Photo Shoots

I had a couple of 'photo shoots' of the girls in July and August.  (Keep in mind, I am not a photographer and just have a normal camera.)

I wasn't happy with any of my previous options for baby announcements for Madison, so I took a ton of just her.

The winner was this one, but it was a tough decision.

In August, Madison was about to outgrow her outfit that matched the big girls 'Best Big Sister' shirts, so I had them pose for a bunch of pictures.

Fair Days

We love going to fairs.  This year we made it to two county fairs.

In July we went to the Orange County Fair.  My friends from high school were all meeting up there.  We had a nice day, but it was hot (over 100*). It was my first big outing by myself with 3 kids although my friends definitely helped out.

Bright matching shirts were a must - very helpful in the crowds.

We had a nice time, but when everyone was there, we had 4 strollers, so it was a little difficult to get around and we didn't see much.

Near the end of September Kyle took an afternoon off and we went to the LA County Fair.

Must pose . . . .

 . . . at every . . .

 . . . . possible picture option.

Dress up & play house in the prince & princess area - so fun. B cried when it was time to leave this area.

They had to take a picture with the mermaid.

Madison chilled in her seat most of the day.

The girls were able to pick 2 rides to go on - they picked the motorcycles & some cars to ride on.

It was another warm day, but not as bad as in July and we were able to see a lot.  The girls had a blast.

Disney Day!

In my last post, I mentioned we had an exciting day coming . . .  we surprised the big girls with a trip to Disneyland!  It was the first time they had been and we had a blast.  My sister has been begging for pictures, so here they are!

We had to wake Brooklyn up that morning (Katelyn is always our early riser) and we surprised them by telling them we were going to Disneyland.  Katelyn of course did some jumping up & down and yelling.  We gave them matching Minnie shirts to wear that I had picked up a few weeks earlier at Target.  We took a video, but I still need to figure out how to get them posted to the blog.  We brought Madison to spend the day with my parents and then headed to Anaheim.

I have been so excited about this day for months.  Kyle thinks it is overpriced and overhyped and went along with it for my sake.  He knew we would have fun, but paying that kind of money for one day took some convincing.  I was able to talk him into it when I was able to get $200 credit for signing up for their credit card.

 We picked a Thursday in October thinking it would not be busy, but it was PACKED.  We still had a great day, but we did have to wait longer than anticipated in lines and it took us about 1.5 hours from when we pulled up to get into the park.

Our first & last ride of the day was the tea cups (because Brooklyn did not like the color we rode on in the morning).

Tea Cups!  B was not in the mood for pictures.

Nemo submarine

In line for It's A Small World.

Brooklyn had a rocky morning as she had a bad night of sleep before, but after lunch time she perked up and had a great attitude until we left at 8:30 that evening. 

We went on a lot of rides and the girls did great with them.

In Jail in Toon Town.

Sitting at Mickey's desk.

We met Mickey at his house!  The girls did not want to get too close, so a family picture it was.  Due to the crowds, we didn't have a chance to meet some of the other characters.  We opted for rides instead.

There was a small roller coaster in Toon Town that we went on.  It was the first coaster for the girls. Kyle & Katelyn sat in the front and she was terrified.  I sat with Brooklyn and she giggled hysterically the entire time and absolutely loved it.  I wish I had video.  It was the only ride that she immediately asked to go on again (we waited 30 minutes in line, so a 2nd time wasn't happening).  It was probably the highlight of my day.

Going up!

And dowwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnn!!

Toon Town

Being silly while waiting in line for the train.

Tired in front of the castle.

Dumbo with Daddy!

Dumbo with Mommy!

I brought glow sticks.  Here we are standing in line for Alice in Wonderland while the parade was going on nearby.

Last ride!  Tea cups!

By then end of the night, I told the girls we were going to go on a boat ride and one of them told me she was tired of boats :-) (but of course still enjoyed the ride).

The girls' favorites were Pirates of the Caribbean, Dumbo, teacups, Nemo - it just depends on when you ask them.  Katelyn also really liked "the line for Alice in Wonderland,"  which is where we were standing when the parade went by.  If I had to do it again, I would have made the Parade a bigger priority as they loved seeing the characters and the music, but we decided to do rides instead when the lines were maybe a little shorter (yeah, not so much).  Brooklyn says the rollercoaster was her favorite, but I think maybe just because I say it was mine.

The next day we were all exhausted; by the time we got home after picking up Madison it was close to 11.

A Swimming Summer

We swam this summer.  A LOT.  We got off to a slow start only swimming once at my Uncle & Aunt's for a birthday party and then when we got to July it seemed like we went swimming at least once a week through the beginning of September.  The girls had swimming lessons for two weeks at the beginning of July and Katelyn especially caught on to a lot of the basics and steadily improved at swimming to the bottom of the pool and trying to learn her strokes throughout the summer.  (Don't get me wrong, she still has a long ways to go before she is swimming on her own.)

 We went to the pool at my Uncle & Aunt's retirement community with their grandson.  (Madison was only about 4 weeks old here, so I wasn't swimming yet.)

Swimming Lessons - It was Katelyn's second year and Brooklyn's first.  They met every morning for 30 minutes for 2 weeks:

Katelyn on the board

Brooklyn on the board

Practicing kicking.

Riding on their teacher to the deep end of the pool.

Katelyn swimming with the board with her head under.

B with the teach, K is smiling.

 At my Uncle & Aunt's house:

Madison did a lot of chilling out in her car seat over the summer while her sisters were busy in the water.  Fortunately, she was a good car seat sleeper when she needed to be.

 We also have some friends from church that had a new pool put in this summer and we went there a few times as well.  And then of course we had our blow up pool and did a few splash pads, etc.  They were in their swimsuits a lot. I'm getting to be a pro at sunscreen application.

Both girls gained a lot of confidence and now enjoy jumping in on their own.  Katelyn loves swimming to the bottom (at about 4 feet deep) to pick up rings, etc.