14 Years ago today, I married the man of my dreams in the Mesa, Arizona Temple for Time & All Eternity! It was the best decision I have ever made! I have been so blessed having Leonard in my life. He truly is my everything! He is my Best Friend & still makes me blush... even after all these years!
He completes me... my better half :) I love love love him with all my heart and soul!
Thank You Leonard for being so faithful, loving, caring, protective, forgiving and treating me like your Queen all these fabulous years! I am truly Blessed!
We were so young! and we still are right!!! ;) wink wink!
We were able to attend the temple this morning and do sealings. It was so special! I was able to reflect back to 14 years ago when Leonard & I knelt across that altar in the Lord's Holy Temple and made sacred covenants with the Lord & to each other to be true and faithful to those covenants. We were then sealed for Eternity. It was the happiest day of my life! The Lord has blessed us exceedingly and has guided our life as we have been striving keep those covenants. We are far from perfect and I am so thankful we have each other to rely on & to help each other. I wouldn't have it any other way!
Oh, I just Love this picture of Leonard & I! it's new ~ Thanks to Leah Davis
We are still young and adorable!!! RIGHT ;)
You are my Sunshine! My sweetheart! My Mr. Galaxy... Still ... and will be forever!
14 happy years of marriage & 3 great kids later ~ Life couldn't get better than this!
Happy Anniversary Leonard! I Love You! Thanks for giving me the best years of my life!
**** for those looking for the Christmas Newsletter.... scroll on down, but enjoy this post first ;) ******
Ahhhh, Disneyland! Have I told you how much I love that place! We took the kids to this magical place for an early Christmas present and we had a BLAST!!! It was Blake's first time. Now if you know me well at all, you will be aware that I have "rules" for taking one to Disneyland.
I believe 5 and up is the golden age to hang out with me at the Happiest Place on Earth. 5 is the Golden Age because you have to be old enough to speak english, be potty trained, be done with nap time, understand we have to wait our turn... you know what I mean.... well I did break that "rule" of mine. And Boy oh boy am I glad I did!
Blake is 4.5 years old and he did great! He Loved Disneyland! It was a Super Magical Vacation
Leonard compiled a little video of our first day at the park. Blake is so cute to watch! pause my music player please for a more enjoyable experience! :)
*****Warning***** Watch at your own risk**** May induce giggles and smiles from ear to ear as well as an INTENSE Need to make a trip to the Magic Kingdom********
Day One of Disney Fun! It was a bit chilly! Let's go family! Time for me to walk your legs off :)
It's tradition to start our day flying on the Dumbo Ride! Always a big hit for short folks :)
First time ever we rode on Casey Jr. Train ride! It was so cute and Blake was in Train Heaven
King Arthur's Carousel :)
awwwww, My cute little family
Tea Cups
Finding Nemo Sub.... was extra special this time thanks to Blakey Boy! We all loved watching his reactions and how he squeezed his eyes shut when we saw the shark and scary fish.
Thunder Mountain Railroad.... The Wildest Ride in the Wiiiilllldernessss!
One of Blake's favorite rides... mine too :) We have one brave boy! He loved all the fast moving, thrilling rides... that's my boy :)
Lunch Break at the French Market... Clam Chowder Bread Bowls... delicious!
This year we started a new tradition with our family... Disney Pin Trading. We got everyone a lanyard and a few pins to start off the trading with....thanks to the richardson's :) Most Cast Members wear pins and you can trade any of what they have for what you want... it is like a treasure hunt! The girls had a BLAST with it :)
SPLASH MOUNTAIN
This picture is Blake's first time! He has his eyes open and he is smiling! He CLEARLY has no idea we are about to drop 52 feet! He was so cute we had to buy the picture for a souvineer! LOVE IT!
WE've been splashed! and we are HUNGRY for more :)
Carly was usually the "splashiest" :)
It was cold outside and there were no lines on Splash Mountain especially at dinner time... That's where the Zito's will be! We are die hards :) Infact, the lines were so dead that we got to stay on our "log" and ride it over and over again. 7 times in a row, 6 times in a row! Good times I tell you!
Me and the kiddos... not to wet yet! We figured out how to sit on the log and stay the driest... put the weight in the back of the log :) It worked like a charm :)
I LOVE this pic of Splash Mountain! Oh Blakey Boy! I was tempted to buy it! But at $15 a pop for ONE picture! I opted for the iphone pic instead!
My 3 little Honey's :)
We explored Tarzan's treehouse... Carly looks thrilled hu! They get sick of pictures! Suck it up :) more pics to come :) I felt like I didn't take enough :)
On our first day at the Park it was wide open and hardly any wait times! We zoomed from one end of the park to the other. Other favorites that I didn't pics of was Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion decked out in the Nightmare before Christmas decor! LOVED IT! Space Mountain was AWESOME! Even Blake LOVED it! and the Matterhorn is always a bone jarring good time.... except for the snow monsters of course... just ask Blake :)
We even got "snowed" on at Disneyland! Talk about Magical :)
The Castle was beautiful... too bad my camera stinks! you get the idea :)
Day 2.... started out strong :) WE are ready for another day of F U N!!!!
We divided and conquered this morning. The Girls and I waited in the LONGEST line to ride Peter Pan. over 30 minutes... even first thing in the morning... it was so fun and we loved it!
Leonard took blake to ride Dumbo again, the Carousel
& the Storybook boat ride.... This ride, I was told was.... YAWN..... boring... and most likely never ridden again :)
Pose for mama & Matterhorn Maddness :)
It's a Small World. I think only Blake & I enjoyed it :) It is a bit of sensory overload :) But i think is a must... you have to at least go on it once... and once we did :)
Kaitlyn & Carly were DYING to go to California Adventures to ride the "big rides".... so we ventured over there. But when we spotted Mater and Lightning McQueen... we had to stop for a pic :)
Blake checking out Lightning. This is the Only Character Blake got close to the entire trip. He liked to see the characters, but he stated very clearly..."I'm not going to hug them". no prob little man! So we admired Mickey & Goofy and Alice from a distance :)
Soarin' California never gets old! You should have seen Blake's face on this magical ride! Priceless!
Our first time ever riding Grizzly River Run. I have seen too many soaking wet people get off this ride so i have been very shy about it and avoiding it like the plague. The girls were begging and pleading to ride it. Leonard got brave and took them on it. I took the backpack and camera and waited to see their raft plummet down the shoot! They were laughing and shouting and having a great time! hmmmm maybe it is not so bad after all. They were not very wet at all so the begged me to take them. OK, twist my arm.... so off we ran to the front of the line. We boarded the raft with another couple. It was fun, but I was nervous & tense the whole time, I did NOT want to get soaked... so it wasn't as enjoyable for me. we got to the end of the ride. about 3 rafts to the exit.. we could see the exit platform and the ride broke down. So we sat there...me the 3 kids and this couple of strangers. STUCK sitting for at least 15 minutes waiting to get off. I am really staring to get anxious. Blake was starting to get nuts.... The worker comes over and says the ride is broke...really?! and we can sit tight until they fix it.... maybe another 15-20 minutes! HOLY COW! no way!!! It was so annoying. I could jump to the platform and get the heck out of there. I almost did... but I just took deep breaths and hoped the strangers sitting next to us...which were not very friendly or talkative might i add... would strangle us or me them :) finally after what seemed like FOREVER we were able to exit and we did not go back. so there!
~California Screaming~
Leonard took the girls on this coaster and they were in heaven!!!
Kaitlyn & Carly are in the 3rd row from the front :)
I was stuck with this.... a 4 year old temper tantrum... it goes with the territory :) Not every moment was pure bliss... Blake was Blake and did have a couple break downs but nothing we couldn't handle. He was so upset he wasn't tall enough to ride Screaming... he was 4 inches too short. He was really devastated and let everyone know it... I did have a glimpse why I have my "RULES" ... when you break a rule there is always a consequence!
Blake was quite the stinker here and this part of the trip was not fun! luckily it was short lived. I got him back though... he forgot all about being mad after we took him on this...
Yep that is right.. The Tower of Terror. Ya, NO Blake did not like the "scary elemator" But the rest of us LOVED IT! He didn't cry or scream if that is what you were wondering about... We told him he didn;t have to ride it again.
But the Girls and I did and it was AWSOME!!!!! I wish i would have taken a pic of Blake's ride but didn't think about it. here is a phone pic of the screen pic! it is blurry... we are on the front row, right side. I can't wait to ride this again next vacation :) After Terror with Blake we headed back to Disneyland to finish out the 2nd Day. Splash Mountain here we come :)
We did go back to California Adventure the last night we were there to watch this AMAZING new light/water show. The WORLD of COLOR!!! We were not sure if it was gonna be worth it and I can say it totally was! I can't wait to see it again, hopefully with a better view next time! Put this show on your TO SEE list next time you visit :) PS you have to get a fast pass to see it and i reccomend RUNNING to the fast pass line right when CA Adventures opens to get your fast pass for the show. They run out of passes in the first hour the park is open.
I wanted to spend our last day in Disneyland... My HEART belongs in Disneyland :)
It was very PACKED so we did not ride nearly as many rides. We used a fast pass on Thunder Mountain every hour though and it was Heaven!
Notice the whole castle in these pics!!! Awww Christmas at Disneyland... love it :)
The ONLY family pic we got.... don't u love it when strangers cut off the top of the castle!!!! HELLO!! oh well, it was a nice offer! and I am thankful to have all of us in the pic! Merry Christmas!
The last night we were there, the park was opened till midnight. YES!!! I will be there til they kick me out. Blake was DONE with a capital D. so was Leonard. Carly didn't want to be Done, but it was time! After the World of Color show Leonard took B & C back to the Hotel and Kaitlyn was my partner to run wild with for the last 1.5 hours til the park closed. I am proud to report we did 9 rides in 1.5 hours... pretty much the same # of rides, we as a family rode all day! Yes.... it is is True! I am THE Master :) Kaitlyn and I had a Blast together! Running around with our heads cut off! I Loved every minute of our late night adventures. Carly will get to join us when she is older. :)
WE had Splash Mountain all to our selves :) good times!
Ahhh, Pretty Castle!
Disneyland... I Love you and I will miss you! We all will miss you! I can't wait for our amazing family vacation together!
Golly, I am such a kid at heart! I brought my Minnie Ears and got my Minnie Lanyard to match!
As I groggily closed my eyes to sleep... happy thoughts of mice danced in my head... but only cute mice like mickey and minnie ;) cheezy hu? i know! hmmmmm. I will be dreaming about the next time we go to Disneyland :)
So Check out our Souvenirs. This Pin trading thing has been in operation for 10 years now and I had NO IDEA!! seriously! I remember seeing pins at the gift shops and thinking, those are cute, what do you do with them! You collect them of course. and you buy a couple favorites to add to your lanyard every time you go! We had so much fun hunting down cool pins and shopped around all the shops and kiosks til we found our favorites.
Here is close up of our treasures! keep in mind we started out with 20 pins to begin with :) Can you guess who each one belongs too?
Oh and I almost forgot, we had a yummy dinner here at Bubba Gump's! The kids want it to be a family tradition to eat here every trip! DEAL! I love me some good shrimp :)
WOW! Really 3 days of Disney Magic and it was Wonderful! On the count down to return and play some more! Merry Christmas kiddos! we Love you!
