Ricks Birthday Bash!

Rico turned the big 2-8 on Friday!! We decided to celebrate his birthday Disney style this year. Phoenix is only about a 41/2 hour drive from Disneyland so we always said that we should go sometime while we are living so close. This year at Disneyland you get in for free on your birthday and since Rick didn't have to work last weekend and it was his birthday on Friday we figured this would be as good a time as any to go. So a few days before we left we booked a hotel and planned out our trip. We had a great time and are so glad that we went.

Our family at the main entrance to Disneyland

Me being a super cheeseball( I thought he had already taken the picture) but anyway they had it all decorated for halloween. Here we are in front of the Mickey Mouse Pumpkin.

Us in front of the castle


We rode lots of rides. Here are a few of them

Me and the boys riding the spinning tea cups.

Rick and Tyler on Dumbo.

Us on the It's a Small World ride. My favorite.

Rick and Tyler on the old Riverboat

Tyler driving like a crazy man

Probably Tylers favorite ride. We must have rode these rocketships a dozen times.

We met some of the characters

Mickey Mouse. Rick almost crowded him out of the picture. Good thing he didn't. We had to wait in line forever to get this picture

Pluto

Goofy

The birthday boy standing on main street. They gave him a pin to wear on his shirt with his name on it that let everyone know that it was his birthday. All day long we heard "Happy Birthday Rick" "Rick, Happy Birthday" He had never had so many people wish him a happy birthday in his life. It's just a happy place.

Rick and Tyler at the parade. Very fun parade. The funnest we have ever been too. Loud, upbeat, and just fun. You couldn't help but feel good at that parade. We had great seats. Right in front of Mickey and Minnie

After Disneyland we wanted to sing happy birthday to Rick. Well being in a hotel and away from home we didn't have a cake. So we stopped at a convience store and bought some hostess cupcakes so that we could sing to him and he could blow out some candles.

Don't worry though, we did make him a real cake when we got home. According to Tyler you haven't actually had your birthday until he has helped make you a cake and until he has decorated the apartment with balloons and crepe paper.

On Saturday morning we woke up and drove the Huntington Beach. It's only about 20 minutes away from Disneyland. This was the boys first time at the beach and seeing the ocean. They loved it and could have stayed there all day.

We packed sand toys and they went to work digging and building. Tyler is obviously taking it very serious.

Logan playing in the sand

We stayed at the beach for a few hours and then we had to head home. It was a quick trip but so fun to get out of Phoenix for a few days and away from all the everyday stress. We had a great time and made lots of fun memories! Happy Birthday Rico!

Our New Apartment!

So when I got back from my trip to Idaho, Rico had the best surprise waiting for me..... He had us all moved into a new apartment!!! I don't know how he did it and I was shocked but somehow he managed to pack up our old apartment and move all of our stuff into our new place all while working at his practicum. I don't think he got much sleep that week. It was the best surprise ever. We have been in our new apartment now for about a month and a half and we are absolutely LOVING it! It is so much bigger and open and nicer than our last apartment. It is definetly a step up for us. I know our families want to see pictures so I am finally getting around to posting some. These are the pictures I have on my camera. I don't have any of the boys room on my camera and they are in there sleeping right now so I will have to post some pictures later because I think it turned out really cute.

I know this picture is really fuzzy and hard to read but it is a picture of the layout of our apartment.


Our living room.

Another view of Our living room / dining room. One fact about our new apartment is that it is on the third floor which is also the top floor. Pros to this would be: really high ceilings, no loud neighbors above us, and no wall separating our living room and dining room which makes it seem really big and open. Cons to this would be: stairs, stairs, and more stairs. We have to haul our kids, strollers, our groceries and pretty much everything up three flights of stairs. A little exercise never killed anyone though right.

My new big beautiful kitchen. I love this kitchen. It is my favorite thing about the apartment next to my washer and dryer. I have so much more storage space and counter space than my last apartment. I love the island in the middle and I love the built in computer desk next to the oven and microwave. I love this kitchen!


And then the very best thing about our new apartment and the main reason why we moved:


TA DA!!! Our very own washer and dryer!!!! They are right in our apartment, they are free, and I can use them any time I want. No more hauling all of our clothes over to the laundry mat every week and scrambling for quarters everywhere because it costs a dollar to wash and a dollar to dry. I used to hate laundry day and now I love it. I get excited every time I have enough dirty clothes to run a load. It is so fun and has made my life a lot easier!


This is why it took me so long to unpack everything. This kid is EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING. It really is almost impossible to get anything done with him around. I still love him though.


The night I got home from Idaho and after the shock had worn off of the new apartment, Rico planned to have our good friends come over and bring some sparkling cider so that we could toast in our new apartment. Fun times and a great ending to a great surprise!