{old times}

It seems like not so very long ago that another little curious baby of mine loved the library.That little baby loved everything about it. The freedom to roam about and to choose whatever was pleasing at the time was all so exciting.The freedom to climb and explore mischievously is the most liberating part. Well, eventually all the thrill wore off and at about 4 years old Maisey refused to visit the libraries. Lucky for me, now she reads and once again she likes the libraries... And for the times she's not so eager, I now have another little one who is!

{Sport}

Ryley has been the best sport during our trip. He slept most of the plane ride and he has been very patient while waiting, and waiting for everyone else.

He is his usual timid self when we get onto a ride but he hasn't cried once and he ends up loving the thrill! This is his face before the carousel started and before he started laughing!On the dark rides he is a quiet observer. Here he is on It's a Small World After All.Here he is on the tea cups for the third time. When he gets tired he just sleeps.

And when he wakes he knows there is still more fun awaiting him.

Ryley also started walking on our first day here! This is a funny but lengthy (1.53 minute) clip of him as he attempts to toddle over to me after a long day at Disneyland! Hang in there, he gets it eventually and his determination is commendable!

* I filmed the clip wrong and I can't turn it, nevertheless it's still entertaining!

{Characters}

After waiting in line for 90 minutes + we finally were able to see the princesses!

You certainly can't come to Disneyland without seeing and touching them!

Their apparel was beautiful!

We had breakfast with Lilo and Stitch and Minnie and Daisy decided to drop by!

Maisey admires Daisy's cursive writing in her autograph book and has spent a lot of time trying to replicate her signature.

I personally loved the street parade with many of the Disney characters, especially Jessy and Woody from Toy Story (one of my favorite Disney movies)!

After the street parade we saw Tink at Pixie Hollow- shortly before her appearances in the Starlight parade and fireworks display!

Her friend "Raindrop" was there too!

We've seen a lot of other characters such as: Goofy, Pluto, Minnie, Alice, The Mad Hatter, Tiger, Rabbit and Pooh, just to name a few!

{Vacation}

Friday @ PDX- Ryley wasn't sure why we woke him up at 4 am so Chad and Maisey had some explaining to do

This was the seating arrangement-car seats by the window. Of course Maisey thought it was 'unfair' but she managed to fer over it!
This is the view we have from our room of California Adventure at nightLooking out our window at the side of the building The Disney movie room in our hotel, next to the arcade.

Maisey's Birthday and Graduation- Our first day in the park

Just through the front gates and Ryley is already exhausted from the day before.
Disneyland's Toy Story Ride (my favorite) which terrified Maisey! "You mean I have to wait for Daddy and Maisey before I can go on the tea cups?"
Ry and I have done a lot of waiting! However, he (and I) eventually got to ride on the tea cups and he LOVES them! Each time he goes he throws his hands in the air and shrieks... It is SO funny!
For Maisey's birthday she got her hair and make-up done at Bippity Boppity Boo Boutique! She loved choosing from all the accessories and being pampered by the "Fairy God Mother's in training!"

The 'unveiling' in the magical mirror. After putting a spell on the princess with tons of glitter the curtain is pulled back and the princess is now ready for her costume (outfit, sash (in this case a birthday one), jewelry, princess bag, and pictures! * One of the most magical parts of the trip by far!!!

The final look. Not a very great picture but we will remember the event!

"Well hello! May I get a picture of you before you go and find the princesses?"

"Wait! I have to give you my wish before you go!" Her wish was that she could live in a castle! Oh, what a hard lesson to learn in "The most magical place on earth!"

Things I've learned so far:

• I like American food
• Don't tell Maisey whether or not the ride will be absent of any light for any amount of time
• Skipping naps scares the heck out of me and makes me worry Ryley won't know what his schedule is when we get home!
• Pack extra clothes- You never know how wet you will get (watch out for California Adventure's Grizzly Rapids)!
• Be prepared to spend a ton of money on bottled water at the parks!
• You will undoubtedly get at least one blister when you spend nearly 15 hours at Disneyland in one day!
• Your suppose to tip your housekeepers! What the...
• The summers around here (summer 2009 kicked off on 6/12 our first night here) are AMAZING (fireworks, street parades, musicals, etc,...)!!!

To be continued...

Still to come: pictures of fireworks (from a boat) with Dumbo and Tinkerbell flying through the sky and everything after the first 24 hours!

{Summer is here}

{climb}

Ryley is pretty flexible and he is always putting his feet where they don't belong.

In the last month he has figured out how to use them to his advantage to climb. This picture happened to be at breakfast one morning. The other day I was on the other side of the kitchen when he opened and climbed onto the dishwasher door.
At last, a success. He made it up, as he does most things with a little perseverance. Doesn't he think he's so sly?
He climber into this chair to cheer Maisey on at her game.He tries to climb over this gate during Maisey's play dates but so far no avail.

He feels so left out when she won't let him get in on the fun.

I even bribed him with a sucker (the size of a pea, but nonetheless sugar and bribery) so that he wouldn't climb out of the Bumbo when he got haircut number 8 last week!
Despite his improving climbing skills, he manages to get stuck a good share of the time. He's been stuck: on Maisey's bed and in the crack, in her doll house (usually the smallest room- the bathroom), in her Barbie RV (his foot and leg-which he persistently tries to force fit into the driver seat each day while usually standing), on her doll bed, on her desk, and other places unbeknown to me I'm sure!

Chad has recently named him "chicken little" because he is still to fearful to walk without a hand; however, I think he is a monkey not a chicken.

(Dr. Seussical The Musical}

Two weekends ago Maisey and I met with my in-laws and cousin Ruby to go see cousin Peyton in a musical at the high-school. It was really cute, and definitely entertaining!

Here is Maisey with her two of her three cousins on Chad's side. The star,Peyton (8) is in the middle and Ruby (11) is on the left.

This is a brief clip which leads into the next. The yellow people are the Whos.

The Cat in the Hat had a great voice and We love performances of any kind no matter how small!

{midnight stroll}

Last night at 12:02 the loud, loud, piercing fire alarm went off in our building. This has happened once before and I remember being annoyed then but this time things seemed far worse. The noise is so loud, and it is so hard to wake up little kids and run them outside in the middle of the night while we wait for firetrucks to come and say it was a false alarm.

The difference this time around, is that we drove around for 30+ minutes and we never saw any firetrucks. When the alarms finally subsided, we went inside and tried to put the kids back to bed for over an hour! Let me just make it known that this incident is just one of the reasons I do not like "community" living!

{T-ball}

These pictures pretty much stink but I'm always too busy with Ryley to get any good ones and so far Chad

has been busy umping. Nonetheless, here are a couple distant snap shots. I failed at capturing a good video of her batting, maybe next time. A hit.
1st Base
Playing outfield- her second least favorite position next to playing catcher. She's the only girl on the team and she's pretty OK with the idea by now. However, when it comes down to the gear she has to make a statement- hot pink on her cleats, a hot pink bat, glove, and helmet. Can you guess why catcher isn't her favorite position, yeah, it's because the gear is "ugly."
We have games every Tuesday and Thursday. If you're interested give us a shout and come on out!

{Saying Goodbye}

Last weekend I said "goodbye" to the rest of Maisey's clothes with the exception of a couple boutique faves she might want to see again someday. It was hard to do, but I'm glad I don't have to sort through plastic bins anymore. The items were only a small, small fraction of what she once wore, but I saw them as memories of a little petite, curly haired girl. I tediously cataloged 289 items into a consignment system, hung, ironed, and tagged each one, and now I'm just waiting for my check! I was so pleased with the outcome and after already getting rid of 85% of her clothes in past times, I decided this is the route to go. Now I can replenish there needs since I now have two children to clothe. However, I do agree Maisey's needs are far less then I originally thought!

{Kindergarden Zoo Trip- 2 weeks ago}

Lucky for us the field trip to the zoo happened to fall on a nice dry day. In fact, it was so nice we ran into several of our buddies, and more were on their way as we were leaving. You never know who you're going to run into at the zoo, but 5 other adults and their kids- that's a handful.Girls posing in the Great Northwest Exhibit- one of the coolest attractions.
Polar Bear, Polar Bear what do you see? I see too many kindergartner's looking at me. How many are actually in this Polar bear cave I'm not sure I didn't capture them all.The whole family went on this trip. I thought the Ergo would be a good choice for the outing but it seems as though Ryley would have preferred the backpack. Really, it is quiet comfortable and I'm crazy about it but he enjoys the ride in a different way.You won't see us modeling any baby wearing gear since this position isn't one Ergo tries to sell for comfort!
*****
Really, I've been quiet surprised at the number of field trips they've taken since the budget is so bad.
They've gone to:
The Young Chef's Academy
The Pumpkin Patch
Pump It Up
The Zoo
...and I believe one more that is slipping my mind.

{Goodbye Erekson's}

We want to wish the Erekson's a happy move down to California! We will miss game nights, zoo trips, park visits, picky eaters, you guys of course, and so much more!

We will also miss these sweet little smiles that beam when these girls are together!

{Birthday Celebration Two}

This year my birthday fell on a busy day but we still managed to squeeze in dinner at the Olive Garden. It was nice to have dinner with just the four of us and the card Chad got me was also a highlight... Whoever wrote it, I swear wrote it just for me!The big highlight however was on Friday when some friends took me to Tillamook to celebrate. It was fun, intimate, and despite my car sickness (which I managed to keep inside-literally), it was a great day. The private beach we stopped at was foggy but warm enough to go without shoes.
The kids took advantage of that.
It was so nice to get away for a day without school on my mind!

******

We also made it to Desert Book on Saturday and picked up some books on my wish list- that's the list of things I'm 'wishing' to read when school's out!

Thanks C!