Florida Adventures--Legoland

We had been planning this Florida trip for about a year. To say we were excited would be an understatement! Every seat was filled in our van and every inch was full of luggage. Grandma rode down sitting in between the 2 boys and Papa was on Dorothy duty. Poor Grandma was have crushed by Drakie and had her arms constantly stroked by Lincoln (He has always done that, silly boy!).

Dorothy  was so precious, holding Papa's hand when she watched her show.

We were so giddy when we pulled up to the Legoland Resort!!

The resort was so meant for kids. There were tons of things to play with, climb on, and explore. We were pleasantly surprised when the doors to the elevator shut and dance music came on with disco lights overhead!

We went swimming right away, since the kids had been in the car for so long. The pool had huge, floating lego blocks.

After our swim, we ate dinner at the resort's buffet, S. P. Latt's. The kids enjoyed being able to pick out whatever they wanted.

I had to put Dorothy to bed, so the rest of the adults took the boys to a Master Builder's workshop. They built some kind of creepy creature. They scored another 6 small lego sets inside the treasure boxes inside the rooms.

The kids wanted to sleep in the Adventure room with Grandma and Papa, not the Pirate room, where Dave and I were.

In the morning, we ate breakfast at the buffet again. It was so delicious and had something for everyone!

Because we stayed at the resort, we got to enter the park 30 minutes before it opened officially.

Dorothy was disappointed that she couldn't ride the bigger rides. She loved Beetle Bounce!! Unfortunately, we took her on a ride that totally freaked her out. It was inside, dark, and had scary things popping out to shoot with a laser gun. After that ride, she wouldn't ride any ride that was inside, even at Disney.

Drake is a total adrenaline junkie; he wanted to ride all the fast coasters. Lincoln was more apprehensive, but ended up enjoying them too. Dave too these pictures in front of the Coastersaurus. In the 2nd picture, Link is running away, because there was a loud growl from behind them.

Grandma and Papa are so fun to be around!

The lines weren't bad at all. We did so much in just 1 day! Our last ride was the Legends of Chima. Grandma and I took all the kids on this fun, very wet water ride. Papa and Dave shot water cannons on us, while the ride dumped buckets of water on us. It was the perfect last ride!

The Week Before

I'm totally procrastinating blogging our Disney trip right now, so I'll blog about the week before. Dorothy is sleeping in a big girl bed! She transitioned like a boss. Knock on wood, she doesn't get out of her bed. She will just stay there until we get her up in the morning. What?! It's a little different than the 2 baby gates in the doorway with Lincoln! Our sweet neighbor, Mrs. Sue, gave Dorothy her day bed, which is perfect, since my old bed is a little too big for her right now.

"School" has been so great for Dorothy! She is talking more and more everyday. Tuesdays and Thursdays are her favorites, when she gets to grab her backpack and go.

We love meeting up with some church friends once a week. We have explored parks we have never been to before. The week before Disney, we met up for a nature scavenger hunt. Look at all these cuties!

Drake participated in a dance-a-thon to raise money for his school's playground. Parents were invited, and I'm so glad I got to witness him dancing!

8 is Great!

Lincoln is a deep thinker. He will ask me church-related questions that I am amazed he thought about. It was no surprise when he said he wanted to be baptized when he turned 8. I'm so proud he followed he example of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and so love his Christ-like attributes. Man, did he look handsome in his suit!

Old Primary teachers, new primary teachers, friends from church and family gathered on Oct. 1st. Lincoln asked Eric Halston to speak on baptism and Dave to speak on the Holy Ghost. He listened closely, nodding his cute head. After the baptism, the family went out to eat at his favorite Mexican restaurant. He was so excited, he told the waiter, "I just got baptized!" I don't know if there was a language barrier or what, but there was an awkward silence, until I said, "He just got baptized at our church."

I don't know where the picture of grandma and papa with Lincoln is...I'll have to dig it up. They gave him his own set of scriptures, which he thought was super awesome!

The first Wednesday after he turned 8, Link got to start Cub Scouts. He loved it! There are 8 other Wolves in his den, so it's a good size group. They did a skit for the parents the first night.

The first day back to the gym from our trip, Lincoln came home with a gray belt. This is really exciting, because he just barely got his 4th stripe. I wish I could have been there to see his face!

Birthday Madness

There are 4 birthdays in our family this month, so we get to do lots of partying!

We had a combination party for BB, Carson and Lincoln on Sunday. They boys suggested a taco/burrito bar and multiple desserts.

We were happy Giggi got to be with us for this! She flew down to join mom and dad at the beach. After the beach, she spent a couple days with my family. I hate I don't have pictures, because the kids fell in love with her more this trip. Drake would lean on her at dinner, Dorothy would grab her hand and take her where she wanted to go. I have a super cute video of Giggi and Dorothy dancing together. They both have huge smiles on their faces! 

Right now, Link has 4 friends over for pizza and a movie. There is a lot of burping, bunny ears, and laughing going on! Dave is being the chaperone in the other room and the little kids are at a neighbor's house.

Dave always makes the best cakes for the kids. Lincoln loves the app, Monster Legends, so of course that's what he requested for a cake.

School is still going well for all the kids. They asked me to take a picture of them being excited it was a Friday.

Drake's teacher is so good about posting pictures of the kids. This was from her camera.

His school had Panter day today. I took this picture before taking them to school. I enjoy taking the kindergartners, because they talk more than the second graders!

I have been volunteering in Lincoln's class, once a week. I really love my time there! This week, I brought in cupcakes for all the kids, because of Link's birthday. One little girl came up to me and hugged me, told me I was a good mom and said she wished I was her mom. Heart. Melted!! 

Drake has to get a couple immunization a he was missing, probably from moving around so much when he was a baby. He was such a champ...he didn't even flinch and watched the needles the whole time. The nurse said most men weren't even as tough as he was. I treated him to his favorite spot, Pelicans.

Dave was showing off his hula hoop tricks.

Happy Friday everyone!