Surprise {Disneyland} Vacation

Surprise!  Brandon and I surprised Chloe with a three day trip to Disneyland!  When we told her, we were so excited, and she just responded, "Oh."  Not exactly the reaction we were looking for...Here are a few highlights of each day:

{Day One}
1.  We barely made our 6:30am flight.  We got to the gate right as the airline was wrapping up boarding. Phew!

2.  Princess Merida - Chloe was in princess heaven!  She was beyond thrilled to meet her new favorite princess, Merida.

3.  Splash Mountain - This is Chloe's new favorite ride.  She is a little daredevil for sure!

{Day Two}
1.  Lunch at the Blue Bayou - We had the chance to enjoy lunch inside of the Pirates of the Carribean ride.  It was super yummy and so fun to be in that atmosphere.

2.  Arial's Undersea Adventure - Chloe loves this ride.  She is also conviced that Brandon is madly in love with Arial!  So funny!

3.  Desitin - Brandon accidentally brushed his teeth with desitin as we were hurrying to get to Disneyland early in the morning!  It was totally hilarious!

{Day Three}
1.  Cars Land - The new Cars Land is AMAZING.  It was super crowded, but we were able to get fast passes for the Radiator Springs Racers ride.  We love this new part of the park!

2.  Rain Forest Cafe - We had dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe in Downtown Disney.  Chloe was scared the entire time because she didn't want it to rain on her mac 'n' cheese.  After dinner, there was a DJ outside the restaraunt.  Chloe danced her little heart out!

3.  Main Street USA - Chloe loves Main Street USA.  As we were leaving, Chloe started crying because she loves Disneyland so much.  Silly girl!

It was a really terrific trip.  We had such a wonderful time.  It is so fun as a parent to see the magic through your child's eyes.  Chloe says that all of her dreams came true because she was able to go to Disneyland!

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{Even More} Summer Fun

We are a lucky little bunch.  This summer has been packed with fun activities, trips, and time with friends and family.  Here are a few of our latest adventures:

The County Fair

There aren't many things that are better than a summer county fair, right?!  Chloe was in love with the fair this year.  She loved all of the animals, especially the mini horses.  I think we blew through $30 in mini horse rides for her!  She kept asking me if it would be alright if she waved her pink cowgirl hat in the air and yelled "yeehaw" while she was riding her horse!  Haha!  Chloe was super brave and milked a cow.  She thought that was just awesome.  We spent two nights at the fair just soaking in all of the fun.  On the first night, Chloe rode all of the carnival rides about a million times.  I was holding my breath to make sure she was safe.  Fastening your child into a roller coaster with an old rope just doesn't scream "safety" to me.  Chloe loved the rides; she couldn't get enough of them.  On the second night, we came home with a brand new baby goat!  Haha!  What are we thinking?!  Chloe just loves it.  Our new goat, Daisy, was crying as we carried her out of the fair.  The next thing we know, Chloe is crying because she is worried about taking Daisy from her mother.  We tried to calm Chloe down by explaining to her that it is just like how Mom and Dad don't live at Grandma's house anymore.  Chloe just threw her arms around Daisy's neck and said, "I will be your mother!"  It was so sweet!  On the car ride home, Chloe pipes up and says, "I know Mom!  You can be Daisy's grandma!"  So - I guess I am the goat's grandma - not exactly what I had in mind!

Park City - Alpine Slide

We were able to slip away to Park City for the evening a few weeks ago.  It was a blast.  Chloe loved being "in the mountains."  Chloe and I raced Brandon down the Alpine Slide, and we smoked him!  Haha!  It is a good thing that Chloe is completely fearless!  We wrapped up our night with a little shopping at the outlet mall.  It was a fun little family night.

Wicked

I am super lucky to have such a great husband!  He was able to find us awesome tickets for Wicked while it was running in Salt Lake City.  Brandon knew that I really wanted to go, but we had been unable to get tickets.  He managed to find three tickets on the fourth row.  Brandon invited Liz to join us.  It was amazing!  I loved every minute of it!

Raptors Baseball

Brandon's mom's work had a night at the Raptor's baseball game.  We enjoyed dinner at the ball park before the game and watched the game from the third base line.  Chloe was terrified of the mascot, Oggie the Raptor.  She would literally have a complete meltdown everytime he came near us.  Poor little girl!  It was a fun game with the cousins!



A {Brand New} Cousin

Ethan and Brooke welcomed a new little guy to their family on July 27th.  Chloe and I loaded up the car and headed down to Cedar City to see their new arrival, Daxton Ethan, and our BFF, Maddie.  We headed straight to pick up Grammer Kris and Maddie before headed to the hospital to get our hands on that baby!

After we visited Baby Daxton at the hospital, we headed to grab some dinner.  The girls were pretty much 100% crazy at Cafe Rio.  Funny Story - the girls are the definition of "Monkey See, Monkey Do."  Maddie started lifting her dress up. So natrually, Chloe followed suit.  My mom and I told them to stop, which they did.  A few seconds later, Maddie knocks on the glass window to a table of college boys dining out on the patio.  They look up at her, and sure enough, she lifts up her dress!  She and Chloe were laughing so hard!

My mom and I did a little mini home makeover at Ethan and Brooke's while they were at the hospital with Daxton.  My mom bought new rugs, bathroom towels, organizational bins, etc., and we did a deep clean on their house.  It is our new family tradition.  You work so hard to get your house clean before you head to the hospital to have a baby, but with a toddler, it sometimes is not as easy as it sounds.  It is super nice to come home to a sparkly clean house.  The girls made some Welcome Home signs for Baby Daxton.  Such fun!

Twin Falls for {Three}

A few weeks ago we were invited to join our good friends on a quick overnight trip to Twin Falls.  The dads played in a golf tournament on Friday and Saturday while we spent the weekend shopping until we dropped!  We had so much fun!  It was nice to slip away for the weekend.

Chloe loves her little friend Breckyn.  They had a blast together.  They were crazy little shoppers.  Chloe loved staying in a hotel.  Even though she gets to swim all of the time at her grandparents' pools, she loved swimming in the cold hotel pool.

It was so fun to spend time as our family!  We had a great weekend together.

Happy Birthday, {Princess}

I cannot believe that our tiny miss Chloe is three!  She has been so excited for her birthday, and it certainly did not disappoint.  To celebrate her special day, we had a Disneyland Carnival with her little friends and our family.  We had a few carnival games - Arial's Undersea Adventure, Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story Mania, Pooh's Hunny Pot, Cinderella's Princess Chickens, and Rapunzel's Cottage.  The kids each received a little prize bag and gathered a reward at each carnival game.  It turned out super fun!  We enjoyed some carnival food - hot dogs, chips, Capri Suns, watermelon, cupcakes, rice crispy treats, and pasta salad. 

The true highlight of the party was a visit from Rapunzel!  She traveled all the way from Disneyland to be at our house for Chloe's special party!  It was amazing! 

The kids were so cute - they kept complementing Rapunzel on her dress, asking her how she got out of her tower, asking her where she left Flynn Rider, and asking if Flynn Rider was running through the woods from the bad guys.  

Rapunzel brought a gift for each little guest, and everyone took their turn getting a picture with Rapunzel.  Chloe was thrilled when she opened a special gift from Rapunzel. 

Chloe was so cute when she was opening her presents.  She opened a pair of earrings and said, "Oh, I love them!  They are perfect for when I get married!"  

Chloe picked out a special Merida cake from her new favorite movie, Brave.  Chloe made sure that I called the bakery to order it several days before her party.  It was very cute! 

Her party was really so fun!  Everything turned out perfect!  Chloe was one happy birthday girl!

On Chloe's actual birthday, she woke up super early (5:52 am to be exact)!  She was so excited to be three! 

 She opened a few gifts from her Mom and Dad in the morning, and we took her to her favorite place - City Creek. 

Chloe spent an hour or so in the Disneyland store where she picked out a Merida backpack, a Pascal (she has been looking for a stuffed Pascal forever!), and a little bear from Brave. 

We let her pick her favorite restaurant for dinner - Chick-fil-a!  She loves that place; she asks us everyday if we can take her to Chick-fil-a for some hot soup! 

We got her a special birthday ice cream cone and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. 

It was a very special day for our special girl!

Chloe is such a wonderful little daughter!  She has a very tender heart, and she is a very sweet girl.  She will often say to us, "Do you know what?", we'll say, "what?" and she will reply, "I just love you!"  or she will say to me, "Mom, you are awesome!"  She is such a darling girl!  Chloe is a smart little cookie!  She has recognized that if we spell "d-r-i-n-k" we are referring to her favorite pink milk, and she will now ask for her "d-r-i-n-k."  She can count to 20, she sings lots of songs, and she remembers everything!  We were driving in the car in Brigham City, and she noticed the "B" on the mountain.  She said, "Look Dad, there is a B for Brandon!"  She never ceases to amaze me! 

Chloe is our sunshine!  We are so, so lucky to be her parents.  I am grateful everyday to be her mom!  She is truly our little miracle!  We love you so very much, Chloe Bug!

Sweet {Summertime}

They say that time flies when you are having fun, and we have been soaking in all of the fun that summer has brought our way.  Here is a quick recap of all the action:

Brandon's Birthday

We celebrated Brandon's birthday with a little party.  We had cake and ice cream with a few, okay a lot, of our closest friends and family.  I really cannot express what a wonderful man Brandon is, and how lucky we are to have him.  He has been amazing as we have been through happy times and sad times as a family this year.  He is just the best daddy to Chloe!  They are little best buddies.  He recently bought Chloe a shirt that says "Daddy is my #1," and she wants to wear it everyday.  She thinks it says, "Daddy Loves."  I am so super lucky to have such an outstanding husband.  He makes me laugh when I feel like crying, he takes care of me when everything is falling apart, and he tolerates all of my crazy quirks :)!  It was fun to kick off the summer with his birthday bash.

Super Swimmers

We have taken a couple of trips to St. George to see the family.  Chloe and Maddie are just little very best friends.  Everytime they see each other they run to hug each other.  It is seriously adorable.  Chloe told me that Maddie is her favorite sister :).  They are too cute!  They tell everyone they see about their best friend!  The girls love the splash pad in downtown St. George.  We have visited a few times this summer.

Father's Day

While we were in St. George we celebrated Father's Day.  It was fun to be able to spend the day with the daddy in our little family and with my own dad.  I just can't say enough about what an awesome dad Brandon is to my little kiddos.  He adores our Chloe, and I know how much he loves our Talon.  A relationship between a father and his children is something truly special.  He offers them protection and security from the challenges of this world and a love that is endless.  I am so grateful to have Brandon by my side as we raise Chloe, and hopefully a few other kids someday :). 

Chloe loves her Grandpas!  It was fun for the girls to give Grandpa Kim his Father's Day presents.  They love their Grandpa, or Papa as Maddie would say :)!  They make him do all kinds of crazy stuff - He has to drive them all over to look for "koala bears in the red mountains" (Seriously?!  Where does my kid come up with this stuff?!).  Brandon and I are both so grateful for our dads.

End of Year Dance Recital

Chloe has learned so much in dance this year.  She loves her teachers, Kathy and Ashley!  It was super fun to have dance with her little friends, Breckyn, Ramzee and Paisley.  The recital was awesome, and Chloe did great!  She is our cute little dancer.  She is always practicing her toe touches, kicks and "beautiful points."

The 4th of July

For the past few years we have celebrated the 4th of July with our good friends the Austins.  They are our cute neighbors, and we love them!  We met them at the parade and enjoyed the festivities at the park.  When it got hot, we headed to the pool at Brandon's parents.  We met the Austins for sparklers and fireworks at the high school.  I just love our little city; it is so fun to spend the day celebrating our country with our awesome little town.  We talk all the time about how we will never be able to move because we love our neighbors and our community so much!