Saturday, January 24, 2009
Christmas, Part 2 aka “Disneyland!”
My family came into town a few days after Christmas and we got to enjoy a whole week together. For their present this year, my parents took us all to Disneyland - wow! What an adventure! None of the kids had ever been before, so everyone was wide-eyed and ready for action. It was a feat trying to keep 11 people together, 5 of which were 5 and under, but we did it for the most part. We were treated to the 2-day park hopper pass which took the pressure off of trying to see everything all in one day, but I still felt like we just scratched the surface. There is just so much to see and do!
Both mornings Grandma treated the kids to suckers before we went into the park. Here are the girls enjoying theirs - Ali, Katy, Abby and Emily. Aren’t they cute? =)
Enjoyng the Mark Twain boat, the big one that circles the island. I don’t think I’d ridden this in a looooong time, but it was a big hit with the kids!
Abby steals some Grandma time while onboard. =)
Emily and Jack. I think they had just gone through the Tarzan Treehouse.
What trip to Disneyland would be complete without seeing the castle?! It was beautifully decorated for winter. Here’s our princess!
Jack hanging out in Toon Town
As a special treat, my parents let the kids all pick out a hat as a souvenir. Jack and Alison really got into it, can you tell? =) The other girls were into it too, but went for the safer option - their hat came with sunglasses for goodness sakes! =)
Jack now refers to this as his “jellyfish hat.”
Laura and Katy
This picture pretty much sums up the excitement of the trip!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Christmas, Part 1
I know, I know. Christmas is long past, but I still want to share some fun things that happened around here! We enjoyed some fun times with both sides of our families, and here is a smattering of photos from the Ellis family festivities!
We went to the Hemet Christmas Parade and watched our niece, Maddie, ride on a float and participate with her dance class. She’s the cute blonde on the left. Quite the natural entertainer, eh? She’s got the wave down!
This was a fun little parade because most people threw candy for the kids as they passed by. It was hilarious to watch the kids all dart out and scramble to claim their loot! Here are Grandma and Abby enjoying the parade fun.
Here’s our nephew Zach singing in the children’s choir at his church on Christmas Eve. I didn’t get to actually go because Abby was recovering from strep throat and I didn’t want to take her out around everyone else, but I heard that Zach was the hit of the show, singing loud and strong right into the mic! The music teacher in me loves that! And I think it’s funny how pained he looks doing it - lots of concentration going on there! =) He’s the one in the middle with the red polo shirt on.
Abby and I met up with the rest of the family later to open presents at Grandpa and Grandma Ellis’ house. A couple of Tim’s aunts and uncles, as well as his Grandpa, were there too, so it was a full house. Loud, crazy, chaotic fun, with wrapping paper flying everywhere!
Abby opens up a new Strawberry Shortcake beauty salon set, which she now loves!
Jack with his new pop gun (is that what you call it? I never know what the real name is for these boy toys!) from Grandpa. He ran around the whole night pretending he was shooting chickens, of all things!
Here is Aunt Barb with the latest addition to the family! Justin was born to Aaron and Annette in November and he’s already stolen all our hearts! What a cutie!
And last, just a picture of my cuties in their Christmas finery. This photo brought to you courtesy of fruit snacks. =) I’ll be back tomorrow to share some pictures of our time with my side of the family too. I’d say “Merry Christmas” but, um, it’s almost Groundhog Day.
