We are a Disneyland Family!

We decided for Christmas this year that we were going to give our family Disneyland season passes.  We woke the kids up early and told them to get in the car... we had a surprise for them.  They caught on pretty fast and Anna kept asking "are we going to Disneyland?!" "We're going to Disneyland right?!"  When we were on the road we finally told them where we were going.  Then we surprised them that we actually got season passes.  Mac and Brad were kind of indifferent but Anna and Carly were super exctied.  They said they wanted this every year for Christmas and they didn't care if they got anything else. It was an awesome day there!  Not too crowded.  We decided it would only be appropriate to start our day off with Dumbo, the quintessential ride of Disneyland.

 

 

 

The carosol was also a hit!  Brad didn't like some of the dark and scary rides but he was a trooper.  Brad even went on the Matterhorn as a 2-yr-old.

Brad is a HUGE Woody fan.  All he wanted for Christmas was a big Woody doll.  He was a little unsure about actually meeting Woody but he was a trooper.  During the parade Brad yelled to Santa that he wanted a big Woody for Christmas.  He looked back at McKay and told him that Santa said "sure."  As far as Brad was concerned it was a done deal.  Woody was going to be there Christmas morning! 

 

 

 

The parade was awesome - a little crowded but fun.  We also saw Sleeping Beauty's Castle light up and then it snowed on Main Street.  It was a magical day.  We were exhausted by the time we went home.  We didn't get to do everything we wanted but we were so happy because we knew we could come back A LOT and it didn't matter!  Anna and Carly were troopers walking everywhere.  Mac and Brad sat in the stroller most of the time, which saved us.  Overall it was one of our happiest days ever!

Gingerbread Houses

The girls went to Mia's christmas tea party and made gigerbread houses.They did a gift exchange . Carly got a pony with a long tail, Anna got squinkies.

Solvang

After opening Anna's presents we headed off to Solvang for the day. We had never been there so we were excited for something new to do. It is a cute Danish Village with fun little shops and bakeries. It is geared a little more for an older crowd but the kids still had fun.

We got some really good hot chocolate and pastries here. The havarti cheese was amazing. I am a HUGE fan of havarti cheese. I love all cheese but it is pretty much my favorite.

We rode a surrey around town and got a good workout. Anna was hoping she would be big enough to pedal but she was not quite there. Maybe next year??? Mac wore his helmet practically the whole day. I can barely get him to wear his helmet EVER at home so I was completely shocked he wore it around Solvang the whole day!

We ate lunch at Tower Pizza per Anna's request.

We found this super cute park to play at on our way out of town. They had fun slides and swings.

After we got home from Solvang the Barlows came over and we had cake and ice cream. Anna has been wanting a panda bear cake for awhile. She got a new sleeping bad from Grandma and Grandpa Barlow. She also asked Alisa for cash instead of a check this year. Because when she gets a check her parents just put it in her bank account and she never sees it! Corrine gave her a new blanket.

It was dark when we got home from Solvang but McKay went with her around the neighborhood on her new rollerblades. Overall #9 was a great birthday!

Anna turns 9!!!

Anna turned 9 this year. She had a fun birthday. She got some new clothes, a new outfit for her doll, and ROLLERBLADES! She was so excited to get rollerblades. McKay has taught the kids the importance of only asking for one thing if you really really want to get it. She is a whiz on rollerskates so it took no time at all for her to pick up rollerblading.

Carly made Anna a dress for her doll and a new crocheted belt. Happy Birthday Anna!

The Turkeys go on Strike

Carly was a Pilgrim, like Anna ,for her play the Turkeys go on Strike. She did a super job. She was also responsible for turning the music on and off - an important part of the play. :)

Right now she is playing the part of a Pilgrim who has been on the boat for 66 days, so bored. She had some speaking parts and sang two songs with her fellow Pilgrims.

Good job Carly!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween! It was on a Monday this year so trick-or-treating was our family night. We got together with some friends in our ward and had pizza before and then went around the neighborhood.

Mac was a Lion - a scary lion. This is a perfect costume if you live in Utah. He got pretty sweaty but he stuck it out with the costume on.

Brad was Jake - adults would ask him if he were a pirate and he would say "no, I am Jake." Jake is a pirate. We got him a real sword so he didn't have to walk around with a spatula.

Anna was an Indian Princess and Carly was a fairy.

Here is Rachel with some of her Sunbeams. Sopie, Maddie, Mac, and Brooklynn.

Brad dancing a little pirate jig. He actually wore his costume for the whole night.

Here are our pumpkins. The kids had an extremely nice haul in the candy department. McKay paid them three dollars a pound for any they wanted to part with. Anna and Carly both gave about three pounds to him and Mac and Brad donated some to earn a new movie.

Ward Halloween Party

Our ward had a super fun Halloween Party/trunk-or-treat. Rachel gave me this cute/easy idea for decorating my van. I have never been into decorating for Halloween but this took less than 5 minutes so I was all good.

After the kids were done going around the cars they sat in the trunk and ate a ton of candy. It made me slightly sick to see how many wrappers I threw away. Tis the season right? This is Brad, Carly, Whitney Nelson, and Mia Nelson.

Mac, Kenzie Johnson, and Maddie Nelson.

Brad only wore his costume for a couple of minutes and insisted the boots were enough.

I was a U of U zombie. We did a flash mob to Thriller it was super fun!