MBA Graduate!

The day has finally come... Nick graduated!! It has been 2.5 years of grad school (7 straight years of school including bachelors) and I am so excited to have it done. Nick worked very hard studying in the evenings and every Saturday. Near the end it got even more difficult when he was dividing his precious study time with seminary prep. But he persevered and finished strong! He always made time for me, date nights, helping with the girls, and family outings. For that I am very thankful! But I still spent many, many nights and days doing the whole parenting thing alone. I like to think that part of his MBA belongs to me and that Nick could not have done it with out my support:) Tomorrow he does not teach seminary, so no prep there, and he has no studying... what?! You mean we can just stare at each other all night. Yes!

Since he did not "walk" for graduation we had a super fun family breakfast for him the Saturday after Thanksgiving. His present from me... a shot gun! Yup, I walked up to the gun counter at Big 5 and said "I want that one". A short 15 minutes later I walked out with a shot gun in one hand and my two kids in the other. Easier than shopping at Walmart!

To celebrate being an official MBA graduate he blew some stuff up! Nick, your girls adore you and are so proud of all your hard work. On to the next chapter of our lives! 

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