Halloween

At 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, I woke with a start and realized if we timed it right, we could make it to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm before our rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof. Since we'd gotten to bed late the night before, I let Emily sleep as late as I could. I tip toed in to let Peter know what was happening, but as I suspected, he was happy to stay in bed longer rather than come along. We were able to connect with Jordyn Sloan as a companion and off we went. It was our only chance to make it there before Halloween. Although we didn't fit in every activity, we sampled some of their terrific food, took a hay ride to pick pumpkins, petted the animals and played.

Halloween week was a whirlwind, literary. The weather was suitably blustery. Wednesday evening Jordyn and her grandma "Bennie" came with Emily and I to the Disney's Princess on Ice show. We were celebrating both of the Sloan ladies birthdays, which are a day apart. It was dazzling. Jordyn said she wanted to dress in costume the next time we go!

We organized the games for the ward's Trunk or Treat on Thursday evening. Peter had his first school basketball game on Thursday, too, but his team was crushed to our dismay. He took it in stride and just analyzed what he'll need to do to improve.

I was pretty stressed Friday. I was the chief organizer for Emily's class party. However, Peter's coach expected the team to dress in costume for school. I had already performed a miracle and found him a fish costume at the last minute for his Wed. night Mutual party, but this costume was too cumbersome for school. I tore through my costume storage but nothing worked. We finally went with the alternative of wearing orange and black to school, but had to run to Walmart for an orange sweater. The struggle caused Peter to be late for school and put me an hour behind in the party's preparations. After prayers and tears, things came together just in time and thankfully wonderful willing parents showed up to help.

At last Halloween arrived. The Christensens came to show us their little Wild Thing! Emily, as Alice in Wonderland, went trick or treating with Bailey Mamone and some others, Peter amd his fish head with Michael Oldenburg. The usual generous haul of candy was collected. Although I stayed home to pass out treats, I wanted to match Emily and wore the Queen of Hearts costume. I think I liked Jackie in it better, but it was lots of fun to be in character.

Disney Doings, Oct. 2-4

I love the Disney parks. Some of our happiest family vacations have been either Disneyland, Disney World or the Disney Cruise. Peter, Emily, Diana, Luke and I hit the road Thursday morning at 7:30, a bit of a later start than anticipated. I delayed so I could make sure I had given Peter a "heads up" on the information I had learned only the previous evening about 10 p.m.--it would be a big "Gay Days" event in Anaheim while we were there. When Peter woke up, I spoke to him to let him know we didn't have to go if he would feel uneasy. He said he would be OK and would be careful not to say, "That's so gay," then asked, "Do they have Straight Pride events?"

Everyone was terrific on the road, Luke being a better traveler than I expected. It was, however, a long day of driving. We had to drive into Lancaster to pick up Grandpa, then we stopped at two Costco stores in Orange County before finding the discount park passes we were looking for. We arrived at Marriott Residence and the kids enjoyed a dip in the hot tub. We got settled in, then Marv and Mac (who had flown) and Kevin (who had late classes) arrived. Bryan, who had to work, arrived even later, around midnight.

Grandpa began the day Friday by waking Kevin up at 7 murmuring that it would be a very foolish thing to steal his wallet. Kevin wearily helped him find the lost wallet, which was in Grandpa's shoe. After the hotel breakfast, we were on to Disneyland for a full day, with a break for lunch at Mimi's Cafe. By evening, I was exhausted, but anxious to make sure everyone had a good time. I made an Asian Beef dinner that Jackie was able to join us for. We ended up sending Peter, Emily, Jackie and her friend, the lovely Lindsey, and Bryan and Kevin back to the Trick or Treat party. I had hoped Peter would put on a costume, but when he proved unwilling, Bryan assumed the role of the March Hare to match Emily's Alice in Wonderland and Jackie's Queen of Hearts. Emily was one sleepy little character after her long day--I had to help her undress for bed.

At 4 a.m. Saturday morning, Grandpa was banging on our room door. Diana answered it to find him offering a room key for Kevin, who was already asleep in Grandpa's room. Diana could not get back to sleep, so was a bit tired, but we again got out early. Most of us started in the California Adventure Park as it opened, riding the Toy Story Arcade first before the lines got bad. I got a little misty eyed later as I rode Soarin' Over California, thinking about the wonders of God's creations and how blessed I have been to live in beautiful places like California and Hawaii. Diana, Mac, Luke and Bryan had been out to beach that morning to try at little surfing. At lunch, we all met at Goofy's Kitchen to celebrate the birthday people--Emily, Diana, Mac and Kevin. Grandpa got confused at the buffet and was lost from us a couple of times. We are a Goofy family! We did have lots of fun with the characters, though--I even danced a little with Goofy!

As we left Goofy's Kitchen, our group began to go different directions and for a while both Emily and Grandpa were lost. That was frustrating. The parks were crowded in the afternoon. Marv went home for a nap and to start the crock pot dinner I had put together. However, when we arrived home in the evening, the crock pot had only been set to warm so the barbecue beef wasn't cooked. Oh, well. Take-out pizza to the rescue.

Sunday morning after breakfast and got ourselves packed up for the ride home. We had to lash the surf board to the top of the Suburban. Mac had kept it to try riding a little more when Bryan had to leave for work. Good thing Mac and Kevin were both Eagle Scouts--their knots held! Even though it added to our driving time, I'm glad we were able to stop at Bryan and Kevin's place to drop off the surfboard and see the work the boys have done converting the garage into a bedroom for Kevin! The traffic in LA was terrible even on Sunday. We made a stop for lunch and to transfer Grandpa to Uncle David who kindly met us at the intersection of Interstate 5 and Hwy 14. We still had hours and hours to go with a side trip to Oakland to pick up Marv's car from the airport and then a stop and the Sacramento airport for Mac's car. Arriving home, my co-worker Crystal who house sat for us had the house spic and span and the pets all cozy.

Favorite memories: Luke on It's a Small World and The Jungle Cruise. Emily saying more than once that Disneyland was the SECOND happiest place on earth, because home was first. Peter, just wanting to hang out with his brothers and his brother in law. Marv, chatting eagerly with the boys who he doesn't see often enough, also watching and talking football with his dad. Grandpa genuinely seemed to enjoy being along for the trip and I was happy for that. All in all, it was wonderful to have so many of the family members together.