Thankful for DISNEYLAND!

 

(Don't mind our squinty eyes above...the sun was SO BRIGHT)

That's right, my family went to Disneyland for Thanksgiving again this year. Both my dad and sister have time shares at a condo there, so we saved up all year and flew down to California for some perfect weather and cousin time. It was super packed the first day we were there, but then we realized it was 100% worth it to wake up early and be at the park for when it opened. Probably 50% of our rides were done during the first 2 hours. Later on, we could relax and go to less popular rides or use fast passes when it was busy.

We spent 3 days at Disneyland (and 2 in California Adventure). Ty wore his cute army hat for the first 1/2 day with his "First time" button and then lost it :( the button looked cute before he lost it.

Ty and Grandpa Tom

 Ty, Me, and Hailey had fun on Dumbo!

 The trains were some of Ty's favorite rides. Take a look at his smile below.

 Ty learned to say "boat" on the trip and had fun seeing all of them float past.

 The kids loved Tom Sawyer Island.

 

We found this area where they were doing a "Jingle Jamboree" in a corner of the park. The "Hill Billy Band" was a lot of fun (see Ty dancing in the video below) and we were visited by the Country Bears, Mrs Claus, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto.

 

 Ty really liked his map of Disneyland and laid down in the middle of the area. A lot of the characters thought it was funny and tried to help him plan his trip!

Ty Dancing

 

 

 Ty colored a post card (we need to find and send still)

 

Ty was braver than his mommy and went on the teacups. He had fun because his cousins were laughing.

 He didn't like Pirates as much. He pretty much cuddled with us the whole time...twice.

 Kate and Jonas

 The fire truck in the Fire Station

  

The carousel was another favorite of Ty's

 

 Probably Ty's favorite thing about Disneyland:

Playing in the water.

 One of the better deals at the park: our $4 Mickey Pretzel

 Gotta love the Toon Town photo ops

 Buff Guy Ty

Disneyland truly is a magical place. We were so blessed to be able to go.

Batting Cages

We went here for Tim's big 31 Birthday last month! I'd never been to batting cages before and thought I'd surprise Tim with something we'd never done. It was a success. Even little Ty stayed entertained with all the balls and "hats!"

Eclectic Fall

This is a random collection on pictures from the past month or two. The sweater Ty is wearing above is one a wonderful woman I used to work with knitted this by hand for Ty. She also threw me a beautiful baby shower before Ty was born. The sweater is adorable and my friend Karen is amazing!

This kid LOVES his HATS:

 

 

 

 We went to the batting cages for Tim's Birthday. Ty was happy to finally wear a real helmet!

We love having the Denzer's (Sarah is Tim's cousin) live closer. Sarah's sister Chelsea came to visit and made Tim and Sarah this fantastic lemon raspberry cake to celebrate both of their birthday's. The cake was seriously one of the best I've ever tasted and it looked pretty, too.

Tim got some kid-friendly church books for his birthday. Ty likes them:

Not that it gets dark so early, we go to the stores at night to stay sane. Below are some pictures of our adventures.

 

 And lastly, our friends from BYU and Virginia, the Coplen's moved to Colorado and we finally set up a play date. Luke is only a few weeks older than Ty, and they had a blast playing together at the museum. They are about the same size and have similar temperaments and personalities (meaning not too rough with each other), so we are excited to do much more with them!

Happy Halloween!?

 Sorry these pictures are really, really, really late, but better late than lost in Never Neverland! I had high expectations of getting nice Halloween pictures, but this is all we got. Happy Halloween from Peter Pan and Wendy (Ty was also going by Robin Hood).

Mt Rushmore and More

I'm making an early new years resolution to get back on track with blogging. I apologize for the wait, but here are some pictures you've been waiting for! The week after my dad's wedding, Ty's Aunt Aubrey came to visit! They had a lot of fun playing together.

We went out to eat at the Duchanbe Tea House in Boulder. Apparently, Duchanbe is Boulder's sister city, and the tea house was shipped over part by part and put back together. It was delicious!

Ty especially enjoyed looking at the detailed ceilings.

 Then we took off to South Dakota to check out Mt Rushmore. Luckily, the government had just compromised so the park was open.

I was glad to finally see Mount Rushmore

 

We enjoyed the local wildlife.

 And wend on a few beautiful hikes.

We ate at a delicious local burger place.

 

Once we were back home, Tim, Aubrey, and Ty took a trip to the Museum of Nature and Science then visited the Denzer's to see cousins! It was a fun weekend. Aunt Aubrey is welcome back any time.