Disneyland!

Once the month of August is officially over, I'll post a photo recap of the whole month (I plan to share Stephen's Africa pictures, too!) but for now - DISNEYLAND! For Christmas 2016, my parents got the whole family a trip to Disneyland and we were finally able to make it happen! We didn't know at the time that I would be 7 months pregnant, so for me, the trip wasn't ideal (there was a lot of walking and I didn't get the reward of going on any of the rides!) but the kids loved it and I was happy to have an excuse to hang back with Ezra and Remi so everyone else could participate. It was hot, but it was fun and I already can't wait to take the kids back someday when they can enjoy even more of it (and I don't have to sit on the sidelines!) 

 ^^ We drove south on Friday and stayed at a hotel close to the airport so we could be there bright and early to pick my family up Saturday morning. The drive was long but the kids did great, with the exception of Ezra getting sick just two hours in... It was the first time they have ever shared a bed and while it was cute to look at, it was frustrating and slightly comical to get them to sleep! ^^

 ^^ We went straight from the airport to Huntington Beach! It was hot and sunny but with the perfect amount of breeze constantly blowing through. Stephen went surfing, he and Byron got tumbled around in the surf and the kids chased the waves in and out - it's not Hawaii but it's certainly warmer than the Oregon Coast! Lots of sand castles and lots of snacks and lots of sunscreen! The kids were in heaven :) ^^

 ^^ And it completely wore them OUT! We had a barbecue dinner Saturday night at our airbnb before gearing up for Disneyland Sunday morning! ^^

 ^^ We made day one our longest day and started shortly after breakfast. Uriah's favorite ride was clearly Splash Mountain ;) I was so surprised and proud at how brave and eager he was to go on the "bigger" rides. He said he would have liked Splash Mountain had he not gotten soaking wet (really, you could ring out his clothes when he got off!), Thunder Mountain Railroad was his favorite, and he even braved Space Mountain (which he said he would not do again!) Both my kids loved the Astroid ride, which was similar to the famous Dumbo ride (which we also went on!) but you're sitting in rockets and go a little faster. The Carousel was also a big hit...they're easily pleased! ;) ^^

 ^^ Day 2 we spent at California Adventure. Our little family bailed a little early that evening to have a late dinner at home and get our kiddos into bed before 9, and though we missed a couple rides doing that, it was much needed! We were still able to enjoy lots of fun before taking off - the kids favorite things being the Little Mermaid Carousel and the adventure "park" where they got to climb around on nets and go down slides and rope swings. ^^

^^ We went back to Disneyland on day 3 and were there bright and early - first in line to meet the princesses! Ezra was all talk and no action and wanted nothing to do with the princesses, but it was so cute to watch Harper and Remi swoon over them and I even got to meet my favorite one! - Dreams really do come true! We went on a few more small rides but the kids favorite, by far, was the mini roller coaster we found in ToonTown - they went on it countless times in a row (Ezra's face...!!) ^^ 

We came home for a nap and a quiet evening at our rental house with a big yummy dinner (while Ashley's family took advantage of the beach one more time!) It was our last day in SoCal but it was also sorta our last day of Stephen's vacation - we had to spend the whole next day in the car and then he took off Thursday morning for his first fellowship interview. So in my opinion, it was the perfect way to spend the evening!

We are so grateful to my parents for making this trip happen. More than Disneyland I think the kids just loved being together, and being in the happiest place on Earth certainly didn't take away from that ;) We truly enjoyed it and each other and already are looking forward to seeing Nana and Papa when this baby comes!

July

July was a busy month for us and it feels like so long ago now! Knowing Stephen would be gone, we did our best to pack it with visitors, playdates and travels!

 ^^ So, Uriah and Harper got married while my sister and her girls were in town visiting. I kid you not! They got hitched early in the morning before waking us up. They told us, "We both said I love you and then we kissed and we were married. And then we danced. And Ezra watched." Ezra was their witness...?! We just couldn't get over it - it was so cute and funny and they were both so giddy and embarrassed about it. But, as you can tell from these pictures, Uriah is just head over heels for Harper! ^^

 ^^ Sunday morning at church and Sunday evening at the park! ^^

 ^^ They flew out on the 4th of July, but not before we made them get dressed in their red, white and blue and take patriotic pictures together ;) I'm so happy they made the trip to come visit us! Ezra and Uriah loved it and I appreciated the company while Stephen was away! ^^

 ^^ While we were at the airport dropping off my sister, my parents surprised us by flying IN! Logistically, they had to tell me about it the day before, but they were successfully able to surprise my kiddos and we were all thrilled to see them! ^^

 ^^ Their first day with us was a full one - Legos in the morning, the zoo in the afternoon and bike rides in the evening. They entertained my kiddos, let me nap and made us dinner - I was so happy to have them with us! I didn't get much of that second trimester energy and single parenting was proving to be hard just two weeks in, so their help was greatly timed and very much appreciated! ^^

 ^^ The next day took us to the beach (where it was chilly!) and the town of Half Moon Bay where we got to celebrate Ice Cream Thursday and explore the town and shops (and make these fun sand bottles!) ^^

 ^^ My parents also got to tag along to a one year old's birthday party! Not this cute little babe, but our sweet friend Emerson! I was able to be texting Stephen for part of the morning and I sent him this quick snap in which his reply was, "Ooh hi Shiloh!" and a delayed response later ..."oh and hi Nicki and my wife" ^^

 ^^ Sunday at church and a 23 week baby bump! ^^

 ^^ Stephen had flowers sent on our anniversary and while they were really from just a few minutes away, I called them flowers from Africa :) It was definitely hard to be away on our anniversary, but we had made it past the two week hump which felt like that hardest part and I was mostly just impressed and thankful for this thoughtfulness on our special day. He's a keeper. ^^

 ^^ Our next set of visitors was Erica (and Norah!) and Melissa, who jumped right in to helping take care of me in Stephen's absence! (We put Melissa to work babysitting all the kids ;) ^^

 ^^ And my second anniversary present arrived just a few days late - a KitchenAid! I have wanted one since we got married but we could never justify the price or counter space, so for six years I have kneaded our weekly pizza dough by hand and finally I got one of these bad boys! Thanks, Stephen! I was certainly feeling the love from 11,000 miles away! ^^

 ^^ Told ya, Melissa was our babysitter ;) We walked through campus for a picnic in the quad on a very hot July day ^^

^^ Our temporary garden guests laid their second egg! We had watched them come and go for weeks, hoping they could choose our porch to build and nest and finally they did! Two days later, an egg came, and two days after that, another! Uriah was thrilled and couldn't stop talking about it! We did a lot of studying up on Mourning Doves ^^

 ^^ Ohh how I miss little sleeping babes in my house...! I loved having the new mini crib set up in our room while Norah was visiting! It made me extra eager to set it up and keep it up for this babe come November! ^^

 ^^ I'm so glad I have friends who brave our freezing cold swimming pool to play with my babies. They certainly felt loved while they were visiting! ^^

 ^^ Norah doesn't know it yet, but that right there is her future husband and sister-in-law ;) ^^

 ^^ And they left! Not without leaving so much love behind, though! I had the best time catching up with them and staying up way too late and eating way too much ice cream... Their friendship means the world to me and I love that we can pick up right where we left off no matter the time or distance that has passed. True gems, these ones! ^^

 ^^ Berry picking with all the Allison's and our cute kiddos! We might have eaten more than we took home, but it was a fun and yummy playdate! ^^

 ^^ Traveling pregnant with two kiddos and no hubby = hard work! Ezra laid down to watch a movie but didn't fall asleep until literally the last five minutes of the flight, and only after screaming herself to sleep from the pain in her ears... Poor girl! Sure was happy to land in Alaska, though! It was a rough travel day! ^^

 ^^ The 4-wheeler rides might have been the hit of the trip, especially for Ezra! She woke me up saying "I go find Pa, we ride da four wheeyer" ^^

 ^^ Uriah's favorite part might have been playing around the house and river with Pa (and Bo!) This is them rock cutting - Uriah still talks about it! ^^

 ^^ And afternoon at the museum, the park and ice cream before lunch - loved getting all the Wall kiddos together and it was easily Uriah's favorite part of the trip! ^^

 ^^ Another afternoon at the park before coming back to Baba and Pa's for a sleepover! ^^

 ^^ So much mud in Alaska! Several of our things are forever stained with Tanana river mud but the kids were loving it! ^^

 ^^ A day at the lake ^^

 ^^ Catching frogs before our girls day and Uriah going fishing with Pa ^^

 ^^ I was making Stephen jealous by spending so much time with his brothers (this was taken at Hans' 2nd birthday party!) but I figured it served him right for leaving for 6 weeks ;) ^^

 ^^ It took almost all 10 days for him to win her over but once he took her on a 4-wheeler ride she was hooked! ^^

 ^^ A lazy afternoon on our last day ^^

^^ Our redeye flight and long layover in Seattle was rough - we were all a little crabby and a lot tired. Thankfully, Uriah was pulling out all the stops as momma's biggest and best helper and made managing Ezra so much easier. They sure are sweet when they want to be! ;) ^^