Thursday, February 23, 2017

Ella at Six months

Ella Mae at 6 months old. These photos were taken February 2 in my grandpa Varge Christensen's backyard in Sylmar, CA.

I love this chubby, dimple cheeked baby more than I could ever begin to say. My heart is spilling over with love.





sweater pattern: one piece baby pullover

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Riley is 8!

Riley is 8! We are so thankful to have this girl on our lives. She is bright and happy and a ray of sunshine.

She had a special day; we had lots of family in town to celebrate Riley on her special day. Uncles Zach and Andrew both spoke at her baptism and had such wonderful lovely thoughts to share. Riley is lucky to have a big family full of people who love her so much!

Here is a slideshow of Riley's cute little life so far. We played it at her baptism while I helped her dry off and get dressed. I adore this girl and I love being her mom.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

A Day at the Park: A Video



So a few months ago I decided to start keeping a video journal. At first I tried a couple of vlogs, but I have discovered that I like making these shorter videos way better. I am definitely an amateur but there is a lot more room for creativity with these smaller ones than with the boring 20 minute vlogs. Making videos takes quite a chunk of time but I really want to make it a priority to keep making them and acquire some skills in the process.

Here is a video of our Saturday afternoon at the park with my parents. I love watching my kids run around and play and there's something special about seeing the children interact and play with their grandparents. I love these people so much!

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Disneyland

We took the kids to Disneyland last week and, I'm not going to lie, Disney with six kids was not easy! Michael and I both felt like our legs were going to fall off at the end of the day BUT WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! Some of the highlights of our day were, 

1) Getting to ride Peter Pan twice in a row! As we were getting off the ride Matthew told me he wanted to go again. I explained to him that we needed to get back in line and wait our turn. The nice lady at the exit overheard our conversation and whispered, "If he wants to ride again you can just wait right here and I'll let you back on." What??? We were so happy! Peter Pan is one of the most popular rides at the park and the wait is always at least (the very least) 30 minutes, so we were thrilled!

2) Being allowed to continue in the fast pass line for Space Mountain after accidentally getting in it. We totally skipped another 30 minute wait and I was so thankful and also relieved because Michael was waiting for us with an unhappy Ella!

3) When we left the park we were walking with the masses back toward our hotel room. As we were waiting at the light to cross the street a man tapped us on the shoulder and said, "You wouldn't happen to want an umbrella stroller, would you? It's brand new, we just bought it for our trip and we're finished using it; we don't want to take it home." Yes, please!! We didn't take our double stroller with us because it was having tire problems and our old umbrella stroller is broken and has retired. We may not have been able to use our new stroller at the park but it was nice to be able to push Matt back to the hotel in it and it will get PLENTY of use in our family!

Family Favorites

Lily
   Ride: Splash Mountain
   Food: Churros!

Kaylee
   Ride: Splash Mountain
   Food: Jedi Order Chicken Sandwich at the Galactic Grill

Riley:
   Ride: Mad Tea Party (aka Teacups!)
   Food: Mac and Cheese at the Galactic Grill

Mallory:
   Ride: Pirates of the Carribean
   Food: French fries (haha)

Matthew:
   Ride: Astro Blasters
   Food: Pizza at the Pizza Port

Ella
   Ride: Winnie the Pooh (haha, I don't know but it's a really cute ride!)
   Food: breastmilk while waiting in the lines;)

Katie
   Ride: Peter Pan
   Food: Wicket's Wicked Veggie Wrap at the Galactic Grill

Michael:
   Ride: Space Mountain
   Food: Jedi Order Chicken Sandwich at the Galactic Grill


I loved going to Disneyland as a kid and it's so fun to see the excitement on my own kids' faces and to watch them run around the park and have such a great time! We are really lucky that we're able to take them from time to time.

Of course there are a million pictures of our fun day. I can never choose just a few, so here are all of them.





Happy kids after climbing into the ship on Peter Pan for the second time!











The next several photos are from Tarzan's Treehouse. Matthew was super concerned after hearing some screeching monkeys! 









We rode the teacups way too many times!
































the end