Back to Disneyland!

Over President's Day weekend, we went to LA to see family and friends, and almost as importantly, to make our return to Disneyland. I was worried it was going to be crowded, headed into the holiday weekend, but luckily, our Thursday visit was not crowded a bit, and we had beautiful weather. We arrived just after the park opened, and stayed until it closed. A long day, but totally worth it. My dad and Loni joined us for the first half of the day, and then we were able to meet up with some of our friends for the last couple of hours.

The day was perfect, except for when we lost Westin for about 20 minutes! Talk about one of the scariest moments (if not, the scariest moment to date) as a parent. We were in Toon Town, getting ready to walk into Mickey's House. Westin was standing on the front steps, while Ryan and I were parking the stroller and getting Avery ready to go in. When we looked up, Westin was gone. We assumed he ran into Mickey's House, so Ryan ran in after him and I was a couple minutes behind. I got to the end of the house and saw Ryan and almost simultaneously, we asked each other, "do you have Westin?" Then panic sunk in. We both searched the house one more time and then went outside and looked in the surrounding attractions. No Westin. Ryan then went to find security, while I continued looking. I had made one more sweep of Mickey's house and came out to meet Ryan and the security guard, when I was Westin in Ryan's arms in tears. He had been found! Hallelujah! A weight quickly dropped off my shoulders and I ran to give him a hug. Apparently, he never went into the house, but had walked off to the side of the house. Once we were inside, Westin noticed we were gone and started looking for us. He had almost reached the end of Toon Town, when he said he remembered that when he's lost he's supposed to stay in one place. So he found a bench and sat down in tears. A man who had seen Ryan and me looking for Westin, saw W on the bench and asked if he was lost. Westin said yes and the man told him to stay there and he would get security. I'm so grateful for the blessing that came as Westin wondered around - for that little prompting he had to stay in one place. It was truly an answer to the many prayers that were said in those long 20 minutes. He was a little shaken up, and I think learned a good lesson about staying near mom and dad. I think Ryan and I learned a good lesson about staying near Westin too!

So aside from that scare, we had a great time and Avery was such a trooper, taking naps throughout the day in the Ergo carrier. 

Started the morning with a picture at the front of the park, with Westin carefully studying the map.

 

Loved having grandpa and Oma join us for the morning (and for grandpa getting us tickets!)!

The highlight of Westin's day came in the first couple hours, when he was chosen for Jedi training. He was given his own light saber and robe, and then taken through all the Jedi moves needed to defeat the bad guys. 

After training, which Westin took very seriously, each kid was able to battle Darth Vader or Darth Maul. Westin battled Darth Vader and did a great job. 

Of course, for the rest of the day, he referred to himself as a Padawon :)

Toward the end of the day, our friends the Pettingills joined us. We miss having them in the East Bay with us!

We powered through the full day and were all exhausted by the end of it. Westin and Avery fell asleep before we even got on the freeway to head back to Ryan's house. 

Already excited for the next visit!