Disneyland!

We had the great privilege of getting to go to "The Happiest Place on Earth" while we were in California.  That's right we went to Disneyland!

I, Laura, have so many fun memories from Disneyland growing up from my trips there while in college.  In fact Tyler and I first hung out together at Disneyland (in a group of 20+ people from school), though we don't really remember each other from that day.  It was another 2 years after that trip that we started hanging out.  But that's an old story and this post is all about our recent trip to Disney and Neal's first Disneyland experience.  

We were able to go for 2 days and got to see both Disneyland and California Adventure.  Neal LOVED every part of those 2 days.  He was the perfect age to take and was tall enough to ride every ride he wanted.  His favorite rides were Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain.  Thunder Mountain was his first roller coaster and after that there wasn't anything he wouldn't try.

I was impressed how brave he was riding everything.  I am not a fan of roller coasters but there was nothing that intimidated Neal.   We got to go the first day with Tyler's whole family and all the cousins.

The kids had a great time all together.  I spend most of the day relaxing in the shade keeping company with those who didn't want to do every ride while I watched Gwendolyn.  Most of the time you would find Gwendolyn sleeping....She did however really enjoy the parade.

She was such a great sport hanging out all day in the stroller and the heat.  It was 104 and 106 degrees the two days we were there, so it was HOT!   My favorite day however was our second day.  We were able to leave Gwendolyn with Gigi and Grandfather and got to spend the whole day with just Neal. Getting to ride everything with Neal was extremely fun and loved his expressions and comments while both waiting in lines and after the rides.  My favorite was after all the roller coasters when he would say, "that was so awesome!"  

We still get to hear stories from him as he remembers all the fun we had and all the "awesome" rides.  Now if you ask about his favorite ride he will pretty much list off every single ride at Disneyland.  It is hard to pick a favorite when they are all so fun, right?  I have always loved Disneyland but going with your own kids is even more fun.  I hope we can go back again one time 'cause it really was "so awesome!"

CA Family (Vacation Part 2)

Some of the best memories and moments of our trip were seeing all the family that we have in CA.  It was not only great being away as a family but also getting to spend time with my (Laura's) extended family that we don't get to see very often.  It's was special to not only see most of my extended family but also to introduce Gwendolyn to everyone.

One of my favorite visits was the day that we spent at my grandparent's house.   The health of both my grandparents has deteriorated lately and we were so delighted to be able to have the chance to go and visit them again.  We loved being able to introduce them to Gwendolyn and for Neal to get to see them. The smiles on their faces when we showed up with the kids was priceless and we could tell that our company was greatly appreciated and enjoyed.

Neal sat in the room with us all and watched the cuckoo clock for quite some time.  That clock is one of the biggest memories I have of visiting my grandparents.  It would always wake us up in the middle of the night and was always in the background of all our playtimes and movie watching when we would visit.  Neal was fascinated and overjoyed every time the bird would pop out.   

My Grandpa loved talking to the kids and my Grandma loved hearing us visit and tell her stories of what we have been doing over the last few years.  Gwendolyn wanted to sit as close to Grandma as possible and was always trying to reach out and grab her hand (or arm or anything).  My Grandma would get the biggest smile on her face each time Gwen would look at her.

It was an afternoon filled with lots of great stories, memories told about my Grandpa's old taxi driving days and about how he and Grandma met.   I will treasure our visit with them for a long time and hope that maybe we can see them again soon.

The rest of our trip was filled with visits to see other extended family and we had so much fun getting to see and catch-up with everyone.

We didn't get pictures with everyone but we sure did have fun mixing family visits with swimming, hiking, movie watching and of course Graduation!

Congrats Aunt the Bud! (Natalie)

She loves the water

Vasquez Rocks

Star Wars watching

Getting ready for the beach

A California Vacation - Part 1

At he beginning of this month we finally got to get away as a family on a much needed and anticipated family vacation.   Our destination was California and our plan for the trip was to have fun and relax with family.  It was a great trip filled with lots of family time, visiting with my (Laura's) extended family, celebrating Natalie's Graduation form College creating a family reunion with Tyler's family, and of course Disneyland!

We had a great start with a simple and easy flight cross country (even though it took all day).  The kids did great on the flight.  Gwendolyn was facinated with the TV's and so excited that she could touch the screen (something she never gets to play with at home).  During our layover in San Francisco this happened...

The only thing better then the baby napping on a long trip is having both kids nap.   The 3 hour time change was a bit of a challenge and we were so thankful that we planned to get to California a few days before all the graduation activities to allow us and the kids time to adjust.

We filled our first few days with small family trips and lots of time at "home" taking naps and getting acclimated to the time change.   One of our first activities was eating at In-N-Out.  You can't go to LA and not eat there, right?  Neal loved it, not so much because of the burger, but because he got his very own pop and a whole basket of fries.

We all loved being back at our old stomping grounds from our college years.  It was fun to be back to the place where Tyler and I met and to see some old friends and professors at the school.

We not only got to walk down memory lane but got to introduce Neal to something new that every little boy, or kid for that matter, longs to do...Go Karts!!   I'm pretty sure Tyler had just as much fun as Neal did on the go karts.  It was a great little taste of the fun that we would be having at Disneyland in the week to come...(more about Disneyland in another post).

Play Ball!

I think Tyler and I have been waiting for this day since the day Neal was born, the day that our son would start to play baseball...T-ball to be exact.  

This spring we signed Neal up for his first T-ball team.  It is a league for 4-6 year olds and meets close to our house.  The kids meet for six saturdays this spring and practice for 30 minuets and then play one inning against another team.   It is the perfect introduction to T-ball for him and he LOVES it!   Actually I wasn't sure on the first day if Neal or Tyler and I were more excited. 

It was really fun to have my sister, Anna, here for his first T-ball game.  Neal had his own little cheering squad from the sidelines.  We had fun cheering for him and watching him hit the ball and run the bases.   Gwendolyn even skipped her morning nap to watch all the fun.  

Tyler his been helping work with Neal's team and gets to be out in the field with the kids, throwing balls and helping them in the field.  I love getting to see them together enjoying the game and I know its really special for Tyler to get to teach his son how to play his favorite game.  

Tyler has been teaching him to bat left handed and Neal has done great.   Now as his mom I think everything that Neal does is great, but really he has quite the swing and can hit the ball a good distance.

We love to play in our backyard and practicing with him and we're looking forward to many more springs filled with T-ball and baseball games.  I have to say one of my favorite spring pastimes is enjoying the sun with friends and family at a ballgame, and it's even better when your son is the one playing :) 

 

Our Easter - 2014

What a wonderful weekend!!  Our Easter was filled with lots of fun memories and all the usual Easter activities.  

We had a sunny day on Sunday and enjoyed all heading out to church a bit early to visit with everyone there over coffee and doughnuts to celebrate Resurrection Sunday.   This was the first Easter Gwendolyn and though she didn't really participate in any of our Easter activities (she slept through most everything) she sure did have fun playing with her brothers Easter eggs.

One of the highlights of my Easter was that Gwendolyn stayed with us for the entire church service.  She usually goes to the nursery after the worship but she was so happy and quiet that I kept her with us on Sunday and she lasted the entire service.  I loved getting to hold and snuggle my little girl during the sermon, which made for a wonderful start to my Easter.

Neal loved doing a small egg hunt first thing in the morning and was so excited about the small little Easter Basket he got after finding all the hidden eggs.  He has been enjoying his Easter candy for the last few days, and I have too :)  

Out church always does a big church picnic for Easter dinner and this year was once again a lot of fun.  We were able to be outside at a park this year and it was a wonderful time with our church family.  We ate lots, lots and lots of food, played family games and enjoyed great fellowship with everyone.  I love spending the holidays with lots of friends and family and so an all church picnic was a great way to spend time with those we consider "family" here in NC.  

And naturally what would a holiday be without a little photo shoot right?...

There were a lot of pictures taken of the kids and at the end of the day I realized we didn't take one family photo.  I need to get better at remembering to get all of us in a photo, I don't know that we really have any family photos of the four of us. This was the closest I got to getting all of us and this was by accident since Neal photo bombed the picture of us girls :)

We hope that y'all had a great time celebrating Easter and that you were able to have lots of meaningful and good conversations with family and friends about the good news of our Risen Savior.  I know we talked about the Cross and Christ's Resurrection with Neal lots throughout the last few weeks and he had lots of questions so I continue to pray that the Lord would stir in him (and Gwen) a love for God and a faith that leads to salvation.

Spring has Sprung

The weather is beautiful outside and we are loving all the sunshine and ability to play outside before the heat and humidity arrive.   During the day we love to venture out and play at the park.

Gwendolyn is now old enough to enjoy the baby swings and Neal loves to run around and play like the playground is his super hero hideout or a pirate ship.

I also was so excited to have a group of friends who decided to all run a 10K together.  It was a stretch for me, since running is not really a passion of mine, but it was fun.   We were able to train and work up to a 10K over the last few months and then all got to run together a few weekends ago...

...well we all started together but ended up all finishing at different times, but we all finished!! It was a great accomplishment for us all and we were so happy to have each other to keep motivated.  The Lord also blessed us with a perfect sunny day to run outside.  It was amazing!   Now the question is, Can I keep up the running and exercise without a race awaiting me?

A Tornado Warning

We got a tornado warning a few weeks ago and it was the fist time I have actually gotten the kids up and sat in our "tornado shelter" (really the stairwell in our house).  

After receiving a phone call from a friend, making sure we saw the tornado warning, I quickly turned on the TV and immediately heard them name some cross streets just a few miles from our home as the area they were concerned about a possible tornado forming.   So, I quickly woke up the kids and we had a little "party" in the stairwell until the tornado warning was lifted.   This all happened while Tyler was traveling which made it even more interesting as I was on my own.  Neal loved our little "party" and even asked the next night if we could hide from the tornado again.  Thankfully no tornado actually formed and we didn't even get any strong winds.  It was quite the eventful evening, however I hope not to have to experience it again, even though Tyler missed all the fun.  Even the idea of a possible tornado is something I don't think I'll ever get use to, which is why I am so thankful we hardly ever get these warnings here.