Summer Vacation Week 2 (part2)

Another donation, another post!  Keep'em coming!

We pick up our epic journey to Southern California on what is possibly the best day of the entire trip. It's hard to put into words how incredible this day was. My brother-in-law worked for Corporate Disney so the whole day cost practically nothing...making it even more special. BIG time thanks to Tom and Christin for making this day possible for us.

We started as early as we could...braved the LA traffic to get to Disneyland when it opened. The girls had gone over the map with Christin and had the whole day planned out the night before but nothing could prepare them for experiencing the real deal.

Taking a second to get a picture of the family in front of the castle.

Just as we were about to walk through the castle, we looked over and saw Ariel (Katy's favorite princess!). So we stood in line for a few minutes and was able to meet our first of MANY princesses that day.

The girls were a little shy at first...but that wore off during the day.

Moments after they met Ariel, you can still see their glow. Gonna be an amazing day!

So we walk through the castle and are overwhelmed by the people and choices (or at least I was). We look into meeting Rapunzel but it's still over an hour away so we head for the best first ride...Dumbo!!

I skipped out so I could take pictures but as I'm watching the fun, I notice a line rapidly forming for Rapunzel!! So we book it over there and grab a place in line but realize we're late...gonna be close to an hour before we get through it. So here's where my sister wins the prize for "Best Aunt"...she stays in line alone while we go jump on the carousel! What a trooper!!!

Hard to tell but I think they were having a good time.

Funny story, I was wondering around checking out another ride nearby while Lisa and the girls caught up with Christin in line. After checking out the other ride, I was watching from a distance and captured this picture. What I found out later was that everyone was in line with a family that had triplets...two girls and one boy!! They were a bit older but still had plenty in common. I took the picture because I noticed how happy and talkative the girls were being. It made sense later when I found out why.

So we still had another 20 or 30 minutes in line...the first time that day the girls really had to be patient. They had their moments but overall did wonderful! So here's the part that some of you have heard me talk about...I was BLOWN AWAY by our experience with Rapunzel and Flynn.

The two people they had hired to be Rapunzel and Flynn were incredible. Every family that came through had their own time with them in this very cool room set up for photos. There were other staffers standing around but we really didn't notice them until I looked back at the pictures and saw them standing in the background. There was no rush at all while Rapunzel and Flynn were completely engaging, loveable, truly amazing characters! I know it had a huge impact on the girls but they really impressed me the most! I know that sounds ridiculous but it was a HUGE highlight of our trip. Well done Disney!

Katy really couldn't believe her eyes when we walked in and got our first glance.

While Katy and the girls talked to Rapunzel, I think Flynn met his match with Olivia. She didn't give an inch! Love it!!

Right off the bat, I loved how Rapunzel recognized how she had two very cute but shy girls on her hands. She immediately got down to their level and started chatting away. Before long, the girls were talking and saying the cutest things. Realizing now that a video would have been a great idea. I think you can still tell by their facial expressions.

What I loved about this whole thing...that's not a person that is just getting a paycheck as she's pretending to be a Disney princess...she is making a serious effort to earn those girls love. Her arms aren't around their shoulders...that is a legit hug and I think it is fantastic!! Are you getting the picture that I was a happy dad?!!!

I didn't get any good pictures of it but Flynn took out the crown to show the girls. They were so overwhelmed that they wouldn't go near it. Rapunzel had to hold it on their heads which was hilarious. After all of that, they still asked if we'd like a family photo. How awesome! Those smiles were not forced. We were all having an awesome time!! Again...well done Disney!!

I think all of this happened before 11am!  Still plenty left of this day...just as soon as we get our next donation!

Summer Vacation Week 2 (part 1)

Well "Mr. Anonymous" came in late with a donation. Lucky for me, I was ready for it and have a post ready to go. Just so happens that we haven't finished posting all of our summer vacation photos and this is a perfect excuse to go back and revisit those awesome 3 weeks in California.

Thank you "Mr. Anonymous" for making sure we blog all 39 days!!

So back to the vacation; after a week chilling in San Diego with the Pekalas, we headed back up to my sister's house just north of LA. We spent the next week catching up with family and relaxing at their amazing place. First order of business...SWIMMING!!

Did I mention the food??? Tom makes some MEAN ribs!!

Alyssa stirring up her breakfast shake.

I almost didn't include this picture but upon further review, it's one of my favorites. Seriously, how beautiful are my girls!!!!

I think Aunt Christin and the girls were planning out our day at Disneyland.

Breakfast with Katy.

Katy telling a great story about...something very interesting.

The girls loving life with their cousin Olivia.

Cousin Connor showing the girls Guitar Hero.

Lisa painting nails...prepping for their trip to Disneyland the next day.

And I leave you with a tease. On Wednesday, we took the girls to Disneyland. Hard to pick the best day from a 23 day trip to California...but I think this day would win out. This is Lisa and the girls (with Cousin Olivia) walking through the parking garage to start the best day ever!

Thanks again for the donation! Hopefully we'll be back for more tomorrow!!

Happy Birthday Alyssa and Katy!!!

Happy Birthday to the two most beautiful girls on the planet! Alyssa and Katy turned 5 today!! Where have the last 5 years gone? Unreal.

So if you didn't catch it, Lisa posted on facebook today that we have started our annual March for Babies fundraising efforts. We decided to do things a little different this year because we aren't going to be around for the Anchorage walk in May. So instead, we are going to raise money during the 39 days that the girls spent in the NICU...April 5 to May 13. (We will however be participating in the MOD Walk Thru the Whittier Tunnel on Father's Day if anyone is interested in joining us!!)

The Ballards got us off to an awesome start on our way to our most ambitious goal yet, $5000!!! That's right! For the girls golden birthday, we're aiming to raise $5000! Last year I wondered if we'd really be able to make $4000 but we blew right by that and actually reached $4500. So why not this year?! Let's do this!

Before we get to the birthday celebrations, I spent a part of the day going back and reading "our story". It's an insanely long read but if any of you haven't read it, it's worth reading. Actually brought tears to my eyes. Our story can be found here.

So five years, eh? Where has the time gone??? The girls amaze me every day. It's hard to believe how far we've come. Today was the "low key" birthday celebration. Saturday is going to be the mass-chaos birthday blowout with 20 kids!! After dance class this morning, the girls drove Lisa crazy because they had to wait until I got home to open their presents. FINALLY this evening they got to dive in.

Excited much??

Their theme this year seemed to be outdoor princess?? We got them their own hiking backpacks from REI with water bottle. The grandparents took care of some other necessities like sleeping bags, garden supplies, and plenty of clothes and other outdoor goodies.

The final gift from me was fishing poles. As much as I'd like to get them their first fly rod, let's start them out slow with a couple of princess rod and reels. Yes...princess rod and reels.

I think the girls liked them.

A couple of days ago we asked the girls where they wanted to go for their birthday dinner and they both agreed on Red Robin! We've seen dozens of birthday celebrations over the years at Red Robin but it was hilarious to see the girls finally be the center of attention. Not surprisingly, the second the group of waiters arrived the girls buried their heads in our sides. It was pretty funny to see them go from ecstatic to embarrassed instantaneously.

But as soon as the birthday song ended, the girls were ready to dig in to the dessert. One problem, Katy wasn't interested!! She was waiting for her birthday cake at home. Alyssa had no problem digging in!!

Wow...

Then it was back home to have their real cakes!

So we're off!! Every day that we get a donation, I will post on the blog! We have a long way to go some I'm fully prepared to post every day until May 13th. Spread the word and let's raise some money!!