Our Christmas...Trip to Disneyland!!!

Friday, December 18th Scott picked up our car from the auto body shop and then went to Nampa to get the oil changed.  Crazy thing was he brought a new car home with him.  So we then decided to pack up and head out on our trip to DisneyLand to try and beat a snow storm.  It was fun to be in a brand new 2016 Honda Accord with leather.  It is silver with gray interior.  We can't believe how much quieter and smooth it rides than our 2014 Accord.  We got to Winnemucca around 11:00 pm and stayed at the Santa Fe Inn.  It was alright for a cheap hotel.  We were on the rode the next day by 9;00 after we had breakfast at McDonalds.

Potty break...haha!

When we arrived in the California Valley around 7:00 pm we got stuck in some bad traffic so we didn't get to our hotel until around 9:00.  Brady was determined to still go swimming even though it was only about 55 degrees outside so we let him go to avoid a meltdown.  We stayed at the Wyndham which was nice.  We loved their free breakfast buffet.  They even had a chef that would cook you up an omelet, waffle or anything you want.  It was really nice to have everyday.

Our first selfie at Disneyland.  We went to California Adventure first and got our fast passes to Radiator Springs and the Winter Wonderland World of Color.  Then we went to ride California Screaming but it was closed so we went on Toy Story Mania which is always fun!

Scott had to brag about beating me...but I beat him the next time we went!

We waited about 20 minutes to ride the carousel.  

That was a first for all of us, which was fun! 

Kacie and I always have fun getting pictures with characters...

Kacie got a Jessie doll this time and also a small stuffed Lotso bear from Toy Story 3.

They replaced the Muppets 3D show with a Frozen sing-a-long show which was really cute and a lot of fun.  It is always fun when we get to see and do new things.  We had Mexican food for lunch which was sooo good and Brady had a corn-dog.  After that we went to see the Aladdin play again which we always enjoy.  We got there right before it started and were able to get a fairly good seat which was nice to not have to stand around.

We took this picture after we went to Turtle Talk with Crush.  I even got to talk to him.  It's crazy how he can just talk about anything.  He asked me what I liked to do in Oregon and I said watch football because I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head and he brought out a foam finger and asked me what you do with it and I said wave it up in the air and cheer so then he swims up to the surface out of our view and says "Like this?" It was cute...Scott said I should have said I like to go fishing to see what he would have said to that.  I wish I would of thought of it that would have been cute too!

So grateful to have a daughter...Love her so much!

We love spending time in Cars Land...

We got some fun pictures after we went on Radiator Springs

Such a simple ride, but we love it!

Oh my! we have never had anything so good as this...a Ghirardelli Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae called Lands End...almost like heaven!

They changed up the World of Color for Christmas and Olaf was the highlight! 

So amazing!!!

Day 2 started in the Disney park...It was really crowded so we pulled a fast pass to the Haunted Mansion and then went on Splash Mountain.  This is always a family favorite.

We all loved how Scott is punching out Disneyland...

These pictures were fun!!!

We had fun climbing through Tarzan's treehouse and riding the Jungle Cruise.  Brady and Kacie had never been on it before either which is fun!  We then had some yummy Dole Whip!

Silvermist...

We have never gone to Pixie Hollow before so this was really fun...

While we were taking pictures the camera man told Kacie and I to step aside because he wanted to get pictures of just Brady with Tinkerbell.  I thought it was so cute how he put his hand on his hip just like her...love it!!!

Scott and Brady had enough of the huge crowds in Disneyland so after we ate lunch at the Golden Horseshoe they went back to California Adventure and rode California Screaming, Goofy Sky School and some others.  Kacie and I had a lot of fun getting pictures with princesses and in front of the castle We waited about an hour to ride Peter Pan because Kacie had never been on it before because the wait is always too long and Scott and Brady never want to ride it.

Princess Tiana...

Princess Cinderella...Kacie's favorite!

Princess Snow White...

It was so fun to run into this cool photographer that took a lot of time with us taking pictures and telling us how to pose in front of the castle.  I thought we got some really cute ones!

I love this picture and this baby girl!!!

The photographer told me to put out my arm and look surprised and she put Pascal (the chameleon from Tangled) on my shoulder.  Too cute!

After we rode Peter Pan we were able to sneak into a reserved viewing area to watch the new Night Light Parade.  We couldn't believe we didn't get kicked out and so we had a great view and I got a nice video of it, but unfortunately no pictures.  After the Parade we met back up with Scott and Brady and we went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  It was fun, but Kacie was pretty upset when she lost her new Disney hat.  We then went on Pirates of the Caribbean and we only had a five minute wait which was supper surprising.  We think they might have just opened it back up and we happened to time it just right.  After that we found Kacie another cute hat in the Haunted Mansion store and then we waited for the Fantasmic show to start.

Brady put in a quarter to get his fortune...

During Fantasmic it started raining lightly and by the time the fireworks started it was raining really hard.  It was a disaster waiting for our shuttle and people were getting grouchy.  I'm surprised a fight didn't break out people were so close to the edge.  We were all miserably wet and cold and so happy when we finally made it back to our hotel room.  Defiantly a night to remember...

Kacie's second Disney hat...Love how it glows in the dark.

We got a slow start on Day 3 because of the rain but then decided to go brave it anyways.  We went to California Adventure first and we went to see Olaf and this is as far as Brady would get.  Haha! but we had fun playing in the snow.  We also went on the Monster's Inc ride which was cute.

Brady is still not a fan of Tower of Terror like the rest of us...:(

So glad I brought rain coats...

So what if it's raining...we can still have fun!!

Still eating ice cream even when it's cold and rainy...

Defiantly Brady's favorite!!!

Just another selfie...

Because we got such a late start, we weren't able to get a fast pass for Radiator Springs so Brady and I went in the Single Rider Line and still waited about 40 minutes.  While we did that Kacie and Scott had fun in the Cars Land shops and got a Red's Apple Freeze and some popcorn.

Walt Disney himself...we wish!

Love these people I am with...Disneyland wouldn't be the same without them!!

After Cars Land we headed back over to Disneyland and went to see It's a Small World...I love it at Christmas time...We then ate in Pinocchio's Village.  Kacie loved her little whale sandwich and I had a really good flat-bread pizza.  We then went back over to It's a Small World to watch the fireworks but unfortunately they canceled them because of wind.  We were disappointed about that but were supper happy about walking right on the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.  We took the train over to New Orleans's Square.  I can't believe I have never done that before either.  On Pirates we had the whole boat to ourselves which was crazy.  We then did a little shopping and headed back to the hotel.

Heading home...

We talked about going to San Diego and getting tickets to the BSU bowl game but when we found out there was another snow storm coming we decided we better start heading home.  We went to Lancaster and ate a yummy burger at Habit Burger then kept going till we got to Fallon and stayed at America's Best hotel.  We liked it better than the other cheap hotel and decided this was a better half way point.  We were said to be heading home but excited to see everyone for Christmas.  Mom and Dad were so nice to pick up Brandon for us.  We got home around 4:00 Christmas Eve.  We had a great trip.  Merry Christmas to us!

Brady's Artwork from School...

So far Brady has done really well in 5th grade.  He is doing a lot better at getting his work turned in and his reading has improved a lot and he knows all his math facts.  I love it when teachers send home encouraging notes like these.

Nyssa Christmas Choir Concert...

Kacie was a little nervous about standing too long during their Christmas Choir Concert, but she made it and they all looked and sounded great!

Taylor had a little solo and we all agreed that it should have been longer...she sounded so good!

So fun having Taylor at Nyssa this year...They both had a lot of support from family!

Ward Christmas Party

Brady went with Mom and Dad to their ward party and was able to sit on Santa's lap...

 And then he played Joseph in our ward's Nativity.  Brooklyn was Mary.  

I thought they were cute!  I was happy Kacie felt up to going with us.

House Break

Kacie was feeling pretty cooped up in the house from her surgery so we took the kids out to eat at Blaze Pizza.  It was fun that Brady liked it so much so now we have another place we all enjoy eating at.  It's nice here because we all got our own personal pizza.  After we got some doughnuts at Krispy Kremes and then headed home.

Kacie's Sinus Surgery

Kacie was still having really bad headaches and we were disappointed that pulling her wisdom teeth didn't do the trick so I took her back to the Sinus Center on December 2nd and they did a CT scan. The picture below shows the difference between normal sinuses on the left and hers on the right.  Of all the problems you can have with your sinuses she has all three.  She has a deviated Septum, her sinus pathways are blocked and she has problems with her turbinates which I didn't fully understand.  So Dr. John Boyajian suggested that she have surgery.  We were surprised they were able to schedule her so soon on December 8th.

 Getting some ice cream after her appointment...

 Still cute even in those ugly hospital gowns.  We had to wait about two hours before they took her into surgery.  Luckily I was able to go over to St. Als and see Brandon at his doctors appointment while Kacie was in surgery.  I was even able to make it back before she woke up.  When the doctor talked to us he said she also had polyps that he removed which was surprising to him because they weren't on the CT scan.  He said they may or may not come back which is kind of frustrating.  He said everything else went fine but he did a lot of scraping so he packed her nose so we have to go back the next morning to have the packing removed.

We stayed the night in Boise at the Holiday Express near the Sinus Center on Park Ave.  I have never seen Kacie in so much pain before.   She was taking two pain killers every two hours and she was still hurting.  It was nice when later that night she was able to finally get a little sleep.  Grandma and Jim came by for a short visit and brought her come kettle corn and a book from Noelle Pikus-Pace which was really nice of them.  Mom and Dad came later that night with Brady for a visit too then Scott went home with them and Mom stayed the night with Kacie and I.

The next morning as the doctor was taking out the packing from her nose, Kacie got really nauseated and I was really impressed with how caring the doctor was with her.  He held her head with both of his hands...it was really touching.  I couldn't believe how much better she felt having that packing removed but she still was up to traveling so we spent another night at the hotel.  She continued to improve a little bit each day and eventually her headaches stopped.  We sure pray that does the trick. She didn't go back to school until December 17th just in time to get all her assignments caught up before the Christmas break.

Schulthies Caroling Tradition

Had our fun caroling tradition again...it was fun having Scott with us this time.  He did really enjoy even though you can't tell by the picture. Ha!

The whole group...fun!