Friday, January 21, 2011

Disneyland: Part 2

Ready for more Disneyland? We spent 3 days in Disneyland/California Adventureland. We spent 1 day hanging out at Downtown Disney and 1 day at Universal Studios. It was SO cold the whole week we were there and one of the days it rained. Luckily, that was the same day we opted to relax and just hang out at Downtown Disney. We did some shopping and saw TRON at the theater there. Then we had a super yummy dinner at The Rainforest Cafe. The food was fantastic, but Allen kept getting scared by all the fake storms and animals--poor little guy.
The boys got their picture taken with the crew from Apollo 13.


Me and my wonderful hubby.



We ate at the wharf at California Adventureland a few times. The food was great and it was a little less crowded than Disneyland. Allen got to help Grandpa feed the ducks :)

We spent New Year's Eve at Disneyland and then went over to California Adventure to finish up the day. They had an incredible water/light show that we got to see. (The pictures just don't do it justice!)

Tarzan's Treehouse

Riding the carousel. We thought Allen would really like this, but he didn't pay attention to the ride at all! He was completely mesmermized by the gold bar and looking at his reflection :)

Do these shoes make me look fat?

We saw a bunch of shows at Universal Studios. The Animal Show was one of my favorites. Afterwards, Allen got to pet Boomer the Saint Bernard. I love that he isn't afraid of dogs! He had so much fun petting him.
My two most favorite action figures :)

We decided to be really brave and ride Jurassic Park. It was SO SO SO cold and we were worried about getting wet. Luckily, we stayed pretty dry.

Meeting the Grinch and Max!


We had a fantastic time together. Dad & Mom, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for taking us on such a wonderful vacation. We loved every minute of it!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Disneyland: Part 1

For Christmas, my parents took us to Disneyland. We had an absolute blast! Spending the week together on vacation was such a wonderful Christmas present. There are LOTS of pictures, so I'll do my best to narrate. Getting packed. In the end, Allen decided he didn't want to ride to California in a suitcase.
He was much more comfortable in his carseat :) For a 5 month old on a road trip, he did pretty good sitting in his seat for all those hours. We took lots of toys and books with us to keep him occupied. He sure loves his books! The "tail" end. Playing with Grandpa while we stopped for lunch. Ready for his first day at Disneyland! He got the stroller for Christmas and it was perfect for our trip. Allen's first ride! He wasn't sure what to think. Throughout the week we took him on every ride he was allowed to go on. Some he liked...others not so much. I think The Tiki Room and Peter Pan were his favorite and he absolutely hated Pinocchio and the Toy Story ride in Adventureland.

The park was REALLY crowded. They actually reached their capacity several of the days we were there and had to close the gates. (We got there early every day to make sure we'd get in.) It was so fun seeing the park decorated for Christmas!

The Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World were completely decorated inside and out for the holiday. So fun!

At night, the castle is "magically" covered with snow.



There were SO many things for Allen to see and experience.






This kid LOVES wearing glasses. He thinks it's so funny anytime we put them on him. It was nice to be able to distract him with them anytime we got stuck waiting in long lines.
Part 2 soon to follow!


Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Back To School


I'm SO behind on my posting! Getting caught up is a little harder than a thought. Well...Parker headed back to school this week. He got accepted to the Masters program at the U of U and I'm so proud of him. It's only day 2 of the semester and he's already working so hard and has had to make a lot of sacrifices.

Now, for those of you out there panicking (I won't name any names, ahem), you don't have anything to worry about. We are still true blue cougar fans :) But we're very grateful for the blessing and opportunity that Parker has to continue his education.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Crazy. A little chaotic. But wonderful. :) Christmas morning we opened presents and went through our stockings as a little family. Christmas seemed even more special now that we have our little Allen. Parker was so excited to celebrate Christmas with him, that he woke A.P. up a little early :) In these next few photos, you can tell by Allen's bewildered expression that he wasn't quite ready to be awake and experience so much excitement. :)





After going through our stockings and opening presents from one another, we rushed out the door for a fun day of visiting!


Allen with Papa

Allen with Gigi

We open presents with the Ainge's and then head to Grandma Ainge's for lunch and socializing.
Then we went to visit the Sneddon's and spend time with Great Grandma.

Allen with Grandpa and Grammy.
The boys all got remote control helicopters in their stockings. (One of which mysteriously got flown into my head and caught in my hair! Boys!)

Reading with Great Grandma.
Krug got stuck behind the Christmas tree and couldn't figure out how to get back out.

Sitting with Aunt Alicia

Thank you to our incredible families that take such good care of us (and spoiled us totally rotten). We had a great Christmas with all of you--being with you was the best part. We love you so much!