Happy Holiday

We had a lot of fun on our trip to Arizona this Christmas. The boys were really glad to be back at my grandma's and running all over the place.

Dad's Week Off

We were so happy to have an entire week with Jared.  He decided to end his old job a week before his new one started so we could have a little fun together as a family.

We had debated going somewhere further to vacation, but determined all the fun stuff was close enough anyway and we did lots of day trips.

The first trip was to a new place, Adventure City, in Anaheim.  It was a smaller theme park for young kids, and the boys loved it.  They could go on every ride and lines were short.  Not to mention we were able to meet Thomas the Train.

The rides were lots of fun and we could all go on them.

Ryker and I opted out of the free-fall ride, but loved watching Keke and Jared.

The next day was Disneyland.  Instead of paying for a hotel on vacation we decided to get Jared and annual pass so we could go with him too.

Wednesday Jared was sick, and thursday we went around Old Town Pasadena (which I love) and friday it was back to Disneyland!

We were very glad to meet up with our friends, the Scotts, and the boys loved holding their girls' hands.

The week of fun ended all too soon and now it is back to real life, and Jared's first day at his new job!

The Big Finale Part 2

Like any good Disneyland show, we pulled out all the stops for our final moments at the Disneyland parks. We (Jared's mom and I) always talked about staying on site at one of the resorts "someday", where we could enjoy the full experience, getting breaks for naps, and staying at the park until late at night. Jared's mom, Sabrina, decided it was finally time to live out the fantasy and see just how awesome it could really be.

(Blogger is being weird so I'll have to post the second day first)

The boys really got used to the hotel. They were just as entertained there than at the parks. The room was predictably covered with Mickey paraphernalia, some more overt than others, that the boys loved finding. We loved being able to stop in for naps to get some rest and increase our stamina for the rest of the night.

Another perk was early park admission. The boys begged to go on Nemo's Submarine, much my chagrin (boooring) but I let them be the boss.
Grandma had bought them both Nemo stuffed animals, and they really got a kick out of showing Nemo "his" ride.
Before the crowds came running through the gates at opening (it was the first week of the new Star Tours ride, after all) we went on Autopia. Ryker loved being my copilot.

Nicholas was excited to steer his own, but a little bit concerned that he couldn't see over the wheel very well.
Then we bolted over to early admission at CA Adventure, and pounded down some breakfast on the way. Unfortunately they only had one ride open early (lame!!) so we ended up just waiting for Toy Story Mania to open and jump in the front of the line.
Its definitely a group favorite, but always with a long line. It was fun to go straight on for once.

Next was the undersea Carousel, our favorite filler ride.

... and finally Little Mermaid! I grew up loving this movie (posters, dolls, themed birthday parties, the works) and have enjoyed watching it a few times with the boys as well. The hotel also gave us two fast passes each for this ride and it was awesome to go right up the front, vip style... especially when the wait was over an hour and a half.

We said hi to our pals, Mater and McQueen

and visited our favorite hidden gem, the Beast's library and Ursula's Grotto.

We headed back to the hotel for a quick nap that all 4 of us indulged. Waking refreshed and energized for more we went back to Disneyland for the Soundsational Parade. We loved seeing more recognizable characters than some of the other parades (Aladdin, Simba, Ariel, Rapunzel, Peter Pan, etc).
After a Small (world) pit stop we went to a very special dinner at Goofy's Kitchen.

We were happy to have visits from Snow White, Aladdin (on drugs, apparently), Chip and Dale, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy, of course.

And then there was still more... (and to answer your questions, yes, this is still the same day, and yes, I am STILL tired from all this). We had the highlight of the trip in sitting in the front of the monorail with the driver, Chad. The boys were so excited about it, and kept complimenting Chad on his excellent driving.

We did a few more of our favorites, Pirates, Winnie the Pooh, and then headed back for one last ride on the Little Mermaid, and Monster's Inc.

Finally it was bedtime, and we all fell asleep before our heads hit those pillows!

The next morning was our farewell to the beloved Disneyland. We soaked in a few more things around the hotel and Downtown Disney then said our goodbyes to the man with the ears!!

Vegas Trip

Me and the two boys decided to leave town for a few days. Jared was super busy with school and we had some free days so I jumped on it. I was a little nervous about the drive, only 4.5 hrs, but after surviving a 5 hr flight with vomit I figured I could handle anything. I was so glad I went considering we had a great time and the boys slept 2+ hours both ways!

We left sunday afternoon and made it in around dinner time. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house and the boys loved exploring the space many times larger than ours! They also have 3 boys mostly grown so lots of boy stuff laying around, in addition to 2 dogs, 2 birds, and a bunch of fish. The boys were in heaven. Ryker loved finding and chewing on Nerf darts, and Nicholas loved harrassing the animals and playing pretend with my aunt, Lorrie.Our first full day was monday, and we had tons of fun meeting up with Darci and her baby, Kensie. Nicholas and Ryker were enthralled with the baby right away, and Nicholas wanted to hold her hand all day.


We took the kiddos to the MGM lion habitat to see the sleeping lions, then to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Afterwards we hit up the M&M Factory.

The boys loved it! Even Rykie kept saying "Nem-an-Nem!" every time he looked up or down at the tiles on the floor. We were almost suckered into getting some souvenirs but opted for some mini M&M treats instead. We got back to the house, exhausted, and me and Ryker slept while Kiki played with more toys.
The next day we went to one of my all-time favorites, the Forum Shops. It was so fun to walk around and shop. The kids were great, but definitely had less stamina from the day before. Ryker and Kensie fell asleep in their strollers, so when we got back to Darci's that meant no naps and lots of crying!

Before we knew it, wednesday came and we got ready to go home. We spent the morning playing at Lorrie's again, and I tried to catch some sleep. The only downside to traveling and being somewhere new is the lack of sleep. I was woken up at 4:30 but the kids went back down and I was paranoid of making noise to wake them and naturally couldn't sleep. Lorrie was nice enough to watch the crazy Nicholas, aka Buzz Lightyear, and take a couple trips to the moon so I could have a nap. After Ryker and I napped we went to an awesome park near the house and by lunchtime we were all ready to go. We went to Cafe Rio for lunch then headed out.

We had such a great time, and I wish I took more pictures, but we were too busy having fun! It was so liberating to feel like I could just pack up some things and go without any stress. The boys were great all week and I'm hoping this means we can do more fun last-minute trips together in the future.

Holiday IN Arizona

Right after our fun Christmas in Danville we went to Arizona to see my family. I went by myself with the boys and was happily surprised when Ryker slept through the flight.
The Arizona trip is always a highly anticipated party-packed event full of much eating out, movie viewing, and lots of games. This year did not disappoint, but I was definitely running on empty after being away from home for over a week and not to mention without my better half. I wasn't exactly the life of the party, but I enjoyed being a part of the festivities.
Our trip wouldn't have been complete without a girl's Cheesecake Factory lunch, and shopping after. Mom was sweet enough to buy all 3 of her girls a cute dress from Anthropologie, the group fave.


As luck would have it, a Brimhall family reunion was going on that week, and we were shocked and amazed to find it so entertaining! It was my Nelson Grandma's siblings and their kids, grandkids, and, (in my case) great-grandkids. I was mostly thrilled just to see my own cousins I don't get to see very often. They are all pretty much 5-15 but they were so sweet with my kids and super cute.

The park we went to was called Pioneer Park and it was dedicated to the founders of Mesa, one of which was my great x's 3 Grandpa, Noah Brimhall.

The highlight of the trip, for Nicholas I'm sure, was the Train Park. If we had lived in Az I'm sure it would be a regular stop for us. It is free admission, and has amazing trains of all sizes. The boys were in awe the first couple minutes, trying to take it all in.
They had a cute station/ticket office in which we enjoyed escaping the rain.

Nicholas was loving the cut-outs, and even commissioned his own private shots, such as the lower photo.


We rounded out the trip with a tour of a real train, the steam engine FDR used during his presidential campaign. Nicholas looked on with his mouth wide open the whole tour.

We had a great holiday for two weeks and were ready to come home, do a week of double duty for our AC job (pretty much horrible), and get back in for our last 6 months!