DISNEYWORLD

We went to Disneyworld! It was a BLAST! Fair warning...this post is going to be LONG. I don't want to forget anything about this day and so I want to put it all in writing. Here goes... We woke the kids up and were on the road at 445am - I thought the kids would sleep most of the way, but they were so excited that they were awake the entire way up. Of course Luke falls asleep as we pull into the parks. He got a bit of a nap though since we were meeting up with Justin's brother's family at their hotel. Once everyone was ready we loaded up all 6 kids, 1 teenager, and 6 adults and boarded the shuttle to the 'happiest place on earth' First stop was pictures by Cinderella's castle.

Since the first ride you see after passing through the castle is Charming's Carousel (not to mention Taija asked about a million times to go on a carousel in the preceding 3 days) that was up next. Taija LOVED it so much she rode it again with Pa.

The rest of the crew (Mika spent the day moving from shade cover to shade cover with Grammy) took a trip through It's a Small World. Time was crucial in the morning as Taija and Emily had a very special appointment with their Fairy Godmothers to be turned into princesses. They had so MUCH FUN! They got their hair and makeup done, nails painted, and a little pink back-pack to keep all of their treasures in.

Once they were all ready we had reservations at the Royal Table. Upon entering we met with Cinderella and had our picture taken.

During lunch Snow White, Aurora, Belle, and Ariel came by to see us and take pictures with the girls. It was such a FANTASTIC way to meet the princesses without waiting in any lines!

While we were doing the princess stuff Luke, Daddy, Mika and Grammy went on the carousel again, had lunch, and Luke took a half hour nap. They were ready to go when we finished! Next up was the Pirates ride for Pa so we tagged along and rode Aladdin's Magic Carpet. By this time poor Luke was DRENCHED in sweat...it was so HOT! We figured we would head towards the air-conditioned rides. The kids LOVED the Tea Cups - surprisingly I didn't even get sick!

Next up Larry, Ryan, Emily, William, Taija and I went to ride Winnie the Pooh (Daddy and Luke rode tea cups again). The line was forever long, but luckily we finally made it on the ride. The kids were about done at this point so we were planning on hitting a few more rides to finish out our day. Kim and I found out Tigger and Pooh would be appearing in 15 minutes and there wasn't a line yet...so we waited by the Hundred Acre Woods for our special guests. The kids LOVED them. Luke was too cute (a little biased I know) hugging Pooh and Tigger and just giggling and smiling at them. Even Taija (notorious for freaking out when confronted by a giant, walking character) was loving it.

Once our turn was over Mika needed a little mommy time so Justin and Larry took Taija and Ryan to the Speedway for some race car driving. Luke and I had our turn a little later on the cars. I thought he might be too little to drive them, but he was just big enough to steer (well, if you call not seeing over the steering wheel and just moving it back and forth giving mommy whiplash not too small). We hustled over to the Peter Pan ride next since our fast passes were now usable. LOVE not waiting in line! This concluded the ride portion of our trip, but now it was time to make our way out of the parks. So of course it starts to downpour! By the time we made it to the entrance we were SOAKED. The kids were good sports and we changed into dry things once we made it back to the van. All in all it was a WONDERFUL day at Disneyworld!

July Happenings

July is going to be an AWESOME month and we started it off with some fun packages from family. Auntie Reiko, Uncle Bub, and Ari visited the Philippines awhile ago and sent us some gifts they picked up for us there. Luke got a great 'jeepeney' that he loves to drive around and Taija got this cute little outfit!

For the 4th of July we had lunch and a pool party with some of our friends. Taija showed off her amazing swimming skills, Luke splashed with Daddy, and Mika just chilled!

The rest of the month is sure to be exciting...Grammy comes next week and we are driving up to Disneyworld to meet up with Pa, Emily, and Ryan (the rest of their family too) and Taija gets to have lunch with the Princesses. It is all she talks about! We also get to spend a week at the beach house with the entire Robison clan! After that we fly to Utah for 4 weeks! So EXCITING!

Cuddle time with Mika

Poor Mika gets her fair share of cuddles/kisses/hugs from her brother and sister whether or not she wants them! Luckily she is a good sport and takes it all in stride!

Taking Nana to the Beach

While my mom was in town we were sure to make it to the beach at least once! The kids love the beach! Luke was so funny this time. He was playing in the big hole that Justin always digs and he decided to back up out of it on his tummy and continued all the way into the water. Luke thought it was the funniest game to go in and out of the wake on his tummy. I was just waiting for him to get wiped out by a wave but he always timed it just right and would start crawling up before it completely covered him.

Taija was there too, but she didn't want to smile for pictures

And Mika....Nana mostly held her, but she did take a little nap

Pool Date with Daddy

The other day Justin was able to get off before 6 pm (a rare occurrence this month) and the kids begged him to take them to the pool. He was only too happy to oblige!

Pics of the Kiddos

Here are the pictures of Mika... Mr. Luke William Taija Ane

Family Pictures 2012

Once again we had our wonderful family friend/photographer, Katrina Larsen (http://katiejoyphoto.blogspot.com/), take our pictures...they turned out so cute!

Dress Rehearsal

The other night was Taija's dress rehearsal performance for dance...she did such an awesome job! Since we can't record video at the actual recital I took this little video at the rehearsal. (Don't judge the quality of video...I was holding Mika while filming)

Miss Mika

I thought I would do a post just about my little Mika...she is 10 weeks today! Time sure has flown by! Mika is such a wonderful baby! She is already sleeping 8-10 hours every night, she is a tummy sleeper (I know, I know you aren't supposed to let them sleep on their tummy, but its the only way she likes to sleep), she has light grey eyes and I am hoping they stay a lighter color (Pa has blue eyes and Grandpa has green) since both Luke and Taija have dark brown eyes. I love her so much and she is so patient with her older siblings, enduring all of Taija's hugs and Luke's occasional kiss. Here are a few pics of Miss Mika

Taija's Dance Pics

Here are Taija's dance pictures...I couldn't figure out how to scan them so I just took a picture of the picture!

Mika's Blessing

This past Sunday we were able to give Mika her blessing! I can't express how grateful I am that my wonderful husband has the priesthood and is worthy to give our children their baby blessings. Mika looked beautiful in her blessing gown, it was the same one Taija was blessed in, made by my wonderful Auntie Janet out of the same material as my wedding dress. Although none of our family could be out here for the event we were surrounded by some of our best friends: Egglestons (Darek, Megan, Ellie, and Bree); the Talbots (Richard, Jill, and baby Avery); and the Larsens (Blair, Katrina, and Ella). It is amazing to see how much our family has grown and how fast. It seems like just the other day that Taija was born and we were first-time parents just trying to survive. And while not much changes, still trying to figure out the key to survival, the addition of Luke and Mika make parenthood all that much more exciting!

Happenings in May

Last week was a pretty busy week...on Monday was Mika's 2 month appt, complete with shots! Later that day Taija had her recital pictures! She had to have her hair in a high pony with the flower thing in it, for those of you who know her hair it doesn't go in one ponytail EVER! So after many bobby pins and A LOT of hairspray we were ready!

The little stinker was so excited about everything else going on she wouldn't even look at me!

On Tuesday we went to the splash park! Of course it rained while we were there!

There was ONE burst of thunder and since Taija is TERRIFIED of it she spent most of the time under the pavilion with the moms