It's my Birthday!

and I went to Disneyland! (for a whole two hours =)



It's true, you really do get in free on your birthday. And if you have a pass, and you're lucky enough not to be blocked out on the day of your birthday (and all of us were lucky!) you can receive a "Birthday fun Card" (giftcard) for 69 bucks! (59 for the kids, but hey, that's awesome!!)



So Sarah and I went this morning to claim our gift. We got it and rode a few rides, and had to leave so soon to get Nemmies from kindergarten. Nevertheless, we had fun, just two of us, on Casey Jr., Small World, and the Carousel.



Tonight, it's dinner at Rubios and Baskin Robbins ice cream cake! Oh, and check out the beautiful birthstone necklace I got from my loving kids and hubby!

Friends

Our family is so incredibly blessed to be living in the great neighborhood we do. There are so many families with kids just the right ages to match up with ours, even Sarah. And now, she is getting old enough to actually enjoy spending time with another little girl who lives across the street.

A couple of weekends ago we got out the Bounce House (Bow How, as Sarah calls it) and invited the neighbors across the street to come bounce to their hearts' content...the little neighbors, not the big ones! Sarah had so much fun, and then she decided to drive. In Emma's jeep. So we were going round and round in a big circle and the two little girls were so giggly...it was priceless to watch a two year old driving with her little friend!

Yesterday her friend's daddy said that it was cool watching them play together, and that they might just grow up to be best buds...I hope so!

Yippee!!
Are you buckled up?

Golfing

On Wednesday, we went golfing with Grandma and Grandpa (poor Daddy had to work). This was a first for Sarah, who did pretty good carrying around her "stick" and picking up the balls for everyone! Grandma and I let her have some turns hitting our balls, but mostly she preferred to kick them or drop them in the hole (much easier, don't you think?) The three musketeers at Camelot.

Here's Sarah's creative way of holding the ball.

Grandma and Emma having some fun...notice Emma's new haircut?


Thanks for the pic, Emms!

I think he was pretending to be the Easter Bunny!

"Hole in one!! Hole in one!!"

Spring Break!

Did you know we nave wilderness in the OC? This is taken from a high hill in Santiago Oaks, where we spent a beautiful day today!
How did they get so big so fast?

My "big" two year old!

Today we went hiking at Santiago Oaks. The weather was overcast and cloudy (which it seems to be every year on Good Friday) with a prediction of rain, but it turned out to be an absolutely perfect day for a hike. Even Sarah made it quite far! (Though my back was aching when she couldn't make it...even with trading off with Chase!)

We don't often think of the OC as being "close to nature" but we were out on the trails and it was so quiet and peaceful, well, except for the animal sounds our children were making!! We spent nearly three hours hiking and playing around, throwing rocks into the little streams, and just spending time together.

Sarah and Caleb at the top of some "deps."

The end of a fantastic family day!

Monkey girl!

Emma was so proud of this accomplishment! She had been working so hard for so long to get across those bars, and when she finally did it, she couldn't wait for us all to see!

Don't see this too often!

It happened a few weeks ago, as I was driving to school. And I was able to keep it in sight the whole time and snap a picture. Five minutes later, it was replaced with rain, all day long, rain. But it was a beautiful reminder of God's promises for the morning, that lasted, for me, the whole day long!

Way too fast

So here's my baby...almost two. She loves to help now, whether it's putting away groceries or making dinner (well, she doesn't like to help put away toys!). I can't believe that she'll be two next week!

YAY!!!!!

We're going to Yosemite!!!!! This summer, I actually managed to get a reservation!!! So today, the early bird got the worm. Couldn't be more excited!

Mini Vacation

Two weeks ago Chase and I had Feb. 9th off work, and Chase always feels a little pain when a 3-day weekend passes us by and we don't do anything different with it. So, we decided on an overnight stay at a new Anaheim resort near Disneyland. We checked in Sunday night, with next to zero luggage, and started our "vacation" by checking out the resort.

It was pretty nice, althugh we were quite shocked to find out that there was nothing covering the windows when you opened them...and we were on the 7th of 14 floors! Tell me, do you find that disconcerting, or is it just me? My sister seemed to think it was no biggie that the windows opened with no screen or anything to block any curious children that might be exploring, but I was a little rattled by that discovery. Yes, the windows locked, but I still maintain that a lock is not much of a challenge to a curious child.

Anyway, we had dinner out, then visited Downtown Disney's Build-a-Bear and LEGO shop, where the kids had fun splurging just a little. Even Sarah got into it when she made her Scruffy dog!

(Rubbing the "heart" on her tummy...so her new friend never goes hungry!)

(Love at first hug!)

The next day we were headed to Disneyland....despite the pending storm! We had taken the kids out of school, so we were determined to do D-land anyway. With high hopes of no lines, we set off. As soon as we exited the parking structure, we were pelted by rain! No worries, though, the kids were loving it. And that began our drenching day at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Although we were soaked up to our knees, there were hardly any lines, and we had a great day. It continued to rain on and off all the way until 3:15, but we really only got caught in a downpour once.

We got home feeling like we had actually done something fun with our three-day weekend. And that's what it was all about!



I love this shot of Emma on the old-fire cart.

Here's one worn-out baby!

I've got some competition now!

So not too long ago I got a new teensy camera to keep in my purse, so I passed along my first digital to Emma, who had been asking for a long time when she could have her own camera. Check out some of her very own images!

I must say I'm quite proud!