So-Cal Adventures

We've wrapped up our time in Southern California and what a great time it was. We stayed 6 nights each at my sisters Traci Morrow's house in Glendora and then Terri LaBrie's in Arcadia. The boys had so much fun playing with cousins and aunts & uncles. On New Year's Eve the whole family (22 were there) hung out at the LaBrie's in Arcadia playing 'Mafia' - that was definitely a highlight!
Then this past Monday thru Wednesday, we spent 3 days at Disneyland and California Adventure. We were joined by Grammy and Papa, and some of the Morrows and LaBries.I can't believe we lasted 3 days at Disneyland. The boys were daredevils, riding any and everything they were allowed to ride according to the Disneyland height restrictions. The 'Tower of Terror' ride in California Adventure was definitely the biggest stretch of their courage, and they showed no signs of weakening. The same cannot be said for their father! As we walked off, I asked if that was scariest thing they'd ever seen, and their resounding response was, "No!".
Some lowlights were: Graysen woke up Tuesday morning with a terrible ear ache, and by mid-afternoon he was irreparable (see photo below in Alisha's arms at lunch). So on a tip from the First Aid station in California Adventure, we called a doctor who makes house calls and he met us 40 minutes later at our hotel room, diagnosed him with a pretty bad ear infection, gave him antibiotics, and we were back at the park after just an hour and a half! We were amazed that we were able to get him seen and treated so quickly, and the doctor even brought the prescription with him.
Another lowlight - right before we left to take Graysen to the hotel for the doctor's visit, Brodie tripped and fell and slammed his head into the side of a concrete pilaster. The bump on his head was the weirdest thing - at first it looked like the Grand Canyon inverted, with straight, jagged walls protruding about 1/2" out from his forehead. Unfortunately, by the time we got the camera out, it had smoothed into a normal looking bump (see below).
The last lowlight: As Alisha was getting off the Dumbo ride with the boys, our camera fell from her lap, bounced on the concrete and straight into the pond below the ride! The was a collective gasp from everyone standing by in line. Fortunately, we had a new camera waiting for us already in the Bay Area (christmas present from Alisha's parents). But unfortunately, that happened on day 1 so we couldn't take pictures the whole time we were there. Thank you to Grammy and Papa and Aunt Ta (Traci) for emailing us their pictures!
So not to focus on all the lowlights, but they generally make for better stories! The highlights were many and we had a great time hanging out with family at the happiest place on earth. The crowds were very light so we didn't spend a ton of time in line. (I highly recommend Disneyland in January, after the holidays are over and people are back in school/at work.
But now we're back in the Bay Area, our adopted hometown for the time being. (By the way, this is our new in-country address, so if you need to mail us anything please email me and I'll give you the address. While I'm thinking of it, if you'd like to mail us something to Uganda, I can give you that address as well. Mail using the post office (not UPS or FEDEX), and it usually takes 3-6 weeks.)

Pictures: 1) The Morrow clan waiting for the group to make a decision about what ride to do next; 2) Alisha and boys at the end of the Matterhorn; 3) Alisha & boys with Mickey & Minnie on Main Street; 4) The boys with Morrow cousins Bradley & Joey, sporting their new 'Mouse Ears'; 5) Aunt T (Terri) and Jonah on It's a Small World; 6) The boys with Grammy & Papa on Main Street USA; 7) Having lunch at California Adventure - Graysen was feeling terrible; 8) Brodie's bump.
Alisha and I fly out to Colorado Springs tomorrow (Sunday) morning for 6 days for the overseas orientation. We hope to have email access while we're there.