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.

The Best 12 Years of my life

Today is our anniversary and it has been great!

We have been on vacation in California-beach, Disneyland, and some sight-seeing. 

Peter makes me so happy! He is always thinking of ways to surprise me and serve me. He is a hard worker and he loves the gospel and to server the Lord.  I found me a Prince Charming and I am loving my happily forever after!

I love you Peter!

Favorite Moment of 2012 Olympics

The Olympics are coming to a close and I have watched a fair amount.  

I love watching and wish I could have watched more but of all that I watched this was my favorite.

I love the shocked look on his face.  Then he immediately congratulates the swimmer next to him on his race.  Then he nearly cries.  The reaction of Lochte and Phelps is great too.  A great moment.

What was your favorite moment?

Lily is One

I should start with a picture of Lily when she was just tiny (5 lbs 13 oz when she came home) but she is so cute now.  You will just have to suffer through a bunch of pictures of her now. 

Swinging in the sprinklers.

Emptying the diaper bag and swimming bag during lessons.

Playing at the splash park.

Chillin' in the new stroller while the older kids are roller skating at a birthday party.

Swimming yesterday for her birthday at the Lewisville Pool.  All of the kids loved it!

This was the safest place for her because she wanted to crawl on her own everywhere and she did not care how deep the water was so 6 inches was the safest place for her.

All smiles this morning as she eats blueberries for breakfast- her favorite! 

 I am pretty sure Arabella helped Lily find her presents and decided she would help her open them even though we had planned to wait until after dinner. 

 They only opened two and then I said no more. She, like most kids, enjoyed the paper about as much as the contents.

 Eating dinner-homemade mac and cheese and watermelon were on the menu and she loves them.  I think she was wondering why I had been taking pictures of her all day.

 Finally, the rest of the presents. 

 She stood up and lifted this up.  She liked playing with each toy before moving on to another present. 

 Her ice cream cake.  We just made a layer cake with a layer made of ice cream. 

 Lily had no problem diving into the frosting.  If we were going to leave it where she could reach it she was all over it.  The other kids were a bit panicked.

 When we gave her a piece all she really ate was the frosting and the ice cream.

 

"Oh no, the ice cream is all gone."

We love our Lily.  She makes all of us so happy.  She is super smiley and is really good with other people.  She has been taking a few steps here and there and I imagine by the end of the month she will be walking consistently.  She has mastered the stairs up and down.  She loves to put items into things.  Lately her favorite thing to do in my bathroom is take all of our small hair clips and bows and stuff them into a toothpaste box she took from the trash- hours of fun for her! She has taken to milk well but is not really liking the idea of giving up her bottle. If you give her more than one binki (like 3) she will suck on one, realize she has one in her hand and spit the one in her mouth out and put one in and then pick up the one she spit out and a few minutes later repeat the process.  

We love you Lily! I really can not believe it has been a year.  You are such a blessing, I am so thankful for you!

Guess Who's One?

The mystery will be solved later but here is a hint.  She is as sweet and lovely as the flower she is named after.