Growing Up

Yesterday was Thomas' last day of pre school.  Looking back at pictures, it's crazy to see how much he has grown up in this school year.

First day of school:

Last day of school:

more on this to come...

I had a huge cut and off we went to the E.R. (thankful to have know where it was due to dad's many trips there while both Audra & I were in college.  We had even made jokes going through on the way South that we were glad to be going by it and not stopping!  ha!!).

A couple hours and 4 stiches later we were on our way to the Hampton for a short overnight stay.  On the road the next morning and home by 2:00.

I'm so thankful for family that took great care of Thomas & I and for the ones at home that happily kept Benjamin a little longer than planned.

Thomas was so excited to get home and share not only a chipmunk with his brother, but his pirate hat and a sword he had picked out and bought just for Benjamin.  Benjamin was thrilled!

Thomas had also picked out suckers for all 3 of them, which were meet with happy faces from all, especially Daddy!

This was such a fun trip!!  I was so happy to have my parents along for the fun. They made so many great memories with Thomas and had so much fun getting to see Disneyland through the eyes of their grandson.  They loved getting to see how the park had changed and remembering all the fun we had had as my sister and I were growing up.  It was great getting to share some of my new favorites, special little memories Jared and I had made over our years going there together.

This was also just a great time for Thomas and I.  We had several hours in the park just the two of us.  I got to just follow him around seeing what he really wanted to do, getting to encourage the little bit of his adventurous side, see that he really is pretty cautious, but loves to have fun.  I saw his sweetness as he picked out things for his brother and rode rides with me out of love! (he rode Little Mermaid with me, which he informed me was too girly!  I told him, in a house full of boys, I do boy things all the time, so every so often he has to do something a little girly with me.  That seemed to make sense to him and he was happy to go.  He even found he really liked it and it wasn't so girly after all!)  It was funny to see just how much he likes to shop, something he liked just as much as the rides.  We have some special memories that I hope he will always remember.  Although, I think unfortunately, it will always be the trip where mommy sliced her hand open!

Characters & CA Adventure

We did manage to catch a few pictures with some Disney friends.  Thomas really wanted a picture with Goofy, that was on his list of things to do and it was accomplished pretty much as soon as we walked into the park.  Later in the day we visited ToonTown and got to meet Mickey.  The park was pretty quiet so we only had to wait about 20 minutes! Then, when we finally got there he didn't want to meet him!!  Without too much convincing, he gave it and then we were off to Chip N' Dale's house.

Wednesday morning, we took our time waking up, but were ready for some more fun as soon as we did.  Grammy treated us to a breakfast at McDonald's and Thomas and I got ready for some swimming.  CA Adventure didn't open until 10, so we had some time to hang out.  The hotel had an awesome pirate themed swim park, which we found out didn't open until 10.  Thomas chose leaving for the park over playing in the water... we did make it over to the big pool though for a little splashing.

 In the park, Thomas wanted to go to Soarin' Over California and the Bugs Life Land to ride on Hermie.  We made it right to Soarin', which thrilled us all!  Then to the Hollywood area for a ride on Monsters, a show for Grammy and Thomas and a ride on Tower of Terror for Papa and I!!  That was so much fun!!!!  It was great to be able to ride it with my dad, threw me back to High School.  Thomas was very curious about this ride he couldn't go on, but was still safe for mommy.  When he saw how high it was, he was just fine to have missed it.  The other thing he missed was meeting Chip N' Dale, he was still in his show.  We got a picture of Papa with them, but unfortunately, that was with Papa's camera.

Another favorite was the Toy Story Mania ride.  Thomas rode it with Jared last time we were there, so I had never been on it.  It was a blast, enjoyed by all four of us.  We rode boys against girls, which thrilled Thomas even more when he was on the winning team.

We caught a couple road shows after that just as we were getting ready to hit the road and head home, the Green Army Men and Phineus & Ferb show.  They were fun and Thomas loved them.  He was ready to go home and looking pretty tired until we found this:

 The little spot where you can get wet from the downhill splash of the water ride!  Thomas loved it.  He managed to trap me in the corner just as a big splash came down.  We both got pretty wet and he was thrilled to have trapped me just in time.  It made the day a little more special.  The water seemed to revive Thomas, making it sad to leave the park.  We found a little adventure camp part he would to have loved to explore, but we were trying to make it home by midnight....

We got a quick picture with the brick Jared bought me 10 years ago, as well as a special "5" shot to remember his special birthday celebration.

We left the park by 5:30, hit some L.A. traffic, but made it to Santa Clarita for some dinner at a favorite restaurant from my college days.  While still in town, we took the time to fill up.  Thomas had bought a Zurg Blaster Gun which he had patiently waited two whole days to open.  I grabbed my dad's pocket knife to get it open for him.  The knife slipped and went right through the back of my hand!!

An Afternoon Full of Disney Fun!

After lunch we made our way over for a Riverboat Cruise.  Thomas loved all the animals and the story we heard as we traveled on the river.  He had all sorts of questions and it was so much fun to see him enjoy all the fun for the imagination that Disneyland has to offer.  Of course, after seeing the adventure awaiting us on Tom Sawyer Island, Thomas and I made our way over their for some exploring.

This was probably my favorite part of the two days.  Thomas dragged me through all the caves, bridges (which I hate!!), we found all the treasure, climbed up to the tree house and looked down every path and I loved every minute off it!!  It was fun to see all the boy in him come out.  He even managed to find some bugs on the island.  I can't wait to return there and see him and Benjamin explore it together.

After our fun exploring time, we found Grammy enjoying a bowl of ice cream which we were quick to join in on.  I found Thomas and I an ice cream sundae at the Golden Horseshoe, which was delicious.

After this we headed up through Tarzan's Treehouse, something Grammy had never seen and I hadn't ventured through since college.  As you can see Chip & Dale joined us and fun was had by all.

After that we headed back to Toontown, then Grammy made her way back to the hotel.  I figured Thomas and I wouldn't be too far behind because he was starting to fade pretty quickly.  I was bummed at the thought of our day ending so early, but after two rides on the tea cups and a yummy dinner, he was ready for more!!  I talked him into an easy ride and then we went straight back to the tea cups for two more rides.  He declared the tea cups his favorite part of Disneyland!!

Here we are enjoying Splash Mountain.  He was not looking forward to the ride at all.  He didn't want to go down the big slide or get wet, but he rode it with many anyways.  No, I didn't bribe him or make him go on it, just asked nicely and told him he really should try it.  He'll tell you he didn't like the slide part, but that he liked seeing all the animals sing and dance and hearing the story.  He did great on the dip, I think he even smiled a bit afterwards!

We stood in line for Dumbo (the longest ride all day - - about 20 minutes), which was his next favorite!  He liked talking about how he had ridden that ride with Timmy.

We ended the day with some Cotton Candy and he told me, in his sweet, happy & excited, slightly surprised voice, that he had gotten everything he wished for that day!  It made my heart so happy!

We then had a short walk back to the hotel, where I was glad to have Grammy & Papa waiting for us!

Disneyland Fun!!

When Thomas turned 3 or so, I decided that for his 5th birthday I was going to take him to Disneyland!  It be a special trip, just the two of us!  Well, 5 got closer, I started getting nervous about going just the two of us.  I got over that.  May was going to be crazy, so I pushed it back.  But as it got closer and closer, I realized this was a great opportunity, one not to be missed!!  So plans were made!

I told him a week before, so he had some time to get excited, earn some spending money and just get all excited!  He was thrilled and couldn't wait.  We left school a little early on Monday and headed for Simi Valley to spend some time with family friends, the Bakkers.  It was great getting to see them and just have fun with friends you've known for forever!  We got up early Tuesday morning to make it to Disneyland when the gates opened.  We had the whole day ahead of us!

Happy 5th Birthday, Thomas!

It was a day full of doing whatever he wanted.  Riding the rides he wanted!

However, I did get one request in... Splash Mountain, where he got assigned seat #5.

Oh wait, who's that!? Yep, Grammy and Papa joined in for the fun!  It was great having them with us and made the trip extra special.  We all got to have fun seeing Disneyland through Thomas' eyes.  Mom and Dad hadn't been there in at least a decade, so it was extra fun for them.

I had to stick this up at the top of the pictures because it's his favorite picture.  He is still talking about this sword.  Just yesterday he asked if anyone could get this sword out and if it was real.  He's determined to get it out someday!

 Thomas knew he had money to spend, so after meeting a few characters on Main Street, he wanted to go shopping. (He cracks me up!!)  He had seen either Chip or Dale in a friends room and told me before going that he wanted to by Chip & Dale as his souvenir.  He found them (and tons of other stuff!) with in minutes in the store.  I recommend he wait and look around.  Papa slipped him some money and the deal was done!  He carried these two guys all around both parks for both days.  They rode the rides with us, slept with him and were almost always under an arm or in a hand.  When we got home, he let his little brother choose which one he wanted so that they would each have one.  Talk about making a mama happy!!! 

We started with Star Tours & Astro Blasters, which were not big hits at all because of the scary guys.  So we went for things that would just be fun: Nemo, the cars, the Carousal, lunch with Billy Hill & the Hillbillies and some more fun I'll share soon!

 & that was just the first half of the day!!

Craziness

Did I mention May was going to be crazy?!?!  It has been and just like that it's over!
Since the last post, I have been to Disneyland, sick and then traveled with the whole family to Alaska.  Then sprinkle in a family visit from out of state, Mother's Day, Thomas' Birthday, my Mother-in-law's birthday, my parents house partly under water, my cousin giving birth and all that comes with normal life like grocery shopping and laundry, it's all made for a crazy month!  I thought June showed promise of being a little more relaxing, but I'm beginning to doubt that!!  However, with all the craziness that May brought, it also gave us a month of memories that I can't wait to get down on this blog.  It is after all the journal of our lives that I love to share with all of you (and help me not forget!!).

So, here we go....

Bike-a-thon

Thomas has love pre school this year.  He's loved his friends, learning and recess.  He loves feeling like a big kid and doing big kid stuff.  The experience of being away from home really has matured him.  He just seems so much older as we get closer and closer to the end of the year.  I can't believe he's just weeks from being a kindergartner!!

As the year wraps up, the school does their last big fundraiser, a bike-a-thon.  All the kids bring their bike to school decorated, a police officer comes to teach on bicycle safety and then the kids ride around in a circle for 20 minutes.  It was pretty entertaining to watch.  Some of the kids learned to ride on 2 wheels, just for the event, some are pros and speeding around everyone (you can see the macho guy stuff already).  One kids chain kept falling off, so he just ran a few laps.  Thomas' pedal came off.  Some were on scooters keeping up with the bikes!!  All in all it was just plain fun and a day I'm sure Thomas will remember when he thinks back on pre school!!

Benjamin came along to watch.  We brought his scooter just in case.  He so desperately wanted to be a big kid.  He got to do a little next to his big brother, but otherwise he stuck close to Grandma and me.  (You should see him go, he's the fastest 1 and a half year old i've ever seen!!)

The boys switched vehicles for a little after Thomas' pedal fell off.  Check out his bike, he wanted a Star Wars themed bike.  With Daddy's help, they attached his mini-light saber and drew some cool guys.  He loved it.