California Part I

Last week, we took our first family vacation (entirely planned, paid for, and attended by just the 5 of us)! We have been looking forward to it for months and months, and we were so excited when the big day finally arrived.

The boys couldn't wait to get on the plane.

When we got to Los Angeles, we drove around for awhile so Luke could get a nap in the car. We drove down Rodeo Drive and ended up in Beverly Hills where we found this beautiful little park.

(With only my zoom lens with me, I couldn't get far enough away to get the whole sign in the shot...so apparently we were visiting Beverl Hills. LOL)

We found an amazing tree that has clearly been there for years and years, and it has initials and little love notes carved into its trunk.

Anthony decided to carve our initials in, too, in celebration of our 10th anniversary.

Happy Anniversary to us!

I love these pictures of Super Luke.

And not only because they remind me of this one, from 2 years ago:

That night for dinner, we went to Universal City and ate at Hard Rock Cafe. Not many pictures from there since everyone was exhausted and we didn't do much besides eat and leave, but Anthony got a cute shot of me and Luke.

On Thursday morning, bright and early, we headed over to Disneyland.

First we rode the Finding Nemo submarine ride, and then Jackson and I hit Space Mountain (per his request, although he wasn't a fan after riding...he said it was too jerky).

We also went on Haunted Mansion (which freaked Luke right out, no surprise), Pirates of the Carribbean (Luke didn't like the skeletons), and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Luke screamed the whole time). Clearly, Luke did not enjoy the rides where he was in the dark (moving fast, with scary things coming at him LOL).

Luke said, "No more scary rides....or else!"

So we stuck with low-key rides that afternoon, like the Carousel, Casey Jr.'s Circus Train, and It's a Small World.

I had had a fantasy of us all getting Mickey-ear hats with our names embroidered on them, but the boys had no interest whatsoever. So somewhere during the day, I picked up a pair of ears for myself, and Cody dubbed me, "Minnie Mom." :)

That night we stayed for the fireworks show. It got a little bit chilly after dark, so it was a good thing we had our sweatshirts with us. Hard to tell whether the boys liked the fireworks or their little glow-in-the-dark Mickey spinners better...what do you think?

On Day 2, we headed straight for Dumbo as soon as the park opened so we could avoid a big line (people were waiting for 45 minutes the day before).

We then headed over to Thunder Mountain, which was my favorite as a kid. Jackson adored it and wanted to go right back on again (the line was only 5 minutes). Cody was nervous, but agreed to try it, and he loved it, too!

A side note about Cody, here: I was quite anxious, leading up to our trip, about how Cody would do on the Disney rides. He still has some balance and equilibrium issues (he really doesn't like things that spin), and he freaked out on a simple ride at the State Fair back in October. So we were prepared for him to steer clear of any rides that looked fast, bumpy, jerky, or "spinny." Well, that kid sure surprised the heck out of us! His favorite ride there was Haunted Mansion, even though it terrified him, but he LOVED Thunder Mountain and a little Go-Coaster ride he got on with Jackson in ToonTown. Courage in spades, I'm telling you.

The boys blew up some TNT in ToonTown.

And Cody drove Goofy's car.

We were lucky enough to bump into Mickey walking down Main Street.

Before we went to Disneyland, Luke had only a vague idea who Mickey Mouse was. But with all everything there being about Mickey, Luke quickly became obsessed. I think his favorite thing about Disneyland was visiting Mickey's House, where he got to see Mickey at the end...and give him a hug (he told me he also kissed his arm LOL). Awww. ♥

The boys posed in front of Cinderella's castle, which is....pinker than I remember. ;)

We had a wonderful time at Disneyland...I really don't think we could have asked for it to go any better. The weather was perfect, our hotel was close enough that we could walk right across the street for naps, we got to go on every ride we wanted to and waited in only a few long lines. The boys can't wait to go back!

To Be Continued...

Jackson's Birthday Pictures

Our favorite family photographer took these great pictures of Jackson at the Frisco Heritage Museum. I love them but they also make my heart hurt a little, because he looks so grown up!


Look at this amazing old steam locomotive. It's HUGE! Jacks seems so tiny next to it.


Here's his angry face:


I just love this one because it is SO Jackson. Here I can still see my baby hidden (not THAT hidden) inside the big boy.


And here is the big boy. This is one of those where I imagine I can see the man he's going to be, peeking out from the eyes of the boy.


We found these great railroad ties in the shape of the letter 'J.' How neat is that?


Thanks again, Chera!

Happy Father's Day

Jackson's Birthday Parties

Since we will be in California on the day of Jackson's 8th birthday, we had his birthday party today at Main Event. Jackson invited 7 of his friends to play Laser Tag and they all had a fantastic time!

A friend of a friend made his amazing cake. It could not have been any more perfect for him. Legos, Star Wars, and cake? Nothing better! (The sand is crushed up Nilla Wafers...how cool is that?)


We celebrated as a family last night. Jackson chose Fuddrucker's for dinner, and then we came home for cake. Though its coolness quotient can't compete with the Star Wars cake, it was still pretty tasty...even if the purple color did make the cake itself look like dryer lint (we have a tradition of dying cake batter different colors in our family, but yesterday's purple ended up looking more gray once it was cooked--Anthony said I achieved a new pinnacle in cake coloring).


We decorated for the occasion!


The boys enjoyed the blowers and party hats.


Jacks hid from our terrible singing, so Daddy put the cake on his head.


But he re-emerged to blow out his candles and make a wish!


He got about a zillion Legos as gifts, and he declared today his favorite best day ever!

Happy Birthday Jacks! How did you get so big so fast?? We love you!

Jackson's Last Day of 2nd Grade

Here's the main man on his last day of school! He had such a good 2nd grade experience, with a great teacher and several good friends in his class. It seems like this year went by in a blink, but you can see below how much he has grown and changed. He'll be 8 in just a few weeks!


We're so proud of you, Jacks!

Young Man

This is Jackson's "End of 2nd Grade" official school portrait. I'm not sure when they started taking 2 school pictures a year, but both of Jackson's turned out great this year. I like his confident pose in this one and his little smirk...he has really become more comfortable in his own skin throughout 2nd Grade, which is great to see.

Below, a letter to Dad (responsible for a lot of that confidence Jackson now has 'cause he's "the best encourager" LOL) that Jacks wrote in school...if you click on it, you can see a larger version so that you can actually read it. ♥

Last Day for Cody and Luke

What a big year this has been! Despite the rocky start, Luke's first school experience was overwhelmingly positive and he has grown so much in so many ways. He made some good friends, learned to sing and appreciate books (he LOVES being read to, now!), and he's now potty-trained. Plus, he NEVER stops talking! He started school in September still a baby, but now he is definitely a little boy.

And Cody! Oh my gosh, Cody.


This kid never ceases to amaze us. He is coloring, writing his name, counting, singing, drumming, building rocket ships out of MegaBlocks...he is interested in so many things, and he comes up with wild and creative ideas. We are so proud of how far he has come. It's hard to believe it's time for Kindergarten! Adios Preschool!

Here are their side-by-side comparison pictures...you can see how much they've both grown this year.


Congrats boys! Happy Summer!