Vacation Part 1: Disneyland

Since Varun was deployed much of the summer, we decided to take a family vacation in September after he had a chance to get back into a routine with us at home.  The first part of our vacation was spent in Anaheim, California.  We were lucky to get the 3 day military pass for Disneyland at a great price for the two of us and all three of the kids were free since they were under 3, which made the trip very affordable.  After weeks and weeks of research and reading Disneyland guides we decided to not stay on the resort but instead stayed at the Ramada Inn Maingate which was literally right across the street from the main gate.  Our hotel was pretty standard, but the location was awesome.  We were just steps away from Disneyland and with three kids that still take naps, that sealed the deal for us.  Because our kids needed naps during the day, we broke our day into two parts which worked well. 

We spent our mornings grabbing fast passes for the more popular rides and tried to knock out as many rides as we could as soon as the park opened.  We were lucky to get on quite a few adult rides first thing in the morning while the kiddos were still happy just hanging out in the strollers. We really enjoyed California Screamin', Soarin', and Space Mountain.  Lily's favorite ride was the tea cups followed by Dumbo and the carousel.  The twins seemed to enjoy most of the rides they went on.  Our afternoons were spent trying out restaurants and revisiting the park to try a few more rides (mostly for the kiddos) before the night time events began.   One evening we spent in Disneyland Park watching Mickey's Soundsational Parade and the second evening we watched World of Color at Disney's California Adventure Park. Lily loved both events, but really loved the parade since she got to see all of her favorite characters up close.  We really liked the World of Color show best.  It was a great light/music show played over the water.

We had a great time at Disneyland even though people thought we were crazy to take three little kids.  We hope to go back again soon! 

Labor Day Weekend Bike Rides

We have spent a lot of time bike riding over the last few days.  Last week we bought a bike trailer for the kids, a new bike for Christina, and new helmets for ourselves and the twins.  We fixed up Varun's bike the other day and tried out the new biking equipment a few nights ago to prepare for Saturday's Tour de Fat in downtown Fort Collins.  Tour de Fat is sponsered by New Belgium Brewery (if you've had Fat Tire, you've had a New Belgium beer).  Basically it is a huge bike parade with 20,000 people dressed in costumes drinking beer. There are also concerts, food vendors, and tons a kids at the event so we thought it would be a fun thing to do with the kids.  Luckily, we have a good friend who lives at the intersection of the parade starting line.  He had us over for mimosas and a great breakfast in the morning.  We had a great view of bike riders lining up in their costumes from his balcony.  The kids (especially Lily) had a good time dancing to the music and watching the costumed riders below.  As the parade started to dwindle down at the end, we hopped on our bikes and rode at the end of the parade line.  It was a lot of fun and we are glad that we decided to try it with the kids.  We will definitely try to ride again next year!  Here are a few pictures from the morning and a few extras from our 10 mile bike ride along the Poudre River Trail on Sunday.

The hosts Rylan and Laura Ann making breakfast.

All dressed up and ready to go!

Playing dress up

The girls loved the glitter make up!

Even Jacob tried the wig.

Almost time for the ride to begin

The girls watching the crazies below.

Lily and "the King"

Ready for Sundays ride to the park

The Poudre River Trail

Lily and Varun

Passed out when we stopped for a picnic lunch

Playtime!

Lily on the smallest slide at the playground.

First Day of Preschool

Liliana had her first day of preschool yesterday.  She will be going to school just one morning a week in the 2.5 year old class at a local church preschool.  She will go just three hours a day.  We thought that this would give the twins some time of their own at home while also giving Lily a chance to socialize around other kids her age.  She had the chance to meet her teacher a few weeks ago at a summer play date hosted by the preschool and again last week at her school's open house.  She has been very excited about going to school and about her teachers Mrs. Elisa and Mrs. Debbie.  She has talked about them since first meeting them at the beginning of August. 

Varun took off work yesterday so he could be a part of dropping off and picking up Lily on her first day of school.  We thought we could get a few pictures of her dressed up in her new outfit and backpack before schoolk started, but Lily had other ideas.  She wanted to run around the front yard instead.  Once we got her to school we thought we would try again.  Nope, she didn't want any pictures.  She found her cubby right away and ran off to find the play doh table.  We gave her a kiss and said bye and I honestly don't think she cared that we left her.  She seemed at home in there talking to her teacher as we left the room. 

After we picked her up, it was hard to get her to talk about her day (which was surprising since she usually talks so much).  We took her and the twins to the park for a picnic lunch and to play for a little while.  On the car ride home she told us that she did not want to go home and that she didn't need a nap today.  Two minutes later she was passed out.  I think the first day of school was a success and she was worn out!

Running around the front yard before leaving.

She found her cubby!

Little Miss Independent

Lily and her teacher.

Picnic lunch at the park after school.

Jacob eating his chicken salad and fruit.

Yay! We finally got Lily to take a picture!

Julia eating her lunch with Daddy.

Julia found the shade at the park.

Jacob is reading to follow Lily and climb the equipment.

Lily's favorite after a long morning.

Welcome Home Varun!

After being away for 10 weeks, the kids and I welcomed Varun home from his 7th deployment. Although it was a short deployment we were all beyond excited to have him home again. Liliana had been counting down the days for weeks and could not stop telling everyone she met, "My daddy is coming home on Friday!"  We made posters, got balloons, and the girls wore their 4th of July dresses in preparation of the homecoming.  It was a very exciting day for the kids, especially Liliana.  To add to her excitement, we got to see a C-130 take off in front of us as we waited for Varun's plane to land.

We are so happy to have our family together again.  While Varun was away, I had so much help and support from our awesome neighbors from babysitting, to dinner invites, to mowing the lawn.  As we pulled into our neighborhood after picking up Varun, we came home to a street filled with neighbors with posters, flags, and cupcakes on our front porch.  It was a nice surprise welcome home!

Getting ready to pick up Daddy!

Yay!

Not sure what to think of the planes taking off and landing in front of them.

Look!  There is Daddy's plane!

Varun's Plane

So happy to see each other!

Look how big we got Daddy!

All together again :-)

We have the BEST neighbors!

4th of July Fun

 

Happy 4th of July!  We had a great 4th of July with our neighbors this year.  One of our neighbors organized a block party for the 4th so the kids and I walked a few doors down and spend the afternoon outside with our neighbors.  The kids had a mini parade around a few streets, played with bubbles, balls, and bikes, had glow sticks and stayed up late to watch the fireworks.  We had a great time playing games, eating, and hanging out with everyone.  We were lucky to have a great view of the fireworks from our culd-a-sac and it was nice to not have to leave the house with the three kiddos!