A Princess Birthday

This week on December 18th, Princess Z turned 3 years old! A royal party was held in her honor and family members from both sides attended the special event.

Wake-up, Sleeping Beauty. It's time for your party!

Blowing out the big #3 candle on her cupcake (there really is a cupcake there!).

Attempting to eat the cupcake in one bite, with Papa and Gigi.

Time for opening presents!

Playing with YiaYia.

The group shot with Z's parents, of course, Papa & Gigi, Papou & Yia Yia, "Big" Yia Yia, Thea Margo, and Elaine (A's cousin)

Good-bye hugs with Elaine.

Our little family.

 

Thanks to everyone who came and made this princess party extra special!

And on another day, we celebrated Z's birthday again with her little friends at McDonald's on base. Another friend was there too but she was already off running at the playground. Here's evidence of Z eating her first Happy Meal.

Happy 3rd Birthday to our little princess!

And if you're interested in hearing Z's favorite songs, check out her special birthday post on L's '60s Beat blog here!

Two Special Trips

This month, our family got two extra special treats: free trips to Disneyland and Sea World! It was Z's first time at both parks, so we loved getting to share the fun with her!

A earned the Disneyland tickets after marching in a Christmas parade with the Marine Band. The parade ("The 29th Annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade") was filmed in November and will air on ABC on Christmas morning at 9:00 AM. Be sure to check it out; you'll likely see A in the front rank!
Z has become a big fan of many classic Disney films, so it was fun seeing her recognize characters on the rides and enjoy this special place. Flying with Dumbo was a must!

 Tea Time! One of Z's favorites that we rode more than once.

It's always extra special to be at Disneyland during Christmastime with all the beautiful lights at night (although this photo does not do it justice)!

Caught red-handed with the infamous popcorn.

It was a fantastic day and Z was such a great girl, despite skipping the nap. One of her favorite rides of the day was Pirates of the Caribbean, another we had to go on twice. She's still talking about that ride!

Then a few weeks later,  Z made some new friends at Sea World. Some of her favorites were the dolphins, seals, and penguins.

Then Z discovered some of the rides. Thanks to the small crowds that day, we went on these a few times without having to wait in lines.

Waiting to ride the Sky Tower. 

Definitely another fun day! Thanks to Sea World for the free tickets for military families!

Family Time!

This month, we got extra special visitors from Illinois: M and her two boys! L and her sister had a blast, as usual.

The cousins also enjoyed lots of quality time. P and Z loved playing at the beach.

Yeah, this California weather is really rough in November.

N is getting so big and seemed to enjoy his first time in California. Actually, this kid is so happy, we seems to enjoy just about anything.

A walk on the San Clemente pier with the original Meadows family, plus new additions. :)

Get those birds!

Happy N! 

And would you believe it, L and M got to attend another Monkees' concert, this time at the Escondido Performing Arts Center, just a 30-minute drive from Camp Pendleton!

What a fun night for these groovy kids! More on that concert at L's '60s Beat blog here.

And thanks to our parents for putting the kiddos to bed!

Slumber party!

Cousins K and B visited one evening as well. Papa and Gigi with all the grandkids.

Snuggle time with Aunt M.

 Thanks, M and the Gee boys, for flying all the way out here! We already miss you!

Meanwhile, A was busy playing at dozens of USMC Birthday Balls with the Marine brass quintet, including three roadtrips (for gigs) to Las Vegas within one week! Z was glad when her Daddy was back! Looks like Sleepy Head just woke up from her nap.

Our local pier in Oceanside. Hello, Mr. Pelican.

Also this month, A celebrated his 32nd birthday! Here's one of the birthday dinners with Z's YiaYia and Papou.

What a fun-filled month with family!

Fun-Filled Fall Festivites!

  This September and October were jam-packed with fun events! The festivities began with Z's first pony ride! Having no fear, she was quite confident and rode the horsey like a pro.

What a happy girl!

Z also enjoyed quality time and hugs with the other animals too. 

And even riding fake horses is fun too.

The Fall Festival at our church. Z couldn't get enough of the bounce house.

Just another day at the park.

Playtime with Minnie Mouse and pumpkin hats, handmade made by YiaYia.  

 

 At San Diego State's Homecoming game, Z had a blast watching Aztec football and sitting with the alumni band.

 She loved hearing her daddy play trombone in the stands and clapped whenever the band played the fight song.

 What an angel, despite having to skip naptime.

And as usual, A has worked a lot with the Marine band. Here's the band marching through Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco for Fleet Week (he's in the front on the far right).

The Marine Corps Birthday Ball. Happy 237th Birthday, Marines!

And finally, there were several opportunities to have fun with dressing up, thanks to several events the week of Halloween. Here are two purple fairies heading to the Camp Pendleton Fall Festival.

Z with her friends at our neighbor's costume party. Clearly the bag of popcorn they're eating put these kids into some sort of a trance.

And of course, A and L sported their retro attire at another party with friends from work.

And Princess Leia passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters. The Force is strong with this one.

Z's wings didn't survive by the end of the festivities but she had a great time being a little fairy.