Disneyland: Day One

We've been home from Disney for a couple weeks now, and the further away from the trip we get, the sweeter the memories are. The trip was truly wonderful. The Disney experience is kind of magical.

 Immediately after the trip, while we were feeling absolutely exhausted, it was easier to remember the crowds, lines, expensive food and overstimulated kids. Now, however it just the good stuff we think of! We're so thankful for my parents for taking us to Disneyland and for the experience we got to have together.

Here's a picture of the kids ready to leave Monday morning. We  had booked a flight that wasn't too early, so we left for the airport around 7:15. It was Josh's first time in a jet and the twins were so excited for him to experience it! We borrowed a small backpack from a friend for Josh for the plane, and he was so proud of his "red backpack." 

The airport with kids is always such a fun experience of seeing new things!

Ben got to be Josh's flying companion. We all loved watching his excitement as we took off!

Dad and Seth were flying buddies. Thankfully (and surprisingly) Seth didn't spill his drink on Papa. They were a great team.

That left me, Mom, and Sam. We purposefully put Sam next to Titi because he loves to speculate and analyze details of everything, so had been asking millions of questions about what Disneyland would be like. And mom, well, she loves answering and telling details. It was a match made in heaven! I was on the end, so I got to take the twins to the bathroom multiple times. They were afraid of flushing with the door closed, so the whole flight got to hear their loud flushes!

We were blessed to stay at the Disneyland hotel! Staying right next to the park was absolutely amazing, and the atmosphere was unbeatable. Upon arriving at the hotel, there were characters outside to greet us! Here's mom running off with the boys to see Chip (or Dale). 

I had expected the kids to avoid the characters. Instead, they loved them! Look at the smile on sweet Sam's face below:

The lobby chairs were teacups. Here's Titi and Sam:

Seth and Josh:

And all the boys. Having them matching was very helpful in keeping track of them!

The next character we saw was Goofy. When I complimented the twins about how brave they were walking up to goofy, Sam told me: "Well, I figured I had to get used to it sometime, so I may as well start now." Good thinking Sam.

Goofy even watched some cartoons with the kids in the lobby.

Sam and Seth with Pluto

Josh wasn't too sure about the characters, but I got him to come into this picture by encouraging him to touch Minnie's ear. Meeting Minnie was my favorite: she was so little!

The rooms were so great! The head board lit up and played a little melody. Seriously magical.

Since we had ate a packed lunch on the shuttle on the way to Disney, we were all ready for the park by the time we checked into the hotel. We were through the gates by 2 pm!

I ran and got everyone a fast pass for Thunder Mountain Railroad. While we waited for our fast pass time, the kids tried out the shooting range. They loved it. We also went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Sam really didn't like the ride, not necessarily because it was scary, he just thought the boat went slow and it was boring. He didn't hesitate to tell us the entire trip that Pirates was his least favorite ride.

Joshy didn't nap this day. But he still did pretty great.

The twins with Papa...ready for their first of many roller coaster rides.

After Thunder Mountain, we decided it was time to find a ride for Josh. We picked Dumbo because the line looked reasonable. Forty five minutes later we were on. (If this was a "low" crowd time for Disney, I shutter at what a busy summer day must look like!)

Ben was a trooper in holding Josh while we waited.

All the kids loved Dumbo. Seth and I were riding buddies this time.

Daddy and Josh

Titi and Sam

My handsome hubby

That evening we had a little mishap with accidentally eating flour tortilla chips (gluten) for dinner. So I rushed back to the room with my dad to take some medicine to minimize the reaction. Ben and the big boys went on (and got soaked by) Splash Mountain, while Josh and Titi discovered the Pooh Ride. The Pooh Ride had no line and by the end of the night, Josh had gone at least five times, and with Ben, me and my mom. He LOVED it!   I love his face in both these pictures!

So that was Disney Day One. After the boys went on Splash Mountain and got absolutely soaked, we decided to turn in for the night. It had been a very fun and exciting day! All travel went smooth and praise the Lord, none of us reacted to the gluten! 

Tulip Festival

The weather here in the Pacific Northwest was glorious last week! Katie and I used the opportunity to get together and visit the Woodburn Tulip Festival, which just happens to be a couple miles from her house. I have to say: it is one of the most beautiful and breathtaking places I've been! We went a couple years ago, so the twins remembered and anticipated seeing all the flowers again. They were very keen on describing it to Josh (over and over and over again) before visiting. I'm happy that the boys have memories of special places like this!

This year going with our cousins was such a treat! Are you ready for picture overload?

 Exploring for days!

 Seth and Sam brought their compass/binoculars. The kids were geeking out looking at the flowers: homeschooling at it's best!

 Josh was consumed with finding tractors. Luckily we found this one pretty early on.

 The kids paired off: Seth and Aidah were intent on picking up fallen flowers and petals

 Clara and Sam (I think she's going to regret making that face some day)

Miriam helped us with the littles...she's so sweet!

 Can you believe the beauty?

Another tractor for Josh. He was unsure of the color and the seat cover.

The purple ones that had leaves like a lily were my favorite

So cool!

But these ones were pretty amazing as well

Me and my boys!

Sam with his favorite tulips: yellow with red stripes

Josh insisted on getting a picture by some red tulips that matched his Micky Mouse shirt

Seth had a really photogenic day. He liked the reverse of Sam: red with yellow stripes

The little boys loved sitting in these yellow wooden shoe carts. Look how happy they are!

Edmund insisted that he was sitting in a banana. "These are bananas," he told us repeatedly. I told the two boys to "put their arms around each other" for a picture, and this is what I got: Edmund clutching his hands, and Josh, well...I'm not sure what Josh is doing. Apparently they haven't acquired that picture taking skill yet. Katie and I laughed a lot at this picture! 

Sammy

Seth and Aidah:

Sam and Clara, Seth and Aidah: the pairs of the day

Now for the wooden shoe pictures:

Notice the flowers in Seth's belt

A very nice lady offered to take a picture of the whole group ("Are these all your children?" she asked). She did a great job! I'm definitely going to have to frame this picture! 

Thanks for a great day sister!

Easter

Easter this year was simple. I hosted just my sister's family; neither of our parents could make it. That means I was responsible for cooking the ham...I always feel so grown up doing things like that! 

The day before Easter, Ben's parents took the boys to an egg hunt given by some of their friends from church. Ben and I got to go on a date, and the boys came home with loads of candy. Seth found one of the biggest chocolate bunnies ever (which he is still eating on), and Sam a "chicks" pack complete with a stuffed animal (these were their favorite finds). They really had a great day with grandparents!

I've been spoiled, and the boys have dyed eggs with Diane almost every Easter; this year, however, I did it with them. It was pretty fun. Josh liked scooping the eggs out of the cups, the twins and I were fascinated by the shrink wraps, and the stickers at the end were a hit with everyone. Josh "pre-cracked" some eggs in the process, but was very earnest about decorating. 

The twins were VERY proud of their eggs! I hadn't gotten a picture of all their done eggs, so we got one at bedtime in their underwear. I feel like a lot of their pictures are in their underwear.

Easter day our next door neighbors hosted a second annual egg hunt for us and their nephew and nieces. They are so kind! The day was rainy and stormy, but we braved the weather to find eggs. Anything for candy apparently. We're so thankful to live next to neighbors like this!

Sammy

Joshy was really into it this year

Here's the whole crew with Leslie:

It was really nice to have a low-key day with Katie's family. Seth and Sam talk constantly about their cousins and always greatly anticipate seeing them. They play together so well and are always immersed in some kind of pretend world of Little House on the Prairie or Robin Hood. Josh and Edmund are actually becoming little buddies and played together good as well. The adults even got to sit down and play a game (like the "old days" before kids!). It was a great day.

Josh and Edmund didn't participate very well in the cousins picture:

 But we sure got a cute one without them (except for Seth's weird facial expression):

 Obligatory family pictures

We ended the afternoon with letting the kids relax and watch a little "Looney Tunes." They really got a kick out of it! 

The big kids

The little boys were so cute sitting on their tummies together.

Josh is really into Play Dough, so I got him a sprinkle maker for his Easter basket. He loves it and always wants to play with it. I may have hidden on high shelf for awhile because I needed a break!