WDW- Day 3

Day three was our official first day in the Magic Kingdom. We were able to get in an hour before the park actually opened because we were staying on property. Grammy G was kind enough to take Grant to ride Dumbo while Shaunna, Dave and I took Lincoln to ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad. Lincoln really wanted to ride Splash again. And again. And again.

Then we all met up together for a few rounds of Pirates, Aladdin, Jungle Cruise (which was totally lame- especially after doing Animal Kingdom the day before), and pineapple float goodness.

We ate lunch at the Crystal Palace with the characters from Winnie the Pooh. Lincoln was in meltdown mode when lunch started, but by the time Tigger came around he was a happy camper again.

It helped that we sang happy birthday to him, again, and that he got his own special cupcake with a candle to blow out. Those folks at Disney sure love to celebrate. Lincoln had a birthday treat pretty much every day for the entire week.

After lunch we did a few more shows and rides and then headed back to the hotel for our daily afternoon nap. The boys found a little playground area by Splash that they really enjoyed (more Grant than Lincoln since Lincoln got to ride on Splash). Thanks again Grammy G for keeping the Bean entertained while we rode Splash a gazillion times.

Day three was fun. A few meltdowns, the boys wouldn't eat anything but treats, it got pretty hot, but we were in the Magic Kingdom. That alone makes up for the rest of it a few times over.

WDW- Day 2

After our late night I wasn't sure how the boys would do getting up early. That and the whole time change thing. Fortunately, they did great (that day). We got up early and went to the Animal Kingdom. I've been to WDW two other times before this trip and had never gone to the Animal Kingdom, so it was a first for me as well. It was great!

We saw A Bug's Life 3D show,

went on a safari tour and saw lots and lots of amazing animals (in their "natural" habitat, not like a zoo AT ALL),

rode Expedition Everest (which is a wicked cool coaster that I don't have any pics of), played in Dino-land,

let Shaunna release her inner tribal-ness,

and went on the river rapids ride a couple times (at Lincoln's request). He loved getting wet. The first time down I sat by him and we got totally soaked. Day two was definitely a success.

Walt Disney World- Day 1

I was going to write journal-type entries to each of these posts, then I realized that I'm just too burned out to be clever. So, instead, you just get some (lots and lots of) pictures of the day and a brief summary.
Our first day consisted of going to the Magic Kingdom and participating in Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. It rained at the beginning. Grant fell asleep after Haunted Mansion. Lincoln rode Splash Mountain for the first time. The kids loved it.

Teaser

We just spent the past 8 days at Disney World. It was fantastic and exhausting. I'm going to do a day by day post, but not until next week when I have some time. To hold you over, here are a few gems...the good and the bad, if you will.

The Big 4-6

My oldest turned 4 on Sunday. If you ask him how old he is though, he will tell you 46. Every time. He's been saying this since about December. I'm not exactly sure where he got it from. I think my Mom, since that's how old she is, but it's something that he's very adamant about and you can't tell him otherwise.

For his party he wanted to go to Jumping Jacks in SLC. It's basically a really big room with about 7 giant blow up slides/obstacle courses. He had a really good time and got spoiled rotten.Today at preschool they celebrated his birthday again. He got to bring treats for the class and his teacher gave him a giant rice crispy treat and "crown". He has loved all the attention!

Here are some of the things that are "Lincoln" right now:

-loves to sing and dance. almost every day we turn on some music and dance around the house. he loves it. he also loves to sing the songs he's learning from dave in primary.

-loves his nemo and bear. he has two stuffed animals that have become attached to his hip. he drags them along every where and has to sleep with both of them every night.

-he's very organized/ocd (in a good way...so far). he has to have things lined up in a straight line, color coordinated, put in the correct spot, etc. i blame this one on me. (what do you expect, he's with his mom all day and watches how she does things?!) right now it's very cute. ask me about it again next year.

-loves animals. dogs, cats, bunnies, grasshoppers, you name it. okay, the last one isn't technically an animal. close enough.

-loves to be outside. jumping on the trampoline, playing in the sandbox, running through the sprinklers, riding bikes and his monster truck, chasing grasshoppers, etc.

-loves water. everything from the lake, water slide, splash park, pool, sprinklers. all of it. loves, loves, loves to swim and is getting really good at it.

-still really big for his age. i'll post his stats after his 4 year check up on friday.

-loves to wrestle and play fight. the first thing he says to dave every day when he gets home from work is, "c'mon daddy. let's go fight" and drags him into the living room.

-loves his brother. they really are the best of friends. i'm not saying that they don't have their moments, numerous times a day, but he is such a great big brother to grant.

- very charming. i'm sure most parents think their kids are charming, but lincoln has a way with other adults and kids. from the child care at the gym, to primary, to neighbors, all the kids seem to know who he is and want to play with him. he just has a little something special when it comes to others.

-very affectionate. he usually won't hesitate to give you a great big hug and kiss and say that he loves you. he still loves to snuggle and hold hands. he definitely has a soft spot when it comes to his Grammy and Papa, Grammy G, and Grandpa John.

-master negotiator. i swear he's going to be a lawyer. he always has some argument for why he can/can't do something. every time he's asked to do (or not do) something, the first words out of his mouth are, "well how 'bout...". he will find the loop hole every time!

Happy Birthday Linc! You make me so happy and I'm so thankful that I get to be your Mommy. You bring so much love and joy into our home. Hugs and loves!

*birth day '05*
*1st bday '06*

*2nd bday '07*

*3rd bday '08*

*4th bday '09*

1st Day Of School

The day has arrived. Lincoln had his first day of school today. We did a meet and greet with his teachers on Tuesday, so he already knew the layout of the class room and picked out which toys were "his". He got up at exactly 7:00 (he has a digital clock in his room and is not allowed out until it says 7) and came and snuggled with me in bed. While we snuggled, I had a good talk with him about manners, listening to his teachers, how to meet new friends, not burning down the school, etc. Basic first timer stuff. He went to class without any hesitation and when I picked him up he told me all about how he got to, "play, and finger paint, and eat fruit loops and really good milk, and play with 'my' airplane." (I didn't think he'd noticed that I switched to skim milk...guess I'm not as tricky as I'd like to believe). Grant was extremely upset all morning and just wanted to go to school as well. When I tried to get him to play with me he'd say, "I'm sad. I wanna go bruders school." He did that for about the first hour. Then he got distracted by some baby nail clippers that look like scissors. I still haven't looked for his victims of the nail clippers, but I'm sure they are hiding in the toy room. Oh well- kept him entertained and not sad. I did very well for a first time Mom. It wasn't hard to see/let him go to school, just different being home with only Grant and myself. I'm sure that once we're all use to this new schedule, my alone time with The Bean will become something I look forward to.

*running up the stairs to get to class...bean in tow*

*traditional first day of school pose*

*lincoln and kyler- aka the naughty twins.

NO they are not in the same class...

not sure if being suspended in preschool goes on your record, but I wasn't about to find out*

*miss rayma showing linc where to hang his backpack*

*bean getting in on the action...again*