Disneyland Day #2

Our second day at Disneyland was spent mostly in California Adventure.  I hung out with Ashlyn for most of the day so thankfully Nate and my brother took pictures of the rest of my families happenings.  It was a fun day and I love the improvements they've made to that part of the park!

Again Melanie saves the day by taking Ashlyn on some rides!

Cars Land was super cute.  So fun to walk up and down the main drag.

Do you think she was tired of pictures??

We did hop back over to Disneyland to ride a few rides at Ashlyn's request because the rest of her cousins were going on the "big, crazy" rides. :)

Funny story about the picture below.  This was the first time they went on California screamin'.  Apparently Liam hated it, which is why he disappeared next to Nate.  He was ducking down the whole ride.  The funny thing is, Liam ended up going on it again and loved it.  He then proceeded to ride it a bunch more times!!

Sister/Aunt photo bomb!

Yes! Proof that I did go on the trip!! :)

My sister caught this pic of Liam.  Do you think he was tired? :)

Waiting in line again....but at least it's with cousins!!

Disneyland Day #1

Our first day at  Disneyland was spent mostly at the Disneyland park.  We all divided and conquered in our own ways.  I hardly saw Nate and the boys the whole trip because they were off riding the crazy rides with my brother and brother-in-law and their kids.  For this first day I enjoyed a slower pace with Ashlyn and my sister Melanie and her daughter Bethany.  As I look back on all these pictures I really wonder how I did it.  I wouldn't have nearly enough energy now to do 3 days at Disneyland, so once again I am grateful that we were able to go when we did.  Now a whole bunch of pictures!!  

Christmas at Disneyland is the best!

Melanie was the best and took Ashlyn on a bunch of rides.  I only went on a few really calm rides. :)

Ashlyn and I made sure to catch as many parades and shows as we could. It was a good chance for me to sit down! 

The gang of crazy riders.

They waited in very long lines.  The park was VERY busy!

Ready for Star Tours!

We (especially me) were exhausted after a full day at the park.  Luckily you could see the fireworks from our hotel so we didn't have to stay at the park to see them.  The fireworks were awesome and VERY loud.  They would set off the car alarms in the employee parking lot every night as we walked back to the hotel.  It was hilarious!

California Trip Day 1,2 & 3

We had such a fun trip to California the week of Thanksgiving.  The weather was perfect and it was a nice way to spend our holiday week.  We left the Friday before Thanksgiving and drove to Las Vegas.  It was uneventful, thankfully, but a long drive.  We pretty much had to stop every 2 hours so I could go to the bathroom and stretch my legs.  I thought the drive was going to be awful as a pregnant woman, but it wasn't too bad.  After a night in Vegas we got up and drove to Newport!  We first had to eat at Nate's favorite place Lemonade.  It is a healthy salad kind of place and was pretty good.  After eating we ended up at Crystal Cove State Park.  We had to pay to park and access the beach but it was totally worth it.  There was hardly any people around.  Lucky for us it was in the 80's and felt awesome!  The kids had a great time playing in the waves and searching for ocean life. 

After the beach we drove to Anaheim to our hotel and then to some yummy mexican food!

We had to document everywhere we ate on our trip since we are such a foodie family. :)

The next day was Sunday so we found a local ward really close to our hotel to attend Sacrament Meeting.  It's always fun to visit wards out of Utah!  After church we decided to kill some time in the afternoon by going to Seal Beach and walking along the pier.  It was so strange to see everything decorated for Christmas when you're walking in 70 degree weather! 

Yummy ice cream!!

Sunday evening was when we met up with almost all of the Hess Family for our Disneyland party. Sadly, my sister Aimee and her husband and son were not able to join us.  We missed them so much!

We planned the trip through a local travel agency so we were all at the same hotel for the days we were at Disney.  It was one big, non-stop party!

Our first time eating some really good Italian style pizza at the Pizza Press near Disneyland.  We ended up eating there again one evening for dinner because it was so good!! :)

Next up...Disneyland Day 1!!!

January...wait, how is it January???

Ok, so I have been a huge slacker with blogging, but I have a good excuse.  (at least that's what I'm telling myself)  I found out a little before Labor Day that I am pregnant!  Yes, believe it or not there will be a 4th Kohl child coming in April and Yes, I'm crazy.  This pregnancy has been the hardest and strangest one yet.  I blame it on being too old and it being too long since I last did this. :) So, that is my excuse.  Now to play major catch up for the last 3 months of our lives.  Let's start with Halloween!!

The black cat, Bronco Mendenhall, and a zombie.

We had a few opportunities throughout the month to dress up so Ashlyn picked a witch for one of our Halloween parties.  :)

Silly.

The Pumpkins!

We didn't think we would make it to a BYU football game this season, but my nephews birthday is in October and his one birthday wish was to have all the boy cousins and his Uncles come to a game with him.  Nate and the boys went to a game and had a great time!! (even in the nosebleed seats!)

Go Cougars!

November started off with a little too much excitement.  My birthday was November 4th so Nate and I spent the day shopping and eating.  It was great.  However, I received a call later that day from my Dad telling me that my mom had fallen down the stairs and was in the hospital.  Needless to say this was quite a shake up for me.  Sadly, she broke 2 ribs and smashed a vertebra in her back.  She ended up being in the hospital only for 2 days (she was determined to get out of there). But is still on a long road to recovery and may never be a full recovered.  

One of the biggest reasons this event was tragic was that my mom had spent the previous few months planning our Hess family vacation to Disneyland over Thanksgiving.  Through many prayers and miracles my mom was able to make the trip down and be with us for the whole trip.  It really was miraculous!  Such a great experience for our family and especially our kids to see the power of prayer and fasting. 

So coming up next is Disneyland/Thanksgiving/and another wedding!!