We just got back from Disneyland. The past five years we have been treated to a first rate Disneyland trip by Ross and Anita. There are now 130 members included in the Farnsworth family. Over 100 of them made it on this trip.
On Sunday afternoon, most of us climbed aboard one of the two chartered buses. This makes for a fun and always interesting trip. The atmosphere took a somber turn when we found out that our beloved prophet Gordon B. Hinckley had passed away. When Isaac felt the change in the air, he grabbed my face and looked in my eyes and said," Mom, he is with Heavenly Father and Jesus now." I put a cheery face back on.
Isaac and James enjoying the freedom of no seat belts. After snapping this photo, I decided this may be a little too much freedom and turned into "no fun Mom" and made them take a seat. I am sure Dennis, our bus driver, was glad to have these two little birds stop chirping at him.
That first night it was hard to fall asleep with all the excitement bouncing off the walls. I peeked in on them around 9:30 and they were laying there playing Q & A. This is where they ask one person all sorts of questions and he/she gives their answers. "What do you think your wife/husband's name will be? How many kids will you have? Where would you live? What job will you or your husband have?" I lay down next to them and enjoyed listening to them each take a turn. You always learn something new from these exchanges. Who knew Meg wants to run a horse ranch with her cowboy/rancher husband in upstate New York. I asked her why New York and she said so she can go into the big city when she needs stuff. Of course!
Breakfast with Chip and Dale. Isaac was ok with the chipmunks but that Racoon from Pocahontas better not try and say hello again.
Fun to be with cousins Parker and Molly! They were good sports to hang with us as much as they did. The first part of every trip it seems that we (our little family) have to get through a few "rough patches" consisting of tears that fall too easily, whines that shouldn't be heard, complaints about wearing tennis shoes and rain gear (Meg), and parents that can be a bit too impatient with anything less than happy grateful kids. We got into our groove soon and everyone was grateful to be with eachother at the happiest place on earth.
Oh and the beloved churro is Cole's favorite treat. He was wishing he brought his own money, so he could buy more. He is very particular about food. When Cole likes something, he really likes it.
Every year we have to make our trek to the spirit cave to receive our "totems." This is a highlight every year. You place your hand on the cave and it sparks and rumbles like thunder and then a picture of your totem appears on the wall. They take it quite serious.
Isaac was a little "bugged" after the first day. He was a good sport as we convinced him that he would love all the faster rides. He didn't. By the end of the day he announced that too many rides were "Not my age," and "I'm not riding anything with a mountain in it anymore!" So, the next day, we broke off from the faster group and took Isaac at a slower pace. This didn't soothe his rattled nerves. He kept asking "Is this really for my age?" He started to trust us again and warmed up after he realized he wasn't getting soaked, dropped, or spun too fast. He loved the new Nemo ride. Thanks to Uncle Terry for saving us a spot in the longest line of the day.
The last thing we did before we left the park was watch people get soaked by the geyser on the Grizzly Bear Run. It was hard to pull away, you just kept wanting to see "just one more" raft get soaked! We did this chant as they came up...GO GO GO, the poor people didn't know how to take us. When they wouldn't get soaked we would boo and they really didn't know how to take that. I loved hearing Tom's infectious laugh, he really has the best laugh!
Thanks to Mama and Papa for the great trip and the memories we made. We try to not take anything for granted and to always be grateful for such a great trip with a lot of great people.
