November

 November was another crazy month for us with it's highs and lows.  Luckily mostly highs! 

At the beginning of the month Mia's school had a free night at Classic Skating.  We decided to go at the last minute.  This was the first time either of our kids had  roller bladed or roller skated.  Alex picked it up pretty quick.  It was a little rougher start for Mia.  Her sweet friends were cute to help her and Brandon helped her a lot.  By the end of the night she was getting good.  Both our kids ended up loving it so much they both asked for roller blades for Christmas.  

At the beginning of the month we got to go see Elf at Hale Center Theater.  We thought it was a lot of fun and a great way to kick off the holiday season.  

The highlight of the month was of course Disneyland. Mia's dance studio got to perform in a parade down Mainstreet in Disneyland.  We were so excited to go! The day before we left Brandon painted Disney nails for both Mia and me. 

We headed out early the next day.  Brandon once again did all the driving.  The rest of us took a nap for the first few hours of the drive. 

We loved another excuse to stop at Pink Box donuts! 

The drive went pretty fast.  When we arrived we met up at Black Tap Diner for dinner.  It was great as usual.  The giant shakes are always a lot of fun.  

My favorite time at Disneyland is Christmas time.  There were tons of decorations and everything is so festive.  

Mia was very excited to go swimming even though it was mid November.  Sadly she only lasted about ten minutes before she admitted it was too cold and was sad it wasn't warmer.  

Ready for day one! The first day we were there was parade day.  We let Mia sleep in for a bit since we didn't have to drop her off until 10:30.  The boys went to the park and we got ready.  

Brandon's greatest mission for this trip was to acquire as much gingerbread as possible.  He was pretty successful! 

Practicing one more time in the hotel room.  

Ready to go! 

Mia didn't love waiting around all day for the parade to start.  She was glad to have Elsie and Lilah there with her.  

While Mia waited to perform we got to sneak in a little bit of ride time with everyone else.  

All the girls from Synergy ready to perform! 

Mia was pretty close to the front but since she is so short it was hard to get a great picture of her.  Brandon was the hero and ran ahead to get a few more pictures of her at the end of their route.  We thought it was so fun to see her perform though and thought it was a great experience overall.  

Brandon sort of got his picture with Donald. 

Since it has been a long time since we all have been at Disneyland together we had to make sure we got a picture and to celebrate (a little late) Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary we wanted to wear Utah gear or red for the picture too.  

We made sure to try as many treats as we could while we were at Disney.  The Macarons were all amazing! 

Day one was a success and we were ready for day two! 

The cuddling continues... 

This was Mia's first time on Incredicoaster.  She was nervous but ended up loving it! 

Breakfast at Pyms kitchen.

We hadn't been on the Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion in a long time.  We thought it was so fun! 

Both Brandon's parents and the Everitt's (once they got back) were kind enough to watch Boo for us while we were gone.  Since she is so old we were worried about her staying somewhere else so we are so grateful they were willing to watch her.  Boo had a great time trying out many different nap spots.  

On day three we decided to mix things up and head to Universal Studios.  They had very short hours and it poured most of the day but we still had a good time.  Our kids had never been to Universal Hollywood.  We were all excited to see the Super Nintendo World and it was very cool! 

The details were so fun! 

Simpson donuts in the rain! 

We did make time to fit in the studio tour.  It was a lot of fun! 

We also ate at Toad's restaurant. 

Day four we started back in Disneyland. Breakfast at Disneyland might be my favorite meal.  We got cinnamon rolls and ronto wraps.  

Mia was such a trooper on this trip.  After dinner she started to get tired each night but kept going when we dragged her on more rides.  Eventually she and I would head back and Brandon and Alex would close down the park.  

We got to catch the snow on main street a few times during our trip.  

The last day we got to hit up all our favorite rides one more time. 

Other than Wednesday the weather was really beautiful on this trip.  It wasn't too hot and at night it didn't get too cold. 

While there we heard that the Beast's library is about to close forever so we rushed to see it one last time. We made it for about ten minutes before it closed but we were glad to see it one more time.  

Mia and I were sound asleep by the time Brandon and Alex made it back. It was such a fun trip as always! 

We had bought this Macaron but didn't end up eating it until we got home.  I wish we had tried it sooner because I would have bought a bunch more.  It was so good! 

Just a few days after we got back it was already Thanksgiving.  This was our year to eat with the Clements.  It was all delicious as usual! 

For dessert we headed to the Hettinger's side.  Brandon was very excited make another banana cream pie again this year.  It was delicious! 

Once Thanksgiving is over that means it is time to put up Christmas decorations.  Alex wanted to set up our Lego Christmas village.  He spent a long time lovingly setting it up.  He added lots of fun details.  

Soon even Buddy arrived back to stay with us for the season.  He also brought pajamas and an advent calendar for Alex and Mia.  They were very excited. 

It didn't take me long to finish my souvenir from Disneyland. 

The last day of November we went to the Festival of Trees.  This might be my favorite Christmas tradition.  We thought going on a Thursday night might make it less busy but it seemed pretty crazy.  Once we found a parking spot we still had a lot of fun. 

Alex really liked this giant doll.  

The kids mostly come for the scones. 

Mia's favorite was a Taylor Swift tree. 

Brandon loved the Christmas Vacation tree. There were so many fun details. 

My favorite was Up! 

The day before we went to the Festival of Trees Brandon was putting up Christmas lights.  It was much too cold and dark for this and as a result the ladder slipped off the house and he slipped with it.  He landed hard on his foot.  It seemed to get more sore and more purple after a few days so he finally went to the doctor (not before finishing putting up the rest of the lights and walking around the Festival of Trees).  Sure enough, it is broken, possibly in more than one place.  Right now he is in a boot and has crutches but that could change.  Hopefully he heals quickly.  We are glad it wasn't worse but we are ready for his bad luck to change.