Sunny So. Cal., Part 1

What a full 24 hours we have had!  We arrived at midnight at our hotel near LAX.  

After breakfast at IHOP we headed to the park next to our old condo in Anaheim.  

I enjoyed regaling Isaac with stories of the years we lived there: 

How I went into labor with him while on an evening walk around the park.

How as a toddler, he had been stung by a dead bee there (well, he had put his hand smack down on the stinger of a dead bee and got it lodged in his little hand, but we had fun teasing him that he was the only kid in the world who could manage to get stung by a dead bee!).

Then we went around the corner to our old condo.

Again I enjoyed telling Isaac how it was hard to carry him (as a baby) and the groceries from the detached garage, around the building, and up the stairs to our condo.

We realized that, although Abby never lived in 3030, we found out I was pregnant with her a few months before we moved out.  So it's part of her story too. 

The kids took several opportunities to feel "real" grass (not the horrible, scratchy stuff we grow in Houston).  In this picture, Isaac is saying, "Why did we ever leave?!"  It did seem like a good question.  Perfect weather.  Perfect grass.  What more do we really need?

We then took a much-longed-for detour to In-n-Out (what I didn't mention earlier is that we also happened to snag some on our way from LAX to the hotel...ahhh cravings satisfied). 

And then, the moment we'd been waiting for:  "It's Disneyland!" Abby said, "I'm so excited, I undid my seatbelt." 

Isaac said, "My smile keeps floating up.  I'm trying to push it down but it keeps floating up."

Spotting the Mickey and Minnie statues at the Disneyland Hotel entrance.  We have never stayed here before and wanted to see how much it enhanced the Disneyland experience.  I have to say, we're pretty impressed so far (which is good, because we're also pretty broke after this). 

Teacup love seats in the lobby.

Princess chairs to watch a little Mickey Mouse fun while you wait to check in.

We had the most amazing encounter with Aurora...had her completely to ourselves for several minutes in which she just talked to and loved on Abby.

It was fantastic and made the day for sure. (Isaac wouldn't be seen anywhere near her though!)

Then we explored Downtown Disney.

When it was finally time to see our hotel room for the first time, the kids were "floored."  This was Isaac's reaction to the wall mural above the beds that lights up and plays "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes."

Here's Abby expressing her surprise at the mural.

And the mural.

I think what Adel and I liked most was the view (yes, that's the Matterhorn and Space Mountain back there).

After a quick dip in the pool, we headed to The Storybook Cafe for "make your own pizzas."

Then back to the hotel to enjoy the view of the lights and the full moon...

...and bedtime.  

What a great day!  Tomorrow the real Disneyland experience begins.

Yarn Web

I told Isaac about this activity I saw in a magazine and he has been begging me to have friends over to do it ever since.  Last night was finally the night.

Give each pair of kids a ball of yarn ($1 each at dollar store).

Define the boundaries.

And see what kind of web they can make. 

As they were building (and after) they played "spiders" and "spies." 

"This is the best slumber party ever!"

They enjoyed the challenge of going through the tangled web.

For an hour I belly-laughed on the couch, watching them get tangled up in the web, as they tried to run from Adel (the "spider").

When they were done, I handed out scissors and they collected it all to see how big a ball of yarn they could make.

Cheap, easy fun!

A New Van

Some awesomely generous friends gifted their van to the Sharps.

I wanted to capture the first moments.

Lily, Aubrey, and Amelia, after claiming their new seats.

"This can't be happening!"

"A DVD player?!"

And a DVD to go with it!

"This is amazing!"

"Look at the storage space!"

One of the best parts of this gift is that it freed up Andy and Lindsay to gift their car to a family that will be as blessed by it as they are with their new van.  This is a beautiful thing to witness.

Valentine's Fun

I made our family-tradition Valentine's game even easier to play this year...seriously took me 30 seconds to scratch the game out on a piece of scrap paper:

Roll the first die to see what to do.  

Roll the second die to tell you who to do it to.

Hugs...

 And kisses...

"Isaac, I like when you play Lego-Barbie with me."

"I like Daddy because of his neat castles."

The kids picked out little gifts for each other at the dollar store to give when they rolled a 4.

And the best part of all...tickles.

Cuties.

Gingerbread Village

This post is very late but I didn't want to miss the pics.  We made these houses in January (after-season discounts!)

Cute kids.  Yummy houses.  That's about it.