Isn't she lovely?

Usually, trying to get Hallie to smile at the camera goes a little like this "Hallie, look at the camera!  Hallie, look at Mommy!  Hallie, look at where Daddy is snapping his fingers.  Over here, Hallie!  Hal, the camera, honey!  Look up here . . .right into it!" You get the picture.  The other day, when we took curlers out of her hair in the morning, she looked too precious to not capture her on film.  So, we put her in her new favorite dress and went outside to snap some pictures.  Who knew all it took to grab a great picture of Hallie was to get her alone?  Don't get me wrong, she is a beautiful girl and we have many beautiful pictures of her.  But the story behind the picture is a lot of effort.  For these, all she did was run around and I snapped away.  I am so proud of my beautiful daughter.  Not that she has pretty blue eyes and a sweet smile.  I am proud of her soul.  She is exuberant, friendly, and she loves every aspect of life.  It is so fun to live with her. 

P.S. Please excuse me for living in such a beautiful place.  I can't help it.

Disneyland, Day 2 (July 13, 2010)

After a month of mild weather, California heated up the day before we came back to Colorado.  That didn't stop us from enjoying our favorite place.  Chris and I found adorable matching Minnie Mouse shirts at Target.  Let's be honest, a shirt like that would cost $26 in the park.  At Target? $5.99, thank you very much.  This day was extra special because Grandma came to join us.  We got to the park an hour after it opened and rode all the rides we could in Fantasyland.  By the time Grandma caught up with us two hours later, we had already conquered six rides.  Claire was so happy Grandma came because she could play with "MaMa's" necklaces.  She loves Grandma's necklaces!  The park started to get super crowded around noon.  This is when we decided to enjoy the air conditioning and relative calm of window shopping through Disneyland stores.  By the time we left around 2 pm, we were hot and happy but ready to go home.  On the ride home, Mom treated us to refreshing tall sodas.  Claire decided no one should hold her cup but herself.  At fourteen months old, I wasn't ready to let her take that plunge.  This started the absolute worst fit of her young life.  She screamed and arched and batted her arms.  She had so much anger, she could have fueled the steam boat back at Disneyland.  We made it through her fifteen minute fit and the second we unbuckled her car seat the tears stopped flowing.  Um, scary!  Kids sure know how to throw great fits.  Claire's tears aside, this day was a blast and one we would definitely want to do again-- over and over.

Disney's California Adventure (July 5, 2010)

The Monday following Independence Day, we spent the day at California Adventure.  It was a chilly January July morning.  The great thing about the chill in the air was the park was less crowded in the morning.  In this theme park, our girls really enjoyed the Bug's Land area because it had little rides suited for them.  Chris and I were a little bored with the rides, but pleased with the enthusiasm from Hallie and Claire.  Hallie really enjoyed Turtle Talk with Crush.  It is a chance to talk to Crush from Finding Nemo.  Hallie and I sat on the floor in the front row.  Even when the turtle was talking to other people in the room, she would respond as if he was talking to her.  Chris and I loved the gardening throughout the park.  Disney does gardens well.  Just as it started to heat up, the crowds showed up.  This was also the time that Claire had enough and started a scream fest.  We pushed her around in her stroller until she fell into a deep sleep.  Then we sat in the shade and shared an icey drink and cotton candy. 

Is that Chip or Dale? I think it's Dale.  Hallie could tell you.

I can't get enough of her munchkin face.  She was really excited and singing about it.

Notice we are wearing sweaters . . . in CA . . . on July 5.  Random.

I can't get enough of how cute Claire was when she would put her hand up on the rides.  You could tell she felt like she was "big stuff."

Princess Magic!

Good night!

Disneyland, Day 1 (June 23, 2010)

Call me fanatical, but one of the greatest things about California is Disneyland.  Just typing the word Disneyland makes me happy.  Disney was running a great deal this summer and Chris and I were able to take the girls to Disneyland twice (with one trip to Disney's California Adventure).  I am such a sucker for Disneyland.  I've been there at least fifty times (was a pass holder for years growing up).  It never loses the magic.  Sure, the rides used to be bigger when I was little, but the happiness is still there.  I love that it basically looks the same as it did when I went at Hallie's age.  Thankfully, Chris loves it as much as I do.  And now Hallie is old enough to be in on the excitement.  Taking her to Disneyland was equivocal to Christmas morning.  Claire was way better waiting in lines then I thought she would be.  She was fussy but no screaming involved (which is a plus with that firecracker).  I figure, she got to be held for long periods of time, so she wasn't complaining that much.  Here are some of our favorite photos.

Waiting for the Story Book Land boat . . .

In front of Casey Jr. Circus Train (that and Small World are my favorite for their ages). 

Claire was so proud that she was sitting all by herself.  But then she kept trying to grab trees while the train was moving.  The cardinal rule on Disney rides is "keep your hands and arms inside the cart at all times while the ride is moving."  Needless to say, she SCREAMED, arched her back and kicked her legs when we moved her to Chris' lap.

Claire starting to get restless in line.  This was about the time she started dive bombing out of my arms for no apparent reason.

Chris still digs the Jungle Cruise.

Claire is confused about how we ended up in an African Jungle.

Hallie was all about driving the cars in Toon Town.

Once a day, Claire would conk out in her stroller.

Claire finally figured out the straw concept.  I was really proud.

It was pretty muggy in the afternoon.  An ice cold Sprite in the shade was a perfect break.

After we tucked the kids in bed, my mom was sweet enough to do night duty with them so we could sneak back to Disneyland ourselves.  Heaven! It was like we were dating again (since that was our date of choice when we were engaged and newlyweds).  We loved it.

The following picture is very embarrassing. But, I feel it must be shared.  I thought I remembered how steep the descent on Splash Mountain was.  Apparently I didn't.  I must be getting old.

Enough laughing at me and onto the serious stuff.  This trip was just shy of one week since my dad passed.  I'll be lying if I didn't admit to tearing up on It's A Small World (the last time I rode it was with him) or in the Tiki Room (he got a kick out of that show).  I thought of my Dad throughout the day because he really loved Disneyland too and delighted in taking us kids there.  But, even though it was a bit painful, it was still fun and delightful.  He would have loved reading this blog and looking at pictures of the kids there.  So it was tough, but still good and totally worth it.

Dear Blog

Hello, blog.  I missed you.  I know I have neglected you these past two months -- much like I have neglected myself.  I stopped drinking water.  I stopped taking vitamins.  But, I'm home now and ready to start fresh.  I'm drinking my water again and I'll be blogging again too.  Because, my little blog, you make me happy.  You keep me in touch with people I love.  You make me reflect about my mothering, my day-to-day happenings, and life in general.  And by writing on this blog and sharing a little bit of my life, I feel like I can check something off my list.  Thanks, blog. 

And by the way blog, I don't know where to start.  I have one thousand pictures to share (um, seriously).  And that number kind of matches the emotions I have in one day after what we've been through recently.  So, blog, I'm just going to put it out there -- much like this extreme close-up of my face.  It's a sign of my commitment.  Granted I have make-up on (which is a true rarity these days).  But there are still some blemishes and tooth discoloration.  And that's how I want to be, blog.  I want to show you the make-up stuff, but I'll share some imperfections too.  Because I want to remember all my life and not just the lipstick.

On a lighter note . . .

Remember us?  We have had a heavy month.  But that doesn't mean we haven't been enjoying some wonderful bits of life everyday.  Here is Claire with her piggies in the sand!  Perfect!