I just felt like this should be remembered.

So, one night recently... to humor Jack, we all got in our Star Wars duds and acted out Darth Vader's life from Annakin to the dark side.

It was intense.

To the point that this photo maybe comes close to demonstrating.

From the movie:

From our night of reenactment:

Thats my poor sap as the emporer.  Holy hell.

Other noteworthy transformations in our home as of late:

Grandma Jackie bought these Spiderman duds for the boys.

Streets are safe.

And, Brett had a nice little photo shoot with Darth and Yoda one night.

I can't.

Another tid bit worth remembering was a nice little lunch date Jack and I got to have the other day while Tuck was playing at Sam's.

Man, one-on-one time?  Nothing better.

Want to kiss his face off.

He's pretty kissable here too...

holding a puppy at Puppy Barn.

So glad my kids got my cold heart and don't want to keep one.  :)

Disneyland 2015- Day 3

It's always hard not to feel a real sense of urgency on the last day.

We could feel the end coming near.. man, I hate that.

Tuck was really feeling the Disney spirit, and came equipped with his fanny pack stocked and ready.

He carried an empty bottle of baby wash and a comb, what else could you need?

We started off the day together, and got our group shot.

Jack was pissed about something.

Although I'd say 90% of the trip was spent together as a group (my absolute favorite), we all took a little time in our smaller families doing the things our kids wanted to do before we left.

We took our little rattlets to Toontown, an unfortunate must.

We got in some Mickey time

The boys liked seeing all the character houses, but thankfully, they were over it pretty quick!

What they REALLY wanted to do was go to the Haunted Mansion and Pirates again, and again.

Oh, and Star Tours.

Jack and Brett took a little detour from the group and headed over to Pirate Island.

Perfect example of something I would never even consider doing, but Brett knew best.

Totally up Jack's alley.

Speaking of Jack's alley, we were all amped this day for Jack to go meet Darth Vader and do the Jedi Training.  Brett and Tucker had saved spots in the front to ensure that Jack would get picked to participated.  He was so excited for this all day, and watched YouTube videos among YouTube videos of this.  He was ready.

Until he got chosen, and then he completely froze.

He bailed... and was so internally destroyed. 

Poor little mug.

Luckily, he had many things to raise his spirits back up, and was quickly back in the game!

We watched the Pixar parade this night, and Tucker was on fire.

He kept dancing and throwing kisses to the dancers, it was hilarious.

Again, we shut the place down.

We ran from ride to ride( (much less crowded this day), and squeaked in every last second we could of the Magic Kingdom.

Jack wants to marry Lucy.

I think it's a good choice.

Brett is such a good Disney sport.  My family is intense in this place, and he didn't complain once or skip a beat... I think we've conditioned him well!

Leaving the park is enough to rip out your heart.

Man, I love this place.

Even more, I love the people we get to share it with.

I've been visiting Disneyland religiously my entire life, each time getting to spend it with more and more of the people I love.

I so loved not having to leave a kid behind at home this time, and the ages of my kids... perfection!

How lucky am I to be a mom of these darling boys and to have the siblings/in-laws/parents/ and nieces and nephews that I do? I'm so glad we get to make these memories together... there is truly nothing better.

Until next time... which better be SOON!

Disneyland 2015-Day 2

Day 2, we all woke up to catch the shuttle before 8 am!

Gulmp.

It was a bit intense, but we did it noneless.

This picture became the joke of the trip.

Let's just say waiting for the shuttle was a bit agonizing this morning.

I maintain that I was holding a crusty face that Dan and I were making at the shuttle when Brett secretly snapped it.  They maintain that this was just my mood this morning.

Whatever.

Sam and Tucker were in great spirits playing in the mud and palm trees!

We finally got to the park, and headed straight to California Adventure.

First things first was a precious encounter with Donald.

Tucker seriously woudn't let go.

(I think Jack may have been pretending to be excited about this).

It was another BEAUTFUL day, we're talking 80 degrees!

Still a bit busy due to local schools having the day off (the nerve). but overall.. and entirely successful day!

We spent half the day in one park, and half in the other...

here's a hodge podge of pics.

Brett finally put the threat of his motion sickness aside just to see the wonder that was Jack on Star Tours.  I had told him it was something to behold, and Jack did not disappoint.

I mean, look at this face...

100 points for showmanship and total awesomeness.

It honestly blew his mind EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Tuck and Sam had their little minds blown by the Disneyland parade this day.

They seriously channeled Grandpa Karl with their diligent waving

So freaking cute, I can't handle.

An attempt at a group pic...

I got to take all the big kids on CARS with a slew of stroller passes this day, and it was a blast hanging with these guys.

A note on the stroller/fast passes, we have Randy and my dad to thank for the tireless efforts to maximize this system.  Randy practically had a filing cabinet in his fanny pack with a slew of tickets for skipping lines all around the park.

Genius.

You know what else is genius?

This picture.

Randy took the older kids to hit up some big kid rides, and the rest of us stuck together with the wee little rats.

We hit Fantasyland hard... those rides, so weird!

We seriously stuck this day out until the bitter end.

The park closed at 9:00. and we got on our last ride at 8:59.

We barely made it to the shuttle in time, only to find that Randy and the kids weren't there yet. 

Grandpa Curt was freakin.

Approximately 22 seconds before the shuttle pulled away, here came Randy with Jack bouncing on his shoulders, and all the older kids booking it!

It was hilarious... poor Randy... Jack has the boniest butt.

Our kids were DEAD by the time the shuttle dropped us off at the hotel.

It was a good night's sleep fo' sho.