Building Rainbows

Friday, May 31, 2013

Disneyland Part 2

 Some more pictures from early in the day. We went back to the hotel in the afternoon and Lizzy took a nap and I didn't take many photos that evening or night. Lizzy enjoyed all the boat rides like storybook land and It's a Small world. Mike even got her to ride Pirates of the Caribbean!










Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Disneyland Part 1

We got to Disneyland around 10 in the morning. The park opened at 9 am with no early entrance because the the night before they were open 24 hours. It didn't seem that crowded with the longest wait time for any ride we rode being 30 min. so I think maybe a bunch of people went the day or even night before. We heard people all night outside our hotel so I think the 24 hour opening was popular. The weather was beautiful with a high of 70 and sunny.



Lizzy met some of her favorite characters, took pictures, and got autographs. At Disneyland City Hall Lizzy got a birthday pin and 1st visit pin. All the employees and characters wished Lizzy a happy Birthday when they would see her pin.






Lizzy loved the parade. I think this was her favorite show that day. She is still talking about it.




Lizzy's favorite ride was the mad tea party tea cups. Our blue tea cup won for being the fastest on our ride!




By the end of the night Lizzy was pretty tired but she stuck it out and watched the fireworks. I think Lizzy was happy she stuck it out and got to see lots of fireworks and Tinkerbell flying around the night sky.



I'll post some more random Lizzy/Disneyland pictures in part 2 of this post to come. We had a good time on our first trip to Disneyland. There's still so much we didn't see I'm sure we'll be back by Lizzy's 5th birthday if not sooner. Before Disneyland I had thoughts about how horrible the long lines with a toddler might be, the crowds, and the amount of money we would spend but I can say now it's worth it. Magical.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Lizzy's 4th Birthday Surprise!

Lizzy knew we were going on a trip to see a beach but she didn't know we would be going to Disneyland. The first night we got to California we went to the beach and the following day was Lizzy's actual birthday. That morning while Lizzy was in her bath I set out her birthday gift surprise including the Mickey and Minnie gift baskets, balloons, birthday cake, and birthday letter. Once Lizzy was dressed she walked out into her birthday surprise. Mike read her the birthday letter and I let her know she was going to Disneyland! The birthday girl was very excited!













Birthday candles were blown out, then Lizzy went through her gift baskets and was very excited to learn about the autograph book. Lizzy took her autograph book and we headed to Disneyland!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Huntington Beach

We arrived in Anaheim, CA on Friday and headed to Huntington Beach for dinner at Duke's Restaurant on the beach. After a great dinner Lizzy got to run around on the beach. She ran and ran on that sandy beach then got her feet wet in the water. It was still too cold to get in but we watched some surfers and then walked the pier. We watched a beautiful beach sunset then Lizzy had ice cream on the pier as we gazed at the bright full moon. The moon appeared huge in person but not so much in our pictures. The next day would be Lizzy's birthday surprise!


Friday, May 24, 2013

Lizzy's Birthday Letter - 4th Birthday


Lizzy –Your 4th Year – 4 Times the Sun

You are now 4 years old! I think this year of your life I finally realized you are not a baby anymore. You sleep in your own big girl bed, go potty all on your own, you can get yourself dressed, and get your own drinks and snacks. You want to do everything on your own and make your own decisions.

You can talk about your day at school, things in the past, and tell us stories! Your imagination continues to grow and grow.

You love to learn. You’ve learned to read and spell three letter words. You know addition and subtraction and practice multiplication and division. You love arts and crafts. You can draw people and other interesting things. You especially love to paint.

This year was your first time at a wedding and you were the flower girl at your Tio’s wedding! The most beautiful flower girl there ever was.

You’re favorite foods are mac and cheese, hot dogs, strawberries, tomatoes, French fries, and anything sweet.  You are silly, loving, and very smart! Happy 4th birthday we love you very much!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Stepping Stones

We moved to Arizona a year ago and since then Mike and I have both found jobs here we love, Lizzy had a great year at what I think is one of the best Montessori preschools ever, and we've managed to survive the heat and enjoy what Arizona has to offer. We don't think we'll be moving again anytime soon so we have decided to make Arizona our home and have bought our first house! Lizzy made stepping stones to put in the backyard of our new home. We used a kit we found at Walmart that included materials to make four stones. One of Lizzy's hand print, another of Bella's paw print, and two butterfly garden designed stones. Lizzy enjoyed painting one each day after school until we finally took them to the new home together after we closed on the house. We will be busy moving into our new home, Disneyland Birthday, and Lizzy starts summer school at ASU all in the next two weeks! I'll be back to posting when things slow down.