This time these kids of ours really earned their vacation. Last summer they had popsicle stands nearly every day, then all during the school year they came to me with each and every nickel, dime, quarter, and penny they found on the ground, "for Disneyland." When all was said and done, they raised about $500 on their own. I KNOW--time for them to start chipping in for groceries, right?
Besides saving money, these kids have been patient too. We initially thought about taking the trip in February. Then in April. Then May. We considered both driving (around 30 hours) and flying (a mere $600 per person). We worked really really hard to get our house on the market before we left (we failed, but put it up a week after returning), finishing up projects from baseboard and trim installation, refinishing hardwood floors, ripping up and redoing the backyard, revamping the kitchen . . . pretty much anything and everything we could think to do. It was a long, hard wait.
Then, on June 1, we were finally ready. And we didn't just drive, we didn't just fly, we did both! Aaron booked us tickets out of Rapid City, South Dakota (where my sister lives) to Phoenix, Arizona (where Aaron's grandparents live), and rented us a fancy van--all for under $1000! We packed up suitcases--six different suitcases for six different people, mind you, and headed out. Amazingly, we made it to Rapid City before we even got to the super-duper screamy whining phase. I mean, there were screams and there were whines, but they weren't the super-duper ones and they mostly didn't happen at the same time, so yeah--it's pretty much a record for us. We spent the night at Aunt Chelsi's house, who made us SO at home in her cute little basement where she had a bed for every single one of us, even though her darling LucyMae came down with foot and mouth disease while we were on our way down and we had to try really hard not to touch each other.
The next morning was absolutely electric. This was the first plane ride ever for Emerson, the first one that will be remembered by Addy and Sera (who were both babies on their first flights), and the first one that was actually enjoyable with kids for both Aaron and I! Seriously, these kids were in heaven, pretty literally. Emerson was bouncing up and down in his seat during take-off (I mean "blast off" as he called it), and I'm not entirely sure Disneyland overshadowed the experience. It takes being with kids to remember that you're actually flying in the sky. How did humans even figure out how to do that? It's breathtaking.
We landed in Phoenix, and then began an absolute whirlwind of fun fun fun (you know, after the six hour drive to California). Thanks to Aaron's unremitting research skills, we actually hit Disneyland on a perfect day--a Wednesday with extended hours, glorious weather and short lines. Yup, it was June and we really didn't spend much time at all waiting in lines (except right at the end when we wasted like an hour waiting for the Roger Rabbit ride that none of us actually cared about, but which they hid the line for so well that we had no idea what we were getting into when we started). Not only that but, by a hair, all of our kids were tall enough for all of the rides. Even Space Mountain! That said, I'm not entirely sure that starting a day at Disneyland with Pirates of the Carribean followed by Splash Mountain followed by The Haunted Mansion is a recipe for making a three-year-old think that walking around all day and staying up until 11pm for fireworks is going to be "fun," but we softened things up with stops at Pooh Corner, the Carousel, and some Teacup spinning, and all was well. We were lucky to have a tour-guide on hand who knew the park like the back of his hand (Aaron grew up in Anaheim and Yorba Linda), and still remembered all the shortcuts and tricks. The kids were champs all day long (a late afternoon train ride gave Sera enough of a rest to keep going), and honestly, if we could have stayed longer we would have. I could also tell that I am definitely a "mom" now, because my favorite ride this time around was Small World, and I even got a little choked up toward the end. Yeah . . . I didn't see that coming either.
Let me just say that there's a shortage of beaches in the middle of Saskatchewan's praries. We tried hard to make up for it with an afternoon at Huntington Beach with our friends from Cincinnati, the Stewarts (Brett and Aaron did their DMAs together and now Brett and his brother have this huge and amazing choral organization, OCMCO going on in Orange county--if you live in the area, do not miss it!). Our lunch date at Ruby's on the Pier with nine kids was . . . actually pretty fun, no kidding. The changing colors and moods of the ocean floor me with their beauty--and we even saw a sea lion! After that, an afternoon on the beach with Grandma Donna and all the fancy stuff she brought along for us (beach towels, boogie boards, all the goods) was pure heaven. And made us think a little longingly about the job at Pepperdine that Aaron interviewed for, I'm afraid. We finished the day with a barbeque and birthday cake (for Uncle Cameron and Theo) back at Grandma Donna's pad, and the kids got a healthy dose of uncles (three of them) who flipped them, let them walk on the ceilings, gave them piggy-back rides--honestly, it's a miracle Grandma Donna's place is still standing!
We were sad to leave our hotel (where we could watch the fireworks every night from the hot tub, and where we had such fun meeting other guests--one side-effect of living all over the place is that we can find something in common with just about everyone), but we had to head down to San Diego for a couple of days anyway. San Diego is really the place where Aaron and I fell in love, and we had such a great time strolling around Old Towne, eating Mexican food at El Coyote, where we reminisced about this super-romantic date we had there twelve years ago, and visiting the fantastic new Mormon Battalion exhibit that just opened (it was so fun and so kid-friendly--if you haven't been since you were a kid, go back). We spent a couple of hours in La Jolla as well, just soaking in the ocean smells and sounds. On Sunday, we made it up to Ramona, just outside of San Diego, to visit the ward where Aaron lived during his teenage years, and to see his old house. He enjoyed narrating bits and pieces of his childhood to the kids, and we all had a wonderful time visiting with one of his best friends from high school, Scott Greer, and his family.
It was hard, but the next day we packed up and headed back to Phoenix--but not to go home yet! We spent a couple of days with Aaron's grandparents, visiting Organ Stop Pizza, this fantastic restaurant where a theatre organ complete with all sorts of flashing lights, bubbles, and even monkey puppets that are controlled by the unbelievably awesome organist who plays while the audience eats delicious pizza and hard ice cream, and a delectable Mexican restaurant as well. They let us swim in their lovely garden pool too, but really the best part was talking all kinds of politics, from local right on up with Grandpa Mitchell, who has an opinion or two! I also managed to steal the younger kids away for a visit with my cousin Shawni and her kids who lived seriously just down the street. Emerson and Sera had a great time making friends with little Lucy, who is the most kissable bundle of chub you can imagine, and I had a great time chatting and getting ideas from Shawni and her husband Dave, who seem to have it more together as a family than pretty much anyone I can think of--I'm always stealing parenting ideas from her blog.
The only way we were able to convince our kids (and ourselves) to leave was the fact that we would be on yet another airplane. Of course this time around, we wound up crammed into those very back seats where you can't see out of the windows at all, and which would have been miserable if we hadn't vacationed ourselves right out. A fair amount of sleeping happened, for sure. We landed back in Rapid City just in time for a relaxing afternoon of gabbing and napping at Chelsi's place. Oh! And snuggling adorable little munchkins--that was the best part! Seriously, little LucyMae, who was all foot-and-mouth-disease free, was non-stop entertainment, and Samantha had these thighs that absolutely had to be bitten (I have a problem with baby-eating, for real). The next day we tried our best to live it up with a visit to this great mini-amusement park place called Storybook Island, but all the excitement had finally caught up with Theo who must have caught a stomach bug or something. We really had a nice time there, but after some lovely red fruit punch was spewed into the grass and a rainstorm attacked, well, we decided to pack it in. Still, spending a couple of days with Chels and Sam and those chubbilicious girls left me trying to convince them that their next move should definitely be in the vicinity of Indiana!
The drive home was surprisingly quiet. My wonderful friend Alisha (whose darling son Caleb was in my piano class this year) recently gave me a big stack of story CDs with titles like Beethoven Lives Upstairs, and Mozart's Magic Voyage, which the kids could not get enough of. Even Sera was into them--even though she insisted that Beethoven Lives Upstairs was actually Monster Lives Upstairs, which is true enough in its own way! Even Aaron and I learned a thing or two about music history.
Since our return, our house is officially on the market. Sadly my dream of selling it to the first people who saw it did not come true. Every day is a jumble of tidying everything up, loading everyone into the car, and taking advantage of the parks in our city. We've said some good-byes, although it's hard to tell when they'll be final--every week could be our last, but none of them have been yet. Theo and Addy had a couple more days at school (which doesn't get out until the end of June), where they were sad to say good-bye to some really wonderful friends and teachers. We're looking forward to a Going Away party in July, and then off to Indiana! We hope . . . if this house will sell . . . say a prayer for us?
