DISNEYLAND TRIP

For Christmas, Bryce's parents gave everyone a trip to Disneyland! The kids hadn't stopped talking about Disneyland since we had gone a year and a half earlier - and we hadnt' forgotten what a blast it was - so we were all beyond excited and couldn't wait for February to come!

Day 1

Thursday February 2nd

Powell's first plane ride...he did great! Mattie had somehow developed a bit of a fear of flying between the last Disneyland trip and now, but she managed to forget all about it when she was seated with some of her favorite people: CJ, Zack (her cousin), and of course, Papa. Still not sure how Bryce's dad got stuck with the kids, but he/they did great :)

After a stop at the hotel to drop off our stuff and change into some cooler clothes, we finally made it to Disneyland!

Within minutes of arriving, this adorable scene happened (it brings tears to think about the fact that the video we captured of the moment got erased)! It started with Mattie spotting Mickey and going up to him. He had just appeared and Mattie was one of the first kids to see him. Mickey took her hand and began to lead her into the town square. CJ then took Mattie's hand, and Zack (CJ and Mattie's cousin) took CJ's and then we had this adorable train of Mackay kids with Mickey. And what made it neat is that it lasted forever! No other little kids jumped on, so for several minutes, the Mackay kids got to parade around town square with just Mickey! It was such an incredible moment and quite the memory!

What we don't have is a picture of Goofy and CJ (again, video that got erased *sniff*). Goofy actually saw CJ in his stroller and CJ got all shy and refused to smile. So Goofy took the reigns and began to push CJ around in the stroller being, well, goofy, running the stroller into garbage cans and sidewalk curbs in an attempt to get CJ to smile. And all he got was half a grin out of the boy! But hey, the rest of us thought it was pretty hilarious!  

If you look closely, CJ's pin says "1st Visit," which wasn't true, but CJ sure was proud of his pin anyway :)

Powell seemed to catch the Disney spirit

Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunder Mountain, and Rocket Blaster

As to be expected, this is how day 1 ended in the park 

And we had no complaints about going to bed either :)

Day 2

Friday February 3rd

 Day 2 was the day Gramma got Mattie an autograph book, and as you can tell, she was all over meeting the characters (especially Woody :)

Day 2 also happened to be Zack's birthday. What better way to celebrate than with blue-frosted cupcakes (other than being at Disneyland, of course :) ?

Matching tees: Mickey for the boys, Minnie for Mattie

This is one lucky boy to have these two as his grandparents

Just some cute random pics from day 2 :)

More rides: California Screamin', Toy Story, Soarin' California, Ferris Wheel, Under the Sea Carousel

Waiting in line for Toy Story (both times we've been to Disneyland, this ride has had the longest line/wait)

Powell was Mommy's partner on the Toy Story ride

After the Toy Story ride, Gramma bought the kids (except for the babies) each a Toy Story stuffed animal

Day 3

Saturday February 4th

Our last day at Disneyland started with a much-loved classic: the carousel 

You can't go to Disneyland without riding the teacups 

Powell kept us entertained with his adorable self 

Indiana Jones ride with Paige, Bryce, and Kelsey

More of Powell's cuteness

Maybe it's a tradition now, but both times we've been to Disneyland, Gramma has purchased these automatic bubble blowers and they were a huge hit!

The kids loved this Bug's Life ride

Tower of Terror, California Soarin', and Downtown Disney...then hittin' the hay 

After a crazy three days of Disneyland, I guess it makes sense that the kids would sleep crazy too :)

Day 4

Sunday February 5th

On our last day in California, we drove into LA to check out the temple and go to the Santa Monica Pier. It was a relaxing day and a great way to end the trip.

Los Angeles temple (where Grandma and Grandpa Forsgren were married)

This was the first time our kids had been to the beach

 The Santa Monica Pier (which involved a lot of Mattie chasing birds :)

Day 5

Monday February 6th



Zack and Mattie, packing up and heading out. Such good friends!

And this pretty much sums up how we all felt on the way home!

Disneyland 2012 was quite the adventure, filled with amazing memories to last a lifetime! We're so grateful to Papa and Gramma (Bryce's parents) for their generosity, their sacrifice, their hard work, and their time to make this such a wonderful family trip. We love you!!

JANUARY 2012

New Year's

12/31 We spent New Year's Eve in Redmond with Bryce's family. As per tradition, we had dinner at Maple Leaf with the Dew and White families. This is how CJ spent his time at the restaurant.

1/1 What better way to start off the new year than playing with your favorite (well, one of :) aunt and uncle?!

1/2 Mattie having breakfast with Daddy before we left to head back to Wenatchee that day

Baby Shower

1/3 Paige helped throw a baby shower for her friend, Breanne Fischer. Her contributions were the baby clothes garland and the diaper cake (she likes to document these things so she can remember them for another time :)

Bryce's birthday

1/5 Bryce celebrated his 29th birthday this year. The day started by Paige making his favorite breakfast - German Pancakes. Then she and the kids took him lunch, along with balloons, and brownies to share with the office. Then CJ made Daddy his birthday sign while Mommy wrapped gifts before Bryce got home. When he came home that night, Paige and Bryce went out to eat at Spring Lotus, one of their favorites, then came home and celebrated with the kids. Bryce opened his presents, blew out his candle, and we all dug into his birthday peach pie. It was a great day! Happy birthday, Bryce! We love you!!

Mattie's drawing

1/10 Mattie has started drawing actual pictures instead of just scribbles. This is probably the first documented face that she's drawn...and it's her own sweet face. We love it!

Seattle Rock n' Roll Marathon

1/18 Have you heard?! The rumors are true! Not only is Paige running the Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon with Bryce's dad again, but another person has joined us...a certain someone who said they'd never run another marathon again...It only took 5 years, but Mr. Bryce Mackay has willingly agreed to run another marathon! With Paige, Bryce, his dad (Greg), and his little brother (Cameron), all running the full marathon, and his little brother and his wife (Tyler and Gaby), and his mom (Sheila) running the half marathon, Clan Mackay is going to be taking Seattle Rock n' Roll by storm! Bring on the running!!

Trampoline fun

1/10 The sun was shining and there was no snow to be found, so the kids wanted to take advantage of the trampoline Santa brought them for Christmas

Adorable-ness

1/12 CJ took this picture. He just has a way of always capturing the essence of this girl!

1/12 And then Mattie took this one. She's just recently started taking pics (like her big bro). Not too shabby - you can even see Powell

Snow

1/18 We finally got some snow that stuck around. Look how perfect it looked!

1/18 While Mattie napped, CJ and Mommy played in the snow

1/20 CJ and Mattie trying to eat the snow

1/21 After work one day, Daddy took CJ and Mattie sledding at the park just down the street from our house. They had a blast!

CJ's drawings

1/18 CJ's self-portrait

1/18 CJ also drew a "comic book." We thought it was pretty creative for a 4 year old :)

Siblings

 1/19

Static Cling

1/19 We got a new couch and for the first few weeks, whenever Mattie would sit on the couch, this is what would happen to her hair :)

New roomie

1/20 Bryce's little sister, Kelsey, had this semester off, so she came to work at Bryce's law firm and live with us. It was lots of fun having her around for 3 1/2 months!

Father and son

1/21 A Saturday morning breakfast with friends at Wild Huckleberry. Powell couldn't make it through the meal :)

Chocolate lover

1/23 Just a cute pic of Mattie, who happens to have chocolate on her face :)

Handsome-ness

1/24

Sans nap

1/25 Mattie decided she was done with naps (she takes them off and on these days). This is what happened about 5:00 PM the first day Mommy didn't force her to take a nap :)

Family dinner

1/25

Just Dance

1/26 Bryce got Just Dance 3 for the wii for Christmas, and the kids love playing it more than we do :)

Castle

1/26 We got a new couch and the boxes it came in were huge! So we kept the boxes and made a castle out of them. The kids played in it for weeks (until we moved it out of the front room and into the garage until summer)

 Puzzle-r

1/27 Mattie is one smart cookie! She can do 24+ piece puzzles all by herself!

 Sleepy time

1/27 Mommy had fun pretending to be asleep with the kids. This was how Daddy found us when he got home from work - lots of giggles going on!

Winter campout

1/28 Bryce is the 2nd counselor in the YM presidency so he's over the Deacons. He's also their Scoutmaster. In case you don't believe that Bryce went camping in the winter, here's proof (except he's the one who took all the pics so he's not in any of them :)

Puppy love

1/30 CJ really loves his doggy, JJ. So much so that when he left for school this day, he told JJ to wait for him there on his seat and then buckled him in safe and sound :)

Some Monday Night Musings from January:

- CJ's new thing in the last couple of weeks has been to say, "But, but..." ALL. THE. TIME.
- Mattie is so smart! She can do a whole 24 piece puzzle all by herself!
- Mattie is scared to go poop and we can't figure it out. She hardly ever goes on the potty - the only time she does is when we catch her when she can't hold it anymore (the key being "catch her"). When we put her on the toilet, she whines and cries with fear in her eyes until she can't hold it in anymore.