Christmas Trip

We went to Layton to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas. We made this trip a quick one. We went up on Thursday night and drove home Monday. Great times were had. We saw Santa at the Firth Family Christmas Party. The Firth side (Grandpa's moms side)has gotten so big that we have to hold it in the church now. It is so fun to see cousins that I rarely get to see. We played games at Grandma and Grandpa's the favorite of which is the Dice game. Grandpa wraps little presents in layers and layer of newspaper, ducktape more newspaper, another box etc. and then we try to be the one to get to the present while everyone else is rolling the dice hoping for doubles. It is a very loud and fun! Of course we got a visit from Santa. The night before while saying bedtime prayers, Cooper asked that he would not get any clothes from Santa. Needless to say, the boys loved most of their presents minus the few clothes. I did not get very good pictures. Sorry!

Disney World

We went to Disney World around Halloween this year. My sister Alisha, her family and my parents came with us. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom for the first few nights and it was AMAZING! We had a Savannah view from our room and we were able to see giraffes,zebras and a few other animals out our window/balcony at anytime during the day. The second half of the week we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. That was great too. We were much closer to the parks during this part of the stay. From the Wilderness Lodge we were able to take a boat ride to Magic Kingdom. Everywhere else was bus rides. Disney put so much detail into thier hotels it was very neat. We had a lot of time (8 hours) sitting in the Animal Kingdom lodge waiting til check-in time, therefore we were able to explore the hotel. I kind of wish we would have had time to explore the Wilderness lodge too, maybe not 8 hours but an hour or two would have been cool.
Animal Kingdom
The Animal Kingdom was our first park visit. We had a blast. We were welcomed in by Mickey and Minney, we saw the Jungle Parade, went on a Safari, and rode rides of course. I think that this park was probably my favorite. It is a park you can get done in one day. I do not think that I would want to do more than that but we sure had fun while we were there.
The Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom was park number two. If you have been to Disneyland than you have pretty much been to Magic Kingdom. Having said that, it was still a blast and the only park that we went to more than one day. There is just so much to do there and I still do not think we got everything. Because we were there during Halloween we bought the extra tickets for Mickey's Halloween Party. We were hesitant to buy them but they were deffintaly worth every penny. There was an awesome nighttime parade, (which I think was my favorite parade), a great firework show, lots of candy (which we all know I love). The kids had fun dressing up and going to trick or treating around the Magic Kingdom. A couple of days after Halloween we came back and went to the Electric Parade and thier normal firework show which were also good.
Hollywood Studios
The third park we visited was Hollywood Studios. For us that was a great half day trip. They had some fun rides, the Playhouse Disney show was fun, and of course we had to hit up the Star Wars area.
Epcot
The last park we visited was Epcot. By this time we were all tired of walking and to be totally honest I could have done without it. The few rides they had were fun. I did get a great Christmas present for Chet at one of the shops. But mostly we walked and walked and walked. Because we had 5 kids under 6 we were not about to go shopping in all the different countries but I am sure they would have been great.
However, thier firework show Illuminations was by far my favorite firework show!

Chet's Sister reccommended a website called tourguidemike.com I too would highly recommend that as well. You pay a small fee (like $20) and he helps you map out a plan for when you are there based on your ages, what you want to do, when and what rides to go on to avoid standing in line, etc. He has so many articles to help you make your DisneyWorld trip as fun as can be. We followed his recommendations and I think that we hit the best of the best at each park. This website would be a must if you are going during peak season.

When we the boys what thier favorites were they said
cooper. lodges. toys (making lightsaber). dinosaur ride
beckham- tower of terror. star wars. space mtn.
chet- halloween parade. AK lodge. everest ride
korryn- illuminations. halloween parade. everest ride

We had a great vacation, the weather was awesome it rained for a few hours one day and other than that perfect, we had fun being together. This is not a relaxing vacation, but very very fun!

Beckham is 5!

I cannot believe that Beckham is already 5. He is so happy and such a joy to have in our family. Beckham is all about Star Wars. Naturally he chose Star Wars as the theme of his birthday party. Beckham had a few friends over to practice Jedi skills, played Star Wars bingo, knocked out a Darth Vader Pinata (with 2 hits from Master Beckham), Lastly the boys were able to defet Darth Vader and Savage Oppress. Beckham loved all his presents from friends and family.

Happy Halloween

We had such a fun Halloween this year. We celebrated Halloween with Mickey and his friends in Disney World. (Another post will come later with detail from our trip).
Beckham and Cooper were dressed up as a Pirate and the Prince of Persia. Quincey was a very cute Ladybug. This being my first Halloween dressing up a girl was very exciting!!

Quincey's Birthday!

Quincey is ONE!! Can you believe it? We can hardly believe it! She is so dang cute and we love every minute with her. She is such a happy baby. She still likes me (mom) the best, but she does love her brothers and dad.

Quincey makes the funniest faces.

One of her favorite things to do is pullout all of the kids books.
Quincey is getting braver everyday with her walking skills. She is one tough chick, when she falls she usually gets right back up and tries again. Quincey is getting very vocal. She lets us know what she wants. Hopefully she will start using words soon.

We gave Quincey her very own (6 in) cake she was so dainty. Sticking only her finger in the frosting and then licking it off, after a few minutes we gave her a fork and she was able to eat more at a time. By the time she was done she had quite a bit on her face and hands. I love first birthdays!!
When asked, "What do you love about Quincey"? Chet said, "I love her smile". Cooper, "I love that she loves me". Beckham said, "I love that she is learning to fold her arms during prayers. " I say, "I love her hugs".
We love you Quincey. Thank you for completing our family.

Schools Started!!

Well school is underway. Cooper is in First grade. He is enjoying school and actually said that his first day was GREAT!! Now two months later he says that school is boring but I think he still is having fun.

Beckham is in his Second year of preschool. He goes three days a week. He has quite a few of his friends going this year so I am sure that he is having an excellent year.
While the boys are at school, I have about 4 hours a week with only Quincey at home and it feels a little wierd and very very quiet. However, I do enjoy that time with Quincey or alone if she is sleeping.

Lost Tooth

Cooper lost his first tooth while we were camping this month. The tooth next to it is now loose. My little boy is quickly turning into a big boy. My dad started an auction for his first tooth. Grandma won the tooth for $10. About fifteen minutes after we pulled the tooth out Cooper started to cry saying that he wanted his tooth back in. He was so sad. It took some convincing to help him see that it is okay to have a missing tooth and that a new one will grow back in. Cooper is now excited to have another one loose. (I know Cooper's hair looks awesome in this picture. Remember we were camping).