Aunt Hayley and John bought a new house recently, so Mom has been busy sorting through boxes in our garage and setting aside stuff for them. She has found many great "treasures" during this fall cleaning, and Macie and I have been the benefactors of many great items! Lots of these boxes came from Grandma Judy, and contained toys and clothes that were really old (as old as Mommy). Macie was small enough that she was still able to fit some of the clothes.
When all of the sorting was done, we had a HUGE pile for Aunt Hayley, so we packed up the truck and drove a load of stuff down to Aunt Hayley's new home in Gilbert. They gave us the royal tour, and we can't wait to have a sleep over soon!
While Mom was helping Aunt Hayley go through items inside, Macie and I played in the yard. Mom was baffled when she came outside and found us playing in the holes in the yard- she couldn't understand, but we had a great time laying in them...
The morning of our performance we woke up to find that Mom has stayed up all night making us some fancy Thanksgiving outfits!
We looked very sweet and innocent posing together with big smiles on our faces!
At school our classes spent the morning rehearsing. Before our performance, we had some free time on the playground with friends while the parents settled into the auditorium.
After Mom found a seat, she toured the room and saw the fancy art we had created for the holidays.
Soon it was time to begin, and the Apple Room was up first!
For our first performance we sang Albuquerque Turkey:
Our second song was a Thank You Prayer:
Up next was Macie and her friends in the Sunshine Room- she was SO excited to be on stage!
They started off with a song about friends,
and finished with a song of prayer.
Our big Thanksgiving performance was a big hit, and Mom was really proud of how well we did on stage.
After we got home from school, Mom went to work packing the car for our trip to California. By the time Dad got home from work that evening, we were ready to hit the road. After a LONG car ride, we arrived at Grandma Judy's house early (1 am) Thanksgiving morning. We all went straight to bed, tired from a long day of fun and travel.
We woke early the next morning, SUPER excited to be with family in San Diego. Macie and I dressed in play clothes and spent most of our morning running through the yard and terrorizing the cat, Buddy.
We also enjoyed picking tangerines in the yard. Although they weren't quite ripe,
Macie ate about a half dozen, and then, in true Macie fashion posed for a picture.
We spent Thanksgiving morning playing at Grandma's house playing with Paul's grandkids, and had a blast! I helped Grandma Judy make some cookies, and then Mom read everyone a Thanksgiving story!
In the afternoon we drove out to Aunt Connie's House to have a Thanksgiving feast with Pa and his family! We had a wonderful afternoon, and enjoyed seeing Aunt Liz and her baby belly- we can't wait to have a new cousin!!! After eating a HUGE feast, Macie and I entertained the crowd with our songs from our school performance, and then the whole family lounged on the couch, tired from a full day of feasting while Macie and I played around in the yard. Mom and Dad laughed when they found us playing pirates on the rocks...
The next morning we woke up EARLY and headed north to DISNEYLAND with DAD!!!!
We arrived right as the park opened, and raced inside to take him on all of our favorite rides.
Uncle Will joined us in the park, which was a great surprise- he hadn't been to the kid parts of Disney, so Macie and I were excited to show him around. We spent the morning in Storybook Land riding all the oldies but goodies; Mr. Toad's, Dumbo, Pinocchio, etc.
After riding It's a Small World, we went to Toon Town and Dad lounged on Minnie's couch while we played in her house.
Our day flew by, and despite the crowds, we were able to ride EVERYTHING!!! We took a break mid afternoon to watch the Christmas Parade,
and at nightfall Dad and Uncle Will took me on Space Mountain. It was Dad's first time, and he LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!
As we made our way to Main Street to view the holiday castle lighting, Dad and I stopped in a store and had a little fun taking pictures...
Macie joined in with a smile,
but before long the pictures got silly, and the whole family joined in on the fun. Check out all our pirate faces...
By the time we made it over to the castle lighting we were all pooped. We barely had enough energy to watch, but we were sure glad we did because it was beautiful!
Macie and I fell asleep on the walk to the car,
and remained PASSED OUT the whole drive into Huntington Beach.
We had such a long day full of fun that we arrived at Jeff and Susan's too tired even for nuggets!
The next morning the family woke up early, determined to arrive at California Adventure before all the weekend crowds showed up. Uncle Will met us at the Gate bright and early, and we made our way into the park, ready for another day of FUN!!!!
We made the rounds to all our favorites, and even rode some new rides that I am FINALLY big enough to go on!
By the afternoon we grew tired, and the silliness came out...
Dad had a blast at California Adventure, and was able to go on a bunch of Adult rides with Uncle Will- check him out as he throws up the horns on the big coaster...
After another full day at California Adventure, we were all pooped. We said goodbye to Uncle Will, and Mom, Dad, Macie, and I drove back down to Grandma Judy's house. Both Macie and I passed out shortly after hitting the freeway, and slept all the way to San Diego! The next morning Dad had to drive back home to Arizona, so he left early in the morning. Mom, Macie, and I stayed in San Diego with Grandma Judy and spent the day playing at her house. Late in the afternoon Paul's Grandkids came over for dinner. After playing all evening we all went to church for a gingerbread house competition, and had a blast!
Macie and I spent the next day playing around with Grandma while Mom ran some errands- we had lots of fun playing at the bay!!!
On Tuesday we attended Great Grandma Jensen's memorial in Point Loma. She was buried with Grandpa Jensen, and they had a military service that was really special.
While we were at Fort Rosecrans I spent time with my Uncle Vaughn, and some other members of my family I had never met.
One of them was my cousin Max, and BOY, did I have fun with him!
After the service the family went back to Uncle Peter's to spend time with one another. Here are a few of Mommy's cousins,
and here is a picture of Aunt Pam and Grandma Judy.
Macie and I enjoyed talking with everyone, but we had the most fun chasing after Max. Before long, all the kids found the hot tub and had a blast splashing one another until we were drenched!
Later that evening we drove up to Huntington Beach to stay with the Jacklin's! Right when we arrived we were greeted with tons of hugs and nuggets! We enjoyed some time on the couch with Jeff and Susan. The next morning we bundled up in warm clothes and headed back for some Disney fun with Susan and Wendy. Despite the cold, we had a blast!
Here we are being silly on Mr.Toads town car. Check me out as I pose while Macie is driving:
Apparently, I am quite a crazy driver, because I turned and Macie fell off the seat!
We had a super fun day with the girls, and got a full night of sleep at the Jacklin's, but woke to a torrential downpour. The beach streets were flooding, and rain was pouring from the sky. It started to clear up a bit as we ate breakfast, and thankfully, by the time we arrived at Disneyland to meet Pa, the rain had stopped.
Macie and I were both SO excited, and surprised, to see Pa at Disneyland. He had been promising to join us in the Tiki Room for months, and we were FINALLY doing it!!!! We met him in the parking structure, and he helped Mom push the stroller into the park. In true Pa fashion, he pushed us all sorts of crazy, and boy did we love it!!!
Inside the park we took Pa on all of our favorites! Here we are keeping him entertained as we waited for the "World Famous Jungle Cruise".
After a tour on the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean, we went to the Tiki Room, and loved singing with Pa at his favorite attraction.
After the show we drove the cars, and Pa said I was a great driver!
For the rest of the day we took Pa all around Disneyland, showing him the best rides in the park. We all had a blast, but decided to head home early as the rain started to come in.
We said goodbye to Pa and drove back to the Jacklin's for a nice, warm, and quiet evening! The next morning we had to pack up the car and drive back to Arizona (Mom had to work the next day). We were sad to leave California, and reminded Mom the WHOLE drive home.
Finally back at home, we spent Saturday with Dad while Mom worked.
Mom and Dad had promised that we would get our Christmas tree on Sunday, so check back soon to see our pick!
