A 4 year olds point of view.

When we took Ashlyn away for her birthday we got her a little camera of her own. These are some of her artwork. It doesn't even have a flash so I think she does a pretty good job. Apparently she is a shoe fanatic.

There is a really great one of Gaby with her finger up her nose but she would be embarrassed some day if I posted it.

Day 4, 5 & 6 of vacation.

Well I've forgotten most of what we did in the last few days except rest and catch up on sleep. I love how "vacation" makes you feel more exhausted than any normal day of the week.

I realized this morning that I forgot to mention that we went to the dentist on Monday. Ashlyn has been there but this was Gabriella, Ryan, and Brooke's first visit. They did awesome!! No one cried.I think it helped that they were a little older than when Ashlyn first went. She screamed bloody murder for her first 2 visits but now loves it.It also helped that I brought home some supplies from my last visit and we "played dentist" the night before so they knew what to expect. Ryan had a good report on his teeth. Brooke was told she needs to work on not sucking her thumb. Gabriella has 2 watch spots already. This did not surprise me as I've always thought her teeth would decay easily although she brushes the most and her teeth look the cleanest. Ashlyn has her first 2 cavities. They are tiny but still need to be filled. We'll be dreading that visit. It will probably change how she views the dentist from now on.
Last night Ashlyn and I went to a wedding together and then we met up with Lance's family for a big birthday bash for his Aunt Jean. The kids had a blast at the party. There were horse and buggy rides, karaoke, lots of food, and fireworks. We finally put them to bed at 11 pm.

Day 3 of vacation.

This is Storybook Land. This was not Ashlyn's first trip to this magical land.Here she is on the very same horse 4 years ago. She was only 3 months old. Doesn't she look like a baby doll? Here is Brooke's turn on the horse. By the way, if you aren't familiar with Storybook Land, its a park with statues of the classic stories. It really a great place to spend a day or two. There are lots of other things to do too.Gaby.Ryan.Here is a group shot. Riley and Amanda came too. No one would stand by the Cowardly Lion or the Wicked witch. They all kept looking behind them to make sure no one was moving.There are 2 rides at the end of the park. A carousel and a spinning ride that goes up and is supposed to resemble a balloon ride. Of course all the kids said the rides were their favorite part. There was also a little train that took you around the park. I think the train ride was their second favorite.If you're wondering why Gaby is the only one wearing a hat, its because she has such thin hair on top of her head and we didn't want her scalp to burn.

After the park, we stayed overnight at a hotel. It was Ashlyn's 3rd time staying overnight but the others had never been to a hotel. They had a great time. We swam in the pool (which I just realized I forgot to take any pictures). The room we rented had a king sized bed, a queen, and a pull out sofa. Lance and Ryan slept in the queen. Gaby, Brooke and I slept in the king, and Ashlyn slept in a big overstuffed armchair with an ottoman, pushed right next to Lance. They did really well until Brooke started screaming at about 6 am. She was crying asking "daddy, where are you going?" I think she had a bad dream. Or she caught Lance trying to escape the madness. We did have a good time over all but there were many difficult moments too. How many of you would dare to take 3 two year olds on an overnight vacation?

Day 2 of vacation.

Grandpa Ray's birthday. Grandma Vicky got the kids these outfits on her trip to Texas. They look really cute on them. I tried to get a nice shot of them all together. Its like pulling teeth (which Gaby must have thought I was going to do cause she couldn't keep her hands away from her mouth).Ashlyn and her cousin Amanda couldn't stand to be more than 6 inches apart. They spent most of the evening with their arms around each other. I love that she gets to spend so much time with her cousins.
As if getting 4 kids to all look and smile at the same time wasn't hard enough, here are 6. Ashlyn is the oldest at 4, then Riley and Amanda (who are twins) are 3, and Gabriella, Ryan, and Brooke are 2.