Day 2

I'm horrible at editing. I'm not apologizing, just letting you know that another novel awaits you!

After our first day at Disneyland, we took a day off to do laundry, rest (with much hesitation on the kids' part), and watch The Bee Movie with Derek and his kids and Jodi's family. The next day we were back at Disneyland! A quick visit to the Lost and Found lady to get me another loaner ticket for the day, and we were in.

Warren was limping as we got to the park, and was already requesting to be held, so we decided we should rent another stroller for the day to save our arms (and our ears) from getting tired. While Darin was in line at the stroller rent, I got very nervous for how the day was going to go. The kids were bugging each other. I was getting so irritated, but was trying to keep my "happiest place on earth" face on. I finally said, "Please stop." The taunting continued, so I said, "Please just don't touch each other." to which the response was, (the words)"touch, touch, touch, touch, touch, touch, touch" and repeated poking. I wanted to yell, "serenity now!" but I just ignored it and tried to wait for backup. Luckily a band came by, and was just the distraction they needed.

We spent the morning riding a few more Disneyland rides and at Pirate's Lair (I think that's what it's called.) You have to take a little ferry across the river. The kids loved it! There were caves to explore, treasure to find, and a pirate show (complete with Jack Sparrow).














After that we headed over to California Adventure where we met Jodi's family at the High School Musical show. The kids were so excited to see cousins!!! (Kamryn and Lexi even got to participate.)


We got fast passes to Soarin' over California, then went to experience "Screamin'". We were so disappointed that it wasn't open. We let the kids ride the carousel, and right when the carousel stopped, the ride opened. Here is a picture of Lexi and I right before we rode it the first time:Oh, the joy! It is by far the best roller coaster I've EVER been on!!! It's fast, it's smooth, it's 3 minutes of pure exhilaration. After I had a chance, I watched the kids so Darin could go. There is a dock where you can watch the riders "blast off".


I think the little boys had just as much fun running on the dock and wrestling.
At this point, everyone was having a great time...except for Liv. She really wanted to be brave enough to go, but her nerves wouldn't let her. I asked her if she wanted to go, and she said (through her tears), "Yes, but I'm just really nervous." I bribed her with $20, and she was still hesitant. She finally agreed to go (o.k., so I pried her fingers off the bar, and sent her with Jodi, who knows the ride backward and forward, and could tell her what was coming up). The whole time they were in line, I was wondering if I did the right thing. She said the words, "I want to try", but I still gave her a shove I wasn't sure she was ready for. My palms were sweaty and my heart was racing while I watched for her to come to the dock. Imagine my horror when they came, and I saw her like this:(this is before the ride even starts)I counted to three minutes in my head to calm myself down, and said a constant prayer that she would at least be o.k. After they got off, I met her with the biggest "I"M SO PROUD OF YOU!!" hug, and we went over to see their picture. I found out later that the ride operator wouldn't start the ride until Olivia gave the thumbs up sign because she looked so distraught. She gave her an "Honorary Citizen of Disneyland" button for her bravery. I like to look at it like her purple heart. I could not believe she really did it! This was a huge deal.



This was seriously a rite of passage moment for her. A huge hurdle cleared. A different girl emerged after Screamin'. She was carefree, confident, and acted as if she could conquer the world. It was a huge life lesson for me as well. It was a huge tug of war inside myself as I was deciding whether or not to pry her fingers off that railing. I know that riding roller coasters is not a necessity. I know several people who hate roller coasters. This was more about her ability to try something new; something unknown. And she did it!

After Screamin', we rode more rides,

got a little wet, then the boys went to watch the BYU game in Downtown Disney, which left the girls to ride, ride, ride! We went on Tower of Terror twice, the Bug's Life show, the Orange peel, the rocket ride, Soarin', and then we headed back to Screamin'. I wasn't sure how Liv would react, but I thought since she loved Tower of Terror (I was shocked, again) that she might be o.k. We went the first time, and there was no line, so we went again. The third time she reqested to sit in the very front seat. The three minutes of pure exhilaration was increased by the fact that she was enjoying it with me. We met back up with the boys (all three of mine had a nap while Darin watched the game), and went back to Disneyland. Since the fireworks were going on, there was no line for Splash Mountain, so we took full advantage. Darin and I got to go by ourselves on a Splash Mountain date, but we weren't fast enough with the camera.





Then we headed over to the river to get ready for Fantasmic. We had a great seat, and enjoyed churros and hot chocolate (a mint julip and a turnover for Darin--his tradition) while we watched the show.


We had intentions of riding Space Mountain again, and we even had fast passes, but my kids were so exhausted that they didn't have the emotional energy to try it again (especially after the first time wasn't a fabulous experience for them). By the time we decided they weren't going on the ride, Jodi's family was already on the ride (I had told them to go ahead), and we had their camera, so we waited for a few minutes so we could be sure they got their camera back. Warren was still up for one more ride, so I took him to Buzz Lightyear, and as we were leaving, Liv woke up to come with us. We rode it three times in a row, and it was the perfect way to finish our day.