In the past year, Ethan has developed somewhat of a fascination with the worlds beyond. So when we were planning this trip, I knew a visit to the Griffith Park Observatory was in order.
My friend, Lindsey, and her three little darlings joined us. It's an annual tradition to meet up and it's fun that our kids are finally starting to remember each other and play along. I didn't realize it until later, but this date marked our 15th anniversary of meeting each other. We were assigned to be roommates in the dorms, and since she grew up only an hour away from Glendora, we met up once before school started. The day before her birthday. 15 years ago. She really was the best first roommate I could ever ask for and she made my freshman year so much fun. I'm sad that we don't get to see each other more often, but really am so grateful that we've kept in touch. She's a good one.
Greg joined us for the last few days of our trip and we spent one of those days at Disneyland. It was pretty magical from start to finish. Drew was just tall enough for all the 40" rides, which meant Soarin', Thunder Mountain, Star Tours, Radiator Springs Racers, and he loved them all. I didn't want to lug around my camera, so this is all I got, but it really was a day worth remembering.
One thing the kids always want to do when we go to California is "walk on the mountain." It's strange to think that mountains are a rarity to my kids, considering how close to them I grew up. This was the first time Greg was able to join in the hiking fun.
California, right now, is experiencing a pretty severe drought. Add that to the horrible fires they had this past winter, it made for a pretty sore sight. It's really sad to see these beautiful mountains so dry.
The kids, obviously, couldn't care less.
I realize the family being together again at the end of a trip should be somewhat of a given. But we had a pretty eventful trip home and I wanted it documented.
Our original flight was Saturday afternoon. It was delayed. And then delayed again. And then it was cancelled. All Sunday flights were pretty full, so we settled for splitting up- Greg taking the twins through Vegas and me taking Drew through Phoenix- and headed back for another night at Nana's. Greg's flight was two hours earlier than ours, so my mom took them to the airport first. Much to your surprise, it was delayed. By the time, Drew and I arrived at the airport two hours later, they were just beginning to board. We would have seen them prior to their boarding, but Drew decided to make things interesting by making it all the way through security (I was holding him because he had fallen asleep in the car), before informing me that we had left one of his shoes in the car. Fannnntastic. My dad hurried back for the shoe drop-off and we made it back to the gate just in time to see Greg's flight take off. Their flight was delayed just short enough for them to make their connecting flight, but only barely, and with that flight departing from a completely different terminal, Greg had to throw the twins in the stroller and sprint to his gate, arriving just as they announced family boarding. Drew and I had a little more time, but we still had to run (also from one terminal to the next), and we also arrived to hear them call for family boarding. The rest of the evening went smoothly, all meeting up in the long-term parking lot with hugs that rival any long-term separation.
No matter the vacation, it's always good to be home.
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