Our life with Princesses

My Mother's Day

Weekend.

Yep, Mother's Day was all weekend long and perfect.

Saturday

• Jason and the girls took me to the Saturday market. On the way Jason gave me my present early, the pair of sandals I've been wanting.  While we were there I bought the cutest new tote and the girls got adorable flower headbands, plus we got some strawberry plants and a cherry tomato to add to the garden.
• Made a stop at Kohl's to spend some Kohl's cash.
• Lunch at Red Robin.
• 4-wheeling with the neighbors. 
• A delicious Chocolate Cream pie for dessert (Jason ordered from Pie Face).
• Snuggle time with my girls while watching the iCarly movie.

Sunday

• I woke up to one of the sweetest sounds in the world ... Abigail saying good morning.  She gave me the gift she made for me at school, a pink pencil holder with hand drawn flowers on it.  Inside was a sweet little letter.

The Best Mom in the World

You are so pretty ... even prettier than a dog.

I love it when you make mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese for me to eat even though I know your favorite thing to eat is a hamburger.

Whenever I feel hurt or sad you always put band aids on it if it's bleeding.

I know it makes you mad whenever I argue with you when I want to watch TV, so I'll try not to do that anymore.

Mom, you're so funny whenever you read us funny stories.

You're the best mom in the world and I wouldn't trade you for anything, not even for a new dog.

• Jason and the girls gave me hand-made cards that were so sweet.  Ashlynn was so proud of her coloring.
• Church was uplifting.
• Lunch at my sister's.  We enjoyed the afternoon, hanging out with friends and family, enjoying the sun ... and all the laughs (there were some good ones), actually I'm still laughing!
• An evening at home unwinding from my great Mother's day weekend.

Happy Mother's day to all the moms in my life!

 

a simple prayer

the other night abigail came inside with a stubbed, bleeding, hurting big toe.  of course this happened right as i was making dinner and trying to pull it all together.  i get the toe all cleaned up, put a band-aid on it and get her comfortable with her foot elevated, when the pain of it really starts to set in and Abigail starts to cry.  ashlynn is sad that abigail is hurting ,and then ... I hear her saying the sweetest little simple prayer.

 God, please help abigail's toe stop hurting.

at that moment i am truly happy and overjoyed that ashlynn stopped to pray for her sister.   i wonder why is this not my first response?  ash has done this many times before when any of us are sick or hurt.  like the time abigail smashed her fingers in the car door at school, ash prayed for her as we drove away.  one time she was sick and was calling me over and i couldn't figure out what she wanted and then i realized she wanted me to pray for her.

when you have children you dream and think about all you will teach and share with them, but it never crosses your mind that they will teach and share so much with you too.  i truly see God working through my girls to discipline me.  i am so thankful for them and the blessings they bring each day.

Mark 10:13-15

"let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Reason #282

why I love these girls so much...

They know how to pull off "cute" in green goggles!

 

 

moving on

Now that I'm done blogging about our fun family vacation, I'm moving on to current news and events going on around here.

Abigail is in TBall again and her games started this week, they're every Tuesday and Thursday night.  She is on the same team as Luke.  Their shirts are purple and the team name is the Cyclones.  Abigail is #10.

 

(There's that pose again.  She knew I was taking pictures of her while out in the field, so she was putting on a "show" for me.)

Last Friday, my dear friend Kelle stopped by.  Thanks for coming over!

Saturday my mom, sister, Clay, Sis, the girls and I drove to Twin to see the Shoshone Falls.  They were amazing.

 

Sunday, we had a BBQ with the McMullens.  We decided to take the kids over the baseball fields to play a practice game but after 1 inning switched to freeze tag instead.

Monday night I was able to sit and watch all of Clay's baseball game.  This year is on a "AAA" team and my dad is the coach.  It is so much fun to watch his games.  The boys really get the game and play so well together as a team.  There were many times we were up out of our chairs, cheering the kids on.

Tuesday, we played all day with the neighbor boys.  First Ash went over there, then the boys came over to play in the sprinkler and then they played again at TBall.  That's a sure sign summer is getting close.

 

Wednesday was Jason's day off and we got a lot things done around the house.  We also made time to hit the new store in Kuna, the Sweet Spot, for an ice cream cone.

Thursday, my friend Sarah and her boys came over for lunch.  Even with the weather cooler, the kids still played outside all afternoon. 

And today was Share Day at school.  Guess what Abigail wanted to bring in?  Yep, Jake!  Cody had recently brought in Ruby for share and Abigail thought that was a great idea.  So, today was Jake's first day at school.

Happy Weekend!

Day 3

California Adventures here we come.

 

It was nice that the park didn't open until 10, we got to sleep in a little and it was nice that I finally got a mocha that morning, this tired momma needed one in a bad way.

There was so much we wanted to do and there just weren't enough hours.

First up, the 4D Toy Story ride.

We loved California Soarin'.  Abigail rode it with me and then with Jason.  Jason said during their ride Abigail would tell him everything that was going to happen.  This ride was so cool, it was one of our favorites.

Jason tried to ride California Screamin' 4 different times but each time while he was line it would break down.  Umm, I'm glad he never got to ride it. :P

Jason rode the Maliboomer, which shoots you up 180 feet into the air.  I love this picture of him and 3 girls.  He said they screamed the whole time.

Abigail really, really liked the swings in the Orange Stinger, she did this ride a couple of times. 

Ash and I did a lot of hanging out together, due to her being a little more weary of the rides now that it was day 3.  She wasn't just going to jump on any ol' ride, it had to look completely non-scary.

"a bug's land" was really cute.  Ash liked it a lot, they had rides more her size there.  Abigail did ride one with us and again said it was boring, but Ash loved them and always said, "let's do it again."

 

We missed seeing the Aladdin show, which I hear is just spectacular but we did see the High School Musical 3 parade.  It was a great show.  Abigail and Ash sang right along and Abigail even went out and danced.

We also met Lightening McQueen and Mater, rode the Monsters Inc ride and got a picture with Walle.

 It was a full day and kind of sad to think it was over.  We had a great time and are looking forward to taking the girls again!

Day 2

Our mission for day 2 at Disneyland was to meet some princesses, even if that meant standing in line for an hour and a half to get it done.  Yep, the day before we stopped by the Princess Fantasy Faire but left after hearing the wait.  Not today.  The plan was to do the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage first and then the girls and I head over to the Princess line while Jason rode Space Mountain and the Matterhorn and got some fast passes for a few other rides we wanted to do.

Okay, I'm getting a little ahead of myself.  That morning  as we were headed out the door to take our little walk to DL the girls got another little present.  I told them they couldn't be in sunny California without sunglasses and they were thrilled.

 

Don't you just love this "pose".  I'm not sure where Abigail got it from, probably iCarly, but this is her new look, which means it's Ash's too.  All day Abigail kept telling me this is the way she wanted to pose with every character she met.  Um no, after waiting in a line to meet them, I'd like a sweet smile please, and she'd deliver.  The best part about the sunglasses were that they hid Abigail's famous move.  You know her "look away from the camera right when mom hits click."

The morning went as planned.  The girls loved the Nemo ride.  You really felt like you were going deeper and deeper into the ocean.  After Nemo, we walked right into Buzz and then did the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster ride.  It was another cute ride were you played a shooting game and scored points for your shots.  I'd just like to mention, I won this game. ;o)

 

Next with snacks and plenty of water on hand, the girls and I went to stand in the princess line.  It was long and exactly the hour and half they said it would be, but totally worth the wait.  While in line there was a grandma and grandpa right behind us who were there with their granddaughters and they were the exact ages of my girls.  It was perfect.  The girls played and shared snacks the whole time.  (I do have to mention that one of  the great things about DL is that you are always moving in the lines, so you feel like your going somewhere.)  I then also had someone to talk to too.  I found out that the grandpa's sister lives in Homedale, that's were my grandparents live and that they had been on a trip with Mission Aviation, a company my cousin use to work for.  It's really is a small world.

So, it was finally our turn to meet 3 princesses.  The girls were so excited to see Princess Aurora.  She called both girls by their first name.  This totally blew Abigail's mind.  She asked her how she knew their names and Aurora said, "well, we've met, once upon a dream."  Abigail was stunned.  It was one of my favorite moments in DL!

They also met Snow White and Mulan.  The girls loved it and...so did I. 

We meet up with Jason and did the Autopia ride.  They gave everyone a "drivers license", which Abigail thought was so cool.  She asked if she could use this to drive our cars back home.  Funny girl!

We ate lunch, met Aladdin & Jasmine and took a little rest.  Once you sit down, you don't want to get back up. 

Next we went to Critter Country to do the Winnie the Pooh ride, which Ash loved and Abigail thought was boring.  When we got off the ride it put us right out into the line to met Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. 

While you're there you have to do Splash Mountain.  Abigail kept asking Jason to hold onto her as they crept higher & higher up the mountain.  This was one of Abigail's favorite rides.  To keep Ash and I busy we rode Winnie the Pooh again.

During our 2 days the one thing you saw a lot of were Mickey ears.  Abigail asked for some so we let the girls pick some out and they wore them around the rest of the time. 

 

Jason and Abigail rode Indiana Jones.  Jason said this ride and Space Mountain were his two favorites.

Since we were wanting to see the fireworks (at 9:30) we decided to head back to the hotel and take naps.  As we were walking out guess who was at the main entrance?  Belle & Cinderella.  Of course we had to stand in line to met them.   When Ash walked up to Belle she said, "oh, what a beautiful dress!"

We came back that evening, rode a few more rides we hadn't done yet and watched as DL changed as the sun went down.  At night it takes on a whole new feel, it's so beautiful to see everything lit up.  The rides even become a little more magical.   We really enjoyed the Storybook Land Canal ride.  You saw all kinds of different houses, like Jasmine's castle and Prince Eric and Ariel's house and even the homes of the three little pigs, all along the water front.  Each glowing from the lights on inside. 

Soon, it was time to find a spot for the fireworks.  We ended up sitting/standing near the Matterhorn.  It gave us a great view of when Tinkerbell flew from the top of the Matterhorn down to the castle.  All of us were in awe, watching her fly through the air reminded me of how all the Disney movies start, Tink flying around the castle.  It's another one of my favorite memories.  The fireworks were awesome too.  They aren't just shooting off infront of you, they are going off all around you.  It's a sight to see for sure.

What another great day at Disneyland!  Our 3rd day was spent at the new California Adventures Park.  A post on that coming soon. ;o)

Where dreams come true!

We had such a magical time at DISNEYLAND!

 

Right when we got to Disneyland, we headed straight for Sleeping Beauty's castle and spent the morning in Fantasyland.  The girls were in awe of it all.  Dumbo was our first ride, we thought the Peter Pan's Flight was beautiful as you flew threw the stars and the girls loved "it's a small world", they sang the song through the whole ride.

Next we made our way to Mickey's where the girls met Goofy, Minnie and Mickey.  Our favorite ride in Toontown was Gadget's Go Coaster.

 

I just love the girls shirts.  My very talented and dear friend Kelly made them for me.  Thanks Kelly, they were one of a kind!

 

After a quick lunch, which I highly recommend bringing in your own, we grabbed a seat and waited for the Celebrate! A Street Party Parade.  We really just wanted to sit down and watch but once the music starts and all the characters/dancers come out there's no more sitting.  You had to stand and dance!

 

Immediately following the parade we got in line for Tinkerbell.  It was only a 20min wait compared to the hour wait earlier in the day.  It was fun to see all the fairy houses that lined the banks of the stream and the closer you got to meeting Tink and Rosetta the bigger the scenery around you grew and the smaller you started to feel. ;o)

We went and saw the 3D show "Honey I Shrunk Audience".   At one point Abigail was crying and telling yelling at me that she wanted to leave.  I did finally settle her down, but no more 3D shows for us.

Our first big family ride and our last, was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Ash was so tiny that I had to hold her so that she would slide out from under the bar.   This was the type of ride Jason had been waiting to go on all day. 

The rest of the evening we hit the other "lands" that we hadn't been to yet.  Ash feel asleep on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, we woke her up to walk through Tarzan's treehouse and our last ride of the night was the Jungle Cruise.

It was a great first (12 hour) day at Disneyland!  I loved watching the girls experience it all.  Abigail kept asking what was real, Ash wanted to know if the ride would be scary and both girls walked around with huge smiles on their faces all day.

Back at the hotel we ended the night with a little present, the girls got new jammies.  Ash had new princess jammies to wear and Abigail HSM 3 jammies.  I can only imagine the dreams they had that night.

Okay, I'll start working on day 2 and 3, plus we did a lot on the day we got there and the day we came home.  I may never get it all posted.  ;o)

Celebrate today

Abigail is 6!

It's been a great day, really a great week, actually a great couple of weeks!

She is so excited to be six.  For her birthday we took her to the mall and got her ears pierced.  It was so much fun.  She did so well, didn't even cry, like Maddy she'll say.  We also went to lunch at Red Robin and took her shopping to spend some birthday money.

She had a permanent smile on her face all day. 

 

Sweet Abigail,

You are a true blessing in our life.  We enjoy watching you grow and learn new things. We cherish you and think it's a honor to be your parents. We are thankful for the joy and laughter that you bring to each day.  We love the many different sides of you. Always ready for a great time, the smiles, the jokes, the star of the show, the songs in your heart, and the tender side that cares so much. You talk about how much you love God and sing about Him all the time...  You are a very special little girl and we're excited to see how God will use you.

Happy Sweet 6th Birthday!  We love you!

Also, Happy Belated Birthday to Maddy and Ryan.

Shhhhh

Things are going to be a little quiet around these parts for awhile.

(Yep, that's Jake sleeping on my flowers.  How can I even be mad?  He's so cute!  Remember that Melissa!)

Happy Week!

not as i pictured

We told the girls we're going to Disneyland.

We really wanted it to be a surprise but I had to tell them, because of this...

They have both quickly become quite attached to their new dog, but look at that picture.  Abigail is so in love.  It's 30 some degrees outside, it's windy and snowing and yet there she is, right by his side.  Is that not love?

I knew our original surprise plan wasn't going to work.  I couldn't just wake her up and say hey guess what we're leaving for Disneyland in 1 hour and you've got to go kiss Jake goodbye.  Nope that wouldn't go over well.  My tenderheart's heart would surely break.  We had to tell her and give her some time to think about it, prepare herself for being away from him.

So, Jason and I sat the girls down (kinda like we did when we told them we were getting a dog) and said we had another surprise.  We told them we were going on vacation and had them guess where we were going.  They guessed Mexico, the river house, Hawaii.  Then we said we were going to the happiest place on earth, which Abigail then asked if we were going to see the place Jesus was born.  How sweet is that?  What a girl.  We finally said it was Disneyland.  Told them we'd leave on Monday, be gone for 5 days and home for Abigail's birthday and that Jake would have to stay behind.

The response...Abigail cried.  Crocodile tears streamed down her face.  She didn't want to leave him.  It was so sad that we talked about re-scheduling the trip and then it got to the point where we just had to stop talking about it.

Today, she's excited to go to Disneyland.  There for awhile if you asked her if she was excited she'd say a little bit.  I'm so glad we told them.  It wasn't the way I pictured it but at least I have the picture of their complete joy in mind from when we told them we were going to pick out a puppy. 

I have to do another post on how we came about getting Jake and why we ended up getting him 6 days before going on vacation.  I'm sure glad we did, I just love him, we all do.