Disney... AGAIN!

I couldn't ask for a better father for my nephew. Thank you, Patrick, for being so amazing to Noa and Sondra!

Practicing for his role of big brother!

Sisters and their big boys.

Joseph LOOOOOOOOVES Captain Hook!

Marching in a line during Toy Story drill time.

Lovin' the freedom of the open... bug road?

Two GOOD lookin' guys in line for Toy Story Mania.

While in Disneyworld in September, I recall seeing pregnant women waddling around the park in the hot Florida sun. I thought to myself, what a bunch if dummies! Who would want to suffer 10 hours of constant walking without even being able to go on all the cool rides? Well, that was me in Disneyland these past three days. Walking around with a basketball tucked in my abdominal cavity, breathless because of the head of lettuce (approximate size of an 8 month old fetus) compressing my lungs rendering them almost useless, lower back pain, sore feet, and an insatiable appetite that made it impossible to resist any of the fat and calorie-rich fare every 5 feet. Popcorn (laced with some powerfully addictive substance, Joe and I are certain), deep fried corndogs, cobs of corn, turkey legs, pretzels, ice cream, and churros. I don't even like churros! You can get them for $1 at the Costco food court but for some reason, they looked irresistible despite the $3.50 pricetag! How does Disney do that? I paid $5.99 for a corndog and thought to myself, "what a great deal!" That is scary!

Joseph's favorite ride was "it's a small world." That was the first ride we took him to when we went to EuroDisney in Paris. At 18 months old there wasn't a lot from which to choose. He also loved the Silly Symphony, Jellyfish, Soaring over California, Submarine, and of course Toy Story Mania. We've had a lot of practice since buying the Wii game at Disneyworld in September. I have defended my record as the Stutesman family champion of that game. Every tine we play, I am always the highest score on the board. Joseph beats both of us on accuracy.

Joseph and I had a serious discussion about what to do in the event he is separated from us. He almost got lost when we were on Tom Sawyer's island and Joey told him to meet him at the end of the tunnel not knowing that there are many different routes you can take. Joey ended up on the other side and Joseph found me sitting in the shade. Close call! Disneyland can be a big, scary place when separated from mom and dad!

Joe was absolutely wonderful to me. One thing I'll miss about being pregnant is that he makes such a fuss about me. No other time in my life does he ask me how I feel every 5 minutes and panics over every strange noise grimace I make. He finds shady places for me to sit when he and Joseph wait in lines for rides. He makes sure that every time we pass the restroom, he asks if either Joseph or I need to go. Every meal decision is made to accommodate my wildly unpredictable palate. I love it! There's reason to have 20 more kids!

The objective of our road trip to California was to visit Sondra, Patrick and their new little one, Noa. The trip was in the works during Joe's last deployment. When the Leave period was announced, I said I wanted to visit my sister in San Francisco and while we were already down there, why not spend the extra 6 hours to get to Anaheim? We traveled to Nana and Poppy's in Southern Oregon on Saturday, then to Aunt Lyn and Paul's in San Jose on Sunday. Monday was spent on the road to Anaheim where we stayed at the Best Western at Stovallis. I was quite impressed! At less than $80 a night, we had a clean and safe place to sleep 10 minutes walking distance to the Parks! There was also free breakfast in the mornings! A nice variety of cold breakfast cereals, pastries, juices, and always two selections of hot breakfast. Biscuits and gravy, pancakes, or french toast. Lots of fresh oranges and apples to stow away for an afternoon snack and coffee for Joey.

On the drive over, we packed string cheese, go-gurt, water, and bologna sandwiches. Each house we stayed at, we were able to store our perishables in their refrigerator and re-freeze our ice packs. It made the voyage over here much less costly. Gas sure did hurt, however! It escalated upwards of $4.40 in California and that's hard to swallow when you're paying $3.60 in Oregon and don't even have to get off your lazy butt to pump it! Got to love Oregon for no self-service allowed!

We had an excellent time and we know that Joseph will never EVER forget our last vacation as a family of three!