The Esau Family

So to continue our journey through our land of enchantment extravaganza, we arrive at the "ankle mishap" day.

Owen ran out to move the car at dawn so we didn't get a meter fee and stepped off the curb wrong. Next thing I know I'm running outside in a panic wearing pj's because my husband calls with that panic voice saying he thinks he broke his ankle.

Fortunately, not broken. Unfortunately, he tore ligaments in his ankle. A doctor visit and Vicodin later, our day at the beach became a day in the hotel room :-(

I was determined this mishap would not lick us!! it was Disney Land!! who bags Disney Land? The next day, we facilitated a wheel chair and let the games begin!

Ps, the wheelchair experience was quite the ordeal. We rented it from a place called The Druggist (yes, classy, I know), put a deposit down and got the legs with movement so he could lift it. Well a leg broke. We asked a tech at Disneyland if he could fix it. He couldn't but gave us one of theirs for free for the day :-) devilishly hard to push though.

Anywho, we got back to the hotel where Owen fixed it himself (hero) and we took it back the next day and said nothing. While some of you may be thinking this was dishonest, let me just say that the leg was working better AFTER Owen fixed it than before so in my mind, they should pay us ;-)

Our drive home was supposed to be a stop off in Vegas for the night and then finish the home stretch Sunday. Instead, given all the hiccups along the way, we just wanted to get home. We pulled a "push through" tactic and braved it. It was exhausting and Owens foot was so swollen! But we finally made it.

Even though it was rough, we had a lot of fun and we still see Disneyland as the most magical place on earth :-)

Ashley and Jake are seasoned Disneyland travelers. They invite us all the time. Well this year, they asked right at a time when Owen and I really needed to get away more than anything and we happened to have a little extra on the side since it's tax return season. So we said YES! I got the travel, rooms and everything booked for us and the kids to go. However, when I called Barb with the exciting news about how this was finally going to happen (we wanted to go last year but we had to put the money towards buying a home up here in Centerville to be near them instead), so when I spoke with Barb, we didn't agree with one another regarding the trip and it turns out they could not come with us. I was heartbroken. Owen has been talking about taking them there for years. He was so excited and I was excited because 1. I have never been and 2. Going with the kids would make it perfect and exciting to the fullest degree. Sadly, we had to accept that they were not going to come. However, Owen and I decided that we were still going to go for 2 reasons. A. Neither of us have been and going would be fun for sure. and B. We could learn all we need to about how to do the trip right with the kids our second time around if we went now and learned on our own. So we packed our bags and headed out to the happiest land known to mankind. Disneyland!

I do love RoadTrips!

First stop was Vegas overnight at the Venetian!

We went to the Mob Museum while there. It was amazing! (side note: this is also where I discovered my anxiety attack problems and decided to officially give up large consumptions of caffeine from now on)

Owen and I both love the show Pawn Stars (more like a love/hate relationship) but they are based in Vegas so we made a point to drive past their shop on our way through

We then headed out to California :) Many people love California for it's many diverse cities, to be honest, the best thing I have found there is the beach. That's about it. Everything else about California is flat, hot and once you've seen a palm tree, you've seen them all in my opinion. However, Disneyland was worth the trip for sure. I also make an exception in that bitter description for San Francisco. I will always love that city and it feels much different than other Californian cities for sure.

On our way there, we stopped at a little "ghost" town called Calico. It's basically a little tourist trap set up specifically to make you stop and add it to your ball of yarn and large frying pan style photo ops. I admit, I'm a sucker for all those quaint random stops and places...so naturally we went :)

Then on we went to Cali! We arrived in time to still go grab some food. I liked out hotel. It was in Laguna right on the beach! So nice to go straight out onto the sand under your toes in the moonlight with a slight breeze.

My handsome husband sat on this sofa out on the patio for me so I could have a better reason to snap a shot of this couch than just because I loved the color of the cushions. lol. Thanks O, you saved me a blog embarrassment of the designer nerd degree for sure!

Bright and early the next morning, we went to the Magic Kingdom side of Disneyland!! (for those who don't know, there are two lands there, California Adventure and the Magic Kingdom)

It really was magical! It was spectacular. I will always be the little girl stuck inside me at heart. All the rides, the music and the ambiance was placating to every show and song I memorized and can still rehearse by heart since I was about 5 years old. It was enchanting and exciting to be there with Owen and my best girl friend :)