Captain's Log: Operation Road Trip - Day Seven

We left Anaheim this morning. It was tough to say goodbye to our (gorgeous, spacious) hotel room but the blue skies and sunshine put us in good spirits. We loaded up on coffee and hit the I-5 at 9:45. We thought we'd have a pretty chill day. It was our "wing it" day. Our "plan nothing, see where the wind takes us" day. Sometimes keeping scheduling to a minimum results in the best memories. And sometimes it results in you hitting the outskirts of San Francisco at 5pm on a work day and sitting in rush-hour traffic with a constipated, teething, screamy baby for the 90 minutes it takes you to drive the 20 miles to your hotel where they charge you FIFTY AMERICAN DOLLARS to park your vehicle for less than 24 hours. 

I let the concierge think he was breaking into the closed kitchen to get orange juice for Grady and then I went upstairs and mixed that orange juice with vodka is what I'm saying.  

Starting our trip home with an accidental 10-hour driving day (when we were expecting a 7-hour day) does not bode well for our sanity. We need to find an open field for Grady to run in tomorrow before he goes absolutely batty. 

Captain's Log: Operation Road Trip - Day Six

Shawn and Grady spent the day doing Disney again today so Poppy and I had a gal's day. We started the day brunching with the ladies (of the Internet - bloggers and Twitterers I've known and loved online for years) and then shopped and then met an old friend for lunch (puréed broccoli, so SoCal).

I met Kelly when I was a kid and we were on the same baseball team. We stayed friends (and played baseball) until life took us in different directions in our twenties and Facebook became our mode of communication. I was always a little in awe of her. She's beautiful in a way that looks effortless. She always carried herself with this cool confidence, like she literally did not care if you liked her or not. Take her or leave her, she wasn't bothered by it. It was an impressive character trait in a teenager, especially when I was so wracked with self-doubt and insecurity. It was so nice to reconnect and spend some time with someone who knew me so long ago. Seeing her with her baby was awesome and ridiculous. We used to get drunk and stupid together and now we have babies? What is this life?

The boys came back from the park exhausted but not too tired for a swim. We were the only ones in the pool and the moon shone brightly in the clear sky. It was an excellent way to end our time in Anaheim. In the morning we hit the road again.  

Captain's Log: Operation Road Trip - Day Five

Last night after the kids fell asleep, Shawn and I stayed up and drank vodka sodas and ate cheese and crackers in the​ dark like damn adults (adults who are terrified the kids will wake up). We weren't bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning when Grady woke up at seven is what I'm saying. I finally pried my eyes open at 7:30 to see Grady fully dressed, shoes and all, waiting to head to Disneyland. 

Hours later (threeeeeee hourrrrrrs according to Grady) the four of us headed to the park. We didn't make too strict of a plan today on purpose. We had no idea how Poppy would react to the crowds or hours in the stroller. We were worried for nothing. She was a bit fussy from time to time (she is Penelope after all) but overall she handled her first trip to Disney like a pro. ​

Shawn and I traded off going on rides with Grady and we hit a few rides as a family. ​The Jungle Cruise was excellent but the Finding Nemo Submarine was too intense for Poppy. Grady's turned into a bit of a daredevil and can't get enough of the roller coasters. 

The highlight of today is a draw between introducing Grady to churros ("this stick doughnut tastes like salmon*!") and tonight's Main Street Electrical Parade. *salmon = cinnamon and no one better correct him!

We stayed in the park until closing and the rain didn't start until we left. It was a perfect day. There were hangry meltdowns (from all of us at different points in the day) and five-year-old attitude (it's SO HARD to be surrounded by so much cool stuff that you want SO BADLY but can't have because your parents aren't millionaires) ​but it was exactly what I needed. I'm exhausted, my feet are aching, but my heart is full. My little family can be frustrating at times but today reminded me that it's also a lot of fun. 

Grady crawled into bed tonight, naked but for his underoos because then he "can get dressed even faster in the morning." Shawn's going to have his hands full tomorrow. 

Captain's Log: Operation Road Trip - Day Four

We woke up to rain this morning. Not a lot of rain (and we're certainly not complaining after seeing pictures of all the snow back home) but enough that I decided to skip Disneyland today. Grady and Shawn have three-day park hopper passes but our plan is that Poppy and I will join them for only one day. I'm excited about experiencing Disneyland with Grady but I also wanted to let Shawn do his own thing (he and his dad did a Disney trip when he was about Grady's age and it's a special memory for him). And, to be completely honest, a quiet hotel room with my best gal is extremely appealing.  

The rain changed our plans but didn't dampen our spirits. It's easy to get caught up in our expectations but the reality is that Grady is five. He's impressed by everything (in fact, we went for a walk today and he told me the palm trees looked "quite impressive in the morning light." Oookay, kid.). As we drove the last leg of our trip last night, we told Grady he had to look for Disneyland. It was dark so he couldn't colour, he'd watched all the Rescue Bots episodes I'd downloaded for him, and we needed to keep him occupied. He diligently watched out the window and when he saw what he thought was Disneyland, he was so excited. "I see it! I see Disneyland! It's AMAZING! Disneyland is so cool," he exclaimed. As we drove by an outlet mall. Moral of the story: a little rain doesn't change the fact that Disneyland is the coolest thing Grady has ever seen. 

Grady and Shawn had a great day and lasted much longer than I expected they would. The rain is supposed to ease up tomorrow so Poppy and I will join them for a day of fun. And there's no driving planned until Thursday so the Captain's Log is suddenly less desperate.