As I mentioned in an earlier post, while we were in St. George we learned about the passing of my dear Aunt Julie in Whittier, California. My Aunt had been struggling with her health for sometime (she had Lupas and another Auto Immune disorder) and then contracted double pneumonia in her lungs- which is what took her life. Luckily all 5 of her children as well as her husband and siblings were able to be there to say their goodbyes before she passed. She was surrounded by those she loved and truly lived a life focused on her Savior, service, and love. She was a wonderful example of a loving Mother, and was a great aunt to boot. Her death came unexpectedly and has been very hard on all involved and I’m sure will be felt by those of us who love her for quite some time. She was a remarkable woman and will be sorely missed, but we are grateful she is out of pain and with her loved ones on the other side. Interestingly enough her very best friend died only one week before she did. That brought much comfort to her family knowing they were together in heaven.
Because we were in St. George when we heard about my Aunts passing and much closer to California than we would be if we drove home to Payson, it didn’t make sense for us to head home on Sunday afternoon like we’d planned just to drive back a day or two later to make it down for her funeral. Therefore we ended up staying at our St. George condo an extra day (thanks to our wonderful friends the Allens), and then we took off Monday afternoon to drive the additional 7 hours to Torrence, CA where Uncle Clint and Aunt Carol were kind enough to let us stay.
However, my Aunts funeral wasn’t until Wednesday, and because one of my Aunts favorite things in the world was to go to Disneyland (she used to go every Monday) we decided it would be appropriate to take the kids to Disneyland (for their VERY FIRST time) in honor of her. We felt like that would have made her happy to see the happy faces on our kids faces, and had she been there with us, she would have wanted to come with us. We think she was there with us in spirit. đ
So Monday night after we put the kids to bed, we bought our tickets, paid $15 to use a program called Ridemax that helped us set up a schedule for the day, and then downloaded some apps that had been recommended called Mousewait that would help us avoid long lines and make for a better day of not standing in long lines with little kids. Ridemas and Mousewait ended up being a wonderful tool for us to use and made for a very nice day where we usually only waited 10 minutes or less for a ride (and only once waited for 30 minutes).
We hadn’t told the kids about any of this though and so Tuesday morning after getting them fed, dressed and ready for the day, we packed up a lunch, got everyone in the car and then explained to the kids how happy they all made us and how pleased we have been with the good choices they’ve been making. That we love to see them being kind to each other, being kind to others, and putting others above themselves. We explained that thats where true happiness comes from.
Then we told them that we wanted to go to a place that the world considered the “happiest place on earth” and funny enough they immediately guessed we were going to the Temple! Cute! We laughed and told them that someday we’d love to take them there, but that for that day we hoped Disneyland would be okay! “Whoooeeeee!” They all shouted! “YES!” we heard from the backseats. “No way!” some happily screamed. “I’ve always wanted to go there,” from another. I’m sure you can imagine the squeals of delight and excitement that filled up our car! The kids were so surprised, excited, and happy and Adam and I were too! We then told them about how Disneyland was one of my Aunt Julies favorite places to go and so we were going there to remember her. They loved that idea. It ended up being a magical and beautiful day for us all!
It did come with a few mishaps though when Adalynn actually got car sick and threw up AS we were driving to Disneyland, and then Branson also threw up at the end of the day as well (luckily for him it was on the last ride Autopia). I also got a little queasy on one of the rides as well (Star Tours), but luckily had about a 45 break to rest my tummy while the kids were doing Jedi training. That allowed me to feel well enough to keep going the rest of the day. đ Below are some pictures from our fun day together in memory of my dear Aunt Julie.
Riding the Train from the parking area to Disneyland.
The standard entrance to Disneyland family photo.
Waiting for the park to open at 10 am (we were about 15 minutes early).
I loved all the flowers and creative vegetation all over. So pretty!
Wild Toad Stool Ride? I forget its name
Dumbo!
Its a small world
 |
Star Tours (the kids favorite ride!)
Innovations building. The Iron Man exhibit was well liked by the kids.
All four kids did this Iron Man game where you virtually got to put on a suit, dance, shoot fire balls at targets, and fly in the air. They all loved it and loved seeing themselves on screen.
Captain EO was a hit. I remember loving it as a kid as well. 3D is just awesome and we loved how the seats all moved and bounced.
The highlight for the boys was getting into the Star Wars Jedi Training. All three said that was their favorite thing that did while at Disneyland. And we couldn’t believe it when ALL THREE boys ended up getting picked to go in. How lucky is that? I think my Aunt Julie pulled some strings from heaven for us. đ
Branson and Harry on the left. Dawson on the right (front row)
It was so cute to see the excitement of the kids when Darth Vader showed up! They were all geared up to take him down! đ
We all thought Buzz light year was amazing. Technology is truly incredible.
Tarzans Tree house!
We got to see Princess Tiana, and Merida during the day. Adalynn and I stood in line for Merida but didn’t quite make it to see her before we needed to run to meet Adam and the boys for our next ride.
Splash Mountain. A ride Adam and I both loved, and all the kids hated. “Too scary” they said!
Harry and I on Indiana Jones. There is a funny story with this one. Because lines are usually so long on this ride we got fast passes for it and then came back an hour later to use them. When we checked the height requirement to get in, we found that Dawson was too short. Adam was already staying back with Adalynn (we were going to swap afterwards so he could go) so I went to leave Dawson with Adam as well. “Just take him in anyway,” Adam said. “He’ll probably be fine.” “I don’t want to chance it Ad. What if they don’t let him in?” I responded. He insisted we would most likely be okay.
Well, sure enough just as soon as we got to the front of the line, one of the worker ladies asked to check Dawsons height. “He’s too short she said. You’ll have to take him out.” We’d already waited about 15-20 minutes to get in, so this was not happy news at all. Harry and Branson and I ended up having to take him back out to Adam and then re-enter the ride again waiting an additional 20 minutes again. The first thing I said to Adam when we got out was “Cheaters never prosper! Just goes to show ya!” as I handed over Dawson to him. I should have listened to my gut. ha ha.
Splash Mountain. The boys were TERRIFIED of the big Splash part but decided to be brave and go on the ride anyway.
I totally love this picture! Check out those faces of my little boys. Harry is holding my hand and trying to hide and you can almost see his veins popping out on his arm as he holds onto the bar for dear life. Branson looks totally scared and like he’s going to kill me when the ride is over, and Dawson has a look of complete and utter terror. I know it shouldn’t, but seeing this picture totally cracks me up. I so do love my sweet boys who despite being scared of the ride, will be brave and go on it with me. Way to overcome your fears guys!
After Splash Mountain it started getting dark and so we decided to take the train over to Toon Towne to check out what was going on over there. Although I’ve been to Disneyland many times in my youth growing up (my parents were from California so we’d go out to visit family every summer to), I don’t ever remember going to Toon Towne. So it was fun to experience a new part of the park.
As we walked into Toon Towne though we got to see its a small world again, except this time all lit up. Wow! It is even more magical and amazing at night.
The kids really seemed to enjoy Toon Towne though and loved seeing where Goofy, Donald Duck, Minny Mouse and Mickey all lived. There were lots of fun photo ops too, and things to climb and crawl on.
I figured it was appropriate to act a little goofy in goofy’s house. đ
Adam ended up needing to take some of the kids in for a potty break, while me and Dawson went on a short roller coaster ride (Inspector Gadget I think) but afterwards we somehow lost each other briefly. So in order to pass the time Dawson and I were able to go through some of the nearby houses. We luckily made it in right as it was time for Mickey to come and visit, but Dawson was too terrified to take a picture with him, so this is the best we got. Funny kid.
Branson loved the Roger Rabbit ride because he got to turn the car around any way he wanted to. đ
To end our evening in Disneyland though we decided to hit up the Matterhorn (one of my favorites) as well as Autopia (which is a ride where you can drive cars). Unfortunately though the Matterhorn was having technical issues and wasn’t working (did I mention Alice in Wonderland, and the Haunted Mansion were also closed?) and then Autopia ended up being a not so fun experience because Branson drove a car by himself, but the pedal was too hard for him to push (it was hard for me too!)and so he slowed down everyone on the entire course when he’d stop when his legs hurt him and he ended up requiring a Disneyland worker to come and drive the car back for him. I felt so bad for him and it upset him so much that he threw up within minutes of the ride being over. Poor fella. The picture below is of Branson BEFORE the ride.
But even despite our few disappointments of rides being closed and our few barfing episodes, we all truly did have a magical and wonderful day. I loved thinking about my Aunt Julie all day and picturing her in her happy place. And I loved the wonderful memories we were able to make together. I sure do love this family of mine! đ