Holiday Cheer

It seems like we have done alot this month to help get our family into the Christmas spirit. We went to our town's tree lighting ceremony and took pictures with Santa. We also took a family picture in front of the beautiful Christmas tree.


We went to pick out a Christmas tree, decorated it, then took pictures of our babies in front of the tree.


We went to cousin Savannah's holiday band concert. Ryan sat for over an hour enjoying the music and hamming it up for the camera.






We then went to Disneyland with Grandma, Aunt Wendi, and cousins, Savannah and Ben. We stayed for 7 hours which is the longest time Ryan and I have spent at Disneyland. It was so much fun, but so tiring.


Ryan waving to the bear in the parade, and Ryan with his favorite cousin, Savannah. I think he likes her better than he likes us! :)


We went with our friends, The Garcia Family, on a holiday train ride and took more pictures with Santa.


Ryan was not too sure about Santa so I stayed close by while Daddy took some pictures. Ryan would not make eye contact with Santa. I was thankful that Santa gave Ryan a candy cane otherwise I'm not sure what he would have done, maybe clawed his way out of Santa's arms??


This was a nice picture of the three of us until I decided to take the red eye out 3 times. This did some strange things to the picture. My poor Ryan has scary vampire lips, and I have weird marks on my face. Sorry Ryan mommy needs camera help!








The Roy Family wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, safe, and prosperous new year!

Orlando

Earlier this month we took a trip to Orlando. We rented a house and stayed with our friends, the Jardims. For the most part, Ryan did well on the flight. On the way there he played with cars and trains, ate, and watched his Caillou DVD.

While in Florida, we went to Sea World, Wonder Works, and Gatorland. We didn't do the Disney thing. It is far too expensive and Ryan won't remember it anyway. Many people told us it was similar to Disneyland, so we'll wait and take him to Disneyworld when he is old enough to apprecite it.


Here are some of our Sea World pictures:











The second day of our trip, it rained. We went to an indoor "amusement park" called Wonder Works. It has many interactive exhibits and is similar to the Discovery Science Center in Orange County. Ryan loved playing with the giant bubbles, making music by running on the giant piano, and just touching everything. Although I think Daddy had more fun then Ryan. Several times I turned around to look for him and he was nowhere to be found. Clearly this place could entertain all ages! Here are some of our favorite shots from Wonder Works:




By far the best place we visited was Gatorland! It was everything I expected it to be and more. It is a 110 acres of swampland filled with alligators. You walk across wooden bridges with alligators swimming beneath. They wrestle gators, they let you sit on a live gator and take a photo and they string pieces of meat on wires and the gators come out of the water to snatch the meat. It was amazing to see, a bit eerie and dangerous, but exciting and educational as well. Here are some pictures of our adventure at Gatorland:






After four days it was time to say goodbye to Orlando and the Jardim Family.







And with that we were back on a jet plane headed west. It was an exhausting trip, but we had lots of fun! Ryan slept 2 hours of the 5 hour flight!
Thank you Jardim Family, we had a blast, see you next year!

Daddy's Birthday

This year for Daddy's birthday, we went to Disneyland. This was what he chose to do on his special day. We arrived shortly after noon and stopped at the first ride we saw without a line. It just so happened to be Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. It seemed like a fun ride, the 3 of us in a car together going this way and that through the crazy streets of London. Or not! Ryan whined and cried through the entire ride. It was far too dark and scary for our little guy. OOPS! We then went on something more child friendly, something we knew he liked, the carousel. Or not! He was absolutely terrified and cried as we went round and round.

After this, I was feeling a bit discouraged. Daddy's special day was not going as planned. I had repeatedly told him how much fun Ryan had at Disneyland, and it would be such a fun day for all of us. Our last ride had to be better. We went on It's a Small World which had just been decorated for Christmas. Finally something Ryan liked. He had a great time on this ride, tapping his foot to the music and looking around at all there was to see. I couldn't resist taking one final picture before we left, my happy boys and the Christmas tree! Happy Birthday Daddy!!