Chalk, Berries, Twins





 I got 4 colors of Jumbo spray on chalk and they went to town, making a town.  This is Jillian's creation.  Interesting?

 Bridget and Tor worked on a tie-dye picture.  The chalk was really thick in it.





This is their finished town for their scooters.  It has sidewalks, warning signs, crosswalks, and many other stores.  They named it Crazy Town, USA. 
     After that they went berry picking with us and Brock. It was the little wild blackberries and they stayed with Brock all through the patch.  We were there over two hours and got lots of berries but they won't eat the berry pie but Bridget finally said she would try a tiny piece.  While there, my friend Don brought his 4-wheeler out and took Jillian for a ride down to the Toutle River.  Bridget took her turn but decided the road was too steep and scary to go all the way.  Don then took Tor on some other logging roads. I think that was the highlight of the berry trip-not actually the picking.
     Later Ava and Harper came to play and they went right to the town again to ride all over.  Then they went up to their place to end the day with lots more running around.

All about Pirates

Ever since Tor got back from Disneyland, it's been all about pirates ... which is odd because he said the Pirates of the Carribean ride was terrifying.

A Downtown Disney Day

Checkout from the hotel was in the morning and the plane left in the evening, so we had quite a bit of time to wander around Downtown Disney. The kids were looking forward to shopping with all the money they had saved up for the trip. (This pic actually shows the characters they had bought the day before.)

After shopping all day, we had some tired kids and parents, ready to head back home.

Farewell, Disneyland!

On our way out the gate, there was one special surprise left ... Mickey Mouse!

Disneyland Day 3 (Late PM)

We made the final push through our final day, staying for dinner. We ate a nice meal at the Hungry Bear, enjoying the view, shade and the quiet.

Then, it was time to stake out our spot for the Fantasmic! show on the waterfront. The kids had glimpsed a portion of the show, and really wanted to see the whole thing. It was really good!

We waited for Fantasyland to open back up after fireworks, because the kids wanted to go on Peter Pan's Flight one more time. Tor didn't quite make it.

Disneyland Day 3 (Early PM)

We visited Toon Town during the hottest part of the day, so we were melting. The kids checked out every ride and activity, and even met Pluto

One of the longest lines was for the train, and once we were on, we stayed on for awhile to relax and cool off.

We didn't repeat rides very often, but the kids agreed that they wanted to go to Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters one more time with a FastPass.

Disneyland Day 3 (AM)

It all caught up to the kids this morning. They were very tired and didn't want to wake up. Tor especially was tired, as this photo shows while we wait for the Echanted Tiki Room.

We wandered into Critter Country and met quite a few characters.



The kids had been obsessing all morning about how terrifying Splash Mountain would be, so Mommy went on the ride all by herself while Daddy watched the kids.

Instead, the kids got stoked about the Tom Sawyer Island, exploring every little cave. This turned out to be one of their favorites.

California Adventure Extra

Most activities were too difficult to take good pics of, but here's a couple.


We heard that the number of people in the parks was really high, so we were happy to do what we did. The highlights for the kids were Soarin' Around the World (complete with smells), the Paint the Night parade (Tor was maybe deliriously tired?) and the Radiator Springs Race (we won!), while the lowlight was the giant ferris wheel (apparently, our kids are terrified of heights).

Soaked!

There were lots of fun rides in California Adventure, but the Grizzly River Run was definitely memorable. We got only a little bit wet on the big drops, but at the very end, one of the geysers went off and totally soaked all of us. Jillian and Tor thought it was hilarious ... but Bridget, not so much.

California Adventure

Our second day was dedicated to our one trip to California Adventure park, so we tried to do a lot. It was a slow start in the morning, since the kids were exhausted, but they perked up with a few rides.

We saw lots of characters, managing to get Tor in a photo with Donald Duck.

We kind of stumbled into a large theatre area with cool activities, one of which had Frozen's Anna and Elsa.

We put up a pretty good pace all day, and the kids did well keeping up.

Disneyland Day 1 (Mid PM)

The kids started wearing down after a brief stop in Adventureland for Tarzan's Treehouse and Jungle Cruise, so we headed back to the hotel for a break. On the way, we met Goofy and the Fairy Godmother.

Disneyland Day 1 (Early PM)

Bridget and Tor received a special treat while we were having lunch at the Refreshment Corner. The Mad Hatter and Alice showed up and asked for volunteers for musical chairs, and B & T jumped right in.

They did well and had fun, but eventually got eliminated. That's when the Mad Hatter got them up in front of the crowd, asked them some questions, and then declared them "Unwinners!"

Disneyland Day 1 (Late AM)

Our next stop was Fantasyland for a lot of nostalgic rides. The kids didn't want us to spin the teacup, but Daddy managed to get a few turns in.

Everyone loved Dumbo, and Bridget insisted on riding it by herself.

The kids had no idea what to expect at It's a Small World, but they said it was good ... and long.

One of the first characters they got to see was Beauty and the Beast when they rode the carousel.

Disneyland Day 1 (Early AM)

We used our 1-hour early entry this morning, showing up at 7:30 am for the rope drop.

We spent the early morning going on pretty much every ride in Tomorrowland. Most rides were well-received (Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters, Autopia), while a couple were too scary (Submarine ... go figure).

Mouse Ears

Here's the kids sporting their mouse ears.

Downtown Disney

After a short tour of Downtown Disney, we checked into our hotel room and relaxed for a bit, then headed to the swimming pool. For dinner, we went back to Downtown Disney, visited the Lego Store, had pizza at Splitsville, and bought Disney-themed desserts.

Disneyland!

We made it! Not quite in the park yet, but at least browsing around Downtown Disney.

Going to Disneyland

The day has finally arrived ... we are heading to Disneyland! The kids woke up at 4:30 pm, without an alarm, and have been crawling out of their skin all morning. Their excitement has been at an all time high!

Pictures and Tricks

 Jillian is still into taking many, many pictures and she gets some very good ones like this bee sipping nectar from a flower.  Super close-up.

Bridget and Jillian worked hard on a rope show but had to leave early so they will probably do it another time.  Here Jillian is demonstrating an upside-down trick. 

Brock spent a couple hours playing with the kids, which thrilled them. He had them working on long jump, sword fighting, and scooters.  Finally Tierney joined them and they played Corn Hole.  Tor was Brock's partner and Jillian was Tierney's partner. Tor was so excited to tell me that Brock and him won the contest. I watched a little and during that time Tor threw a bag 27 feet (they didn't let the little ones throw closer?) and it went in the hole. Jillian is getting quite skilled at getting it in a lot more. Lots of fun!