Disney Day 1

Finally, our first day at Disneyland and boy oh boy were we excited!

We took advantage of some photo op time while we waited in line to get in the park.  Once we entered the gates we hit the ground running!

We paused for a quick minute to see Pluto and Minnie.

Randy was definitely more excited to see Minnie than Hank was.

I love that our kids get to experience the magic of Disneyland with their cousins and my parents.  It was a highlight for me as a kid and now my kids get to do it!

Sam is looking happy yet concerned and with good reason.  We convinced him that the Matterhorn was so fun and not scary.  Well, it completely and totally scared him to death.  I forgot how scary it was through a 5 year old point of view.  We lost his trust for most of the day because of it. He was a wreck.  Parenting fail.

Good thing the teacups are right next to the Matterhorn.  Finally I got Sam to smile again.

Hank couldn't wait to take a spin with grandpa.

It took some serious bribery to get Sam on Thunder Mountain Railroad.  He loved it!

This was our typical riding arrangement.  Max and Randy, Sam and me, and Hank was with one of the Ross girls.

Star Tours boys!

We tried to get Sam in the mood for Space Mountain by finding some characters.

Chewy did it!

He was a little scared but he loved it!

Splash Mountain has been closed the past few years we've been to Disneyland.  We didn't care it was only 45 degrees, bring it on!

I've got to get Sam on this before the trip is over.

After our rocky start, he ended the day smiling.  We only had one other mishap.  Max lost his phone on Space Mountain.  We had faith it would turn up eventually but it never did.  Since he needs it for his Dexcom we had to get creative and use his iPod instead.  Nothing is getting us down.

We went until we could go no more.  Tucker and Sam out, success!

Disneyland or Bust!

We've been keeping a major secret from our kids for months.  I was so excited the hours leading up to telling them I could hardly contain myself.  Not only were we going to Disneyland with my entire family but we were flying!  Randy and I told the boys we were going to Park City for the weekend.  As we drove toward the airport, they boys had no clue.  Planes were flying over our heads, still no clue.  I finally said, Randy I think we went the wrong way, this isn't Park City.  The kids finally realized we were at the airport.

When we told them we were flying to Disneyland, their reactions were priceless.  Hank shook his head in disbelief, Max couldn't stop kissing everyone, and Sam kept saying, "wait, we're going to Disneyland".  I can't believe they didn't realize I packed quite heavily for a weekend in Park City.  We showed up to the hotel for yet another surprise.  The Ross fam, the Jones fam, and grandma and grandpa were all in the lobby waiting for us.  It was almost too many surprises for the kids.  It took a minute for it to set in.

We spent our first day in California shopping in Downtown Disney, eating, and playing at the arcade.

Later that night we saw Moana.  My mom desperately wanted a heartfelt hug from Hank.  He told her he would hug her for one full minute if she danced on the bench.  My mom didn't even hesitate.  She danced on the bench like a crazy person.  I'm not sure what embarrassed Hank more.  The dance or the one minute embrace with his grandma.

We went to bed early, excited for DISNEYLAND tomorrow!!

Thanksgiving 2016

I didn't get to help at the preschool Thanksgiving party this year but Sam's hat made my day.  Boy am I thankful for this mamas boy.

Grandma Griffin was prepared with minute to win it games at her annual pie night.  Sam got was into it!  

Of course the kids had to update their heights on the cupboard.  I'm blown away she still makes all the pies from scratch.

Thanksgiving day started with a beautiful run with Sarah followed by dinner at Jeri's.

Jenni and I even braved some Black Friday shopping after dinner.

The food was wonderful.  I really enjoyed talking with everyone and being together.

I have so much to be thankful for.  There's nothing more I could want than this crew.  It was such a beautiful day.