Disneyland with the Betteridges! part 1: pre-Disney

For more than a year, we've planned on and been saving for this Disney Betteridge Reunion.  Chris and I and all the kids went without birthday or Christmas presents from each other and we made pizza most Fridays instead of buying, and we didn't travel home to Washington for Christmas....because we wanted to be with all my siblings and their kids for a week long Disneyland party!  We all went in together and rented a 6 bedroom house within a few blocks of Disneyland! 

Once we found out that driving to Anaheim, CA is only 2 hours longer than the drive to Provo, UT, we knew we could for sure make this trip happen, financially speaking, because we could drive instead of fly. So... we undertook the 31 hour drive from Mississippi to California with our 4 kids.   We are all experienced car trippers, but we added a few new things for this beast. We used the car top, even though we could've fit everything IN the car. Having some extra space between the kids and each other and the floor, etc... was a really good decision. We also decided to let the kids be in charge of their own snacks. They each had their backpack with a few books/toys and snacks clipped with a carabiner to the head rest / handle bar in front of them.   Having the backpacks off the ground and easily accessible was a great idea... Freddy didn't really get the concept of putting things BACK into his bag, but at least he could get stuff out himself. We also purchased a clip around soft tray holder for Frederick so our cookie sheet trays (that we always use for meals) and his toys wouldn't slide off his lap. It sorta helped. We left on Thursday around 3:00 pm, and drove through the night stopping for bathrooms and stopped once for breakfast on Friday. We pulled into Pheonix, AZ about 4 on Friday afternoon. We met my cousin and her kids at a park for a bit, then checked into the hotel that my Dad helped us get. :) Then we went over to one of Chris' friends from high school for dinner.  We were back in the hotel and all asleep by 9:00.  We slept great and headed off for California in the morning after I did some service at a nearby temple (Can't pass up a chance to make it to the temple when its only 5 minutes away!!) then we all had a leisurely breakfast at Waffle house before driving 5 hours to Anaheim. 

We pulled in around 4 at the house and met up with a lot of the cousins and my siblings. We got settled in our room and then had a great time hanging out, chatting, talking about plans for the week. 

The next day was Sunday. We attended a nearby ward for Sacrament Meeting (and filled up 3 whole rows!) and then went back to the house to have our own Primary with sharing time by me, and singing time by my mom. After some lunch and quiet time we went to walk along the beach. We knew most of the kids would get completely soaked no matter what they wore, so a lot of us let our kids wear swimming suits. (I found out later, that this is one of the things Gwen told her piano teacher about ... "we went swimming at the beach.... on Sunday!" haha)  It was SUCH a beautiful day and SO SO fun to be all together with my family. (only missing my dad, my brother in law - German, and of course, my sister in law Radene and her son Carter because of his Leukemia treatment). I really enjoyed this slow paced, peaceful day. I especially loved sitting by Chris at church, and playing spike ball with Sarah, Jordan and Estefi at the beach. 

We had a delicious BBQ chicken and salads and whatnot for dinner. Tiffany and Ashley meal planned the whole thing and all I had to do was show up, help out a bit, and pay some money. It was SO NICE (for me).  We put the kids to bed kinda early (the time zone and beach made that sort of easy for my kids) and tried to plan out the strategy for California Adventure the next day. Tiff, Todd, Jared and Ashley had done some good research and determined a loose itinerary of which rides and shows to try and hit when. Again, I totally lucked out. Then Tiff, Sarah and I painted our nails - Disney style.

part 2 - California Adventure

Monday morning dawned and we were all up early. Everyone so excited. The kids played with the cousins while adults from each family packed a lunch for the day. Tiffany and Ashley had planned and even cooked some take-able meals ahead of time: deli sandwiches, pasta salads, 'walking tacos', chicken nuggets, bagels etc.  It was kinda nice that the parks didn't open until 10:00 so we had plenty of time to get there. Chris really didn't want to pay for parking so we decided to have him drive the kids and I to the drop off point early early and then he'll drive back to the house and then walk back. We wanted to be at the gates about an hour before they opened so we could be in a good spot to get Fast Passes for the newest and coolest ride in the park: Radiator Spring Racers. (Normally its like a 2 hour wait.. without the fast passes).  Although it sounds terrible, waiting in line for the park to open wasn't all that bad. They open the gates early (I can't remember 15 min, or 30 min) and then you have to wait at another point inside the park at the end of the main street, for the 'rope to drop' right at 10:00. Chris collected everyone's tickets and booked it with Jordan to get Fast Passes for Radiator Springs while the rest of us walked to Midtown Mania (a Toy Story 3D laser blaster ride) and got in line. It was fun to have 25 people in line in a row... the kids would wander in and out and play with each other. We waited maybe 30 min.  Not too bad.  

Then we walked over to Cars Land and did some of the little rides before our Fast Pass time was ready. 

Frederick was too short for Radiator Springs Racers by like 1/2 an inch. I tried to get the guy to call it a 'close enough' but he wouldn't. So I waited with Freddy while Chris took the other kids with all the other cousins. My brother and his wife waited with their 7 month old, Tommy, waited with me as well as my sister and her 1 year old. Chris and my mom got  Riders Swap passes for us to get on the ride later. We were confused how to do this and sort of expected to just walk right up to the front of the line, but we had to wait with all the other Fast Pass users, and I wondered what was the point of the Riders Swap pass... we could just use our own, still good, Fast Passes. Later that day when the same situation came up for Soarin' over the World, we talked with the worker and found out that one Riders Swap pass is good for up to 3 people, and has no time limit. So, it is better and different than a regular Fast Pass which is only good for a specified hour and for only 1 person.  Once we understood it right, we were sure to add the options for Riders Swap into our mental figuring of how to optimize our Disney experience over the next 4 more days.

Turns out the boys LOOOOOVED Screamin'. I was really surprised and impressed! I didn't think they would like such a fast and upside down roller coaster, but they loved it and rode it  4 or 5 times in a row with extra fast passes from the people too short to ride it while I and some other adults took the girls and younger ones to see the show, Frozen. It was amazing! So so good. All the little girls were literally on the edge of their seat the entire time.  Freddy even stayed awake and paid attention and loved it even though it was right in the middle of his nap time.  After we all met up again I think we had passes to Soarin' over the world and got some more for Radiator Springs again.  We grabbed some dinner at Flo's Cafe in Cars land, and it was nice to sit for a while and recharge. Then we did Ariel's ride, and waited for the firework show. We had gotten fast pass tickets to be able to go into the reserved area for the firework show right on the pier. This... wasn't really worth it at all. Everyone was standing and so anyone my height or shorter could only see the tips of the water shooting up. I could tell there were some images being projected onto the water but I was too short to see it. So for like 30 min, we were all standing, holding kids on our shoulders or backs or whatever just to see the tips of water shooting up.  Chris said it was a cool show. :)  I could see the fireworks when they started. Before it was over, we decided to leave and beat the crowds out of the park since we knew we still had miles of walking ahead of us to exit the park, walk through downtown disney and then a mile along the streets home.

Whew. Day 1 in the books and a total success! 

Preschool with Freddy

Freddy loves to do preschool with me.  I don't do it very often with him because its easy to get caught up with other stuff that needs to get done.  We probably do one session every 2 weeks or so and I don't prep for it AT ALL. I just fly by the seat of my pants and try to throw something together. Man, I really hope I can get some other kids involved with us next year so I put more thought and focus into it.  It makes me feel bad that I don't make it more of a priority just for Freddy. Sigh. Alas, I'll add it to the list of things to work on and just move forward the best I can.  This past week we did a preschool on snow.  We sang songs about snow, read books about snow, cut out snowflakes and made a snowman out of marshmallows. Its so much fun watching Freddy sing songs with me, and play with me. He looks at me with such love, it kinda indescribable how that makes me feel -- you'd think with all that good feeling I would actually spend more one-on-one time with him!  When we pick up the kids from school the first thing Freddy will say is, "I do preschool today!"  The kids are so sweet with him and ask him questions about what he did and say cute adult comments like, "that sounds like fun!" in a high, gentle voice. 

Texas then NewYears

  Freddy is in love with Jane. Anytime I tell him we're going to meet his friends somewhere he always asks excitedly "Jane? with Jane? Jane be there?" (Except he pronounces it 'Jame')  So he, of all people was super excited to go to "Jame's house!"  We made it to Thom and Brittany's house late Monday night. They are always so sweet to let us arrive so late and they have everything ready for us.Tuesday, Brittney and I got a good run in in the morning. I can barely make it through 3 miles and at such a slow pace for Brittany. I feel back holding her back but its nice to have a 'therapy' session with her.  The weather was great and we met her extended family at a park for a hot dog roast and let the kids run wild. 

 Another day we met them at this climbing place for kids while Chris and Thom golfed. We finished at the climbing place just in time to come and meet them on 18 green to watch them finish out.  Brittany and I trying to find 18 green with 8 kids in tow was quite a site, but for the most part the kids were quiet and respectful of the course. Chris would probably want me to comment on how the round went. Lets see if I can remember it... as I was privy to a detailed round recap.  Um... something about it being Match Play, and Thom winning that by one stroke that could've been a tie if Chris had made his first putt on 18.  But also Chris won if you were just looking at strokes... but they weren't so Thom really won. But Chris sorta won too.  Also maybe Chris had some birdies on the front nine. I think that's all I got.  

Brittany and I got to have a girls morning and go see a movie with her sister and then go out to lunch and then Chris and Thom went to play tennis one night, letting Brittany and I continue our therapy session.  I love talking with Brittany.  Then the last night, Brittany arranged some babysitting so we could all go to the temple. We were supposed to go with some of her siblings and parents but lots of people were sick so it ended up just being the 4 of us. It was SO NICE to only drive 40 minutes to the temple and to be able to go WITH Chris in the same session.  We ate at a yummy Thai restaurant after.  And then the greatest thing was having the sweet YW who babysat for us, say that they don't charge for temple trips!  I know God will bless those girls for their selfless service. I know 8 kids under the age of 10 isn't easy!

Then we drove home Friday. It was nice to unpack and settle a bit before New Years Eve and New Years day on Sunday. We didn't have any major plans for New Years. We let the kids 'stay up' a bit. We put Freddy to bed almost like normal, and then got out some treats like redvines, peanut M&Ms, chex mix, and little soda cans and we played Phase 10. I think Gwen said something like, "This is the best party ever!" or something.  I guess having access to unlimited treats while staying up late is a pretty awesome party for Archibalds. :)  We found a count down on Netflix and it was so cute to see the kids get so excited to count down from 10. (probably because they didn't realize it wasn't the ACTUAL countdown yet...which makes me wonder if we're terrible parents to sorta trick our kids like that) Anyway. Chris and I got to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie that ended SECONDS before the New Year hit. We rang in the new year in style with a bottle of Martinellis. 

Sunday was the next day. Church at 9 and Chris and I still in charge of a lot of stuff while most people are out of town. Freddy is now a sunbeam!! Ah! I have all of my kids in primary with me and we have Jr. and Sr.s combined for sharing time/singing time. Its very fun to be with them. Here are pictures I took of them after we cut out hearts and wrote how we'll follow Jesus and show love to others that we'll send in to the Friend. 

We came home and FINALLY put together our gingerbread nativity scene that we had baked and cut out before Christmas. We froze it while we were in Texas. It was fun to make. Gwen did a great job on the angel, Alec, the manger with baby Jesus, and Charlie did the star. Freddy mostly just liked piling the candy on the sheep and shepherds but at one point put life savors on as eyes for some of the shepherds and then said, "Look big eyes!" He had a long Good n Plenty going down for the nose and for some reason we all thought this was super funny. We were all laughing pretty hard.  Fun memory.

Alec's birthday

Alec has hit the double digits!! Our first baby is now 10 years old.  Wow. He's turning into such a fine young man. There are so many qualities about him that I love. He is SO good with younger kids.  He can share his toys really well, and is often the only kid who will share his special treat with another kid who doesn't have any. At school, he trades stuff with his friends if he has something they want. He has such focus and determination to finish projects he's in the middle of. He's SUPER creative, always coming up with fun games to play either by himself or with his siblings. He's a wonderful artist and can sketch an X wing in less than 30 seconds. He's physically coordinated and has really developed in soccer this year with his twice a week 90 minute practices. His ball control, aggressiveness, passing ability, confidence and defensive awareness have all improved.  He has a wonderful sense of humor and has that kind of deep belly laugh that brings Chris to tears when they both get going.  He has an insatiable appetite for knowledge and has a great need to fully understand things. He loves to read interesting fact books and remembers random bits of trivia fairly well.  His favorite books recently are the Percy Jackson series. He read the first book in like 4 days or something.  He likes to do silly dances and sing really loud when he's feeling extra happy. Though, he won't admit it, I believe he also loves physical touch. He can hardly contain himself to not touch people when he walks by them (especially if he's angry and then its a swipe at the arm or a brushing of the shoulders), he likes to play the game where he tries to not let me kiss him goodnight... a full scale wrestling match where he's laughing and giggling the entire time. I always win and manage to give him a quick peck on the cheek or forehead.  Sometime he puts up such a good fight that I'll try to give up but then he'll get sad and ask me to keep trying.  Whew... I'm really going to be out of my league both physically and mentally when this kid really hits the teenage years. Heaven help me. 

(I love this picture because I caught Alec smelling his new book...a thing he got from me. I LOVE the smell of crisp new glossy pages. I'm sure its some toxic chemical but to me, its the smell of a beautiful new story)

Grandma and Grandpa Dixie got him this sweet microscope! He loves it.

Alec also takes after me and loves cookies n' cream. This year he requested an ice cream cake. Yellow cake, with a cookies in cream ice cream later and Chris' chocolate whipped cream frosting with crushed oreos. It was SOOO good. I made the layers and Chris assembled it. He did a great job.

We spent most of the day hanging out around home, playing with toys, working on puzzles and around lunch time we did presents and cake and then started packing up to leave for Texas. We got Alec's favorite take out: Taco Bell for dinner a few hours into the drive.  We love our Alec boy!

Christmas

Christmas Eve we made Challah bread and went around to our neighbors and caroled. We made Chris' family's traditional clam chowder for dinner and unwrapped our Christmas jammies (my family's tradition). This year to save money for Disneyland, we recycled previous years jammies and I found some new Christmas socks for everyone for a few dollars.  We managed to put the camera on a mini tripod thing and take some traditional pictures: tallest to shortest, pyramid, and family shots.  Because our kids would need to come through the room where Santa will put his presents to get to our room, we decided to have a family sleep over in our bedroom so we could all be together in the morning. We all cuddled in our big bed while Chris read a book that depicted the nativity and matched Christmas hymns with each part of the story so we all sang along too. Then we tried to get the kids to fall asleep on the bed together, listening to stories being read on my phone from the Friend magazine. It didn't really work. We had to separate some and moved them to a big memory foam pad on the floor in the corner we brought in just for that reason.  (Plus, I can't sleep well with little ones kicking me, so the plan was to move them all onto the floor after they fell asleep). Chris and I still had some work to do to get ready for Christmas: clean up, make jello, assemble overnight sticky buns, and omelet muffins and some other things... :) 

Surprisingly they fell asleep pretty well after moving some off the bed, and Chris and I had done a good job getting ready during the previous week that we had time to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie before going to bed. 

Christmas morning the kids woke up around 6:30 and I popped out of bed for a second to get the eggs and sticky buns in the oven. Then we lined the kids up on the stairs to the family room... youngest to oldest - per tradition. The next hour and a half was a happy morning of opening Santa's gifts, playing with them and eating a yummy breakfast. Alec and Charlie loved the 25 foot BlueTrak race track, Freddy sorta liked the Magnadoodle (but he really loved all the candy in his stocking) and I think Gwen was pleased with her huge doll house and dolls. We just need to make some furniture for it. We paused the merriment at 7:30 so we could get ready for church and still get there 30 minutes early to make sure everything was in order. It was very fun to drive to church WITH Chris, for once.

Church was sweet. It was very fitting to partake of the Sacrament on Christmas Day. We sang a bunch of hymns and had a short speaker. It only lasted about an hour. It was fun to see some fellow branch members and wish them a Merry Christmas, ON Christmas. Then we headed home to change back into our pajamas and unwrap the presents under the tree. We had prepped the kids that there wouldn't be very many since we had all agreed to not buy any presents for each other this year to save money for Disneyland.  So when the kids saw all the presents that there actually was from Grandparents, and cousins and Great Grandparents etc, they were pleasantly surprised. It was cute to see the presents they had wrapped to make for each other (mostly drawings by Charlie, but Alec folded a hand towel in the shape of a Teddy Bear for Gwen). Chris introduced the boys to risk and everyone put together their legos. We found out at church that a single guy from our Branch didn't have any plans for Christmas dinner, so we invited him over to join us.  One benefit to having someone over is that it really forces me to tidy up (which I REALLY enjoy having had done)..although in the true spirit of a typical Christmas I left the present and toy tornado stay in the family room and play room and just focused on tidying the kitchen. We had a mini Thanksgiving with a turkey (just the breasts), stuffing, cranberry sauce, jello, challah bread, peas, mashed potatoes, and gravy. It was all delicious...although it was a little more work than I had realized when we decided to do it. :) 

Chris and I ended the day with starting a crazy hard puzzle. (that we finished a week later)