surprise "stay-cation", part 1

In March, we went on a quick "stay-cation" and took the kids for a surprise weekend in Salt Lake. We were hoping to go to Disneyland in March, but things just didn't work out for that to happen. We were really in need of some time away, so we planned a little fun weekend in Salt Lake and instead of staying with family like we usually do, we splurged and got a hotel. It was a lot of fun, even if it wasn't Disneyland.
We decided to surprise the kids and not tell them what we were doing. I tried to have the car as loaded as possible the night before we left so they wouldn't know what was going on, but they noticed the luggage in the car when we left and decided we must be having a sleep-over at Grandma's house. They were so excited by that, we could have saved a lot of money and just done that for a trip! We just let them think that was what we were doing. They all fell asleep while we were driving and when they woke up, we were already past Grandma Boman's house and so they decided we must be going to Grandma Pat's. Logan was very confused when we got off the freeway before Grandma's house. He really wanted to know where we were going, and he was a little upset that there was no sleepover at Grandma's! Darren said, "How about if we go see Tinkerbell and Lightning McQueen?" Logan said, "Ah dad. The only way you can see them is at Disneyland or at Disney on Ice." We were close to the arena at that point and Darren said, "What do you think is going on there?" Logan said that that is where the Jazz play and then I asked him when else we had been there and he said "Disney on Ice!" Then he put it all together and got SO excited that we were going to see Disney on Ice and Lightning McQueen! I had a Cars shirt for him to wear and I brought Ry's Tinkerbell costume, but she just wanted her Princess shirt. She is so funny! Dress-ups are her favorite thing, unless I suggest she wear them and then she wants nothing to do with it!
Before the show, there was a special Princess Pre-show. The flyer said you could meet Tiana, so I thought Ry would be able to go up and talk to her. That wasn't how it worked, so I was worried she would be disappointed, but she was really excited! She got to wave to Cinderella and Tiana and there were also displays of other Princess dresses that she loved. I'm glad we got there early enough for her to enjoy it! Here she is with Snow White's dress.
She was SO excited to see Cinderella!
Me and my girls with the Belle dress! Our favorite!!!
Ry and the Belle dress
Waving to a REAL Princess!
Avery having her first Princess experience!
Rylee and Princess Tiana
Thumbs up for the Princesses
My Princess with Cinderella

Ry loves Ariel! She is really into Ariel lately and wants Darren to be Eric all time and Logan to be Sebastian. She loved this dress and seeing Sebastian and Flounder!
The girls with Tiana's dress

Once we were done with all the Princess fun, it was time for the main show! This Disney on Ice featured Cars, Little Mermaid, Lion King and Tinkerbell. Back in November, when I took Rylee to Princesses on Ice, Logan was so upset he didn't get to go. He kept telling me that Disney on Ice was for families and whenever he would see commercials for it, he would say "See Mom! There are boys there. Its for everyone, not just girls!" So when this Disney on Ice had Cars, I knew he would love it!
Cute girls - Avery was HUNGRY at this point and ready for a nap!
This was Logan's face when the cars came out. I love how excited this boy gets about things.

The cars were awesome and drove around on the ice for awhile. Logan LOVED it. He kept waiting for them to come back out during the rest of the show and was pretty disappointed when they never did.
It was hard for him to turn away for even a minute! He was in heaven!
Avery checking out the Disney on Ice action
Rylee loved the show, too.
Rylee was so excited when Ariel came out!
This picture just made me laugh!
Rylee really loved the Little Mermaid part, except she was a little worried about Ursula!
Classic Logan thumb sucking picture. Will this ever stop? Sometimes I wish it would and other times, I am glad that he still does it because it makes me feel like he is still little.
My cute kiddies at intermission. It is impossible for them to all look at the camera and smile.
Avery
Logan
Rylee
Girls

Boys
After intermission, it was ALL Tinkerbell. It got a little bit long for me, probably because I haven't seen that whole movie and didn't know the story. The kids liked it though.
Both kids squeezed on Dad's lap at the end. Why did we pay for 4 seats?
I love these guys!

After Disney on Ice, the surprises continued! We wouldn't tell them where we were going and they still wanted a sleepover at Grandma's and were getting ornery by the time we found a restaurant. Logan was being so funny! They had lots of Ute signs downtown and he kept saying "All these Ute signs are giving me a headache. Can we get out of here?" and "Boo Utes!" and "Why don't they have Jazz signs? I hate the Utes!" We kept going the wrong way and ending up on one way streets and it took us awhile to finally settle on Macaroni Grill for dinner. It was delicious, but the kids were a bit wild and we were glad to get out of there! We had a little trouble with the Valet service, but finally got on our way to the Little America hotel. I don't know if the kids were excited about the hotel, or still upset we weren't at Grandma's. Then they heard about the pool, and they were so excited to go swimming!
Avery had her 1st swim and LOVED it! Isn't she so cute in her swim suit? Gotta love those chubby thighs!


Logan and Rylee swimming with Daddy. They were having fun, but it doesn't look like it in this picture.
Here is Avery trying out the water. It was the BEST pool! It was SO warm - It was like bathwater. Avery loved it and stayed in for almost an hour. I didn't know if she would like it for long, but she did great.
She was a little unsure at first, but she got used to it pretty fast.


Daddy and his girls
Avery loving her swim with daddy
Kisses in the pool
The other kids loved this pool too because it was indoor, and went outdoors as well. They could float back and forth through this little tunnel and go in and out without getting out of the pool. It also had a great view and was warm, so even I would swim. I hate cold pools!
Avery looking so cute after her 1st swim!
The best part of a busy day, and especially going swimming, is the kids sleep great afterwards! We didn't get back to our room to go to bed until close to 10 and then still had baths, so it was a late night. The kids are usually hard to get to bed in a hotel, but they were so tired, it didn't take long! Here they are sleeping - They look like angels in their sleep, but I know better!
Logan so sweet with his thumb, blankie and Buffalo under the his blankie.
Ry is our crazy sleeper! It was so funny to watch her change positions over and over as she was falling alseep. Whenever we go in to check on her a night, she is in a crazy position. It was quite entertaining to watch the process and see how she ends up like that. She almost fell off the bed a few times. What a fun day...and still more to come!