Summer Fun with Grandpa

Besides our trip down to San Diego for Ben’s graduation, Grandpa hung out with us at home and lent an extra hand babysitting, dog walking, running errands, washing my car, and taking out the trash! We’re sure he needed a vacation after his “vacation” with us!

In between being our extra household help for the week, we took Grandpa to Zoomars in San Juan Capistrano where the girls spent about an hour chasing guinea pigs. The poor little things were sleeping, eating, and hiding under the benches, but were no match for Meredith who squealed in delight chasing them around and dragging them out of their hiding places. Meredith’s second favorite animals were the goats, but we removed her, screaming, after she got a little too violent with them. I’m sure they didn’t appreciate her hitting them, although I think she thought she was treating them exactly the same as she does Bandit.

Lunch at Ellie’s table!

Now I know from where she gets her cheeks!

Grandpa accompanied the twins to one of their swim lessons and was tasked with keeping Meredith out of the pool.

Later, we had a barbecue and pool party with Grandpa.

Three on the crocodile did not end well. 

Epic chicken fight!

Who you looking at?

Painting with Grandpa.

It’s nice not having to worry about walking the dog while Grandpa is here, but Meredith was slightly jealous that he was taking over her normal duties. 

Little Miss Piggy.

After Grandpa returned to Utah, the twins were confused, asking, “Where’s Grandpa?” constantly. When I explained he had to go back to Utah, they sighed with understanding, knowing how far it is since they are old enough to remember trips there. As they always say, “That’s a long journey!”

Lots of love,

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“Happiest” Place on Earth Day 3: Princess Makeover, Pure Exhaustion and Swimming

After a jam-packed Disneyland and CA Adventure Day 1 and Day 2, we woke up before dawn again for our final day at Disneyland. Since our extra magic hours for staying at the Dland hotel could only be used on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Disneyland and Wednesday for CA Adventure, we went to Disneyland for our final day, even though there was a lot more we wished we had time to explore at CA Adventure.

Grammy and Grandpa had Meredith at home for the day so that we could have a day alone with just the birthday girls. It was adorable watching Meredith interact with the characters and shriek in delight on the rides, but it was also way more exhausting with her there, between naps, keeping her busy on rides she couldn’t go on, keeping her from picking up and eating people’s half-eaten corn dogs and forcing her into her stroller with her screaming that she wanted OUT! We missed her on our final day, but it was nice to spend some one-on-one time with Samantha and Amelia, while Meredith had a relaxing time at home and was none the wiser.

We took advantage of our last Extra Magic Hour and made it to the gates by 6:30 a.m. with all the other crazies.

Dawn at Disneyland!

Just waking up… so exhausted!

When you get there at opening, the cast members line Main Street to give everyone high fives.

Being there in the early morning totally paid off; I can say that since I’m a morning person, but I can’t speak for our poor, exhausted twins and Jake, whose ideal trip would have consisted of sleeping in, going on whatever rides were the shortest with no plan and in no particular order, and lounging around the hotel pool. From my point of view, we had a great time with no waiting in line all morning. We opted to go back to the pool instead of hanging out at Disneyland for the entire afternoon because the twins were totally done with rides at that point, but we did hit some of the fun thrill rides while their energy was still high.

 

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue.

Amelia and Mommy on the Astro Orbiter.

 

There was something magical about zooming around Disneyland at daybreak.

  

While Jake and Samantha went on Star Tours again (she loved it that much), Amelia and I saved seats for them at the Plaza Inn for a character breakfast. Most of the advice I got prior to the trip said not to waste your time with a long breakfast in order to take advantage of the low lines in the early morning, but by Day 3, we didn’t really care about making it on every single ride and wanted to relax a little.

The Plaza Inn character breakfast ended up being our favorite meal of all. The breakfast buffet was delicious and the characters were more varied than what we had seen elsewhere in the park. We met Fairy Godmother, Captain Hook, Rafiki, Eeyore and other random characters, all of whom were playful, stealing hats from little kids and running around the restaurant among other pranks, and made the twins feel at ease.

I asked Amelia if she was brave enough to meet Captain Hook, and after weighing the pros and cons, she decided the bragging rights were worth it. Amelia to Sammy for the rest of the day: “I was brave and met Captain Hook! I wasn’t even scared AT ALL.”

Even though it was much easier just having the twins, we were sad Meredith wasn’t there to join us since she would have been absolutely in love with all the characters.

Rafiki was the best!

Even Jake couldn’t escape without a big monkey hug.

Outside the Plaza Inn: fed, rested and ready to take on our final day.

Our favorite ride– Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Awesome combo of classic Disney and thrills! The twins are total thrill-junkies and loved it. Sammy even put her hands in the air on the drops!

We thought we might traumatize them with Splash Mountain, but decided to take the risk since it’s all Zippidee Doo-Dah and cute creatures throughout the entire ride, until the very end when it’s too late to do anything about it! They actually laughed afterwards and weren’t traumatized, so that was a win. We wanted to go again later in the day to try and get a picture of the girls without being blocked, but there was a 2+ hour wait later, so we bagged it.

Dreams do come true.

I can’t remember ever doing the tour of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle when I was younger, but we went through with the girls and it was super cute. They loved stopping at each scene to read the pages of the book inside the castle.

We still have the “Tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room” song playing on repeat in our heads. I thought the twins might be bored for this, but it was one of their favorite “rides.” The singing birds and tikis were right up their alley.

The Dole Whips definitely helped keep their attention too.

Tarzan’s Treehouse.

Jungle Cruise again! Same corny jokes.

Spinning teacups time.

MOM YOU’RE EMBARRASING ME.

Samantha and Amelia love to get their nails painted and dress up at home, so what better way to celebrate our last day at Disneyland than to get their very own princess makeovers at the Anna and Elsa Boutique! Okay, so this was probably more for me than them. Despite refusing to say A WORD to the stylists and acting shy the entire time, they did crack a smile when the stylists whipped around their chairs for the big reveal.

The before:

Before their makeover, the girls got to choose a color of nail polish, color of hair extension, and which princess updo they wanted. Sammy chose Elsa of course! The prices of dresses at the Disneyland and Downtown Disney gift shops are ridiculous, so we just brought our own that the girls already had from home.

Feeling pampered.

Despite this being the Elsa and ANNA boutique, Amelia predictably chose red hair color for her favorite princess, Ariel. She brought her Ariel dress at home, so I guess this was fitting, although I was hoping they would choose Elsa AND Anna just because it would be super adorable. Poor Anna. No one ever wants to be Anna!

The girls got to choose a color of eyeshadow and a little blush to boot. This was all teetering dangerously close to Toddlers and Tiaras, but hey, whatever. We just went with it. This was all way too much girly girl glam for Jake, who took the opportunity to make some calls and get work done outside.

The girls were excited to keep their nail polish and makeup compacts afterwards and last week, I caught them in their rooms trying on their makeup together. Let’s stay little, girls!

I was amazed that the stylists tamed the girls’ unruly, curly hair and whipped up such beautiful updos. I wish I had video’d everything so I could try it at home because the only hair dos I’m capable of are piggy tails.

After adding the tiara, the stylist sprinkled a little bit of “pixie dust” glitter.

On the count of three, all the stylists in the salon shouted,”Let it go!” as Amelia flipped around to see her transformation into a princess. Predictably, Amelia had a non-reaction and while she didn’t act too enthusiastic at the time, once we were outside, it was all “Look at my nails, mommy!” Look at my red hair, Sammy!” and smiles all around. I’d like to think it was worth it!

Introducing Princess Ariel.

Sammy also got a sprinkling of pixie dust glitter, a tiara and a climactic countdown to “Let it go!” before seeing herself in the mirror. Sammy was wearing her best poker face, but once we got outside the boutique, she couldn’t stop talking about her new blue hair and nails.

The beautiful Princess Elsa!

Admiring each other’s nails.

They may have been ice queens inside the Anna and Elsa boutique, but were their regular, silly selves once we got outside!

Ready to hit Disneyland again… or not. By early afternoon, the twins were understandably having complete meltdowns.

Before their dresses and princess updos were ruined by ketchup, the evil queen mommy made her princesses stop for pictures, which they fiercely protested.

Nice princess faces, girls!

The most miserable looking princesses you ever did see.

Amelia was so exhausted, she was falling asleep right then and there.

You’d think we were at the Most Boring Place on Earth or something!

At one point, Amelia flat out refused to budge from her stroller, while Sammy reluctantly posed, on the condition that she could make whatever faces she wanted.

Princess Glum Face.

THIS IS TORTURE.

     

After corn dogs at the Little Red Wagon cart, these poor girls were out for the count.

While they were napping, we strolled around Pixie Hollow and decided to meet Tinkerbell, since we had nothing better to do.

Unfortunately, as soon as it was our turn to meet Tink, Samantha woke up right at that instant and was so disoriented, she started bawling. It only made matters worse once she looked up to see Tinkerbell and was then angry that Amelia wasn’t awake to meet her too!

This pretty much sums up our whole trip.

Sammy adapts a little bit better than Amelia, and with an ice cream, she was ready to go.

Amelia napped away while Sammy went on a few more rides with Daddy.

  

Even though there were still some rides we hadn’t been on, we decided to call it a day and head to what the girls had really been waiting for–the pool.

Say goodbye to those princess updos!

Takeaways:

Loved the Extra Magic Hour and close proximity to the park

Hated sharing a hotel room

Grammy’s wheelchair access was awesome

Favorite character meal: breakfast at the Plaza Inn

Favorite quick and cheap meal: corn dogs from Little Red Wagon

Twins’ favorite rides: Peter Pan, Dumbo, Nemo Submarine, Big Thunder Mountain, Radiator Springs Racers

Meredith’s Favorite ride: Dumbo

Favorite non-rides: Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, Toon Town, Tiki Room

Mom’s favorite girly girl experience that the kids probably didn’t care about and could have been done at home for free: Anna and Elsa Boutique

Favorite park: CA Adventure

Best troopers: Grammy and Grandpa

Girls’ Favorite treat: tie between Dole Whips and churros

Not worth it: waiting in line for Pixie Hollow

Worth it: waiting in line to see Frozen, Live

Best at being totally in character: Tinkerbell

Best at facing fears: Amelia

Best at cracking jokes: Samantha

Best napper: Meredith

Best overnight sleeper: Meredith

Overall best sport: Meredith

Jake’s favorite part: “Just walking around the park with you”

Twins’ favorite part: the pool

Meredith’s favorite part: the splash pad

 

So, basically, we could have stayed at home and gone to the park, splash pad and pool for free and the girls would have been just as happy. But then we wouldn’t have been able to experience family bonding through the exhausting, tantrum-inducing sugar and sensory-overload that is the magic of Disney!

It took about a week for everyone to get back on a normal schedule and come down to earth after all the sugar and excitement, but hearing the girls talk about their first trip to Disneyland weeks later at least reassured us they had fun memories. Even so, we are officially Disneyland’ed out for the near future!

Lots of love,

 

 

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Last of Utah and Vegas Wedding

On our last day in Utah, we had plans to go to the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake, but it closed early, so instead, we went to Liberty Park, which had received a major upgrade since the time Jake and I were living in Salt Lake. We drove past Jake’s dilapidated old bungalow house he lived in during college when we met, not far from the park. Memories! Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mike met us at Liberty for some playtime.

Meredith had the time of her life on the swings. Her soft little tufts of hair are totally irresistible– it’s the softest penguin fuzz ever!

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Best. Day. Ever.

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Swing us!

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After Liberty Park, we visited our friends, Alex and Hillary, in SLC. Their little girl, Ann, was a great sport sharing her toys with all the girls. She took Meredith’s poking and prodding like a champ!

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Practicing chop stick skills.

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We had a whirlwind week of fun in Utah and the girls were sad to leave Grammy’s… until they found out Grammy and Grandpa were coming with us part of the way on the return trip! Jake’s nephew was getting married in Vegas, and we had arranged for my parents to caravan down with us to watch the girls while we were at the wedding festivities. Not only did they come with us, my mom offered to take the twins in their car on the six hour drive to Vegas so that we would just have to worry about getting ourselves and Meredith there on time! Talk about gluttons for punishment… grandparents of the year!

We loaded the twins and gracious grandparents up with snacks, coloring books and movies in the minivan and wished them well! Meredith slept most of the way to Vegas and it was a very peaceful road trip on our end… it almost hearkened back to our pre-kids days!

Grammy found an awesome park in St. George, which was perfect for getting some energy out, and when they arrived in Vegas, they took the twins to see the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater Show (dog and cats dressed up and doing tricks) downtown.  Other than that, we didn’t hear much about their car ride… I’m assuming Grammy and Grandpa blocked it out of their memory!

Can’t believe we’ve never stopped at this St. George park before– looked awesome!

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Meanwhile in Vegas… Meredith was on her way to get ready for the reception.

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When we arrived at the hotel, we realized Jake had accidentally packed my bag in the minivan, which my parents were driving. Not having anything to change into after being in the car for six hours, unshowered, I decided it would be best if he went to the luncheon while I hung back with Meredith until the minivan arrived. She was bored with the hotel room in about five seconds, so we walked around the grounds and went to the pool while waiting for Jake.

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Jake’s nephews and niece on the Calaway side: Mason, Keitra, Alex, his bride, Bree, Reagan and Ben. 14725739_10207335522533799_3442186778346669710_n

After a long day, the twins were pretty cranky when we met up at the hotel, so we fed them quickly and left them (screaming from being overtired and confused) with my parents. We took Meredith to the reception with us and she mostly slept/was passed around and admired by all the family.

Jake with four of his brothers, Jarom, Tyler and Ben.

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Some of the Whitehead siblings and siblings-in-law: Tyler, Gigi, Jarom and Jen.

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Jake’s sister, Juliette, thought it was nice to hold just one baby for a change (she has two sets of twin boys, who are now in kinder and elementary!)

juliette  The next day, everyone woke up refreshed and ready to play. Jake’s family stayed at the same hotel, and we had breakfast with some of his family, as well as the girls and my parents. Then, we headed to the pool to burn some energy before going home.

The twins hung out with Grandma Celeste by the koi pond.

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Meredith loves silly Uncle Kip! They have the same expression!

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Jake (conveniently) forgot to pack swim gear, so it was my turn to be in the pool with the twins for a change! It was a nice day, but the wind made being in the pool freezing.

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Snack time with Grammy.

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One of the pool servers apparently took pity on us and made it her mission to bring us extra lemonades, beach balls and suggested we go use one of the cabanas for free.

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Thanks, Grammy and Grandpa for all your help! I’m sure the girls would have rather turned around and gone back to Utah with Grammy and Grandpa, but we hugged goodbye and went our separate ways. After exhausting themselves at the pool, we had the most peaceful drive back to California in history. We didn’t have to make any stops, and all of the girls slept for three and a half out of the four hours. Record shattering!

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We ate out and let the girls run around the park by our house before getting home and collapsing from the journey. While waiting in the car for Jake to run in and grab some food before the park, we entertained Meredith with silly sounds. Meredith didn’t know what to think of us pronouncing Sammy’s name with a snake-like long “S” sound… she was simultaneously entertained and spooked!

Other than that, it was a cry-free trip home!

Lots of love,

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Random August

Ah, the lazy dog days of August! After nap time (or lately, we have a “quiet time” if the girls don’t nap that day, which happens every few days or so), we like to scooter up to the park just up the hill.

Meredith was a little bit wary of the strange bees holding her.

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Sometimes, we even stay for a picnic.

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My friend, Phi, took me on a fun trip to the Asian market where we browsed all the interesting foods, like Costco-sized jars of kimchi. The prices on produce were inanely good and I picked up a whole box of fresh coconut, which the girls enjoyed drinking.

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Samantha and Amelia have their own front packs which they use to carry around their dolls or stuffed animals, just like I do with Meredith in the Ergo. Their favorite playtimes include pretending like they are mommies taking care of their babies, complete with cooking, bedtime stories, and songs. It’s adorable! As are bedtime snuggles with our real baby!

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We all love eating barbecue at Auntie Lynn and Uncle Steve’s, and Meredith especially loves it when we go to Great Grandpa’s pool.

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Our cousins in LA are moving to the East coast, so we took a day trip up there to see them off and play at their favorite park. The girls were excited to help them get rid of lots of their toys and books by agreeing to take them home.

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Playdates with Grace inevitably end with all three rolling down the hill and complaining of scratches and itching.

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Samantha and Amelia teaching Meredith all about how to work one of their old toys:

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The happy eater!

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Samantha never tires of sitting in boxes.

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Allie was one strong girl to pull these two in their wagon on a park playdate with her and Maliyah.

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We’ve been working on helping the girls ride their Striders lately. Samantha tends to fall down and grumble more, while Amelia goes sailing past her.

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Because climbing up a searing hot slide is more fun than going down.

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Meredith’s favorite pastime:

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Hugs for their guardian, Bandit.

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Meredith revels in the spotlight as the star of the neighborhood. It isn’t hard to see why everyone flocks to her– whether on a walk outside, or dropping her sisters off at preschool, Meredith smiles at everyone she sees!  Chelsea and London are always so gentle and kind with her.

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Now that school is back in session, the pool is empty most evenings, so we’ve been doing barbecue and swim nights several times a week. It’s so efficient when the dinner mess stays at the pool, we shower off the girls in the pool showers, dress them in their pajamas there and head back home to go to bed!

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Hold me, I’m cold!

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Samantha the goggle girl.

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Thrill seeker!

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Whoa, that was a little too high, sis!

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Hands down, the girls’ favorite game at the moment is hide and seek. Never mind that they only have about three designated hiding places and their giggles usually give them away. Meredith laughs at them and is always quite entertained by the spectacle.

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Our introspective Amelia. I’m never quite sure what’s going in that head of hers!

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Lots of love,

 

 

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