Wes Turns 5!

Shortly after we returned from Disneyland it was time to celebrate Wes turning FIVE! It's crazy to think he is that old and at the same time hardly remembering a time without him. His birthday fell on a Sunday, so on Saturday we went to the movie Monster Trucks for some birthday fun!

On Sunday he woke up to some fun presents, a yummy breakfast and a fun day at church. 

 Wes keeps telling us he wants to be a Bug Scientist when he grows up, so Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Kent hooked him up with his very own ant farm! 

The Doyles know the way to Wes' heart... 

Beanie Boos!

Wes loves them so much. He sleeps with Yumi and Jack every night!

I had to get some good shots of my handsomest 5 year old-

And then he and Thad got their soccer gamin' on! 

We told Wes he could invite one friend over for dinner on his birthday and it was no surprise when he picked Evan and his family. We had a fun night with the Browns and ended with monster truck cupcakes.

I want to say something cliche like, "I hope all your wishes come true, Wesley boy!" but who am I kidding? This boy will MAKE his dreams come true, I have no doubts about that!

A couple days later Eve and I got to go to his school and have a little celebration there-

Just in case you weren't sure if Wes likes to be the center of attention... 

He does. 

  

This 5 year old is something special and I can't wait to see how he grows and changes and becomes over the next five years. We sure love you, Wes!

Five things we love about Wes-

5. His red hair (and the spicy attitude that comes along with it!). I think this will be on his list every year!

4. His love of people. He will talk and play with anyone who will listen and I love that about him.

3. His developing friendships. His preference for Evan is very clear, but it is still really fun to watch friendships form and to watch him be a good friend.

2. His desire to be noticed. This can be exhausting as a mother of three, but he wants to be seen and heard and often times has something wonderful to say. I love him.

1. His fierce love of family. This boy can throw a fit right along with the best of them, but when it comes to family he is so sweet and loyal. He is the first to bring up "Happy and Sad" every night at dinner, partly because he wants to talk, but mostly because he loves hearing what everyone else has to say. 

Happy 5th Birthday, Wesley Wilson Monsen!

DISNEYLAND ROUND 2 - Day 4

We were up and ready for our Magic Morning on our last day at Disney land and enjoyed our okay-ish continental breakfast at our hotel.

I loved watching these pajamaed bodies run to breakfast each morning, especially if they were holding hands!

The rain was pretty relentless all day, but we didn't let it stop us. The boys split from Eve and I when we got there and after riding some fun little rides with Eve I made the terrible decision of wasting my time and having a slight panic attack on the submarine Nemo ride.

 Eve actually really loved it, but I was so angry at how long the actual ride was and then how long we had to wait to get off. Once the ride stopped there was literally radio silence for 5-6 minutes. I was ticked. Good thing she liked it or I would have flipped.

They boys' Magic Morning was definitely a more successful one than mine!

We met up with the Doyles, rode some rides and enjoyed a rainy lunch (and nap for Eve and Wes) together...

Laney and Tyson were super excited about all the rain so the Doyles headed back to their hotel to rest and dry off while we went and did all the indoor stuff that we wanted to do!

After lunch I experienced another special mother moment with my middle child-

He wasn't supposed to be all the way over there. Again, I can't remember why this was happening, but luckily we love him something fierce no matter what. 

We headed straight to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and first thing we ran into Minnie and Mickey!

We checked out this awesome replica of the Capitol Building while we waited to watch Abe Lincoln and had fun checking out some of the historical information they had in there.

Lincoln was very life like and it was so great to add a little education to our trip of constant fun.

Next up the boys got to create their very own light sabers and then head over to the Star Wars Launch Pad to explore.

Having light sabers when we ran into the Storm Troopers again definitely got the boys some more attention...they loved it!

To end our trip to the Launch pad, we got to meet some big timers:

DARTH VADER

Wes was clearly a little nervous at first, but he loosened up!

And though Darth was pretty awesome, we ended with our favorite...

CHEWBACCA

Eve was for reals obsessed with him and couldn't take her eyes off of him! 

  

It was hard to say goodbye, but she managed. ;-)

She still talks about Chewy a lot and loves looking at these pictures!

After the boys had their fun (who am I kidding, Eve and I loved it just as much), we headed over to the Royal Halls so Eve could meet all the princesses. The boys weren't too excited about it, but they were good sports anyways.

Jasmine

 Aurora

Cinderella 

It was so fun to watch Eve walk right up to them and want to hug and sit on their laps! Yay for fun princesses!

We had some more fun in Tomorrow Land, Fantasy Land and Toon Town before meeting back up with the Doyles for a few more rides and a delicious dinner at Jolly Holiday Bakery.

We got a little relief from the rain in these last couple pictures, but it picked back up again in Toon Town and after dinner we all decided to call in a night even though the park was open for another hour...we were pooped and wet and cold! But we took our time at dinner and gave the Doyles big hugs knowing that we wouldn't see them again until summer. And all I could think about then and afterwards is how happy I was that we made this trip happen! It was perfect timing for our family and I'm just so grateful that we were able to do it. My expectations were not only met, but far exceeded with this wonderful vacation!

After an awesome nights rest we were on the road again! We thought about stopping at Saguaro National Park, but couldn't bring ourselves to have another outing after that crazy, fun week. So a quick stop at the new(ish) Gilbert, Arizona temple was our only stop and we're so glad we made it!

 Such a pretty temple!

We made it to El Paso our first night and then on to Round Rock the next day.

What a special, awesome, wonderful, magical week we had as a family! We can't wait to go back!