Disneyland!!!

We can't let those year passes go to waste so off we went to Disneyland last month.
The carousels are still their favorite ride.

We had an extra Disneyland treat when we got to meet up with our friends Jason & Many Hafen and family. Isis was excited to share her Disneyland excitement with Kimball. :)

No visit is complete without Mickey Mouse ice cream.

You may be tempted, dear friends, to believe this sharing with Mommy is what provoked the following Elise episode.

You would be wrong.

Elise did NOT like the chocolate on her hands and wanted me to wipe them off. So I tried and that made her mad. Then she was mad because her hands were STILL dirty. I tried taking the ice cream to clean her hands. She wanted none of that. In trying to stay in possession of the ice cream she ended up flinging it off the stick. That might have been the breaking point...

Then she got mad because I took a picture of her crying and screaming, so she scooted farther away down the curb.

If I moved as if to go and get her she went into more ballistic screaming. She had moved far enough down that more than a couple people worriedly looked for her neglectful parents. I'd send a little wave of reassurance that I was actually watching my kid have her melt down. This was such a glorious tantrum that complete strangers were taking pictures of her. One man justified his teenage group, "My Japanese students can't get enough of cute American babies." Hmm... screaming ones are cute?

When she didn't calm down it was time to take strap her in the stroller. No, she is not "planking." This is leaving her on the ground after she did the "limp noodle" almost slipping completely out of my arms.

It was obvious we needed to bring the stroller to her.

Turns out she was just tired. Imagine that.

The rest of the trip? Nothing so dramatic.

Isis in her pretty hat.

Playing in line.

Riding "it's a small world." Helpful Disny hint: hit "it's a small world" during a parade. We walked right onto that boat. :)

Tea cups = not a mommy ride. :)

Aunt Katherine came to play at Disneyland with us!

Can you guess who is enjoying the ride?

Himliech's Chew Chew train was more up her ally. :)

Best thing to pass the time in line? POPCORN!

On the BIG farris wheel.

Halloween at Disneyland

Observing the names and drawings on the bricks.

Some tired silliness going home...

Another memorable Disneyland adventure. And we're still ready for (and planning) the next one! :)

Drum Off!!

Rockin' it at the Guitar Center Drum Off.
Here's Jeremy's 3 minute performance.

It was his first solo competition and that alone is a little intimidating. I'm so proud of him for going out of his comfort zone (the performing part) and just doing this. I do have to chuckle a little bit; this is the first time I've ever seen him nervous about anything... in the last 7 1/2 YEARS... :) Yea for Jeremy!

A Lesson in Expressions

With a face like this, it's no wonder she doesn't feel the need to talk.

Random

Building a camp fire at Gradma & Grandpa Gwin's house.
Isis got on a volcano (and shark) kick. So we made one. :)

Yeah, it was pretty cool.

Elise on her 1st day of nursery. Hooray!

What a great daddy.

I don't like pictures of myself, but I did like this new haircut. :)

Thank goodness for newly cleaned carpets! What a difference!

Cleaning my dutch oven after unsuccessfully trying to season it (before going camping). Gross.

Yep, still haven't conquered the laundry battle. Eventually, it does all get done.

Our Relief Society had an activity to make pillowcase dresses to send over to an orphanage in Africa. They didn't all get done so I took some home to finish. They were easy to make but I took too many and had to get them done in 2 days... but at least they got done...

My dress models