Disneyland! (The Family Affair)

M-I-C-K-E-Y......M-O-U-S-E



Hip Hip Hooray! We finally had our family Disney spectacular. This was our family's celebration of Gucci's 60th Birthday and Great's 80th Birthday and we celebrated all of the September and October Birthday's as well. It was also the last time our family will be together for.....well, we don't know how long? Tyler and his family are in Texas, Missy and her family are in New York, and we are off to London. Who knows if Sheldon will go away for Grad school? Guess we'll see. We had such an awesome time, which can be a challenge with 18 people maneuvering around Disneyland. Here is the photo recap of our wild and crazy trip. We managed to lose only 2 people, Mae Mae (2yrs.) in Disneyland, and Great (80yrs.) in the airport. Not too shabby eh? Okay picture recap:

Leaving the Salt Lake Airport. Yes, that is a giant box of "Cinnabuns" all for myself. John had been dieting and was eating granola :)

Great, John, Willie, and me with Shammy

Getting geared up for day1. We had some problems with the Disneyland hotel which looked more like the Bates motel, so Gucci and Birdo who claims that she "has the gift of manipulation" were at the hotel negotiating a change. Apparently she does in fact have this gift because we ended up staying at the Grand Californian instead (paying the same amount as at the Disneyland hotel). Note to all: Do not stay in the Disneyland hotel, unless you want to hear a remodel pounding while you stay in a ghetto room that is as clean as an airplane lavatory :) Gucci gave Great the room key instead of her park pass so I had to run back down downtown Disney and get her key so she could enter the park. I was beat. Totally out of shape.

"Nightmare Before Christmas" is a favorite in the Talbot house. Big shock, I know. Yes we are Halloween people.

Willie John finally enjoying a meal in the Park.

What would a Disney trip be without giving Mickey a little pinch? This was Saucey's Birthday, and he was in his height of glory.
The piggies got to come on stage at the all you can eat BBQ place over near Frontier Land. They loved it, and we loved eating ribs, chicken, sausage, and corn bread like ravenous beasts.

We decided to arrive early for a good seat at the Jedi training academy in Tomorrow Land. As you can see, the kids didn't think that arriving early was that great of an idea. They eventually began to horse around and we got some good smiles.
The people at the NICU were very perceptive when they named Willie "Wild Bill." He is crazy! He did enjoy toddling around. Sitting in a stroller all day is not his idea of a good time. As you can see, we are still waiting.

Ha! it was well worth the wait because all 3 of our boys were picked out of the crowd to participate in the Jedi training and fight either Darth Vader or Darth Maul. Darth Maul was super scary, but I must admit, a little hot too ;)

The guy working at the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride seemed surprised when I asked to see his pirate face? How can you operate that ride and not have a pirate face? He did his best.
Today was our early entry into "Toon Town" day. The best part was that we got to see all of the characters out and about and snap a few quick photo's with them.
Willie was a little less enamored with the characters, in fact here is a series of pictures of him whacking each character we tried to photograph him with. Notice the hand cocked back ready to strike. The thing about Wild Bill is that he is frighteningly fast. Watch out characters! Some pictures he's cocking back and others he is making contact. The little stinker.

Kissing fish, Goofy's Gas, Willie whacking a fish, and our very own......Chip n' Dales! Woo hoo, work it fellars.


The poor little thing really was giving it her all. King Arthur's sword. Some macho kid came up after Addie destined to get the thing out. Ha, it was priceless watching him tuck his tail between his legs and scurry off defeated.

One of my favorite rides and probably Johns least. So what if he gets motion sickness, he was going to ride that ride anyway ;)

Addie and Mae Mae driving Mr. Toads car.

King Arthur's Carousel. Addie loved the carousel. I know, it is sooo Hogle Zoo, but she loved it.


After day 1, this became Great's mode of transportation. Worked out great for us, between stroller passes, fast passes, and the wheel chair, we had it made! Plus, the kids loved to ride on Great's lap which Great loved! Win Win Win.

This was in the newly redesigned house of the future. Ty, jammed out on "Rock Band," and I morphed myself to see how I would look heavier with sun damage and smoking. Ugh, not pretty.

Addie also loved the caterpillar ride in Bug Land. Mae Mae loved it too.

I have discovered a new love. Beignets! Holy Crap!!!! These things are like a party in your mouth. It is a good thing that I don't live in New Orleans or I would weigh 1,000 lbs. Imagine a scone only it isn't hollow, but thick and soft covered in powdered sugar. Aaaah, I am drooling right now!

Siblings!

This was at the "World of Color" show. It was a pretty snazzy show, but Addie fell asleep. I had to get up early and book it to get fast pass tickets to the show. Alan was in the park so he gave me his tickets to get them a fast pass too. Alan and John let Great and Gucci take their tickets. Had I known Addie was going to fall asleep I would have left her with John and Given her ticket to Sherri. However, I thought she was going to love it. Wrong. She slept on the ground through the whole thing. Can you even believe that I am my mother's daughter? Seriously, look at her gorgeous brown eyes.

This was probably the best day for the girls. We went to "Ariel's Grotto" character dining where the girls got to meet a number of the Princess'. We had the girls wear their costumes to the lunch. I bought Adessa the new Rapunzel costume for obvious reasons of her fabulous long hair. The new Disney film "Tangled" which is the Rapunzel comes out in November. I was told that I was smart to get the costume now, I guess that when the movie hits they will be flying off the shelf. The thing is, you can only get the costume in a Disney store, they don't have a single Rapunzel thing in Disneyland until the movie comes out. We didn't have a costume for Lydia so I dyed a onesie green and made her a Tinkerbell tutu.

Rapunzel

3 of the 4 little Princess' Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White

Grandma Gucci with her Princess'

All four Princess'

Woody bowed to Adessa, Kissed her hand, posed with her, and gave her a hug. She beamed! I think she is going to be very shy with boys.


Lady bug ride in Bug Land on our family Tie Dye day. This would be the day we lost Mae Mae :) We also celebrated Addie and Claire's Birthdays today.


The Talbot clan sporting our tie dye. I just HAD to have a family picture in front of the Castle, even if it includes some random person. On this note, I have often wondered how many people out there have pictures of me randomly getting in their photo's? Something to think about.

More of Willie whacking and characters to pose with. Addie showing off her Birthday badge.

The Birthday girls had their faces painted. Their choice? A unicorn mask, no big surprise there. Poor Claire cried when she wasn't big enough to go on Soaring Over California and ruined her mask. $17.00 down the toilet. At least I got pictures before it was ruined.

Our last Character breakfast at the "Story Teller Cafe." This is a super yummy breakfast buffet with a lot of "woods" characters.

And as we know, all good things must come to an end. Leaving the airport all together for the last time.

Ipson and Talbot clans, with a bonus of Tyler and Shammy

The Pearson clan


We flew to Arizona witht he Pearsons where they then switched to a flight to Texas. Sad to see them go, but happy to have life as normal as it gets.



A great trip with the most wonderful people in the whole entire world! Gucci thank you for planning, preparing, and saving for this trip for years. I have heard Gucci talk about wanting to take her whole family on a Disney spectaular for at least 5 years. I am glad that this happy day has finally come. We love you Gucci.

Cutest Pig EVER!

I guess that it is pretty obvious who my kids look like :)

Dance Teacher Farewell

Saying goodbye to the studio and my teacher friends is not a simple task. As a matter of fact, I have been teaching at the studio for 16yrs., which is like saying farewell to a big old chunk of myself. I almost hyperventilate at the thought of leaving the studio. The dance studio represents much more than a paycheck, fun friends, and cute students...it is a place where one can express the innermost feelings of their soul through the greatest form of non-verbal communication, dance. When I walk into the studio I feel like I am 6 again swaying to the sweet hum of "the Carpenters," I feel like a teenager obligated to be there so I don't mess up the dance for the others on my team, and I feel like a technique Sergeant pushing girls to meet their dancing potential. I know that the studio will survive without me, but can I survive without the studio? I have been blessed to teach and create at our awesome little "Shellie's School of Dance." I have worked with the women who taught me, and I have worked with the girls who are now women that I taught.

To say goodbye we all went to Chili's, one of my favorite places to chow. All of the faculty chatted and laughed, which would be my favorite way to say goodbye. I was actually pretty composed and only shed a couple of tears. A great big thank you to these amazing ladies who helped teach, mentor, and love me through many years of my life. You are Shellie's and Shellie's is a huge part of me. I love you.

Me and the Gucci

Adena, Kel, and Annie


Shayla, Sara, Dayna, Shannon, and Sam. Shayla, Shannon, and Sam were all former summer technique all stars. I loved teaching all 3 of them.

Back: Gucci, Adena, Kel, Sara, Shannon, Sam

Front: Anna, Me, Shayla, and Dayna

Enjoying our fine feast while discussing good books and movies. A perfect girl occasion.

Thanks for the sweet gifts and for a wonderful last "meeting." I can't wait to see the concert video :)

Crash- I hope it was an accident....

if not, you are a great big JERK!



When we got home from church on Sunday, this is what we found- a big old broken window. John had come home early from church to put Willie down for a nap and found that Gucci's window had been hit with a golf ball. Fortunately, John had cleaned up as much glass shards, bits, fragments, and powder as he could. Unfortunately, there is still a ton of little glass bits all over. We have enforced a shoe/slipper rule when walking upstairs until we are back from Disneyland. Stitches the week of Disneyland = not good. I feel really blessed that I wasn't in the kitchen feeding Willie when this happened. The ball actually penetrated 2 panes of glass and entered the house. Glass was blown all over the kitchen and had we been in there (which we usually are) someone would have been seriously injured. Just another blessing you get for going to church, we were in the right place at the right time. I would like to believe that this was an accident and not some big jerk face thinking they are funny vandalizing a house. Had we been home, I am certain that the end result would have been very bad, fortunately it wasn't. Just a little reminder to me of my many blessings and how the choices I make have consequences, good and bad.

Clip, Snip, Buzz

Willie's groovy haircut

For years John has been begging me to cut his hair. I have flatly refused. Why have me massacre your head and have to be seen with you publicly afterwards? No thanks. Of course Costco was having a great deal on clippers, a few hand clasped pleas, a cute little smile, and the battle was over. I caved. Clippers were purchased and our plans for the evening quickly evolved into "Ashley's Hair Salon." First John, and then Willie. Thank Heaven's John has so much hair and thank Heaven's that I like it short. After a bit of coaching from the Johnster himself I completed a fairly successful haircut. In the future I would leave the front a bit longer, but altogether I think I did a good job on the sides, back, and cleaning up the lines. Willie was a bit less work as far as making the hair look decent and a bit more work as far as not clipping his ear off. I quite liked it and figure that I will get better in time. The one bad thing is that I have a bit of a perfectionist nature, now when I look at both of my boys hair I see flaws. This is the part that may drive me nutty. We'll see. In the meantime, the clippers have paid for themselves, and I look forward to John always having nicely coiffed hair :)

John's groovy haircut

Last Girls Camp Activity

We had our last Girls Camp activity this past Wednesday. *sniffle* The girls and leaders were super sweet in planning a "tie up loose ends" activity for the girls, with a little farewell twist for me. This fine activity included a cute DVD of our camp pictures, reading camp scriptures, our ward cheer, and my favorite camp dessert.....Banana Boats. After the festivities, I did get a little camera happy, but hey, what's new?

In one side.....and out the other :)

Diva Darlings


Can you not see why I love Mariann so much. Seriously, this woman is a riot and I will miss working with her a ton. I told everyone to do a funny face. Yep.

Mariann doing her "Tootsie Roll" and cute Aymi throwing out some "Peace."

A mandatory shape. We grabbed what leaders were hanging around for our fine Egyptian Vogue. Aren't we so Cleopatra?

Thanks for the fun activity ladies, you rock!

The story of "The Big Red Blob"

Caution: this story is not for wimps. If you get grossed out easy, exit now, if not, enjoy. A short bit back I posted about my "Big Red Blob," well.....the blob has developed a story of it's own. When I say that I could not even begin to touch my nose without being in excruciating pain, it's not a lie. Agony. The whole doggone nose was swollen, sore, and the inside was just as bad. I was beginning to think that I had gout from eating too many Oreo balls, or a boil from some random nose picking, or a wart? It could not have been a zit, too painful. After 2 weeks of enduring this pain and the embarrassing big red blob, I finally decided to gird up my loins and give the tender schnoz a squeeze.

Well, as I began to apply a little pressure yes, some white stuff did come out as if it were a zit, but it did not end at that. Tears in my eyes I pressed a little harder. Suddenly something began to emerge from the top of my schnoz, what could it be? It was a half inch long hair. Yep, a hair. It must have been some kind of funky ingrown hair that had created swelling, pressure, and infection. Once the hair had come out it was like child birth, instant relief! I can honestly say that immediately after the expulsion of the hair, I could freely touch my nose pain free. This was just like after birthing Willie, I could walk around feeling 100% better than before and that was with a C-section. Worry not, my nose is back to normal and I am appreciating a blob free schnoz. I am hopeful that I never have to endure anything like that dang thing again, hooray for a normal nose!

Farewell to an Old Friend

It is no secret that I hate goodbye's. I stink at them. I become very attached to things, memories, and people. Not a stalker, but attached. Such is the case with my Saturn. I have had the Saturn for 15yrs., 1 year short of half my life (don't bother doing the math). I got this car going into my Junior year in High School and was able to take it with me to College my Junior and Senior year. I have so many fond memories with, in, and of this car. I remember piling everything I owned into this little baby and driving her to Cedar City for College, I remember getting in my first car accident with some random guy who was too nice, I remember road trips, killing the engine, smooching a boy....or two, Drive-In movies, and getting to my beloved job at the Junior High each day. I LOVED my Saturn. Plus, the baby was periwinkle! What is cooler than a High School chick driving a periwinkle car? Well....we can't take her with us. A super neat person wanted to purchase the Saturn and donate her to a family in need. John and I agreed to this, but were much like the uncle in Pride and Prejudice, left to receive all of the gratitude for the help that was given by another. The sweet family that we gave the car to was overwhelmed and overjoyed to have inherited my beloved Saturn. Sweet sister Vilchez came up to me with big tears in her eyes thanking me for the car. I told her that she was welcome, but I wasn't to receive all of the credit. Others had been a part of bringing this to pass. I was so deeply touched by her faith and gratitude. I believe that we could not have given the Saturn to a more appreciative family, and for that, it is a privilege for me to pass a most beloved part of my life to them. I hope that the Saturn serves this sweet deserving family as well as it has served me/us. Good bye old friend.

The sweet Vilchez family