Disneyland!

These kids are pretty lucky.  Their parents took them to Disneyland for spring break.

We knew we were going at a time when the park would be packed, but with our Disneyland know-how, we efficiently filled our days to the brim doing all of our favorites over and over again. 

Caleb and I opt for the non-swinging gondola on Mickey's Fun Wheel.

Cars Land is just darling and I was really taken by Luigi's Rollickin Roadsters.  The cars move in a choreographed dance. Love it!

Mater's ride may not look like much, but it's surprisingly really fun!

We love California Adventure!

We stayed at California Adventure until it closed. 

"Should we hop over to Disneyland or should we go to the hotel and rest up for an early morning tomorrow?" I asked.

I knew something was off with Caleb when he suggested we call it a night. He admitted that his throat was hurting and that he thought getting some rest would help him make the most of our second day. On the way back to the hotel, we bought him some cough drops and a drink, hoping they would soothe his throat.

The girls and I were at Space Mountain first thing the next morning.  We essentially walked right on and got fast passes to return later.  We love this ride!

While the girls and I were in Tomorrowland, Jon and Caleb were off doing their favorites in Frontierland. We texted Caleb around noon to come meet us at the Fantasyland Theater where one of our local high school's jazz band was performing. We knew a handful of the kids and wanted to support them for a bit before heading off to one our family favorites, "It's a Small World." Caleb responded that he would head that way, but that he was battling a headache, was feeling extra hot and his throat was getting worse.

After our cruise around the world, Caleb decided he needed to go back to the hotel for a nap.  This kid loves Disneyland so I knew if he was going to leave for a nap, he must really be ill.  I was heartsick for him, but remained hopeful that he would returned refreshed and ready for a long night in the park.

We went on Autopia while he was gone. This next picture is hilarious because Jon sat on the passenger side of the car and drove it with this left hand and foot.

The girls were excited to drive their own cars.

After several other rides, we stopped to indulge in our favorite Disney treat, caramel apples! So cute and so delicious. Also, when we go to Disneyland, I pretty much starve my children. We eat the hotel breakfast and pack some snacks in our bag for the day. We spring for one meal in the park per day, plus the occasional splurge on fancy treats.

On this day, however, I was offering my poor, sick son anything he wanted. When he returned to the park in the late afternoon, I bought him a huge Sprite and some chicken strips and fries. He ate it while we watched the Soundsational Parade, with me standing over him to provide him some shade. He said the food and nap helped and he was ready to get back at it. Poor kid.

All this time, the girls were off in Tomorrowland or somewhere. See, when our family does Disney, we don't necessarily stay together all the time. We meet up often to do rides as a family, but we also do not hesitate to split up if our Disney desires are pulling us in different directions.

Only Alyssa, Caleb and I had a desire to meet Mickey at his house. For me, it's not a trip to Disneyland with it.

The kids were off on their own adventures when Jon and I staked out a place for the Electrical Parade.

By now our feet were really sore and it was a relief to rest them atop the parade rope. It's definitely the first time I have lain down on Main Street.

The kids joined us a short time later to watch the 600,000 light bulbs go by. 

(Caleb lay down on Main Street, too.)

When the parade was over, the kids and I raced to Thunder Mountain to use some fast passes while Jon stayed to watch the fireworks.

The "wildest ride in the wilderness" is even more exciting with fireworks exploding all around! We were finishing watching the show outside the ride's exit when I noticed Caleb slouched on a bench, rubbing the sides of his face, noticeably uncomfortable. That's when I got worried this was more than just a bothersome sore throat.

Call it mother's intuition, call it a whispering of the spirit or maybe it was just past life experience, but I suddenly knew he had strep throat. Caleb has always been susceptible, having previously faced strep throat more times than I can count. From past experience, I knew that relief would not come without antibiotics but that once they were started, he'd begin feeling better quickly.

We met Jon outside the Penny Arcade where I used a plastic knife and my phone's flashlight to look into the back of Caleb's throat. "He needs to go to urgent care," I pleaded with Jon. "He's not going to feel better until he gets medication." Not only was Jon skeptical--why don't father's have the same intuition?--but it was now 10:30 at night and he wondered where in the world he would take him and what would it cost?  "We'll just take him to the doctor when we get back," he suggested. But I pushed the issue and a quick Google search showed an urgent care clinic just a couple miles away. Jon would have to take him since his was the only name on the rental car.

As Jon reluctantly left the park with Caleb, I started questioning my intuition or prompting or whatever you want to call it. What if I was wrong and my insistence only amounted to expensive medical bills?

The girls and I were riding Dumbo when Jon asked me to send a picture of the insurance card. He (and the urgent care receptionist) were frustrated with my blurry pics, but a clear one could not be taken until the ride stopped.

We continued to many other attractions until our feet could take no more.

We paused for a photo with Mickey and Walt on our way out of the park.

It was about this time that I got a text from Jon, "He has strep throat."

By some miracle, Jon found a pharmacy that was still open and would fill Caleb's prescriptions. The girls and I arrived back the hotel exhausted from our very full day, but my heart was so sad for Caleb. We'd planned this trip largely for him as we anticipate him leaving on a mission in the near future. The thought of him being sick on our last day at Disneyland was incredibly disheartening. Plus, we needed to check out of the hotel the next morning. What if he needed to stay in bed for the day? 

Jon and Caleb arrived back at the hotel sometime after midnight. I slept fitfully in between thinking up scenarios of how we could adjust our trip to allow Caleb time to recover, but also get the most out of the last day on his park hopper pass.

Early the next morning, Jon suggested the girls and I just go to the park and he would let Caleb sleep as long as needed while he packed up the room. He also said he would look into getting a late check-out. It felt wrong to leave a sick Caleb, but I did want the girls to have fun too. I determined to make the most of it.

We started at Space Mountain again, riding it two times in a row.

Then Splash Mountain--with ponchos, it's the only way to do it, if you ask me.

Caleb took his second dose of antibiotics in the morning and was already feeling well enough to meet us in the park by 11:00! Oh, I was so grateful!

We park hopped the rest of the day. Back at California Adventure that afternoon, we rode Radiator Springs a couple of times (single rider is the way to go!)

Lys' car never lost in all the times she rode this ride, so she deemed herself the Piston Cup Winner.

I saw this bench when I was waiting to meet up with the kids at some point that afternoon. I was SO very tired, but having so much fun.

Love Cars Land!

Back over at Disneyland that night, the kids spent their gift cards on souvenirs and treats.

Alyssa found a display of gluten-free treats. Disney knows how to cater to special needs eaters.

I'll always be partial to these:

We left late for the airport with happy hearts and a full cache of Disneyland memories. The Happiest Place on Earth lived up to its name once again, notwithstanding strep throat and throbbing feet.

Region 2 Championships

We had no intentions of going to Boise the weekend before spring break, but after Alyssa qualified as a floor specialist at the state meet, we couldn't deny her the opportunity to once again travel with her team, even if for only one event. Travel meets are some of the best experiences for a competitive gymnast and she had missed out on so very much during her recovery from not one but two surgeries!

It felt so good to see her lined up next to her teammates as they made their way to the arena for the mandatory practice session on Thursday. Jon had continued on to Rexburg to get Caleb, who had just finished his first year of college. I was sure looking forward to seeing him. This was just an exciting weekend all the way around!

AGC is a force to be reckoned with! They are easily the most dominant gym in Region 2 (one of eight regions that make up the United States.)

I delighted in watching Alyssa goof around with her teammates. Gosh we'd missed this!

We had dinner with some of our favorites at PF Chang's that night.

Lys can't eat fortune cookies, but she kept opening them because she kept getting such appropriate messages:

Meanwhile, Jon was busy helping Caleb pack up his apartment and taking his favorite roommates out to dinner.

Caleb and his roommates, Hyrum and Ben.

Caleb said it was bittersweet to leave BYU-I. He especially looked up to Hyrum, he was a great example for Caleb.

The girls and I cheered on Lys' level 10 teammates on Friday and then on Saturday, having reunited with Jon and Caleb, it was finally Alyssa's turn to compete.

She was the very first competitor of the night.  And she once again nailed it.

Way to go, Alyssa! Now, let's go to Disneyland!

Natalie Turns 12!

She'd been counting down to her birthday for weeks! Natalie opened a few presents first thing in the morning.

She quickly put on some of her new duds before rushing out the door.

Natalie has been working hard as a tech for the school musical. We had to forgo the traditional family birthday dinner because she was busy running the spotlight for that night's performance.

On Friday, though, I picked Natalie and her friends up from school and took them to Hello, Cupcake in Tacoma.

We had reserved their party room for a couple of hours. The girls got to order a drink and decorate two cupcakes each.

Emma, Sophie, Camryn, Sydney, Natalie and Ava

Before and after:

Next, they played games and Natalie opened her presents.

Then we walked down the street to have dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory.

This delightful birthday girl has a delightful group of friends. They had such a fun afternoon that they weren't ready to part ways once dinner was over. The group came back to our house to hang out together for several more hours.

12 is a milestone birthday and this girl really looks forward to graduating from primary, moving into Young Women's and going to Girls' Camp.

Happy Birthday, Natalie! I couldn't possibly love you more!

The Comeback Kid

It had been two long years! I hadn't done meet hair for two years. She hadn't marched into a meet, warmed up with her team, saluted the judges or touched a piece of competition equipment in two years!

Though Alyssa had mentioned to us multiple times that she'd hoped to possibly be able to compete floor by season's end, she never addressed it with her coaches. The week before state I just happened to be talking with her coach (whom I had not seen in a very long time) about her rehabilitation, when I blurted out, "Would she be able to compete at State? Is that even a possibility?"

Her coach was very supportive of the idea and encouraged her to try, even though none of us were totally sure she was ready. He would need to pull some strings to get her petitioned in, but by that night, he texted me to say, "Alyssa is approved to do floor at state!" Then he added, "She can do it, whatever happens, happens. I'm just happy she gets the opportunity to be with the team and compete." Coach Brent set the bar low, telling her to shoot for a 5.0, which was his way to tell her that score didn't matter.  We would spend the next several days telling her that just stepping back on that floor was a success. And that was the truth.

Alyssa was not yet cleared in her physical therapy regimen to do back handsprings on the floor. Without it, she would be missing a necessary requirement, so we knew to expect a lower score for that reason alone. Additionally, her cardio strength was also not yet where it needed to be to comfortably make it through the end of her routine, so we legitimately wondered if she'd have enough gas left in the tank to land the last pass. Still, she was excited for this opportunity and as her parents we were insanely proud.

Just two days before the meet, she was able to add the back handspring into her middle pass, bringing her routine to a 10.0 start value. Though we had a portion of the usual competition nerves, it was just such a special moment to watch her salute the judges and step onto the floor.

Her feet hit the floor on the last pass and the tears I'd been trying to hold back fell out of my eyes. "She did it! She did it!" I kept saying over and over. The fact of the matter is, she had a lot of people in tears, including Coach Jill who is known for being exceptionally harsh and not very soft-hearted. 

Her score of 9.3 qualified her to regionals as a floor specialist and earned her a sixth place medal. It had been two years without a medal around her neck.

Alyssa's dear friend and teammate, Maison ,and her mother, my dear friend, Michelle, drove all the way to Vancouver to support Alyssa in this big comeback. They had been in Vancouver the day before for Maison's meet and drove all the way back the very next day to be with us. We were so touched by their efforts to support us.

Alyssa's coaches took to Instagram to pay tribute to her strength of character and determination.

Congratulations, Alyssa! You are amazing in countless ways.

On to Regionals!