We had a nice celebratory dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Later that night, he said to me...."I guess I'm really not moving now." Amazing that even after being with us for over 4 years straight, he still had some doubt.
Khalif was a bit worried about how he was going to play with all his friends, but he managed to figure it out. We had a giant bounce house, it looked a lot bigger in our yard than online! It was great though....had a climbing wall, jump area and slide. Between that, the secret room and the trampoline, the kids were happily occupied!
Mom and dad were a big help in getting the yard looking nice and setting up....until....I went to go ask them a question and dad was on the couch, rolling around in great pain minutes before the party. I could tell mom was a little frustrated because his timing is quite amazing. Thankfully, he remembered he'd had the pain before and shoved his hernia back in and 20 minutes later he was good as new thank the Lord (mom was figuring out which medical facility to take him to).
My bible study friends
Our final celebration was our trip to Legoland and Disneyland! This happened the first week in November and we did pretty good with the lines and weather (although the last day was 90!). These trips are usually more for the kids and we get grumpy and tired, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised! We left the house at 5:30 in the morning and luckily it was the daylight savings change, so it was really 6:30 and drove straight to Legoland. We arrived at noon and explored until it closed at 5. We were initially a bit disappointed because we took a wrong turn when we went in and it was all geared toward very young children. Thankfully, we found all the really awesome displays and the rides for older kids. We had to have a little talk with Khalif about making sure he knew where we were at all times because there were a few moments where he was "lost". I suppose a very good lesson before Disneyland since that place is way busier and bigger and we had no problems after that.
The kids having some fun with chewey:
The Star Wars display was quite impressive, but the Death Star was amazing:
After the first hour my shoulders were killing me because I was carrying all the waters. Ryan had the food bag and what are you supposed to do with them on the rides??? Our backpacks were hot and super annoying, so I decided we should rent a stroller, so we did and it was great! Next time we'll have to bring our own because it was a little pricey. The kids loved Pirates of the Caribbean and the Star Wars ride (which I barely made it through...started sweating about 30 seconds in and had to take my glasses off and stare at the number 2 on the wall to avoid vomiting. I had a vague memory that I shouldn't go-NEVER again!). We toured the Star Wars museum and went on a few more rides and Ryan and I were ready to go....the Seahawks were on Monday night football, but the kids didn't want to go. Ugh, so we rode a few more rides and then went to Denny's for dinner. I have never in my life seen Khalif eat so fast. He was the first one done...ate eggs and 3 pancakes and then felt sicker than a dog. Thankfully, he didn't throw up, but was close...and now he knows that even if he is starving, he needs to eat slow. We finally made it back and CRASHED!
These were the only characters we saw all day!
And...the boys hunted for Pokemon at the condo:
We tried to find rides with no lines, but we did a lot of waiting. The ferris wheel was quick, so even though the boys were scared, we went anyway. Reggie does not like heights at all! We were able to distract him by having him look at all the cool things, but this is what he did on the way up:
No one wanted to go on the Tower of Terror except Ainsley, so the boys waited patiently for us. The ride broke and everyone left and we got there right as it opened, so the wait was only 20 minutes (instead of an hour!), so we felt pretty lucky. I have to say that I don't remember it much from last time and this time my bottom was off the seat at every drop. Definitely a tummy turner, but Ainsley liked it. Thank goodness she was willing to ride almost anything....we went on a fun roller coaster at Legoland. No one would go on the big one at California Adventure with me. Maybe next time! Reggie was a nervous nellie in the Indiana Jones line, but was very glad he did it!
It was finally time for cars and we had a blast! That is the best ride :o). Reggie wanted to go again as a single rider since the line was only 15 minutes and he checked to see if Khalif could do it and you only have to be 7, so we all went again as single rider and Khalif and I ended up in the same car and we raced Ainsley at the end so it was lots of fun.
The drive home was a quick 5 1/2 hours, but of course it wouldn't have been a road trip without someone puking. We were prepared this time and Khalif gave us enough warning. Usually, he gets it out and then feels better and is ready to eat, but not this time. He threw up again and he looked bad. Partly because he was so tired. We couldn't tell if it was car sickness or the stomach flu, but when we got home he was begging for food and returned to his normal self, thank goodness!!!
