Disneyland!

So it turns out that Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth! We had a terrific time on our trip. I don't even know where to begin to recap. We arrived at the Disneyland Hotel early Monday evening. It was fun staying there, I haven't been in about 12 years. Faith got a kick out of finding Mickey all over; Mickey shaped bushes, light fixtures, everything! After we got checked into our rooms, we headed down to the park for a few hours. The first ride we all went on was the Matterhorn. I felt like a little kid. Faith had a little issue with the "snow monsters" inside the cave, but she asked to go again a couple days later, so I guess she recovered.

The second day we started off with breakfast at Rainforest Cafe. Faith was in awe of the jungle everywhere. There were huge fish tanks with large salt water fish. I think she would've been happy staying there all morning. She is quite the animal lover, just like her mommy. Of course the rest of the day was spent at the park. It was such a treat for Will and I to watch how much fun Faith was having. The giant smile on her face was priceless. We squeezed in every ride we could. So much fun! When we had our fill Will, Faith, and I decided to hit the pool at the hotel. We had a blast! The water was perfect and the weather was great. Faith was a total fish and quickly found another little girl to pal around with. It was a great time, complete with splash wars and lots of laughs. When we had worn ouselves out completely, we went back to the room. Once Faith was all cleaned up and tucked in bed, Will and I got to go out for a dinner date. Smart call on the adjoining rooms, Mom! Thanks for watchin the kiddo. It was nice to get out together. Opportunities can be few and far between, so we need jump on it when we have the chance.

On the third day, we feasted like royalty...disney royalty anyway. My parents had arranged for us to eat each meal that day with different characters. So the day was pretty much eat, rides, eat, rides, eat. Breakfast was a Luau with Lilo and Stitch and Minnie and Daisy showed up too. It was really cute. Stitch was quite mischievous. At one point, he slipped Will's cloth napkin over Will's head and then sat at our table and pretended to eat off Will's plate. For lunch we went to Ariel's grotto restaurant and Faith got to talk to all the princesses and take pictures with them. Our dinners adventure was at Goofy's Kitchen. Faith saw Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Minnie, and her new best friend the Mad Hatter (more on that another time). It was a wonderful day filled with a ton of fun and great moments. Faith discovered the thrill of fast rides and Space Mountain became one of her favorites (mommy's too). As we were getting off the ride she said, "I want to go more fast!" with big saucer eyes. She also really liked Pirates of the Carribbean and asked to go on again. Will was very happy because this is one of his favorites. One special treat was that Autumn and Nino showed up to spend part of the trip with us. It was so nice to have them there, plus it was Nino's first trip to Disney land too, can you believe it!? After a big day at the park.....and lots of good eats, we called it a night.

On our final day, we had a lot of fun to cram into the schedule. We hit up a few of the rides we wanted to ride one more time. Then we went overe to California Adventure. It was new to all of us, so it was fun to experience for the first time. There was an insane roller coaster that Dad, Autumn, Nino, and I road on. The four of us also rode the Tower of Terror, I guess we are the thrill seakers of the group. Will and Faith checked out A Bug's World while we were busy screaming. Several hours of rides later, we packed it all up and headed home. It was one of the best trips ever! I know Faith will definitely not be forgetting it anytime soon! She has mentioned something about the trip every day since we've been back. :) Anyway, the pictures (all 200 of them) pretty much say it all!

So long PreK!

Yesterday was Faith's very last day of Prek. In the evening, there was an end of year program for preschool to Kindergarten. The kids sang songs and each got presented with some kind of award chosen by their teacher. They were all so precious especially because most were all dressed up. I had been hearing Faith sing the songs her class was practicing for a week or two. It was cute to watch them perform. Of course, being the ham/attention hog my munchkin is she completely lost her focus once it started. She saw all the people starring up at her and for the most part, just stood there twisting from side to side or playing with her dress, all with a huge grin on her face. What am I gonna do with that kid?! She further proved that she indeed knew the songs but was merely basking in the glow of the spotlight. Not only have I heard her sing these songs at home, but in the car afterwards, she was singing the songs from the other classes which she hadn't even heard till that night. What a little stinker! Unfortunately the sun was setting behind the stage so the lighting was absolutely awful for pictures but I managed to get a few that will have to do.

Getting ready to go on

Told you the lighting was bad

They are so cute!

Looking at me not paying attention, lol

she received the "Most Determined" award, so fitting

Big girl now

cheering for her classmates

with daddy :)

Five years old!

Today was Faith's birthday. Our four day trip to Disneyland next week is the big celebration, but I wanted to a little something fun for the official day. Faith and I started by going out for breakfast. This in itself was exciting because I agreed to take her to Dunkin Donuts and we've never gone there for breakfast. Mommy always makes her eat balanced meals....the poor girl.

life's simple pleasures

We painted her nails to be "fancy"

After breakfast I could tell Faith needed to run around for a while and blow off some steam (sugary breakfast perhaps?) and she was itching to play with some kids. Unfortunately, it was too hot for me to handle being outside for long. We headed to the play place at the mall, which seemed to do the trick. Next I took her to As You Wish to do some painting. I had been wanting to take her for a while because it sounded like fun.

she was excited

She picked a unicorn

its purple of course

we get to pick them up tomorrow

After we finished our masterpieces, we headed off to get supplies so Faith can bring cupcakes into class tomorrow. Then it was time to head home. We had a great time together. Faith was so appreciative and said a couple times, "Thanks for doing all the fun stuff for my birthday". I can't believe she's FIVE! :)

Thanks Kiddo, mommy loves you!

Once Will got home from work, we decided to go out for pizza. Faith adores our next door neighbor, a seven year old named Abby. We invited Abby and her brother Cooper to come along with us. Faith was so excited she jumped on poor little Abby like a monkey. When they came to our door to leave, they both brought little gifts for Faith, so adorable. They are both such good kids and they are so good to Faith. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for making the day special Abby and Cooper!

so funny!

It was a very nice day. I know I'm gonna miss that girl when she's in Kindergarten all week. Here we come Disneyland!

The rest of the weekend

We had quite the busy schedule this weekend. Saturday morning the three of us went to a 6th birthday party for our cousin Meghan. The party was luau themed. There was fun music, fresh fruit and burgers, leis for everyone, and even a pinata. The kids all seemed to have a great time. The Mathis family owns a few horses, so there was horseback riding too! Faith and I rode together. It was her first time on a horse so she was a little timid but she loved it. Great Party!

After all the fun at the party, we were all exhausted. After a short nap, it was time to go to Will's grandparents house to have dinner with the family. This was to celebrate Mother's Day and Meghan and Faith's birthdays since they are only a day apart. It was good to see everyone and Faith can never get enough of her cousins.

We spent Sunday at my parents house. My mom made a yummy lunch and we all chatted the day away. It was a nice relaxing day. I felt quite spoiled that day. Right about dinner time, Autumn and Nino showed up with flowers and a strawberry shortcake that said #1 Moms in strawberries for my mom and I. They also brought a smoked salmon that was out of this world fabulous. Faith was sufficiently spoiled herself. Autumn had already taken us to see the Sleeping Beauty play last weekend, which Faith loved. On top of that, Autumn brought over an adorable Disney princess toy box/bench. To describe how much Faith likes it, I'll just say that when she got home from school today, she hugged it. LOL! Auntie Autumn rocks! Although Faith was delighted simply to received the cute kitten card my parents gave her, thats not all! Haha! My marvelous mom and dad are taking her to Disney land next week! Will and I are so excited to see her face the first time she's there. Plus we're excited to go ourselves. I haven't been since I was a kid and I no there are so many new things. Hooray for a fun and busy weekend.

Date Night

Will and I were able to have an evening out together on Friday. The college Will works at was hosting a casino night (fake gambling). It was a fundraiser for the Child Crisis Center and was organized by a friend and coworker of Will's. We had such a good time. There was a delicious meal and I had an opportunity to meet several of Will's coworkers who I've been hearing about for so long. After dinner we made our way into the "casino". We ended up playing Texas Hold'em the whole evening. There were some great people at our table. We were all having so much fun playing together that we held down the table the whole time. It had been a while since Will and I had a date night so it was much appreciated. Plus it was such a bonus to meet Will's friends at work and to know it was all going to a great cause.

Girls Day Out

Today was all about the girls. Faith and I met up with my mom and sister. We went to Hale Children's Theater in Gilbert to watch their production of Sleeping Beauty. They definitely used their creative license and "altered" the story quite a bit but it was very cute. Faith was wide-eyed and giggling through the whole thing. After the show Faith got to take pictures with the cast and loved it. Then we went to Liberty Market Restaurant and had a very yummy lunch. I hadn't been there before but it was a great choice, the sandwiches were super good. Our girls day was wonderful and we look forward to doing it again. Thanks mom and sis! A super big thank you to Auntie Autumn because it was all her idea and a gift to Faith for her 5th birthday next week. (wow already?!) What a great idea! :)

The Girls

Three of my favorite ladies :)

Faith & Sleeping Beauty

Fantasy the horse

with the Dragon

Faith and the Fairies (her favorite characters)

The Queen

The mean fairy who became good

the other Queen

Hooray for girls day!

Okay, this is unrelated to our day. I saw it on our way home and thought it was cool. Faith got a kick out of it too, seeing how I have a power-up mushroom hanging from my rear view mirror and Will has a goomba on his. We are a Mario-lovin family.

This one is mostly for Will. He's been scolding me fro avoiding being in front of the camera like its the swine-flu (haha, made myself laugh). So here ya go husband.....I should be good for a few months now right?