We are just back from a wonderful trip to sunny California and Disneyland with the entire Leake clan...all 18 of us. It was happy and wonderful and stressful and exhausting, full of humor and frustration...all things that come with 18 people together in the happiest place on earth! This trip has been in the works since last Thanksgiving and was so eagerly anticipated by all of us. There were minor glitches, which was to be expected, but overall, I would classify it as a true success and many happy memories were made.
There are ten Leake grandchildren, with the oldest three being teenage girls. This proved to be immensely helpful as we navigated the thousands of people in Disneyland. Mara, who is 16, and Marshall really hit it off. They walked together and did so many rides together-it was so helpful! Bridget just automatically attached herself to Teia, who is 14. I didn't sit by Bridget for a single ride until our second day! Becca, who is 13, became Katelin's little buddy and those two had a bunch of fun together. That just left the four youngest grandchildren for the adults to wrangle and for the most part it was totally doable! Our dear little Rachel, who is so un-predicatable, was at times terrible, and Carson, who is just a six year old ball of intensity, were our trickiest ones. But we only lost Carson once, and Rachel only made one screaming exit out of the park, so I consider us fortunate!
Gretchen was nothing short of an angel. When we started planning this trip last year I just fully expected Gretchen to be walking and having to deal with a stubborn one year old who wanted to walk instead of be carried or ride in the stroller. Not so! This was one HUGE perk to Gretchen's lack of gross motor skills! She was almost always content to be in the stroller and was also totally fine being held-it was wonderful! She always willingly went to any adult or teenage cousin, laid on everyone's shoulders when she was tired, and the first night fell asleep in Nina's arms. She did SO well.
Bob and Becky drove out to our house on Friday night, November 11th. The next morning we were on the road by 9:00 am headed for Cedar City. We did have one immediate glitch right off the bat when our van battery died at the gas station down the street! Bob and Becky weren't able to use their car to jump us because they were driving their Prius, but thankfully there was a nice man who pulled right over to help us out! We were a little bit nervous after that mishap, but thankfully, the van worked just fine for the rest of the trip! We made it to Cedar City by lunch time, had lunch, and then went to the Cedar City Temple open house. Apparently, many people had this same idea because we were in line for SO long. Honestly, at times it was very miserable. Gretchen was exhausted and finally fell asleep on me for a bit right before we made it in the temple. Marshall was angry about the line and Rachel experienced all emotions! Bridget was our only content child in the line! Anyway, the temple was beautiful and I am glad we took the 2 1/2 hours to experience it. The temple is full of beautiful artwork and detailed stained glass. After that we got back on the road, had dinner in St. George, and then finished our drive to our hotel in Las Vegas.
Sunday morning we just relaxed at the hotel, which was nice after our long Saturday. We found an 11:00 sacrament meeting to attend and then we went to Shake Shack for lunch. Delicious. Hmmm...that burger is just fantastic. Its a good thing we enjoyed that lunch because the rest of the day was miserable. Shortly after getting out of Vegas, we hit the Vegas to California weekend traffic on that awful two lane freeway. It was so slow and just full of cars and trucks. It was a LONG drive. We were elated to finally make it to the hotel, I want to say it was about 9:00 at night, and then Rachel promptly got sick. Lovely. What a day!
Thankfully our Monday was much better. Gretchen was able to take a good nap at the hotel and Becky stayed with her while the rest of us walked to Downtown Disney. The sun felt wonderful and it was just great to be outside walking around. After lunch, Nathan and his family arrived and we all went swimming, very fun. After baths and showers, Joe's family arrived, and we all went back to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping. It was so fun to finally all be together and it was just a great time.
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| I have to say I love all their smiles in this picture, especially Rachel! :) |
We were able to spend three wonderful days in Disneyland and California Adventure. We kicked the fun off on Tuesday, November 14th, which also happens to be Grandma Becky's birthday. All 18 of us were ready to leave the hotel at 8:20 in the morning-a miracle! Grandma Becky had given each one of us birthday bags full of treats and Mickey or Minnie Mouse ears. We got a picture of all of us in the hotel lobby, and again at the entrance of Disneyland. After all pictures were complete, we headed straight to Fantasyland per Grandma Becky's request. The lines were not bad and in less than two hours we rode Snow White, Pinocchio, the carousel, Dumbo, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and the favorite of many, Peter Pan. It was so fun to all be together, and I must say, our entire time the Disney workers were so accommodating to keep our entire group together. It was great! The kids loved all the rides in Fantasyland. Bridget's favorite ride is Peter Pan and Gretchen really came to love the carousels. After that we moved over to Frontierland and kicked things off with Big Thunder Railroad. Some people sat out this ride, but Marshall rode with Mara and Richard and I rode with Rachel. Rachel had not completely been herself that morning, though she did love everything in Fantasyland, but I think she was just overwhelmed with everything going on. She is quite adventurous though, and when she insisted she ride on the roller coaster, even after watching it, Richard and I obliged. Things started great for her, but as the ride continued and we kept going up and down and on our side, she was terrified. We all made it off the ride and while some Leake's loved it, others, like the ones in my family, did not! After that we calmed things down and did the Jungle Cruise, and then some of us did Indiana Jones while others took a rest. For Indiana Jones the Leake clan had an entire jeep to ourselves and that was really fun. I rode next to Marshall and that was great. Just before the ride started I asked him if he wanted to hold my hand and he said no, but within seconds he had grabbed it! He was so fun to ride next to, excitement and terror all at the same time! When we got off though he quickly declared it his favorite ride. After that we did Winnie the Pooh for the first of four times that day. That is such a cute ride and the kids all love it. After a quick lunch break we all did the Haunted Mansion together. One fun thing about being in Disneyland during this time was all the Christmas decorations. It was so festive and there was always Christmas music playing on Main Street and in Downtown Disney. Anyway, the Haunted Mansion was completely decked out for Christmas and it was awesome. Even the little kids liked it despite the spookiness of it all. Next up was Splash Mountain, which we did in two groups with fast passes, while the others took little kids on Winnie the Pooh. In our log we had Richard in front, followed by Marshall, me, Mara and Teia. It was so great. Richard provided hilarious commentary through the whole things and I just kept reassuring Marshall that all would be fine. Some of you may have seen Marshall's priceless expression as captured on camera during the infamous drop. It was great. He had no desire to ride that again the rest of our trip! Bridget and Rachel also got to see Winnie the Pooh and take a picture with him. It was so fun to see Rachel interact with the characters, she was never shy and always so sweet! In keeping with the water theme, we headed over to Pirates before dinner. All 18 of us were able to make it in one boat and it was so fun. I rode next to Rachel and she really loved it. She just took in all the scenes to look at and despite her fear of rides that go "high and low" as she put it after the roller coaster, she loved the two hills in Pirates. It is now her favorite ride. We had dinner at Tacqueria in Downtown Disney and enjoyed their Taco Tuesday-yay for cheap meals! We then hopped on the monorail, got off in Tomorrowland, and rode Autotopia and ended the night with Buzz Lightyear. Sadly, while in line for Buzz, Rachel threw up. It was so sad, but we have since figured out that Rachel is just another Leake who suffers from motion sickness. She and I left the line, I cleaned her up, and she promptly fell asleep in the stroller while we waited for everyone else. By the time we were nearing the exit of the park it was almost 9:00 and fireworks were just about to start. I proposed that we stay and watch and we are all so glad we did! It was beautiful and magical and actually made me cry! It was almost all set to Christmas music and the fireworks were just perfect and so unique. Marshall and Bridget were just in awe and it was so fun to watch them watch the fireworks. We finally made it back to the hotel close to 10:00 pm and we all just fell into bed. A truly magical day!
On Wednesday we took things a little bit easier. We were all so worn out from Tuesday that we just decided to get up and get going whenever! Sweet Gretchen fell asleep on Bob at 8:30 am! I think we all made it out of the hotel about 9:30 and got to California Adventure a little after 10:00. We were able to do Under the Sea, California Screamin', and the Carousel twice. Under the Sea is a complete delight and my girls just loved it, as do I! I was brave and rode California Screamin' for the first time ever. I rode with Mara, who loves roller coasters, and I kept her pretty entertained with my fairly constant screams and talking to myself to stay calm! It was fun though and I am glad I did it! Joe and Carson, who is only 6, rode in the very front and Carson loved it. Talk about courage! After those rides we walked over to Ariel's Grotto for our lunch. This was such a fun part of our day! We had a reservation for all 18 of us. As they walked us to our table, they led us down a winding staircase and there was Ariel to greet us. She talked to each of the girls and they were able to pose for pictures with her. After leaving Ariel they took us outside to our table which was right on the water. I love any meal I can eat by the water! During lunch we got to visit and take pictures with Snow White, Cinderella, Tiana, and Rapunzel. All of the princesses were so great with the kids and the girls all loved it, the boys were good sports about it. :) Rachel, as you can imagine, was especially elated. Before each new princess came out, they would introduce them over a speaker, giving a few clues about who it might be. Rachel was always so attentive and always knew which princess it was before they officially announced her. Rachel hugged each princess and just looked at them adoringly as they took time to talk to the other girls. Heart melting! The food was delicious. Delicious. It was also a three course meal, which was wonderful! Rachel ordered the angel hair pasta, but was not happy about how it looked when they brought it out. Our waitress overheard me talking to her about it, asked me what she would eat, and without even asking, or charging us extra, brought us a second plate of chicken nuggets for Rachel. Exceptional service! After lunch we used our fast passes and all rode on Toy Story together. We then split up and people did Casa Della Tires and Guardians of the Galaxy. Richard, Aubri, and I took the younger kids to Bugsland and did some rides there. I rode in the bumper cars with Marshall and for the first time ever Marshall was tall enough to drive the car on his own. He did an exceptional job and it was fun to share that with him. Rachel and Gretchen both took naps during this time, so that was also convenient and various adults were kind enough to stay with them. It was also nice to have more of a relaxing afternoon. On our way out of the park that night, we stopped at the Disney store to buy something for the three oldest kids. We had been browsing in stores since Monday, but had told the kids we weren't buying them anything until the end of the trip. We gave them each $30 to spend and Marshall had also been saving his money for the last year, so he actually had $70 to spend. After a whole lot of thought and waiting, Marshall purchased a GIANT Stitch, from Lilo and Stitch, using every single penny of his money. We are fairly certain he has not even seen this movie, but Marshall is such a softy, and has a tender place in his heart for any stuffed animal. We now have a new member of the family who sits at the table with us, sits on the couch, and is Marshall's new favorite companion. Bridget purchased a Moana Barbie and Rachel chose a cat baby that she has named Blissa. After purchasing all of that, Bob and Becky were saints and took our four kids back to the hotel with Mara, Teia, and Becca to give their sons and wives a kid-free night out in Disneyland. Joe and Aubri did their own thing that night, sans their children, but we spent our evening with Nathan and Nina and just had the BEST time. We meandered through Disneyland, taking pictures by the giant Christmas tree and the castle which was all lit up and decorated for Christmas. We had dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou and that was a fun, fun evening. Richard and I went to Disneyland on our honeymoon and one of his uncles had told us to eat at the Blue Bayou. One night we planned to eat there, walked in, and they told us they were completely booked and it was such a popular place you really needed a reservation. We have been wanting to eat there for 12 1/2 years and it did not disappoint! The Blue Bayou is located in Pirates of the Caribbean and it is just such a fun atmosphere. All four of us ordered the exact same thing, the bone in rib eye, and it was fantastic! It has been a long time since I have had a nice cut of meat and it was stellar. It was so fun eating and sitting and talking with Nathan and Nina. They live in Maryland, so we don't see them nearly enough and it was just a great dinner with them. After dinner we rode on Pirates, which was so fun to do without children, and then we rode on the train and finished the night with Small World. Amazing! Small World is all decorated and lit up for Christmas and was amazing! The four of us were the only ones in our boat and Richard and I were able to sit in front. Just before we headed into Small World, fireworks went off and the music and light show on the outside of Small World was just starting. It was seriously the highlight of the trip for me! The inside of Small World was delightful and just full of the Christmas spirit. I loved it...clearly! Just as our ride was coming to an end, something broke down, and the boats got into quite a jam. Our boat almost made it to the ending point, but not quite. Once they cleared out all the boats in front of us, the workers came and helped us get out of our boat onto a narrow walkway under some stairs. It was a tad tricky, but made for a memorable ending to a great evening! There were also several boats behind us that still had people in them and we wondered how many people were stuck in boats inside Small World! After that adventure we made our way back to the hotel. Bob, Becky, Mara, Teia, and Beeca had done a great job with the little kids. They had ordered pizza and had a movie night. Gretchen was asleep in our room with Mara and Becky was with Allen. By all accounts, everything went well and we sure appreciated the night off! I also have to add that Marshall carried Stitch, all by himself, from Downtown Disney to our hotel, which was probably a one mile walk. That's true love right there. :)
Thursday was our last day of magic. We started our day in California Adventure and immediately did Grizzly River Run with no wait at all, it was awesome! Richard and I rode with Mara, Marshall and Carson. It was hilarious. Carson, who had been so brave the entire trip, was so scared, but also had a lot of fun. He and Marshall were sitting next to each other and it was just so fun to watch their faces as they knew hills were coming. Everyone got plenty soaked, but lucky for us, it was warm and sunny and so we all dried off pretty quickly. We then made our way over to Under the Sea, as it is quite the favorite. After that we split in two groups. Richard and Teia took our kids to see Elaina and ride the carousel while the rest of us did California Screamin' for the second time. I was just as nervous, but told myself I had to keep my eyes open for both big hills and the loop and I succeeded! Yay! I am getting braver in my 30s! :) After that we all went our separate ways for lunch and met back up in Disneyland for the afternoon. We did It's A Small World and once again, we were all able to be in the boat together. That is just such a great ride! Rachel was able to sit right in front with Richard and she just took it all in. At my request, I made Bridget sit with me and she was delightful. Such fun memories! We then made our way back to Fantasyland and rode Alice in Wonderland. Rachel, the stinker that she is, screamed through the entire ride, so that was really pleasant for me and Richard! She remained in a foul mood for Peter Pan, but at least she wasn't screaming while we were flying over London! Geez. After that we did Pirates one last time, which is Rachel's favorite ride. I got some respite from her crankiness thanks to Nina and her girls! They played with her while we waited in line and then she sat with Nina on the ride. They even got Rachel to raise her hands for the hills and that was fun to watch her both terrified and thrilled expression. Richard and I rode with Marshall and Bridget. Bridget did not want to go on this again, so she basically just clung to Richard. Marshall was excited to ride it again, but also nervous, and it was fun to be by him. After Pirates we decided to head to Downtown Disney for dinner. At this point, Rachel had a complete meltdown because she did not want to ride in the stroller she had been using for the entire trip. She screamed, like screamed at the top of her lungs, the entire way out of Disneyland and almost to the end of Downtown Disney. It was crazy, crazy. She refused to get in the stroller, and I refused to carry her, so I don't know who was more stubborn, but I did get a few compliments from strangers congratulating me for not giving into her. :) Once we got to dinner, she promptly fell asleep on my lap at 6:00 pm and slept until 7:00 am the next morning. After dinner Bob, Nina and I took the sleeping Rachel and Gretchen back to the hotel. Richard, Marshall, Bridget, Becky, Nathan and his three girls all went back to Disneyland. They were able to do Autopia and Buzz Lightyear one more time. Richard, his mom, and the kids got back to the hotel about 10:00 and Nathan and the girls stayed a while longer. Another great and full day!
Friday morning Joe's family flew home, our family and Bob and Becky were on the road by 8:30 am, and Nathan's family flew home that night. We successfully did our drive all in one day, and it was another long day! We got home at 10:00 pm after driving through snow and rain from about Cedar City on. We all missed California and Disneyland, but after a full day in the car, it felt great to be home.
And to conclude this marvelous post, some of our most favorite pictures of the trip...Splash Mountain.
