The Happiest Place on Earth!

The past few months have been a whirlwind of major life changes for our family, and feeling like our lives were about to become a whole lot more fixed and routine with the grand opening of our new business just yesterday, Aaron and I decided we needed to soak up our last week of family time and enjoy one last hurrah. So, we literally packed our bags while the kids were asleep, and headed for Disneyland the next morning!

Wouldn't you know, with tickets purchased, reservations made, and bags packed, one of the kids was bound to get sick? Ben barely slept the night before the trip, had a fever that morning, and was one sick little dude. So, we made pit stop #1 at the urgent care clinic to get Ben all checked out and doctored up. Poor guy. He got a shot of anitbiotic for tonsilitis and ear infections, anti-nasea medicine for stomach flu, and an enema for intestinal blockage. We said a prayer, gave Ben a blessing, and decided to proceed with our trip, giving Ben LOTS of rest and plenty of love. Ben was miserable for the first day or two, but, luckily, he was good as new within a couple days.

Pit stop #2:

When we finally arrived in California, ten-and-a-half hours later, we had a sick baby and crummy weather. So, we decided to push our plans out a day, give Ben time to recover, and spent an indoor day at LaBrea Tar Pits. The kids thought the dinosour bones were cool, but lets just say they were more than ready to move along and get to Disneyland already.

4 Things I Learned About Taking Kids to Disneyland:

* Sometimes even having fun can be a lot of work. Just thinking about our week at Disneyland makes me tired. Picture pushing a lug of a double stroller, stocked full with a cooler and diaper bag, carrying two heavy kiddos, with a third kid riding on your shoulders, around an enormous, crowded park. That was Aaron. Oh ya, and then there was me, the waddling pregnant lady walk-jogging thirty steps behind, trying to keep up. And, of course, the kids complaining they were too hot, too cold, tired, and/or hungry.

* Disneyland is a HUGE ripoff. Aside from the ridiculous price of admission, feeding a family at Disneyland costs a small fortune! And then there is the cotton candy, the icecream cones, the souvenirs--its absurd!

* There must be some law of physics that says that children will insist on going to the bathroom once you have finally reached the front of a long line. Because thats what happened to us. Every single time!

* IT WILL BE TOTALLY WORTH IT. I wouldn't trade the week we spent together at Disneyland for anything. We had a blast! We made memories that will stay with me forever--it was priceless.

As soon as we entered the park, we were dying to take the kids on the rides. First up, Hank and I rode Indiana Jones together. Hank hated it! Cried through the whole ride! Lesson learned. We stuck to the kiddie rides for the rest of the day. Little by little, the boys became more adventurous and by the end of the week, they were riding the rollercoasters with dad--with their hands straight in the air!

Aaron was such a good sport--taking the boys on their favorite rides, Autopia, Toystory, and Buzz Lightyear, over and over...and over.

Max loved the rides, throwing his hands in the air and smiling from ear to ear on all of the drops.

While Hank was a little timid about the rides at first, he warmed right up to all of the characters and had to give each of them a giant hug. Meanwhile, Max was terrified of the characters! He would hide behind our legs if he spotted any of the characters.

One of the highlights was the Disney parade:

A few more of my favorite memories:

We rounded off our trip with a day at Universal Studios and a day at Seaworld: