California with Cousins

I’m consolidating the last two entries into one. It’s been too dang busy the last few weeks. Essentially, June is insanely busy with a California trip, 4 days of iSTEM, Amelia leaving, anniversary trip, and Girl’s Camp. By the time June is over school will be ready to begin. After my parents left early Monday morning we had a day to get laundry washed, bags packed, the van cleaned, and the van packed up. Evelyn, Josie, and I are going on a cousin trip to Disney, the beach, and Legoland with Jana, Hannah, and Rachel. Let me tell you excitement was very high. Evelyn made matching earrings for Disney and Legoland to coordinate with the outfits we chose. She had a long packing list, so efficient and thorough. I managed to leave my credit card at the carwash without noticing. Everett had a Dr appointment to get his wart frozen off again, after that we cleaned the van. The attendant took my card slid it but then put it on top of the machine to find the coupon cards. He and I forgot to get the card back to me. The dogs flippin’ ate my nearly new Teva sandals, they managed to get my drying sandals off the rack and chew them to bits. I was very irritated because they were not accessible, but not for the dumb dogs. I rushed off to Cabela’s hoping to use our credit card points to get new sandals. There was one pair of sandals in a size too big that had to work. I couldn’t find my card at this point so paid with my debit card. The carwash did not know a thing about my card, it was 5 minutes away from close so they were not interested in finding it. I went home and prayed that it would be there the next morning. We searched the van with no luck. 

Next morning we packed up our stuff with the intent of hitting the road around 9 am. I stopped at the carwash where the manager gave me my card, it WAS there and safe in the till. We drove down to Jana’s home in record time. I planned to stop in Tremonton to visit Jeremy at his new job. He started working for a new city about a month ago. I had the ladies at the front desk tell Jeremy he had someone up front who needed him. Surprise! We got the tour and nabbed a moment to learn about his work. The city offices were easy to find so that was a bonus. The girls went to Activity Days where they decorated sunglasses for an activity with Hannah and Rachel. I left my watch charging cord so had to get one, did a spot of shopping at the discount store just for fun. We snarfed down dinner. I fixed the little girl’s hair for Suapaia family photos. Jared and Whynky met us at the International Peace Gardens for engagement photos. We enjoyed the evening taking Jana’s photos interspersed with Jared’s photos. The girls quite liked skipping about exploring the park. Whynky seems like a really awesome girl. She is sure cute! We stopped after the sun was setting. Ice cream was calling our names…I stopped at a random house and told Hannah to go knock on the door, ask the people inside if they had ice cream to share. She was nearly certain I was NOT kidding. Sike! I am kidding. Arctic Circle was a block away, we asked them instead for twist cones. 

The circus bedtime show was quite entertaining. We played musical beds with the pros, I ended up on Hannah’s bed. Rachel and Josie on floor mats, with Hannah and Evelyn on an air mattress. I hear that Hannah slept-walked herself into Jana’s closet to snuggle down in her laundry basket. In her dream the basket was the essence of comfortable sleeping. The episode even woke up Jana with her eye bra, taped mouth, and ear plugs…impressive. Rachel woke me up a few times with her snoring and sleep talking. We were all packed up and ready to pull out around 7:15 am. We stopped at Mom’s home to get three camping sleep pads then we were off! It was quiet in the back with the girls watching movies or playing games. Jana and I talked for a few hours about all the things sisters talk about. We made pretty good time. Rachel asked every other hour if we were almost there. Evelyn introduced her to the google map display showing the travel time left, nice one Evelyn. It was definitely spicy hot from St George to halfway through California. Evelyn let out a few nasty farts that were quite funny at first. We made it to the Stanford Suites hotel, the same one I’ve been to the last 3 trips. Ironically, it was 4 years ago to the day we were at the same hotel for the MCO tour! Jana’s sore throat and cough got progressively worse throughout the evening. The girls went swimming in the pool, it looked so inviting that I jumped in (after taking off my bra). So fun. We tried to get Joe’s Italian Ices but the line was super duper long. Instead I took the girls to Target to get water, cough medicine for Jana, and an ice cream treat. I drove the girls the extra mile to check out the Crystal Cathedral where they sang for MCO. We admired the Disney fireworks from afar. 

Thursday was Disney day. We had a long day, entering the park at 8:30 until 10:30 pm. Rita, the scooter, was quite a boon for several aching legs. She helped us get into some rides without waiting in the queue, we did have to wait but not as long. Everyone chose 2 rides they REALLY wanted to make sure we rode: thunder mountain, Rise of the Resistance, Small World, Snow White, Peter Pan, Tiana’s Bayou, Jungle Cruise, and Indiana Jones. I am pleased to report we got most of those checked off. Hannah was really worried about spending her money, she found a cute water jug at the Small World ride. After that she was golden. Josie and Evelyn chose Ewok ears and let their cousins wear their ears from our last visit. Poor Jana lost her voice, she was done/done/done by 3 pm but impressively pushed through for the rest of the day. We got to ride the Smuggler’s Ride, Nemo’s Submarine, carousel, and visited the Tikki Room. Rachel was not impressed that the real Bluey and Bingo were NOT at the Disney play. It was nice to rest our bones for a hot second. My favorite moment was when we finally got on Tiana’s Bayou. I told the girl’s how wet my last ride ended up being, no one wanted to sit in the front. We were standing in front of the log and the attendant was yelling at us to make a choice. Jana shoved Hannah as the sacrificial lamb to the front of the log with Evelyn behind her, Rachel, Jana, me, and Josie in the back. Hannah was not amused she was in the front. It was that way or wait even longer. At the last big fall Josie was terrified. Her fingers were clutching the seat back so tightly her fingers cramped. She yelled halfway up the rise, “I don’t think this is a good idea!” It was not so bad. Without my weight in the front our log did not get so wet. We were all tired potatoes by 8 pm. Rachel was recharged with a 10 minute cat nap. She was ready for RIDES. Instead of watching fireworks we chose to ride on Indiana Jones and twice on the Smuggler’s Run. Totally worth it! The wait was only 10 minutes. The girls rode Rita out to the shuttle where we had to wait even longer because I got in the wrong line. Evelyn tried to tell me several times. A kind gentleman entertained us with stupid human tricks we are still trying to figure out. The girls immediately fell asleep. We had another hour to drive down to Oceanside where Grandma Emily lives. I made us late because my phone fell out of my pocket during our last ride on the Smuggler’s Run, had to run back and retrieve it. 

We were able to sleep in and recharge in the morning. James, Miekka, John, Courtenay, et al stopped by to say hello/bye on their way back to Utah and Texas. They spent the week at the beach together. Jealous! I am happy we could visit for a moment before they left. That was fortuitous. The girls and I line danced the Macarena until we got bored and danced other songs song the driveway until everyone arrived. Soon the cousins were racing and shrieking together as they are apt to do. I learned the John is going to Germany for 6 months. Courtenay plans on staying with Miekka for that duration, they are unsure if Texas is next or somewhere new. Sounds like John is back with the Army, he did not last long in the Air Force. The rest of the day was a beach day. Jana found a surf shop where we rented wet suits for the girls and then headed a few blocks more to the beach. Parking fairy really pulled out the stops! I found a spot across the street from the boardwalk. Seriously? We carted our chairs, sand toys, boogie boards, and snacks down to the beach and parked it. Jana and I were zombies, just sat in chairs and moved only to grab a snack or wipe salt from one’s eyeballs. I enjoyed taking a few photos. The waves were tremendous that particular day. The sun stayed behind the clouds until we decided to leave, then it came out. Those 4 girls were in the water for nearly 7 hours swimming and boogie boarding. It was very impressive. I only got halfway wet, the thought of fixing my hair was too much for that day. Josie found a sand dollar! We snagged some pizza for a late dinner. 

Saturday Legoland was on the docket. First item of business was returning the wet suits. After that we headed to Legoland. It was a very busy day as the traffic was backed up two miles from the park. Yikes. Once again Rita saved the day. I got a disability pass so could enter the rides with my party from the exit and only wait 5-10 minutes instead of 60-70 minutes. The rides were very short, only 30 seconds to 1 minute, as compared to 5-8 minutes per ride at Disney. I felt bad for all those kids waiting over an hour for a 1 minute ride. I really enjoyed the triple-decker couch ride, thanks Emmett. Jana’s voice was back, hooray. Her coughing was also right there. We rode all the big rides as we made our way around the park. It closes at 7 so we were pressed for time to get through the major rides. Legos are very fun, it was a nice day. I even found the cute rocking plants set that is sold out on Amazon. We convinced Jana to try out Panda Express for dinner as it was cheap and more delicious than memory serves. The fortune cookies made us all laugh. I worked my wink and smile suggestion on Jana, it worked just like the fortune said it would: a wink and smile will bring joy to someone’s day. I’m quite convinced it was NOT the goofy look on my face. Everyone was ready for an early night after ice cream Grandma Emily provided. I got to sleep on a very narrow futon, turning over probably looked like a comedy production. 

My alarm did not go off as planned. I barely had time to get dressed for church and shove breakfast down the hatch before church. We attended the 9 am block then went back to pack up the van. Our plan was to drive to Mark and Elaine’s home to reduce the long 11-12 hour drive. My brain was haired…around Vegas I said, Heck…let’s just drive all the way to Taylorsville. Google Maps was showing an ETA of 10:30ish, that’s doable. Then reality set in after we passed Hurricane…our real ETA was 12:30 am. Alas, we pushed through. I really wanted Jana to sleep in her own bed before she had to work later on Monday. It was brutal but we “Lanced” it and arrived safely. Talk about a whirlwind trip: 5 days, encapsulated 2 travel days, two amusement parks and the beach. Crazy but it fit into the “schedule.” 

Monday morning we left for Idaho after lunch time because Hannah and Evelyn wanted to play. I took the littles and went to return the sleeping pads to Grandpa and Grandma. We had a lovely short visit. Rachel was bored after a few minutes, she had to wait while we talked about plants and wedding plans. So boring. Josie was over the moon when I told her we were having Bon Chon for lunch. Guess where it is? Behind the condos where Justin, Amelia and I used to live! I ordered enough chicken to take home for everyone to have 1 chicken leg. It was divine. Making the drive home to Nampa was ordinary, until the last hour. I was on the struggle bus. I was so desperate to keep my eyelids open we stopped to get a pickle and some 5-hour energy shots. Phillip loves Mr Tingles the strange Star Wars squeaky animal Evelyn found in Galaxy’s Edge. I picked up hats for the boys, Lego figs, and a pin for Amelia. I think the family favorite was the Bonchon chicken. All in all we had an awesome trip.