Disneyland

I added a few more things in red, that I forgot to blog originally, and subsequently didn't make it into my Disneyland photo book.  Dangit.

Well we made it back to the Happiest Place on Earth.  And I must say, it just keeps getting happier!  We all can't wait to go again.  Just like last time, we decided to do a 2-Day Hopper and 3-Night stay.  Kare and her family also came the same days and stayed at the same hotel, so it was even better that we got to see our Arizona peeps too.  But just like last time, we did one day by ourselves, and then one day with more family.

April 18-19

Our first day there, we spent the whole time at Disneyland.  The kids were awesome.  There were no tantrums or green-eyes gimmies.  We learned our lesson last time.  "No looking at souvenirs or even ASKING about them.  If you do, you get NOTHING!"  It totally worked.  All we heard, were happy kids the whole time.  And yes, they were so good, they actually brought home a souvenir this time.

We started out in Fantasyland with Peter Pan's Flight (one of Bradley's' favorites), and then hit the rest of the kiddie rides around there.  The kids were still afraid of Snow White and Pinocchio, but we forced them to ride anyway.  It's part of the Disneyland experience, right?  Plus, there's also the unwritten rule, where if there is NO line, you HAVE to go on it. But I guess maybe there's a reason that there's no line for those rides?? Oh well.  Moving on!


Next we got in line for Dumbo.  I don't even think my kids have seen any of these classic Disney movies, so they have no idea who "Dumbo" is.  They just want to fly on the elephants.

Next we hit the teacups where Charles wow-ed the boys with his super-spinning abilities.

After that we went to Tomorrowland for lunch where we just missed getting the boys in for Jedi Training.  At least we had some awesome entertainment while we ate.

I asked the boys if they wanted to participate in the next show, and they said, yes.  Except for Jaden.  Apparently you're not allowed to do any of your own moves, you can only do the ones the master teaches you.  Or else you can't play anymore.  "He's holding me back!"  I sense a little bit of young Skywalker in the boy.  Anger leads to hate...  Hate leads to suffering... er... uh... y'know.

After that, we split up so I could take Jaden and Kaleb on some bigger-kid rides, while Charles took the younglings to Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.

The older boys and I grabbed some Fast Passes to Star Tours, and while we waited to use those, we headed to Space Mountain.

This one was new to them, and I purposefully didn't tell them anything about it till they had their seatbelts on.  But I did get kind of nervous once I realized Jaden would have to ride alone on his row. Oh well. He survivied!

That's me on the ride in the red shirt

During the ride I held Kaleb's leg for assurance, while he sat frozen the whole way.  Once we stopped, I looked at his terrified little face and he said, "I NEVER want to go on that again!"

I looked at Jaden and asked him how it was. His response, "I HATE IT!"  Hahaha!  Good times.

After that, we were ready to use our Fast Passes for Star Tours.  They LOVED that one.  Kaleb kept asking, "Did we REALLY go into space?  REALLY?"  So I told him the truth.  Of course we did.

After that we all met back up just in time to get harassed by a Storm Trooper.

Then we went on the rocket orbitor, which I am not so much a fan of.  I seriously feel like I'm going to fall out and 2 of my kids are going to fall to their deaths alongside of me.  Bradley loved it.

After that was... Frontierland?  Adventureland?  Whichever land had Splash Mountain.  We took turns taking the older kids on that one while the younger ones rode Winnie the Pooh a couple times.  This was Kaleb's first time being tall enough to ride, and it's his favorite.  Whenever we asked Jaden or Kaleb to choose a ride, it was always, "Splash Mountain!"

I love the boys' faces in this picture.  They were so tough the whole way through the line and for the majority of the ride.  They kept telling me not to be scared, and they prepared me with what was about to happen, before it happened.  But this photo paints a whole different story, haha!

Here's Brynnlee's favorite ride--Winnie the Pooh.  Usually on all the rides she just sits and stares.  But on this one she actually gets pretty excited.  It was so fun to watch her.

After that we split up again.  I took Jaden on Indiana Jones, and Charles took the rest on the Jungle Cruise.  Let me just say... so I don't forget in the future... never again.  Talk about whip-lash-and-a-half!  But Jaden liked it.

After that we spent 35 bucks for 3 meals to split between the 6 of us, and then went to Toon Town.  We rode Roger Rabbit's... crazy taxi... ride.

Then we played in the funhouses.

This is how we roll in Disneyland.  We bring our double stroller for tired kids, but we rent a nice comfortable one for Brynnlee.  That's how we did it last time for Bradley too.  Only this year, Jaden became  a part-time pusher.  He popped wheelies with Brynnlee all over the park.

You may think these 2 pictures are identical... until you look at Kaleb.  Charles did a continous shot of us, and so there are like 5 pictures that look almost exactly the same, except that Kaleb has a different expression in each.  What a goof!

In Toon Town, there is a Go Go Gadget Roller Coaster.  Better known to the boys as "the red one."  It was Bradley's first fast ride, and he LOOOOOVED it!  He had both hands up in the air while screaming like a little girl the whole time. 

They rode this one a LOT.

Over and over and over again.  Bradley was so cute.  When he would get really excited, he would just start yelling, "Let's go do that one agaaaain!"  Or, "I love Disneylaaaaaand!"

 When Toon Town closed we went back to ride Buzz a few more times before calling it a night.

Charles was pretty proud of his scores, "while holding a baby... who kept turning our direction."

We knew it was time to go back to the hotel and go to bed when we looked down and saw Bradley in the middle of the road.

As we walked back to the hotel, my back was killing me.  I told Jaden it was his fault for stepping on all those cracks all day long.  So he started stomping on every single one, causing me to writhe in pain each time.  But i guess he actually has a conscience afterall.  After I faked a few tears he finally apologized, "Mom! I'm so sorry!"  Suckerrrr!

We chose to stay at the Castle Inn this time.  It is walking distance, and a good price... but not as close a walk as we would have liked... just sayin'. 

We had the family suite which was a king bed in front and 2 queens in the 2nd bedroom.  Kaleb and Jaden shared the King, Bradley got a queen, Charles and I shared a queen, and Brynnlee's playpen was set up in the corner of our room.  Not exactly the arrangement we originally intended, but we know how our kids sleep, so this was the best way.

Here's the pool we swam in with the Merrills the first night, and then again right before checkout.

The next day we started out at California Adventures.  I have to remember that California Adventures is not worth it to us!  There's so much more at Disneyland that we didn't have enough time to do!

With that said, we DID enjoy Soarin' over California.  We split up with the Merrills for this ride.  Charles and I took Jaden and Kaleb on this one while Kare and Curtis took the 4 little ones to A Bug's Life.  Then the adults swapped. 

Did I mention this was Curtis' first time going to Disneyland? 

Kaylee looked so big in her pigtails and shoes. 

Even though you can't tell by Nathan's face, the kids were SO happy to be there with their cousins.  Nathan kept calling my kids, "the guys." 

The Little Mermaid ride was new to us.  Again, I'm not even sure if my kids can fully appreciate it because I don't think they have seen the movies.  Netflix Instant Play needs to get on that!

On our way to the next ride, we stopped to watch the Toy Story Army Men put on a little street entertainment.  Kaleb and Bradley even joined the small parade.

Do you see that ride right behind the Army vehicle?  It's like a swing ride, but you sit in these rockets and swing round and round.  Well, Curtis wasn't sure his stomach could handle it, so he stayed put with the strollers while the rest of us (babies included) went to stand in line. 

While we were waiting in line, we realized that we didn't have enough big people to accompany the small ones.  So as we tried to grab Curtis' attention from atop the ride, we noticed something.  The Green man group was still performing, but they were also asking for volunteers.  Now, remember I told you that this was Curtis' first trip to Disneyland?  There he was, all alone, with no kids around, and he was raising his hand.  It was the funniest thing! 

Next we had lunch, then waited in line for the Jesse and Woody ride for like an hour.  It was hot, the kids were falling asleep, they were heavy, there was no shade, and people started getting cranky.  And it was then that we remembered we don't like California Adventures.  At least not when you're going with lots of small ones.  Lines are too long, there's not enough shade, and the rides are too short.  

So once we finished that ride, we called it quits at California Adventures.  The Merrills left to take their kids back for a nap, and we went back to Disneyland.  Where the real magic is! 

It was amazing what some shade, a cool cup of frozen lemonade, and a ride on Pirates of the Carribean could do to cool us off physically and emotionally.  We were in such a better mood after that.

And for parents, Pirates of the Carribean is where it's at.  A 5 minute line, for a 15 minute cool and easy boat ride.  You can't beat that.  And we rode over and over again.

After that the kids wanted more Splash Mountain, more Peter Pan, and more Red Roller Coaster.  Bradley had his second wind and was back to jumping and fist pumping his way from ride to ride.  The magic was back!

Later we met back up with the Merrills for some dinner, which they provided some off-campus McDonald's. 

When we told the kids we were having McDonald's for dinner, Bradley got all excited and said, "What?!  We're going to McDonald's?!  YAY!"  I just looked at Charles and said, "Really?  We're at DISNEYLAND and he wants to go to McDonald's?!" I like to think he was just in an overly excited mood, and EVERYTHING sounded amazing.  Not that my child would choose McDonald's over Disneyland.

We rode Buzz a lot, while Charles took Jaden on Space Mountain again, and Curtis took Kaleb and Bradley on the Orbitor.  Then Charles got to do Star Tours with the older boys, right before earning their Disneyland Souvenir.  Lightsabers.  You may be asking, do these kids really need more lightsabers?  Hey.  They get used.  They're not some trinket that collects dust and gets forgotten about.  The lightsabers have been the most popular toy in my house for 3 years running.  I was happy to get them more.

Let's see, then we went on the Carousel, where Brynnlee stared down the woman sitting next to us on the bench.  It was pretty funny.  Charles said it looked like Brynnlee was about to hit her at one point.  This scowl of Brynnlee's was new and it was cracking us up everytime she did it.

One of my favorite moments was while we were about to join the line for the Carousel.  We were in Fantasyland, so they started playing "I know you, I've walked with you once upon a dream..."  Jaden came over to me and grabbed my hand in one of his and put his other hand on my hip and started dancing me around in circles while singing.  It made me the happiest mom right then and there.

We ended our trip with one last ride on Pirates.  Yes, I know there is no flash photography allowed, but sometimes you have no choice!  This is how you preserve memories, people!  Besides the dude behind Kare didn't seem to mind.  Just don't look at anyone else in our boat.

We had a GREAT trip.  It was better than the trip before, and I'm sure as the kids get bigger it will just get better and better.  We really only skimmed the surface when it comes to our number of rides and attractions, not to mention the whole of Tom Sawyer's Island that I know the kids would have loved.  But we just like to let them take the reigns, even if it means Splash Mountain and Buzz Lightyear for half of the day.  There's no rush.  We'll be back.   I think this needs to become an annual thing.  Yeah.  Let's do it.

Eight is Great!

I can't believe Jaden is eight already.  Where does the time go?  Sometime I feel like the days take forever to get through, but the years are gone in a wink.

Jaden had a tough time this year deciding what he wanted to do for a birthday party. What he REALLY wanted to do was invite all of his friends to Chuck E Cheese.  When he realized that he would only be allowed to bring a couple friends, he decided not to do that.

Then he considered going to the movie theater for his party.  Then he had an even better idea of using the theater at his Grandma and Grandpa's house.  But again, once he learned he would have to limit the number of friends he could invite, he decided against that option too.

The only way he could invite as many friends as he wanted, was to have it at home.  Since he's all into basketball and sports, he had a sports party.  And he invited everyone that he wanted to.  19 friends.  All boys. (Except for one brave girl... Tiara)

And since we were planning a trip to California during his real birthday, he didn't mind celebrating a whole week earlier. :)

Of course, all the boys in the neighborhood know, that if you come to the Socci house, you're GOING to play with lightsabers.  And yes, there are enough to go around.

Once everyone arrived, we started the games.  Charles came up with Marshmallow Golf using those big ole' campfire marshmallows.  The object was to see who could drive theirs the farthest.  Winners received a medal. (But everyone got one by the end.)

Next was a basketball shooting contest.

Then pin the ball on the basket.

Then some more dueling while Charles got the pinata set up.

Pinata time!

Brynnlee got a medal for touching grass.

Then we did cake and presents.

I'm considering saying, "no gifts, please" for parties in the future.  The kids are all happy and having fun, and then it's time to open presents, and everyone gets all sad and depressed.  Just look at all the faces!

Then it was just play around till the parents came, or we kicked 'em out.  It was a fun party.  Jaden really enjoyed it but... I think we learned our lesson.  We'll be limiting the number of kids invited in the future.  Inside their goody bags, we gave all the kids coach whistles.  We could hear them blowing them all around the neighborhood.  It wasn't long before the hate-texts started coming. Haha!

After that we had a little family party, opened more presents, and ate Subway for dinner (Jaden's choice.)

A little about Jaden: April 21, 2012

* Weight: _______

* Height: _______

* Jaden loves everything basketball, and everything Lego.

* He loves The Book of Mormon.  He reads it almost everyday, and he knows a lot of the stories really well.  He has already corrected his Primary teacher.

* He is waiting to be baptized in August.  We had let him know that getting baptized was up to him.  We would never force it.  He told us that he is ready and excited.  In August, Alli will be back from her mission, and almost every member of his extended family will be out here. 

* He is a good student, particularly in math.

* He is considerate of others.  When it was his turn to bring a birthday treat to school he wanted to bring Twinkies.  But then he remembered that there is one kid in his class who never gets to eat the birthday treats because of a wheat allergy.  Jaden remembered seeing the kid eat Skittles so he knew that would be okay.  He chose to bring Skittles.  He also told me when his class asked him WHY he brought Skittles, he didn't want to embarrass the other kid, so he said, "Because I like them."

* He is a great big brother.  Any kid would be lucky to have Jaden to look up to. He is thoughtful, loving, kind and courageous.  He sticks up for the kids that need help, he watches over his brothers when they play outside with friends and he's always welcoming to any of the new kids on the block.

* He's an early riser.  He's usually the first one up by at least an hour or two.  When I asked him why he gets up so early, he says it's because he's at school all day, and he doesn't have much time to watch TV.  Guess he's a time manager as well!

* He is sensitive. His feelings are tender, so watch out.

* He loves his Grandparents.  He'll just pick up the phone without even asking and call his Grandma, just to chat.  Of course I don't mind.  And whenever we leave California, he lets out a good 30 minute sob.  I love this about him.

* He is my helper. I always find myself thinking, "Everyone needs a Jaden."  I can't even count the number of times where I have needed an extra hand, or 2 or 20, and Jaden is right there to pick up my slack.  He is an angel, and he doesn't mind doing it either.  And even if he does, he rarely complains.  I couldn't be more proud of the young man he is growing up to be.

 * He is a nurturer.  I can tell by the way he treats others, especially Brynnlee, that he will be a great Daddy.  He loves to get down on the floor and play with her, or grab her a snack, or feed her a bottle, or pick her up when she's upset.  And whenever she learns a new thing or says a new word, he's just as proud as a mommy.

We love you, Jaden!  Happy Birthday, boy!  :)

Happy Easter

Since we have 9AM church, our Easter began really early.  Like... had-to-wake-kids-up early. But not all the kids. We let Brynnlee sleep in.  With 3 hours of church ahead of us, you better believe we waited till the last minute to get her up.

 

So it was just the boys who got to follow the trail.

Ready for Spring.  And Summer.

After checking out their baskets they got to find all the colored eggs that the Easter Bunny stole from the fridge and hid all over the house.

Brynnlee got to check out the Easter loot briefly before being hauled off to church. 

She wasn't feeling particularly well that day so she had to be taken out to the hallway a few times.  I wondered how well the kids would do without me.  Now I know.  When I came back to our bench, I was happy to see Jaden and Kaleb coloring quietly.  But where was Bradley?  I looked up at the stand at Charles, and he pointed to the back of the chapel.  Bradley had gone to the bathroom and had not fastened his belt.  And so at that point he was walking up and down the aisles, tracing his hand up and over the armrest of each pew, with his shirt untucked and belt sticking straight out.  Nice.  Oh well, what can you do?

After church we went to Mom and Dad's for Sunday dinner, where the kids got to have another egg hunt in the backyard.  And there were a LOT of them!  I think the hunt is the kids' favorite part of the day.

Brynnlee got a few little bows for Easter and I was shocked to find that she had barely enough hair on the top of her head to hold one in place.  So cute!

I got a new camera (Happy Birthday / Tax Refund Day to me!) and I was messing around with some of the weird settings here.

 

 Happy Easter!

Brynnlee Turns One

I was really sad when this day arrived.  I feel like this past year has flown by way too fast.  But I have to say that I LOVE having a girl.

I love dressing her up, and making headbands. Unfortunately she won't wear them more than a couple minutes these days.  Oh well.  At least her hair is finally starting to grow.  She has one tiny little ringlet in the back, that I hope is the start to a full head of curly hair.  It's a mystery!

The boys can't seem to get enough of her.  They get so excited with every little new thing she does or learns.  The other day, Jaden was watching her with adoring eyes and a big smile and then he said, "I just LOVE having a sister!"  And honestly, in this whole first year of her life, the boys have yet to get mad at her... knock on wood!

You would think that with her being my first and only girl, I would have had a big bash planned out months in advance, and know exactly what I'm  going to buy for her.  Not the case.  Maybe because we had Easter, Jaden's birthday, and our trip to California and Disneyland all in the same month, my focus was split in too many directions.

Or because I'm lazy.

Nah. That can't be it.

I didn't plan out a party for her till a few days before.  And I didn't go shopping for her till the day before her birthday.  And... I couldn't even think of what to get her.  Pathetic, right?

But I remembered seeing a picture of my niece, Kaylee, pushing a baby stroller and decided that was what I wanted.  And of course a doll to go inside.  And wouldn't you know... maybe because Easter was the same weekend as her birthday, I don't know, ...  but I couldn't find a dang baby stroller in stock ANYwhere.  After a few stores I was about to just give up, (she wouldn't know the difference anyway, right?)  when I totally lucked out and found one just sitting on some random rack.

She took her first steps while she played with this thing.  Took us ALL by surprise.  There was a collective gasp, followed by complete silence as we watched her stumble a few steps, lose control and then topple over... resulting with a vow to herself never to touch the thing again.

She also got a bunch of clothes, lots of dresses, some toys, a book read and recorded by her Grandma Socci, a walking puppy that she still can't decide if she's friends with or not from Grandma Ashton, a few more baby dolls, and some baby bottles. 

This is also sad.  I usually LOVE making a cool cake for my kids each year.  And this was her first birthday! I drew a ballerina on top because Brynnlee loves to dance.  But it was not worthy enough to warrant a close-up shot.  Bad mom.

Well, Brynnlee... my last hope for an Ashton tradition cake smash... went for a clean sweep.  My kids are 0 for 4 in the cake demolishing department.  What the heck?  A perfectly good cake all to themselves, and not one of my kids wanted to get down and dirty.  So no. No birthday-bath shots needed.

Here's the birthday girl right before bedtime posing with all of her loot.  Look at all that PINK!  Such a loved little girl.  :)

A little bit about Brynnlee: (April 7, 2012)
* She weighs _____
* She's _____ inches tall
* She LOVES music and will shake her booty just about every time she hears it.
*Nicknames: Brynn, Brynns, Brynn-Brynn, Brynn to the Brynn, Brynny, Brynn-duh-lee-uh, Baby Girl, Sweet Girl, Pretty Girl...
* She has 2 bottom teeth
* She walks on her knees like her Daddy used to do.
* She scoots on her bum like Kaleb used to do.
* She never really liked baby food, but she couldn't seem to get table food to stay down, so she's pretty much been formula and cheerios her first year.
* She has the chubbiest cheeks of them all.  Even chubbier than Bradley's.  My Grandma used to say that Bradley had a square shaped face because of the cheeks.  I'm not sure what she'd have said about Brynn's!
* Her cheeks are also usually the first thing people comment on.  Big blue eyes are next.
* She's a screamer.  Not like a high squeally one, but like she's saying, "Hey! Pay attention to me!"  Really loud.  Especially in church.
*  She climbs the stairs like a pro, and her kind brother Jaden, has been so gracious as to teach her how to come back down... We like to teach the babies to come down backwards on their tummies.  Jaden taught her to face forward and scoot on her bum.  Now she wont even try on her tummy.  Freaks me out every time she  tries to come down.
* She's a momma's girl most of the time, but when Daddy's home, she's all Daddy.  I'm just waiting for her to really notice Charles sitting on the stand on Sundays and then throw a fit trying to get up to him.
* She says mama, dada, go, and gung-gung (thank you) and wow.
* She's got the glare down.  She like to bow her head down and then look up at you through her eyebrows.  It's quite intimidating to strangers.
* She used to bobble her head. It was the funniest thing.  Keeping the rest of her body still, she would look at someone across the room, and as if to wave hello, she would shake her head like a bobble head toy.  I loved it so much that I had a personalized bobble head sculpted of her, so I would always remember it.
* When she gets really excited she tightens up all her muscles so hard that she starts to shake.  She also makes her mouth into the shape of an "o", opens her eyes wide, and it's the funniest expression ever.