Easter at Papa & Grammy's house

The Magic Kingdom

This was by far the best trip to Disneyland I have ever taken. Seeing Gabe experience all things Disney was incredibly awesome!

We met all of John's family in California and spent four fun filled days at Disneyland and California Adventure. Thanks to Rose, Wayne and family for a great trip!

By the way, I think I took half a million pictures at Disneyland. These are just a few of my favorites . . .

Because of the three hour time change our kids woke up every morning between 4:30 and 5:00 AM. So here we are bright and early waiting for the park to open!

Both our kids loved the carousel rides!

Gabe lovin' the teacups - again and again!

Autopia, a Disney classic.

What Characters!

The Bruce Family, Kolten, John, Gabe, Porter, Mater and Lightning McQueen

I love how Gabe and Aiden are checking out Mater's teeth.

All though we deprived Gabe of several Disneyland experiences like It's a Small World and the Monorail, as parents of a train loving little boy we couldn't leave without taking him for a ride on the Disneyland Railroad. The conductor was cute and hopped out of the engine and stood next to Gabe for the picture we were taking.

Porter having some fun on the Railroad!

By far John's favorite ride was the new Toy Story ride. He and Gabe rode this at least five times. And it definately made Gabe's top three favorite rides!

If you ask Gabe he will most likely tell you that his favorite ride was Dumbo. We all had a great time on this ride, even Porter loved it! Notice Porter holding the magic feather that makes Dumbo fly.

Gabe was a trooper and went on several big rides too. He tried the Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Railroad. They weren't rides he wanted to go on again, but I was proud of him for being a big kid and giving them a try! Here we are on Splash Mountain, my favorite ride!

Grandma Rose had all of the kids faces painted. Gabe wanted to look like Spiderman. Very cool!

And finally, just a few random pics that I love!

And in case you wanted to hear some Disney stories, here are some of the funnies from our trip. I'm sure there are more, but I can't remember them right now. So enjoy these for now.

1. Gabe seeing Darth Vader and calling him Darth Mater. (As in Mater from the Cars movie.)

2. Me yelling at Gabe to watch where he's walking just as I run over a cheerleader's leg with the stroller. Why was she sitting on the ground anyway, aren't cheerleaders supposed to be peppy, enthusiastic and jumpy, not sitting on the ground? So really this was her fault . . .

3. John throwing Porter to save Gabe. When John took Porter out of the stroller before taking Gabe off the top it started to tip and Gabe would have ended up a lot worse off if John had let the stroller fall. So thanks Porter for taking a small hit so Gabe didn't take a big one!

3. And then to top everything off there was the time I confronted some ladies in line at Pirates of the Caribbean. I was totally at fault, Porter and I cut in line to be with our family. They couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle the comments they were making about me while I was in ear shot. I probably totally embarassed my husband in front of his family, but I couldn't help it. I guess we now know what happens when a normally nonconfrontational person spends four sleep deprived days fighting kids and crowds. Eeek! No, really we had a totally awesome trip and can't wait to go back someday for more Disney fun!

Gabe said . . .

Happy Monday everyone! Here's a collection of cute/funny things Gabe has said lately that had to be preserved for posterity's sake. Enjoy.

"Congratulations Mom, you just woke up Porter."

"I'm going to be in a rock band, but not until I'm 4. You have to be 4 years old to be in a rock band."

"Holy Gracious!"

(We think this is a combo of Holy Cow and Goodness Gracious.)

"One, two, buckle my shoe.

Three, four, shut the door.

Five, six, pick up sticks AND FIGHT!"

Gabe: I'm going to Disneyland with my Mom and my brother, his name's Porter.

Dana: Is your Dad going?

Gabe: No, he's sick.

Dana: Maybe you could say a prayer and your Dad will get better so he can go with you.

Gabe: No, that won't work. He needs medicine.

Mom: (very serious) Gabe, do you want a spanking?

Gabe: No, thank you. Oh, and you're welcome!

Mom: Gabe, why didn't you eat all of your cookies?

Gabe: Because I don't like the crust..

Gabe: Can I watch cartoons?

Mom: No, I'm watching the news.

Gabe: Why?

Mom: So I know what happened today.

Gabe: I know what happened. Jesus died.

A Hard Day

Porter's been running a fever the past few days, but today he took a turn for the worse and it was a hard day on the little guy.

Woke up with a fever of 104.8 degrees.

Dry heaving.

Lethargic.

Sleepy.

Not eating and drinking very little.

Had me very worried.

Got him in to see the doctor and they were worried too.

Poor baby had to be catheterized for a urine sample.

They also drew blood samples, gave him an IV, and got a bag of fluid in him.

Thankfully all his tests came back normal, so they think it must be a viral infection.

He still isn't eating, but the fluids sure helped him yesterday. I didn't realize how dehydrated he was. Hopefully, we can keep him hydrated the next few days while the fever runs its course so he doesn't need another IV.

Enjoying some spring weather!

The past three days have been so beautiful, the kids and I have spent every afternoon outside! It's been so nice to be able to play outside again after being cooped up inside all winter! The kids are now enjoying the swing set they got for Christmas and I scored big time today when I bought the Cozy Coupe Car for five dollars!

Wicked

I bought tickets to see Wicked six months ago - six months! It was a real treat to finally see the show last night after waiting in anticipation for so long! We LOVED the show - yes, even John loved it and he was miserable with strep throat! We saw the show with eight other couples and then we all went to dinner afterward at UNO Pizza. Thanks to all our great friends who made it a fantastic night!
And lastly, I have to tell you about my favorite song from the show. I had no idea this song was from Wicked until last night. I will forever associate it with my cousin McKay. Give it a listen, it's a great song. As for my second favorite - it would have to be "Popular" but I'm not going to ruin that one for you . . . go see the show! You won't regret it!

Is that a Snuggie???

I was reading a book to Gabe this week and found it extremely funny to see the characters in the book wearing Snuggies. Really! They were wearing Snuggies! I had to take a picture. Does anyone doubt that those are Snuggies?

And just in case you don't know what a Snuggie is . . . watch this.

The Indianapolis Children's Museum

claims to be the "World's Largest Children's Museum." Well, I believe them! 5 stories of hands on cool stuff for kids, it was too much to see in one day - but we gave it our best! 100% worth the two hour drive!

Look out! Gabe's driving an Indy Race Car!

Bob the Builder Exhibit

No surprise here - Gabe loved watching the electric trains!

Amazing hand blown glass sculpture in the center of the museum.

Chomp! Chomp!

Porter having a ball!

Gabe is always drawn to the computer games . . .

The Kids 2 and Under area - was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole museum because Porter could get out of the stroller and play without me worrying about him getting mauled by older kids. It was a completely enclosed, soft padded play area. Porter loved the mirrors he could see himself in, the different textures he could touch, and the little obstacles he could climb in, on, through, and around!

We loved our fun day at the museum!