Trip Prep

Before we leave on trips I have to have the house clean from top to bottom and have all the laundry done.  All of this usually leads to me freaking out trying to finish everything.  My family is getting used to this and are so good to pitch in and help get everything done.  I also had to sneak in a few projects for the trip.

I made little travel and neck pillows for the trip out of Disney fabric.  I also used the ball cotton to make them nice and soft.  They were a huge hit. 

The girls helped make little journal / autograph books out of sketch pads. 

I picked up Mickey Mouse shirts before we left. 

Of course the little travel cards that we velcro to the ceiling of the van needed a little updating to the places we were going.  The kids love these because they can see where we are and where we need to go.

 

We charged up all the electronics and made sure we had chargers.  Jerrica and I picked up a couple of new movies, and mixed with Redbox we were stocked with shows.  I always get a big treat box that is filled with salty, healthy, sweet, and chocolatey treats.  This trip we would answer a few of these questions from this list as we snacked.  It was good to take breaks from electronics and get to know each other better.  Some of these questions brought out stories that we hadn’t heard.  I found the list on Pinterest and can’t find the site it is linked back to.  We would only do four or five questions at a time and the kids were always ready for more treats and questions every few hours.

We had glow bracelets and flashlights.  The kids made silhouettes on the van’s ceiling using the flashlights at night.

We rocked out to Stephen’s mix of music on Pandora.  I also brought the “Scene It” question cards and had a little game with them.  The winner could get whatever they wanted at Dairy Queen.  Stephen won.  ;)

I also had little slips of paper that the kids would draw at each major stop.  If they picked the “1” then they had first choice of any seat in the van.  Whomever picked “6” usually was not happy.  It kept the kids mixed up sitting by different siblings. 

It was a LONG trip, but really wasn’t too bad.  Seriously, how bad can a trip be with your favorite icy drink, chocolate, a good book and being surrounded by those that you love most! 

Annie

Ashley’s Annie musical was awesome.  She has been belting out “the Sun Will Come out Tomorrow” for weeks now.  All of the kids have their own clip on microphones.  Although, as loud as Ash is, she probably didn’t need one.

She said each of her parts so cute and in character.  She really is good at acting and sooo enjoys it!  

Her teacher, Miss Jordan was Mrs. Hannigan.  Ash thought she was so funny up there with them.

 

My favorite line of hers was, “Aw leave Molly alone, she aint hurtin’ ya” with her fists in the air ready to defend Molly. 

Usually you bring flowers, but Ashley told me she would rather have chocolate.  She is my kind of girl!

Family Vacation

We just got back from an “almost” two week family vacation. 

We had so much fun!  I’m having a hard time doing laundry, cooking meals, cleaning, helping with homework, and getting back into the groove of life.  I think I’m depressed that it’s all over.

I asked Jerrica to do a job today and she told me, “Can’t we just go back to Disneyland and live there?”  I think we are all struggling with the vacation being over.  :(

Ashley’s Birthday

We had a busy day on Ashley’s birthday.  She had her “Annie” performance late that afternoon.  Then we headed down to my parents.  It was a rush, rush day, but we managed to fit in the birthday traditions.  We decorated with streamers the night before her birthday.  Stephen made her breakfast in bed before school.  I took cupcakes into her class.   Stephen measured her on the family ruler.

  She got some fun presents, and fell in love with this light up tracing pad.

 

Grandma Charla had a birthday cake waiting for her when we arrived.  The cake had little battery operated running lights around it.  Ashley thought it was the most fabulous cake that she had ever seen.

She wanted to do a kitty party similar to Jerrica’s puppy party.  She made, cut out and hand wrote invites for all her friends.  When she showed me this stack of invitations, I couldn’t help but be impressed at all the time that went into them.  She is quite creative!

 

Ashley loves art, writing stories, doing projects, singing, dancing, acting … she can swim like a fish and can make anyone laugh with her quick wittiness.

Oh how we enjoy Ashley’s personality!  She is such a fun girl and we are so lucky to have her in our family.  Love you Ash!!!

Beach House

When we went to San Diego we stayed in a little beach house right on Mission Beach.  It was awesome!  The house had sand toys, beach chairs, four bikes, a cupboard full of games, washer /dryer, and even little boogie boards.  The best part was that it was there on the beach so that we could sneak down whenever we wanted to. 

     

We LOVED the beach! 

One morning Rebecca and I woke up early to go for a walk on the beach and look for seashells.  Ashley decided that she wanted to go too, and without telling anyone left the beach house.  Stephen realized she was gone and headed out to find her.  She was down wandering the beach in her PJ’s, mad she couldn’t find me.  That girl is not scared of anything, which terrifies ME!

 

Kaylee was with her team for most of our beach time, so I didn’t get that many pics of her.  :(

Can Colorado get a beach?!?  We really need one!