Oceanside (flashback)

I found this post in my drafts from 4 months ago and am bummed I never finished posting it sooner, because this was one of the most fun trips we've taken with Sadie! The beach is a favorite vacation spot of ours and this time we met up with friends and played, ate, and relaxed the whole long weekend. Our hotel and pool had a view of Oceanside Pier and the whole ocean. It was breathtaking! We're so happy to live just several hours from the beach and to be able to take our family often. 

OdySea Aquarium

We finally went to check out the giant, new OdySea aquarium in Scottsdale and it was AWESOME! Sadie kept asking to see "Nemo, Marlin, and Dory" from the moment we got there. We found them but we also loved seeing the penguins, sea otters, and other fish along the way. It was really fun riding the carousel aquarium too where we sat down in a theatre and the chairs rotated around to different exhibits and got to see sea lions, sharks, sea turtles, and ask questions to an underwater scuba diver in the tank. It was like nothing I had ever seen before! There was so many hands-on activities and great big open views of all the fish. I speak for us all when I say, can't wait to go back!

"Dizzy-land!!"

There's nothing better than seeing a big smile on your kid's face. A trip to Disneyland definitely did the trick for our cutie pie. We joined Will's family for the weekend and enjoyed time at the park and the beach together. The park was crazy packed but we still got to see and do (and EAT) so much. The fall decor was really cool and Sadie loved getting to trick or treat in the park. She scored lots of yummy treats ;)

 I didn't want to wait in line all day for a picture with the giant Mickey pumpkin, so we just made do with photo-bombers in the background. 

I was so happy my shirt came in time for our trip! This statement couldn't be any more true. 

 Oh, hey Kobe!

 

 Sadie loved spending time with her cousins Clara and Charlie. They all look nervous here with Jasmine.. haha.
 

 

 We were waiting in line to see Woody, then Jessie came to take his place and Sadie got so excited! (She likes Jessie the most.) Of course by the time it was our turn for a pic, she was being shy. Mommy didn't mind joining for the pic :)

They spooked out the castle at night time and let the Disney villains loose.

Don't let her tired face deceive you.. she LOVED the "Buzz ride".

An exhausting night 

I was shocked at how well Sadie did waiting in the lines. She kept busy swinging on ropes and collecting rocks in the meantime and hardly threw any fits. That's my girl!

 We had a hard time getting her to narrow it down to just one jewelry box.. She picked Rapunzel :)

Her "puppy" comes basically everywhere with her. Why should Disneyland rides be any different? :)

Frozen Fever!

I'm finally getting around to posting about Sadie's birthday party.. but it was such a fun time! We did a Frozen Fever theme and invited all of the little girls to come dressed up as their favorite princess. I set out coloring pages and fruit loops to make necklaces with. I loved decorating the house to look similar to the show with sunflowers and Olaf and Sven hanging out. I'm not a natural at decorating, but felt really proud of the final product! I also made a chocolate fruit dip that was so tasty served with some cut up fruit and PB&J sandwiches. A lady at Will's office made the beautiful (and yummy) cake. It was perfect for the theme! The little girls were so adorable walking in one by one in their pretty dresses. We snacked and did the activities on the table for the first little bit until Elsa and Anna came knocking at our door. They were THE CUTEST! They stayed perfectly in character and were great about giving Sadie extra special attention (even though she had her shy moments). I was so happy with them! They made balloon animals/ accessories for each girl, read a story together, played games (which most of the littles were lost with.. haha), and sang their signature songs. The songs were Sadie's favorite part, and she danced right along to "Let It Go". We snagged a few pictures with them before they left back to Arendale ;)

 

 

After they left, we opened presents and blew out candles. We let Sadie go to town on the top tier of the cake. Then, the girls just played in the playroom until they each had to leave. It was such a fun morning!