DISNEYLAND-The Happiest Place on Earth

At least the Carters think this is the happiest place on earth. As many of you know we LOVE Disneyland, we have been going as a family since Chandler was 2. Sorry about all the pictures but when you have over 400 to sort through it gets a little difficult. But hopefully you can get a taste of what fun we had!

HOW WILL YOU CELEBRATE????

This is how the Carters celebrated!

You can't have a party unless both sets of grandparents are there, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

...we celebrated by seeing Minnie and Mickey!

...we celebrated by overcoming our fear of Splash Mountain. Meagan before and after the big drop. Way to go Meagan!

...we celebrated by all of us being able to go on rides together. No one sitting out because they aren't tall enough or staying with the sleeping child in the stroller.

...we celebrated by going on "Screamin'" and definitely doing some screaming!

...we celebrated by wishing our little princess a Happy 5th Birthday! Girls only lunch at Ariel's Grotto. (a little on the pricey side but the little girls loved it and the big girls loved the idea of only girls allowed)

...we celebrated by getting pictures taken with some of our favorite characters! Chandler was a great sport even though he was "too cool" for character pictures he still managed a smile.

...

...we celebrated by going on all the rides even though they weren't our choice because we were too big and 13 year olds aren't supposed to enjoy the merry go round for the 5th time in a row.

...we celebrated by trying to have fun on rides just because we can't have the front every single time.

...we celebrated like a pirate!

...we celebrated with a yummy Sunday dinner with friends and a thrilling game of Settlers.(which I won BOTH times, but who is keeping track)

Wishing you an early Merry Christmas! (this may be the only greeting I send out this holiday season so you better enjoy!)

San Diego Get-Away

My pictures are a little backwards because let's face it I still don't know what I am doing. So after our trip to San Diego we drove to Cedar Break. It is very pretty up there, we missed the leaves by a week or so but it was still fun to go up through the mountains. I love living here and being close to such amazing sites. If you couldn't tell it was very windy and chilly.

Look who we saw that also took a little stop to Cedar Break. Kim forgot her camera so I snapped a quick family photo. (Lucy in the car asleep and Emily not excited about the detour.)

The views were AMAZING!!

Our first day in San Diego we went to Sea World. The last time we went was when Courtnie was 5 months old. It was a hot day but everyone loved it. Our favorite being of course seeing Shamu up close and personal.

Notice the different size animals that everyone got. Small, medium and LARGE!

The last ride of the day, Shipwreck Rapids. I knew that I would get soaked and I didn't want to do this at all. I was hoping Tyren or Dad would have gone with Chandler but they didn't want to and Chandler was very sad that he wouldn't be able to go on it. Well Courtnie and Mom stepped up to the challenge. The sacrifices we make for the ones we love.

Before the game we went on a tour of the USS Midway an air craft carrier that last sailed in 1991. It was way cool! These boats are HUGE! This is us standing way out over the boats edge where the planes take off. A little on the freaky side!

The cute little Faldmo family is so nice to always drive and meet us when we go and visit California. We always look forward to anytime that we can spend time with them.

Paul and Tyren were the most fascinated by all the planes and helicopters on top. Did I mention that this boat is HUGE!?

Inside Tyren, Colby and Courtnie sleep in the bunk beds. Very tight quarters, I don't know how anybody could live in such tight spaces.

Friday night we drove to the San Diego Temple. The kids LOVED this temple and its unique structure. It is beautiful at night.

Fall Break and an away BYU football game make for a perfect little family road trip.

We had a great trip and to top it off BYU won!!!!

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY TYREN!!!

I love this kid!!

This is what happens when you have a 3 second down time between games that you are playing. I think the boys at Tyren's party would have just been happy with wrestling on my furniture all night long.

Tyren is a great big brother. He probably won't tell you but he really does love his sisters. Always willing to play a game with them, carry them on his back, and give them encouraging words.

Tyren LOVES to play football. His dream someday is to play football for BYU. He was going to sign up for tackle football this year but after trying on Chandler's helmet and getting a little claustrophobic he decided he would do one more year of flag football. I love to watch him play, he gets REALLY into it!

Tyren earned his Arrow of Light last week. WAY TO GO!!

I was reading in Tyren's baby book last night about how happy he always is, what a great sleeper he is and what a good natured baby he was. Well, in eleven years he is still that same sweet kid. Tyren I love you very much! Thanks for being such a great kid!

Random Happenings from Carters!

For Labor Day we decided to go up to Park City and ride the Alpine Slide. Unfortunately for us everyone else had the same idea. We waited in line for 50 minutes for the Alpine Slide. Yuck!

But we waited in line for the coaster for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Yes, you read correctly 1 hour and 20 minutes. Was it worth it? No, but if you ask the kids they would do it again and again, with the wait!

Meagan off to her first day of preschool! My little buddy off to her adventures.

Happy 38th Birthday to Paul!

Happy 24th to Annie!

Happy 64th to Dad Carter!

38 Reasons I love Paul:

1. Are you kidding me? I have seen this done for people's birthdays, anniversaries etc. Don't get me wrong I love the idea, BUT I am a busy lady, it is a miracle I am blogging today. I just don't have the time to list 38 reasons, so just know that I love Paul very much and he is a great husband, father and friend!

Chandler's 8th Grade Football

He loves to play and has made many friends. What a great bunch of kids! They have only won one game but they sure give it their all.