10 Years at the Happiest Place On Earth

Thanks to my great parents, Brad and I were able to go on a little trip to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  After leaving my mom with an extensive printed out schedule and any necessary phone numbers, Brad and I boarded our flight to Orange County with one small suitcase.  I was not herding my children through security, but walking by myself with my hands free, not filled to the brim with shoes and belts and sippy cups and so on.  Even the short flight to California was relaxing.  We were headed to our hotel in no time and then over to Disneyland to have some fun.  As we prepared to get on our first ride of the day- the Matterhorn- Brad's phone rang.  It was a teary Drew saying he had ended up in the nurse's office at school with a tummy ache and a fever. We talked him down over the yodeling of the ride in the background and everything seemed to be fine.  I figured he was maybe just nervous to have us gone since we had NEVER left them before.  A couple of hours later another phone call gave us the news that on a trip to Chuck E Cheese- Drew's stomach ache had resurfaced and he had thrown up.  At this point I was ready to head back to the airport and call our trip a done deal, but Brad talked me down.  He reassured me that my parents had in fact dealt with throwing up children even if it had been some 20 years ago.  If we were to fly home, by the time we got there Drew would be fine and it would all be for nothing.  I reluctantly agreed to stay and tried my best to not worry too much.  Truthfully, I was going over scenarios in my mind of this nasty bug passing from one kid to the next and my poor parents having to deal with it.  A couple more phone calls later, Drew's fever was down and he was sleeping comfortably.  Brad and I had reservations at Goofy's Kitchen for dinner that night.  The food was really great and we had a nice time talking and eating in peace.  Minus the occasional character who stopped by the table for a photo op.  The next day thanks to our annual passes, we were able to go into California Adventure an hour before normal entry.  We headed right for the new Cars Land which did not disappoint.  The rest of the day was filled with shopping, eating, riding, and a much needed nap.  Brad somehow got me to go on the California Screamin roller coaster.  I am not a fan of these upside down rides but thought I would give it a go.  It left me feeling nauseous and with a whopper of a headache.  Thank goodness for ibuprofen.  Poor Brad felt so bad about it.  That night we headed to dinner at the ESPN Zone where there were plenty of tvs and sports to hold Brad's attention.  We wore our snazzy Anniversary buttons while we were there and got lots of nice compliments about how we didn't look old enough to be married 10 years.  Sometimes we told them that we had 4 kids at home and their eyes got even bigger.  It was so nice to have no responsibilities for a few days.  To be able to have conversations without getting interrupted.  To have my own drink that I didn't have to share with a little person who back washes.  That being said, we talked about the kids and missed them a bunch.  We are heading back to Disneyland with them in a month for a surprise trip and we kept talking about how they were going to love this or that when we come back.  We of course had to bring them each back something for being good for Nana and Grandpa while we were gone.  Brad sure loves to spoil our kids.  He carefully chose each souvenir to be sure he got what they would like the most.  We headed back late Wednesday night and found everyone healthy and well.  The kids had a great time doing crafts with Nana and wrestling Grandpa.  I have been occasionally called Nana in the past few days too.  It really is hard to believe that we have been married for 10 years.  On the other hand, some days I can't really even remember much of a life before Brad.

The kids love Chip and Dale so we had to get a pic to show them.

While we were there, they started putting up the Halloween decor.

That's me in the back with my eyes squeezed shut.

Brad's plate of dessert at Goofy's Kitchen.

 The kids sent us a picture of themselves getting ready for school, so we took one to send to them.

The amazing new Cars Ride.