So last year, Chris and I went to West Edmonton Mall for our Anniversary. We said that we would not do another big trip for a while. I guess we were wrong. Since we lost our baby (miscarriage) in May and would no longer have an addition to the family this fall (and believe me, that was our first option - no question about it), we decided, what the heck, lets do something really big for our 5th anniversary. And we did just that!
I dropped the kids off at the farm on October 17th and then on Sunday morning, October 19th, we hopped on a plane headed for Los Angeles. (We knew that Caeleb and Elva would have a blast with Nana and Papa and vice versa so we were okay with leaving them for the week). We arrived in Los Angeles at about 2:00 pm and took a shuttle to Best Western (across the street from Disneyland). Once Chris and I were settled into our room, we walked to Bubba Gumps for Supper. Camellia and I went to that restaurant a few years ago when passing through L.A on our way to Ecuador. We like the movie Forrest Gump so a meal of shrimp with Forrest Gump memorabilia all around was such a fun experience.
Monday morning we were at Disneyland by 0800. We headed straight for Splash Mountain. I had wanted to go on that ride ever since a best friend had told me about it when we were 9 and she was just back from Disneyland. Chris and I were first in line and I loved it!! It is my favourite ride! We rode it 5 times in the3 days we were there.
From there, we went on all sorts of rides from Pirates of the Carribean to Madderhorn bobsleds to space mountain. We did almost every ride in Disneyland. I felt like we were transported back to our childhood years, without a care in the world. It was so much fun!!
California Adventureland was great as well. The rollercoaster ride was so thrilling. We saw the show Aladdin in 45 minutes and the actors did an incredible job at it. And the 8:00 pm Watercolor show was amazing. Did you know that in the busy season, Disneyland-California Adventureland has 25000 employees. It really is a magical place. Everything is done so well. If any of you blog followers go to Disneyland, make sure you do the Cars movie ride. So much fun! I love it when you race the car next to you. I felt like an excited little kid while riding these rides and I feel like one now as I talk about it. I think it is important to escape to childhood every once in a while.
So Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was just enough time to get all we wanted to done at the two parks. We thought of the kids often and imagined what it would be like to see them on different rides and watching different shows. However, since Disneyland will mostly be a once in a lifetime family trip, we decided it would be better to wait until the kids are older and can go on all the rides. We saw a lot of crying kids who were scared of the rides they were on or disappointed that they could not go on a ride.
Thursday morning, we got spruced up, rented a car and off to the Newport temple we went for a session. It was good to get some spiritual time in as that is important in our relationship (and we did miss two weeks of church). On a side note, you know something. Chris is wonderful. He booked the shuttle, the car, the hotels, the cruise. He bought the Disney tickets online. He even made sure we renewed our passports. It would have been a sorry trip if I was in charge of it. I would have forgot at least one thing. He did not forget a thing!
Chris drove us to Long Beach. We dropped off the car and were shuttled to the Carnival cruise loading dock where we got on the boat at about 1:00 pm. They have everything down to a science for loading 2000 people and we were on the boat in no time eating a buffet lunch. We ate so much this trip. All you can eat. The cruise food was so good and well made. I ate more than I should but that is allowed on vacation right? Each of the three evenings on the cruise, we had supper at 6:00 pm in a fancy dinning room. We ate with the same people each supper. And can you imagine, 7 out of the 9 people at our table were members of our church. Crazy huh.
Thursday night, after playing a round of mini golf, we went to bed early and watched a movie in our room. I didn't think I would feel the sway of the boat, it being such a big ship, but I did. In fact it took a couple of days after the trip to get rid of my sea legs. I was never sea sick, just had a rocking back and forth feeling all the time.
Friday we got up early to watch the sun rise but by the time we figured out what side of the boat we needed to be on, it had already risen. We spent the day in Ensenada Mexico. Probably my first and last trip to Mexico (I would rather go to Guatamala or Ecuador) but we enjoyed the day nonetheless. We opted for not doing any of the tours that were offered. Instead, we spent the day roaming around the city, me practicing my Spanish and remembering my Mission in a Spanish speaking country (the smells, the sights and sounds brought vivid memories back of Ecuador). We got a pork taco from a vendor off the street and a freshly made fruit smoothie as well. Friday night was formal dinner in the fancy dinning room with dressed up waiters that knew our names. We ate lobster, alligator, rabbit, escargot, ratatouille, crème brulee, and other foods on this trip that we never ever eat at home. after supper, we went dancing and saw a Diva show with 80s and 90s Songs. We also saw the same group of performers do a rock and roll show. A lot of people on the boat seemed to come for the alcohol and casinos but we had just as much fun without that.
Saturday was spent cruising in open water with no land in sight. We slept in and ordered room service for breakfast. Then we got brunch at the all you can eat buffet. Silly us. No one needs that much food. We went on the waterslide a few times, played mini golf, went to a detoxification class offered in the gym (which will be useful after stuffing ourselves this trip) and then spent a while in the sauna and hot tubs. We had a nap in the afternoon and after supper we went to a family comedy show and back to a second showing of the Rock and Roll performance that we loved yesterday. We even got front row seats. It was definitely a highlight of our trip.
Sunday we got up early to watch the sun rise as well. We disembarked at 0900 and took a shuttle to the airport. Both Chris and I have decided that, although we had a blast on the cruise, we don't really feel the want or need to do another one. However, we are already planning our trip to Disneyland with the family (which will be a few years from now).
I finished reading a book on the flight home (I am a slow reader and with the two kids, I don't seem to get much time to read). Nathan picked us up from the airport (what a wonderful brother) and we came home to the kids. We missed them a lot and it was so wonderful to see them. Mom and Dad took such good care of them and they loved the farm. I hope to share an adventure like the one we had with Caeleb and Elva someday.
I feel so blessed that I got to spend this time with Chris. We get so busy with work and the kids, it was a needed trip to just have some time together. I have been so blessed. I know I take my blessings for granted so often but I really do not want that. I am grateful for all that I have.
