Disney Fanatics

We recently landed ourselves in Florida for a week. When we found out that my parents were going there for a conference and Jeff and Jenn would be there too we just couldn't stay away! Here's a photo recap of our fabulous trip!

The Cast of this Disney Vacay: Grandpa, Brayden, Jenn, Chloe, Brielle, Melissa, Makenna, Grandma, Kevin, Emmitt, Jeff, Jonah

Emmitt's first ever swim!

Animal Kingdom was our first park of the trip. We had a great time jammin to the African music.

Brayden made Jonah his trip buddy.

Emmitt was such a good baby... as you can see- he was thrilled to be there :)

These (above and below pics) were taken on Kali River Rapids. One of the fun things about this trip is that Brielle was now tall enough to do a lot of the big rides... she even did Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. Makenna was a tall and brave rider this time too. She loved Splash Mountain the most but she also repeatedly rode Space Mountain and even went on the Tower of Terror. (which was much more terrifying for me than for her :)

Above: This picture was taken on our hot day at Disney Studios. These girls had a great time together. We bought them some super over priced popsicles. Sometimes though its those splurges that become the kids favorite memories... so I guess its all worth it. I remember churros at Disney from my own childhood and of course the infamous marshmallows on a stick from last year... all priceless memories...
And if you are wondering about Brielle's stylish hat- I missed some spots with the sunscreen and she got a pretty bad sunburn right behind her ears. Luckily I had this hat handy and she was a good sport about keeping covered the rest of the trip. (I;m learning that blonde fair skinned children are sure high maintenance in the sun!)
And here we are enjoying another one of those splurges that I am sure will pay for itself in memories... Wait did I really pay $16 for suckers???? Who's the sucker here :)

Dumbo photo op.
A trip to the Magic Kingdom wouldn't be complete without waiting the longest amount of time in line for the lamest ride in the park :)

Don't you think with her hat in this picture, Brielle looks like she belongs in the British Royal Family.

Mickey and Minnie Photo Op.
As a humorous sidenote- a few days after returning home Brielle began crying (serious real 3 year old crying) and as she cried, she exclaimed "I miss Mickey, I miss Minnie, I miss Pluto and Donald and Daisy... my whole entire family" --too funny

You know your on vacation when you are wearing your swimming suit and eating a lollipop while watching t.v. in bed.

My girls.

My boys.

Grandma and Grandpa and Brayden at the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney.

And then there was the Princess Dinner inside Cinderellas Castle. This was a real treat. All of us girls enjoyed a fabulous fancy royal feast as the princesses walked around to meet and greet everyone. Brielle was in awe. Makenna had a good time and Chloe was hilarious. She asked the princesses all the best questions... like she had quite the conversation with Bell about whether or not the Beast/ Prince had gotten better at controlling his temper. It was great. And in case you are wondering- in "real" life, Snow White was the nicest princess with Ariel coming in a close second. Belle seemed the most "stuck up." Who woulda thought!

Shes covering her eyes to make a wish with her magic wand.

Watching the Parade.

Now if you can guess what ride we are on in this photo, then you get 100 points.
(hint: we got stuck and as a result I had a certain very monotonous, somewhat irritating song stuck in my head all day long)

Unfortunately our trip was not all sunshine. We had one full day of rain. It wasn't just sprinkling either- it was full out non stop down-pouring ALL DAY LONG. So we missed Epcot but we did venture out to enjoy a great time at the T REX cafe at downtown Disney. This turned out to be such a fun place. It will have to be added to our future trip itinerary for sure.

Jeff got the burger and it was no small bite!

Yes- its a dessert with dry ice... how cool is that!

And back to the pool we go...

Now if your level of post-vacation-exhaustion is any indicator of how much fun you had then WOW... we had tons of fun!
(These 3 pictures below are from the airplane ride home... another 100 points if you can spot Emmitt?)

So yes our family is a family of Disney fanatics. We didn't expect to go twice in two years but when the opportunity arises- who could resist. We just love that place! Brielle wins the prize for enjoying Disney World the most- but I'll have to admit I'm a close second :)

And another sidenote: Each day we went to a park Brielle asked us when we were going to the "real" Disney World. We kept thinking she must remember some different park but she never was convinced that we were at the real Disney World. When we got home and were back to our habit of watching old vacation movies, she was watching the Disney cruise and informed me that there is the REAL Disney World. She said to me in a distressed voice
"We went to the wrong place"

oops!

5 Months Old

A week late but here is his five month pictures... I can never just choose just one...

Picture(s) of the Day

Kevin and I got iphones several months ago and I think you could say we are addicted. We absolutely love them- maybe a little too much. Recently I started to text pictures to Kevin while he was at work and I jokingly call them his picture of the day... usually just random stuff-like the odd things Brielle does or sometimes precious baby Emmitt moments.
So here for your viewing pleasure, and in no particular order, are some of my pictures of the day...

"crazy eyes"

Brielle at Target. She walked by this aisle and exclaimed "Oh my goodness!" It made me laugh. (in case you didn't know make-up is her "thing")

messy face

This one was taken by some little hands who got a hold of my camera... and in case you are wondering yes there are SEVERAL more just like it... (thank goodness for digital cameras)

Watching "High School Musical 2" on the couch together.
Usually I wrap Emmitt up and lay him on the couch to go to sleep... sometimes he gets invaded...

my favorite hat/ my favorite boys

I'm discovering that most often the caption that accompanies pictures of Emmitt is something to the effect of- what a big boy he is.... and again- it applies.

Again this photo was captioned "Watching High School Musical" She got the car seat and climbed in all on her own... I guess she thought it looks comfy.

Bought this hat in the dollar section at Target and she wore it all afternoon. Very entertaining.

Sent this one to daddy at work with the caption "miss you"

Yet again... what a big boy he is!
(This was the first time he sat in the stroller without the car seat being in it.)

Ta da... I did her hair... her very few strands of hair.

Post "Bell Family Fun Night" face paint.
As you can imagine tears were shed when we finally had to wash it off.

Still in need of a nap but will fight it tooth and nail. Sometimes, though, sleep just sneaks up on her... usually on the way home from Costco.

This one I sent to Julie since she got him that outfit. I can't believe how big he is!

Brayden's First Pinewood Derby

Last night was our first cub scout pinewood derby experience. I was suprised by the seriousness and the intensity of the event. Getting the car carved and weighted and painted and all that was quite an ordeal for Brayden and his dad. They spent a lot of time on it. In the end it turned out great and it even raced well too. His car came in 9th overall out of 31 cub scouts... pretty good.
Yes of course Brayden would do a BYU car and in honor of our star basketball player he chose to add Jimmer's number 32... and I bet you wont be surprised to know that his wasn't the only BYU car with a number 32 on it at the rally :)
The green sticker was added by the officials at the event which Brayden wasn't too happy with. Durring one of the heats where his car came in third, he angrily exclaimed "Its because of that stupid sticker!"

We Love Our Oma!

The kids had a great visit with their Oma this past week. They love her very much and miss her already.

Basketball...

Brayden's basketball team is really awesome this season. They usually school every team they play. Here are a couple of Brayden's recents shots... The first one is almost comical because of the number of shots they take before they get the rebound. This is not a unique occurence. I'd say they take on average of 4 or 5 shots every time before the ball goes in. I know I have counted up to 8.


Another humorous commentary on Brayden's basketball is that recently his enthusiasm over the game has dramatically increased. He even goes out to shoot hoops in the morning before school these days. I attribute it all to BYU basketball player Jimmer Fredette who is all the rage in this house and a certain youtube video which Brayden loves to watch as often as we allow. Click here to see it. He even told us that when he sings this song in his head while playing he always gets his shots but when he doesn't, he always misses. Gotta love him... (and by him I mean Brayden.. though we all love Jimmer too).
And my condolences to any reading this post who are pained right now even by the thought of BYU basketball. I am so sorry for your loss but the post had to be done :)