"I'm going to Disneyland!!!"

My life is awesome. My life got overnight awesome-ified! We have had a lot to celebrate. And where does everyone apparently go to celebrate? Disney! Here are some pictures of our incredible (and all too short) trip to the Happiest Place on Earth:

Abby spying on Princess Ariel. The line to meet the princesses was so long and slow, that I took her around the back to the exit while Brandon stayed in line with all the little girls.

Two little Mouseketeers on their way into the Magic Kingdom. Notice the banner says "Celebrate Today!" It was a command to celebrate and we obeyed.

On our shuttle ride from our car to the park. Abby was super jazzed and so were we. Taking a kid to Disneyland is awesome!

We stopped to smell the flowers.

Our hotel. We loved it. It was so modern (which is my thing lately). And, every time there is a free breakfast I fall in love with a hotel. Not like one stale donut and a box of Frosted Flakes breakfast...but like BREAKFAST. It happens to be my favorite meal of all times and I never leave myself enough time to eat anything but cereal. Oh, and don't worry, that shirt of Brandon's was left behind in the Hyatt's trash can. You can't tell from this picture, but it's basically a badly laundered belly shirt.

Carousel. This is the same ride that Brandon, when Abigail's age, broke free from his parents to ride for hours. His poor parents had lost him and he was playing cowboy.

Small World boats. Love it! It's so culturally sensitive!

The lovely (and I believe Hispanic with a spray-on tan) Princess Jasmine and Princess Abigail.

Princess Sleeping Beauty signing Abby's WAY over priced but COMPLETELY worth it autograph book.

This Snow White was a class act. She was completely believable and even got my super-shy daughter to say, "My name is Princess Abby and I have seen you on a movie."

We stayed from 9am-10pm. The last firework went off and literally half a minute later Abby fell into a coma. We got back to our hotel and declared that as an entire family we have never smelled so bad in all of our lives. We were ripe after a full 13 hours of sweaty, theme park fun!

The next day we hit up the LA Zoo! Thanks for the tip Chatwins!

This little girl loves the zoo!

I'm not a National Geographic photographer...but not bad, right? The animals at the LA Zoo are awesome. I thought I would spare you my incredible flamingo and rhino pics. You are welcome.

"Dad, why are giraffes so tall?" Best vacation ever! I know I just realized there is seemingly no pictures of me, but I promise! I was there! And I had a blast!

Brandon takes the oath of attorney...

We were all super proud of Brandon, especially Chad!

Free at last...Free at last...

Thank you Judge Hoskin for making it extra special!

One happy family! It looks like I'm hunched over but I'm really just limp with relief.

See the shoes? Not too over the top, right? And yes, that is quad. Brandon was sworn in on the bible and the book of mormon, smooth, right?

Thank you friends and family who came!

The Rules of Mom Shoes

Please ignore my total need for a pedicure and try to take this post seriously.

Brandon is taking the Oath of Attorney in a week which, to me, qualifies as a "new dress and shoe" event (given the proper funds, Arbor Day and Flag day would also qualify to me, but alas...). I came home with an outfit that Brandon and I completely agreed upon until we got to...

My foot! Brandon says my patent purple pumps (say that three times fast) don't exactly scream "Wife and Mother." To me, Wife and Mother is made by Keds (no offense to those who wear Keds, it's just not my deal). But, I think I might see his point...in fact, there was another woman at the DSW clearance isle eyeing my purple shoes. She said if they didn't fit me, she wanted to buy them. And I said, "I know right? They're so cute." And she said, "No, they're not cute, they're man catching shoes." So now, I'm on the fence...because they're man catching shoes? I've caught a man...Nevada's finest legal mind at that...and that legal mind has deemed my shoes unlawful for a wife and mother. So what do you think? Am I hanging my hotness out to dry because of my station in life and should fight to redeem my rightful position? Or are these simply an over-the-top kind of shoe that would require me to get extensions and a lower back tattoo?

Help. The swearing in is in one week and DSW's sale is over in a few days.

Preschool Performance

Abby's preschool end-of-year performance was yesterday, and I just had to post some pictures for the grandparents:
First is my patriotic daughter participating in the pledge

This was my view. I know, right? His head. It's like an orange on a toothpick.

Performing my favorite number. She's a buffalo.

Singing loud and proud during her solo: "Six Little Ducks." Next to her is her best buddy Emma.

The ducks "wibble wabble, wibble wabble, ho hum ho"

I should have applied the lotion a bit more liberally. She scratched that same knee at least 5 times.

And While Abby was scratching, this is what Emma was doing...

Two little pre school graduates (kind of, they have 2 weeks left this year, and well, of course, next year as well).

Thanks for coming friends and family! Here's Abby and her cousins:

We were worn out from the fun

The props were plentiful

Old McDonald's Farm never looked so good. Yes, that is her with her hands on her hips giving the song some serious pop star attitude

Proud of you Abigail!

Some before, a little after

Ok, so I know good and well that nobody is going to care about this post like I do. We are now living in our house, but are really far from "moved in." I wanted my house completely done, decorated and cleaned before I took "after" pictures of it, but at this rate, I wouldn't post until August. So here are the "after" pictures. The "before" pictures are down below. I'm really happy in my little house and I think it is coming together. Let's see what you think...

This first picture is me sitting at my kitchen table. Shiny, isn't it?

Like I mentioned above, we are really far from being done. This is our "gas station bathroom." There is no toilet in it, the sink doesn't work, and it is a disaster. As you can see, we have a lot of work left to do....considering we are functioning on one bathroom, we're pretty motivated to finish this project up.

My back yard! Can you tell this project was extensive? I did manage to pick about 86% of the cigarette butts out of the back. Let me tell you- you learn a lot about a family by picking through their rocks. I know they had a little boy, a little girl, they loved Halls cough drops and snickers minis. I know they had dogs. And I know they smoked a lot of Marlboros.

This is my kitchen looking in. I like it a lot more than I thought I could like a kitchen. I know it's dark, but it is so sunny in there. I have big plans for the chairs I'm going to get for the table (you know, sometime between here and next year when my finances recover...I can't tell you how many times our credit card company called to make sure there wasn't credit card fraud and I had to hang my head in shame and say "yes, I did just authorize a completely unwise amount at Lowes".)

The wall is gone! The big shelf on the wall is gone. The ceiling is flush. The giant dry wall fire place is gone. Again, there is a load of stuff to do, but I am happy with it. I didn't think I'd have that column, but it's growing on me. I call it the Arc de Triumph.

I got rid of the coat closet door that I was sure they locked their children in and drywalled that wall flush. makes a big ol' difference.

Looking into the family room. French doors weren't there before.

I know there was no "before" picture of my landing, but I love my light fixture so much I had to put it on.

The third bedroom. Just waiting on friends and family to fill it up! I can promise you an air mattress!

Half of Abby's bedroom.

The other half of Abby's room: Thanks for the stripe help Grandma Susan!

Our new fourth bedroom. This will someday be a nursery, but right now, Abby has moved in and she loves having friends over to play.

Upstairs hallway.

Upstairs hall before.

Dining/Family combo

Kitchen before


Front door before

Fireplace/family room before

Living Room before

Gas station potty before

Abby's bedroom before