Everyday Fun...

October 2013:

These are some of the random things on my camera!

Our wonderful friends, the Bogle family moved to Texas.  :(  We were all very sad to see them go!

Grant fights sleep like it's the most horrible thing anyone could make him do... except of course when he randomly falls asleep at loud sports events with his hat on backwards and spit up all over the front of him.  :) 

Harrison likes to make things.  Forts, Lego cities, drawings... everyday it's something.  So, when he happened to see a couple of boxes that were headed for the garbage, he instantly claimed them.  With a little duct tape and some imagination they became his star ship.  :)

Harrison's artwork. It's our Salisbury Family. He loves to draw! And he did a great job! (The little banana looking things are babies in our family.)  But if you look real close, you can see who he forgot about! ....That's right, I'm the headless miniature character in the corner. Why is mom always the afterthought. Hahaha.

Jackson really loves to draw too!!  He is always drawing, I can't keep enough paper in this house!  But I love to see what he comes up with!  He has a lot of imagination!! (And there is always an underlying Star Wars theme in everything that goes on in this house!)  ;) 

The boys got their school pictures!  Such handsome studs, they are!  :)

Outstanding Owl of the Month

October 19, 2013
Harrison Swain!  :)  This sweet boy got recognized at school for his outstanding behavior and example!  He was super proud of himself, as he should be!  

They had an assembly with all the Kindergarten classes to give out awards.  

They started out with some singing! :)  Major perk to having a kid that is so tall... He's super easy to spot!  (Even on the back row!)  

And then they gave him his award!  :)

Love him so much!  He really is a great kid and is always so willing to help and show kindness!  So proud of you Bub!  

The Happiest Place on Earth: Days 3, 4 & 5

Day 3:
Tuesday we finished up Disneyland (Tomorrowland & Tom Sawyer's Island):

Favorite moment of the day:  Watching Jackson and Harrison watch the Star Wars show in Tomorrowland!  I was across from them, so I could see their faces.  It started with a lot of Jedi training and then in the middle of the show, Darth Vader rises up out of the floor of the stage.  When he came out and started talking (in a real Darth voice) Harrison's eyes got huge, he reached his arm out and grabbed Jackson's shirt in the middle of the chest and said "That's REALLY Darth Vader!".  He looked stunned, like he didn't know whether to be excited or scared!  Hahaha.  It was priceless!

And then we headed over to CA ADVENTURES:
Reagan LOVED the Mater ride! ("Loved" might actually be an understatement!)  I think we did it 3 times in a row.  She would laugh SO hard, it was hilarious! 

Grandma, Papa, Reagan and Grant had prime seats for the Pixar parade!  

While Patrick, Jackson, Harrison and I waited forever in line for the new Cars ride.  ;)  It was totally worth the wait though, we would have loved to ride it again and again!  Harrison's favorite by far!

Because Reagan has special needs, she got a special pass that helped her (and our family) get on rides faster so she didn't have to wait in long lines and we could avoid major and irreversible meltdowns.  (Bless you Disney!)  Several times both Jackson and Harrison commented on how cool it was to have Reagan as a sister!  hahaha.  Especially when they had to actually wait in a line for a ride she couldn't go on.  ;)  After more than an hour in line for the Cars ride, Jackson says "Man, I really wish Reagan could ride this!" ;) Patrick and I just laughed. He then added "Not just because it would be faster, but I think she would really like it." We all agreed that she would have!... and a shorter wait would have been awesome too! ;)

Day 4:
Wednesday the weather was pretty questionable, so we left the littles with Grandma and Papa and braved the wet and cold with the older boys.  :)  We started out in CA to catch a few rides we hadn't done yet, like Soarin' Over CA... awesome!  And then back to Carsland, because Harrison wanted to live there!  :)  He found his heaven on earth!  hahaha.

We headed back to Disneyland to eat lunch and get seconds of the rides we loved!  (This is Harrison's more reluctant go-round of Indiana Jones.  hahaha.)

 It got really wet for a little while! 

The boys saved their money so that they could buy a special souvenir.  They both decided on build-your-own light sabers.  Shocker!  ;)  They were very pleased!  (And I can't believe I don't have a picture!) 

We hit both parks and tried to do as much as we could as fast as we could.  But man, by day three were we running on fumes!  Or maybe it was just me!  hahaha.  Patrick probably had another week in him at least... but I was beat!  ;)

Jackson's Favorites:  Matterhorn, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, Radiator Springs Racers and Star Tours!

Harrison's Favorites:  Matterhorn, Space Mtn., Star Tours and everything in Carsland... especially the Radiator Springs Racers!

Reagan's Favorites:  Mater's Junkyard Jamboree!  And then everything else.  :)

Grant was a good boy, drank cold bottles and had to take random naps while being carried/pushed around for 2 days!  I imagine his favorite part was day #4... at the condo with Grandma and Papa!  ;) 

Day 5:
Was a morning filled with packing and goodbyes!  :( It was a wonderful (but too short) trip!!  We had so much fun!!  We all agree it should be a tradition!  WE CAN'T WAIT TO GO AGAIN!!  Thank you Grandma and Papa for sharing it with us!! :)  See you in 2015, Disney!  

The Happiest Place on Earth: Day 1 & 2

For years we have wanted to take our kids to Disneyland, but due to cost and other obstacles, it just didn't seem like it would happen.  Then we realized that there may never be a perfect time, so we saved our pennies and did it anyway.  ;)  We were skeptical going in, with both Reagan and a 4 month old Grant... lots of pictures of various ways this trip could implode on itself plagued my thoughts!  But from the second we got there, we were continually and pleasantly surprised!  It really is the HAPPIEST place on earth!  :) 

Day 1:
After making the trek to CA, we met up with Grandma and Papa Salisbury in Oceanside on Sunday October 6th.  :)  We got to have some fun on the beach... they LOVE the beach!  And this was Reagan's first time.

Day 2:
Monday was our first day at DISNEYLAND! 

I wish you could bottle the magic of that place!  Or at least the magic of being there with your kids!  They were so excited about everything!  Even things I thought the boys would be too "cool" for... like most of Fantasy Land. ;)  We rode everything we could, as many times as we could!  :)  And the smiling was a constant!

She rode Alice in Wonderland a few of times.  :)  What could have very easily been a sensory overload turned out to be her happy place!  She loved the rides, all the people, the noise, the parades, everything!  And of course, being Reagan, she made new friends all along the way.  :)

So one of Reagan's very first words was "princess" in reference to herself.  hahaha.  One of my very favorite things about this trip was that at every ride before she got on the Cast Member would say hello or have fun or something but they would always call her "Princess" (as I am sure they do for all little girls) and Reagan would pat herself on the chest and say with a LOT of enthusiasm "Princess!".  Like she was so excited that they knew!  :)  MELTED my heart... every time!

This little squirt was such a champ!!  He's kind of a screamer, but you wouldn't have known... for the most part.  ;)

We saw a LOT of characters, but Goofy was the only one we got this close to.  And even then, Reagan was the only one who wanted to get this close.  hahaha.  Toontown was a favorite! 

Arguably THE best ride... they were excited to try out Indiana Jones.  And both claimed to love it!  Until we tried to go again and found out Harrison had been putting on a brave face.  hahaha.  (Ironically he would have ridden Space Mt. and Matterhorn all day long!)  But we still managed to talk him into it again.  ;)

Patrick and Jackson's picture came out as an ERROR.  hahaha.

We ended the night with the Disney Princess Parade.  It was a very long day, but it was AMAZING!!  :)