Disney World: 2012

      Back in January, we were able to take the girls to Disney World.  After the stress of the holidays and moving, we were so excited to relax a little bit and have a vacation.  We told the girls on Christmas that we were going so the next few weeks seemed really long for them.  I was asked a couple million times "how much longer" before we left. It took a little (or a lot) to convince me to leave Braxton at home on this trip but I'm glad we did.  He is right at that stage where he wants to be moving all the time but isn't walking yet so sitting in the stroller all day would have been torture for him, and for us. :) He stayed with his Grandma and Grandpa in Wyoming and had a lot of fun.  We went to each park twice and we were all so worn out by the end of the trip but we had a great time.

       January is a great time to go to Disney! We didn't have to wait in many, if any, lines for rides or characters and the weather was perfect.  I couldn't imagine going in the summer with the crowds and heat.   We stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge which was amazing!  They had a wildlife viewing area in the back of the hotel with several different types of animals running around.  The girls loved to look for them every time we were at the hotel.

       The girls in front of our hotel

     Our first stop, Epcot.  We weren't too sure if the girls would like this park because half of it is the world showcase which we thought they might get bored in but they seemed to really enjoy it. They had several scavenger hunts for the kids to do which kept them entertained. Brooklyn was fearless on this trip and did every ride she could at least once.  She was barely tall enough for the bigger rides and was a little scared at first but once she went on one, she was excited to go on others. Her favorites as this park were test track and Soarin'.  We did both multiple times.

Epcot, excited for their first day!

       The next day we went to Animal Kingdom.  Since Brooklyn wasn't able to do the big roller castors, Mike and I did a child swap so we could both do the ride and Kyia was the lucky one that rode over and over again with us whether she liked it or not.  Luckily, after getting her on the first time, she really liked the roller coasters.  The girls were picked to be in the Lion King show which they thought was pretty neat.

The tree of life

Waiting for a bugs life

Getting their instruments to play in the Lion King show

        Next came the park we were all waiting for, The Magic Kingdom.  And of course, it rained that day but luckily it was only off and on and not very hard.  Because of the rain, there was a cancellation to eat in Cinderella's castle so we snagged it and had breakfast with the princess'.  The girls were in heaven.   We rode a couple rides and then Mike took Kyia to Space Mountain while I waited in line to see Repunzel with Brooklyn.  This is the Princess she had been begging to see since before we left.  It was also and hour wait, the longest we waited for anything that trip.  After about 30 minutes, it started to rain.  I didn't want to get out of line just to have to wait all over again so we waited in the rain and got drenched.  Mike and Kyia met up with us right as we were going up to see her and then right when we left, it stopped raining.  Brooklyn was happy as could be though.  Since we were already wet, we went to Spalsh Mountian which the girls thought was the "best ride ever". 

Waiting for the gates to open

Cinderella in her castle

Brooklyn's favorite right now.  She wants to grow her hair as long as hers. 

     Riding the teapots.  One ride on our 'must do' list

    Hollywood Studios was next.  We took the girls on the Tower of Terror and Brooklyn was not a fan.  She was terrified and shaking the whole ride but was tough and wanted to do it again once we were done.  Two was enough though.  She didn't want to go anymore after that.  We took Kyia over the the Rockin' Roller Coaster which she loved.  I think she went on that ride 6 times and she's still talking about it.  

     

  I had been wanting to see Harry Potter world so we headed to Islands of Adventure one day.  I didn't realize how small it was.  I think you could see one end of the park to the other.  We took turns taking Kyia on the Harry Potter ride which I thought was really fun.  Kyia went a total of 7 times on that ride.  Mike and I could only got two times and a time and then had to take a break because it was so jerky.  But it was one of my favorite rides. We had to try the butter beer while we were there and I think Brooklyn and I were the only ones that liked it.  We did get them some 'Every Flavor' jelly beans which they were excited about but quite disgusted once they ate them.  It was hilarious to watch them though.  

In front of Hogwarts

 

Brooklyn trying butter beer.  She loved it as you can tell

        The last thing we did in Harry Potter world was a wand demonstration.  Kyia was picked to demonstrate how you receive your wand and how the wand "picks" you. Kyia tried several different wands, said some spells that made different things happen and finally found the wand that picked her. They went through the whole demonstration and gave Kyia the wand that picked her.  The wizard gave Kyia the wand and sent her one her way.  On the way out the door, one of the workers told me that we could either buy it or return it at the desk.  Poor Kyia was heart broken.  We didn't want to pay $30 for a wand she would never use and she really thought the wand and picked her and she had done all those spells.  We took a picture for her to have of her wand.  We also rode Spider Man a ton of times at this park.  They finally told us we didn't have to go back through all the lines because we were going so often.  Brooklyn loved that ride and would laugh the whole time.

 Kyia with her wand

        We had a great time and couldn't have asked for a better trip.  The girls keep asking when we can go back.  I'm glad they had such a good time! Braxton ended up being at his Grandparents for two weeks.  When I went up to pick him up, I dropped Brooklyn off at the same time and she was there for another two weeks.  I had a whole month with just two kids.  Two is so much easier than three kids.  I am glad to have all my kiddos back and to have our family together again though.

Camping: Guanella Pass

All Mike wanted for Father's day was to go camping.  We had never taken the kids before and thought it would be a fun family outing.  We (more like I) packed up all our gear and headed up to the mountains for a few days.  The girls were excited to say the least.  They had been talking about it for weeks.  

 The girls love picking wildflowers so of course, this is the first thing they did when we got to camp.

We also got rained and hailed on during our first trip.  Our tent made it through with no leaks. Phew.

Mike's sister Tasha was flying home to Wyoming and had a layover in Denver when her flight got cancelled so she came up with us.  We were so excited to have her.  This was the kids first night.  I was worried about Braxton but he did great!

The next day we went fishing.  The rivers were all moving so fast that we didn't catch anything until we found a lake not to far down the road from our campsite.

This little guy was following us everywhere and took a liking to Braxton's car seat.  He wouldn't leave him alone.

Kyia caught the first and only fish.  She casted and reeled in the line all by herself!

It was a fun trip although I never realized how much work camping is. The kids loved it though and that makes it all worth it.

Wyoming Cook Out

This summer we took a trip up to Cokeville for a weekend.  Although it was a quick trip, we had a lot of fun!  The whole family decided to go up the mountain a little ways and have a cook out.  We brought the horses, 4 wheelers and dirt bikes so there was always something to do.  This trip was right after we moved from Houston and the temperature change was a shock to us but we love being in the mountains.

I love this picture

We took the horses for a couple rides up the mountain.  Kyia decided that she was old enough to ride the horse by herself this year.  She did really good and directing and controlling it and was really proud of herself for riding all by herself.

Brooklyn's new pose.  Her head goes straight to her shoulder when the camera comes out.  

Although she liked riding the horses, she was usually found down by the water throwing rocks into it.

Mike and his dad took the dirt bikes out and Mike's stalled right when he went through the water.  He was lucky enough to have me there to take a picture of it.  

Braxton stayed warm in the blanket with Grandma.  

Braxton's first time on a horse.  

Cousins

After almost three years, we were finally able to get all the cousins together. All six of them, ranging from 4 months to 5 years.  They had so much fun together! It was my first time meeting my brothers daughter and their oldest, who is Brooklyn's age, I last saw when she was four months old.  It was great to see all of them and to be able to have them play together.  It was loud at times, really loud,  But they kept themselves entertained and enjoyed being together.

Ashlynn, Kyia, Adam, and Brooklyn

All six 

and their cute little feet

Such a cute little guy! (4 months)

Now that we live closer, we'll have to get them together more often!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Back in June, (yes, I know, I am way behind as usually and am playing the catch up game yet again), we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. This is one of my favorite zoo's and one of the best ones I've been to in a long time. I'm not a huge fan of zoo's but this one is one I wouldn't mind going to often. All the grandkids were there and it was so fun to be with everyone and to watch all the kids. It is a more interactive zoo than most and the kids all loved it.

Feeding the giraffes. This picture makes me laugh.  Kyia was not a fan at the beginning.

She eventually warmed up to them and loved feeding them.

Ashlynn and Brooklyn watching the Tigers

We'll definitely have to go back again soon!

Bluebonnets

We made our annual trip to see the bluebonnets this year. I found a place that was close to our house instead of making the 1.5 hour trip like last year, and I think there were a lot more flowers in this field. It was a good find. We went up at around 10:00 a.m. and it was hot, really hot! My three kiddos did not last long in the sun, but they were troopers and let me take all the pictures I wanted.

This little guy loves to smile. Almost every time I pull my camera out he will smile for me. He must know I love to take pictures.

Who's Who?

Can you tell the difference between my three? Each of these pictures were taken when they were 2 months old. I think Kyia and Braxton look almost identical to each other. Even down to the same hairline.

Kyia

Brooklyn

Braxton