Clark Family Reunion 2009

I'm finally trying to catch up for the month of May. Really, where did May go!!??? May is always busy for our family because we have my birthday, mother's day, Haleigh's birthday, and our anniversary all in a two week span of time. This year we decided to throw a family vacation in with all those other celebrations. We left on Sunday the 10th (Mother's Day) to fly to San Diego. There we met up with Matt's mom, Kathy his sister, Melissa, and his brother, Mike and Mike's wife, Michele and their boy, Brandon. The kids got to go swimming the first day and it felt good to dip in the pool with the kids. This was Trevor's first experience with swimming and he absolutely LOVED it! That night we drove down to a place called the The Fish Market that is right on the water. It was a beautiful setting and it was so nice to enjoy one another's company.

Haleigh and Brandon at the Fish Market restaurant

Trevor inspecting his new digs at the hotel

Wondering what type of trouble he can get into

Grandma Clark and Trevor having a cuddling moment together

Haleigh and Brandon....tired from a day of road trips and airplane flights.

Day #2

We decided to spend our first official day of vacation at the San Diego Zoo. We had such a great time looking at the animals, spending time as family, and enjoying the warm sunshine and small crowds. The zoo was huge and by the end of the day we were certainly ready for some rest. Trevor had a great time looking at animals and being outside. Haleigh especially loved the reptile house and bug house. She spent the most time looking at snakes, spiders, cockroaches, bees, and ants. Go figure. After we got back to the hotel we enjoyed a good dinner at Hooters. It was a great day hanging out and looking at the animals.

Haleigh and her new slithery friend

Haleigh, Trevor, and Brandon riding on the hippo statue at the zoo

Haleigh with her face painted snake....her choice. I even guessed what she was going to have on her face before I even saw her.

Haleigh and Brandon with their snake faces

Trevor and Haleigh disguised as a butterfly and caterpillar.

Day #3

We decided to spend our next day at Sea World in San Diego. Sea World has always been one of our favorite places to take Haleigh because she loves watching the shows, and frankly, so do I. Deep down I've always wanted to be a Shamu trainer and it just brings back a lot of childhood memories and dreams when I'm there. I think every one's favorite show was the Pet show. Wouldn't you know it; the most popular of the shows doesn't even have to do with whales, dolphins, or sea lions. They also had a fun Sesame Street play area with rides and toys to play on. The kids got to meet Elmo and Zoe from the show and Trevor grabbed onto Elmo and wouldn't let go (Elmo is one of his favorite people/monsters). They even had a nice little play area for babies that I could turn Trevor loose and let him crawl and play with soft blocks and other babies. He loved that because he had been either on some one's lap or in the stroller all day. After Sea World we ate at a nice Mexican restaurant just behind our hotel. We had an excellent waiter who kept us entertained and full. What more could you ask for?

Haleigh, Daddy, and Aunt Melissa feeding the sea lions

Trevor is loving the show


Big hugs for the penguin

Haleigh and Daddy exploring the Sesame Street playground.

Day #4

Our 4th day was a nice relaxing day of driving to Anaheim, checking into our hotel, and eating dinner at Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland hotel. Grandma Clark was kind enough to have presents for all the kids for their birthdays and we celebrated Haleigh, Brandon, and Trevor's birthdays all in one. It was so much fun to see the kids with the characters and the food was very good. They had Goofy, Pluto, Max (Goofy's son), Captain Hook, Minnie Mouse, and Jasmine going around the room and meeting kids, taking photos, and signing autograph books. Every half hour or so they would have a little "show" with Goofy that the kids could participate in. We were very close to the middle of the room where they put on the show and so Haleigh and Brandon got every opportunity to get up close and personal with Goofy and the others. Haleigh danced the twist with Goofy, and the kids helped "make a cake" with Goofy among other things. Trevor got his chance with Minnie Mouse and loved every second of it. He grabbed her nose and made squealing noises. Trevor also met Pluto before we were seated and grabbed his nose and tried to eat it as well. He was also making eyes at Jasmine when she came by our table. It was such fun spending time with the characters, eating, and most of all: spending quality time with our extended family as well.

Trevor meeting Minnie Mouse

Haleigh's not too sure about Captain Hook

Day #5

Day five was our first official day at Disneyland. We decided to head back to Fantasyland first and get on the Nemo submarines because the line backs up fast on this new ride. One of the cast members running the ride noticed that we all had our family reunion shirts on and gave us all pins that said Family Reunion and had a picture of the Incredibles. They also gave us a special pass to get on a ride without waiting for the whole family. That's one reason I love Disney....they always have something special up their sleeves and I would love to work there to be able to make little, yet special things happen everyday to ordinary people just like ourselves. After visiting the Abbey Caddabey ride(where she literally screamed the whole time) at Sea World, Haleigh wasn't about to go on many rides this day so Matt had a great time taking Trevor on the rides that Haleigh wouldn't go on (pretty much everything). Trevor rode Dumbo with his arms in the air and he was very fond of the Pinocchio ride (I can see a cute Halloween costume in the future......the wheels are already turning). Haleigh got to ride her favorite ride (Small World) and meet some of the princesses and fairies so her day was complete with just those three things alone I think. Haleigh and Ariel (after the humanization of course)

Trevor on the storybook ride

Sleepy boy

Haleigh and Tinkerbell

Trevor enjoying the Nemo subs and helping Daddy with the video camera.

Day #6

The second day at Disney was spent at Disney's California Adventure. I couldn't believe that some people had told me that you couldn't spend a whole day at this park. We found plenty to do and there were so many fun rides and shows. Our very first ride was the Midway Madness Toy Story ride. This ride was AWESOME! It was so much fun and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the park, but get in line early because this one backs up fast and it doesn't use a Fast Pass so there isn't any way around waiting. I could have ridden this ride all day long, but of course there were more things to ride, see, and do. I also because a big fan of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. This ride was so scary it was great! Loved it, loved it, loved it. I think Haleigh really liked California Adventure....she liked the Monsters Inc. ride, Playhouse Disney, and Turtle Talk with Crush. I really enjoyed this park because it was all new to me. The last time I'd been to Disneyland there was a parking lot where California Adventure is now. At the end of the day Matt's mom and sister were so kind to watch the kids while we went back and experienced the some of the rides at dark. Matt and I were actually celebrating our 11th anniversary (which was the following day) and we even had a romantic corn dog and soda before riding some puke inducing rides. Luckily we didn't have to worry about tasting our corn dogs for a second time. It was a fun place to spend our Anniversary Eve and I had a really good time with Matt and it sounded like the kids had a blast with Aunt Melissa and Grandma Clark. They ordered pizza, played games, watched television, and viewed the fireworks from the room.

Haleigh driving Daddy crazy(ha ha).....and driving him around in a bumper car

Haleigh and one of her most favorite people....well, robots

Haleigh before the Playhouse Disney show.

Day #7

I'd have to say that day #7 was my favorite day at the park because it was Matt and my anniversary, but more importantly it was Haleigh's 4th birthday. She was able to get in for free for her birthday and because we had bought the passes before hand she got a $59 gift card (the price of her admission). Haleigh had also been saving up change for quite awhile and had accumulated $66 of her own. So, I told her on her birthday she could use her money for whatever she wanted and she chose the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. We had made an appointment earlier in the week and we showed up at 8:30 that morning for Haleigh's make-over. It was the cutest darn thing I've ever seen in my life. Haleigh absolutely loved it and I have to hand it to her, she knew exactly what she wanted with her saved money and I think she got her money's worth. She was in heaven the whole time. With the extra $59 I was able to surprise her with a new dress-up dress that the "fairy god mother's in training" placed in one of the dressing rooms without Haleigh noticing. They walked her back to the room and had her turn around three times and say, "Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo!" and when they opened the curtain to her dressing area.....magically a dress had appeared. After she put the dress on she walked out to find a little boy her age dressed up like a knight/prince. He bowed; she curtsied and he escorted her back to her royal throne to finish her make-over. It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen and Haleigh and her prince (Sir Liem) looked like they were on top of the world. After Haleigh's hair was done, dress fluffed, make-up applied, nail polish on, and jewelry in place the spun her around to the curtains behind her. Her Fairy Godmother In Training opened the curtains to reveal a magic mirror that showed sparkles and grew flowers. The Fairy Godmothers also showed Haleigh how to make a princess pose (putting her hands together and laying her cheek on her hands and leaning her head to the side) and the princess wave (wash the windows, wash the windows, ooooops, missed a spot) that she can now display easily and proudly. After her make-over she went to meet the fairies again and just happened to meet her favorite fairy; Silvermist. The rest of the day was spent riding rides and trying to carry around our little princess with her fluffy dress and tired feet. It was so nice to hear and see total strangers stop and wish Haleigh, "Happy Birthday". She loved it and every once in a while someone would wish Matt and I a Happy Anniversary too. It was a great day! After we were done at the park we all got together and headed to Outback to eat dinner. It was such yummy food and we all had a fun time. Trevor, Haleigh, and Brandon all enjoyed the brownie that Haleigh got for her birthday. I think she had a wonderful day and it was all topped off by the fireworks that night that we observed perfectly from our room window. I love Haleigh so much and was so happy to see her have such a wonderful day full of magic and memories! She truly is a princess to me and I love seeing her grow. I also want Matt to know what a wonderful husband he is and here's to 11 more years! I love you honey!

Haleigh and her princess spray sheild. She'd press it against her nose and it would make us all laugh.

Picking out the perfect crown

Admiring her new nail polish and ring

Our little Birthday Princess......after she was finished she asked me what the sash was and she told me "it just looks strange" and she didn't want it. I told her she should keep it on because it tells everyone that it's her birthday....nope, still didn't want it.

Haleigh and her favorite water fairy, Silvermist.

Haleigh seeing the final result of her Bibbity Bobbity Boutique make-over

Day #8 (All good things must come to an end)

I hate saying goodbye. I hate leaving Disney, when I can literally see it from my window. It makes me cry every time. I hate even more leaving loved ones and saying "goodbyes" to those we love and have missed so much. We drove back to San Diego airport with Grandma Clark and Aunt Melissa. Uncle Mike, Aunt Michele, and cousin Brandon had left from Anaheim to drive back to Manteca, CA. It was such a good trip and I think Momma Clark defined it exactly right as "perfect". It was so good to see everyone from all over the world. Aunt Melissa had come all the way from England and it was so good to finally see her again. It had been entirely too long. Even though we are all back to our normal, everyday lives I know these memories will live in our hearts and remind us of each other and how much we love each other. Thank you all for such good memories to carry with us forever!

Haleigh on the last night in her princess PJ's, princess bun, and probably having princess birthday dreams

Our view from the window.