Disneyland Vacation Day 3

I didn't sleep much Monday night, because I was so worried about finding our tickets.  Scott and I got up and went down to Disneyland to check the Lost and Found.  The kids stayed at the house with Grandma and Grandpa and had fun swimming in the pool.

We got there before they opened, and sat outside the Lost and Found waiting for half an hour.  I had asked the kids to all pray together that we would find the tickets.  And I was praying too.  Finally the Lost and Found opened up, and we were the first ones up to the window.  We explained what had happened, and the nice lady disappeared into the back for a bit.  Finally she came walking out - holding our tickets!  A wave of euphoria washed over me.  It was a miracle!  Such a relief.

We filled out the claim form for our tickets, and started back for the house.  We called the kids and told them the good news and told them to get ready for the day.  When we got back to the house, we loaded up in our cars and headed into Los Angeles to go to Universal Studios.

We met a real Transformer.

The kids loved riding the escalator from the upper lot to the lower lot.

Waiting in line for the bus for the Studio Tour.

This was the one thing that Scott remembered from going to Universal Studios as a kid, so he really wanted to take the kids on it.  Plus, it was pretty much the only thing my mom could enjoy there.  It was really interesting to see all the different sets that had been built for movies.

Making it rain.

Flash flood.

Owen really enjoyed the Studio Tour.


Airplane crash from "War of the Worlds".

There were a lot of action packed rides that our older kids (and me and Scott) loved.  Nate was not a fan, (and Owen was too small), so Grandma spent a lot of time sitting outside the rides with the two little boys. 

Thankfully, there was a fun park area that they were able to hang out and play in while we went on rides.  

Meeting Diego. 

We went to an Animal Actors show.  Savannah got picked from the audience to help out!

It was a fun day, and we wore the kids out. 

Disneyland Vacation Day 2

Monday morning we woke up eager to get to the park.  After our crazy busy Christmas week two years ago, I researched when the least busy time would be to visit.  February topped the lists.  I didn't realize, though, that because it was "off season", we'd have other things to deal with.  Like shortened hours.  The park was only open 10-8.  And some of the biggest attractions were closed for repairs - It's a Small World, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Finding Nemo Submarine, and Splash Mountain.  Those were missed greatly.  And it threw a wrench into our normal Disney routine of hitting the park early, coming home in the afternoon to relax and let little ones nap, then heading back for a late night at the park.  Instead, we had to make the most of every minute there.  Which meant that I had to pack enough food and drinks into the bottom of the stroller to feed 10 people all day long.  Not an easy task.  I got up every morning and made a whole loaf of bread into sandwiches and filled little baggies full of crackers and cookies.

The first morning at the park we all waited anxiously while Scott purchased our tickets (not a small purchase).

The kids wanted to spend their first day in California Adventure.  The kids couldn't wait to ride Screamin.  Sara was brave enough to try it this trip, and she loved it.  Of course it was still Aaron's favorite too.

We saw Donald.  Owen wasn't sure what to think.

 

We went on Josh's favorite ride - Grizzly Rapids.  The girls didn't love getting wet.

Riding the CarsLand Tractor ride with Grandpa.

The kids joined Phineas and Ferb for a dance party in the street.

Right around this time, we lost Nate.  It scared me to death.  We stopped and realized he wasn't with us, and Scott immediately started looking one way and I the other.  A worker saw me and asked if I was trying to find something.  When I told him I'd lost my 5 year old, he knew exactly what to do.  He got on the radio, and within minutes, we were being ushered to the customer relations building where a nice woman was helping Nate circle on the map the rides he'd been on.  After that, I made sure I had all 6 kids everywhere we went.  

We saw Pluto.  Again, Owen wasn't quite sure he was a fan of these life sized creatures.

 

Owen enjoyed a nap in the stroller.

We went on Tower of Terror.  Twice.

And we raced around the tracks of Radiator Springs.

It was a fun day.  We all loved it all.  We returned home with exhausted kids and adults.  As we walked in the door of our rental house, I reached down to take off the lanyard that I'd worn around my neck all day.  I had been keeping all of our tickets together in it, because every time we needed to print out a fast pass, I had to scan all 10 tickets.  As I reached to take it off, sheer panic hit me.  The plastic pouch that had all 10 tickets in it was gone.

Of course I was instantly hysterical, and Scott and I immediately turned around to retrace our steps in hopes of finding it.  I thought that it might have been knocked off on the walk home because I was carrying Aaron piggyback.  We ran all the way back to Disneyland, and didn't find it.  The more I thought about it, the more I decided it must have fallen off while we were standing in line for the Cars ride (the last ride of the day).  We stood in line 45 minutes for it, and Owen had insisted that I hold him the whole time.  When we got back to the park, of course it was closed, so we couldn't go in to look for it.  We talked to a worker, and she told us to try the Lost and Found in the morning (it was closed for the night).

We walked home again, and talked about what we would do if we couldn't find the tickets.  We had the receipt still, so maybe they would issue more tickets for us.  All I could think was that I'd just made a $3000 mistake, and I was so sick to my stomach.

Disneyland Vacation - Day 1

I got home from Phoenix Friday night.  That left me one day to recover from that trip and be ready to head out on another.  I did laundry and shopping and packing at a feverish pace.  And amazingly, it all came together and we were ready to fly out Sunday morning.

My neighbor Kendi kept Kate for us while we went gallivanting off to California.  I will never be able to repay her in favors for that.   She tells me they had fun with her, which I believe, but I also know how much work a baby is, especially when you aren't used to having one around.  I got Kate off to Kendi's, then turned my focus to getting the other 6 kids ready to go. 

The kids woke up Sunday morning so excited for our trip!

When we booked the plane tickets, we used sky miles for all of them (so they were all free!).  We had 6 tickets on our credit card rewards, and 4 tickets on Scott's frequent flier miles.  We booked the 6 tickets first (me, Scott, Savannah, Josh, Sara, and Aaron).  Then we tried to book the other 4.  Only it wouldn't let us book it on the same flight, so my parents and Owen and Nate ended up on a completely different flight.  That stressed me out more than anything.  I was a nervous wreck as I watched my two little boys get on a plane without me. 

I've got to be honest, though, traveling with the oldest 4 was very easy and peaceful.  But, I worried the whole time about how my parents were doing with the little boys. 

Buck and Lovey all strapped in with Aaron.

We had a layover in San Diego.  We grabbed some food for the kids, and talked to the little boys on the phone (their layover was in Seattle). 

After our checked baggage fiasco in Phoenix, I made up my mind that we would not be checking any bags on this trip.  Everyone strapped on a backpack and had to fit all their belongings into that one back pack.  Ten people in all, and not a single piece of checked baggage!

Our flight arrived in LA about 2 hours before my parents' flight.  So, Scott and I went and picked up our two rental cars.  I took the 4 kids with me and drove to the house we'd be staying in, and Scott took his car back to the airport to pick up my parents and the boys.  We got to the house after dark, but that didn't stop the kids from swimming in the heated pool in the backyard.  We let them swim while Scott and I headed to Walmart to stock up on groceries for our week.