California Adventure Part 2

Friday afternoon we went to a family fun center with the Lyles kids and their neighbors. Caden had a blast! He wouldn't stop talking about it the first week we were home. He went on every ride multiple times and wasn't even afraid of the one I thought he would be, the one that went straight up and down. The only one he couldn't go on was the kiddie go carts. He was even too short to be a passenger on the regular ones.

The nice workers let us mini golf for free. Gabe had a good time putting the ball in the hole.

I tried the rock climbing wall with Sariah. I was terrible at it! The last time I went indoor rock climbing was on my first date when I was 16.

While there, I got a text that my flight the next day was cancelled (due to the Chicago airport fire). After much time and effort, my dad got me a new itinerary for Sunday. Saturday started out with chores, just as when I was living with my parents, while Grandpa took the boys to the playground.

Having fun with musical instruments (or "extraments" as Caden called them)!

I went back to my brother's house to watch my niece's quinceanera video, and then all the girls went to the General Women's Broadcast at the church. Grandpa watched the boys again, taking them to another park, the lake, the car wash (Caden's request), Costco, and then my brother's house to play.

While watching the broadcast I started feeling extremely dizzy and nauseated, so I walked out. I didn't throw up, but I stayed in the mother's room, where I could be near a trash and sink and still hear the broadcast. My mom found me and stayed with me. After the broadcast there was a light meal. I thought eating might help since I hadn't eaten in a while, but it didn't. We went to pick up the boys, and I asked my brother and dad to give me a blessing. The rest of the night was terrible. Puking didn't help. I decided to go to sleep, and my parents took Gabe for the whole night. Needless to say, they didn't get much sleep! I didn't want to travel in this condition, so my dad rebooked my flights again for Monday. The next morning I didn't feel nauseated but I still had a headache. I stayed home from church and slept, and my family took the boys.

Monday morning came and I was fit enough to travel, though not looking forward to it. It took us over 2 hours to get to LAX, and I barely made my flight in time. At least I didn't have to entertain the boys again! However, since they slept in the car, they didn't sleep much on the plane. Gabriel was especially hard to please. Thankfully, the lady next to us asked to move across the aisle, giving us more room. She was wearing a giant fur coat, and when Gabe saw her he signed dog and started barking.

Buckling in Elmo

Everyone was nice, and we survived the first long flight. I even took Gabe potty 3 times on the plane! Now that's hardcore EC! We had a layover and ate at a little Mexican restaurant. Then our second flight was delayed an hour. I had Caden watch Curious George on my iPhone while I (unsuccessfully) tried to get Gabe to sleep. He stayed fussy, making me fear everyone on the tiny plane would hate us by the end, but once we were in the air he went out. The ladies in front of me were especially sympathetic. I thanked them after the flight and gave them passalong cards (awkwardly; I wish I had prefaced it with something like, "Since you ladies are so family friendly I thought you would be interested in this.").

We were all so happy to see Justin again! Gabe slept on the way home too, so I was afraid he wouldn't want to go to bed, especially when I finally let him down for the first time nearly all day and he saw his toys. While in CA, I had to sing him to sleep every night, which I never do at home. But that first night he didn't cry and went to sleep.

I am so grateful to my parents for giving us this vacation. We had a wonderful time!