The kids love the Dance Festival! We were a week behind this year in learning their moves but they all nailed it anyway. Also, Ben had to work – had an important meeting so he couldn’t come film the whole thing from the top of the ladder 🙁 But I got some good footage and wrangled the other 4 kids – thanks to Udine and Erica helping me.
Maren and Millie. Gentry and Rose. These girls ask to play EVERYDAY. They can’t get enough of each other.
Rose is SO CLOSE to reading! She has learned a lot from her online preschool.
Look at this smile! I can just watch him for hours and hours…
Once in a while we go out in the big stroller. They all fight about where they get to sit or who they want to sit by but we have fun.
Aunt Christy came for a day! Millie clung to her. I love spending time with my family.
Sometimes Millie just crashes, and sometimes she wears soccer jerseys and cleats on Saturdays 🙂
Packer earned a BUG LUNCH!
My baby! He can climb up the stairs whenever he wants! He tries to play Tetherball. He swings with his sisters! JUST SO BIG.
We’ve had some nasty colds this month:
Benji had the 5th grade economics fair. He sold Arcade plays on the big screen and some candy. Then he was so sweet to bring home treats for all of his family and a new shirt for Ray!
Julia had Tiago come for show and tell!! EVERY BABY needs a chance at that.
And then Ben got the garden put in!
On Saturday the 21st we had a goodbye party for Ryan and Mary and family! So sad they left UT but excited for their future.
This GUY!! He practices standing ALL the TIME and is adorable!
Ben got a new game for his birthday: Incan Gold. We played Sunday night with the Hancocks and then the kids played again on Monday after school 🙂
These girls have their own beds but they usually choose to be together… silly…
This week we are doing our FIRST EVER SWIM LESSONS with the PG Swim Team. The kids are having a lot of fun.
I cleaned the garage on Wednesday! The kids loved playing with everything I cleaned…
AND THEN – WE ALL GOT SICK! Millie then Rose and Cali all started throwing up before bedtime! Then Benji and Packer kicked in by midnight and Ben started this morning. 40ish barfs. 5-10 each. Ray was the day before and Tiago has nasty diapers instead of throw up. I don’t know how I haven’t gotten it yet but I am grateful and glad that I was able to take care of my house of sickies today.
Benji had a hard day on Monday May 16. It was Grade Up day! (it’s when you pretend to be the grade that you’ll be next year and you kind of but not officially find out who your teacher will be and who will be in your class.) He is in a class with a new, Male teacher, and none of his friends. Not with Seth, or Ty or Hyrum or Ryan or… 🙁 Heartbreaking really… so we had some good discussions about life and making the most of what you get and having a good attitude and maybe he will be an awesome new teacher and it’ll be good to make even more friends before he starts Junior High and at least he can still see his buddies on recess and lunch.
Everyone is telling him to just request a different teacher but… that just seems like too much. I think enough people will already be doing that, some with good reason others just because they are disappointed like our son. I think it’ll make him tough and he’ll be more ready to deal when life doesn’t always give you Roses.
On the flip side: Packer and Cali both got good teachers and are in the same classes as their Falabella Cousins and other friends!!
Kelsey did her best to entertain but the target sticker only lasted so long
Tiago got his first sucker on the drive to California. He is so cute and curious.
soon enough he’ll be licking fry sauce like this beauty 🙂
Millie is thinking she is ready to be a big girl and use the toilet!!! Of course she chose the dirtiest grossest bathroom for her first success. And then she tried to make our already long car rides extra long by insisting on using the toilet (grrr) Now for mom to be ready…
and why do my kids LOVE love public restrooms!
He loves the stairs. He is really good at going up. He has NO IDEA how to come down…
All good things come to an end.
We left on May 9th and came home on the 14th.
We headed home from Seal Beach Saturday morning.
We dropped Kelsey off in Las Vegas so she could go to Thailand with some friends!
And we got home around 7:30. It’s always good to be home. Here are the kids with their Disney Purchases 🙂
Ray was ‘killing’ us with his Bow and Arrow poses!
We checked out of the Desert Inn across from Disneyland and headed over to a little beach town and spent the afternoon on the beach. Our kids have only been as little babies and Benji and Packer went when they were 2 and 3… so this was new and exciting and lots of fun!!!
They were really fun to watch when we first got there. The ocean and sand were foreign to them. They ran down in their clothes and were just amazed.
We taught them how to jump into the waves and how to run away from them. We explained the tide and how the waves will pull you out as another wave comes in. We brought a body board but the waves weren’t quite right.
The boys learned the art of sand seat building.
Kelsey taught the girls to make a perfect face-rest for beach sleeping.
We brought food and snacked and enjoyed the slightly overcast, warm but not too hot day.
And then we watched the dolphins!! There were several dolphins out just passed the 2nd wave. We could see them swim and their backs would surface and it was pretty awesome. We watched them for a good 10 minutes.
These two couldn’t believe how big the sandbox was and kept talking about the REAL sand 🙂
Tiago might have eaten a little sand 🙂
These kids were sand castle newbies but we taught them a few tricks.
and then we hit the water again! and Tiago attacked our Sand Castles 🙂
The kids loved sitting and letting the waves wash over us and knock them over.
I love how sandy Rayzor is in this picture.
Around 5:00 we called it quits. We drove e few minutes to our fancy Best Western 🙂 and scrubbed the sand off and bathed and ordered mexican food and just relaxed the evening away.
Beach Day was also a complete SUCCESS.
We bought the park hopper ticket so that we could go to both parks on day 3. We ended up spending most of our day at Disneyland but we did HAVE to go back for California Screamin’ and Tower of Terror. We made a list on Wednesday night of the rides that we didn’t get to do and the ones that we NEEDED to do again.
Small World
Tiago and I waiting for the guys on Space Mountain – He was happy to be out of the stroller.
One of the best rides! Kelsey and Ray and Rose saved a place in line at Pixie Hollow so Cali and Rose ran from Space Mountain to meet Tinkerbell 🙂
Brooke came to see me!!!!
That’s what you can do when you haven’t seen a friend for WAY to long.
We watched Beauty and the Beast at the Royal Theater.
We fast passed through Buzz light year 🙂
And back on the rockets while the big kids did Big Thunder Mountain or Star Tours or both…
We waited in line to see all of the princesses at the castle. Rose forgot to wear her dress the first time we saw a princess so I waited in that line for her 🙂
We skipped Splash Mountain the first day but the kids LOVED it, exccept PAcker = once was enough for him.
Kelsey is named after this guy but we didn’t let her wait in the 30 minute line to get a proper picture 🙂
Waiting for the Haunted Mansion – Our last day was the HOTtest.
Benji and I snuck back to Star Tours with an extra fastpass!
And then we enjoyed some Ice$ream!! and let the kids pick ONE thing to buy to remember our trip.
Then this strange guy started calling my name! jk I hadn’t seen Jake since the college days! It was fun to talk with him and meet his family.
NEXT we headed over to California Adventure. We did the SKy School Coaster a few times while the littles watched the parade!
I sent everyone off to do Screamin and some fun rides so I was juggling Packer, Rose, Ray, Millie and Tiago. I had to ask a woman for help so that we could all go on the Zephyr. She rode with Millie 🙂 and then she thanked me and gave us 30$ Disney Dollars!!
I of course took a turn on Screamin!and the littles did the carrousel again.
Rose was begging for Tower of Terror so we did that.
Then I took the stroller home and Ben, Kelsey, Benji, Packer, and Cali finished up the last hour with shopping and Star Tours. We DID a LOT. I got these babies in bathed and in bed and they were even smiling in their sleep 🙂
J&B Netty 2016 DISNEYLAND = SUCCESS!