C-A-L-I!!! (Part II Suggs Family Reunion)

Now to the reason for the trip to California. My Mom's family Reunion. I love these reunions! They are so much fun! We had a little get together with dinner on Friday night and then those that wanted to watched a movie that was projected onto a white sheet at the Pavillion. Then Saturday we got everyone together for Family Pictures! My mom's family has not quite figured out that if you take a few pictures with one camera (rather than a few pictures with everyone's camera) then you don't have to stand in an uncomfortable position with a fake smile on your face for very long. Oh well, Good Times! After the group picture it was individual family pictures and then pictures with Grandma. We unfortunately had to leave early on Saturday afternoon due to the fact that I had to get home to do laundry and re-pack so I could leave again on Monday morning for girls camp.:) But the time we were there was great fun! Can't wait to see everyone again!

C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A!!!!!! (Part I Disneyland!)

2009 happened to be the year of the Suggs Family Reunion. My mom's family has their reunion's every other year and it rotates between siblings. This year it was in Diamond Bar California. Which means DISNEYLAND HERE WE COME!!!!! This is the trip we had been looking forward to all year! The girls were so excited! We packed up on Tuesday (July 7th) morning and headed out. Not too long into the trip (before we reached Beaver, UT) the girls started saying "Mom are we going to Disneyland?" Then the ever so famous line "Are we there yet?" followed by "I thought we were going to Disneyland!" After which we put a movie in the DVD player and the rest of the trip was great! Josh and I listened to the first Harry Potter book on cd, while the girls watched their movie and had LOTS and LOTS of treats! 11 hours and pretty much no naps later we pulled in to our hotel in Buena Park unloaded our belongings and headed over to see some of my aunts an uncle and my grandma. The next day we ventured out to the Happiest Place on Earth. We had a blast.

Day 1

The girls absolutely loved the Tea Cups (took daddy on them twice that day). And came off of Mr. Toads Wild Ride crying! :( We spent 1 1/2 hours waiting in line to meet Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Mulan. 1/2 hour in line to meet Tinkerbell and her friend and about the same amount of time waiting to meet Minnie! Crazy I tell you! At about dinner time we headed over to California Adventure park where the girls got drenched playing in the water and then took daddy on yet another spinning ride The Lady Bug ride! After which we went and had dinner then found a place to sit and watch the Electrical Parade. By the time that was over we were beat! We headed back to the hotel and visited with my parents and sisters for a minute before heading off to bed.

Day 2

Everyone (except Heidi and Mike :( we missed you two!) headed out as soon as we could get 7 kids and 7 adults ready to go (I think the adults took more time than the kids:)). When we got to Disneyland we met up with Alan at Small World where we managed to fit all 19 of us into one boat! We did not spend the whole day together (it would not have worked out very well to keep all of us together, but we did meet up several times to go on various rides. Mom rode the Matterhorn with Alan's and my family while dad went to Toon Town with the others. My girls did NOT like the Matterhorn but it was great to see mom having so much fun! Mom also rode Indiana Jones with us and it was almost our turn for Big Thunder Mountain when they shut it down. :( But Abi rode it with daddy earlier! We also got to meet Mickey! And a few minutes after we met him we were walking down main street and Abi saw him in the parade. She asked "Mommy are there two Mickey's?" To which I responded "Wow he sure is fast isn't he?" But I could also have honestly said "No honey there aren't two Mickey's." (there's really a lot more than two!) As for my Dad; he kept saying the whole day that the only ride he cared to go on was Space Mountain. Now keep in mind that my dad is 58 1/2 years young. When the time came to go on Space Mountain we got in line. Josh, myself, my mom, my dad, Desiree (my sister-in-law) and Lauryn (my niece). Lauryn decided about half way through the 1 hour long line that she didn't want to go anymore. So her and Desiree left the line to find my brother and the kids. When the ride was finished we started heading over to see the Fantasmic! water show. When we got to the castle my dad said he needed to sit and rest. So we left him sitting on a bench on Main Street and told him that we would meet him there after the show. When it was over we headed back to meet him and he was doubled over on the bench. Not feeling well we asked him if he wanted us to get him a wheel chair so he could make it to the car. He said no. We asked if he wanted to go to first aid. He said no. A little while later; finally realizing he couldn't go anywhere he decided to go to first aid. So I ran and got a nurse and they took him over to first aid in a wheel chair. Long story short...he's fine. Just got really nauseous. He is 58 after all. And he has decided that Space Mountain is still his favorite ride but he will NEVER go on it again! :)

Before the Ride! :)

Day 3

Our 3rd and final day at Disneyland we just went to a few of the rides we didn't get to on previous days, including Splash Mountain which the girls HATED! We did a little shopping and got to meet a few more characters and then headed out to meet up with the rest of the family at the Family Reunion.

Very Belated Birthday! :(

This Summer has been a very crazy one for us (to put it lightly). So crazy in fact that I just realized that even though Abi's 5th birthday had passed when I wrote the last 4 posts I never posted anything about it!

So here it is. Abi turned 5 last month. I can't believe she's 5! In less than a month she will be sporting a new backpack and off to Kindergarten! Riding a bus to school 5 days a week (even if they only are half days). It's going to be a major adjustment for me.

I can't believe how much she's grown! She's very helpful to mommy always asking to help. I think I'll miss that most when she gets older and realizes that it's not so much fun to help clean the house or do the dishes. But I'll take what I can get for now. ;)

And though she has her moments (as all children do); she is a wonderful peacemaker. So much that mom and dad have to tell her not to just give in all the time (her sister LOVES to take advantage of that.) And she loves to share.

For weeks before her birthday she asked constantly for a scooter. She had to make sure mom and dad wouldn't forget I guess. The night before her birthday she turned and asked "Mom, did you get me a scooter?" I laughed and told her that she would have to wait until morning to find out. She wasn't very happy with me. The next morning before breakfast she came downstairs, sat on the couch and said to me "Where's my presents?" She's such a cute little stinker!

She didn't actually get to open presents until that afternoon, and dad decided he wanted to play a little trick on her so we got out all of her presents but the scooter. When she was finished she kept looking around for anything else. When we finally brought it out she was pretty excited! We also bought her knee pads, elbow pads and gloves. She is way too fast on that thing! It freaks me out!

Then the Saturday following her birthday we had family over to have some cake and ice cream. And the following week we did a party with just her friends. We had a pinata, played some games and got to decorate our very own cupcakes! It was so much fun!

Happy Birthday Punkin'! We Love You!