Saturday, April 29, 2017

Surprise Mother's Day trip to Disneyland

We were surprised on Easter by the Giving Grinch with a 3 day trip to California and Disneyland for Mother's Day. It was so nice to be able to go on a vacation with our little family and spend time making memories together. It was also so nice to have a vacation that I didn't have to do all the planning and financing for and that we could just go and enjoy our trip.

On our way to California decked out in Disney attire!

After we got off the airplane in Long Beach we stopped by Huntington Beach to play in the ocean and hear the peaceful waves. The girls were in heaven, even though it was pretty windy.

Jeff and Aubrie found lots of sand dollars near the pier. They were lucky to find them since sand dollars only have a certain season that they can be found.

Brynnley and Mommy's toes in the sand.

Heading to our first day at Disneyland and so excited!

Jungle Cruise:

We wanted to make sure the girls got the chance to meet and get signatures and pictures from the Princesses and characters. We only had to wait about an hour to see Tinker Bell ;)

Space Mountain! Aubrie even rode on it but wasn't a big fan of it.

Princess Meet and Greet: (of course Brynnley fell asleep and missed meeting all the Princesses)

Storybook Land Ride:

Alice and Wonderland:

The girls favorite ride was Small World.....We rode it every day we were there and it was so cute to see and hear the girls singing the song.

Day 2 at Disneyland:

We got there early in the morning and took advantage of getting pictures with our Photo Pass without a ton of people in the park yet.

Minnie and Friends Breakfast:

The best part of the breakfast is the yummy french toast with banana caramel sauce....yum!

We played at California Adventure the 2nd day.

Monster Inc:

Day 3 at Disneyland was Mother's Day and the girls were excited to give me a flower they had for all the moms.

I love my little girls and couldn't have asked for a better time and place to be with them at this time!

Playing in Toon Town:

Brynnley was so excited to see Dad's huge turkey leg and her eyes got so big!

Dumbo: This was one of the first times I remember riding this ride since the wait is always so long!

Small world ride was a hit!

We got to sit (due to my disability pass) to watch the World of Color show which was awesome!

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Giving Grinch Surprise

We came home from church on Easter Sunday to find our entire kitchen and family room filled with tons of people, news cameras and tons of Disney princesses along with Easter eggs and candy all over.

I was so surprised to see Sheena (our daycare director) and her charity the Giving Grinch at our home. We were given a golden egg that had a message about us going to Disneyland next month with all expenses paid! One of my favorite places to be is Disneyland and Sheena knew that I have only so long left due to my recurrence of cancer and wanted me to spend time with my girls in the happiest place.

Here is the news story: (not 100% accurate though):

GRINCH SURPRISE STORY
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah -- A local woman is giving the Grinch a new look by giving back.
Sheena Rose started the non-profit "The Giving Grinch” more than 20 years ago, but this time the family she's giving back to holds a special place in her heart.
Rose loves dressing up as the Grinch to give back to local families, but her day job is running a daycare.
"The 4-year-old came to me and told me that her mom's going to heaven," Rose said.
When Rose learned the mom of two kids she takes care of every day had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, she knew she had to do something.
So while they were at church Sunday, she called up some Disney princesses with a plan to surprise the Bath family.
The princesses came armed with candy and Easter eggs, but that was just the appetizer. In four gold eggs was the surprise of a lifetime. The Giving Grinch planned a week-long, all expenses paid trip to Disneyland for the Bath family.
"To be able to spend time at Disneyland and just see the happiness on their faces, and it’s one of my favorite places, it will be just be really amazing," McKinzy Bath said.
Since she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the only thing Mckinzy Bath has wanted to do is spend as much time as possible with her husband and two little girls.
"It’s really hard news to hear that I don't have a lot left, a lot of time left with my family,” she said.
What better place to do that, than the happiest place on earth?
"It’s just such a blessing to spend time with them and be somewhere together as a family, and just getting that one-on-one time together, being in a really happy place and making really good memories," Bath said.
A place where there is no sickness or sadness because love, family, and fun rule in the magical kingdom.
"I want them to remember all the good times we had," Bath said.

Another news story: