The Perfect Disneyland Day

Melissa and I took the boys to Disneyland yesterday. We figured it would be the last time before the heat, summer crowds and our black out dates hit and we totally scored. The weather was nice and breezy in the 70's for most of the day. The boys were angels and there were no lines! We missed those darn Bryant girls but we're comforted that we'll have Jamie, Kaylee and Blake to go with us this fall. We were having so much fun, this is the only picture taken (while we were waiting for the tram).

MY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

We had a fun dinner at Melissa's with all the California kids, although those numbers are dwindling fast! Greg's Mom and sister, Lisa were there also. We never get to see them enough, and we always have a great time with them.

We are truly blessed with wonderful in-laws who have great families. It was fun to talk to the Utah and Idaho kids. I can talk to Rebecca and Claire without choking up now, but Paige is still tricky. Josh, Craig and the Bryant's got me a web cam, which is all set up and ready to chat. I need to snap out of this so I can talk to Paige or I'll have to get one of those masks like Jane Jetson! Who knew we'd get the same technology. Ben and Jamie sent a very fun daffodil garden and Craig got me some pretty spring flowers. Melissa's family and Nick and Renee got me some giftcards to my favorite places so those are always fun to have. All that and bless those Houston Rockets hearts!!! I am in love with that team.

For entertainment, Luke started pushing Dylan around in a laundry basket. Then he gave Dylan a turn to push him, and Dylan had to work a bit harder. They are the cutest, sweetest boys!

They're Really in Idaho. . .

After lots of planning and waiting and more waiting, Mark, Rebecca and girls are now official residents of Star, Idaho. Craig and Mark drove the U-haul up last Friday and Saturday. They unloaded Saturday and were able to get some unpacking done before they flew home Sunday night. Then, Monday morning, Mark, his mom and the 2 girls made the long drive. They had a fun pit stop at Grama & Grampa Great's in Parowan, and then kept heading north until they arrived at 3 a.m. All went well,and the girls were better than expected travelers, but I am certain there will be some stories to be told.

Yesterday we played dress up with Reese and put her in this adorable outfit my sister, Dana sent. ( Reese does enjoy going cross-eyed, it's not just the bow). Rebecca had a flight out of Ontario this morning at 10:30 a.m. for she and 2 week old Reese.

F.Y.I. when you travel with a newborn under 14 days old (Reese was 13 days old) you have to show a Dr's authorization for the baby to fly, mostly due to the impact of the take off and landing on the ears.
This was all news to Rebecca. Fortuantely, she called Craig and he was able to turn around and stay with her until she was squared away. She miraculously had her pediatrician's business card in her wallet and he responded immediately to her call and was able to fax the authorization to the airline. Is it just me or should that be a huge red-flag when you book a ticket with an infant? She was able to catch the Noon flight and after a long layover, she and Reese arrived safe and sound at about 6 p.m. Rebecca just called and said Reese was an angel traveling all day. She sounded tired so I'm hoping that entire household gets some extra rest tonight!

Yesterday I was sad and weepy all day long. This morning I woke up feeling perky so I was sure it was my strength and maturity. NOT! When I put away the dishes I lost it when I came to the sippy cups. Then again tonight when I saw the string cheese in the frig it hit me again. I feel as awful as I did when Rebecca went away to school and all 3 of the boys left for their missions rolled into one big ache!

Craig and Josh have been so kind and patient. I was so grateful they made the airport run. There is no way I could have handled that one. It was bad enough holding Reese one last time and then buckling her into her car seat and saying good bye to Rebecca. When I lost it yet again after Rebecca called, I told Craig,"I'M JUST NOT BRAVE OF MY KIDS MOVING FAR AWAY". Only the Laker's losing ( thank you Houston Rockets) and Kobe getting only 2 first place votes for MVP gave me a glimmer of hope!

OUR LAST HURRAH. . .

On Friday we took the cousins to Disneyland one last time, along with Uncle Josh. You gotta love those season passes! Josh gave us an extra set of hands and let Rebecca have a relaxing day just hanging out with baby Reese who is already 10 days old. It gave Rebecca a much needed break, since the day before they packed up the storage unit and filled the biggest U-haul truck AND had to go back and add on a 9' trailer. Mark and Craig were off that morning for the trip to Idaho so it seemed like a good time to take a deep breath and relax before the real fun starts. So here is a long post with lots of pictures of our fun day:


Claire fell asleep on the way there and miraculously stayed aslleep while I put her in the stroller and slept the first half hour there.



While Claire slept she missed Cruella DeVil ---which is a shame because she can sing her theme song note for note!




The first ride we went on was Small World, and all but Dylan piled in the row with Uncle Josh. Dylan was so enthralled and had the sweetest expression on his face the entire time. They refurbished the ride last year and now there are Disney characters through out which adds to the wonder of it all. Claire can sing this song, too!


Uncle Josh made the day extra special. He took Luke and Paige on Star Tours and Big Thunder Mountain. How darling is this picture?




We debated and debated about staying for the 3:30 parade, which would put us smack dab in the middle of traffic. We are so glad we opted in, because the new parade is great fun. It kind of reminds me of the old "Party-Gras" parade from way back when. It's a big street celebration with tons of dancers and entertainers, more so than the usual characters (and not one princess in the bunch)! The good news is that all the kids favorites of the moment, Woody and Jessie, were there along with Mickey and Minnie. The music was so fun and the kids were all shaking it whether in a stroller or on shoulders. Josh was a great sport and almost everyone got a turn on his nice, tall shoulders.






Melissa, Luke and Paige all got to do the twist for everone. This was Josh's favorite part of the day--- seeing his 6-month pregnant sister shake it for all of Main Street!



Paige got to be in the "conga-conga" line. They held onto a rope and walked clear around the float and across the street.
All the dancers and characters in the parade were so friendly and cute with the kids. They walked down the street and came up to them and gave them five. At one point they gave Luke a little drum to beat. At the end of the parade we were showered with streamers and orange, purple and green Micky confetti. The "red girl" ---the dancer in the red outfit who spent time with the kids, wrapped confetti around Luke and Paige. The expressions on all their faces was priceless. This will be a sweet memory for all of us ( as long as Josh and I can black out the ride home--- because the traffic was awful and the girls were way overtired).


The "Tikitikitikitiki-tiki Room" was a big hit. Paige enjoyed singing along at the top of her lungs. The Buzz Lightyear ride was another fun one, and of course the merry-go-round, which Melissa had to drag Dylan off of, kicking and screaming!

Dylan conked out while we were making the last pit stop of the day on our way out of the park. GOOD TIMES!

MY PRINCESS PAIGE

Ever since we've had season passes, I've been wanting to take Paige to Disneyland for a girls day and visit all the princess stuff. They used to have fun activities up at the Fantasy Faire (across from Small World) and have Princess Story Telling and another program with dancing and learning how to curtsy, etc. There is also a Princess Walk where you stand in line for an hour to meet 3 princesses and have your pictures taken with them. There is also a place where they do your hair, paint your face, etc. What more could a 4 year old princess lover want?
On our way through fantasyland Paige wanted to stop and go through the newly reopened castle, and she loved it so much we went again on the way home. The dress on the story book changes colors, just like the end of the Sleeping Beauty movie. Paige was so impressed that it was just like the movie.

After our castle visit, we raced up to The Fantasy Faire area to see about getting her hair done. Of course, the hair place had moved to fantasyland (where we just were)only 2 weeks ago! We trudged back to Fantasyland, where we encountered the amazing BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOUTIQUE!

It's just to the left of the castle entrance where the cute princess shop used to be. Now it is a salon for little princesses filled with princess gowns and accessories. They have several packages and choices of hairstyles. We opted for the basic updo, thinking she'd just get her hair put up with a little glitter and call it a day. But now, they do the full treatment, hair, makeup, nails, a sash and bling that includes a tiara --- all in it's own Princess back pack.

Because they aren't liscensed cosmetologists, they give you all the products they use to take home. There is a tiny little makeup pallette with several colors of lip gloss, eye shadow and blush, a bottle of nail polish, and a brush and comb.



Everyone treats the girls like true princesses calling them your highness and Princess Paige, etc. The decor is just adorable and of course princess music is playing.



Once the hair was done, they ask for their choice of lip gloss color and 2 colors of eye shadow. While they are being worked on they are not looking in a mirrow like you usually would at a salon. At the end, they have a magic glitter filled wand and they said, "and now for some pixie dust", as they sprinkle it on.

They got to choose a big 10 karat gem stone ring, that was quite exciting.

It was all so darling and so magical. Then for the big finale they spin the chair around to face the drapes, and open the drape to a beautiful twinkling mirror. Paige's reaction was so sweet. The Disney photographer got some great picturess of her expression I need to order.


Through out the rest of the day people would comment about how pretty she was. Paige made several friends in line, who all thought she was 5 or 6 instead of
4. While we ere in line for Pixie Hollow, Paige made friends with twin sisters, Sara and Alyssa who were 6 years old. They reminded us of Jenna Sterling because they LOVE High School Musical. (Their hair is one of the choices).



We had such a fun time! Paige's expressions throughout the day were priceless. She was very serious speaking to the princesses and faeries like they were her old friends. I was so impressed with all the princesses and how sweet and attentive they all were.



It was the first time I've been to Pixie Hollow and it was just perfect. We (Paige and I) love the new Tinkerbelle movie, and it was so true to the movie. Paige got to meet Tink's friend, Iridessa, who was the perfect yellow faerie.


The faeries were as kind and as wonderful as the princesses! Maybe next time we'll get to meet Rosetta, Paige's favorite faerie.


I remember being able to go through Sleeping Beauty's Castle when I was a child, and they had diorama's set up that told the story. They've reopened it with some fun upgrades, and Paige loved that so much we went through it twice.


I was able to talk her out of going on Splash Mountain by telling her it wasn't working. I did not want to get soaked! We opted for Thunder Mt instead, and Paige was excited to be in the front seat, and when we got off the ride she lifted her arms in the air and shouted,"That was AWESOME"! On our way out we were able to see Jasmine and we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room. If you ask Paige what her favorite part of the day was, she says "the tikitikitikitiki tiki room". We had more fun singiing along to Disney CD's on the way home. As my friend Ruth says, IT JUST DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!!!

A Blessing and Lots of Birthdays

Reese did not enjoy having her picture taken before church that morning. She looked so sweet in her special blessing dress. Rebecca, Melissa, Paige and Claire all wore the same dress.Reese was only 5 days old, but it worked out just right that fast Sunday fell on April 26 due to stake conference on May 3. Since Mark would be in the process of moving in Idaho that day, it worked out perfect. We were able to turn it into a fun family party. Mark gave Reese a sweet blessing and Rebecca was amazing having everyone ready for church with a 5 day old. Plus, she looked great! Motherhood becomes her and she just gets prettier all the time.


April is birthday central in our family. In addition to newborn Reese on the 21st, we have Melissa on the 8th, Luke on the 11th, my niece Sarah Burningham on the 17th, Mark on the 23rd, Grama Great on the 24th and Ben on the 25th. We decided to include my sister Suzy, from San Diego, since her birthday is May 1st. It was fun to celebrate Reese's blessing with so much family. The only sad thing is that we always miss those Utah kids in Provo when everyone else is here. I am longing for the brilliant days of having a family farm or plot of land with everyone living nearby! What ever happened to that? Someone knew what they were doing with that one.


The lucky recepients of cards from Nick & Renee. They always find the good ones.

DISCAIMER: HERE ARE A BUNCH OF PICTURES WE TOOK THAT DAY. SORRY, I'M TOO LAZY TO DO A SLIDE SHOW, AND THERE ARE TONS OF PICTURES BUT THEY ARE TOO CUTE NOT TO INCLUDE, EVEN IF THEY ARE OUT OF ORDER.


Luke and Paige are such sweet little pals. Ever since Luke was 4 or 5 months old he just lights up whenever he sees his cousin, Paige.


Uncle Josh took this cute picture of Paige posing.


My sister Suzy was here for the day with her three kids, Jonathan, Sarah and Trevor. It always makes it special to have them here with us from San Diego. We never get to spend enough time together.


The peanut gallery watching one of NBA playoff games. I'm still not ready to talk about basketball. . .


The darling Gargalis family.


Grama's sweet boys. Dylan is 21 months old and Luke is 3.


Claire looks so darling when Rebecca curls her hair with the curling iron and puts in a barette. It doesn't last long! It was especially cute that morning while she tap danced with her little white shoes.