The last day of our vacation we went to my grandpa’s house to swim for a bit before heading to Huntington Beach! I love how we hit the snow earlier in the week and the beach later! Gotta love southern CA!
First swim of the year!
I grew up swimming in this pool, so I love watching my kids swim in it! That diving platform felt SO HIGH to me when I was little!
It was cold water, but the kids didn’t care!
The kids LOVE the beach! We could spend all day here easily!
chasing the surf
a boy and his sand pile
Ella drawing in the sand
We had SUCH a great vacation, and can’t wait to go back to California!
The next day after skiing we went tubing at a place called Alpine Slide. We wanted to give the kids as much chance as possible to play in the snow since they don’t get to see a lot of it in Texas!
We took the kids to Snow Summit to ski for the first time! James and I have been skiing many times, but the last time we skied was 9 years ago! I was praying for muscle memory, and I only fell once (I hit some mud). I got a NASTY bruise on my arm though because of it! I’m just old and busted at 34, and only could ski 5 long runs before I called it a day!
James made a sweet video of the family skiing! Check it out!
The kids in front of the cabin. About to head off to ski!
Look at all the snow! LOL
We signed the kids up for morning and afternoon lessons. Here is Asher about to go to Little Bear skiing school!
Ella looking all cool! 🙂
Me and my honey on the lift!
me getting ready to ski!
James!
So, this CRAZY thing happened! James fell off the ski lift! James had a puffy backpack on (filled with my ski jacket-it was 60 degrees!) and so when he sat on a fast blue ski lift, he bounced off because of his backpack! He tried to hold on, but his skis were too heavy and he ended up hanging off the side! I, thankfully, got pictures because James yelled, “take pictures!” LOL He was about 18 feet in the air before the lift attendant stopped the lift! He hung there for about a minute before he dropped. He was able to kick off his skis and landed safely! James always has crazy stories!
James hanging off the ski lift! Can you see the lift attendant below?
Hi James!
James falling
Me taking a picture of James left behind as I go up the ski lift! LOL
James taking a picture of me after his fall
Rilyn and Ella loved skiing! Rilyn had a rough morning, but by the afternoon she had a great time! Ella loved every minute of it. Asher had an okay time, he was so tired at the end of the day! We were so proud of him though for trying!
our little man!
Some random little kid told me I looked like an alien! LOL
Rilyn!
Ella!
Asher getting off the ski lift!
Asher!
James and I would love to take our family skiing every other year from now on!
After Disneyland, we drove 2 hours to Big Bear to stay at my cousin’s cabin which has been in the family for almost 40 years! My parents honeymooned there! We stayed there 2 nights and spent time exploring, skiing and tubing! There was no snow around, but enough on the slopes to go skiing! (Big Bear makes their own snow a lot of the time.) Here are pictures from day 1 of exploring!
Asher climbing on the rocks around the cabin. I used to love playing on these rocks as a kid!
The kids were playing “Indian HGTV” and Rilyn was the realtor showing them around to different rock houses. This was Asher’s “house” and you can see he is sleeping in his bed. 🙂
Can you see Rilyn on top of the rock?
Peek a boo Ella!
We made s’mores that night in the fireplace! So fun!
We traveled to California for Spring Break and went to Disneyland first. This was our kid’s 4th time to Disneyland, and I think it was one of our best visits! It wasn’t overly crowded like at Christmas, (we went in 2012), and the weather was perfect! We went on 24 rides from opening to closing! We started at California Adventure, and at about 3 p.m. went to Disneyland. Enjoy our day through pictures!
On the bus to get to the park, planning out their day!
family picture!
our first ride-Toy Story Mania!
James and Asher shooting away in the Toy Story Mania ride!
Ella and my cousin, Diane on Jumpin’ Jellyfish!
Rilyn and Asher’s favorite ride, Tower of Terror, so they say…
Rilyn in line in the Tower…
Then our good friend, who we ran into from Texas, had his GoPro, and took this video of us! I love how I am super joyful and Rilyn and Asher are so, well…NOT! LOL
Ella and my cousin on Luigi’s Flying Tires!
This was Ella’s 2nd time on Radiator Springs, but she did NOT want to go! (She hates fast rides.) Here is her “I’m not so sure” face. (We went on the single rider line (ages 7 and up) to make the wait go faster. 🙂
Here is Ella after the ride telling Diane how much she LOVED the ride! LOL
Me and the girls waiting for daddy and Asher in front of Radiator Springs. They had to wait in the LONG line (almost 2 hours)-ugh
James and Asher in the blue car coming down the lane…WINNING!
Time for Disneyland!
Thunder Mountain and It’s a Small World were closed for repair when we were there, which is so sad, because that is Rilyn and Ella’s favorite rides. 😦
Rilyn in line at the Matterhorn
Asher in line at the Matterhorn! That is such his personality!
Rilyn loving the Matterhorn!
Rilyn looking around on the Jungle Cruise (with her 2nd cousin, Makayla)
Asher and James on Tarzan’s treehouse! Can you find them?
That’s me and Ella and I’m trying to get a picture of the ghost that sits in our dune buggy on the Haunted Mansion!
We always go to Disneyland with my extended family! My family with my aunt and cousins and their kids!
Star Tours!
Autopia!
The kids snuck in line on the Autopia at 9:55 p.m. Asher was content to stay in the stroller at that point, but the girls were still going strong! We left the park at 10:30 p.m. (it closed at 10!) What a day!! We LOVE Disneyland!!
I grew up going to the fair every summer, and I just LOVE taking my kids to the fair every spring break when it comes to town! Maybe next year, we will bring the kids to the rodeo too! 🙂 I love taking pictures at the carnvial, maybe it’s all the colors, or maybe it’s their faces when on the rides! We had a great time at the fair this year, with nice weather and no crowds! We went on almost all the rides!
Look at Asher running into the fairgrounds!
Ella learning how to milk a cow! Not too invested though-lol
Asher and his cousin with their dream truck!
Rilyn at the petting zoo with baby goats!
This rodeo mascot loved to dance with the girls!
Pig races were a hit as usual!
Lunch break before we hit all the carnival rides!
Can you find Asher on the bridge?
Potato sack slide!
Asher wasn’t feeling well right after lunch so he didn’t enjoy it this time around!
Rilyn loves her spinning rides!
Did I mention she LOVES spinning rides? She went on this 3 times by herself!
Favorite part of the fun house? The end spinning wheel of course!
Asher’s favorite ride-Genesis!
James was cracking up here because Asher was telling him one of his body parts “feels funny” when the ride goes around and around! LOL
The girls and I got a chance to attend The Secret Keeper Girl Crazy Hair tour earlier this month! Secret Keeper Girl is a Christian program designed for tweens ages 8-12 years old. The girls had fun, and it was very silly! I got up to dance on stage with them at one point! Ella shed some tears when the speaker was talking. She is my emotional/feeler daughter. When I asked why she was so emotional, she said that she wanted Jesus to change her heart because it was full of sin. That melted my momma heart as I gave her a big hug.
Asher has started his third season of soccer with James as his coach! He has played soccer with 3 of these boys all three years too! Go Shadow Ninjas!!
practicing with his best friend, Caden, before the first game!
Getting a little aggressive! That’s what I like to see!
the paquettes 