Disneyland and Birthdays

December is a crazy month for our family. In a less than a two week period we have Christmas Eve, Christmas, Dan and Hollyn's birthdays, New Years and our anniversary. Two days after Christmas we had Dan's birthday. We had fun plans for his birthday to hang out with some friends, but Dan ended up getting sick and we had to cancel our plans and Dan went to bed. We were able to celebrate on his actual birthday, Sunday, and make his favorite meal, Sweat and Sour Chicken and open presents. The next day we headed for California to spend Hollyn's birthday at Disneyland. We were able to go with most of Dan's family and most importantly the cousins and stay at a hotel right across the street from Disneyland. Tuesday morning, Hollyn's birthday, we headed over to the park. Hollyn was so excited because she got a fun Disney pin that said It's My Birthday and all of the cousins were able to wear pins that said Celebrate. Every ride we went on the people who work there would tell her happy birthday. The smile on her face was priceless. The kids were able to ride on almost every ride, thanks to fast passes and lots of parents who love their kids enough to wait in line for a long time. Hollyn's favorite rides were Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. The only ride she did not like was The Tower of Terror. Let's just say my sister in law and I had never been on the ride before and didn't know what to expect when we took our 5 year old daughters on the ride. It was so cute to listen to them talking after the ride. Hollyn said to Kate, "I had my eyes close the whole time," and Kate replied "Me too!" Then Hollyn turned to my and said, that frightened me Mom. Boy did I feel like the mother of the year. After the parade, we headed back to the hotel for dinner, Hollyn's choice pizza. (I almost forgot to mention, at the parade Mrs. Clause turned to Hollyn and said Happy Birthday.) Once we finished our very nutritious dinner a few of us headed back to the park. Dan was very happy to volunteer to stay and put Paige to bed while I took Hollyn to California Adventure. Hollyn made it until about 10 pm and then was done, and told me she was ready for bed. We had so much fun at Disneyland and the best part was that all the kids were able to enjoy it together. This may be our new traditon when our kids turn five, going to Disneyland on their actual birthday.


On another note Dan and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on the 3rd of January. I can't believe we have been married for 9 years already. One thing is for sure I love him even more now than I did when I married him. These are my top ten favorite things about Dan:
1. I love that he is goal oriented.
2. I love that he works so hard for our family.
3. I love his sense of humor. No matter how mad I am at him, he can make me laugh and it make me crazy.
4. I love that he holds and honors the priesthood.
5. I love how personable he is.
6. I love that he makes me a better person.
7. I love his smile.
8. I love how focused he is.
9. I love how he loves our girls and interacts with them.
10. I love that he will be graduating from law school in May.