Sorry for being a little MIA from the blog lately! My life has been crazy since we got back from vacation, but I think things have finally settled down and I should be able to get caught up!
Disneyland was AWESOME!!! I totally loved it! Oh yeah, and the kids loved it too :-) Unfortunately, Jayson had some work-related stuff he had to do in California, so although he was in California with us, he had to work and didn't come to Disney :-( I recruited lots of help to take his place. My mom (aka "Mimi"), my sister (Tiare), and GG all jumped at the chance come with us.
This was the first time that the quints have stayed in a hotel. We brought along 5 pack-n-plays (I have purposely been putting off the transition from crib to big kid beds until after all our trips this summer). They went to sleep surprisingly well---they must have been exhausted from the drive. When the quints woke up in the morning, it was so cute to see all their little heads pop up and down again in their cribs. It reminded me of one of those whack-a-mole arcade games.
Ready for bed: Kassidy, Rustin, Ryder, Kyndall, Kaydence
Nothing like being woken up by 5 two-year-olds! Tiare with Rustin, Kyndall, Ryder, Kassidy and Kaydence
The kids watch TV while we take get packed and ready to go.
Breakfast at the hotel
And we're off!
Just inside the gates--Tiare and I with all the kids
As soon as we got in the gates, Riley and Kaiya went off with Tiare to ride on Star Tours and get a fast pass for Space Mountain. GG, Mimi and I took the quints to Fantasyland. Our first ride was Snow White's Scary Adventure, which turned out to be a BAD idea! You would think that with a word like "scary" in the title, that I would clue in to the fact that the ride would be...SCARY, but somehow I missed that. Some of the kids had fun anyway, but Kaydence and Kassidy were terrified and did not want to go on anymore rides. I was thinking that it was going to be a looooong day if every ride was going to bring tears of fright!
Next we tried the carousel, which was not quite as scary, and then Peter Pan. By this time Riley, Kaiya and Tiare had caught up to us and we decided to try the least frightening ride we could think of.....It's a Small World! It did the trick, and even Kaydence took her hands away from her eyes by the end of the ride.
The rest of the day was spent packing in as many rides as possible. It was crowded, but most of the time we did not have to wait more than 30 minutes to get on a ride. The quints favorite ride was It's A Small World, which we rode on a couple of times. All the kids had the song memorized by the time we left and they still sing it DAILY at our house!
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride--Rustin, Kassidy, Kyndall, Ryder, and Kaydence
Waiting in line....Rustin, Kaydence, Ryder, Kyndall, and Kassidy
More waiting...
The quint's second favorite ride was the Buzz Lightyear one---all the cars had guns to shoot at bad guys with a digital display to keep track of the scores.
Winnie the Pooh Pots...Kaydence, Rustin, Kassidy, Ryder, Riley, Kyndall, Kaiya
We were waiting in line to see Tigger and Kyndall slipped under the ropes to run over to Eeyore to give him a hug.
Tigger! When Riley and Kaiya were 2, they were terrified of all costumed characters, but the quints love them!
The whole clan with Tigger
Tiare and the kids with Eeyore
At the Haunted Mansion, there were lots of tombstones, including one with Rustin's name on it :-)
We had to be creative to keep the kids entertained while we waited in line!
One of the highlights of the day....seeing the "Princess Castle". Rachelle, Tiare, Mimi, GG, Riley, Kaiya, Kaydence, Ryder, Kyndall, Rustin and Kassidy
Eating the ridiculously expensive lunch at Disney
Locked up!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
The longest line we waited in, was the line to see Micky Mouse. It was highly deceptive....we kept thinking that he was around the corner, only to be placed in another waiting room. Had we known how long the line really was, we probably wouldn't have done it, but by the time we figured it out, we had already invested enough time that we stuck it out!
Mickey with Rustin, Riley, Ryder, Kyndall, Kaydence, Kaiya, and Kassidy
Riley
Kaiya
Kassidy
Kaydence
Rustin
Kyndall
Ryder
Tiare, Mimi, Mickey, Rachelle & GG
During the big "parade" the kids boogied in front of the Princess Castle--It was a perfect end to a perfect day!
Mimi, Rachelle & Tiare at Yogurtland---YUM!
After we got the kids to bed, we left Jayson in charge and headed out for a "girl's night" (I know that sounds terribly mean---"Hey honey, I know you didn't get to go with us to Disney, but now we want to ditch you and go get frozen yogurt without you", but he was pretty stressed about his work stuff and couldn't break away. He definitely deserves to be "Husband of the Year")
Tiare, Mimi and Rachelle in front of Hard Rock Cafe
Tiare and Rachelle---if you look really close you can see the Hollywood sign all blurry in the background.
In-focus picture of the Hollywood sign
Stay tuned for more pictures from our trip.....
Disneyland Pictures....Finally!
The kids couldn't come inside the temple, so they found a shady alcove to wait in.
My dad (aka Papa) taking Ryder and Rustin for a walk while we wait for the bride and groom to come out.
Jayson used his mad video skills to make the wedding video for Ashlyn and her new hubby, Jared, so he spent most of the day behind his camera.
The reception was in a friend's backyard, but thanks to a bunch of misters, it was actually quite pleasant. Rustin, Kassidy, Ryder, Kyndall and Kaydence sample the buffet food.
Kassidy
Kaydence
Rustin
Kyndall
Ryder
Kaiya and Riley with the amazing pool in the background
Rachelle, Tiare (my sister) and Mimi (my mom)----On this trip I had a lot of people think that my mom was my sister and that my sister was my daughter.....I am not sure if that means that I am looking older, or just that I have young looking family members!
Shane (my brother), my Grandma Rappleye, and Tiare. My Grandma just celebrated her 89th birthday---Doesn't she look great?
Papa (my dad), who sat by the pool the entire reception to make sure no one fell in!
GG, aka "superwoman", who watched the kids a ton so that I could help with the wedding
Kaydence, Kydnall and Kassidy
When the kids discovered the large stepping stones, they were entertained for at least 30 minutes!
The highlight of the evening (for the kids) was dancing! My sister and cousins showed them some good moves.
The buffet table. My mom was in charge of the food for the wedding and I did what I could to help. I think she does an amazing job! It looked so beautiful when she was done. We went to a friends wedding reception a few days later that was professionally catered, but it didn't even hold a candle to this one!
My contribution to the wedding food was to make the chicken salad and 250 rolls for sandwiches (above), and dip Oreo balls and cream puffs (below).
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