Disneyland

A few weeks ago, I went with Jen and my cousin, Melissa, to spend the day with our little girls at Disneyland. When we go as a family, we spend most of our time trying to cram in as many fun rides as possible and the little ones sort of get dragged along. The big kids are usually good sports about waiting in line to ride Dumbo, but the idea of waiting in line for an hour to see a Disney Princess is not their idea of fun. Jen thought it would be fun to just take the little ones to have "a princess day."
Of course, we all wanted to have our picture taken at the front gate with our daughters.Ashlyn was so excited!I debated leaving Paige home with a babysitter, but with her being so young, I was afraid I would worry about her all day. She is such an easy baby, but lugging her around all day was a little difficult. I would have loved the one on one time with Ashlyn, but she didn't seem to mind having her baby sister around.Ashlyn thought a kiss was a fair trade for Paige's head band! That's what sisters are for, right?!


First stop- Sleeping Beauty Castle. In all my years of going to Disneyland, I don't think I had ever been through there!It made Ashlyn a little nervous that it was so dark inside.Waiting in line for the Carousel.I love this little girl! With Jen gone to girl's camp just the week before, I got to spend quite a bit of time with my niece. (Doesn't she look just like Jen?!) I've always loved her, but somehow, over the last week, she wiggled her way even deeper into my heart.I got a little choked up at one point on the ride. I looked at my tiny niece in her princess gown, huge grin on her face, music playing and the Disney Castle in the background and my heart took a picture. I know it will be a memory I will always cherish.Ashlyn and Paige both loved the ride! Next, we were off to meet the Fairies! Brynne had brought her fairies along to keep her busy while she waited in line. When it was finally our turn, she wanted to tell the fairies about her fairy dolls.
Ashlyn was feeling a little shy and wanted to watch from a distance.Iridessa (the yellow fairy) was so sweet! She sat and talked to Brynne all about her dolls and tried to talk to shy Ashlyn. Tinkerbell came over to see the dolls and visit too!Again, Ashlyn was happy watching from a distance and practically climbed in my lap when Tinkerbell came over to say hi to her and baby Paige. After meeting the fairies, Ashlyn wanted to change into her princess dress and meet Rapunzel. After she was so shy with the fairies, I wasn't sure how it would go, but we waited in line anyway. Melissa and Sequoia decided to pass on the hour wait to see Rapunzel and went to ride some rides!These two were so cute and never complained about how long the lines were. When their turn came, I was surprised to see Ashlyn walk right up and talk to Rapunzel! She even gave her a hug and posed for a picture!We sat down and enjoyed dinner with the girls, let them change (again), and then, found a front row seat to watch the parade!We rode a few rideswaited in a few lines and let the girls play to their heart's content in Toontown!

We stayed an watched the fireworks, which are always magical, and by then end of the night, we all felt like this.

It was such a fun day and I will always cherish the memories that we created. We drove home that night and enjoyed some time with the girls while the little ones slept. I'm not sure how our laughter didn't keep them up! I crawled into bed just before Jason's alarm went off at 5:30 AM! I guess Disneyland does make you feel like a kid again!

Jessica Turns 12!

Seriously?! I can't believe my little girl is 12 already!!! She is growing up way too fast for me! I love the little woman she is becoming. She is such a fun kid! She has so much confidence in who she is and it makes her very fun to be around. She isn't looking for any one's approval and really, just does what she likes. As we are getting closer to the teenage years, that makes me grateful that I won't have to worry about peer pressure with her.

To celebrate her birthday, Jessica wanted to spend the day at Wild Waters with her two best friends, come back to the house and spend hours making yummy treats and a sleep over to top it off. So, that's just what we did. I absolutely love these girls! I love their friendship. They are so sweet and thoughtful to each other and don't have the drama that a lot of girls their age are having with their friends. They are such good girls and I hope they stay close for a long time.

I didn't see much of them at the water park other than to check in and grab a bite to eat or get money for snacks (always more fun to eat than what was brought from home). I had to track them down to get a picture. From the chatter on the car ride home, it sounded like they had a great time!

I spent the afternoon following this little one

with this little one in the pack. Jason made his first trip to the water park to spend the day with us. Jen was there with Brynne and my dad was home that day, so he came to play too.

Family Visits Make My Heart Smile

Summer is off to a busy start, but we were so happy to take a little break and just hang out with Justin and Danale for the weekendLittle Carter isn't so little anymore! He is a tank!! (And cute as can be!) I was so happy to have him snuggle in and fall asleep on my shoulder! Paige is not a snuggler and likes to be put down when she is tired. I'm sure I will be grateful for this soon enough, but I loved getting my baby fix from Carter, even if he is double her weight!I think the weather has a secret agenda because every time they come down to visit, it is abnormally hot or even humid! The only time it has ever been humid, has been when they were here. So, when the Mellows rolled into town, mother nature decided it was time to break 100 degrees for the first time this year! (It had been high 80's to low 90's before then.) We spent some time relaxing in my parents pool.Ashlyn was a little fish last summer, but was really cautious getting back in the water this year. I hope with some practice and encouragement, she will be swimming confidently again in no time.

We got to spend a lot of time with Brynne while Jen was at girl's camp. I've always loved my tiny niece, but somehow she has wiggled even deeper into my heart


My dad came home from work and said hi to everyone and then spotted Paige asleep in her car seat. He walked over and sat down next to her and was just watching her sleep when I went for my camera. I love moments like that. I had just pulled it out when he was getting up to avoid being splashed in his work clothes. But, I got this picture, which will remind me of the picture that my heart took. :-) I love my family.
As usual, we ate too much, stayed up too late and left with our hearts full.