June 21

Throughout the course of our nearly 25-year long relationship, Adam has consistently noted the presence of "Beverly Hills, 90210" alumni when they've popped up in other TV shows and movies. (Think "oh, it's Dylan McKay!" and "That's Brenda Walsh. Troublemaker.") So when he plunked down on the couch in the family room Saturday morning and immediately pointed out that Luke Perry was in the episode of "SVU" that I was watching, it hit me: he needed the complete series. So I bought it as a Father's Day gift. And today, it arrived.

I was standing by with my phone to capture the moment of the great unboxing, and it did not disappoint. The moment he saw what was inside, his face broke into the widest grin and then he admitted that okay, yeah, maybe he talks about it a little too much.

I think he appreciated the gesture. And I know we'll have fun watching all (because there are a LOT of them) of those old episodes in the months to come. And that time will no doubt be a blessing.

June 20

I spent most of today holed up in the bedroom. Although Adam recently had COVID, the boys had it earlier this year, and Abby is my current virus buddy, it felt like the prudent thing to do. 

I enjoy my alone time to a point, but after hours of crocheting hats, making mock-ups of Abby's graduation announcement on Shutterfly using her awesome senior portraits, and watching re-runs of "Criminal Minds" on TV, I was more than ready to head outside for dinner on the deck.

Brady had a late-afternoon game so we ate later than usual, but it was still a blessing to go hang with my peeps for a little while.

June 19

The thing that frustrates me most about this COVID thing is the mind fog. I just can't seem to string together words like I usually can, so bear with me as I muddle through this post.

Father's Day isn't exactly Adam's favorite holiday like Mother's Day isn't mine, but I think he had a nice day nonetheless. Brady had a game, and since I'm out of commission, he accompanied him to the ballpark this morning and into the afternoon. The he spent some time in the pool with the boys.

We ate dinner out on the deck --he made tacos and burritos; wasn't interested in ordering out-- and had the party pack I ordered from Coldstone for dessert. And he opened his presents.

And that was, for the most part, his day. And I hope it was a good one; if nothing else, it was simple, and I know he likes simple. He's a great man, this man of mine, and a great example of love and selflessness to our kids. Happy Father's Day, hunny.

June 18

Turns out I brought a special souvenir back from Disneyland. (And no, ha ha, that is most definitely not a pregnancy test.)

I started to feel like I had a cold coming on last night, so as soon as we got home late this afternoon, I took a COVID test. And, well, you see the result. Abby is also in the Positive Club.

I'm less than thrilled about this turn of events, but at the same time, I'm deeply grateful that I felt good through the vast majority of our trip. And I'm grateful that we were able to be together and have fun together. And I'm grateful that Adam's sabbatical from work began last week, so nothing will go to pot while I'm out of commission.

It's all a reminder for me that God is good all the time. I don't want to be sick nor do I want be stuck at home, but I'm thankful that I have people around me to not just pick up slack, but also to take care of ME when I need it.

June 17

Today marked the final day of our Disney vacation, so we made the most of it. 

"Making the most of it" meant getting up at 6:45 AM so we could jet over to California Adventure in order to be in line for the Radiator Springs Racers ride before it became an hours-long affair. We succeeded and were among the first of the day to board, but only after waiting an extra 20 minutes as the crew tested out the cars. (Phew. If they'd closed it, I think we would've birthed a collective cow.) 

I was mulling it earlier and concluded that Cars Land is a very special place to me, mostly because Logan loved those cars-with-faces as much as he did, so I really like being there. I love Flo's V8 Cafe and Luigi's and the rock formations and the solitary blinking yellow light in the middle of town. I just love it all. And I love how it makes me feel to see those faces and hear those voices and see the scenes from that precious movie played out in front of me, in real life.  Although I don't believe that my sweet boy is truly there, I do believe that God lets me feel him a little more significantly when I'm walking those wee little streets. And I am so, so grateful for that gift; that little slice of Heaven.

From there, we did a lot. So much that I can't remember it all without looking back through my camera roll, but among others, we rode the Incredicoaster a few times (Brady hated the first time but loved the second. I can't figure that kid out sometimes), checked out the new Spiderman Web Slingers attraction (which is cool enough, but not worth the $20 or however much extra Disney wants for lightning lane access), took a selfie with Sully, and took on a non-swinging gondola on the giant Ferris Wheel on the Pier. We had Ghirardelli ice cream concoctions for lunch because we could. And Adam was delighted to purchase a loaf of fresh sourdough bread from a vendor, too. He loves that stuff. They all do, really. 

After a return to Cars Land to finish up with the other two such-themed rides, we skipped over to Disneyland to finish our day there. After trucking back and forth between a variety of rides, Abby announced that she wasn't feeling well so Adam ferried her back to the hotel while Isaac, Brady, and I waited in a "70" minute line to ride Space Mountain. Ha. Ha. Ha. Not even close. So not even close, in fact, that Adam had time to freshen up at the hotel, return to the park, and join us in line, and we still had another 20 minutes to go. But it worked out and I'm grateful for that. We dined at Pizza Planet and after a jaunt through the Haunted Mansion, we finished with Big Thunder Railroad, which was down most of the day. And we happened to board in the middle of the nightly fireworks display, so colorful bursts of light and color illuminated the sky as we raced along the track. It was unique and quite lovely.

So that's a wrap for our theme park excursion. Though my feet and back ache as I think about falling into bed, I'm thankful to have had this time with my people, and am grateful for the laughs and the funny tales that arose from the week. All of them are most definitely blessings.

June 16

I was very tired when yesterday drew to a close, but tonight, I'm full-on pooped. Exhausted. Ready to fall into bed and sleep for hours (though I'm not sure how likely that is to happen since there's a apparently a rollicker of a band playing in Downtown Disney and the boom, boom, boom of the bass doesn't really work for my light sleeper self. But I digress).

It was, all in all, a good day that was spent entirely at Disneyland. There were a few disagreements because we're all human and a few bumps in the road with rides that closed down at inopportune times, but we made it work out just fine.

The highlight reel before I conk out?  Sure. We began the day by trying to go to the new Star Wars ride, but apparently every other person waiting at the gate when the clock struck 8 had the same plan, so the line was already two hours deep by the time we rolled up. So we headed over to the Millennium Falcon ride and did that one instead. (Brady and I were excellent pilots, for the record. We managed to net a profit, whoop whoop.)

We rode a slew of other rides, including Splash Mountain and Space Mountain, where we continued perfecting our photo game. And actually, one of the day's most interesting tales came from our time on Space Mountain. We'd just finished the final stretch of the ride when our car suddenly came to a stop and the lights went off. Then The Voice told us to stay in our seats (as if we'd get off, ha ha ha) and flight crews would come help us. So we sat there in the dark for a few minutes taking goofy pictures to test out the light meter of Adam's phone. (There's one that looks like Abby had cat eyes but I figured she'd be mad at me if I used that one so I went with the one in the top right instead.) And then a pair of cast members came and actually pushed our car to the ending point. I was super, super grateful that we were able to finish our ride before the unnamed problem arose.

From there, we headed over to Small World since the line was short, and then we wound up on the slowest boat ever. It moved through the attraction so slowly that by the time we saw daylight, there were at least four other boats right on our tail and Abby was laughing almost to tears over a comment Adam made about greased monkeys. (It was weird. But our conveyance was boat number 7 for you LA locals, in case you're looking for a leisurely float through the neon paradise.) Then Abby finally got the Mickey Mouse pretzel she'd been wanting (as did Isaac and Brady), Brady got the giant Mickey hat he's apparently always wanted (I had no clue), and we headed back to the hotel, where we watched the Warriors win the Championships over Boston (woohoo!) and had carryout pizza for dinner.

I am so grateful for the happy memories we've made so far. Tomorrow is our last theme park day of this trip, and my prayer is that it will be filled with more good times that we'll look back on with a smile.

June 15

Isaac turned 14 years old today. And since this just happens to be our Disney week, he (we) got to celebrate in unusual style. 

I'll spare you the exact details since I'm running on fumes and midnight is quickly approaching, but we started the day at California Adventure, where we exhausted the list of lightning pass options (including the Incredicoaster, which became a favorite for those who rode it) before enjoying lunch at an Italian eatery. We closed out that meal with a cute Mickey Mouse-shaped chocolate cake for the birthday kid. From there we hopped over to Disneyland, where we spent a lot of time in lines but managed to ride Splash Mountain (oh, the wet pants), Peter Pan, and Big Thunder. 

Then it was back over to California Adventure for a quick dinner at Flo's V8 Cafe before our evening activity: a dessert party and viewing of the World of Color. We hadn't seen it before and it was quite the spectacle. Isaac noted afterward that it was late --the show didn't start until 10:15-- but worth it. I'm certainly glad he thought so!

Anyway, it was a busy day, but hopefully Isaac enjoyed it. It was kind of neat having all of the cast members telling him happy birthday (and seeing most of them balk when he responded '14'; many said they assumed he was 15 or 16 because of his height), and as usual, he had a good attitude about even the more frustrating moments (like when Peter Pan conked out after a long wait). He's a good-hearted, sweet-natured kid, and we're blessed to have him as an integral part of our family. Happy birthday, Bup!