Thursday, March 2, 2017

Lexie-loo is TWO!!!

Man oh man...
how is this true?
Wasn't this just yesterday?





No?
Then surely it was just
yesterday that we were 
celebrating your 1st birthday.



No?
Still not true?
How can it possibly be 
that I am sitting here,
10:30 at night,
trying to put-off the inevitable.
If I stall long enough,
and just don't write this post,
then you can't possibly turn two.
Right?

Still no.
Hmmm.
Well then, I guess I have no other
choice than to take a look back at this
past year...and all of the adventures
you've had.

Definitely your biggest adventure
was this summer when you got to
fly in a plane, go on a cruise ship,
and even on a dog-sled!

Here you are...on your first flight!

You got to get dressed up for the
Captain's Dinner...




you fell in love with the doggies
at the musher's camp.



You got bundled up to see a glacier
up close,


and as you always do,
decided to take Canada by storm...


and fell in love with some goats!


There is no denying
that you were the cutest Tinker Bell
that there ever has been.


And you learned real quickly,
that the more doors you went to...
the more candy you got!


Speaking of costumes...
you are quite the fashionista!

Who else can pull off Christmas jammies
with this much flair...


look this sweet all bundled up...


accessorizes an "itsy bitsy, teeny weenie, 
yellow polka dot bikini"...
with a black eye...


is this fashionable on 4th of July...


tries to cheer our Bulldogs to victory...


has this much swagger at
The Big Fresno Fair...


puts this combo together, 
all on her own...


sports bunny ears in December...


loves a good hard hat...


insists on wearing her tiara
to the grocery store...


piles on ALL the bling she got
for Christmas...


and so proudly wears one rain boot,
a Christmas necklace, and a shopping cart for a hat?


No one but you,
sweet Lexie-loo!


Did I say sweet?
Oh boy.
Yes, you can definitely be sweet
as can be...
and when YOU feel like it,
you are the sweetest little cuddle bug.
But.
Oh yes...there's a but.
You also know how to use your charm...
to get you out of situations like these.

Remember that time you spit water,
from your mouth,
all over our floor?


Or the time you spilled milk everywhere...
and tried to make a mad-dash?


What about the time...or times...
that you covered your face in your food?


Then there was that fun park play-date.
When you were so sweet to 
every stranger who had a snack...
trying to get them to share with you.
Yes, strangers.
And when I scolded you...
this was the look I got.


Oh Lexie-loo.
You are most definitely our
ray of sunshine.
Your spunk and love of life
is absolutely infectious.


You are too smart for your own good.
Sassy beyond your years.
A charmer who wins over everyone.
Passionate about everything...especially food.


You challenge us daily.
You are beyond exhausting.
There is nothing that you are afraid of.
Your laugh is unbelievable.


You know what you want
and you are determined to get it.


I always dreamed of having a "girlie-girl"
and boy did I get it.
But you aren't afraid to get some 
mud on your hands. ;)
You have taught me so much
these past two years,
and I cannot even imagine what
you will continue to teach me!
As Landry said when he saw this picture,
"This is Lexie saying, 
'This is my world!'"


Boy was he right.
Lexie-loo...
we all know it...
this is your world and we are 
just here for the ride.
I am so incredibly grateful that
I get to be a part of this ride, as your mama.
You are definitely my sunshine!

Keeping the tradition going...
here you are with Lion-bear

And of course...to compare...
here she is a year ago!








Saturday, January 7, 2017

Lost Posts of 2016: Mom's 60th in Disneyland!

Back in November my mom turned the big 6-0!
My sister and I made plans...
back in August...
 to surprise her with a trip to
Disneyland...
just us girls!

We have never done a trip with just us girls,
and it had been FOREVER since we had been
to Disneyland...
so we figured what better way to celebrate your birthday?

Well, my Dad ended up having foot surgery
right after her birthday, the weekend we were supposed to go,
so we had to post-pone it until the first part of December.


Our first stop...
Downtown Disney for some
cupcakes from...


I didn't get a picture of them because we ate them
without even thinking twice. :)
They were yummy.
The next morning we got up
and headed to the park.
Our first line of the day...


Yup, nothing says, "Welcome to Disneyland"
like waiting 20-30 minutes to get into the parking structure.
We followed everyone's advice
and went straight to California Adventure first
to ride the new Cars ride.


So, I have to admit that at first,
I thought the ride was kind of boring...
but then...
the racing part at the end...
oh my goodness...


We spent a couple of hours
in California Adventure...


and then made our way to Disneyland!
Here are Kait and I in line for the Matterhorn.


Disneyland was pretty crowded.
We've seen it worse...
don't ever go between Christmas and New Year's...
but we've also seen it a lot less crowded.
What didn't help was that most of the big rides
kept getting shut down.
At one point in time Pirates of the Caribbean,
Indiana Jones, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
were all closed at the same time.
No bueno!


We made our way to "It's A Small World"
right when they turned on the Christmas lights.
So pretty!
My sister gave me a bad time
for making us stop and take this picture.
Her exact words were,
"So, we are going to be THOSE people
right now?"
Yup.
We sure were. :)


We were never able to ride Indiana Jones,
due to all of the times it was shut down...
no joke, at LEAST 5 times during the day.
But we were able to hit everything else.
The "new" 3D Star Tours...


and by FAR the best ride...
Hyperspace Mountain!
Oh my goodness...
so fast and so much fun.
If you don't believe me...
just look at Mom's face in this 
picture.
Side note...
I was laughing so hard when we
saw this that I nearly peed my pants.
No joke. :)


It was a fun filled day.
We were able to make it through 
both parks in one day...
it was a little "touch and go" towards the end. :)
We got our fill of churros, 
tried beignets for the first time,
had our fair share of crowds,
and enjoyed the beauty that is
Disneyland during the holidays.



See you next time, Disneyland!


A few fun tips for anyone that doesn't know...
who is still reading now that the pictures have stopped :)...
1. The Disneyland App gives you "approximate" waitlines for the various rides. It will also drain the battery life of your phone. No joke. My phone can normally go all day and be fine. Well, by 11:00am I was down to 15%.
2. There is a vending machine where you can buy a battery charger!
Yes, true story!!! It is $30 and only gives you one charge, but you can exchange it out as many times as you want. I went through three of them in one day. I got one before we left the park and now I have it...you can recharge it with your charger...to use whenever. The vending machine is in Tomorrowland, in between Space Mountain and the large gift shop. :)
3. We stayed at Candlewood Suites and we would highly recommend it...especially if you are doing a family trip. It is close to the park...definitely not walking distance...but a short 5-minute drive. Each room has a kitchenette with a stove, oven, full size fridge, toaster, coffee maker, dishes, silverware, etc. The one downfall is they don't offer breakfast...BUT...they have a little "market" in the lobby where you can buy food, they even have an area where you can borrow a variety of appliances that aren't in your room...like a crock-pot! Here is a link to their Expedia listing: