The Happiest Place On Earth?!?!?! Day Three

DAY 3

I wake up praying and hoping Eric feels better. He wakes up and says he didn't really sleep all night and he almost feels worse. I am of course, bummed. 1st day at Disneyland and he won't be with us. He was so sad that he wouldn't get to see the kids faces.

I get the kids and I ready. After everyone's had breakfast we walk the 4 blocks to Disneyland. We get in the gates and then we needed to wait for Kami, my Dad, my brother, Corby, his wife, Adri and their son Carson. They had to drive and then take the shuttle. The kids didn't mind waiting too much and gave us some great photo opportunities.

When our group was together, we headed to Pirates of the Carribean first. We were in line for probably 20 minutes when they said it had broke down and they were working to fix it, but they weren't sure how long it would take to fix. We decided to stick it out, only to be told 10 minutes later they were closing it down.

So we then headed to the Haunted Mansion. Lex surprised me and was extremely afraid of this ride. He vowed to never go on it again. I can't remember all the next details, but we eventually found ourselves at the Winnie The Pooh ride. Somehow our group got a little divided and Kaeloni, Cody and I took our kids and nephew, Carson the first go around and my parents, Kami, Donovan, Corby & Adri were next. We got off in enough time for me to snag a picture of the second group and the kids trying to steal Pooh's hunny. (Yes, I purposely spelled that wrong)

Because we were in Pooh's neck of the woods, we decided to visit him and his friends.

Then it was our Splash Mountain Fastpass time. Ailey really wanted to go and I was afraid she was too little, but thanks to Eric's genes, she was just tall enough. I wish I had bought the pictures from Splash Mountain because Tanis had the best expression, but I was holding out hope that Eric would join us the next day and we'd be able to get a family one.

It was then time for lunch. While discussing our plans, Kaeloni pulled out a thing of bubbles for her daughter. The little girls had so much fun popping the bubbles.

Most of my family decided they were going to head out of the park and go to McDonald's. I really didn't want to go. I don't really like McDonald's to begin with and we had gone there on Sunday for lunch. I also didn't really want to take 5 kids out of the park, just to come back. I hoped someone else would be staying as well.

Thankfully, my brother Donovan didn't want to go to McDonald's either. I asked him if he wouldn't mind helping me keep track of my kiddos and he agreed. We headed to Toon Town as that's where I saw they had sandwiches. I was so out of it that I actually ended up getting hot dogs for the kids instead. I felt so bad. Thankfully they were all hungry anyway and ate it. While Donovan and I finished our meals the kids went and played under the gazebo in Toon Town.

We were supposed to meet the rest of the family at a certain time and because my phone was being dumb, I wasn't sure what time it was. Donovan told me it was pretty much time to meet up. So we headed to the middle of the park to wait. And wait we did...

I tried to get Nate to pose like Pinocchio or give him a hug - instead he decided Pinocchio needed some readjusting or something.

When the rest of the family finally met back up with us we went on a few more rides. We got to Dumbo and Tanis refused to go on it, so I told him he could take a picture if he wanted to. This was the best he was able to get.

Then we headed over to the tea cups. I've rode enough rides in my life similar to the tea cups to know that my stomach doesn't handle those types of rides well. Apparently it can be a genetic thing as my Mom, Donovan, Kaeloni and Tanis opted out as well. Thankfully Kami and Cody have better stomach's than the rest of us and took the kids. I found it funny though when I took the pictures that Cody ended up with the little girls and Kami got the boys. 

We went on more rides throughout the night. One such ride being the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Ailey loved this ride and wanted to go on it again and again. We didn't, but I was glad she enjoyed it so much.

...Lex and his cousin, Ty...

...Donovan and Nate...

...Me and Ailey...

We finished the night at the Matterhorn. Ailey thought she wanted to go on that ride too so I took up her up there. We get to the front just to find out Ailey wasn't tall enough. I was overly stressed and frustrated that that's when the tears started. Ailey was upset she couldn't go on the ride, Nate was surprised that I wasn't there anymore (I left him with family members going on the ride) and we were all just tired. I was ready to just head back to the hotel, but with some prompting from my mom and a few other family members, they made sure I had a chance to go on the ride again and they took care of the kids.

We got off the ride and they were no where to be seen. Thankfully my brother or brother in law got a text saying they were all headed back to the car and we'd just meet them at the hotel. I got back to the hotel and just broke down to Eric. I felt bad the kids hadn't eaten dinner and it was now 10 or 11 at night and I felt bad I couldn't just handle everything.

After consoling me and after the kids get back we find a pizza place and place an order. It comes fairly quickly, but not quite quickly enough as 3 of the 5 kids were already asleep.

What Happens Next...

The Happiest Place On Earth?!?!? Day Two

DAY 2

We woke up and got ready and headed out. We were anxious to get on the road as today was going to be the longer part of our travels. We were on the road by about 9. The travel was fairly uneventful, until we hit Baker, California.

It was time to stop for lunch and gas. Eric got out of the car and said he wasn't feeling very well, but thought it was maybe due to a lack of sleeping and needing to eat. So we go and order our food. The kids are more antsy than I've seen them in a long time and Eric couldn't eat a bite. We decide to head back to the road and Eric says he really doesn't think he can drive. He tells me I can just drive to the next big city and maybe after a nap he'll feel better. I get Ailey all settled in her car seat and head to the driver's seat and notice Eric isn't in the car yet. He's actually in front of the car puking. After he finishes we get situated and we are on our way.

Eric is fast asleep when we pass the city he was talking about and the drive wasn't too bad, so I kept driving. Next thing I know though is I'm on scary California Highways and it's about to split and I have no idea where I'm supposed to go. There are no signs anyway talking of Anaheim and I'm officially clueless. I pull off at the next exit and find a place to pull over so we can figure out what we're doing. Eric pukes again and tries to figure out where we're out and where I need to go. (Thanks goodness for modern day technology)

Eric obviously still can't drive, but he stays awake to help me navigate where to go. We hit traffic hour and an accident on these fun California Highways (I don't even drive Utah Highways if I can avoid it) and my nerves are shot! This was the first time I realized how thankful I was Jace was with Grandma. Had he been screaming while I was navigating California Highways - it would've pushed me over the edge.

So we find the hotel and see that my little sister and her family have just gotten there as well and are in the process of checking in. Apparently when the rest of the family got there, they didn't quite have all the rooms ready and one of the rooms ended up having a maintenance issue. So we were waiting until the rooms were ready. Because the room had a maintenance issue they gave Kami (she made the reservations) another room, but it wasn't separated into different rooms like the other rooms. Because my little family was the only family not sharing with someone else in the family, they gave us that room. No biggie. The hotel had said that we could move the next day if we wanted to, but with Eric being sick and having 5 kids and luggage, it just wasn't worth it. In the end the hotel told me they'd take $100 off the room each night. I hope they did - I don't know as Kami paid for the hotel rooms too.

I leave Eric and the kids in the car while I go locate our room so I know exactly where to go. I run into my little sister, Kaeloni and she's freaking out because her daughter got stuck on the elevator somehow. Kaeloni was on the main floor of the hotel and I was heading up to the 1st floor. So just to try on the 1st floor I pushed the elevator button to go down. I then go find our room and as I'm heading back down to the car, a housekeeper (who was standing by the elevator) asked me if this was my daughter. I realize then that the elevator has opened and my niece is standing there on the verge of tears. I say "No, but she's my niece." And I scoop that little girl up in my arms. I take her to her mom and my sister is understandably emotional.

After we get that issue out of the way, I ask my sister if she can give me the luggage rack when they are done. She agrees and I get a hold of it after they're done. I take it down to the car and start unloading. I don't remember when by I asked my brother in law, Cody and my brother, Donovan to help me get the room. I couldn't have done it myself. I think I took Eric and the kids up to the room before I unloaded the car, but at this point I don't honestly remember.

We get everything mostly settled and Eric decides we need to take him to an Instacare. He thinks he ended up with the Strep that I had a few weeks earlier and that Lex and Jace ended up with a few days before our trip. Meanwhile my family is deciding where to go for dinner. I tell them that we need to take Eric to an Instacare and they offer to take the kids with them.

Eric and I figure out where we can take him that should work with our Insurance company and before we head out, my dad ,Corby and Cody give Eric a blessing. My Dad had kind of mentioned to my mom how he felt like the fact that he had brought the consecrated oil with him was a bit of inspiration. We then take off and get Eric to the Urgent Care. Eric can't walk straight and honestly looks drunk. He explains the situation to the girl at the front desk and then starts puking. I finish dealing with the girl and she almost immediately has us come back.

The Dr. comes in to see Eric after only a short time. He determines that it's a virus thing and gives Eric a rx for the nausea. Eric's world is still spinning and we pray the rx helps. Thankfully in the same parking lot as the urgent care place is a Rite-Aid. Eric doesn't feel like walking through a drug store while we wait for the rx, so I go in myself. I get his rx and some chicken noodle soup for him as he hasn't eaten since breakfast.

We get back to the hotel and the kids still aren't back, so we have some quiet for awhile. I warm up his soup, but he can only take one bite and it just isn't sitting well with him. He's miserable and just lays in bed.

The kids get back and we decide to get some sleep so that we can get a nice start for Disneyland in the morning.

What Happens Next...

The Happiest Place On Earth?!?!?! The Beginning...

This story begins a couple years ago. We had a Family Home Evening with all my siblings and my parents and my older sister, Kami gave the lesson. She talked a bit on financial preparedness and getting out of debt. She had come up with a way that she'd be debt free in a month or so's time. (With the exception of her mortgage and vehicle)

She also decided that she was going to start putting away money to take all the nieces and nephews to Disneyland. She wanted it to be her treat and plead with us, as parents to see where we could start saving money to make this family trip a reality.

After the families looked into things it was decided that November 2013 would be our trip. We'd actually be leaving on Eric's birthday, but Eric said he didn't mind that.

Then came 2012. Kami had a lot of unexpected life experiences come up. She met someone and they decided to get married. Well we all know weddings aren't cheap and I think Kami footed most, if not all the bill and didn't ask for my parents help.

Somehow, she had still been putting money away and was confident she could still make this trip work out. (I should mention she was paying for 8 kids to get into Disneyland) Then on Ailey's birthday in 2013 (I only remember the day because it WAS Ailey's birthday) I get a text from Kami saying that plans needed to change. She was pregnant! So she asked if it'd work better for our family to move it up a month and go in October or if it'd be better to wait until March of 2014.

As hard as it was for me to wait, I felt it would be unfair to go in October when Kami was due in November and she'd be miserable. It also worked better financially for us to go in March. So, our new dates were March 9 - 14.

Weeks before we were due to set out on our trip, Eric's mom volunteered to watch Jace. I kept going back and forth on a decision. I just couldn't make one that made me happy. If I left him, I'd miss him and feel horrible for not taking him to DISNEYLAND, but if I took him it meant more frequent stops on the drive and who knows how well he would sleep in an odd place. It also meant hours upon hours sitting in a car seat and stroller. I just couldn't decide.

But then I just kept getting the feeling that I should leave Jace with her. I thought maybe it's because it'd give her something to do and she wouldn't be so lonely. I also decided that Jace is at an age where he just wants to move. I figured making him sit in a car seat and stroller for hours on end would be something like torture for the poor kid.

So the Saturday before we leave Eric's mom drives out to get Jace and Flower. Yes, she took Flower too. She's amazing. Anyway, she drove out figuring it would save us some time and she also brought us dinner. Such a life saver. I was in the middle of cleaning the house and laundry and packing. Anyway, after we get Jace in the car and start walking back into the house I start crying. I missed my baby already and he hadn't even got down the street yet.

So I get everything done and packed by about 11 pm. I go to bed and fall asleep easily.

DAY 1 (March 9)

Eric wakes me up the next morning around 7 or so and we get the final things packed up, kids ready and we are off by about 10:30.

We make a quick stop at Walmart as Eric felt we really needed to get a battery charger kit. He was feeling uneasy and our battery (even though it's new) likes to stall at times. So we are back on the road by about 11 or so.

We end up about 30 miles outside of Beaver when the thought occurs to me to ask Eric if he remembered to grab our Disneyland tickets. He says, "No." We panic a bit and I am not thrilled at the idea of turning around and driving back home and coming back this way. I knew my parents and Kami were going to be heading out that day as well and so I texted my Mom to see if they had left yet.

They were just about to leave and I explained the situation and asked if they'd stop and get the tickets, knowing that it was a bit out of the way. Thankfully they agreed and we were once again on our way.

We stopped in Beaver for some lunch and to let the kids stretch their legs and run around a bit. We were back on the road by about 2:30 and headed to Mesquite, Nevada where we'd stop for the night. By about 4:30 we had made it to the Virgin River Hotel and Casino. Eric had decided to get rooms there because it was cheap and wasn't as far as Vegas and we wouldn't be IN Vegas. We should've known what we were going to get with such cheap rooms. We ended up on the top floor with hardwood floors. I felt so bad. We had a couple kids that were going to need to sleep on the floor and I couldn't imagine sleeping on a hard floor.

We relaxed for a little bit and Ailey decided it was time for some selfies with Mommy.

...I'm a great example, I know...

When I was past-sick of looking at myself, I grabbed a couple quick shots of her.

I also snapped a quick one of Eric who was utterly bored watching whatever it was the kids were watching on TV.

Around 6, we decided it was time to eat. We weren't finding anything close by that sounded good to me, so I looked into their little phone book. I found a pizza place that also served pasta that was nearby. I looked online to find their hours and realized they were closed on Sundays. So we decided we'd drive around and find something.

We didn't go very far when we found a 50's style diner. I kinda like the look and feel of 50's diners so we decided to stop there. Our waitress was less than thrilled to serve our large family, but I didn't care. She gets a paycheck because of us. So we order our food and wait.

...Ailey wanted a picture with her Daddy...

We finally get our food and I don't think anyone was terribly thrilled with their food. Eric didn't really care for his, my French Dip was saltier than salty and the kids got more food than they could eat. We go back to the hotel and call it a night. The kids watch some more shows while Eric does whatever he was doing and I updated the blog a bit.

What Happens Next...

Let's Go On A Picnic

So it's technically still winter, so Ailey only invited herself and she only used plastic food - she had herself a nice little picnic, blanket included!

What Happens Next...

Dance Like No One's Watching

My little sister knows someone who works at BYU and passed on a sign-up for a study on Pregnancy and The Media. They wanted people who were pregnant or who were in the postpartum period. They would repay our time with a $30 gift card and a onesie for our baby. I decided I'd do the study.

Well the week of the study I was still sick, but on the mend. I also don't like to drive in and around Provo, so I asked Eric if he'd take me. He agreed, though somewhat reluctantly. We had to take Jace, Ailey and Nate with us as Shaylyn and Tanis had mutual that night. We tried to get Lex to come with us as well, but he decided he'd rather stay home.

So I went and did the study while Eric stayed in the car with the little kids. He was trying to get something to work in the car anyway, so he wasn't too bored. Neither were the kids as we had gotten the digital version of Frozen and they were watching that.

The study went quicker than expected and we were hungry when I was done. So we looked for somewhere to eat. We wanted to go to Pizza Pie Cafe, but the line was almost out of the door. We weren't that hungry. However, in the same parking lot was a KFC so we defaulted to that.

While the service was some of the worst I've ever seen anywhere, we enjoyed our food. And Ailey enjoyed the music. See for yourselves.

I'm sorry about the vertical video...I realized after the fact that I made the grave mistake of videoing in the wrong position....

What Happens Next...

Would You Like To Hear A Story?

This is the story of how Eric and I met for the first time, technically. Eric is in denial about this whole story, but it's ingrained in my head. Don't tell him this, but I think I only remember cause I had a crush on this kid I didn't even know. (Eric, for those of you that are slow)

For those of you that don't know, Eric and I grew up a few subdivisions from each other. We were in different boundaries for elementary school, but not Jr. High. To put it in somewhat simpler terms, we grew up in the same stake, so we were close, but not too close.

So back in 7th grade I made friends with a girl named Crystal. Crystal had grown up a few blocks away from Eric and went to the same elementary school. Crystal and I stayed friends throughout Jr. High and in 9th grade we had Geography together. It was a new school year and one of the first days in class when we got this assignment that required us to get up and move and measure things or something.

Crystal and I were going about the assignment and then came across a question that was just odd. We quickly scanned the room looking for help. I'm not sure EXACTLY how the next part played out, but it was something like this.

I saw some kid sitting off to the side and said, "Let's go ask that kid, he looks smart." Crystal responds with, "Yeah, okay. I think his name is Eric." So we went over and asked if he knew the answer. He quickly mutters his answer and we leave. I never spoke to him again (that year), but noticed him here and there.

Because Eric couldn't recall this story, I started wondering if I dreamed it or if it was some other kid we 'cheated' off of.

Then came the day when I just happened to be looking through Eric's scrapbooks his mom put together. I've looked through the books before, but for whatever reason I paid special attention to his report card this go around. Then I pulled out my report card. Now, I can't prove that the above story took place - but I can prove that it was at least possible, given the fact that we were in the same Geography class at the start of the year.

I find it interesting that we also had choir at the start of the year together, Seminary at the same time (different teachers) and even had English the same period, second semester. I think it just goes to show that our school had no imagination when it came to scheduling. My 'boyfriend' in 9th grade also had English that same period that last semester.

So anyway, that's the story of when we really 1st met. Sometime I'll tell the story of our 1st/2nd meeting. It was almost just as short and awkward, but it's a story Eric remembers. Mwahahaha!

And just for fun I threw in pictures of us from when this story took place. 

What Happens Next...

Going, Going, Gone...

This post has nothing to do with baseball. I'm sure we'll have plenty of those come summer. This was just a good title for these pictures that end our February.

Nate had a loose tooth for longer than I liked. Every time I'd look at him when he spoke, the tooth was always creating a bigger gap between the teeth next to it. I bugged him every day for probably a week, trying to convince him to just let me pull it out. He kept declining. It got to the point he would say, "I can't eat that because it hurts my tooth." We'd just reply with, "Then let us take it out."

One day he'd had enough and decided he'd let us take it out. After I tried and failed, quite miserably...he let Daddy take a shot and Daddy got that slimy tooth with very little effort. Nate was actually quite surprised with how quickly it came out and how little it hurt.

He still wasn't quite sure of the whole process of losing a tooth, however. As evidenced by the picture.

That same night we had Jace just playing and jumping in his little jumperoo thing. Before too long he was out!

What Happens Next...