Monday - Travel Day & Getting Settled:
We didn't fly out for California until about 4:00 in the afternoon (We wanted to make sure I was recovered enough after my Thursday chemo session.) Everyone was so excited to fly out and all our books and electronics made waiting in the airport easy. The little boys mostly read while we waited for the plane and I loved that their electronics came in 2nd place for once!
My dentist/home teacher gave me this mask to wear on the airplane and I also wore a compression sleeve to help alleviate lymphedema (swelling) on the arm that had the lymph nodes removed. (I also have to wear the compression sleeve whenever I exercise and be super careful that my arm doesn't get cut, sunburned or "damaged" in any way because my lymph nodes won't be functioning.) I sat by Lauren on the plane and once we were seated she said, "ah, I already feel relaxed!" Ditto that!!
After we landed at John Wayne airport, we grabbed our car rental and headed straight to the Legoland hotel in Carlsbad. The hotel was pricy but a lego lover's dream!! The boys had fun building legos for a competition and Will won an award for "Most Creative!" We spent the rest of the night split - Lauren, Bradley and I were hanging out in the room while Matt took the little boys swimming. Lauren shared a sleeping nook with Will and Owen and she told them super cute bedtime stories each night.
Tuesday - Legoland:
It was so wonderful to be in the hotel right outside the gates of Legoland. We spent the morning at the park and then headed back to the hotel for lunch. Everyone wanted some down time before we headed back to the park (and Bradley wasn't feeling well) so we went swimming and layer by the hotel pool for an hour. Lauren and I relaxed a bit longer than the boys and when we caught up with them later I noticed that Will was wearing Owen's little shorts, lol!
Wednesday - Sea Life & the Beach:
We had a relaxing morning and walked through the small aquarium next to Legoland (the admission was free with our Legoland passes). Will just sucked up all the knowledge presented on the signs and told us interesting facts about marine life throughout the rest of the trip.
As we were leaving the aquarium, Owen wanted to spend some of his souvenir allowance to buy a Lego mini-figure. He'd been looking for a Wizard in all the grab-bag packs but didn't have any luck. We spent about 5-10 minutes feeling all the packs in hopes that we'd feel a wizard hat... and he did!!! Matt got such a kick out of Owen's luck and also had fun watching the kids open their mini figure packs so he kept sending the kids back into the gift shop to see what characters we'd get - the kids loved it! :-)
Around noon we headed to the beach for the rest of the day. It was lovely. Will got addicted to boogie boarding and asked if we could move close to the beach. Lauren spent most of her day collecting shells or reading, Bradley and Matt spent the majority of their time playing frisbee, and Owen did a little of it all! Everyone else was pretty warm that day but I was chilly (common for me lately) so I spent most of the day soaking in the sun.
Thursday - California Adventure:
We spent this day separated... Lauren was throwing up Wednesday night/Thursday morning so I stayed home with her and the boys went to California Adventure. It was actually a pretty stressful night & morning in addition to her being sick because we were staying in a VRBO house that was NOT as advertised. It was a cute house in a great neighborhood but it was dirt and grime central. The sheets smelled clean so we decided to stay the night, but the whole situation made me sad, stressed, and feeling bad since I was the one who thought it would be a good idea to try this instead of a hotel. Matt and the kids kept telling me they were ok to stay, but once Lauren got sick I made my mind up to move us - the only thing worse than throwing up is throwing up in a dirty place. While the boys were at the park, I spent the morning trying not to let stress ruin our vacation, lining up a hotel that wasn't booked, and packing us up to move us to said hotel. Matt kept sending me texts of pics from their adventures and that lifted my spirits a bit. Lauren and I checked into the new place at about 2:00 and walking into our clean and nice smelling room instantly turned my frown upside down. Below are pics of the boy's day and also pics of Lauren and I that night. She was feeling better by 5:00 so we headed to Huntington beach for a walk, dinner and ice cream.
Bradley sent me this picture in a text and it said, "just so you know, this was Dad's idea." Ha ha!
Friday- Disneyland:
Usually my favorite day on trips like this is at the beach, but today I agreed with Matt that Disneyland is indeed the Happiest Place on Earth. Our day was practically perfect in every way.
These pictures below are of the highlight of our day... both boys got chosen to be Jedi youngling in the Star Wars show. There is a great story behind this all though that makes it extra special. First, remember how Will won an award for his lego creation a few days before? Well, his luck continued and on our first ride of the day, Star Tours, Will was chosen to be the "rebel spy" that is featured on the ride. A few hours later and Will was also chosen by the Jedi master to join the ranks of the trainees. After all the younglings had been chosen, and Owen was left out for the third time in this trip, he just couldn't hold it together anymore. He crumpled into my lap and burst into quiet tears. I was trying to console Owen as the Jedi training commenced when all of a sudden we heard the Jedi Master stop the show... he said he'd felt the force telling him that a youngling that he'd chosen was missing from the training and he needed to find him. He then proceeded to describe Owen to his Padowan and tell the Padowan that Owen just must not have heard the call to the stage. We are so glad the force was with this Master Jedi because Owen was one of the best trainees out on the floor! (And Matt and I both shed Disney Magic tears by how in touch this Jedi was with the force!!)
Space Mountain was a favorite ride...
and Pirates of the Caribbean is always a treat!
One of Matt's favorite rides is the Jungle Cruise (because of the jokes) and every time we go on the ride he remarks that he missed his calling; being a tour guide on the cruise is his dream job. ;-)
And of course the best "ride picture" in the park is on Splash Mountain and the best overpriced treats are in Pooh's corner right after you get off the ride!
We wound down the day with Lauren and Bradley realizing some childhood Disney dreams and getting a Stitch plush and a custom light saber, respectively. We watched the fireworks, ate lots of yummy ice cream, then Owen and I headed home a bit early while everyone else stayed for Fantasmic. One of the best things about the day was that I felt fabulous!! I did need to drink a Diet Coke mid-day (total poison that I avoid like the plague - but it helped me get through) but otherwise I felt totally normal. In fact, one time I was walking somewhere and thought, "oh my gosh, I forgot that I'm walking around bald and dealing with cancer!" Sooo good to forget. :)
Ah Disney, we can't wait to visit you again!!
And that's the end - yea for vacations!!!!!
