The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, and Brian got it for me for Christmas so i was really excited, but when I started reading I just couldn't get into it. I blame that on the fact thought that I was really tired every time I opened it, and soon I would fall asleep.

Anyway, a couple of nights ago i couldn't sleep so I picked it up and I read and read and read, and yesterday I kept reading and finished it last night. I really enjoyed the book. I found the plot intriguing and captivating, and it kept me on edge. I think my favorite part was watching Ani learn to trust again, and especially that she learned to trust herself and be confident in herself.

Now on to Enna Burning, another book from Christmas that I have been wanting to read for some time.

Disney pages

So I have finished my scrapbook for our Disney trip. I have a few pictures left to order, but there are places waiting for them to be stuck right in. It was really fun to do these pages. I am particularly proud of these two pages. The red-yellow-blue one will hold a picture our entire group (14 of us). It is the first page of our Disney stuff. I just liked how both of these turned out. I am usually not this fancy with every page, but it is kind of fun, when i have something special like this, to go all out!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas, but it got a little hidden behind our fun, fun trip to California. So here is our Christmas in a nutshell, and a slideshow.

Christmas started for us the Sunday before. Mom and Michelle were here and we invited my grandparents to come and we had dinner and the kids opened gifts from my mom and dad. Mom really enjoyed their reactions. The big three kids got scooters, and MEgan enjoyed her beading and lace and trace sets. Everyone was so pleased. The kids also loved their Disney plates from Aunt Michelle. Brian and I got an ornament that nathan made at school and a calendar that Liz made. So cute!

We survived Grandma Houghton's party. By this I mean that the party was great, but Megan was sick so I worried the whole time. The kids sang two songs and did great!

The weathermen were forecasting a huge storm to hit Christmas day and advised against travel if you could avoid it. So we packed up early and left a note for Santa. We postponed our traditional Christmas Eve dinner nad made it to Chantrys before any snow started to fall. The kids were most concerned about the Polar Express tradition (to which we added hot cocoa and cinnamon rolls this year) but all of that was continued after we read the Christmas story from the scriptures, got in our fun pjs from Grandma and Grandpa Call, and the kids got to open an ornament that mom made for them.

Christmas morning the kids played really good, but we finally let them in to wake up dad. I love the picture of them climbing on him in bed. The kids were thrilled that Santa still found them. Megan got an FP3 player (in pink), Liz loved her mp3 player and listened to it all day, dancing and singing around the house. Nathan got more Magnetix to build with and Michael got additional track for his Thomas and Friends trains. Everyone was happy. WE had a great time with Chantrys and the kids enjoyed lots of Disney stuff from Grandma and grandpa.

A few more Disney pics

So the Disney fun is continuing, thanks to the millions of pictures that we took.  It has been so fun to go through them and enjoy the memories all over again.  After all, that is why I take pictures.  Today I started organizing pictures for my scrapbook and deciding what I want to order.  I can't order them until I have seen Jason and Tandi's pictures because I know they have some stuff that i want, tu I was able to get some sections of my book figured out already.  

So here are a few more of my favorites.

Liz, just looking cute while waiting for Dumbo.

Nathan being all brave and getting ready for the Matterhorn.

Megan (above) and Michael (below) helping Grandpa spin the teacup.  I LOVE MIchael's expression.

The kids waiting for Gadget's Go Coaster in Toon Town.  The boys had been on it once with brian, and now we ALL got to go on it.  Below is a link to a video Brian took of our ride. 

http://eprocrastinator.blogspot.com/2009/01/toon-town-gadgets-go-coaster.html

Kid Friendly Travels

My in-laws deserve a big prize for finding such kid-friendly ways to travel. SOme I think was by accident, but some of it was planned with the kids in mind.

First, we loved Southwest Airlines. Not only do you not have to worry about paying to check bags (which we had a few of since I packed for six people) but they are so ready for kids. They have lids and straws that go on the cups of juice, they had activity books with neat pencils that were a different color on each side of the point, the flight attendants would stop and talk to the kids, and they even let the kids see into the cockpit when the flight was done. All in all it made things really wonderful. (On another note they were great about Michael's peanut and tree nut allergy. They didn't serve peanuts at all, and also let everyone on the plane know about an allergy on board and asked that people not open anything they brought that might have nuts. I know they can't guarantee anything, but it is nice they asked.)

The kids by the cock pit.  Michael especially thought this was very cool.

My in-laws also found a hotel with a free shuttle back and forth to Disneyland that had the cutest rooms.  They were called Kid's Suites and these little rooms connected to a nice large room for Mom and Dad.  

There was a little table with stools . . .

Bunk beds . . . 

A little couch (that pulled out to a bed) and TV with the Disney channel . . . 

And best of all, the doors betweent he two rooms could close so mom and dad could get a bit more sleep (or try at least.)

The kids had a great time in the hotel, and they slept really well too.  Haveing such a nice place to stay and having our travels go so smoothly made the trip a million times better.  Thanks Don and Sue!

Three Days of Disney

The week after Christmas we went to Disneyland with Brian's entire family. What a treat! We had three days in the park and were able to do everything we really hoped to do and more. The kids did great despite large crowds and long lines. The memories will last a life time.

The whole lot of us. It was such a great trip, and a great time to make memories with Grandpa, grandma, aunts and uncles. They were all so great about holding hands and sharing rides.

Me, Liz and Meg with Snow White. We also saw Mulan and Sleeping Beauty.

Michael enjoying a ride on the Disneyland RR. He could stay on it forever, and we did take a couple trips around the entire park.

Dad and Nathan tackled the Materhorn together.

Megan really enjoyed "It's a Small world"

Our family on the first day.  

MEgan couldn't stop smiling on the Carousel.

Disney snow is pretty magical stuff.

Nathan conquered Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones and all of the big rides he could find.

Michael couldn't get enough of Buzz's Astroblaster ride.

We had a great time! Now I just need to figure out how to scrapbook it all!