Zoo class

I signed Annabeth up for zoo classes again this year because she loved them so much last year (me too). It is just a really nice time together and getting to walk around the zoo just the two of us afterwards is so much fun. Here are some pics of one of the classes. This day we learned about snakes!

After art time where we colored snakes we went back to the circle and found snake nests with little snake eggs inside. There were lots of pretend insects for our snakes to eat and then we cracked open the eggs to find baby snakes inside! Then the best part was when our animal friend came to visit....a big snake! We too pictures and sent the to Lyle who hates snakes! I really love zoo class!

Land's End hike

I have been wanting to take the kids on this hike to Land's End for awhile now. So, when we had a rare weekend free I loaded them up and we headed out. Its not very far away actually only a 10 minute drive. It is near China Beach...our very favorite beach. Here are some pictures of the hike. So much fun. We are hoping to take Lyle next time. We are really going to miss not having this in our backyard when we move back:(

Picnics and naps

Annabeth and I love having picnics on the back deck. We sometimes take books and craft supplies out there to play with after we eat our lunch. This particular day, Lyle came home early from work so I came inside to talk to him. When I came back out she had fallen sleep. Too sweet not to capture. Not many days I find her asleep, she is always ready to go!
I love this baby!

Annabeth turns 3!!

Oh my! Annabeth has turned 3! What an exciting three years it has been since this little cutie entered our lives! Always keeping us laughing!
This year since her birthday fell on St. Patrick's day we decide to do a little St. Patrick's Day themed party with our neighborhood friends. We did a little decorating and set up some games and food. It was super simple and lots of fun!

One of the games we played with the kids was to hid Leprechauns around the house for them to find. We stuck little green footprints all over the house and Ella set them down to tell them that some had gotten loose in the house and were causing problems so we needed to find them. Meanwhile, Luke was in the back room making Leprechauns giggles and saying things like "I'm a Leprecahaun!" through the phone which they could hear through the phone I had set up near the hidden Leprechauns. It turned out really really cute! They were so into finding the Leprechauns and Ella and Luke were so excited to be the big kids at the party and help out like that. They love their little sister!
Cupcakes and candles wrapped up a great party!!

That following Sunday was AB's real birthday the 19th so we woke her up with some decorations and cupcakes and presents! She was thrilled to be celebrating again. 

We then headed to the beach for a little family time with our birthday girl! This is her favorite place to be!

We will always remember Eve on this day. Although I love celebrating this day and watching our little miracle grow, I will always miss Eve and yearn for her on this day. 

Oh Baby Annabeth! Happy Birthday! What a joy you are to our whole family! You bring so much excitement to your brother and sister who laugh at you so much. They adore you. You are growing so fast and will be starting school in the fall. I'm sad we won't be sharing our entire day together anymore but I'm so looking forward to watching you grow and seeing what you will do with that determined spirit you have. Stay close to your family and your faith baby girl. Go to Jesus with all your concerns and frustrations in life and he will lead you. Light up the world, my little love! I love you so so much!

Mom

St. Brendan Open House

The kids always work very hard to get their classrooms set up for Open House. We love going to see all the work they have completed. Here are a couple pics:

DisneyLand here we come!!!

Finally the trip to Disneyland we had surprised the kids with at Christmas was here! It was our first family trip all together in almost two years so we were ALL excited! We flew out of SFO early the morning of March 1st and were flying into the Orange County airport. From there we were taking the Disney Express bus to the Disneyland Hotel. The kids were beyond thrilled! Even AB was bouncing all around although she didn't really understand what was happening.

After a really long first year of fellowship, Lyle was relaxing at the airport....well sort of, I think he is checking in on patients here but I still had to document it:)

About to take off!!

The plan was for us to get off the plane as quickly and possible and run to the Express bus so we could catch the early one otherwise we would have to wait another hour for the next one to arrive. Luckily, the plane landed 15 minutes early and we got to the bus just in time! We noticed that this whole trip was filled with little surprises or lucky moments. Each time Eve would instantly pop into my head. She was looking out for us and knew we needed this trip to be great and it was! Thanks baby!!
Here are the kids waiting while I check into the hotel. Lyle waited outside to get our bags off the bus.

 I knew we were going to be early and that our room most likely wasn't going to be ready so my plan was to get to the pool and get a cabana so we could hang out there while waiting for our room. I had checked into over the phone but they were all first come first serve so I was nervous we wouldn't get one...but as Eve would have it we walked into the pool area and I grabbed the first person I saw and asked for a cabana and he said, "Well, you are in luck. The man to help you with that is right here and he can get you setup." There were only two left and they were perfect! Plus we got a little discount!

We had 4 hours in the cabana and it was great! We pulled our luggage in, closed the curtains, and everyone got dressed into their swimsuits. The cabana had a TV and refrigerator with snacks. The kids thought they were so lucky!

This was my favorite day! The kids splashed while Lyle and I relaxed with Mai Thais! Best way to start the vacation. When lunch came around we ordered food for the kids and let AB take a nap in the cabana while she watched cartoons....Lyle quickly turned it back to baseball when she fell asleep:)

While we were enjoying ourselves by the pool, we got a call from the front desk saying they were sorry they didn't have a room ready for us so they upgraded us to a better room! What?!! Thanks, Eve! Once everyone was done swimming, we carried our things to our room. It was so great! So beautiful! Nothing really fancy but we got a really nice view with the upgrade which made the kids so happy! After we got settled we headed over to Downtown Disney to hang out until our dinner reservations at Goofy's Kitchen later that evening.

 ESPN might have been Lyle and Luke's favorite. They hit this place up twice while we were there!

Goofy's Kitchen was fantastic and AB's first time meeting the characters well she met them at DisneyWorld but she doesn't remember that and she was terrified of them:)

That night everyone was tired from such an exciting day! The beds felt great and we all slept well knowing we had two very exciting days ahead!

Our first day was spent at DisneyLand park. We got up bright and early to get breakfast and get to the front of the Magic Hour line. You could see Matterhorn from our window.

We got right in front!!!

 The day was fantastic! The best part was that Ella conquered all her fears and rode all the roller coasters! I was so incredibly proud of her! Here are pics from throughout the day. The best part for them was since AB was too little to ride the big rides we got to do rider switch so that Lyle and I could both ride with them...that meant Ella and Luke got to ride each ride twice back to back!

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

 Snow White

 Its a Small World

 Space Mountain

Goofy's playhouse

 Peter Pan

 Splash Mountain

That night we watched the light parade and then headed back to the hotel. A wonderful day!!

The next day we headed to CA Adventure park. Here are a few pics from there:

Cars Land

 A Bugs' Life

Luke on CA Screamin' So so funny!

 Daddy trying to entertain AB!

 Grizzly Rapids

 AB trying to entertain herself while waiting in line.

After eating at Flo's V8 for lunch and finishing up all the rides we wanted to do, it was time to head back to the hotel and the airport.

We rode the Express Bus back to the airport but had about a three hour wait until our plane was leaving. However, Eve helped us out again and got us on the next plane leaving for SFO so we only had to wait an hour! Just enough time to get dinner. It was a perfect trip! Lyle and I were hesitant to book it because its so expensive but I knew we needed it and that we wouldn't regret it!