Park with Daddy

Ryan captured some really nice pictures of the kids when they went to the park together. So of course I thought I'd share them.

Happy Preston.

Annalise, the climber.

Sweetheart Addie.

Preston is Three!

We enjoyed a full day of family fun for Preston's third birthday. We planned to hike to Timpanogos Cave, but it was a 3-hour wait for tickets so we quickly changed plans and hiked Stewart Falls. I've done this hike three times now and each time I completely underestimate it. With three kids, it took us over four hours and we all got absolutely filthy. We packed Annalise and carried Preston the majority of the way. The falls were absolutely beautiful though, making it well worth it.

The kids loved playing in the water, even though it was ice cold.

We stopped at home before rushing to see "Toy Story 3" with the kids. Preston was so excited and we all loved it! When we got home we had his little party with the family. We barbecued hamburgers and had ice cream and cake. It was such a fun day. It is always great to have a reason to celebrate.

Preston with all his presents. A little story to remember-- We wrapped several of Preston's gifts in an old diaper box and when he opened the wrapping paper he said, "Diapers! Yeah!" And he was serious. He is so easy to please. But he was pleasantly surprised to see there were toys and no diapers inside. :)

Preston was very happy with his Toy Story cake. He loves Woody and Buzz.

Preston enjoying his new toys.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Here are the pictures from our fabulous vacation to Disneyland. I have put the pictures in the order that we did everything so we can relive our vacation over and over.

Day 1:

A little family shot (minus Ryan) just as we entered the park the first day. We let Adelyn dress up as a princess. She got many compliments on her dress including Alice (in Wonderland) calling Addie "Your Majesty" and saying she loved her dress's sparkles.

Princess Adelyn in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. We took a tour of this castle twice because Addie thought it was so cool.

Addie and I on the Dumbo ride. I was amazed at how many rides at Disneyland I had never been on because I had never come with kids. This was one of my favorites after waiting outside in a hot line.

King Arthur's Carousel was nice and relaxing.

Preston pretended not to be afraid of Monstro and his gaping jaws on the canal boat ride through Storybook Land.

Probably one of my very favorite pictures. These two are so cute to each other when they aren't fighting. :)

Preston getting ready to board the "Finding Nemo Submarine." The kids loved this ride too.

Preston keeping cool in Ryan's shades...

Day 2:

Preston in captivity at the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island. I really enjoyed seeing him contained for a few minutes.

Adelyn and Preston enjoyed riding on the Davy Crockett Exploring Canoes.

Adelyn was chosen to go up and join the "Jambalaya Jazz Band" in New Orleans Square where Princess Tiana (from "The Princess and the Frog") was singing and dancing.

Posing with Dumbo.

Annalise hangin' out in her Minnie romper suit. She was such a trouper the whole time and only fussed occasionally when she was tired.

Preston and Adelyn shared the throne at the "Princess Fantasy Faire."

During the Princess Storytime at the "Princess Fantasy Faire," Sleeping Beauty asked Preston to dance with him. They were so cute.

Day 3:
The family with Mickey. I love how Annalise is grabbing his nose in this picture. Most of the characters terrified her, but she apparently felt very comfortable with good ol' Mickey.

Preston's all-time favorite character of all the Disney movies--Lightning McQueen. He LOVES cars and always will.

Addie and I riding the Bumper Bugs. We made sure we bumped everyone we possibly could. When we got off, Adelyn said, "Yeah! Mom, we bumped 11 people and didn't get bumper once!" She is apparently a very good driver.

Brother Bear giving Adelyn some brotherly love on California Adventure's "Brother Bear Trail."

Day 4:Annalise loved this piano in Donald Duck's house in ToonTown. We really enjoyed looking at all the character's darling houses.

Me with my angel mother. She came to Disneyland for two days with us to help us out and give Ryan and I time to go on some adult rides together. My mom and I also took advantage of the time and went on some roller coasters together as well. Ryan's gets motion sick pretty easily, so it was nice to have a companion adrenaline junkie. :)

Adelyn looking darling in Ryan's sun hat.

Our family meeting Minnie Mouse. It appears that Annalise was pretty scared of her.

Preston looks so old to me in this picture. Oh, my little boy is growing up so fast...

Adelyn with Tinkerbell. Addie told Tink all about her 5th birthday party where she was Tinkerbell and her friends all came dressed as fairies. Tinkerbell liked that.

Well, that's about it for the pictures. We didn't take any pictures of it, but the last night we were there, we kept the kids out late and watched "Fantasmic" and the incredible fireworks show. We also enjoyed swimming in our hotel pool and trying out several new restaurants. At one of the restaurants we ate at, there was a guy entertaining the kids with a magic show and balloons. That was quite a treat for them. We also stayed at my sister Sally's house on the drive there and back. It was wonderful to see her and all the animals she raises: chickens, pigs, quail, rabbits, dogs, cats, and a ferret. The kids especially liked her little Pomeranian "Belle" and her trampoline. It was a very amazing and memorable vacation.

Park City Girl's Get-away

Earlier this month, my girl friends from high school and I planned a sleepover in Park City. We stayed in a condo, went swimming, and stayed up until 5:00am talking and laughing. It was a blast. The following day, a few of us went to downtown Park City to browse the shops and have lunch.

These are my friends Emily and Andree sitting outside the awesome French restaurant we ate at. I didn't get a picture of all of us together, so this pic is missing Leslie, Kellie, and Andrea who also came up.

Everything we ordered was amazingly delicious and looked so delectable.

Annalise came along as my companion because she is still so little.

Stadium of Fire

Ryan and I got to go to Stadium of Fire this year. We had such a great time. There were performances by Jenny Oaks Baker, The Osmonds Second Generation, The 5 Browns, and of course the amazing Carrie Underwood.

Here's a pic of the Stadium of Fire dancers. I think this part is pretty neat because they are all volunteers and their formations look so cool.

Ryan took this picture of Carrie Underwood from the projection screen. I wish we could say we were this close to the stage. I was completely blown away by her. I've heard her on American Idol and of course the radio, but I still had no idea how powerful her voice was. After the first song, I thought, "No way is she going to be able to keep this up." But each song she just gave everything she had and sang with all her heart. It was truly incredible.

A little sample of the awesome fireworks. I love how they choreograph the music so well with the fireworks display. It is such an amazing celebration of our freedoms and this wonderful nation that we live in.

Hogle Zoo

Ryan and Preston waiting for the bird show to start.

Adelyn decided she was about the same size as the mommy orangutans, except her arms are a bit too short.

Ryan and I.

Baby Zuri with her mother. She is such a darling little elephant to watch.

Summer Fun

My girls are always willing to give me a big smile, especially this little one.

Swinging.

Playing at the park near our house.

Ryan got fishing stuff for Father's Day. He 's taken the kids out a couple of times to test out the new fishing pole. Well, the pole works fine, but the fish still aren't biting. The kids had fun anyway, although Adelyn was a little disappointed.

But this little guy was just happy to be spending time with Dad and couldn't care less if they caught anything.

The kids built this log house with Ryan's help. Pretty impressive architecture, I'd say.