Ben's Wish - Day 4 (California Adventure)

Thursday morning we walked over to California Adventure. We were excited to find out that the guest pass worked here too. Our first ride was the giant ferris wheel. You could ride the stationary or the rolling cars. Of course we chose the rolling cars and began the day nice and green (nauseated). Unfortunately for me, it never went away all day on the rides.

We were a little worried as we walked around because a lot of the rides were under construction. The kids had fun just playing on the fire boat.




Cari took some of the older kids to ride one of the coasters. While I played with the little ones on the fire boat. On the way back they snuck in a cotton candy without bringing it our way - Busted!


Ben was extremely excited to find the carousel working. He rode it a number of times during the day. I think his favorite was the seahorse . . .

Next, we rode the roller coasters. They were pretty awesome. Most of the little kids were too small so they got to go an meet Woody. They liked the Toy Story ride where they got to shoot targets with their own guns.

In the Bugs Life area the kids had a blast on the Tuck and Roll pill bug bumper cars. . .

We wrapped things up in time to catch the last show of Aladdin. It was pretty awesome. I loved Iago and the elephant and horse costumes . . .

After the show Cari and some of the older kids rode the Hollywood Hotel drop ride. I took Ben back to the bumper cars in Bug's Life. The whole park closed at 6pm. I was still green from a day of roller coasters and spinny rides. The kids were still going strong.

We all headed over to IHOP for dinner. I can only imagine what the servers thought as all 15 of us piled in for dinner. All in all it was a pretty fun day.

Ben's Wish - Day 3 (more Disneyland)

For day 2 in Disneyland, our cousins joined in the fun again. Right as we walked in we met Goofy . . .



Next we wandered around a bit and rode a couple of ride. We decided to split up the group and Jennifer and Jordan graciously took Elizabeth, Megan, Sammy and headed to ride the more fun rides -- roller coasters, get wet rides, etc. Cari and Threesa took some of the other kids and went to ride the Nemo ride. Who knew that Nemo was so entrenched in our family now that Cari bawled through the entire ride. During Ben's treatments he did not always sleep regular hours so Cari would throw on Nemo and let Ben watch while she slept next to him.

Nathan, Joseph and I stayed to watch Jedi Training. Nathan got picked to be trained. He had all the moves down . . .

To hear Nate tell it he single handedly chased off Darth Vader . . .

Nathan taking his Jedi oath . . .

After Jedi training, and numerous trips up and down the stairs and ramps between the Autopia and he rest room, we drove the cars. I must say that Nathan was a much better Jedi that he was a driver. Both Ben and I got jostled and bounced about to our limits.

After the Autopia it was off to Toon Town for lunch and more rides and games . . .

The kids loved Daisys boat and Goofy's house . . .

Then the ride that dad REFUSES to ride . . .the DREADED TEACUPS!!

We rode rides until the park closed. By the time we headed back the kids were spent, yet again.

Ben's Wish - Day 2 (Disneyland)

We got up early (for vacation early anyway) on Tuesday and headed over to Disneyland. We rode the monorail over from Downtown Disney, only to realize that it would have been easier to walk but the train ride was fun for Ben. After getting off the monorail, first stop - Pixie Hollow.

Even though it was early in the morning there was a bit of a line. We were given a Guest Services pass that we had no idea was such a wonderful thing. All we had to do was show this and we got to enter through the exit and skip waiting in ANY lines all day long. Unbelievable!! Ben ran up to any and all fairies and hugged them within an inch of their lives. Funny that the kids were all the same size as the fairies . . .

Next, on to ride Dumbo. Ben had said from day one that he wanted to ride Dumbo at Mickey's House so off we went . . .

Next Sammy got to pick her favorite and we headed for Casey Jr. and the railroad. Fitting car for our group . . .

Next we rode on the Peter Pan ride. Ben and Nate talked big about getting Capt. Hook with their swords. Then, who should happen to walk up, the Capt. himself. All the talk was out the window and Ben ran up and gave him a big hug. Not much of a lost boy protector after all . . .

We had only one appointment to keep all week, and that was with Mickey Mouse. We all got to spend nearly an hour playing with Mickey. The kids were a little shy at first. They talked a bit and we tried to interpret because, of course, Mickey can't talk. Finally they settled in and played UNO fro almost a half hour. Who gets to play UNO with Mickey for that long. What a great time.

We laughed because Mickey kept nearly winning and then would get slammed with draw cards. We finally called the game because Mickey had other places to be. When he got up he pulled out the cards he had been stashing under the game cabinet they were sitting next to. Mickey . . .cheating . . . we all laughed a lot at that.

And then a pictureof our true personalities . . .

and of course, mom had to cry at Mickey too. . . (at least dad kept his tears hidden for the picture:))

We walked out from playing cards with Mickey and ran into Aladdin and Jasmine. Who could have even hoped that Megan would get to meet her FAVORITE princess

And then around the corner to run into Cruella. I think Sammy's Halloween costume was cuter than this one but the girls got a kick out of the attitude . . .

Next we saw Minnie . . .

As the day wore on it got a little dark, a bit chilly, and Nate kind of gave out.

For one last ride, we hit the rockets . . .

What a cool first day in the park. In between and betwixt all of these character meetings I think we truly rode EVERY ride in the park. We went to Fronteerland for lunch and dad got picked to be a participant in the Dating Game show that was going on on stage with the Mayor, the Sheriff and the Mayor's not so attractive daughter. Fortuntely, he also had the camera on his belt . . .

Like I said before, that Guest Pass thing was amazing. No lines in Disneyland can truly wear you out. And best of all, I remembered sunblock on my newly shorn head and had no suburn - Wahooo!!

Ben’s Wish – Day 1

Before Ben left Seattle he was selected by the Make a Wish foundation to receive a wish. Want to take on challenge, figure out what the lifelong wish of a 2 year old is from minute to minute. He decided that he wanted to visit Mickey Mouse's house so we put in for the chace to have a family vacation in Disneyland.

The day finally arrived.

We left Anchorage on the 0-dark-thirty flight with a stopover in Seattle and then on to the Orange County Airport. The kids were pretty good on the flight despite being completely wired and excited. Alaska Airlines had our names as being on the flight as a part of a wish. They called the "Allred party" to the counter just as Cari and half of the kids headed to the bathroom for final pit stops. Once we got rounded up we boarded the plane and got first crack at complimentary snacks, digi-players, you name it. I felt pretty spoiled.

We got to Orange Co. and just as we stepped off the plane, standing there were two Orange Co. firemen, and two more sheriffs asking if this was the Allreds -- a little unnerving to have so many uniforms with guns looking for you. The sheriffs and firemen escorted us to the baggage claim and car rental desks, carried our bags, had badge stickers and color books for the kids and even took Nate for yet another pit stop while I was waiting in line for the car. We found out later that these guys came to do this all after their shifts. They were AMAZING. I thought Nathan was going to talk their ears off.

Well, we bid the OC firemen and sheriffs good bye and thank you and loaded the crew in the van and headed for the hotel. Both Cari and I were exhausted, not having slept on the flights. We arrived at the Paradise Pier Disneyland Hotel and the rooms were not quite ready for us so we hung out for a few minutes figuring out what we were going to do for the morning. One of the rooms came available so we headed there to get settled after taking a picture with Goofy in the lobby

The rooms were nice. Because of the size of our group we had two adjoining rooms. That was really nice.

The kids were excited to get things underway. Cari and I were excited to rest for a minute or two. We compromised. The kids watched Disney on TV for 30 minutes while we got to rest. As you may imagine, it was not peaceful rest, but it was nice to close our eyes for a minute or two.

Next, the pool. We headed down to the third floor outdoor pool. It was a bit windy and we were the only people outside at the pool. Come on, it was over seventy degrees outside and having come from under thirty degrees, it felt plenty warm to swim and slide. There was a waterslide, a kiddie pool, a larger pool and a hot tub. After spending between two and three hours attempting to wear out all of the above we walked over to the rain forest restaurant in Downtown Disney for dinner. All of the food was great.

Next, back to the hotel to meet Cari's sister Threesa and their family for Family Home Evening. We had a lesson on Captain Moroni given by Joseph (cousin) and then went swimming again (this is going to be a recurring event throughout). We swam for an hour or so and then headed back to the room for treats and the kids watched TV while the adults played Pitt. I think we finally called it quits around 10pm.

All in all a great first day of vacation. The kids were finally tired and neither Cari nor I could focus our eyes any more so we all crashed pretty hard.

St. Baldricks Fundraiser Event

We went over to the Iditirod this morning and watched some of the teams take off. The kids got cold pretty quick so we headed over to McGinleys Pub. There were tons of people there.

We got in line and I got my before and after pictures taken and then Ben went to work. He is quite the barber. He kind of has a Michael Jordan thing going on with the tongue hanging out. Megan was our videographer. I think she did a pretty good job.

The end results . . .

A cross between Lurch and Uncle Fester . . .:)