut.

 Sunny delight in the park by Wright Engineers.  Peter eventually was hired here.  This is when we had gone down to interview.

 Helping with Thanksgiving mashed postatoes.

 First haircut.

"Look mom, I am so cool-sitting on the chair backwards."

Day 3 Vacation- California Adventure

We spent our second Disney day in California Adventure.  It was busy due to the new Cars Land opening.  Cars land was amazingly designed (my only fault with it is that it had height requirements for all of the rides.   Two were under 40 inches and one at 40 inches).

 Lily spent a lot of time in this stroller.  She was a trooper and took full advantage of the times she was allowed out to play and waddle or crawl around.

 Waiting in line for the cars race ride.

 Meeting Pluto

 "No, Lily, you will stay and play in this water, even if I have to drag you!"

 Passing the time in line with Grandpa Rabner by taking great big giant steps.

 Lightning McQueen.  (We were not up for waiting in line for a posed shot so we did the drive by version.

 Peter was waiting for the parade and this lady was on of the official photographers and could not resist taking a few pictures of Lily playing with daddy and his hap.

 News boy Mickey

 Knuckle bumps and explosions with parade characters.

 Jake and the Neverland Pirates- he signs his name with a sword underneath.

 I love the show Once Upon a Time and they had a few of the costumes on display.

 Bugs Land!

"See Lily, I told you it was better to stay.  This is the happiest place on earth!"

We saw the show World of Color this night and it was so amazing! I loved it!!! We saw it again later in the week. We played so hard and had a great time!

Day 2 Vacation- Disneyland

 Welcome to Disneyland!

 Arabella loves princesses and so we tried very hard to meet them all. Grandma Rabner let her get her face painted and took her to meet Belle.

 We all met Sleeping Beauty who told Jon he was a prince and that Arabella had great confidence in him. 

 Lily's first ride- Peter Pan

 Dumbo

 Ben always had his camera out and ready to capture the action.

 Teacups

 Autotopia- the kids were most excited about going on this ride.  

 Joey was big enough to drive by himself and I told him that he did such a great job that I will even consider letting him get his license when he is 16.

 Big Thunder Mountain- hands down the boys favorite ride.  I think it was because it was not loud or dark but was still fast and exciting. We rode this one a bunch and gratefully we never stood in line for more than 15 or so minutes!

 It's a small world was Lily's favorite ride- she would laugh and squeal and bounce up and down. So cute!!!

 Grandma Rabner and Jon enjoying the parade (despite Jon's face).

 Arabella waving at the princesses just about made me cry I was so happy for her.  It was truly magical!

 I am not sure if the parade made her this happy or if it was being on dad's shoulders or just being our of the stroller.

More Princesses.

We ended our day with watching Fantasmic; all of the kids fell asleep but we adults enjoyed great seats and ate some good food while waiting for it to start.  

Ben and Jared had never been to Disneyland before.  We were excited to share this first experience with them.  I love Disneyland-it is filled with so many happy memories for me.  It makes me think of my mom and how happy she gets about being there and seeing her kids and grandkids there having fun.I love the parades and the atmosphere, the music and the characters (that never break character), the attention to detail in all of the decorations and uniforms and costumes, and the food- delicious!

Here is a video of Lily in It's a Small World - one very  happy baby!

1st day of Vacation- The Beach

The kids traveled so well on the plane- amazing!  

After landing in LA, we headed to Newport Beach for some fun in the sun!

It was a perfect beach day-great weather and the waves were beautiful!

If you go to the beach you must...

 eat sand,

 

 dig in the sand,

 dig with strangers that speak mostly Spanish,

 get buried in the sand by grandpa,

 learn to catch sand crabs and catch lots of them,

sport sunglasses and sun  hats,

and play in the waves.

Oh, and if you want to go home you will need to break free from the sand.