Florida

Let the memories begin!! 

We went to Florida for a family holiday and to go to my brother's wedding. It was a wonderful experience, but let's be honest- tiring! I started out the holiday sick-really sick. Running around Magic Kingdom sick was not the way to start the holiday. We did every ride in the park except three. And that is a feat only possible through the help of Grandma. Yes we had help and it was awesome! We could not have done this with Afton without her! As much as I loved some moments, there were other moments when I said to Brad (quietly so my Mother-in-Law wouldn't hear) 'I would rather poke myself in the eyes than come back here again.' :D The good news is, by the end my mind was changed and I was no longer sick.

Seeing this castle light up, as per Cinderella's wish, was so magical I cried!! Even though my butt was killing me from sitting on cement for an hour waiting for the show to start...we had awesome seats and it was SO beautiful! The fireworks and Electric Parade - what more could your eyeballs want??

I think I had recovered a bit from my sickness the next day for Universal Studios because I was in heaven there! The kids and I love Dr. Seuss and we were smiling ear to ear when to see Whoville! But this was also the day we got to see.... Harry Potter World!!!

Jesse has been waiting forever to see this and it was awesome! Not a lot for kids to do and after going on the Harry Potter ride I was just heartbroken Jesse was too short for it (SO FUN!). But we got to tour the castle and drink Butter beer (YUM) complete with the moustache and ate at the Hogsmead cafe and (ssshhh) got Jesse and Breanna real wands for Christmas. Breanna loved the roller coaster. She went on it twice. The kids love anything that gives them a 'tummy tickle'. Jesse was so brave. The Jurassic Park ride is scary even for ME and he insisted he wasn't scared. Breanna was scared though-not of the huge drop at the end but the huge roaring T-Rex. Backwards as far as I'm concerned! The best part for the kids was running into their cousins. Wow were they ever excited!

The next warm sunny day we went to Hollywood Studios, where Jesse got to meet his HERO-Indiana Jones. You should have seen his face watching the Indy show. He was going NUTS! We also enjoyed Poseidon's Fury pyramid tour where all the children were crying and shaking from fear, including poor Afton.            

This kid is Indiana Jones' biggest fan. Look at the face he's making in the picture. Breanna also loved it-she loves Marion and made sure to wear a white shirt and "red" pants. How did she know that's what Marion wears? Jesse's favourite ride was Star Tours, Brad's was the Aerosmith roller coaster. We also did the Tower of Terror and I was TERRified. I can't imagine how poor Jesse felt! We got to meet up with the Mason cousins again and I think the best part was the lights that night.

This was no lie, one of the most fun things I have ever done. It was so warm outside but Christmas music was playing and "snow" was falling from the sky. The lights were unbelievable. We all just danced and played in the streets. I wish the picture could do it justice but it can't. I was so happy!

Sunday we finally relaxed and went to the beach. This was also the day I had a temper tantrum. We were supposed to have a nice picnic on the beach. Jesse was obviously tired because my normally kind and happy boy was being super defiant and whiney, Breanna was sick, crying with an ear infection and during our "nice" picnic, these killer seagulls kept stealing our food and one BIT Afton's finger trying to get her food! I was a bit burnt out too because I picked up Afton and stomped off to the van, insisting we should go home. Then Breanna came and said 'I'm having fun now, can you come back?' I humbled myself and came back, thank goodness because the sand-oh, the sand was unbelievable! White and soft and yes, my next vacation will be to a white sandy beach!!! Our camera battery died so I didn't get any pictures but Jesse was running in and out of the wake making the waves "catch" him. It was so cute to watch and he was soaking by the end! Brad and I joined him and it's actually fun. We collected lots of seashells! Brad favourite moment was when a perfect sand dollar landed right on his foot. Seriously. No seriously, his favourite moment of the holiday. 

This sand makes perfect sand castles!!

The next day was sea world. It had the most fun rides. Brad and I agree, the Manta roller coaster at Sea World was the funnest of the trip. Wow, what a rush!! Jesse went on his first ride alone. Brad and Jesse  went on the Journey to Atlantis ride and loved it. But the best part for me was the dolphin show. WOW! You have to see that in your lifetime!!

There were lots of great lights at Sea World too and this was a pretty little tree in front of the Christmas tree light show. I loved being there on that warm night eating caramel popcorn and enjoying the music, the lights and all the amazing shows.

We had to do Magic Kingdom one more time before we left. I'm glad we did because it turns out it's SO much more fun when you're not sick! This was one of the best days. The weather was so perfect and we went on the family favorite rides- the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean and of course, a picture with Santa! He was SUCH a good Santa! So nice and I'm pretty sure his beard was real. If ever there was a real Santa this was it.

Breanna and I danced for a long time in front of the castle waiting for the Dreams Come True show. We both loved it. She twirled and twirled and I hope felt a little like a princess.

I have to include this picture because I love Peter Pan. The shows were all so great.

In the afternoon we met up with my whole family for a family photo at the Floridian. Finally, we were all together! I can't wait to see it and post a pic. That night my sister Rachel rented a room in the Hilton for our family to get together for a Christmas celebration the night before the wedding. It was so much fun. We had a talent show first. I have such a talented family. Seriously. Sterling's kids played the piano, Rachel's family recited the entire Night Before Christmas poem (what? Even 3-year-old Evie? Uhm yes.) It's hard sometimes being related to the smartest most charming kids out there, how can one ever measure up. Especially since we rehearsed our family song over and over, had it perfect, Breanna refused to even do it and Jesse rushed through it as fast as he could so Brad and I didn't even get to sing. Haha. If I wasn't so competitive I would have thought it was hilarious. Then Russell who's studying to be a podiatrist did a full-on analysis of my Mom's poor feet; Candace miraculously unscrambled a random sentence we came up with in a matter of minutes; her husband Dave taught us all a little British jargon; my sis-in-law Katie played the piano brilliantly; my brother Derek was able to guess where any scripture was in the Book of Mormon; and my Mom read a piece of her new book. Mom I was probably chasing Afton around when Dallas did his because I don't remember it. Anyway, the best was the Nativity! They all had costumes and a part! I wish my camera was working better but all my pictures suck. This one I just HAVE to post because it was so cute how serious these kids took their part of being angels, they held their hands in the air so studiously!

Jesse was a shepherd. My favourite is when he recites that line from Charlie Brown "Every Christmas is the same, I always end up being a shepherd." The kids did such a good job. It was fun.

Last but most important, my brother Russell got married. I cried some at that wedding. It was perfection. The bride was unbelievably gorgeous. My brother cried when he saw her. They love each other SO much and I am so happy for my brother. What no one else saw was me sobbing to Brad that night. All my brothers and sisters I grew up with are married now. I miss being' us'. We went through everything together and as far as I could tell when I was little, they were my world. For some reason it hit me that that's no longer the case and I cried and cried. Poor Brad. Whatever happens my heart is forever knit with my brothers and sisters. They know where I came from and I know where they come from. Nothing will ever change that and we are all who we are because of each other.

On a less mushy note, I couldn't stop taking pictures of Afton because she was being so dang cute!!

Here they are-don't fall over, I know they're basically supermodels. I see little models and basketball players in their future!! You're not going to believe this, but even their cake was delicious!! Yes it's possible for a wedding cake to taste great!

By the end we were all tuckered out. We left for home at 4 am. The trip home took 14 1/2 hours because our plane in Denver got delayed. Imagine me, holding Afton, sitting in one of those hard airport chairs, conked right out. We must have been tired! With a little one-year-old, I'm not gonna lie we were all happy to get off the plane for the last time.

Home Sweet Home, with lots of wonderful memories!!

Breanna's 4th birthday party was a lot of work but so much fun! I even made those cheesy puff balls to hang from the ceiling. It's hard to entertain 9 little girls for 3 hours, but it's also fun to see them happy. The party had everything Breanna loves: a picnic, all the colors of the rainbow, crafts, dancing and candy.

See those pretty sparkly party hats? Breanna wanted black. She's such an unusual little girl, but I love that about her. I always thought people were lying to be cool growing up when they said their favorite color was black. But now I see, I should not have judged.

The candy table. Does it look like a wannabe pinterest table or what?? 

Here's the video. It's super lame. I'm sad I have to be the one to do the videos these days. They are nowhere near as good as when Brad would do them.

               

Anway, I just feel blessed to have Breanna in our family. She's special. When she was born I remember being overwhelmed with her spirit. It felt like it filled the room and the only way I could describe it was "sweet". She still has that same spirit. I love watching her and getting to know her and I love her so much. This is her getting ready to leave for pajama day at preschool. She's been waiting years for this!

Afton turned one. She likes to walk fast and embarrass me by begging other Moms to hold her.  She talks a ton and has all of the intonations down but only says a few words- hot, hat (she whispers those and they sound exactly the same and it's so cute when she blows something hot), she asks "what's that?" and "what's this?" and says "hi dad" while waving. She also likes to say "MUM!" really loud just to see if I'll look and am paying attention. Afton is definitely very passionate about life. She can hardly contain it. She wakes up in the morning with wide eyes and looks around to find something to point at and practically screams "WHAT'S THAT?" It's like she's saying Do you see that? Isn't it amazing? But it's just a door, or a blanket or a light. She likes to stack things and put things inside of things. She knows by now what she's not supposed to have and when I mess up and leave it out she studiously brings it to me and hands it over willingly with a look on her face like "here's the scissors Mom, you know I'm not supposed to have these so what are you doing leaving them out?" Her birthday was, well...simple. But she was surrounded by family and she got to devour cake and to her that's all that mattered! 

Brad and I went snowboarding and it was so much fun. Then we went to the hot springs. Although I felt guilty leaving my kids it was worth it to have that time with my husband. I was so in love with him by the end of it. Yay! I get to spend the rest of forever with this hot, nice, smart guy who is in love with me and also thinks I'm pretty special.

We're ready for Christmas! It's a great feeling. Next up our trip to Florida. I'm so excited!!!!!!!