Graduation was a 50's theme this year.
Monique did a fantastic job with all the dances.





They had been learning the songs for a while, and every time I caught her singing them at home she would cover her mouth and say,
"oops, I forgot it's a secret."
Well, the secret is out and it was really cute.

Goin' Home!

After a fun-filled week in California, the time had come to go back to Colorado. We were all exhausted, and I was grateful for the afternoon flight. Unfortunately, Olivia didn't get the memo to sleep in, and she was calling to us at 6:00 a.m. Luckily, Kirk was a nice boy and took her out to go exploring for a little while so the rest of us could sleep. They found an outdoor mall to walk around, window shop, had a little breakfast, and Olivia was able to just run and play.



Monique loves flying on the airplane, and having Kirk's undivided attention.



Mommy, I can see our house from here!



The best ride of all?
The train at the Denver Airport.

CAN'T WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!

Family Vacation: Day Five

BACK TO DISNEY! HURRAY!!!

We went to see Playhouse Disney Live, and Monique and Olivia were in heaven. They loved seeing all their favorite characters. Olivia's favorite part was when the Little Einsteins asked her to "pat, pat, pat" to get Rocket going. Monique's favorite part was when bubbles came down from the "sky" and landed on her nose.

We're hungry!
Bring us our lunch Mommy!



Hangin' with Manny




BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOUTIQUE!
Monique was in heaven at this place. The Fairy Godmother's in Training helped her turn into a beautiful princess. She was pampered and beautified for about an hour. Kirk took Olivia on some rides during this time, and Bella didn't want to be a Princess.


After the addition of some long beautiful hair, and some Fairy Dust...


Our beautiful Princess emerges from the chair.
I think this was the greatest moment of her life so far
(except for meeting Cinderella of course)




While I took Olivia to the hotel for a nap, Kirk and the older girls went over to Tom Sawyer's Island. The girls have never been there before, and they had a great time running around, and seeing all the Pirate stuff. When Bella tried to steal the Pirate's gold, a skeleton hand came down and scared the stuffin' out of her. It was a nice change from standing in lines for rides.


I want to buckle myself!



The last ride of the night for Olivia was Buzz Light Year. For Izabella, Monique and me it was the Matterhorn. What an amazing time we've had, but I'm pooped!

Family Vacation: Day Four

HEY GUYS! WE'RE READY TO GO SEE SHAMU!




It's not Shamu, but the girls loved seeing the Dolphin show. Olivia had a great time, and didn't even cry when the Pilot Whales came by and splashed all of us. After the show, Olivia kept asking, "Wet again?"



Oh no! Watch out for the giant shark mouth behind bars! Ya, not so scary when you can't even get close. The Shark Encounter was Kirk's favorite attraction. Oh, and this ride they are on made me very sick. It was twisty, turny, and up and downy. The girls loved it though.



We were waiting for the pet show to start, but after I looked at the pictures later, I couldn't stop laughing. I don't know if Kirk was enjoying his cotton candy or not.


Look mom, some stinky fish. Yup, my children were feeding the seals with the stinky fish. Almost all the fish made it to the seals, but Olivia's last fish was snatched up by a seagull.


This was the crowning moment of the day. Right before the park closed, the girls were able to pet the Manarays. I loved watching them get so excited. It was a great ending to our time in Sea World.


After Sea World, it was off to Old Town San Diego for some fantastic Mexican food. After we picked the restaurant, (Coyote Cafe) Kirk and I had Dejavu. We realized that 7 years earlier, my brother had taken us to this restaurant while we were visiting him. Kirk even remembered where the bathroom was located, so it must have made an impression on him. The girls loved their food, and Olivia made sure we noticed that she was eating.


After dinner we took a walk through Old Town. The girls had fun looking in all the shops, and playing the many Pioneer equipment. How wonderful to enjoy a nice walk after dinner and watch our beautiful children play.


On the way back to the hotel in Anaheim, the Border Patrol had the freeway closed, and they were checking cars. Good thing Kirk has a good poker face, because they just waved us through. Whew! We dodged a bullet and they didn't find the fruit in our back seat! The girls slept all the way home, and then slept all night at the hotel. We were all tired, but happy after a fun day in San Diego.

Wait!
I didn't get any pictures of Shamu!

Family Vacation: Day Three

On the third day of vacation my true love gave to me....a day at the beach! We had such a fantastic time visiting Newport Beach. The first thing the girls did was run into the ocean without their swimsuits, and we had to buy them all new clothes. I wasn't planning to play in the water until afternoon....with our suits, but they had other ideas. It was so fun to watch them. Olivia's shorts finally became so heavy they fell off. Some of my favorite pictures were taken during this time. I love all the pictures of Kirk playing with the girls.

We had planned to take a ferry to Balboa Island, but decided to take a harbor boat tour instead. It was fun to see all the houses on the water and the girls loved seeing all the Sea Lions. It was mating season so they were all very vocal. Kirk thought it was so funny every time we saw some Sea Lions on one of the very expensive boats. Our tour guide informed us that it's not uncommon for Sea Lions to have a party on a boat, and sink it! I couldn't believe how many Sea Lions had squished themselves on the buoy.

After the harbor tour, we went back to the beach with our suits. We had a blast! Olivia didn't even care when she was smacked in the face with a few waves...she would smile and say "again!" Izabella and I were knocked over by a couple of big waves. It was so fun and sunny...and we were all pooped! Another amazing day on vacation in California!

Family Vacation: Day Two

Day Two of our vacation started at California Adventure. Izabella loves the screamer. It's one of her favorite rides. Luckily, Grandma was with us, and Kirk and I were able to go on the Screamer with Izabella while Grandma and the little girls went on Monsters Inc., and saw the Muppets 3D show (which is great by the way!) Personally, the Screamer wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be, but still fun. We're always a little more tired on day two, but the kids did fantastic, and we had another exciting, fun-filled day. I LOVE DISNEYLAND!


"O" for Olivia


They are building a huge new attraction.
I think Izabella wants a job!


Giving her new princess bear a
shoulder ride.


Monique's favorite ride.
TWILIGHT ZONE
TOWER OF TERROR
If you look closely, you can see her little
face over in the left corner next to Kirk.


Ladybug, twisty, make me sick ride.
(but the kids love it!)


I sure hope Monique doesn't bring this guy home for dinner someday!


Taking a rest in the stroller.
(Those rental strollers at Disneyland must be pretty comfy.)

Family Vacation: Day One

Wow! It has been a very busy two and a half weeks! I don't even know where to begin, so I will begin at the best part....CALIFORNIA! Yup, we went on a week long family vacation and had a fantastic time. We packed so much in, I'm going to have to do a post for each day....so buckle up and please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and hold on tight!



You should always stop to smell the flowers on the way to
Disneyland or any time in life


Oh no! They caught me!


I'm not sure that "Small World" was exciting enough for Izabella,
but she was a good sport about going two times in a row.


Beautiful Princess


We've never met Jasmine and Aladdin before.
Olivia was so excited.


Olivia LOVED "Small World"
but it wasn't her favorite.


Her favorite was the "Choo Choo."
We rode the train around the park too many times to count.


Monique's favorite ride?
SPLASH MOUNTAIN!
Good thing it was warm.
(FYI....Izbella told Kirk to make a funny face...so he did!)


Getting messy and sticky while waiting for the parade.


The end of a fantastic
Day One in Disneyland!