Halloween 2012

With our Disney trip last week, we missed our ward's Trunk or Treat and Halloween costumes got pushed to the back burner a little.  Thankfully both girls were more than happy to wear the same dresses as last year (and miraculously, both dresses still zipped!).  When we got back, Megan saw our fairy wings in the closet and decided to change it up a little--she became a "Fairy Princess".  Brooke was insistent that she was "I Know You" and even though we borrowed an Aurora dress from friends, she wanted to wear her trusty old pink princess dress.  Candy was a teeny ballerina. 
We went to the annual costume walk at 4 pm and enjoyed some cookies and time with friends.  Dan even made it home from work early enough to join in the fun.

That's Maddy and Brookie in the little car.  What Maddy lacked in driving skills, she made up for with confidence!  She just popped that thing in reverse and gunned it before we realized she had no idea what she was doing :).  Good thing it goes slow! 

My three in the group shot...

Most of the group...

We had Megan's birthday dinner and headed out to Trick or Treat around 6:15 pm.  We made it all the way around our block plus a few houses on the next street.  Our kids were pretty tired by the end but they had a great time.  Even Candy dragged her little pumpkin bucket from house to house at first.  Then we convinced her to chill in the stroller by handing her a lollipop to sample.  The weather was great--not too hot, but no need for jackets.  It was a great Halloween!

Is that not the cutest ballerina you've ever seen?

 

Our buddy Gracey--these girls were just 2 the first time they trick or treated together!

The Whole Hand

I know I say this all the time--but where does the time go?!?
Has it really been 5 whole years since that LONG night when a little pink bundle of baby was placed in my arms and my whole world changed? 

Five sounds big.  Megan is learning so many new things and is becoming much more independent and capable.  She loves arts and crafts, especially painting.  She can write her first and last names and I constantly find index cards all over the house with her name on them.  She knows all of her letters and sounds and can count to 14.  She is starting to show some more interest in reading and likes to find the word "and" when we are reading scriptures as a family.  She loves to watch the scripture story videos on lds.org, especially Nephi getting the plates and Nephi building the boat.  "Nephi's Courage" is by far her favorite song right now. 
She has taken on all of her personal hygiene tasks this year, even flossing and bathing. (*Although I tell her I have to "check" her hair after she brushes it since she only brushes the sides and completely ignores the back.)
She loves to be in charge of almost anything and loves to make sure everyone else is following all of the rules (even is she is not).  She still gets embarrassed easily and doesn't like to be out of my eyesight when we are in crowded places (which is ironic since she still likes to run away).  She is still shy in some social situations, but is constantly making little improvements.  She is kind-hearted and usually tries to help others be happy. 
She is really enjoying her dance class and loves to make up dance moves to show off to Dan and I.  She finally gave up napping altogether and is great at quiet time.  She spends her quiet time playing pretend, dancing, and singing at the top of her lungs.  She still wakes up before the crack of dawn (around 5:45 most days), but now she and Brooke will head upstairs to play for a little bit and I don't usually start breakfast until 6:30.
When she wants to be helpful, she is very, VERY helpful.  And when she wants to be sneaky, she is very, VERY sneaky.  It makes me a little crazy sometimes, but I'm slowly learning to be more patient (I think). 
She has lots of friends, but her best playmates are still Brookie and Candy.  There are a lot of days where Candy wakes up early at naptime and Megan loves it when I send Candy in to play with her until naptime is over.  Other than her sisters, she loves her friends Megan and Maddy and the girls in her class at church.  She misses her buddies that went to kindergarten this year but enjoys being the biggest kid in our joy school class. 
It's so fun to spend time with her--she LOVES it when we get a few minutes together one on one.  And even though I wish time would slow down a little bit, I kind of love watching Megan hold up that whole hand of fingers when people ask how old she is now!

Here is the birthday girl eating her chosen breakfast of pancakes and yogurt.  (Look at that long curly hair!) She also got to choose her dinner--fish and egg drop soup.  Weird combo, but hey, it's her birthday so I went with it!

We got to enjoy playgroup at the park in the morning.  

Ah 5 year olds.  She does the funniest poses anytime she sees the camera is out.  

One of the first times I saw the whole name.  It's right to left and then around :).  This was in early October. 

I love you Megan!

Friday, Back to Magic Kingdom

We spent our last day back in the Magic Kingdom.

Last morning at the bus stop!

Castle view!

We started at the Tomorrowland Speedway--Megan especially LOVED driving.

Brookie tried her hand at it but had more fun riding around.

Then to the Buzz Lightyear ride.  Not nearly as fun as Toy Story Mania, but still enjoyable :)

While we waited for Dan on Space Mountain we got to meet Lilo.  Not our favorite character, but the lighting was great!

And outside the teacups, we met the very late bunny.

Teacups!

After our crazy fun week, the kids were starting to wear down...but we still had fun!  The kids liked this little slide area near the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We took turns riding rides and staying there with the kids.  We also let the kids pick their own souvenirs (with a budget around $20).  Megan and Brooke each picked a princess shaped piggy bank (Ariel and Aurora) and we got Candy a little set of squishy plastic princesses that she loves. 

One more round with the princesses...

Classic Disney photo--so sweet.  

We went to the afternoon parade that day and Megan was DESPERATE to see Ariel up close.  This was as close as we got, but this wave was right at Megan and she was SO happy.  

Daddy and his girls... 

A photo of just Dan and I--we were exhausted but had such a great time!

The kids were WIPED!

Our last glimpse of the Magic Kingdom--"See Ya Real Soon!"

And that would have been an awesome end to the trip.  But unfortunately we ended with a bit of a fiasco.  We wanted to see the Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios.  We took the bus over there for the show and as soon as we arrived, we hit some roadbumps.  I realized that after 5 days of keeping track of 3 kids, our big stroller, our little stroller, a backpack, a camera bag, a cell phone, and a purse, I had left my purse on the bus! AARGH!  I was a little (a LOT) upset.  Dan spent some time with security trying to track down the bus, but once the bus had pulled away, they had no way to find it down til closing time that night (after midnight).  And THEN--the Fantasmic show was cancelled due to high winds.  Double bummer.  Dan was a trooper and helped me calm down and we wandered around Hollywood Studios for an hour or so enjoying the animation studios before calling it a night.  Thankfully, this part of the story ended well.  About a week after we got home, I received a call from Disney saying they had found the purse intact and would mail it to me (minus the cash in it which would be sent in the form of a check).  I love Disney. 

Even with that last night, we LOVED our trip.  We loved making memories with our little kiddos and just enjoying being together.  We can't wait to go again! 

We drove home on Saturday, Dan's 33rd birthday, making the whole drive in one day.  The kids slept a lot and did great. 

Thursday, Hollywood Studios

We started the day by greeting Ariel on our way to the bus stop :).

Waiting to enter the park--those clouds ended up raining on us later in the day, but not for too long and it helped cut down on the crowds :).  We started the day by riding Toy Story Mania 3 times.  Dan and I had a blast, but by the last time the girls were asking, "Do we have to ride again?"

The classic "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground area.  A movie my kids have never even heard of.  But I made them sit on the ant anyway!

Waiting for a show.  Megan and Brooke loved looking over the maps to see where we were heading next.

Belle!  The kids were mesmerized.

Megan's favorite show was the Ariel musical.  We were bummed that the spot to meet Ariel was closed while we were there--I guess we'll have to come back someday!

While we watched the Muppets show, the worst of the rain came and went.  It was great timing.

Watching the car stunt show.  It's impressive in any conditions, but watching them zoom around on wet pavement was even MORE impressive.

We ended the day by riding Rockin' Roller coaster over and over again.  It was empty because of the rain!  The kids were too little to ride, but Dan and I loved it!