Check out my new shoes
Emily needs new shoes because she is WALKING!!!!!
Emily won't even stay still for a second or for a picture. 
The one thing I learned on this trip is that taking pictures is getting harder. All of the kids ride the rides which means Brian and I have our hands full holding them safely...so picture taking becomes quite problematic. I am happy to have been able to get a few shots in throughout the fun.
The carousel is always a favorite.
Connor coming up on the outside.
Now it was time to visit Santa and Santa didn't disappoint. He was so happy to see us but Emily wasn't too sure of him. So we all got into the picture with Santa for the first time and Santa was so impressed we all received candy canes. Yeah!
The kids went into the Christmas shops and Emily was so cute carrying around stuffed animals and playing with some of the toys. We learned that Garrett is a huge fan of Chuggington trains and Connor just wanted to get on more rides.
It was a race to the finish for the boys....who won??
As always, I like to take a minute to figure out how much we have grown from the prior year. Garrett has sprouted up out of no where clearing at least 39 inches.
And Connor is just a hair shy of 4 feet - maybe I shouldn't have gotten him a buzz cut.
The boys loved going on this ride with Daddy because we all know Daddy does not like heights. During the course of the ride, I kept hearing the boys tell Daddy to open his eyes when they got near the top of the Ferris wheel. it was a Super Fun Day!
First stop in Storyland was the ball pit and Emily was so excited to have her very own place to play.
The boys were leaping and jumping into the ball pit - they could clear halfway across the pit.
Connor is quite the little man now. He even goes on rides all by himself now that he is tall enough. Garrett has become adventurous too and tried out all the rides.
Unfortunately, Emily and I had to sit a couple of rides out but we found places to practice walking and even a fun train ride to keep us busy.
There was one game in particular that all the kids loved. The object of the game is to throw this big ball into three rows of buckets and the color of the bucket it settles in is the size of the prize you win. Emily thought this was easy.
Here we are relaxing on our train ride.
After the train ride, I managed to talk Connor and Garrett into going on the roller coaster. This will go down as the first year they tried the Polar Coaster. After the first ride, it became clear we were going to be riding it several more times before we left the park. Every good train ride and roller coaster excursion deserves an ice cream cone. This might be the one time all trip the boys sat perfectly still for any length of time.
The wooden shoes were a first time ride as well and the boys loved taking control of the movement of the shoes...Garrett had me bouncing out of my seat.
Our last adventure before saying goodbye to Storyland was Connor and I going on the flume. I taught him Uncle Scott's trick of tucking himself in the front of the flume to avoid getting wet. Connor loved emerging from the ride perfectly dry, yet Mommy was definitely wet.
We spent a day and a half at Storyland and we managed to have the best time. We were on so many rides and attractions it is hard to recount them all. We learned that Emily is a daredevil just like her brothers - going on rides like the Whirling Whale. Connor surprised us all by going on every ride in the park. Of course, Garrett loved the rides and all three love to win prizes. Can't wait to head back again next year.
Look at all three of my munchkins having a Mighty Mini Ice Pop together. I know I am biased but I think my childen are so well behaved and adorable.
I don't know how Brian and I got so lucky. Love you!
The swings were also a favorite ride on this trip...they rode them four times in a row. 
It was a fun trip which made everyone smile. Can't wait for our next fun trip.
Car noises: As you can imagine, Emily is surrounded by boy toys. She loves cars and yesterday was making engine noises as she was playing with Garrett's cars. Too funny!
Last night I was playing with Emily on the family room floor and she crawled behind me. I was laying on my belly and all of a sudden I feel her pulling up the bottom of my shirt. Her little hand reaches out to my back and I feel her little nails on my skin. Then, I hear her say "Tickle, Tickle, Tickle" followed by her laughing. I laughed so hard because she is now tickling me with the proudest grin on her face.
Here the family is watching Grandpa trying to attract fish with some food in the ocean.
The men at the helm of the boat on the way home.
Off to dinner again and happy as always.
Emily was a riot eating spaghetti for the first time. She would pull a strand off the plate, try to pull it apart and then eat it. We had spaghetti everywhere.
Garrett was psyched for his sundae.
The last morning in Aruba we tried to make the most of everything. We ate breakfast in record time and it was right into the pool.
Relaxing by the side of the pool after swimming.
Grandpa told me I didn't take enough pictures of him so he was happy to pose for one last shot.
I think Connor looks all grown up in the picture below. The most amazing thing happened while we were in Aruba. Connor can now swim without any assistance. He is a regular fish - Congratulations honey - we are very proud of you.
We made it home without any problems and can look back on this year's vacation knowing we had a blast!!! See you next year Aruba!