Five on Friday

Happy Friday Folks!! 

It's been awhile since I've linked up with the gals on 5 on Friday, so I'm back today!!

Here's what I'm loving this week.....

 {ONE}

On Tuesday I got an early Valentines from my sweet hubby! I had a early Kindle edition and for various new features, wanted to upgrade to the Paperwhite! It arrived on Tuesday and I love it already!!! With it being much smaller than my previous one my super cute case does not fit it....and I loved that case! Anyway, after much searching on Etsy I found a store with adorable cases!! Aren't they cute!? Anyway, I'm having one custom made, so I'll make sure to post a pic when I get it!!

{TWO}

Do you follow Huffington Post Parents on Twitter?? If you don't you should! So many great articles on it! Anyway yesterday this article was posted and I loved it. I instantly re-tweeted it because it just tugged at my heart. It really touched home and made me tear up at the end. This quote in particular...

"Overnight we've gone from a world where a never-ending ribbon of days unfurled in front of us, so many they overwhelmed me, to one where every moment feels finite, numbered, and, as a result, almost unbearably precious."

It just shows that this time will be over in a blink of an eye! When days are long and hard I'm going to think if this quote! It was a sweet, true, and loving article, you should read it!

{THREE}

One night while browsing Pinterest, I came across this post! I was trying to get some cute ideas for a Valentine's day countdown, my boys have become slightly obsessed with countdowns for things ;), anyway, this one caught my eye! It's a countdown using bible verses that shows God's love for us! Stick them in something cute, add a few candy hearts and you're set! I'll be on busy working on this tonight!! Nothing like waiting till the day before Feb.1st to start, ha!

{FOUR}

This shirt would be perfect to sport at Lane's t-ball games this Spring!

{FIVE}

This Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday!!! Looking forward to watching...not that I'm a big fan of either team, but I do like Peyton, Bruno Mars, and football in general! So, Go Broncos!

Happy Friday Friends!!

These Faces

On these boys can seriously drive me crazy...but they sure are cute!!! These are the faces I get now! Always being silly together!!

This one is my fav...I mean look at Levi!!!!

Yee-Haw!

Yesterday was Western Day at Levi's preschool! To make it all the more fun they brought in a petting zoo, complete with pony rides for the kiddies to enjoy!! Parents were invite up to enjoy the fun!

He had a great time and loved getting to touch all the animals!!

January so Far...

Oh, what to say about the first two and a half weeks of the new year?!?! I can pretty much sum it up in ONE word.....FLU!!!! Yes the flu invaded our house the week Lane was supposed to return to school. He ended up missing the whole week, and then wouldn't you know I got it, Paul got it, and just when we thought little Levi would escape it, he got it! It was the worst week and a half ever. I had also gotten sick on New Years day, so I literally feel like I've been sick all of January!! 

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Just this week it seems like we are all over it and getting back to normal. I still have a lingering cough that just will not go away! I am hoping this is our sick quota for the year, ha!!

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In other news, about a week ago Levi had some big changes!! First off he decided he did not want to seat in his high chair booster seat thing at the table anymore! Second he started sleeping upstairs!! And the biggest thing he has done is potty training!!! I wasn't planning on tackling this while sick, however we ran out of diapers and neither one of us could make it to the store, so underwear it was!! It was the craziest thing, but he totally did it! And he has done great!! He is still in a pull up at night for now, but overall I can say he is good to go!!! It's a wonderful day knowing you don't have to buy diapers or wipes anymore!!

So that's what has been going on at the Furr's! I hope you steer clear of the flu!!

Disneyland: The Finale

After several Disney posts I have officially documented everything about our trip! Like I've said many times before it was an amazing trip with my three favorite boys! Countless memories were made and I'm so glad that we will forever have these pictures and blogs to look at!

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So for the VERY LAST DISNEY POST here is a fun little interview about our trip....(Levi was a little too little to answer some of these!)

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Favortie Character Meeting:

Mommy: Peter Pan & Captain Hook

Daddy: Peter Pan

Lane: Buzz Lightyear

Levi: Mickey Mouse

Favorite Ride at CA:

Mommy: Radiator Springs Racers, Toy Story Mania very close second!

Daddy: Radiator Springs Racers

Lane: Radiator Springs Racers
(YES, it's that good!)

Favorite Ride at  DISNEYLAND:

Mommy: Space Mountain

Daddy: Space Mountain

Lane: Space Mountain

Favorite Show or Parade:

Mommy: Pixar Play Parade

Daddy: Fantasmic

Lane: Fantasmic

What was the scariest ride you went on:

Lane: Space Mountain
Levi: It's Tough to be a Bug

What was your favorite toy/souvenir?

Lane: Light Saber that I built
Levi: Mickey

What is your favorite memory of the trip?

Mommy: Walking through Radiator Springs at Night!

Daddy: Riding all the rides with Lane

Lane: Riding Space Mountain

Until Next Time!!!

Disneyland: Tips & Tricks

I am definitely NOT a pro here and there's probably a lot I don't know, however I did a ton of reading prior to our trip, and I feel like other moms out there may want to know some tips and tricks to help them out! I searched and searched, and read every blog I could find on Disney trips, and they helped SO much! I loved reading other moms blogs about their trips b/c it gave me so many things to think about and great ideas, so if I can help any other mom out than that's what I want to do!!

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So if you are planning a trip to Disneyland or thinking about it...here are some helpful tips and tricks......

Before You Go:
*READ READ READ!! Finding blogs on Pinterest was one of my greatest tools! I found SO many good ideas from other regular moms out there!
*Book all your dinners before the trip! AT Disneyland you have to be 60 days out from your trip, at DW I think you can book a year out! They book super fast, especially the Character Dining!
*Figure out if you want to partake in Pin Trading and if you do I suggest buying a starter kit off eBay. I got one for like $12 and it came with 25 pins! It definitely isn't a must to do, but Lane did enjoy it and liked trading!
*Decide if you want to make anything, like autograph books, pressed penny holders, etc.
*Pre purchase Disney shirts at local stores!
*Before we went, we took all of my son's piggy bank money and added a little more to it, and put it all on a Disney Gift Card. This was going to be HIS money to buy whatever he souvenirs he wanted! And I will say it worked out great!!! It was easy to keep up with, less receipts, and he even had a little left on our very last night! We did buy our two year olds' souvenirs, but we definitely loved it and will do it next time for sure!!

At the Parks:
*The first time you see a Disney Photo Pass taker get one! Basically it's Disney photographers set up at different locations throughout the parks and will take your pictures for you. You just hand them your PhotoPass card and they scan it! Not only does it ensure that every family member is in all those priceless pictures, but when you get home you can add all sorts of cute borders and pictures to them! You don't have to pre-order before you go (we didn't), but you can! It is definitely worth the $$!
*Get there when the gate opens for sure, if not earlier!
*Spend some time researching the rides...know which ones each kid can do, which ones have Fast Passes,  etc!
*Use the Fast Pass service! I'm telling you we saved HOURS by using these bad boys! Best invention ever! You can read about it here!
*Whether you rent one or take your own, make sure you have a stroller with you!! No matter what the age! My five year old used it more than my two year old!! And make sure to mark it with some super cute Disney ribbon, I've NEVER seen so many strollers in one place!
*Have lots of snacks handy!! Suckers and the little wedding bubbles work great for line waiting!!!
*Indulge! I mean you're at Disney after all! Don't let all those fun Mickey treats and souvenirs pass you up!
*Look for the pressed pennies! My five year old LOVED doing this and now he has a stash of about 20 pennies that he loves to look at!
*Stake out spots for the parades and night shows about 45 minutes to an hour before they start! Sounds crazy I know, but people do it!!!
*Download and USE a Disney wait time app! My hubby was in charge of this and used it ALOT!! It definitely came in handy! I think we used Mouse Wait!
*Don't stress too much!! I know it can be hard at times, but remember, you're at the Happiest Place on Earth!

What to Bring:
*Each day at the parks my husband and I each took a backpack filled with snacks, autograph books, pressed penny holders, our tickets, my camera, and more!
*Have a sharpie for autographs and a couple of pens so you can mark up the park map and show guide! And then make sure to grab clean ones on your way out if you want them for keepsake/scrapbook purposes!!
*Depending on the season you go, bring jackets! Each day we started and ended with them on!
*Stroller with ribbon.

My Thoughts:
*If you can, take your kids when they are young! Lots of people will say that they will not remember anything, which I agree with to some extent, BUT I'm a strong believer that you need to take them while they still believe in the "Disney Magic"! Ours were five and two and were perfect ages!! It's truly awesome watching your kids as they think they are meeting the REAL Buzz Lightyear!!
*Stay AT LEAST three days....one for each park and then one to finish up. There's NO way to get one park done in one day, you just can't!! I would have loved to stay longer if we could!
*It truly is magical being there! My hubby, who was a little reluctant taking them at this age, came home talking about making Disney a yearly trip!! Disney just sucks you in and you don't want to leave!!

When you get Home:
*Start documenting your trip asap! Whether that's by blogging, scrapbooking, photo albums, whatever! You don't want to wait too long or you may forget!
*Download, create, and order all your PhotoPass pictures!

So there you go! My little tips and tricks for doing Disneyland!! Feel free to leave any questions or comments!!! I'd love to hear them!!

Disney Day 4: Park Hopping!

***Finishing up Disney Posts***

Wednesday was our last day of park fun..boo! We were going to use our park hopper to go back and forth between the two parks to finish everything up! After starting our last day with our character breakfast we started at California Adventure!

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We got there shortly after the park opened, and went straight to see Santa! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see Santa at Disney!! There was NO line when we got there so the boys got to walk right up! Score!

After Santa, we went straight back to Paradise Pier for Toy Story Mania! But first we rode the big Ferris wheel!

There were some awesome views from up there! This is Car's Land...mainly the Radiator Springs ride! 

Our hotel!

On our way over to the ride, we saw Jessie and Buzz!!! The boys were so excited!!!

Toy Story Mania had quite a bit of a wait, so I took Levi with me to stand in line while Paul took Lane to ride Goofy's Sky School! After that they met up with us in line and we all rode Mania! It is a super cute, fun ride!!!

Last on our to do list was to catch the Disney Jr. Live in Stage show! We knew Levi would LOVE this show!!

We got inside and everyone sat on the floor!

They had a little pre show entertainment for the kids! Levi was playing right along!

Then the show started and I knew immediately it was going to be super cute!! And then about five minutes into the show, the lights came on, the music went off, and someone came out to tell everyone the show had been cancelled for technical difficulties! All those poor kids were devastated and didn't know why they were leaving!! So sad! And we never did make it back over to catch a later show, next time for sure!

Other than the night show at California Adventures, we had officially done it all! So it was time to "hop" on over to Disneyland to catch everything we missed there!

First up was the Jungle Cruise! A long wait but a must do for the kiddos!

After the Jungle Cruise, we made our way to the other side of the park. On the way we stopped for some face painting!

Our next ride was It's a Small World! It was decorated so cute for the holidays! Everything was picture worthy, but here's a few! Both boys enjoyed this classic ride!!

Right after we got off we spotted Merida from Brave!

While walking through the castle we spotted Peter Pan and Captain Hook!! While waiting in line the Fairy Godmother chatted with the boys!

Peter Pan & Captain Hook were so good! They were by far my favorite characters that we met! They talked and joked with the boys and with each other! They both had their characters down!!

Right when we got to Disneyland, we grabbed a Fast Pass for Space Mountain...so that was our last thing to get done. Paul and Lane went on it first. Lane came off that ride excited as ever...he LOVED it!! I was a little unsure how he'd do, but man, he was all about it. So then he and I went to ride and he had a blast! He didn't even want me to hold onto him!! 

That was it for Disneyland park! We had done it ALL!! BY this time is was just getting dark, and it was time to "hop" back over to CA again!! We had the night show to catch later that night! While we waited we knew we wanted to walk through Cars Land at night! But first we did a quick ride on the bugs!

I will say that Cars Land is even better at night!! It was awesome with all the lights on! So So pretty.....

We never did get to meet Lightning McQueen on the first day at CA, so we were pumped when we saw him that night!! Levi was asleep!

We had some fun at Flo's!!! Again, Levi was still asleep and missed the fun! 

(These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip....if only Levi were in them!)

After walking through Cars Land we grabbed dinner and dessert then got our spots for the World of Color: Winter Dreams Night Show! It was a pretty awesome show!! Think Vegas Bellagio water show but with color and visuals!! The show was the last thing on our list, so afterwards it was time to leave and say goodbye to Disney!

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 As we were leaving we made sure to take it all in. I was definitely sad to be leaving, but so grateful for all the memories we had made!! It was an amazing trip and I can't wait to go again!!!