So, most who know me well know that I am blessed to have the best group of girlfriends EVER (okay, perhaps I'm biased ... but it is sort of true). We have grown from 6 friends in college, to twelve adults and 9 kids (with 2 more on the way!). We like to get together at least once a year as an entire group, but given our size, this is becoming increasingly more difficult.
Thankfully, Stephanie is an expert researcher. Want to know something? Need some statistics? Just ask Steph! So, it was clear that she was our girl when it came to finding and securing a place that would accommodate all of us this summer.
She found a great place in Laguna Niguel and it was decided, especially since we have so many kids who had never been, that Disneyland would be on the agenda. Along with a little pre-baby celebrating for Joanna and Gina, pool time, and a birthday party for Peyton.
Brian, our resident photographer was on site, so we were well photographed. Yes, I just narrowed down from over 2,000 pictures to come up with the ones left over for this post.
There was lots of playtime in and around the house:
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| Pretty girls Peyton and Mia |
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| Tub mohawks |
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| Friends forever (good thing!): Luke and Jack (taking a whiz!) |
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| Thomas the Tank Engine |
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| Must be a very worrisome part of the Thomas episode! |
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| "Troublesome trucks!" |
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| Sweet friends Ava and Luke |
Tons of swimming and hanging out by the pool:
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| Mommy and her sweet girl |
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| Aidan |
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| The boys with Gina |
There was time to meet baby Zach:
There was girl time to celebrate the upcoming babies:
There was boy time (ummm ... yeah):
There was time to party with Birthday Girl Peyton:
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| umm, so do you think they may have had some sugar? |
And then there was Disneyland!
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| Waiting in the first line of the day for Peter Pan |
Poor Luke had what we soon realized was just about the worst case of pink eye that I have ever seen. His eyes were bothering him, but he was such a trooper all day ... and we made an early morning visit the following day to the emergency drop in clinic.
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| Daddy and Luke on Dumbo |
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| Riding the Carousel |
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| Mommy and Luke on Casey Jr. |
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| The ladies (minus Jess) in front of It's a Small World |
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| Luke on Small World - he was completely enchanted |
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| This is our mode of transportation |
I thought we'd never make it to evening time at Disneyland, but right after lunch many of the kids fell asleep (Mia slept in cat naps all day), which was key to us making it through the day and into the evening hours.
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| Mia and Gina take a break while Jack and Luke nap in their strollers |
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| Luke's first request upon waking from his nap: a lollipop |
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| Steph, Darin, and Ava on the cars |
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| Daddy and Luke drive their car |
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| Jack and Mia |
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| Teacups! |
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| Watching the street parade |
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| Aidan, Jack, Peyton, and Easton |
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| A parade and a giant sized lollipop - what could be better? |
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| Toby, Aidan, Jess, and Bailey |
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| It's a Small World round 2 |
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| Luke got to choose his favorite ride of the day to repeat at the end of the day....he chose "It's a Small World" |
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| Brian and Jack |
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| Luke gets his ears! |
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| We make it to the fireworks show |
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| Luke and Mia both love watching the fireworks ... and I am amazed that we've stayed so late with such happy kids |
All in all, it was a wonderful first Disneyland experience for Luke. If you ask him his favorite parts, he'll tell you: the parade, the lollipop, and "It's a Small World."
What a great vacation.
Great fun, great friends ... can't wait till next year :)!
