Disney Land...day one

The first stop we made in Disney Land was at the "Mad Hatter". Matt wanted to let the kids choose some Mickey ears. (I wanted to get a picture out front by the flowers in the shape of Mickey, but it was SUPER crowded! so that had to wait)The girls really thought the Minnie ears were really cute, but I wasn't ready to pay $17.50 for such a generic hat. (Sorry if you have this hat-I do think they are a really cute!)

Grayden didn't care much for any of the hats, but I had to get a quick (and fuzzy) picture.

The girls were happy to make hats from the mix and match section & we made one for Grayden. (You can see it perched on top of the stroller) I'm pretty sure this was the only time he wore his hat the entire day! Notice that I have his arm pinched to his side so he can't grab it and yank it off! :)

He forgot it was on for a minute & enjoyed watching the merry-go-round.

My guys! Brinley went for the embossed Mickey Mouse, white, sparkles hat. & the pink furry ears. What a cutie!!

Trin chose the pink hat with a little fur around the bottom & some Mickey shaped "Bling" ears. Stylin!!

They gave all of us badges that said, "1st Timer" & the girls were so proud to wear theirs. Waiting in line for the Roger Rabbit car ride. (I forget the actual name) Brinely was pretty freaked out by the ride.

Grayden didn't make a sound...I asked Trin if she was having fun & she gave a quick little stiff nod of the head sorta like...uh...yea. Her face isn't too convincing though.He looked so dang cute sitting there like such a big boy!Tough GuyJail Bird #1=TrinityJail Bird #2=BrinleyThese flowers were AMAZING & they did not even look like they could be real! We wandered around Toon Town until it got dark, and the kids really loved it there.

Chillin' on Minnie's couch. Trin sitting at Mickey's desk. Grayden taking a break in Mickey's chair. Brinley posing on our way to find Mickey. This picture looks kind of creepy, but it was cool because every few seconds Mickey's face would appear. We stood in line for awhile and finally got to meet Mickey! Brinley was so brave, but Trin was a little surprised at how large he was in person. :) Brinley asked Mickey if we could have his autograph... and of course he was happy to! We decided to go on one last ride before leaving the park, but Brinley wasn't interested on any rides because the Roger Rabbit one scared her so much. I convinced her that we wouldn't go on anymore scary ones & thought for sure that she would enjoy the one I had in mind.

Although you can't tell from the pictures, she loved it, and asked if we could go on it again. If the lines hadn't been so long we probably would have said yes. Ending our first day after riding It's a Small World was perfect & the kids were super excited for our next day at Disney Land.

On to California

After visiting in Cedar City we were headed off to CA with a pit stop in Las Vegas along the way. It was only a 2 1/2 hour drive to get to Vegas, but since the kids don't have the best concept of time yet it was a little more rough than I had hoped. The secret weapon I pulled out of my hat this time was tin foil. I wasn't sure what to make at first & then one of the girls requested a hat.

Grayden did not want to wear his, but thought he'd give it a taste after ripping it apart. I don't blame him for not liking it...it was pretty nerdy!

Brinley wasn't happy with hers at first, so I put it on Matt & we were all laughing (I wish I would have taken a pic of that!). That convinced her that it was a good enough hat for her & she posed with a silly face.

Trinity loved her crown & wanted to do a silly face too, but she didn't put her whole heart into it! :)

We finally made it to Vegas & took the kids into Circus Circus

The girls were ecstatic when they saw SpongeBob!!

We even got to see a small show while we were there. It was pretty cool, but a bit weird also!

It was mid-day & SUPER hot, of course, and before too long Brinley had fallen asleep. Matt didn't want to dig the stroller out from under all the luggage, so we opted to go without it. BIG MISTAKE!! After walking around for a couple of hours we looked pretty pathetic. Mat was all sweaty from carrying Brinley while she slept & she of course was a sweaty mess too. I was sweating like a pig from carrying Grayden & poor Trinity did awesome & complained hardly at all!!

Luckily we were able to walk inside a few of the casinos for some much needed relief from the heat & the Treasure Island even had a shuttle that went to the Mirage. Grayden & Trinity were excitedly waiting at the gates for the next one to arrive.

I went in the bathroom to change Grayden when we got to the Mirage, but there were no changing tables in sight! I went in the stall hopeful that there might be one in there, but the only thing I saw was a tiny little ledge above the back of the toilet! Trinity suggested I use it & luckily it was just wide enough!

Grayden loved sitting like a big boy on both of our rides on the shuttle.

After we had walked almost all the way back to the Circus Circus (where we began & where we had parked) we stopped at a McDonald's & got ice cream and water. The girls devoured it & Matt offered to walk the last 15 minutes to get the van while we waited with air conditioning & more water. I never usually eat at McDonald's, but that day I couldn't have been happier to see one!

Once we left Vegas Trinity was pretty exhausted & fell asleep pretty quickly. She ended up sleeping most all the way to CA & after a few cookies, and a big mess, Grayden wasn't far behind. However, Brinley's 1 1/2 hour nap made it hard for her to fall asleep very quickly & proved to be a little hard to entertain. Her trusty "blanket" seemed to keep her content even if she wasn't asleep & I was even able to catch a few hours of sleep while Matt plugged along & got us to our resort safe & sound.

It was late when we got to our resort, but as I stepped out onto the grass I saw something move by the bush. I took a closer look and saw this cute little frog that was there to greet us. Trinity was sad that she had missed it.

Although it was late the kids were wide awake from their nap, so I took advantage of keeping them trapped in the tub while Matt brought all the luggage up. I'm not sure how we lucked out, but after having a bath the kids all fell asleep pretty quickly & I was so glad that we didn't have anymore long drives ahead!

The next day we went to Disney Land & I'll try to post pics of that soon...

California Vacation

We decided to use Matt's two weeks of vacation by going to California in hopes to spend time at Disney Land, Sea World, the Beach, The San Diego Temple, & The Zoo. Our first leg of the trip was from Denver to Cedar City where Matt's family lives. It was an 8 hour drive & I thought we were never going to make it without our portable DVD players. Matt thought it would be fine (mostly because he didn't have to worry about the kids-just the driving), so I tried to do a little research & get creative on some new entertainment.

The kids did SO well, but when things started to get a little crazy I pulled out the pipe cleaners & started making anything I could think of. The first thing that came to mind was glasses.


Brinley wanted Triangle glassesTrinity was happy with squares/diamond

Grayden didn't want much to do with his other than tear them apart!

All three kids were in the back seat together & did a pretty good job of entertaining each other. There weren't any big fights on this first leg of the trip & each of them took a little nap at some point. I should have done that!

Matt was an awesome "pilot" & honked as we went through the many tunnels on our trip. (at the kids' request) He even sacrificed listening to his music occasionally so that the kids could enjoy some of their more familiar songs. He claims to hate the kids Cd's that we have, but I caught him more than once singing along & dancing to the hokey pokey! HAHA!

Here is some proof that I was there too! Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!

These are some butterflies that I made out of pipe cleaners. They provided a lot of entertainment.

When it got dark the kids weren't too interested in going to sleep & started getting real ancy to get out. I pulled out my secret weapons & saved the day again. Push lights...what a great invention.We got into Cedar City pretty late & spend the next day hanging out with all of the family & had a fun BBQ that night. I didn't get any pics of the actual BBQ, but took a few as we all lingered around later that night.

Angela (Matt's Sis) doing Elizabeth's (Matt's 1/2 Sis) NailsJon (Matt's Bro), Grayden, & Matt being...odd.Grandpa Dave (Matt's Dad) & GraydenTaylor (cousin)I need to figure out a fail proof way to get Brin to smile!!The next morning was the first day of school so I forced the 3 oldest kids to let me take their pictures. Cody, Makenna, & Logan. They are such great kids & I really wished they lived closer.Emily got some time to chill with Grayden before she had to head off to school.Matt snuck in an early morning run & reminded him that we were on vacation! :)Emily posing for her first day picture.Nurse Debby & Emily. Thanks for letting us stay guys-we always have such a great time & I know the kids do too!

After everyone had left for school we packed up & started off on our second leg of the trip. That post will be coming soon...