Disneyland pictures: Best of the best!

Enjoy!

Finally....Disneyland trip!!!

Yup, I realize I'm behind quite a bit in updating this blog in a timely fashion. It's something I've been working to improve...but, you know, well...it's hard living up to that promise when you have a 4-year-old running around the house!

Anyhow...feast your eyes on the video of our Disneyland trip that we took back in May. Yes, that May. It was a complete blast!

The video is too big to upload to Vienne's blog, but it can be viewed by clicking on the You Tube link below. Please give yourself 37 minutes to watch it.  :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAhKkZA_3z8

Father's Day

Jumping ahead to June...I had the distinct honor and privilege to be serenaded at Vienne's school for Daddy's Day!  The kids were a little out of tune and a lot out of sync, but NO ONE cared.

Finally!

In May of this year, Vienne finally went down the big slide at Playdates PDX all by herself. I still had to ride with her a couple of times first, but once she did it on her own, she didn't want her 'ole Papa to be anywhere near the slide after that. (tear rolls down cheek)

Helicopter ride!

See Vienne go up. See Vienne come down. See Vienne puzzled at why her ride was so short. You don't get much for fifty cents these days!!

Vienne, the teacher.

Here we see Vienne teaching some of her favorite toys. She definitely has command of the room!

One of my favorite videos!

Here's a fun video. My favorite part is at the very end...blink and you'll miss it. Just as Vienne lays back down to relax, she pops up wondering just what the heck is she laying on anyhow!  You may have to rewind it a couple of times to catch it. 

The good and the bad....the ying and the yang

While 90% of the time Vienne is a lovely little girl, it isn't always roses. Feast your eyes ladies and gentleman!

Backyard fun!

One of Vienne's favorite activities is to play in the water sprinkler "bareneked". Yup, she likes to feel free as a jaybird when cooling off in the water. Luckily, her Papa isn't so inclined. Vienne will have a brand new birthday pool soon, thanks to her Grammy, so I'll post pics and videos once that is up and running.

On to the beach for some ice cream!

We got a nice dose of sun one day in early February, so we took advantage of it and went to Lincoln City for the day. I always get a wee bit verklempt when I visit the Oregon beach since my beloved Auntie Patty lived in both Depoe Bay and Lincoln City. She truly adored the water - lakes, bays, oceans - and I have fond memories of beach walks and seashell collecting with Princess Patricia by the Sea. She is greatly missed, but I enjoy experiencing the beach with Vienne because I'm re-creating old memories and making some awesomely new memories at the same time!!

We first paid a visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory (an honored tradition in our house) for some squeaky cheese and ice cream. Then it was onto Lincoln City, where we played on the beach for a long time and later ate some delicious fish and chips here:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/js-fish-and-chips-lincoln-city

We are looking forward to our camping trip with Grandpa and Grandma at Nehalem Bay campground this coming September. What's that? Of course we'll sneak in a trip to the cheese factory for some ice cream. Silly question!

2nd snow!

Later in December, we were treated to another few days of snow, this time around we got about 8 inches and thus Vienne's school closed for a few days. We had a blast sipping hot cocoa and playing in the snow!  We even built a modest snowman named Olaf. Hmmmm....wonder where she got that name from? 

Christmas 2013, in pictures

It was a wonderful holiday season last year, our first one in Salem in our house on 23rd St. We helped Grandpa and Grandma Hardy decorate their tree, and spent Christmas Eve over there. Vienne had a great time participating in our church's candle light service on Christmas Eve. Then Christmas morning was at our house, as was our Christmas day time with Auntie Awa, Cousin Claire, Grammy and Cindy. How blessed we are to share in the holidays with our wonderful families. Our only regret (as it has been the last few years) is that we didn't get to spend any holiday time with Danielle's family across the country in New England. Perhaps this year, in 2014, we'll make that happen for Turkey Day or Xmas!  (hope, hope!!)

Vienne got many presents that she loved: Julia the baby puppy, a new bike with training wheels, lots of clothes, games, coloring books, regular books, Elsa and Anna magi clips, Snoopy, lots of playsets from Bubble Guppies and Disney Princess, a tiger Cabbage Patch baby, and much, much, much, much more!!