Saturday, June 18, 2011

the whole hand.


when you are five it takes the whole hand to tell people how old you are.

you are mature enough to know that your friend that's a girl probably wouldn't feel comfortable at an all boy buzz party...

when you are five you are sweet enough to invite her for an afternoon lunch.

you are funny enough to tell jokes that make people laugh.

and tender enough to make sure she has a pink cupcake, cause it is after all her favorite.

when you are five, it's still ok to believe that super hero's are real.

and that you just might grow up to be one.

when you are five it's ok to be tough as a gun toting buzz one minute, and still want to cuddle with you mom the next.

when you are five anything is possible...

anything...from infinity to beyond.


happy birthday my five year old little man. you are sweet, thoughtful, hilarious, obedient, considerate, smart, kind, tough, huge, and adorable. we love you more than you will ever know.

"star command, prepare for launch of a 5 year old!"



a few days before coles party, these arrived on some doorsteps...


with this inside...


on the day of the party cole was so excited for his fellow space rangers to arrive!


we had it all set up and ready to go. complete with goody buckets,


treat jars,


and one very intense banner made by one very crazy mother!


we were all set for an infinity and beyond of fun!


first the space rangers decorated their rockets.


while mom and dad put buzz a' top the cake!


(a HUGE shout out to Jen who taught me how to make fondant and made this all happen...she is the only reason this cake was able to come about...and how about those planets and stars? that was all justin folks! as well as the piping along the bottom.)


feel free to ooh and awe...esp after the hours we all spent on it!


but it was worth all worth it when we dug in along with these cute kiddo's!




rangers mckade and kody


ranger matthias


ranger michael.


and rangers carter and max.


(these party favors became swords...of course!)


we even had a few jr rangers and big sisters tag along for the ride!


after pizza (from pizza planet), cake, and a lot of play space ranger battles, it was time for gifts!


and boy was he spoiled...thanks guys!


think he had fun?


thanks to all our friends he sure did!


he got to open one gift from mom and dad after the party, since his actual b-day was not until the next day. he choose to open a pirate gift (his other obsession besides buzz).




what a fun day! thanks for partying with us guys!

beach bums.

we headed over to play at the beach on one of our last days of vacation.

I absolutely love how happy the beach makes justin and the kids...so cute to watch.

I love how she clings to him at all costs as each waves approaches.
then it was time for some sandy fun!

ali tried her hand at burying cole.

which gave dad an idea.

that he ran with...much to cole's delight.


almost...and...

there...done!

and ali had to throw her weight around while she had the chance.

argph!


we loved every second of our family time this trip!

Friday, June 17, 2011

the magic kingdom.

We headed up and stayed in a hotel the night before we went to


Disneyland!


Thanks to my brothers hook up at hotels and Justin's expert finagling we ended up with a sweet hotel room with a kid's suite attached for an awesome deal!


(even if we did end up being tricked into a $70 breakfast buffet!)



looks picturesque eh?

well with cole it was...



with ali it started more like this...



ah! He's huge! It got better inside Mickey's house though.




and by the time we got to Minnie she was all smiles.




and the inside of Minnie's house brought even more smiles...





Giant make-up she was allowed to touch, heaven for her.




Goofy's house was up next and we got to see him too.




after Toon Town we decided to split up. My mom, Ali and I went off to wait in the 1 & 1/2 hr long princess line, while Justin and Cole tackled the rides.



Although the wait was forever at least it was shaded. And then you turn the corner to the intimate little setting where it's just you and the princess.



Ali was all smiles in the line. She is a pretty animated kid (wonder where she gets that from) and she couldn't wait to see princesses, but when she rounded that corner all expression left her face and was replaced with a look that can only be described as "holy cow that's a real princess". She just starred...not a word. like it was sacred or something.


First up was Jasmine...not the friendliest...but none the less a real princess...



but then it was BELLE. Oh how I loved this girl. So cute with ali, so sweet to her. Ali was in awe.



she got right down on the ground and just loved on Ali.






she told ali she must be a princess too, because she had sparkling shoes.




Sleeping Beauty was WAY cute with her too.




up to this point all ali had done was nod her heard yes to the questions. Here is where she spoke her only words "That's my mom." and that was it...so serious about it too.




don't worry, she finally got a smirk out of her.




immediately after we walked out she became her chatty self. She had just been in absolute awe...she LOVED it...it was pretty dang cute.


then we moved onto Tinkerbell...who she is currently OBSESSED with.


same thing totally chatty and excited during the 20 minute line, then dumbfounded the minute she was with Tink.



Meanwhile Cole was busy riding ride after ride after ride...and this one got hit up 4 or 5 times.


blurry I know, but we had to document the Buzz Lightyear ride. It was definitely his fav. along with Pirates of the Caribbean.




Cole can ride most adult rides, but we met back up to go on some kiddy ones all together.




she loved this rocket ride...just look at her face!



at dinner cole tried his hand at photography...pretty good if you ask me!



then we tried the photo at the castle...a little special but it works.





then the boys went on a few more rides while we scouted out Sleeping Beauty's castle. In all my years going to D-land I never knew you could go inside!




she LOVED it! And this picture is proof that my mom was actually there.




We met back up later for a few more rides before the park closed.




like the tea cups...or as ali called them "the Hiccups".




as we walked down main street to leave ali was awed by the PINK CASTLE!


she kept saying it was hers...and for one perfect day this magical place was ours.





they were asleep before we got on the freeway...dreaming of buzz, mickey, and princesses no doubt.



It's true, it's just as magical through your kids eyes.