the paquettes

Archive Page 35

Aug

california vacation day 7

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Julie and Vacation

Saturday was spent doing the rehearsal for my cousin’s wedding on Sunday evening. My kids were the flower girls and ring bearer! They had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at my grandpa’s house where we were staying for the week. My grandpa’s backyard is huge and beautiful. There is every kind of fruit tree, a pool, shuffle board court, fire pit, flowers and plants galore!

rehearsal time!

Asher’s ring bearer shirt!

this is my gorgeous cousin’s daughter. I think she looks a lot like my nephew Caden!

couples shot!

mom/daughter shot!

cupcakes for dessert!

Aug

california vacation day 6

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Julie, Rilyn and Vacation
Tags: Knotts Berry Farm

Friday was spent at Knott’s Berry Farm! This was another amusement park that I spent a lot of time at in my childhood. I wanted to “relive” some memories with my own kids, so off we went! The park has changed a LOT since my younger days, but the kids still had a blast! The big difference between Knott’s and Disneyland is the thrill rides. We discovered Asher loves thrill rides, and Knott’s had a lot of kid friendly thrill rides. (Disney is magical because of all the characters and fantasy story rides.) We didn’t stay the whole day (we left at 6) because, well, we were on day 3 of amusement parks and we were tired! 🙂

Snoopy is to Knott’s as Mickey is to Disneyland

quick drops up and down were a thrill for all three!

This next picture is the Sidewinder roller coaster. It is like a normal roller coaster except each “cart” spins around while you are going fast on the tracks. Rilyn wasn’t prepared for the feeling of “falling out” and screamed “MOMMY!!!!!!!!” on the whole ride! 🙂

I am sitting with Rilyn at the very end (in the middle of the picture with a blue shirt on) with my hair flying and Rilyn screaming!

This was another thrill ride. A giant “skateboard” that teetered back and forth. Asher loved it as you can tell! (I like the girl in the

front’s face!)

This was one of my favorite rides at Camp Snoopy when I was little. The “Huff N Puff”. My kids LOVED this ride. Even Rilyn wanted to go on again and again!

You have to pump the handle in order to go!

Asher was the last car on another time that they went and well, he got very left behind! He really huffed and puffed for sure!

ferris wheel!

wheeeee

Rilyn’s favorite ride was the swings. She said she could take a nap on there! 🙂 (Ella was too small to ride.)

Rilyn in orange and pink with James in the yellow hat

One of my favorite things at Knott’s when I was little was the train ride because a “robber” would come into your cart and harass you. I thought it would be funny to go on and not tell the kids that a robber was coming!

Give me all your money!

Asher, as usual, could care less.

They got a little scared!

this was another thrill ride, the cars would speed around the corners and the kids loved it!

I think Asher likes it!

Aug

california vacation day 5

By Julie P. 1 Comment

Categories: Julie and Vacation

Day 5 was spent relaxing. We spent the day at one of my favorite parks where I played at as a child. The slides looked a lot shorter then I remember! 🙂 We ate In N Out and enjoyed the gorgeous weather! That night I went to dinner with 4 of my friends from 2nd grade (and 1 from Jr. High)! Thanks to Facebook, we all stay connected! In true flashback Friday fashion, I’ve included pictures of my friends from the younger years!

me, Elizabeth, Vivian, Erik, Stacy, and Annie

And here four of us are in 3rd grade!

Viv and Stacy in the back row. Erik and me in the middle row

And me and Annie at one of my birthday parties:

Annie is sitting next to me with the very short hair

Aug

2nd grade!

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Rilyn

Rilyn was a bit nervous on her first day of 2nd grade because she has a “man teacher.” 🙂

August 23rd

Here is her and Cole, her best guy friend, and carpool buddy! These two have known each other their whole lives!

Cole starts 1st grade!

Rilyn 6 months old, Cole-a week old!

backpack buddies

Mr. B and Rilyn

Jen made Rilyn an “apple” cupcake when she got home!

after school treat!

Aug

First Day of K!

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Ella

I’m interrupting these blog posts of our California vacation for a very important milestone! Ella started Kindergarten yesterday! She was very excited, and had not one bit of nervousness! I was so happy for her! My guess is that she will love school and her teacher! (She has the same kindergarten teacher as Rilyn had.) I’ve had 2 kids in preschool for 4 years straight, so I’m entering a new season of life with only one kid left at home! Wow!!!

August 23rd

Here is the 4th annual “matching outfits” picture of Anna and Ella on their first day of school!

bffs

September 2010

September 2009

September 2008

Love this teacher!

awwwww

Ready for the day!

Ella getting off the school bus for the first time!

Jen made the kids “back to school” cupcakes for an after school treat! Ella got a bus cupcake because it was her first time to ride the bus! So sweet! When Ella got off the bus, she told me she had the best day of her life! Wow!!

yummy!

Aug

California vacation day 4

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Julie, Rilyn and Vacation
Tags: Disneyland

Day 4 took us back to Disneyland! This time we took more opportunities to meet characters and see shows. We hit 16 attractions in 12 hours.

Asher refused to wear a Mickey Ears hat. So sad for this mommy!

Our first stop was Space Mountain. We made Ella and Rilyn go on it. We had a switch pass so after the first ride, James was going to go on with the girls. Ella hated the ride, so only Rilyn went back with daddy (and that was only because she knew daddy really wanted to go on it! See one of the pictures below.)

this is before the ride started!

during the ride

Both girls look like they’ve been through the washing machine after the ride, but Rilyn

went again just for daddy!

We went on the Nemo Submarine ride!

Ella

We met Fawn!

Peter Pan!

Tow Mater and McQueen

Toy Story Mania ride-James’ favorite!

Woody!

Sully from Monsters Inc.!

We took the girls to a princess show while Asher was napping where they teach you “how to be a princess”. I think this picture is hilarious because the princesses are teaching the girls how to curtsy, and Ella is pulling out a wedgy.

Ella in plaid shorts, white top

Ella ribbon dancing with Snow White!

We headed to Toon Town in the evening. I love this picture. Check out Rilyn!

This is heavy!

Here is Roger Rabbit Toon Spin ride. Ella did this on pretty much every dark ride. She hates loud noises and surprises.

Our tradition is to end our visit to Disneyland on It’s A Small World. This still is our kid’s favorite ride!

Ella

Small World After All!

Aug

California vacation day 3

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Julie, Rilyn and Vacation
Tags: Angels, Huntington Beach

On Tuesday we went to the beach! The kids had so much fun and could of stayed there all day! The weather was perfect, and Asher was in heaven with so much sand and water! When we first saw the beach I asked him what it was and he said, “A big pool and lots of sand boxes!!!” You can tell he’s not a Californian!
You can also tell he’s not a Californian by the way he rubbed his eyes with sandy fingers. My kids could not figure out how to eat their lunch at the beach without getting sand all over their food. Such rookies!

salt water plus sandy eyes=tantrum

Rilyn running to the beach!

family shot

Ella the mermaid!

Asher could of done this all day. Random people got chunks of sand thrown on them as they were walking by!

building a sand castle!

I’ll “head” to the ocean in a minute! hehe

one of the many times Asher got knocked down by the tide

future surfer dude?

building with grandpa

That night, me and James went to an Angels baseball game (with my cousin, dad, and uncle) because they were playing the Texas Rangers! How lucky was James? I grew up going to Angels games and so it was fun for me to bring out my old hat and cheer on the home team!

Anaheim stadium

I brought the “past into the present” again with a picture of me and my cousin, John, at an Angels game about 20 years ago.

John and me

The Rangers won so James was happy! I did catch James eyeing the Angels World Series trophy. The Rangers were so close last year!

Aug

California vacation day 2

By Julie P. Leave a Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Julie, Rilyn and Vacation

Monday we went to Disneyland! This is the day we made the girls go on Thunder Mountain! 🙂 We had a great day!! Vacations are definitely a lot more fun now that the kids are getting older. We spent 13 hours there, did 26 attractions (achievers like to count), and only had 3 meltdowns. (One for each kid.) Here is Ella’s meltdown (on Splash Mountain.) She was screaming and crying on the whole ride, even when we were going slow.

we told her she had to sit in the front because she was the smallest (this rule is not true, but I wanted her to experience the thrill!)

Rilyn had a meltdown at the end of the night because she couldn’t walk anymore, and so we doubled up one stroller (we only rented two.)

Asher’s meltdown was after he woke up from his nap. Not a happy boy. I had to hold him while he was thrashing about. No pictures, just lots of frustration for about 30 minutes.

I uploaded this next picture before I realized I hadn’t finished erasing all the people, so you see some headless people on our left. Sorry, I’m on vacation and I’m blogging, and that’s what you get!

Peter Pan

Dumbo!

Rilyn and grandpa!

my mom, Ella, Asher, and me on the tea cups!

I think Rilyn liked this ride!

Casey Jr. Train

Eeyore!

We made Rilyn go on the Indiana Jones ride. Only Rilyn was tall enough for this ride so Grandma sat out with Ella and Asher. This is a thrill ride and Rilyn decided she didn’t like it at the end. 🙂

Wow, this looks like it could be scary!

Daddy, hold my hand!

frightened!

A bumpy ride!

I don’t want to go on that again! (don’t worry she will one day.)

nap time!

Our goal was to meet characters that we didn’t meet in 2009. (Again, the achiever in me comes out.) My girls even told characters they had met before that they couldn’t sign their autograph book because they already got their signature before. Here was a good find! The Fairy Godmother from Cinderella!

Bippity Boppity Boo!

All Ella wanted was to meet Rapunzel, and she got her wish!

The girls were speechless when Rapunzel asked them questions!

Buzz Lightyear ride!

the new Ariel ride

California Adventure park

A Bug’s Life 3-D (this was too scary for the kids, they all were crying at the end)

bumper cars

World of Color show at California Adventure

Aug

California vacation day 1

By Julie P. 1 Comment

Categories: Asher, Ella, James, Rilyn and Vacation

We flew into California on Sunday and spent the day relaxing with family! We are staying at my grandpa’s house in Huntington Beach. This is the same house I grew up spending holidays at with all my cousins. LOTS of memories!

I took this picture of my grandpa’s pool with an old picture of me in my grandpa’s pool (with my cousin) when I was about Rilyn’s age. Bringing the past into the present!

my grandpa’s pool

I jumped off this board sooooo many times!

This is the girls with my cousin Shannon on the pier at Huntington Beach. She is getting married tomorrow and that is why we took this vacation! The girls will be flower girls and Asher the ring bearer!

Shannon, Rilyn, Ella

look at the ocean

Family picture on the pier. It was getting chilly. (I know you Texans are jealous!) 😉

Aug

Big Thunder!

By Julie P. 3 Comments

Categories: Ella and Rilyn

We are in California for the week to celebrate my cousin’s wedding. We are making a fun-filled family vacation out of it, so yesterday we went to Disneyland. (We are going back on Wednesday too!) We told our girls that Disneyland/California Adventure tickets are really expensive and so they WILL go on all the rides if they are tall enough! 😉 Neither of them fussed about going on Thunder Mountain. I think it was Ella’s first “real” roller coaster and so I had to capture it on film! If you look at the pictures in sequence, you will see the transition of Ella’s face from happy to terrified!