Disneyland

Every year Ryan takes his cross country team down to Mt. Sac and from there they go on to Disneyland. It's a really quick trip and there's no way for us to tag along but this year he ended up with extra tickets and so we were able to go down a few weeks later. It was the week of Thanksgiving and so both Ryan and Allison were out of school, but unfortunately so were a lot of others. It was really crowded the day we went but the whole trip was great and the girls loved Disneyland.
Sunday morning we had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen

The girls played in the autopia car inside the hotel while we waited to be seated

Here's Alli and Goofy (after he scared Kate and she screamed so loud it could be heard from across the restaurant


Kate still tells the story about the carousel. I asked Kate, "What ride do you hope will be there?" Kate said, "The carousel." I said, "Look straight ahead!" It was a carousel!

Alli and Patty aboard Dumbo

Here we are about to ride Big Thunder Mountain

Allison was so excited for all of the roller coasters and Space Mountain did not disappoint

The castle all lit for the holidays

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight

Naps

We often say that naps are waisted on those that don't appreciate them. I'd give my right arm for a scheduled naptime everyday, but Kate prefers not to the nap these days. Most of the time I oblige because she can hold up pretty well throughout the day and once she's in bed at night she's usually asleep within five minutes even with sister reading just next to her. Here's one day when the early morning caught up with her and I was able to catch her catching some ZZZs.

Sarah: 7 months

Sarah's personality is coming out more and more. Within the last month she has commanded sitting up by herself, however, we still have to put a pillow behind her because often times she throws herself backward and does a number on her head. She smiles and laughs especially at Alli. Her daytime schedule is a little more consistent mostly due to being woken up to take Alli to school and then later to pick her up. Nighttime is still a battle as she wakes up soon after going to sleep and then is up at least three or four times a night to eat. I know that looking back I will cherish this time more but I'm tired and it makes it hard to fairly deal with big sisters. I don't have the patience that I should with them and I'm just hoping that these long nights will soon be a thing of the past. My recent facebook post was: I totally get why sleep deprivation is a torture tactic, but yet we somehow feel that it's not that bad and chose to do it all over again. AND I WOULD. 7 months old Playing with Elmo in my crib Just up from my nap Mom went to a bow party and now I have to wear this silly bow

Apple Hill Run

Who doesn't like running in the rain? It's one of my favorites but apparently the joy is not shared by my oldest daughter. We headed up to Apple Hill and stayed the night at Nana and Papa's to prepare for the run the next morning. Sarah didn't sleep very well and I didn't sleep at all but it was Allison who was grumpy in the morning UNTIL donught time of course. It was an adventure...
Sarah...all bundled up

Allison not pleased with the current weather conditions

Alli's finish

Kate's finish

Sarah's first apple donught

Kate's Birthday

I cannot believe she is three years old. On her birthday every year, Ryan and I like to look back on her dramatic birth. I think everyone who knows us now knows the story of Kate being born on the bathroom floor. Her birth perfectly describes her personality but she's an amazing little girl. She's one of the kindest kids you will ever meet. She tells me she loves me several times a day and it's always followed by a tender touch on my arm. When asked for things, her usual response is, "Sure!" and she means it. Daddy and I love you so much Kate Girl!

Getting a ride in from Papa

A birthday hug from Alli

Baby Sarah trying to keep warm

Nana and kids atop the haystack

Calum and Kate on the Moo Train

Grace and Alli too

Our hayride


The calm before the storm...literally

The mad dash for cupcakes before we all melted from the rain

Blowing out the candles

The chocolatier the better

The best birthday gift...roller skates! Thank you to the Himmelmanns

Brownies and ice cream for the day of celebration

Blowing out the candle

She was very intent on "reading" her cards this year. I think each one said, "Happy Birthday, Kate. We love you very much."

Doesn't every three year old want camisoles for their birthday?

I have no idea what this was but the look on her face is pretty good

She's so excited to have her own fishing pole

A crown and a cupcake face

Halloween 2010

We had a great Halloween with lots of fun activities. Allison had a Halloween party at school and then we went to a party at a friend's house. We had a blast decorating our pumpkin, and yes, even Ryan got into the spirit this year. We topped it off with another great evening with the Himmelmanns. Allison was very excited to be a witch and Kate early on decided to be Dorothy but in the end she decided to be Minnie another year.
Ayden's Halloween Party


The Harvest Festival

Pumpkin Bowling


Getting ready to go trick or treating at the Eathorne's Annaul Halloween Party

Our scary pumpkin

All the kids at the Himmelmanns


The Not So Evil Wicked Witch

Kate as Minnie