DisneyLand 2013

Oh Disneyland you may very well be the happiest place on Earth! My girls were smiles and giggles all 12 hours we were there. I had a couple melt downs (crowds and me don't mix well) but the girls did a thousands times better than I thought. They never complained of being hungry, cold, tired, and didn't even beg to get out of the stroller (miracle!). It was a perfect family memory and I am so glad I got to share it with Emily and her family and my parents. 

My top 5 favorite memories

1. Meeting tinker bell. Forget the girls I was super excited to meet her! I have only seen the movie a thousand times. The girls loved it too!

2. Pumpkin fritters and soup bowl. We brought a ton of snacks with us so we only ate one real meal in the park. It was just as the sun was setting and it was getting cold. Soup never tasted so good. My dad bought these amazing pumpkin fritters/doughnuts that I am still craving!

3. Christmas decoration. The haunted mansion was decked to the halls and very full of Christmas cheer. I loved the snow on the castle and the garland/lights everywhere. The attention to detail made it very magical. Alice loved the snow after the fireworks and kept saying "snow on my nose"

4. The Tea Cups. I was surprised but this was my favorite ride. The four of us fit perfectly in one cup and there was zero line! We rode it at night and I loved twirling around with all the lights. My girls giggled the whole time and even Nick let out a big laugh. It was a perfect moment with no worries, stress, or the complications of life... just happieness. A moment I will never forget!

5. The parade! Best 25 minutes of my life! Scarlett absolutely loved it and was giddy with excitement for every float. She waved and waved to every character that passed. Alice caught on quick and started waving. By the end it was constant waving and "hi, hi, hi". They loved the princess float best, of course! 

Alice drove at Autotopia. I was scared for my life;)

It was cold! But it made line waiting pretty easy. She just wanted to be held and cuddled...ahh

Picture doesn't quite show how excited she was. Scarlett's birthday is in December so we got her a birthday pin and she loved all the workers wishing her a happy birthday. She know thinks she is 4.

wide eyed on jungle cruise

Not complete without a picture of Mickey and Minnie. 

This is when I snuck in my churro. I hate sharing!!

Can you spot Nick and Scarlett? She came off the ride and wanted to do it again. And here I thought I was performing baby torture by letting her ride Splash Mountain.

This was the best picture I could get of these two

This came in a close second

"Oh look mom" was her favorite phrase of the day. 

Does it look cold? It was freezing but we came prepared with blankets galore!

Tea Cups

First bite of churro...changed her life!

Then we ran out of there as fast as we could. 

The End

California Adventure 2013

It seems a year is not complete without a stay at the New Port Marriot! We have been going there every year for a while now but this is the first time my girls were old enough to fully enjoy all the resort has to offer... free kids craft, heated pool/spa, big sand boxes, basketball corts. It is just packed with kid friendly activities and my girls LOVED it. Poor Scarlett cried when we had to leave this morning. In the car she cried "the party is over mom". It broke my heart. Alice has been asking all day to go "swim-min-ing-ing in the jaz-fluzy" aka swim in the jacuzzi. It was a very memorable, relaxing, and enjoyable trip. Best way to start this fun holiday season.

We drove down a week ago on Monday and had that day, Tuesday, and Wednesday with just my parents. Nick drove down after work on Wednesday night.  I missed having him the first couple of days but I loved being with just my girls and my parents. It was so fun to be spoiled by them and have them all to our selves! On Monday we went to the tide pools where Scarlett loved poking the sea anemones and playing with the hermit crabs. Tuesday we saw Frozen and I LOVED it and even caught Scarlett singing the songs on the drive home. Alice liked climbing all over the chairs, us, and the stairs more than the movie but we survived. Wednesday we went swimming in the huge jacuzzi and then went to an out door mall to ride the carrousel and ferris wheel. It was ride prep for our big day at Disneyland on Thursday with the Flakes and my parents. To be continued...

Emily and I on the beach

Christmas on the beach is gorgeous

Thanksgiving 2013

As always this past Holiday weekend was amazing. I loved every minute of spending time with family!! We have such a fun tradition of going bowling the morning of Thanksgiving. Both Nicks family and my family go together and enjoy some noncompetitive (we are all terrible) bowling. After we headed over to Tiffany's house for the big meal. The food was amazing and I loved having Alice asleep during the meal so I could eat and enjoy. Scarlett just loves going over to the Milne house and playing with all her cousins, especially Centri. Those two can play for hours!! Black Friday started early this year (I did not like that) so we started around 530. I get so giddy and anxious before everything starts. It is like war shopping... it gets crazy. I normally do not like shopping for hours on end but mass pandemonium makes is very enjoyable!! We started with Walmart and were there for the offical "tearing" into the palates. We got everything we wanted and due to line cutting (yes, I get down and dirty!) we were in and out in 20 minutes. Oh man you have to be an experienced Black Friday shopper to truly love Walmart... it was crazy! I left very tired and super sweaty. In order to get everything on my list I was running everywhere and carrying all my stuff, carts are for the inexperienced! Then we went to my parents for left over rolls and pie and to chat. Kim was for down with her family so she met up with us to do Kohls. Anything compared to Walmart is very tame so Kohls was a cake walk. We actually were talking, laughing, and rather enjoying ourselves. I always feel a twinge of sadness as Black Friday comes to a close. I love spending time with all my sisters and making crazy, fun memories. We get giddy and act like 15 year olds, I just love it.

As always I am so thankful for all the wonderful blessings I have. I deserve none of them! My most priceless blessings are those of Nick and the girls. I am beyond lucky to be a wife to such a kind man and a mother to my amazingly gifted girls. All three make me a better version of myself!

  

All the Strobelt grandkids...Nice smile Scarlett!