Disneyland- Days 6 and 7

I'm sure i'm not the only one wanting to be done with me blogging about our drawn-out Disney trip. If I were a scrapbooker, there's no way I'd have had a 135 page album dedicated to one trip....so I'm not sure why I've done the equivalent on my blog...but this is the last Disney post...I promise.

On Monday we drove back up to Disneyland for one last day of fun. And it DID start out fun. Abby and I went on our favorite little Toon Town roller coaster (the only one she was tall enough for), Grace and Eliza went on Small World--were all happy as could be.

And then, while Reid took Abby back to go on that roller coaster again, I took Grace and Eliza to the bathroom that was just twenty feet away. And the worst experience of the whole trip happened, almost literally in the blink of an eye. That whole experience with the sketchy dr. was a little crazy, but it wasn't upsetting, it didn't ruin the day or cause me to lose sleep. It didn't play back in my mind's eye over and over like this did.

And I don't want to forget the details. I want Eliza to know that I truly believe that her ability to walk is a miracle. So I made Reid be my puppeteer and used our most flexible doll so that you can see what I saw and why it affected me so much. So, just use your imagination, and bear with me here :)

The whole crowd around me gasped. It was a really disturbing sight to see. I picked her right up. I probably shouldn't have, but i wasn't thinking. I was most definitely in shock. People around me could sense my panic and were trying to comfort me and make sure Eliza was okay. One lady called the nurse's station. Another lady just kept telling me to comfort her. A little girl came up to me and was worried about the bump on Eliza's head and her bleeding pinky finger. I don't know what i said, but in my head it was something like "hey, kid, i'm not too worried about a goose egg and a scratch--it's her NECK that has me concerned!"

Finally I set her down on the ground (remember, i was in shock), cause she was so limp in my arms (which is kinda how she is when she's upset) so i really couldn't tell if she could move or not. Once on the ground, she moved her legs and arms enough that I felt reassured that hadn't broken her neck. People just kept telling me that "babies are made out of rubber," which I now know and believe.

Even so, I took her into the nurses station. They checked her out and agreed that she was fine. She got this cute little Minnie Mouse First Aid sticker that is one of the only mementos we've kept from the trip, since it kinda sums up her experience--Minnie and medics.

She was pretty exhausted to start with, so the rest of the day she kinda looked like this:

you can see the bruise on her forehead and the scratch on her cheek

And when she was in the stroller she buried her face like this (i'm guessing the light was bugging her?):

I wish I could have just let this go and enjoyed the rest of the day, but I couldn't. I cried, on and off, for the rest of our day at Disneyland. But I just kept playing it over and over, and literally thanking God that she was okay. And then crying some more.

So, after a few more ride, one last visit with the princesses, and the obligatory photo by the flowers, we took off.

Reid had the brilliant idea of eating at In 'n Out Burger. I'm not a fast-food person, by any means, but even I can appreciate the experience that this place is--especially when in So. Cal. (Apparently they just built a couple locations in UT, but it's just not the same, right? unless you really do just love their food?)

So, we took our burgers, fries and shakes and went to watch the sunset at this beautiful little beach. This was exactly what I needed--to meditate a bit, relax, and be with the people who mean the most to me. The girls loved playing "chicken" with the waves. I loved watching them feel the sand on their feet. And we all watched the sun fall below the horizon--it was beautiful.

We packed up the next morning, said goodbye to our dears friends, and made one last little stop in Rancho Cucamonga, to see a mentor and good friend of mine, Lexine Hadfield. She and her husband were assigned to oversee all the missionaries in the area of Chile that I was in--10 years ago!! I was so homesick during my time there, way more so than I'd ever anticipated. But whenever Lexine would see me she'd give me a HUGE hug that would just take away all the sadness I was feeling. She is such a warm and loving person.

Her husband unexpectedly passed away almost two years ago. In fact, we flew down there to see her soon after, but she was called away last minute. So, I was really, really glad that it worked out to see her this time. We visited her during her lunch break, and sure enough, as soon as she saw me, she gave me the huge bear-hug that I remember so well. And she was so sweet with the girls. It took no time for them to warm up to her. As she showed us her little shop, she had Grace in one hand, and Abby in the other, and I had this moment where I realized that even they could feel how much love this woman has in her. Through tears I told her this, and we hugged and cried.

I love you, hermana!!

We rushed from her place to the airport, and there, as we were about to board the plane, my sweet Abby decided to empty her bowels into her diaper. I rushed her to the changing table in the bathroom, and, while changing her diaper, was thinking "my word, child, you are too old for this." Just then, another mom with a 3 year old daughter brought her in to change her diaper and said, out loud, "honey, you are too old for this."

I'd been putting potty-training off for months, but I knew, in that moment, that with Disneyland behind us, it was time for our next family adventure...which will just have to wait for another post :)

And, may i just say that in spite of the crazy moments of this trip, that this was one of my favorite vacations ever.