Disney Vacation!

We had such a fantastic Vacation this January.  We have been planning this and keeping it a secret from our kids for the past seven months and it has been so hard to not let it slip.  With all the Merrill family going and us Adults being so excited it really was a challenge to keep it a secret.  Most of my siblings gave the trip to their kids as a Christmas present so they could talk about it in and not worry, but we decided it would just be so much fun to just go the day of the trip and get on a plane without them knowing a thing. 

 We left in the middle of the WORST snow storm that we have had all year and it took us four hours to get to the SLC airport.  The girls thought we were going to be dropping Ryan off to go on a business trip and they were begging me to stay in SLC and get a hotel so we didn't have to drive home.  But when we got close to the airport, Ryan said, "I am going to California and I don't want you to drive home in this, do you want to just come with me?"  They all got soooooo excited and then a little worried they didn't have clothes.  But I had it all taken care of. 
We got to California late and the girls were all very tired.  The next morning when we woke up Ryan got excited and said, "Who wants to go to Disney Land?"  And they all could not believe it.  It scared Brytlee for a minute and she started to cry, but after she calmed down and thought about it, she was so excited.
They still had no idea that they were going to be at Disney with all their cousins and even better they had no idea that they were going to get to go on a cruise......it was all so exciting and so much fun to see them having so much fun. 

 The weather was great... (way better than Idaho)  and it wasn't to busy at all.  We walked in and got to see Cinderella.  Our Lucky Day!!!

 The girls very first ride was tea cups.  Ryan and I sat that one out.... we didn't want to get sick and have a headache right from the start.....

 We all like the little yellow submarine ride.  It is now a finding Nemo ride.   Very cute!

 Brytlee wore her little hat the whole trip.  She would get nervous about losing it on rides so she had to make sure I was holding it and keeping it safe!

 My mom gave us all matching sweaters for Christmas so we could all go to Disney in style!  I wanted to get a big family picture with everyone.... but that never happened.

 I was so proud of my girls, and look at Tessa!  They were so brave and never once got scared on a ride.  They loved them all and wanted to go on them all!

 Alexis turned out to be a little crazy driver.  Good thing she can't drive until she is sixteen.... only six more years

 Going to the top of Splash mountain.  I was wondering why there was no line at all on splash Mnt. and then when we got wet and it was a little cold I kinda figured it out.....  It is a little easier to get dry when it is hot.  60 isn't really warm enough..... But we figured out how to stay dry and we went on it plenty more times. 

 I had to try out Brytlee's hat while I was "keeping it safe" for her.....

 The jungle ride was great.  The kids all thought it was real until we went on it a second time.  Then they were all a little disappointed.

 We went to California Adventure and went on the new cars ride a few times.  It was such a amazing ride.  I still can not believe how creative and fun they can make the rides.  I loved it and all the girls loved it also.  We hurried over and got fast passes because a I had ran into Erica Foster the day before and she had told us that they run out fast, and if we wouldn't have had them we would have had to wait in the three hour long line.....

 DUMBO!!!

 My dad is so sweet to his grand kids.  I think he always had a kid at his hip or on his shoulders. 

 I really wanted to get a picture in front of the castle...  but we never got a great one, this one the lady walked into the picture and blocked it...

 I love all of the pictures from the rides.  Alexis was always showing so much enthusiasm, and you can tell she was loving it!  I tried to make the funniest faces in all of them.... and I got some good ones.

 It's a small world still had all the Christmas lights up and was still playing Christmas music.  It was so amazing.  I wasn't going to go on it until Annette told me how amazing it was... then I asked her to go with us and she said, "no way, once is enough"

 This picture really made me sad.  I really wanted just one good family picture in front of the castle and it turned out to be blurry.... dang it!

This is the flying over California ride.  We all loved it and had to go on it more than once.  It had a part that you were flying over a field of oranges and you could actually smell the oranges.  So cool!

Summer and I had some good times together and had to take some funny pictures.....

Lizzy and Mia had so much fun together.  I don't think they ever stopped talking and laughing the entire trip.  I don't know how in the world they laugh as much as they do but it is pretty dang cute!

We all loved the Tower of Terror!!!  I lost track of how many times we went on it!

Brad thought he had to bribe all the kids to go on it.....(my kids would have gone on it for nothing)  but they all really enjoyed the treat!  He tried to get Jex to go but it just wasn't going to happen.  After we were home the girls were telling their friends about how Jex wouldn't go on a ride so he was hiding behind a trash can and hissing at them, and the friend said, "WHAT.... why was he pissing on you?"  I had to laugh about that one.

The girls all got into the little camp they had for the "UP" movie.  It was cute, they had to do different activities and earn a merit badge in the end. 

Bugs life movie was great....

Mia wanted to sit by me on the tower of terror one of the times so I told her I was scared and I had to hold her... I think she thought I was such weirdo....

Alexis being a super model!

I love this picture of these two, and I didn't even notice Annette photo bombed them in the back, but now I love it even more!

This one was the screamer and we all LOVED this roller coaster.  I don't even know how many times we had to go on it!

We watched most of the light show at night, but we didn't have a great spot and it was really hard to see.  We decided that we should hurry and go on some rides while everyone else was watching the show.

Everyone else was tired so just Lex, Liz, and I went with Cache and Annette back over to Disney to close the park down!  We had some very great times!

This one may be the best picture ever

Splash Mountain at 11 is a great idea when you have rain poncho's. 

So we were able to get back to Disney for a third day.... we were suppose to leave on our cruise on Sunday but there was a problem with the boat, and a net was caught in something so we couldn't get on the boat until Monday.  A bus driver had told us that Sunday was the best day to go to Disney and it wouldn't be busy at all..... we really should have walked away from the park when it took us two hour just to get into the dang park.... It really wasn't that bad but it was a lot busier than the other two days.  But after about 5 it died down and we could walk onto just about every ride. 

While things were a little busy we thought toon town would be a good place to go and see.  The first ride we saw was Roger Rabbit... and the line looked really short so we jumped in line..  Then when we got inside the line went from one room to the next and kept going around corners and went on and on and on.  We were in line for over an hour, and the ride was not our favorite one at all.....

We walked through Mickey's house and played on the cute furniture.
I love this picture!  It really shows some personalty.

I wanted to put this picture on because I had to show off Elizabeth's new hair cut.  I really had a hard time cutting both the girls hair, and may have even cried a little about it, but I have to say that I was glad for this trip that I did.  It was so fast and easy to do and they always looked cute!

We told the girls that on the last day of the trip they could pick something to buy and take home.  So they all had time to think about what wanted, and could look around.  Brytlee fell in love with a Minnie mouse dress and she wanted it so bad.  I wanted to get it for her but........... it was 70 bucks.  So we had to try to talk her out of it, and find something else to fall in love with.

We all loved the buzz light-year ride and Ryan did have the high score until Brad smoked us all....

Star Tours Baby!!!

Our Very last ride of the trip....... so sad! 

We had so much fun, and the girls were so much fun and kept us happy!  I loved watching them and seeing their faces light up with each new thing that we would see.  They were all so happy to be there and it was just a magical time.  I really look forward to doing something like this with them again.  I just LOVE DISNEY!!!!!

Star Wars

When we went to Disney and figured out that our kids have never watched Star Wars.... or even know what it was.... when we got home Ryan was so excited to get to watch them ALL with the girls.  So for a week or so we would watch them together as a family.  It was a lot of fun and the girls LOVED them all.  Ever since they have been planning who they get to dress up like for Halloween, and also playing a lot of pretend Star Wars games.  Elizabeth really wants to get a light saber for her birthday and she wants to be Darth Vater for Halloween.  The other night while I was saying prayers with Brytlee she said, "please don't let anyone one go to the dark side."  I had a very hard time not laughing out loud. 

Big Girl

I have not wanted to talk about this much because I was afraid of jinxing it or didn't want to look like I was bragging..... But my little baby Adison is potty trained!   She has not liked to be dirty for a long time and would come to us as soon as she went to the bathroom and would want her diaper changed right away.  Then she started to take her diaper off by herself.... so I really had no other choice but to start putting her in panties.  I was really dragging my feet and didn't want to do it at all.  I just remember all to well how much work it is and how long it takes and how messy it can be.  I was being a lazy bum I know.....  But she did great and did it on her own almost.  She runs to me and tells me when she needs to go and has been such a big girl.  Now when she sees the girls going potty she will go to them and start to clap and say "Good Job"  She is so funny and just melts my heart.

Adison

While we were at the tire store waiting in the waiting room a guy walked in with long hair in a pony tail, and a beard and Adison points at him and said, "Jesus"  over and over.  I just started to laugh, and then he comes over and sits by us and she starts talking to him and still calling him Jesus.  So I had to explain and he told us that he gets called "Jesus" all the time.  I had to laugh and was a little proud that she was at least knows what he looks like a little.

Stake Conference

We were so lucky this year to have Elder Holland come and speak to us for our Stake conference.   He did a Priesthood session Saturday afternoon, and then a Adult meeting Saturday night.  I LOVED the meeting.  It was a meeting so good that you wished everyone you know could have been there, and felt bad that they were not.  He has such a funny sense of humor and was so fun to listen to.  He spoke for a hour and it flew by.  I would have loved it if he would have gone on and on. 
Sunday we were thinking about just going so we could really listen again and leave Alexis home to babysit the other kids..... but then my guilt got to me so I said we really need our kids to listen to him also....  The older two were great and I think they really listened, but the younger two made me feel a lot CRAZY.  Adison is potty training so we went to the bathroom four times, and she just wanted to run all over the place and wouldn't sit down.  And Brytlee was not listening, wouldn't sit still, had to sit on laps and was climbing on me and made me feel a little like a jungle gym..... by the time it was over... I was ready for it to be over.  Two hours is a long time to sit with little kids.  After he was done speaking he asked for the kids to come up and shake his hands.  I was really glad I had taken them for that, and I hope that they did get something out.  It is so funny how a great meeting like that can make you feel so great and so excited about the gospel.  I love our Church and it is so amazing.  I know it is true, and I love our leaders. 

Christmas Day

 wow... you would think our girls were angels this year with all the goodies they got!  We had a fantastic Christmas this year and I loved watching the girls open their presents and get so excited!  They were really spoiled this year....

 This picture looks like something exploded at our house....  I loved Christmas day so much this year.  In the past we have opened presents and then left to go and see people.  But this year we just stayed home all day long and let the kids play with their new things.  It was such a nice relaxing fun day. 

 WE have snow this year.  Last year we got a bunch of sleds and then never even used them because there wasn't enough snow.  But this year we have a ton of snow so we are having fun with them.  Adison wants to be outside so bad, but she has not figured out how to leave her gloves on yet.  So her hands freeze and she gets really sad and has to go in the house.

I think the girls could stay out all day and be pulled on the sleds!  They LOVE it

Kids

 What is that all over your face????

 Ohhhhhhhhhhhh,  you found out how to get into the Sugar drawer..... Oh I see!   What a little stinker! 

 Adison is such a funny girl, She can be a little trouble maker but she knows how to melt my heart or make me laugh so it is really hard to get mad at her.  She loves to get into EVERYTHING and it is almost impossible to get anything done while having to keep up with her....

 I was able to go and help with Brytlee's Christmas party in her class this year.  We made these cute little marshmallow and pretzel snowmen.  They also read stories, decorated cookies, and colored a picture. 

 This is Elizabeth after her little program she had for her Class.  It was really cute, and they did a fantastic job with all the songs! 

 Elizabeth is one of the tallest kids in the class so she was in the center and in the very back so it was hard to see her to get a good picture.....

For Alexis's Christmas party at school, they had crazy hair, and pajama day.  She looked fantastic and she had a lot of fun!

Mueller Christmas Party

 I love our Mueller Christmas party!  It is so sad that this is really the only time that I get to see this side of the family anymore.  When I was young we were hooked to the hip with most of this side of the family.  I am always so happy to get to spend time with them,  and had such a great time this year.

 My Grandma is such a wonderful women.  I think she is just so beautiful and she is the sweetest, and happiest person I know.  I hope that when I am her age I can be as active and beautiful as her.  Every year so goes to so much work so we can all be together, and she always makes our family tradition.... (Grits-mas scolver pole.) (I have no clue how you spell it... but it is a dish from Norway)

 Love my grandpa!  He is also a wonderful man and can always make me laugh!

 We always do a Nativity play and Alexis is just warming up.....

 Adison was even excited to be dressing up

 Our little Angel! 

 Alexis is always Mary, and Elizabeth wanted to be the donkey....

 My cousin Kylee that I used to babysit a lot when we were little.  She is so funny and i love to hang out with her and her sister Jaquel.  They are such great girls!

Adison was really cute to watch in the program.  She sat for the whole thing and smiled.  After that my grandma really wanted to do some dancing so we did the hokey pokey, and then the bunny hop.  The girls all loved that.  Elizabeth had a really cute song that she sang for her Christmas program called "Santa got a cold on Christmas Eve"  that she got up and sang for everyone.  I was so proud of her for not being scared.  She did a great job.  Adison loved watching her sing the song, and she now will start singing it and will do the sneeze and then laugh.... it is so cute!

Christmas at the Merrill's house

 My girls love to go and sneak into bed with my parents.  I always tell them to leave them a lone and let them sleep in, but somehow they always end up with all of them in bed with them.  (not all night, just in the morning)  But I know that my mom and dad like it so I can't get mad at them.

 We love opening presents with the cousins. 

We played so hard and had so much fun it wore these little girls out!  It was such a great time spending time with my family and seeing my girls play with their cousins that they love so much.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family!  We were able to go and help Chris at his shop on this trip because he was so swamped he was working crazy hours and making tons and tons of candy each day.  I had a lot of fun hanging out with them their and seeing how hard he works.  (and eating lots of the yummy treats on the side also)

getting ready for Christmas

 We went to Church the week before Christmas and the girls all looked so cute in their Christmas dresses that I wanted to get a picture of them by the tree... For SOME reason I am still trying to figure out, Brytlee was not happy about anything and would not have her picture taken.  And every picture we did take just made her more upset.  She sat on the couch and cried instead.....

 Ryan tried really hard to get her to smile and come in the picture but she was not having it.

 So when he took this picture, he made sure she was in it.... even though she is crying very hard..... poor little girl.  I think she was tired.

 We had a great ward Christmas party as always, and the girls all sat on Santa's lap!  Adison was so fun this year and just got so into it. 

 This is her reaction to seeing the candy that Santa gave her!