.......And here is ours.
Back in July, when our whole family was together, I announced that our Trip Box for Disneyland was piling up nicely and we were looking to go
while the kids were off track in February.
while the kids were off track in February.
Next thing I knew.....the rest of the family decided that they would like to join us.
Somehow, we all roped Dad Randle into it as well......
even though he tried to talk us out of Disneyland.
even though he tried to talk us out of Disneyland.
He tries to tell us that is torture.....but then when you see him on the rides, his facial expressions admit he's just as big of a kid as the rest of us. There's no hiding it.
So, we made plans, set a date, booked a hotel and began talking about seating arrangements in our van.
Within 20 mins of that conversation, Dad called back and said,
"Ya know, I've been thinking. Now that we have Austin, the van will be twice as packed. Why don't I just fly everyone down to California?"
Ok! Twist my arm Dad!
So, Nate and his family, Spencer and his Family and our family including Dad,
all met up in California last week for an awesome family trip!
Day 1 - Tues. Feb. 21, 2012
Our boys had played in an AAU Basketball Tournament over Presidents Weekend. They both played great.
Ty's Team made it to the championship game Monday night at 8 p.m.
His team won.....which was awesome because they were 4th graders in a 5th grade league.
However, by the time we got home, it was 10:30 p.m.
Unbeknownst to our kids.....we had to wake up at 2:30 a.m. in order to make our 6 a.m. flight, that was also unbeknownst to them!!!
I have this thing about making sure my house is in
tip top shape before we leave out of town.
tip top shape before we leave out of town.
There is a hidden fear inside my heart that I will die while on vacation,
and the Relief Society will have to come
and witness my dirt and rummage through my trash!
and witness my dirt and rummage through my trash!
Call me crazy, but it's a real life fear.
One that kept me up til 2 a.m. that morning, packing and cleaning for our trip.
No sooner had I laid my head on the pillow, the alarm went off!
On our way up Gentile, we broke the news to the kids that they wouldn't have to survive a 13 hr. drive sitting side-by-side, instead, they would have
to survive a 1 1/2 hour plane ride!
to survive a 1 1/2 hour plane ride!
They were shocked.
Garrett's poor, nervous stomach gave way and before we knew it, he was in the airport bathroom as we're lining up to board the plane!
I'm happy to say, he made it just fine and
all the kids actually ended up enjoying the flight!
all the kids actually ended up enjoying the flight!
Thank you, thank you Grandpa for saving what would probably have been 50 family fights in the mini van!
Once we arrived in California, we headed straight to Legoland, where we met up with Nate and his family!
We finished the night with Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda and their family for dinner at their home in Carlsbad.
Day 2 - Wed. February 22, 2012
When Garrett heard we were going to be close to Hollywood,
that was all he could think about.
that was all he could think about.
So, we woke up, the kids played in the pool for a while, ate a little breakfast,
and headed off for L.A.
and headed off for L.A.
We visited the Griffin Observatory, saw the Hollywood sign, visited the Chinese Theater to see the stars and hand prints in the concrete.
We had a fun surprise as we rounded the corner of the Kodak Theater, to see the crews setting up for the Academy Awards. The red carpet was rolled out and covered in plastic, the curtains were hung and the bleachers for the fans were all set up!
Afterwards, we drove around Beverly Hills and saw some huge homes, then headed off to
the Santa Monica Pier, to play on the beach and watch the sunset.
On our way back to the hotel, we picked up Uncle Spencer and his family from the airport and were FINALLY all together!
Day 3 - Thurs. February 23, 2012
This day will forever be the day we saved Dad Randle's life, literally!
As we were up getting ready for our first day of Disneyland, the kids were getting dressed, Trav was getting ready to shower, I was changing Austin and Dad Randle was just getting settled down to a bowl of life cereal.
Within a few seconds, Dad was hunched over the sink appearing to throw up.
I could see his face through the mirror and it didn't look so good.
He came over to where I was and was asking for help.
I started to look around for a sack when he mustered out "Heimlich!"
What???
When have you ever had to give someone the Heimlich?!!
I flew into survival mode and all of the sudden the CPR class I took at Weber State came to mind.
He was leaning over onto the bed. I wrapped my arms around him, felt for the bottom of his rib cage, placed my three fingers in a row, and started to push in and up with my fists.
I did this a few times, lifting him off the ground.
Then I started to panic, feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere.
In the movies, something always comes up.
That wasn't happening.
I quickly yelled for Trav.
He came in and took over and within a few hits, Dad said he was better.
Apparently Trav and I both had a couple of good pushes and got that piece of cereal down.
Dad's ribs hurt for a couple of days, but at least all ended well.
Within about 30 mins. of that adventure, we were headed to Disneyland!
We got on a few of our favorites right off.
Ran and got fast passes, and shortly after that, decided it was so crowded,
we'd head on over to California Adventure.
We finished the day off there.
(Some of us just couldn't resist having Facebook and Disney all at once!
Or wearing matching shirts.)
Day 4 - Fri. February 24, 2012
And.....this day will forever be remembered as the day little Z
gave each one of us a mild heart attack
when we lost him for about 8 mins. in a massive Disneyland crowd.
Worst feeling in the world.
Again, and thankfully, all ended well.
Day 5 - Sat. Feb. 25, 2012
Why is it that you look forward to a trip for SO long, and then when it finally gets there,
it's over within about 2 seconds?
We had all scheduled our flights back home for late Saturday afternoon, so we'd have Sunday to recoup before heading back to work and school.
Because we were leaving so soon, we hurried and
packed up our hotel room and went straight to Disneyland.
Ever since we had planned this trip, Julia had talked about,
and saved her money to go to the
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Cinderella's Castle
to get her hair done.
I made the appointment our First day at Disneyland for that last morning.
We were at the Boutique right at 9:10.
A "Fairy Godmother in Training" came to the front desk and asked for "Princess Julia!"
Julia walked right up to her and the lady said,
"On Behalf of all of us here at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
we welcome Princess Julia and her entourage!
She then went back and got her hair done, a tiara, a little bit of make up, a ring,
a sash and a backpack.
Best money ever spent on the whole trip.
Julia loved it and I have to admit.....I would have killed to do that as a kid.
It was all fun and games walking around Disneyland like that......
everyone knew where we had been.
But, it was a whole other story walking through the airport with her looking like that.
I know people were looking at me thinking "Toddlers and Tiara's!"
Hilarious!!
Day 3 - Thurs. February 23, 2012
This day will forever be the day we saved Dad Randle's life, literally!
As we were up getting ready for our first day of Disneyland, the kids were getting dressed, Trav was getting ready to shower, I was changing Austin and Dad Randle was just getting settled down to a bowl of life cereal.
Within a few seconds, Dad was hunched over the sink appearing to throw up.
I could see his face through the mirror and it didn't look so good.
He came over to where I was and was asking for help.
I started to look around for a sack when he mustered out "Heimlich!"
What???
When have you ever had to give someone the Heimlich?!!
I flew into survival mode and all of the sudden the CPR class I took at Weber State came to mind.
He was leaning over onto the bed. I wrapped my arms around him, felt for the bottom of his rib cage, placed my three fingers in a row, and started to push in and up with my fists.
I did this a few times, lifting him off the ground.
Then I started to panic, feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere.
In the movies, something always comes up.
That wasn't happening.
I quickly yelled for Trav.
He came in and took over and within a few hits, Dad said he was better.
Apparently Trav and I both had a couple of good pushes and got that piece of cereal down.
Dad's ribs hurt for a couple of days, but at least all ended well.
Within about 30 mins. of that adventure, we were headed to Disneyland!
We got on a few of our favorites right off.
Ran and got fast passes, and shortly after that, decided it was so crowded,
we'd head on over to California Adventure.
We finished the day off there.
Or wearing matching shirts.)
Teag!!! DON'T THROW YOUR SIPPY IN THAT WATER!!!
Oh shoot. You already did!!
And.....this day will forever be remembered as the day little Z
gave each one of us a mild heart attack
when we lost him for about 8 mins. in a massive Disneyland crowd.
Worst feeling in the world.
Again, and thankfully, all ended well.
Why is it that you look forward to a trip for SO long, and then when it finally gets there,
it's over within about 2 seconds?
We had all scheduled our flights back home for late Saturday afternoon, so we'd have Sunday to recoup before heading back to work and school.
Because we were leaving so soon, we hurried and
packed up our hotel room and went straight to Disneyland.
Ever since we had planned this trip, Julia had talked about,
and saved her money to go to the
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Cinderella's Castle
to get her hair done.
I made the appointment our First day at Disneyland for that last morning.
We were at the Boutique right at 9:10.
A "Fairy Godmother in Training" came to the front desk and asked for "Princess Julia!"
Julia walked right up to her and the lady said,
"On Behalf of all of us here at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
we welcome Princess Julia and her entourage!
She then went back and got her hair done, a tiara, a little bit of make up, a ring,
a sash and a backpack.
Best money ever spent on the whole trip.
Julia loved it and I have to admit.....I would have killed to do that as a kid.
It was all fun and games walking around Disneyland like that......
everyone knew where we had been.
But, it was a whole other story walking through the airport with her looking like that.
I know people were looking at me thinking "Toddlers and Tiara's!"
Hilarious!!
I hate when it comes time for our good-byes.
The tears get me every time.
I find comfort in knowing my family is all together.
We had such a great time, and as Nate said while we were feeling the
Magic of Disneyland,
"The only thing that could make this more perfect would be to have Mom here with us."
Knowing that Heaven is all around us, we also know she was.
Thank you family and most importantly, Thank you Dad for the amazing trip.
That was worth saving our trip box money for 2 years.
We even came home with a little extra to put back in and start over!
Looking forward to the next time we're all together.
I love you all, with all my heart.
"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day,
so I never have to live without you." ~ Winnie the Pooh
3 comments:
Looks and sounds like a great family trip.. minus the lost and choking episodes~ Yikes! Happy all turned out well. Trips and vacations seem to create some wonderful memories that will never be forgotten. :)
Love your new blog layout! WHAT A FUN TRIP!!! Family trips are always the best, aren't they? How lucky we are to have such wonderful families that we can absolutely love every second with them and never want to be apart! I can't wait for the day when I get to take my kids to Disneyland and Sea World! It will be so magical! Glad you had such a wonderful week! And how NICE that you all got to fly out there! Glad to see you still using the Moby Wrap :) Its a wonderful contraption isn't it?
Look how sunny it was there!!!!!! Ahhhhh! Love it!! So glad you went and had a blast. So sorry you came home, and got sick! Dumb!! Loved all the pictures!
Post a Comment