It's the Happiest Place on Earth!

We just got back from Disneyland and we had the most amazing time! I'm not just saying that....we REALLY enjoyed ourselves! It was an awesome time to go, we never waited longer than 15 minutes for a ride and we got to ride our favorites more than once. We started day one off with Pirates of the Caribbean, which is a favorite of mine, then we went to Haunted Mansion which Maclaine thought was really cool, then we headed over to Thunder Mountain. Afterwards, Maclaine said, "that was awesome!" We knew that we had a little adventurer on our hands! She didn't care about doing any of the kiddie rides she wanted all the thrill seeker stuff!

There were many, many giggles on this trip, no tears and absolutely NO WHINING...unless it was from me of course :)

Take a look!

Here's Maclaine getting settled into her little room at the hotel...it was more like a closet but she LOVED it!


Monday morning, getting ready to head out...SO EXCITED!



Waiting for our shuttle in the freezing cold! Anticipation building....





Ty was like a little kid...he was quite giddy!


These two were stuck like glue...


Mainstreet...


3 Stooges...


Buzz Lightyear ride...


Clainey looks scared but she actually ended up LOVING Space Mountain!


Second time on Haunted Mansion...


"Have you ever seen this move before?" It's the, "I need to get my wedgie out, move!"


These guys were really funny!


They're the GI Joe men from Toy Story 3....


Freezing their booty's off waiting for our dinner reservation...


Big fakers!


Inside Ariel's Grotto before we ate...


She's a tired girl and we still have a few more hours at the park...


Soaring Over California was SO cool!


We were really scared to go on the Hollywood Tower of Terror...


but, not Ty....


Poor Clainey, she got off this one and said, "well, I don't need to do that one again!"


She's re-enacting how she felt on our last ride...


Look at those beautiful eyes!


Day Two

Outside our hotel room...


Notice her new Disney pin collection....


Christmas tree in lobby...


"Quit taking my picture!"


"I'm not gonna look, I'm not gonna look!"


"How's this one, mom?"



Little stinker...


Much better...


For a second anyhow....


She's doing, "My name is chubby, my momma's name is chubby...."


The famous Disney picture...


Thunder Mountain, second time around...


Water ride at California adventure...


Jumping Jelly Fish, Maclaine thought it was boring...


I think Ty liked it :)


These 2 cuties MADE me go on the Ferris Wheel, "I DON'T LIKE FERRIS WHEELS!"


It actually wasn't too bad, we got the one that didn't swing...


Disneyland has the best hats!




Taking it easy on the Merry Go Round....


I wanted to get her profile done because my mom has one of me when I was a kid and I wanted to compare...




Waiting for the parade to start, we're all pretty pooped out at this point...



Can you see the princess castle in the back?


On our way out of the park...


Thanks for the memories Disneyland!

A little of this and a little of that....

This is a little bit of a random blog post but I'm trying to get caught up so I can post our pictures of Disneyland!

We went to the Fountain Hills Art Festival with Ty's mom and step-dad John and had a great time!

Here's Ty, Paulette, and Clainey....


John getting pink underwear signed for his mom in California, she's a fan I guess....


Donovan's 5th Birthday Party!

Nephew Tanner, niece Mallory, and my Clainey....


Mallory and Clainey....


Can you say concentration....?


Niece Ellie, pretty girl....


My dad and Donovan, "stay still, Donovan!"


Aww, much better!


Happy Birthday Donovan!


Cute girlies!


Donovan and his sis Ellie...


Aubrey spent the night!

Here they are making their annual Gingerbread house....




Thanksgiving!

Such beauties!


My mom and my cousin Logan...


He's a very serious boy...


Twinkies!

Halloween Festivities!

Our Halloween festivities this year included Fright Fest at Maclaine's school, carving pumpkins, getting the annual picture taken with Maclaine and her BFF, and trick-or-treating with cousins!

Take a look!

Maclaine came up with her costume on her own, I love her creativity!


Maclaine and her friend Seren...


Look at that hair!


Maclaine and her teacher....


Buddy's....




Our masterpieces...


Maclaine and her BFF Delani...


Maclaine, Delani, Alicia, and Brae...


Cousins...


Ellie and Donovan....


Tanner, Aubrey, and Mallory....


"Let's go!"


Look at those eyes!


Two peas in a pod....


"I've gotta get this wig off!"

So sad...yet so sweet!

One Saturday morning, a couple years ago, Maclaine asked if she could use her daddy's treasure chest, that his dad had made for him when he was a kid, to put some of her special things in.



We said, "sure" and she went in her room, closed her door, and spent a couple hours in there "organizing." I didn't really think much about it and went on doing whatever I was doing around the house that day. A couple days later, I realized that when we tucked her in that night she didn't have her beloved teddy. So, I asked her where he was. She said, "I put him and Ellie (her beloved elephant) in the treasure chest.

Now, let me back up a bit. Maclaine has been a thumb sucker since she was a baby and when she got older she didn't do it quite so much but when she did, it was when she was holding Teddy or Ellie. So, when she was in Kindergarten and 1st grade we kept telling her that she really needed to quit sucking her thumb, that it was going to ruin her teeth. Whenever she would come out with Teddy and Ellie we would have to tell her to put them back to bed because they were aiding in her thumb sucking.

Here she is with Teddy...


Her, Ellie & her thumb...


and another....


So, on her own, she realized that she needed to put them away...in the treasure chest so that she wouldn't be tempted to suck her thumb.

Over the summer, I was cleaning behind the little couch in our den area and the treasure chest was back there so I opened it to see exactly what she had put in there.

This is what I found.






I found this note that she had written to her "friends".

"I will miss you gise."



Oh, how my heart melted! My poor baby (1st grader, at the time) made the decision on her own to quit sucking her thumb. All I wanted to do at that moment was take her Teddy and Ellie back to her bed and tuck her in with them and tell her it was OK if she still wanted to suck her thumb. I missed my baby! When she was a thumb sucker at 5 or 6 it drove me crazy and now all I wanted was for her to start doing it again. Bring back those years.

***Tears streaming down my face***

My girl is growing up! Even though she has become such a fun young lady I'm really feeling melancholy that the years are flying by!