California Adventure 2014

"One more with one!"

We had many great adventures to close out July. We spent quality time with friends, bumped heads at Funderdome, learned to swim, and said "see you soon" to loved ones. I think we try our very best to live up every day we have together, and make every day special. For a while now Connor had been asking to go to "Disneyland California" because of a great commercial they released for a Lego special they had at their Downtown Disney featuring a life size Buckey. After crunching numbers and finding a great deal we made it work! Hence our "one more with one" special trip for our only child. Fast forward to the Wednesday before we left, and Connor with over a hundred degree fever, and I started to freak out. I rushed him to the doctor Thursday when he wasn't any better and was felt more prepared boarding the plane with a bag full of meds for my little sicky.

From MIA to LAX we had a great non-stop flight complete with individual screens to watch movies to our heart's content. Connor was great! I was slightly uncomfortable with Caleb tucked under my ribs for most of the trip, but I think my excitement helped me ignore that. After renting our car our first stop was the In-N-Out Burger right next to the airport. It was a special request by daddy, and both of my guys were on cloud nine watching each plane come in to land. They literally were flying right over our heads. I enjoyed it too!

Before heading to Anaheim and Downtown Disney we stopped at the Observatory and got our obligatory picture with the Hollywood Sign. We got to climb all over the observatory and Connor thought the telescope was so cool he had to take a picture of it himself. We left Hollywood and raced our diminishing phone batteries to find our hotel near the parks. Thankfully we both lost battery power as we were pulling in to the parking lot. We checked in and made a bee-line for Buckey, and to say Connor was excited is an understatement. Spoiler Alert: Buckey was not there and never was. Upon arriving at the Lego store and asking employees where to go we found that the commercial was a little misleading. One employee says they get phone calls about it all the time and feels really bad about it. Evidently they only brought the ship in the day they filmed the commercial and busted bubbles for pirate children everywhere. I may have teared up a bit seeing the disappointment in Connor's face. He came away with a consolation prize though, and we found a restaurant to put together his very own Buckey set.

Saturday morning Connor woke us up at 6am announcing that the "sun was up"! We medicated the little one, and headed to Disney California Adventure.

As daddy got in line for the fast passes for Radiator Springs Racers we were lucky enough to spot Mickey walking around the boulevard. Connor was thrilled! It was almost the same place we spotted him when we came for Connor's second birthday.

There were so few people in the parks that our fast passes came up very quickly. We could have easily stood in the normal line but before heading to the ride at our time we walked straight on Soarin' or "the airplane ride". The Racers are just like Test Track and even though Connor wasn't sure at first he LOVED it! He asked to do it again, and we immediately went back for more fast passes. 

We headed over to Paradise Pier to enjoy all of the festive rides along the water, of course we stopped to see Donald first. Connor had fun on the Ferris Wheel with daddy, scored big points on Toy Story Mania, and even rode the giant swing twice, once with mommy then with daddy. We did absolutely every ride he was tall enough to do on the pier, and because the waits weren't long we did some of them again. I'm still shocked with how we lucked out. 

We hit Radiator Springs again and did all of the Connor rides there, including the Racers again. Then headed to the Bugs Life area while daddy walked on to the Tower of Terror. We even got to watch the Aladdin show and spent a great 45 minutes in the air conditioned theater. Connor went on the Little Mermaid ride twice and we all had fun climbing around the Redwood Trail playground.

Our bodies were still trying to adjust to the time change but we desperately wanted to stay long enough to watch all of the lights come on around the park. We got our lights and even got to see both Mater and Lightning before heading out at the late late hour of 9pm. Listen, we were tired!!!

We ended our night on an epic walking tour back to the parking lot. Connor fell asleep in the stroller and we got to watch the fire works on our walk. I am so glad we brought the stroller. Our sick one didn't feel much like walking and he was able to rest when he needed to. He wanted to be held all the time, and my heart just broke for him. Slushy apple juice did seem to perk him up though. By the end of the night Tim's fitbit said we had walked 17,000 steps and I think my feet felt all of them. Surprisingly my feet never did swell, but man did they hurt the next day, and we still had Disneyland to walk! Connor slept like a log and so did mommy and daddy!

A City Boy in the Country: VA Part 2

"A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden" Matthew 5:14

 

 Tuesday morning we woke up, packed up the car, closed up the house and started our trek north to Virginia. We made a pit stop at the Rainer's house in Raleigh, NC and it was such a nice visit. We got to see their lovely home, enjoyed a tour of Southeastern, grabbed dinner, and even stopped for some yummy ice cream. The boys had fun together to be sure, I just hate how far away they live now. We miss them terribly!! We made it to Uncle Casey's around 10pm and Connor knew just where to cuddle up to rest. Casey and his mini-me were reunited at last!

 Wednesday was a wonderful day of relaxation and taking it easy. I did have to take my 24 week picture with Caleb. (Today I hit 26 weeks and I can't believe it. This is going very quickly!!) We also got to take a tour of some of the new construction around campus and were in awe of how far LU has come and how much it has grown. Uncle Casey has a pretty cool job there too!!

 Connor equates Virginia with sledding and had been begging for weeks to go back to the Snowflex to go down his big hills. He was able to pull the big tubes by himself this time while dad helped him get to the different ramps. I was lucky to have some quality time with Aunt Hil and my heart was so happy. I wish I could have seen JC too! It was a tad hot, but we found shade and got to listen to Connor's squeals of joy as he came down the hill each time.   

That evening we made a special trip to one of our favorite little spots. While Daddy and I were at school at LU we used to take picnics up to Peaks of Otter to watch the sun set and see the deer come out. I couldn't wait to take Connor. I knew he would just love it! We picked up our Sheetz subs, and made our way to our place. 

After we ate we decided to take the path that leads around the lake. We made sure we had a bag of carrots too! Uncle Casey spotted the first doe up in the woods and we walked parallel to it for a while. Connor kept trying to throw carrots at it, but she wasn't very interested and I didn't want him to waste them all. It was still a special experience though. 

 We came out into a clearing on the other side of the lake and found this pretty doe. She was certainly interested in the carrots, and I'm pretty sure Connor threw every last one we had at her, but she never ate any of them. When she was ready to move on, and we weren't interesting to her anymore we walked around the grass and picked up the carrots Connor had so enthusiastically tossed.

I'm glad we grabbed the tossed carrots because one more doe was in store for us up by the road. She came running when she heard us opening the bag, and she very happily crunched on the treats we gave her. She was sweet, and we got to spend a good amount of time with her until another (loud) family came up behind us and scared her away. Can you imagine? We were not the "loud" family?? I know. Shocked! But Connor did such a good job being calm, patient, and quiet, and I can do those things too sometimes.... 

 Connor made a butterfly friend on the way back to our car, and God delivered a gorgeous sunset  for us to enjoy as we completed the circle around the lake. Connor even left a pile of his remaining carrots for any other deer that might come by after we left. He and daddy had to find the perfect spot.

Friday was park day and we had fun throwing rocks in the river on Percival Island, and then cooling off at the splashpad in Rivermont. Percival Island was so neat because you cross this big bridge over the James River and arrive in the woods. We even spotted deer tracks down by the river, but sadly we didn't find any buried treasure. I found a perch up on a fallen tree log while daddy and Connor played by the water. It was serene and peaceful. The splashpad was fun once Connor found the courage to stand under the filled bucket of water that would tilt down gallons of water on his head. We ate dinner at Waterstone Pizza al fresco and enjoyed the outside patio and even watched a few trains pass by. Connor was thrilled and so was my belly.

Saturday, our last day, was Daddy's birthday!!!! We got fresh local doughnuts for breakfast, played mini golf, and lunched at Cook Out before our afternoon movie. Daddy got to really choose what he wanted to do, but I think Connor swayed him to play mini golf. There may have been tears and a pouty lip. 

For dinner we went to Depot Grille and had a lovely time. It used to be an actual train depot and is situated right next to the tracks. Yes, we got to watch more trains at dinner! The food was delicious, and Daddy even got to blow out a candle with the help of his little buddy.  

 Couldn't resist a photo op even if it did involve getting grease all over us!

 We opened presents back at Uncle Casey's house and Daddy loved all of his presents! We tend to always be somewhere on his birthday and I'm excited to see where that will be next year. Uncle Casey did have to work while we were there, but we were able to spend our evenings doing special things together, and it was so nice to be able to stay at his house. It felt like being at my own home and he was so nice to let us just spread out. Connor loved his time with Uncle Casey and even would sit and read books to him. They are buds! I can't believe he lives 1,000 miles away, but the good news is we can always visit. 

It was interesting going on a big road trip so pregnant but we had a lot of fun. Caleb likes to wiggle and squirm and would find his way right under my ribs when we were in the car for hours. I only got dizzy a few times on the trip, and no migraines so that was great! It was a nice way to spend our summer vacation this year. Nothing crazy but truly special!!! I can't wait to take both C-boys to LU!!!

We put our house on the market just before leaving on our trip, so life is really about to change. I think I'm ready, but I'm sure I have no idea!!!