The month of November is always beautiful in Nevada. The trees start to turn, and it look and feels like we live somewhere other than the desert. We really do love it here in Las Vegas!!
By the second week of the month the cold set in, and jackets and sweaters were a must! Mom was beyond excited that we could FINALLY accessorize for the colder weather in the mornings. She made sure to stop us on our way out the door each morning for an obligatory photo session.
By mid day, the sun would warm up and Presley and Nixon enjoyed spending time outdoors together. Nixon absolutely LOVES being outside. One of his favorite activities is playing on the trampoline.
On Monday the theme was "favorite sports team", so Mom broke out some of her old Yankees gear just to poke at my teacher who is NOT a fan of the Bronx bombers.
On Tuesday we had "school spirit" day, so we wore our Staton Be Kind dresses.
Wednesday was "Rainbow Day", so Mom let us pick out assorted rainbow colors to make our own crazy ensembles.
All Mom could say was "WOW"- she must have been so impressed with our outfits that she was speechless...
On Thursday it was "Super Hero" day. The night before, both Macie and I were dissapointed that we didn't have any superhero capes to wear the following day. After we went to bed that night, Mom went into her sweat shop and whipped up a couple capes! We were so excited when we saw them hanging downstairs that next morning. They may not have been traditional super hero garb, but they had our initials mixed with some fur, sequin, and lace; we loved them.
The last day of spirit week was "Hat" day. I insisted upon wearing a farmer/cowboy hat,
while Macie jumped at the chance to wear her Jimmie Johnson hat. She loved sharing her infatuation with her friends at school.
The week before Thanksgiving break, Mom found herself surrounded by 3 sick kiddos. The timing couldn't have been better; not only was she busy packing for our week long California trip, but she was also tasked with finishing holiday projects, making "thankful" gift bags, and volunteering obligations at our school.
In the "sick" waiting room at the doctors office, Presley and Nixon kept occupied by playing with every toy they could find. Mom found it rather disgusting, and ironic, and hoped that they wouldn't contract any other disease or infection left by the sick kid who had played with the toy before them.
Inside the actual room, Nixon couldn't sit still while Macie was checked for Strep. He was in and out of every cabinet, drawer, etc. Funny thing is that he got REALLY mad when he discovered some of the cabinets were actually locked.
There was a lot of pouting that morning...
The verdict came in, and Macie didn't have Strep- we were all relieved. It turned out that none of us had anything contagious or serious- Mom was relieved since we were spending time with family and friends during our upcoming vacation. On our way out of the doctor's office we stopped to say hi to the donkey- it was quite the production. Presley didn't want to stop hugging him, and Nixon didn't want to stay in one place.
After some MUCH NEEDED naps, everyone was back to singing, laughing, yelling, and crying- the common noises heard in our house on an hourly basis.
That afternoon, after I returned home from school, Mom and Will packed up the car and we took off to California! Judging by the load on our car you would have thought that we were moving there. 2 cribs, a cot with bedding, 4 suitcases, 2 strollers, boxes of diapers and wipes, a cooler full of a turkey and other Thanksgiving accoutrements, not to mention all the jackets and blankets we packed in preparation for some cold nights at Disneyland. The drive was rather pleasant, and after 5 hours we arrived late at night and all went straight to bed. After a good night's sleep, we woke up with smiles on our faces, excited to see Pa, Michelle, and Grandma Jean! They greeted us with good food and all sorts of fun toys to play with. Interestingly enough, Macie and Nixon played with an empty diaper box for most of the morning.
Nixon opened his birthday present from Grandma Jean and was super excited to get his first baseball glove, jersey, and ball! He kept saying "buuulll" over and over!
For dinner that night Grandma made us some yummy beef stew and Nixon couldn't stop shoving the food in his mouth...
The next day was Thanksgiving! After breakfast we took a walk around Pa's new neighborhood and spent time with Aunt Hayley who announced by t-shirt, that she had a bun in the oven (she's pregnant and due in early June!
While the adults (mainly Grandma Jean, and Will) spent time cooking in the kitchen, the rest of us played in the yard and harassed the chickens.
Around noon Pa hollered for us to "come see what he found in the backyard." To our surprise, and complete amazement, there was a bounce house! Talk about a FUN and entertaining surprise. We spent most of our day bouncing and laughing!
From time to time, we took breaks to eat some of the Thanksgiving feast. Before we had our first bite, Macie led everyone in a prayer and then proceeded to tell us all what she was thankful for. It went on for a very long time. The kid sure knows how to milk it (Mom had to cut her off because the natives were getting restless).
I wasn't feeling all that well, so there were no big speeches or declarations from me.
Presley was thankful for Paw Patrol and snacks.
Our Thanksgiving was full of good food, good company, and good, old fashioned (no tv, computers, Ipads, etc.) fun! Macie and I jumped, laughed, and sang, well into the night- even after the sun went down and it started to rain. At 9pm, sopping wet and exhausted, Mom called it a day and we happily went to bed.
We spent another fun day at Pa's doing all sorts of silly things.
Poor Presley was a victim of our shenanigans....
Mom intercepted Nixon before he became another victim and wasn't pleased that it took hours to soak the mustache off of Presley's forehead.
That afternoon we found a fantastic park where we ran, laughed, and played until our little fingers were too frozen to continue. Mom was grateful when we threw in the towel!
The next morning we packed up and drove down to the beach to stay with Grandma Judy for a few days. While Mom was unpacking the car Nixon found one of her monster drinks and ran around the house laughing.
He was SO mad when she finally got up to him and took him away.
Macie and I went ice skating with Grandma and some friends from the beach while Presley, Mom, and Nixon got some rest. At Grandma's that night we enjoyed some fun time together.
On Sunday we had a lazy morning before heading down to the beach.
The weather was fantastic, and Nixon LOVED being in the sand. He could have stayed for hours!
We couldn't have asked for better day at the beach!
That night we went to church with Grandma, Paul, and his Grand kids and had a fun time decorating (and eating) gingerbread houses!
The next morning we drove up to our hotel in Anaheim. We stayed right next to Disneyland, and were all SO excited that we could hardly sleep. Bright and early the next day we woke up ready to go see Mickey. Presley was BY FAR the most excited about the upcoming days of fun. In line she couldn't contain her smiles.
She danced, sang, and entertained the crowds as we waited to go inside.
Once we were inside we took a family picture before Macie, Dad, Will, and I split off from Mom and the little ones to go ride the roller coasters.
Presley spent her first 5 minutes in the park just staring at everything around her; she was in awe!
On the way to the train she stopped to say hi to the "neigh-neigh."
Once in line for the train Presley couldn't stop talking about all the things she was looking forward to doing while at Disneyland.
Nixon was just happy that Mom packed snacks.
We rode the train around the whole park. Mom was grateful when they finally made their way back to the Main St. station; apparently keeping two small children in their seats for an extended period of time is not easy.
They made their way to Toon Town, and Presley ran straight to the house of Minnie Mouse. She was in Heaven.
When it was finally her turn she ran full force to Minnie Mouse and hugged her with all her might. Nixon, on the other hand, couldn't wait to blaze past her and see what was next.
Nixon wasn't too interested in the characters. He enjoyed waving when they met Mickey, but shed some fake tears when Mom tried to leave him next to Mickey for a picture. Presley, on the other hand, was so cute while she was waiting in line- anticipation and excitement was radiating from her little body.
While Nixon slept in the stroller, Presley spent another hour in Toon Town meeting more characters, driving cars, and running in and out of the houses.
Mom and the little ones met up with us around lunch time and we told them all about the fun rides we went on.
It was great spending time together as a family, and Nixon was super excited to hang out with his Dad.
We took a break from walking to have a snack in the Tiki Room. Mom and Dad were nervous to see Presley's reaction to the Tiki Men- she put on a good game face, but continued to have nightmares for weeks to follow.
Nixon was FASCINATED with the signing birds and laughed, screamed, and danced throughout the show.
We set out blankets in preparation for the Christmas parade, and then Mom took Nixon and Presley for some rides in Fantasy Land. According to Presley, the boats and the train were "super fun!"
Jeff, Susan, Wendy, and Michelle and her family joined us in time for the Christmas parade! It was so fun wonderful watching it with our family. Mom LOVED seeing the dancing reindeer, and Presley couldn't stop shouting with excitement at each new character that came by.
We rode rides well into the evening, making sure to go on all our favorites. Mom was nostalgic as she watched Presley and Nixon ride with Jeff and Susan. It brought back memories of all the wonderful memories Macie and I have with them at Disneyland, and she was beyond grateful that they were making the same memories!
When Presley and Nixon could no longer keep their eyes open, Mom took them back to the hotel. Dad, Will, Macie, and I all stayed and rode rides until the park closed; we were champs!
After a night of sleep (for some of us), we were up bright and early, ready for a fun day at California Adventure.
Inside the park we went to the new Frozen attraction first. While Dad waited in line with Nixon, Macie, Presley, and I played in the snow and went sledding! Here we are with Olaf- Presley was thrilled!!!
While we were riding a "big kid" ride, Mom took Presley and Nixon around the park to find characters. Presley couldn't believe her luck when she found Pluto!
Our day was spent having fun together as a family. We are all so grateful to have each other!
Mom was glad we chose to come for the Holidays. Presley is at the prefect age to enjoy everything!!
Nixon liked most of the rides,
but he REALLY enjoyed seeing the characters in Cars Land. Check out his reaction to the fire truck that rolled down the street...
While the smaller kids rode the carousel over and over,
The adults and I took turns lapping California Screamin'- the BIG roller coaster that goes upside down! Mom couldn't believe that not only was I finally tall enough to ride, but that I enjoyed it SO much!
I took turns riding California Screamin' with everyone; Dad, Will, Mom, Wendy- everyone wanted to join me for some roller coaster fun!
Mom loved how Wendy managed to give a glamour shot smile while traveling upside down at 80 plus MPH!
By the end of the day, I rode the roller coaster 7 times and could have kept going if there weren't other attractions the family wanted to see.
Towards the end of the evening Mom and I walked to the Tower of Terror, and to our shock and amazement, Macie insisted that she ride with us. Mom was a little hesitant because Macie tends to scare a little easier than most kids, but knew she would enjoy the up and down thrill, so she let her ride with us. We were all impressed with how well she did. She laughed the whole way (it wasn't until a few days later that the nightmares from the creepy scenery began).
By 8pm we were all exhausted from all full day of family fun at Disney!
The ride home was as good as one could hope. We made it back in 4 hours and managed to get a few good hours of sleep in our own beds before Mom woke us up to get ready for school.
Our calendar for the month of December is already filling up and we are all looking forward to celebrating the Christmas season together!
