Dear Kinley & Emery,
This month we went on an adventure. This adventure got me thinking about a lot of things. First, it got me thinking about the many adventures your dad and I have been on in our first seven years of marriage (before you two were born). Each one was not without its own unique challenges...
On the first night of our honeymoon we actually managed to lock ourselves out of our hotel room on our back porch, which had a private spa on it. We must have forgot our clothes inside, because for some reason, we weren't wearing anything but our towels. Now that I have kids I can't recall why. :-) Then on the plane on our way to Disney World we found ourselves in another embarrassing situation after your dad got in a minor disagreement with another passenger. For some reason situations like that are always more awkward when you're holding a chili dog. I was so upset I couldn't eat mine. Your dad ate them both.
We went to San Francisco, walked the Golden Gate bridge, (for some reason I was wearing flip flops) which gave me a stress fracture in my foot. So the whole next 2 days of our vacation we had to site see with me limping around on one foot. Guess I should have worn my Asics....you can ask your dad about that joke someday...
When we visited Washington D.C. your dad didn't want to pay for a taxi to get from the subway to our hotel, so we had to walk 4 blocks, with our luggage, in the rain. I cried the whole time because I was scared we were going to get robbed. (Mommies can be very silly like that sometimes) :-)
We flew 10 hours to lead a team of 10 people (including your aunt Kasey) to Brazil to work with poor children in the slums of Rio.
We flew 19 hours to take a team to South Africa to work with orphaned and vulnerable children in the rural villages of Mafikeng.
I have flown to Fiji. We've flown to Italy and the the red-eye to Hawaii. I flew to Canada 6 months pregnant with Emery. I've even flown a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old with a peanut allergy to Nebraska with 6 checked bags, 6 carry-ons and a carseat.
But nothing, NOTHING, tops the one-hour plane flight we took with you two from Phoenix to LAX on October 7, 2011. This vacation with you two is going down in the books as our most challenging adventure yet!!!
Kinley, this is you and mommy, before your EPIC freak-out during take off. You screamed, you cried, you kicked the guy next to me at least 10 times. You tried desperately to escape from my arms, only to try desperately to climb back up. Your dad traded me, you for Emery as soon as the tears that had welled up in my eyes started streaming down my cheeks. Needless to say, you may not make the frequent flier club until you are much, MUCH older.
At this point you may or may not be asking yourself, why would you do such a thing? Great question. And it greatly depends on who you ask. If you ask your dad, he will surely reply, "I wanted to drive." Just as he mentioned to the guy sitting next to us on the flight (the one you kicked in the face) who was ordering a double vodka on the rocks.
But, all in all, we did it because we wanted to take you to our favorite place on earth...DISNEYLAND!!! Since this was your first real vacation, we decided to spend several days in California, and take you the beach too.
Here you are at Seal Beach. Your aunt Jamie and Josh even joined us for our adventure that day. This is you both posing by the seal after your lunch at Ruby's on the pier. Emery you ate a LOT of french fries and macaroni at lunch. :-)
After lunch, we took you to play at the beach for the first time. You both loved the sand so much. Emery, you mostly loved eating it. You actually cried when I made you stop.
Kinley you are so intrigued by every little detail of everything. You loved letting the sand run through your hands, scooping it from one bucket to the other, and taking the sand toys away from your sister. :-)
Emery, you love your aunt Jamie. She watches you every Thursday morning while Kinley and I go to Bible study. You also love the California beach air. When I laid you down on the beach towel to put sunscreen on, you just laid there for several minutes with your eyes closed and an adorable grin on your face, just savoring the breeze and catching some rays.
Kinley you weren't too sure about the ocean. Let's just say you have a healthy respect for a large tide coming your way. But you did love waiting for the waves to graze your feet in the safety of daddy's arms.
And a bit of exciting news...on their trip to San Diego the same weekend, Josh proposed to your aunt Jamie, so he will soon be Uncle Josh! And you will soon be the cutest flower girls there ever were! Congratulations aunt Jamie!!!!
Kinley you're a big fan of the "more" sign, especially anytime there's candy around. This is you asking for "more" candy corn M&M's. (There's always plenty of M&M's out at your great aunt Kathy's house...you caught onto that pretty quick.) You girls loved your great aunt Kathy and Uncle Larry as much as we do. You loved playing in the backyard, and Kinley you loved picking apples from their tree. I think your favorite day was the day you realized you could pick TWO apples, one for each hand.
Our first day at Disneyland, was fun and definitely challenging! Apparently Disneyland is a LOT more work with two little girls. :-) But Kinley you loved the park and waving to all the people and especially the characters. Emery, sorry baby girl, you had no idea what was going on!
Kins you got to meet the characters from your favorite movie in the whole world, Mary Poppins. I'm too sure you knew what to do with it though.
Girls, your very first ride EVER, was the Jungle Cruise. (Coincidentally one of your dad's favorite rides.)
Kinley you thought the animals on the Jungle Cruise were awesome. There was a lot of, "Oh wowwwwww" going on.
Our next stop was the Winnie the Pooh ride and then meeting the Pooh characters. Kinley this was by far the highlight of the trip for you (and therefore us). You were so excited to hug the characters, you couldn't even wait in line with us. Mostly because you really disagree with the concept of "the line." You were desperately trying to jump down out of daddy's arms to run under the ropes to give big hugs. Needless to say, mommy waited in line, while daddy took you to look in a nearby store.
Awe this picture reminds me of just how much you loved these big, huggable characters. I'm pretty sure you thought your favorite stuffed animals had come to life. You absolutely adored them. And oh man did they love you. I'm not going to lie, they spent a lot of extra time with you Kinley bear. Tigger even took the time to put your shoe back on after it slipped off when you were running over to greet him.
You both rode the rocket rods with us. This one was a little bit high and fast for you, but you were such good sports, and didn't cry on any ride we took you on.
Kinely you got to meet Mickey while Emery took (another) nap. You were so excited and gave him high fives, waves, smiles, and of course big hugs.
Kinley you loved the play area in Toon Town. All these things we never even knew were there before we had kids....
Kinley you LOVED the petting zoo. You waved at every goat and even gave most of them hugs. Luckily they were very friendly goats.
Emery baby, I'm so sorry...I promise you were there, but this stuff just isn't really your thing right now! Next year I promise the pictures of you and your sister at Disneyland will be even. :-)
We ended your first ever day at Disneyland watching World of Color. Kinley you and Ems woke up just in time to watch the show with us. Kinley you thought it was so cool, and clapped intensely at the end of each song. I think this was one of daddy's favorite moments with you so far.
And here begins Disneyland Day 2. Yes, you heard me right. Don't worry...day 2 was much shorter than day 1!
Emery, you definitely enjoyed Disneyland mealtime. And I think it's safe to say you both love churros as much as I do.
Kinley you love waving at everyone right now. Emery you love chewing on everything. The "It's a Small World" ride was your favorite because the seats were plastic, and just the right size for chewing.
Kinley you took a nap on daddy's shoulder all the way through the Little Mermaid ride and all the way to Bug's Land. You woke up in time to ride the rides though. :-) And yes, you're still ridiculously attached to your passi at nap time and bedtime!
Emery bug, for some reason you didn't see what was cute about this picture.
All in all, we had a great time. And hey, what's parenthood without a little adventure? We are still recovering and feel like we need a vacation from our "vacation", but it was definitely worth the looks on your faces and all the smiles and hugs. :-)
Kinley you are saying so many words now, and love repeating everything. You still love Mary Poppins, but also like Aladdin and Jungle Book. You make us read you those two Little Golden Books at least 10 times per day. You cut your first two molars this month, and are now working on more bottom teeth. You'll have a whole mouthful of teeth in no time now! You love the park and the play land at Chik-fil-a. You still love the Chik-fil-a cow. I'm busy making you a Tinkerbell costume for Halloween this coming Monday. You're going to look so cute!
Emery you are definitely ready to walk. You love pushing around the little walker toys and pulling up on everything. I think Disneyland was a little frustrating for you because you couldn't get down as much as you wanted to! You're still all smiles, although you did cut your very first two teeth this month which caused a few not-so-happy moments. You love saying, "dadadadadada" and "mamamamama", but I don't think you're quite sure what they mean yet. You love reading now, just like your big sister. I'll often find you sitting and flipping through your favorite book, That's Not My Monster. It's pretty adorable. :-)
You both are so awesome, and by far, the best journey we have ever been on. Thanks for a great month baby girls. Can't wait to take you back next year!
Love, Mommy
