DISNEYLAND

James's family (4 of the 6 kids and the parents) planned a trip to Disneyland, and I'm so glad James was able to get the time off work so we could go!  I never regret a trip to the happiest place on Earth!  The last time we went to Disney, Grayson was a baby, so it was fun to see him have a great time this time around.  Hazel was the perfect age for this trip too because she thinks everything is magic and that every princess is the real deal!  As Barbara said, the highlight of the trip was watching the kids' sweet faces in reaction to things, especially the fireworks and light parade.  Dennis and Barbara arranged for us to stay in a hotel right across from the park, so it was super nice to be able to go back and forth as needed.  Each day we went back in the afternoon for naps.  All of us, not just Grayson, napped.  Then we had the energy to last later into the night, especially because California time was 2 hours behind.

The first day in the park, we spent our time at Disneyland.  Being pregnant didn't really even put a damper on the trip because I could ride all the kid rides and watch all the shows with the family.  James only separated from us a few times to ride a few rollercoasters.  The first ride we hit was Peter Pan, and it was probably the longest line we stood in the whole time.  Waiting in line with cousins makes it go by faster though!

The Carousel is always a hit.  Tanner, Tayton, and Grayson

Then we went on Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, and this was on Grayson's top 2 favorite rides list.

Grandma and Hazel (her forehead anyway...)

The only event of the trip we scheduled was lunch with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto.  It was totally worth it.  We saved a lot of time by not waiting in several lines to see all these princesses.  Hazel loved it!  The food was really tasty too.

Grayson didn't like the princesses, but he dug the food.

That afternoon we were exhausted, so we went back for a late nap and then met the family at Mimi's Cafe for dinner.  That night we went back to Disneyland for a few more rides - Dumbo and the Teacups (Grayson's other favorite ride), the Nemo submarine, and the boat ride through the whale's mouth, and It's a Small World.  The fireworks were canceled that night because of the wind, but luckily we had 2 more days to catch the big show.

Day 2 was spent at California Adventure.  We went to shows and met characters the entire morning, which was really fun.  My friend Stephanie even made the trip out to see us with 2 of her kids!  It's always so great to see the Speeds, and I even got to meet her precious little boy Bede.  

At our Crush show, someone actually proposed, so that made it extra interesting.

This was the sing-along Frozen show, and Hazel wasn't fooled by the "snow", which was actually bubbles.  She did always love when Elsa made an appearance!

Sunny looks like a relative of ours!  This was the ladybug ride.

Here we are with Steph, Sunny, and Bede!  That little guy is such a charmer!

Grayson loves Lightning McQueen and Mater, so we thought he'd love the ride since it was kind of like the teacup ride.  False.  "I don't wike the Mater wide.  It is TOO cazy!"

Although I don't have a picture, Hazel would say that her favorite ride was Soarin'.  James took her one time, and I went with her at night.  The whole time in the line, she was helping me be brave and telling me all about it.  When we took off, her face was so cute how it just lit up with excitement.  It was worth the trip for me.  

After naps we met the family again at Mimi's for a yummy dinner.  I'm glad we did that a few times because that was how we saw the whole Palmer crew.  We just had so many people and different ages, so it was impossible to do the whole trip together.  After dinner we headed back to California Adventure.  Before the water show "World of Color", we saw Lightning McQueen driving around, and Grayson was so happy.  Hazel, on the other hand, went on the Cars ride with dad and was not quite as happy.  I guess she wasn't quite ready for that fast of a ride.  Lesson learned.

We got in our section for the water show, watched part of it and then decided to leave because the kids couldn't see much from where we were.  We pushed through the crowds to head over to Disneyand in hopes of catching the fireworks, and we made it for most of it.  On our way out every night, we got to see the beautifully decorated, ginormous Christmas tree.

Day 3 of Disney started out great because we got into Disneyland an hour early for our "Magic Morning."  Dennis and Barbara spent pretty much the whole day with us, so that was fun.  We did more teacups, Alice in Wonderland, the Rocket ride, Buzz Lightyear, and the "Jingle Cruise.

We also met Merida, which Hazel was very happy about.

Then we went back over to California Adventure and looked for Anna and Elsa.  We also found Olaf's Fun Fest while over there, and the kids LOVED the snow!

Hazel's dreams came true!

So did Grayson's because we saw Jake!  This is as close as he'd get to any character.

Later Grandma found Chip and Dale.

And we found the coolest playground ever!  Grayson loved the rock slide, and Hazel loved the rope swing.

At night Dennis and Barbara sat out almost 3 hours early for the parade and fireworks.  It was SO nice of them to save all of us spots, and I have to say it was worth it!  The light parade was amazing, and the kids thought it was awesome!

Right after the parade, we walked right to the front of the castle to watch the fireworks, so we were in perfect position!  Images were displayed on the castle front and Tinkerbell flew over the castle.  It's the best firework show in the world I'm pretty sure.  It was also the best ending to our magical trip.  The kids were awesome (only a few expected tired/hungry meltdowns) and I think we got to do everything we wanted.  Until next time, Disney!

Halloween

We took 2 different approaches to pumpkins this Halloween.  Hazel painted hers and added a sparkly crown with curly pipe cleaner hair, and James carved Grayson's pumpkin to look like Jake from the Disney pirate show.  Neither was too interested in cleaning out the carved pumpkin.

This year Hazel decided to be Elsa, and Grayson wanted to be Olaf.  When your daughter doesn't have a sister, what do you do?  You dress up as Anna!  James isn't pictured because our Trunk or Treat was on a Thursday night instead of the weekend.  I also contributed some chili and even donated some to my car floor!  Luckily we didn't lose much, and it was still delicious.

He did join us for Halloween on Saturday though!  Anna was happy to have Kristoff at her side.  Since our neighborhood doesn't get much trick or treat traffic, we headed to a nearby neighborhood where Hazel goes to preschool.    

The Thompsons joined us, and the kids had the best time running from house to house collecting candy!  

The next morning, the kids organized their remaining candy.  Hazel bar graphed hers, which makes me laugh, and Grayson made a candy rainbow.  We still have plenty leftover!

We will see if it changes, but as of now, Hazel says she wants to be a hot dog next year, and Grayson wants to be a banana.  Can't wait for that!

Hazel's 5th Birthday!

The one thing Hazel requested for her 5th birthday was to go to Chuck-E-Cheese.  Her wish was granted on the Saturday before her birthday.  James joined us, and we played lots and lots of games, especially basketball because both Grayson and Hazel loved it.  

She also loved making these cards that have her picture on them.

Her actual birthday was on Tuesday, so we had pancakes for breakfast and sent her off to preschool!

Hazel LOVES her cousins, so it was perfect that they came by for a visit on her special day!  They gave her a watch and plenty of pictures, which she loves.

For dinner she chose Chick-fil-A, so we met the Thompsons there that night.  She chose her birthday cake the day before, so I made her a double layer lemon cake with lemon curd and cream cheese icing.  It was too tart for Daddy, but Hazel and I loved it!  Our family is blessed with the sweetest 5 year old girl there ever was.  She's creative, sensitive, a great friend, happy, smart, affectionate, and beautiful inside and out.  Some of her "things" right now include: creating hideouts around the house; making us bend over for kisses and hugs; coloring something new everyday; singing and making up her own songs; riding her balance bike; creating something out of nothing (like my recycling items); watching Paw Patrol, Bubble Guppies, and Umizoomi; saying, "You're the best Mommy (or Daddy) a child could have!"; doing chores for Mommy for coins or just to help; negotiating deals; and playing with cousins and friends.  She's also the best big sister ever.  

We love this birthday girl SO much!!!

October

We started out the month with a going away dinner for Todd, who is moving to China for 2 years!  We were pretty surprised he chose to transfer, but we wish him the best.  He'll be missed for sure.  We went to Rudy's for a little Texas BBQ because I'm sure he won't find it there!

Since Barbara and Dennis had to go to St. George for most of October, they came over for an early bday celebration for Hazel.  She requested a lemon baby bundt cake.  I love that she loves everything lemon as I do.

The weekend before our 8th anniversary, James and I went to the temple to do sealings, which was perfect.  It was great to be reminded of our covenants and promised blessings.  

James was pretty proud of his flower arranging, and I was pretty impressed as well.  He wrote the sweetest note in my card too.  Lucky gal.  I can't believe it's been 8 years!  Every anniversary I reflect on that decision I made on October 12, 2007, and I'm so happy.  Great catch - great match.

On our actual anniversary we decided to try a place we've never been to - The Melting Pot.  I liked the idea of cooking my own food, and I love a good food experience.  Both of us really enjoyed the meal, especially the cheese and dessert courses.  Yum.

                          

Meanwhile, the kids were at the cousins' having FHE.. and loving it!

One Monday morning we went to a Halloween party at Jackie's house.  We passed out treats, decorated pumpkin cookies, and watched the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  I love all the cute kid costumes.

Another fun activity we did was go to the Heard Museum since it's been such nice weather.  There were huge dinosaurs outside, tree houses to play in, and sand to dig in inside.  I'd be lying if I said Grayson loved when the dinosaurs moved and roared, but he didn't cry and he especially loved playing with the smaller plastic dinosaurs in the gift shop.  Hazel probably enjoyed digging in the sand the most.  

I think we know what Grayson wants for Christmas.

September

Hazel started preschool the first week of September!  We heard about an in home preschool from our friends and decided it would be a great fit for her.  She goes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2.  Her teacher is Mrs. Beech and she's great.  When I brought Hazel the first day, I knew she wouldn't be too nervous to go in, but she surprised me by being suddenly emotional about leaving Grayson!  Talk about break my heart!  She really is the sweetest sister and most sensitive little girl.  I just love that about her.  The tears didn't last long, and she walked in and had a great day.  I think she's the oldest of the 8 kids, but she doesn't seem to mind.  She never complains about going, and I think she likes the routine and the fact that it's her own special activity.  She likes doing the "homework" or enrichment activities at home, and we're working on her reading skills with the BOB books.

Here are some pictures from preschool that the teacher posted-

We celebrated Faith's 5th birthday and the kids had a great time as usual!  Hazel and Grayson LOVE their Faith and Fofo.  We're so lucky to have them less than 10 minutes away!

My parents came up to celebrate all of the September family birthdays, and here we are cheering on the Cougars-

We also took bike rides to the park when it wasn't too hot.  Hazel is really loving her balance bike, but she's getting a bit big for it.  It's almost time to pass it on down to Grayson.  

We even squeezed in one or 2 more pool days before it closed at the end of September.  These are our good friends the Thompsons - Cassie and kids: Luke, Colbie, and Michael.

One weekend I went with friends from my old Plano ward to Time Out for Women in Arlington.  It was fun, but I did miss my little family!

This is a picture showing how Hazel has been into doing little acts of service as well as chores for coins, as she calls it.  One Sunday we went in our bedroom to find our bed made with a little heart on it.  Love it!

I love the games the kids come up with.  This is the Underpants game.  Underpants give them super powers and make them go super fast.  I think I need to get myself a pair.

And then one sad thing happened in September... we had to say goodbye to some more of our best friends, the Coopers!  They moved to New Mexico to join Dallas's family dairy business.  We will really miss our buddies and hope they come back to visit!

On the last Friday of September, our ward had a Daddy-Daughter Campout, and boy, was Hazel excited!  Unfortunately, there was a fire ban, so we just ate hot dogs and s'mores at our house before they headed out to McKinney.  They stayed one night, and they had a great time!