Land of Disney - 2011

Disneyland! We had tons of fun and I will refrain from making this blog into a chapter book but there are enough pictures to make it plenty long...

Right after we walked into the park we saw Snow White. Navi was still in a little bit of shock and was scared to get a picture with her. Our cute Godfrey cousins Payzli and Ayda showed Navi it wasn't scary to get a picture with princesses and that was all it took...

Casuse when Ariel came walking around the corner she all but jumped out of my arms! We watch Ariel at least once a day, and sometimes more, so she is no stranger!

She looks a little scared, but she's really just possessive of her favorite princess!

After seeing Ariel, she was a little braver to go back and see Snow White. Although, she still wanted Mommy to hold her.

Cute Harper Ella. She and Trevi were such good babies the whole trip!

Navi slipped back into scared-diness when we saw Fawn and Tinkerbell. But I think it's mostly cause she was tired and hungry.

Then we found the carousel and the world was at peace again.

Minus the fact that Navi thinks she needs to smile with her eyes closed. It doesn't matter how hard we try to get her to open, she usually just closes them tighter. But in a funny way, it's kind of cute.

And our favorite ride was the new Little Mermaid ride. Although Navi doesn't look very happy, she really did like it and we went on it more than any other.

Thanks to the fast passes and stroller passes, waiting in line wasn't too bad. (ok, and lots of snacks for the girls)

Trevi and Harper were both content to take naps in their strollers. Thank heavens for good babies!

We fondly call this the "Buttars smile".

And one of the highlights of the trip - lunch at Ariel's Grotto with all the princesses! Grandma has the only picture of all the girls with Ariel though, whoops.

Navi loved the bumper car ride because she got to drive all by herself.

World of Color was awesome! Waiting for it to start for over an hour, was not so awesome, but what can you do?

And since we were right up front next to the water, we got a bit wet. But Trevi was asleep in her stroller and Navi was a good sport. And Mom got a churro so she was nice too.

Trevi was a bit surprised by the flash on the Toy Story ride. :)

We waited in line to see "Punzel" forEVER. When we got in line it said it would be around 20 minutes. 20 minutes later we were just about to the front of the line and then it quit moving. We couldn't figure out why but by that point we didn't want to leave when we were so close. After another 20 minutes, when we were just about to give up and leave, the line started moving again and we found out it was because there had been a "suspicious looking box" that had been left next to Rapunzel's house. So they had to bring in special dogs and everything to sniff it out. It's probably a good thing that we didn't know all of this before! By the time we finally got in to see her, Navi was tired and ornery, and I don't blame her. But Punzel was really nice and talked to us for quite awhile so it made up for it.

THEN came Mommy's favorite people to meet. :) We were walking towards Tower of Terror when Nate started tapping me on the shoulder. I figured it was because Navi was whining and he wanted me to help her so I kind of ignored him. :) Finally he said, "Look!" and pointed a bit behind us showing me Kasey and Vienna from the Bachelor/lette. (yes he noticed them, and sorry Nate but it's funny) I was so bummed that I had ignored him and they had passed us. But luckily when we got over to Tower of Terror they came just a few minutes later. They sat down on one of the ledges and all of the sudden I felt a twinge of braveness and decided I should go over and ask for their picture. On the show, they were always kind of annoying, but seeing them in person was a different story! They were really nice and gracious to get a picture and shook my hand. I really wanted to ask Kasey to show his "guard and protect you heart" tattoo in the pic, but let's face it, my brave limit had been reached. Anyways, they were really nice and it was the closest I've been to a real celebrity...if you can call them that.

Our Kingston cousins were able to drive down from Bakersfield and meet us for a swim day.

It's amazing how many times Navi can create a goofy smile but they make me laugh every time.

And I can't say enough how good Trevi was. She is our little sweetheart.

How can you not have a fun vacation with these cuties? Yes, Nate too.

SURPRISE!

Navi and I surprised my sisters when we just happened to walk in the door the other night while we were supposed to be in Texas. Obviously they were more excited to see Navi but it was pretty funny to see their reactions. We also surprised Nate's sisters and our nieces and nephews. Everyone had the same reaction, "What the heck are you doing here?"

Nate's sales group moved to a city that is 2 1/2 hours away from Ft. Worth and were staying for 2 weeks, so I decided it was a perfect opportunity to 'visit' home.

It was very hard to leave Nate and Daddy but we were also very excited to see our family. Navi has changed SO much in the short 3 months we've been gone so I'm happy they all get to see her.

Before we left last week, Nate surprised me with and early birthday dinner since we won't be together on my birthday. (the 30th) To put it simply, he is wonderful. He made reservations at The Melting Pot and even made sure we would arrive at least a half hour before they closed because he knows how weird I am about showing up to a place right before they close. It gives me anxiety. (Just another one of my weird quirks)


We've wanted to go there for quite awhile and weren't disappointed. The food was so so good, and it was so fun to have lots of choices and cook things yourself. Best part of all:


And then he made a great night even better when he surprised me with this:


A necklace from Tiffany's!
I was shocked! I love it almost as much as Nate.
(I realize that is an awkward picture, but I hate taking photos of myself)

The whole night was such a nice surprise not to mention a fun change from the usual summer sales night. Thanks again Nathan, love you!

All Good Things Must Come to an End

The last week of January was something I had been looking forward to for quite sometime. Now here I sit on February 1st, back at home and missing the 75 + degree weather of southern California. You see, Nate's parents gave all the kids and grandkids a sweet "SoCal" pass for Christmas and we spent a week in Newport Beach visiting all the tourist spots. (Disneyland, Seaworld, Universal Studios, and San Diego Zoo to be exact)

Even though "Expectant mothers should not ride" seemed to be the phrase of the trip, I'm such a Disney freak that just being there was still fun. We lived it up on the rides I was allowed on however, like Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, Finding Nemo, and Soarin' over California - my favorite!! I also made a great stroller slash baby sitter while the others took their turns.

Our trip to L.A. and surrounding areas was a double bonus because it is also where Nate served his mission. (Arcadia, CA) So he played tour guide while we visited the old stomping grounds.

Today when we flew into Salt Lake the air was a crisp 34 degree wake up call. Now, back at home, he's busy cramming for a test tomorrow and I'm dreading going back to work. Ahh, real life.

So here's our little vacay recap...and keep in mind I'm feeling especially chubby these days, from my face to my feet. So please try to look past the pudge. (9 weeks to go!)

And of course, I couldn't end this post without a shout-out to the in-laws...Thanks again Darrell and Marianne!!! It took lots of work (and money) to get the trip all planned and put together, we appreciate it and had lots of fun!

~*Also, the private plan is still on, so anyone still wanting to get in let me know. The count down is on.*~

Brad Paisley Concert

Brad is my favorite country singer and his concert was amazing!

These pictures aren't the best, but it was so much fun.

I was able to go to the concert with Ashley, my sister-in-law, and my good friend Kimi (for her birthday). I didn't realize all the pictures of me and Kimi were on her camera so I'll have to get some. We went to eat before the concert and had lots of fun, thanks for going!