Thursday, March 27, 2014

Lots to Catch up On...

 After winter break, our weekly schedules resumed as normal.  At Chaparral, Macie and her friends in the Rainbow room were learning all about community helpers.  Aunt Hayley and Hollywood went into Macie's classroom, and Dr.Hayley talked about all the important things a Veterinarian does.  The Rainbow Room friends loved asking all sorts of animal questions, but most of all they loved seeing Hollywood.  Macie was SO proud of her Aunt Hayley, and very grateful that she made time to visit her classroom.


At Sonoran Sky we had Spirit Day, so Mom turned my over sized Sonoran Sky T-shirt into a fancy new dress.


We also had "Fancy Day" at school; Mom laughed that EVERY day is fancy day in our house.  She didn't want to dress me in a regular fancy school outfit, so she dug into the archives and pulled out a dress that Grandma Jean had bought her when she was a little girl.  We dolled it up a little bit, and I think I looked pretty fancy...






Aside from school activities, January was pretty mellow.  It wasn't until February that life got busy again. It all started with a trip to my dentist to pull some teeth...

My poor little mouth isn't allowing my teeth the proper room to grow, so my dentist suggested I have some teeth pulled to make room for my adult teeth.  Macie, Presley, and I were all excited to go back to the dentist because I have the coolest dentist ever; check out the waiting room (or should I say rocket):



Before going back in, Mom insisted I pose for a few pictures...



Inside the dentist office I was placed in a chair and given a yummy smelling nose piece.


     Mom was SO proud of how well I handled everything; no tears or anything.  I was a CHAMP!!!



I was a little "out of it" afterwards, but the dentist gave me a Popsicle and that made me smile.



 If you look closely at my bottom teeth you can see the holes where they pulled my two little teeth.



 

Macie and Presley got to eat popsicles in the waiting room with me, and boy did they enjoy them.




 At home that night we all got to eat milk shakes and relax on the couch.  Poor Presley had made such a mess of herself that Mom had to toss her in the sink to clean her off.


 Presley has gotten really good at feeding herself.  One of her favorite things to eat are Veggie Straws.  She like to double fist them...


 On President's Day both Macie and I had the day off school.  Graham and Dean spent the day with us, and Mom had all sorts of fun things planned to keep us busy.  Our day started with an obstacle course she made in the back yard.  Here are some videos of Macie and I showing off our boot camp skills:



After we tired of running around, Mom took us all to the Children's Museum for some indoor fun, and then to McDonald's for some chocolate dipped ice cream.  We all decided it was am amazing day!!!


When the weekend came, we got to spend the day at the Renaissance Faire with Grandma Joanie and her sisters.


  We were SO excited to eat turkey legs, that it was one of the first things we did.


 Macie and I were NOT shy at all, and dug right in...



Poor Presley didn't know what to think:


We all had a fun day with Grandma and her sisters at the Faire.  We saw shows, rode rides, shopped around, and enjoyed each others company.





Macie even went up on stage to show some of the acrobats that she had some moves of her own.


Grandma Joanie spent that week in Arizona, and we were SO glad we got to see her.  She even got to go to the Daddy Daughter Dance with us the next weekend.  This year Mom let us pick out our own dresses. 







Dad dressed up in his fancy pink shirt to look and play the part of our Prince Charming for the Dance.






Mom stayed home with Presley while Dad and Grandma took us to the dance.  On the way in we got to have wands and make fancy crowns.




We ate, danced, laughed, and had a blast with our amazing DAD!!!!

Grandma Joanie had to go back to Wisconsin a few days later, but we were so glad she came out to Arizona to visit with us!!!

At the end of February our family packed up the car and drove out to California for a few days of vacation.  We were SO excited that Dad was able to take some time off work to be with us.

Waking up at Grandma Judy's was full of laughs and fun.  Grandma bought me a new wetsuit to wear in the ocean when the water is cold; I loved it!!!



 That day Macie and I spent the day at the beach with Grandma while Presley went with Mom and Dad to do their taxes.  While Dad was in the office, Mom and Presley had some fun in the car.  Presley sat in my big girl seat, and LOVED it!


Sunday we met Pa and the Umbarger clan at a park.  We couldn't wait to get together with Cousin Avery!



After feasting, we all the kids ran around and played.  Dad and Presley spent some time on the swings and she had a blast!



Mom really wanted to get some group pictures, so we went out on the grass, but none of the kids, including myself, seemed to be up for photos...


 

Macie posed for a few on her own, before even she got bored.


We spent the remainder of our time running around and hassling Pa.


After our fun weekend in San Diego with Family and friends, we drove up to our hotel at Disneyland Sunday afternoon.  When we arrived Mom was surprised to find a water park right out our balcony.  Macie and I stared longingly as the other kids played and had fun.


 Mom hadn't planned on us swimming and left our bathing suits in San Diego.  After pleading and promising to have good attitudes, Dad took us to the hotel gift shop and bought us whatever suits they had in our size.  Macie and I were thrilled, and spent an hour running around the water park.
 


The park closed at dark, so we went back to our rooms and got ready for the big day ahead. Uncle Will met us at the hotel and we all had dinner together.  It took a while for all of us to get to bed; both Macie and I were way too excited to sleep!


 In the morning, the family packed the strollers and took off for IHOP.  I think Macie and I were just as excited to eat at IHOP as we were to go to Disney.

Presley managed to scarf down her own breakfast of pancakes and eggs, and Macie and I ate so much that our tummies ached on our walk to the park.


Here we are waiting in line for Disneyland to open!!!

 



Once inside, we all took off to be the first in line for Space Mountain.


Mom walked around with Presley while the rest of us rode the ride.

 



Macie really enjoyed Space Mountain, and Mom was SO PROUD of her little daredevil.  Macie was so EXCITED to be big enough to ride the "fun rides!"

 

We met up with Jeff, Susan, and Wendy later on in the day, and it was SO nice to see them!  Together we rode all the rides in fantasy land, and Presley LOVED the carousel.



Tuckered out from all the fun, we took a break for some snacks and rest.


Presley passed out!


 

Once we were all re energized, we went over to Frontier Land to ride Pirates and the Haunted Mansion.




We stayed and played at the park until well after dark when all of us started to get sleepy.  Mom took Macie and Presley back to the hotel so that Dad, Will, and Riley to ride a few more rides.

Mom says that the walk back to the hotel with Macie and Presley was filled with over tired giggles.


It didn't take long for any of us to fall asleep that night.
 
 

Morning came too early for all of us the next day.  Macie and I were too excited to sleep, and Mom, Dad, and Will were trying to recover from a full day of kid fun.  After packing up our rooms we took off to IHOP for another gluttonous breakfast.


We made it to California Adventure right as the gates opened, and took off for Cars Land.  Macie, Dad, and I were all eager to ride the Cars ride, since it had been closed our previous trips.


  I loved the ride, but the speed and bumps scared Macie, so she sat our for round 2.


 We spent the rest of the morning enjoying the rides as a family.




One of Presley's favorite rides was the caterpillar.  She couldn't stop smiling.



 Dad had to leave California Adventure early to drive back to Arizona.  We were sad he couldn't stay through the week with us, but we gave him big hugs to send him on his way.

Mom, Macie, Presley, Will, and I spent the remainder of the day at California Adventure, riding all the rides and eating at all our favorite spots.






 At the end of the night ALL of us were tired as we drove down to San Diego.  It was nice to be back in Grandma Judy's comfy bed, and we finally caught up on some much needed sleep.

We spent the rest of the week in California hanging with friends and family.  

 

 

We met Aunt Liz and Cousin Avery at the San Diego Children's Museum.  It was fun to see Avery running around and playing with Presley!





Macie and I enjoyed the Chicken exhibit, and even got to feed some of the Hens!!!

 That night I was over tired and over exhausted, and ended up falling asleep for the night at 4:30 in the afternoon.  Mom, Macie, and Presley, met up with Pa at Home Town Buffet, and Pa took Macie on 10 trips to and from the desert buffet...


Even Presely over indulged in sweets...


That night Mom says that Macie was bouncing off the walls right up until she fell asleep!

In the morning we celebrated Grandma's 60th birthday with a big breakfast together.  While Mom packed our stuff, we played with Grandma, and I did "beauty shop" on Macie (I made her hair like Rapunzel's.)

 

The rain started coming down in the late morning, so Macie and I put on our suits and ran around the yard.

 

 

Mid day, we all went to the Scripps Aquarium in La Jolla.  The rain had finally let up, and the view from the mountains was beautiful!



All of us enjoyed our time at the Aquarium!!!


Later that day we all gave Grandma Judy big hugs before starting our long drive back to Arizona. We were all ready to be home, and missed Dad a LOT!!!  

We spent our weekend at home relaxing and indulging in sleep and food.  Little Presley proved to be the most gluttonous of all; check out her shark bite as she dives in for some pizza...



The month of February flew by, as I'm sure the busy months ahead will as well.  Now that Mom has a computer again, I promise to post more often since there are TONS of changes ahead for our family.  Check back soon to find out the news...