Oct.- Week 1- Disneyland, Day 1

I had to do many, many picture collages because otherwise, I'd have over 200 pictures to post.  You're welcome ;)  

Our first day was Tuesday.  The 3-day Park Hopper ticket/hotel package we bought included one "Magic Morning."  Which means, we got to enter the park 1 hour before it opened to everyone else.  On our first day, the regular park hours were 8am-6pm.  Soooo, we decided to use our Magic Morning this day thinking that not many other people would be crazy enough to head to the park around 6:45am for the 7am opening!  And for the most part, we were right.  The crowds weren't that bad.  But still, there were certainly hundreds of other crazy people, just like us!  :)  

Here's McKenna and Ben ready to head into the park the first day, wearing their new T-shirts, and looking excited.  The park was decorated so nice for Halloween!  

We had heard/read horror stories of people waiting 2-3 HOURS to meet Anna and Elsa from Frozen.  And of course, this is one of the main things McKenna was looking forward to the most!  So, we booked it straight over to their line, waited maybe 5 minutes to get our "Fast Pass" or return time, and then sat and ate a little something for breakfast which we packed and brought in with us.  

Can you see the excitement on Ben's face knowing he would soon meet Anna and Elsa??  We also made sure to get the buttons that let everyone know it was our FIRST VISIT to Disneyland.  :) 

Turns out all our early rising and hurrying paid off greatly and we ended up meeting Anna and Elsa BEFORE 8am!!  Mission accomplished!  They were so nice!  McKenna acted a little shy and played with her "Anna braids" most of the time they talked to her.  They mentioned Ben also being shy and asked if he was sometimes silly like Olaf?  

This girl was in HEAVEN! Hugs all around! 

The rest of these pictures aren't necessarily in the order we took them throughout the day.  

We met LOTS of characters, especially in Toontown!  Meeting the characters was one of the things I had looked forward to the most.  Thankfully, the lines were so good and we didn't have to wait longer than 15 minutes to meet anyone.  For the most part, the kids weren't too shy either.  

Here's Pluto

The kids loved playing inside Minnie's house before we met her.  Ben especially loved the cake in the oven that inflated and deflated.  He asked to go back there on Day 3 but we had to pass.  

Meeting Mickey probably took the longest, but still not bad since they showed movies, in addition to exploring his house.  They kinda treat meeting Mickey like you're meeting the King himself... Naturally! ;) 

We also explored Chip 'n Dale's Treehouse, Goofy's Playhouse, and Donald's Boat.  

Ben was a little shy to meet Goofy.  But Goofy tickled him and got him to smile in the end.  

While in Toontown, we rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, and the Gadget's Go Coaster.  Seeing the perfectly clear blue sky behind the fake mountain backdrop of Toontown kind of made us feel like we were walking into a dome or something.  It didn't look real.  Like it all had to be part of one huge backdrop.    When we were done with Toontown, it was nice to check off one whole area of Disneyland--DONE!   

In Tomorrowland, we went in the Innoventions building to see some superhero stuff.  We loved seeing Ben's reaction when we first saw the Ironman suit.  McKenna wasn't too thrilled to pose since she said, "I don't like superheroes."  We also got "transported" to Asgard where we met Thor!  Both the kids were a little shy to meet him.  Thor also let another little boy try to lift his hammer, but of course, it couldn't be done.  ;) 

There was a "suit-up" experience where the kids could "put on" Ironman's suit and practice shooting and flying.  

Even though McKenna "doesn't like superheroes," she liked the suit-up experience.

Some other rides we went on and took pictures of below: It's a Small World, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (really slow to load and unload), Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and Star Tours (X2) (made me SO motion sick, so I only went on it once).  Since Ben is right at 40in tall, he had to be measured many times for many rides!  Thankfully, he was only turned down once and we went back later when new people were there, and he got on just fine everytime thereafter.  

It was confirmed that we are not royalty as the kids could NOT pull the sword out of the stone.  We enjoyed King Arthur's Carousel though. 

Other rides we went on this day but are not pictured: Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Snow White's Scary Adventure, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pan's Flight, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Space Mountain (Fast Pass), and the Astro Orbitor.  

I knew at some point during this trip I'd get emotional watching my children's wonder and amazement during their first Disneyland experience.  However, I did not expect that time to be during the Jedi Training...and our kids didn't even go up to participate!  It must have been something about the loud music, the atmosphere, and the picture perfect costumes that made me lose it.  I'm such a baby.  ;)

We also packed a lunch everyday to take into the park to help us cut back on expenses.  There were always plenty of shady spots to enjoy our meal together.  This particular day, we ate under the Monorail track.  

Dan took Ben to check out Frontierland and rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railraod while McKenna and I just barely made it into the line to meet some more Disney Princesses at the Royal Hall!  Seriously, they closed the line at 5pm and we were second-to-last in line.  They were each so nice!  And I love that the workers don't let the next group in until you're done meeting and taking pictures with them!  Because we were second-to-last, I do feel like they may have rushed us just a little bit, so I don't remember much of what was said.  But I do remember Snow White even talked like the real one from the movie. :)  

We LOVED the parades!  The music, the dancing, the characters! A Frozen float came by about 15 minutes before the rest of the parade to help get everyone excited.  Mickey and friends started the parade with an awesome drumline.  

Here's Aladdin and the Princess float.  

Ariel, Donald Duck, Simba, and some guys on stilts with amazing balance.  

Tiana, Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, The Chimney Sweeps from Mary Poppins

And Mary Poppins herself!  However, because we had arrived in the park so early this day, Ben was SO tired he fell asleep on Dan's shoulders!  Poor dude missed the whole thing.  We put him in the stroller right after this picture so he could have a more "proper" nap.  

After the parade, we met up with one of Dan's co-workers and her family, the Boyacks.  They have an annual pass and just happened to plan a trip the same time we did.  We spent a little more time with them on day 2 at California Adventure.  We left when the park closed at 6pm and was then only open for Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party (those who payed an extra $63 per person!!).  We headed across the street to IHOP for dinner where kids ate for free! :) 

After IHOP, we swam in the hotel pool for a bit and then gave the kids their "bigger" souvenir gifts.  McKenna got a Cinderella princess dress that one of Dan's co-workers had at her house and was nice enough to just give to us!  Ben got a Millennium Falcon toy carrying case that Dan found on KSL.  McKenna was a little sad it wasn't an Elsa dress, but she still loved it!  Then, we put the kids to bed.  There's wasn't a way to make the room dark to help the kids fall asleep easier, without making it too dark for Dan and I.  So, we figured out a way to drape a blanket from their headboard over their heads, but still give them breathing room.  They fell asleep rather quickly, of course.  Once they were asleep, we uncovered them and there was no chance of waking them no matter how loud we were or how much light we turned on.

We had also read on the online reviews for our hotel, that if we requested a 3rd floor room, we could see Disneyland's fireworks from our balcony.  And sure enough, there they were!  I also got a picture that night of both kids asleep with their arms high in the air.  Could you tell we'd been riding rides all day?  ;) Such a great first day!  

Sept.- Week 4- Preschool, Baby Hailey Jane

I forgot to post these back in August, but here are the kids "playing" the infamous ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  Sorry you can't hear very well.  I'll try to translate as best I can.  :) 

..."Ice Bucket challenge from Sis. Webster Mom, and Anna.  By my sister, McKenna, from preschool...something... Go for it!!  Aaahhh"

You should be able to hear hers just fine.  What goofies!

I hosted the co-op preschool this week, teaching the boys about the letter Dd.  We had donuts for snacks.  

They also got to be detectives and follow some doggie footprints.  

Here's a lovely picture of Anna whining at me. :) 

I took Ben in for a regular hair cut and ended up getting Anna's FIRST haircut!  No more baby mullet! 

Dan and I went on a date to see the Utah Chamber Artists sing at the Cathedral of the Madeline in SLC.  Dan has two Aunts, an Uncle, and our neighbor who sing in that choir.  They have such a pure tone! Gorgeous concert!  Maybe I'll try to join them one day.  

And later that night, our newest niece was born to Sam and Lara!  

Hailey Jane Webter!

Cute siblings playing nice together.  I think they were play camping.  

McKenna got her school pictures back.  Such a sweet and natural smile.  

 Saturday was the General Women's Conference for our church and my sister and I attended with the Webster clan.  We had a yummy dinner at the new Corner Cafe in Bountiful beforehand.  It was wonderful and uplifting meeting with many great talks about keeping covenants.  

Monday, Sept. 29th, we left Anna with a babysitter (two families from our ward split up the 6 days we would be gone), and took the two older kids to DISNEYLAND!!  This was mine and the kids's FIRST time!  We've been planning this trip for over a year!  Because of how McKenna's school term ended and parent/teacher conferences were held, she only ended up missing 2 days of school...bonus! I found these cute maps in an old KSL article about how to have happy kids on your drive to the "Happiest Place On Earth."  The kids loved moving the car along the road and I think it kinda helped cut back on the, "Are we there yet?"  

We also brought along coloring/workbooks and play dough from the dollar store.  

We passed this solar "farm" (for lack of a better word) just as we entered into California.

They watched three movies: Bee Movie, Madagascar, and Frozen.  In the same article with the road maps, I also found 4 groups of themed picture cards.  We drew one card from each theme and then made up stories including each of those pictures.  The kids did really well with that and it was funny to hear their imaginations working.  McKenna and Ben definitely got louder and louder as we got closer and closer to our hotel.  We stayed at a Best Western right across the street from the Disneyland park. We made it from our front door in Bountiful to the hotel in 10.5 hours and only had to stop from gas and restrooms three times.  After checking in, we walked to a nearby mall and ate at a Johnny Rockets where the kids got these hats and balloon animals (pretty sure other locations don't do those...another perk to being close to Disneyland).  

We headed back to the hotel to go swimming for a while. Then we gave the kids new t-shirts to wear in the park the next day; Princess for her, superheroes for him.   We packed our lunches and went to bed!

This picture was actually the only picture I took on the drive home, but since it was part of the "road trip" I thought I'd include it here.  I think we wore them out!  

Stay tuned for day 1 at the park! 

Sept.- Week 3- Ward Camp Out

Ben learned about the letter "Cc" in preschool.

These cute boys also got to cook some cupcakes.  

Pirate-themed story time at the library.  

Ben had a couple days in a row where he woke up at 6:30am.  He's not our greatest sleeper, so by 3pm-ish he is pretty grouchy and tired.  This particular day, I was on the computer and he was SUPER whiney and crawling all over me.  I put the computer down, held him close to me and within about 2 minutes he was asleep!  He, of course, woke up beastly, but I do enjoy my "baby" boy (3 1/2) still falling asleep on me every once in a while. :)  

Our ward had the first annual CAMP OUT!  We went to Hobble Creek Canyon, just past Springville, which is South of Provo.  The weather was pretty perfect!  It got a little colder at night than we thought, and we should have been a little more prepared with more blankets.  

Anna hated me doing these pigtails, but they're so darn cute! 

Friday night dinner was pulled pork sandwiches and potluck side dishes.  We had about 60 ward members attend.  

At night, the Southam family brought a homemade glow stick launcher.  As the glow sticks came crashing to the ground, many of them broke which led people to get some splatter on their clothes both by accident, and on purpose.  It looked pretty cool!  Not a great pictures, but all those speckles were glowing in the dark. 

Ben and his buddy Henry.  

Lovely face. 

McKenna and her friend Britanna.  Using the flash was not such a good idea.  

The kids slept about like we expected.  Each of them took a turn waking up.  Anna was first, McKenna woke up b/c she was too cold, and Ben said his arm hurt.  We'd totally camp again but just always plan to have little to no sleep.  

The next morning the Bishopric provided breakfast, everyone packed up their stuff, and we played a couple rounds of Bingo.  Anna tried her first skittles.  

Saturday before Lara's due date, a couple of us girls were able to sneak away for pedicures and dinner.  Love these ladies so much!