The Disneyland Hotel & Near By ER

Carsen asked to go to Disneyland for his Golden Birthday...he specifically asked me to go with him...so I obviously couldn't turn him down. :) I arranged our Cabo trip perfectly in order to return before we had to leave for Disneyland. We flew in Friday afternoon...I did one load of laundry, packed a much smaller suitcase and after a few hours of sleep, Richelle, Jake, Carsen & I headed for Disney.

Saturday morning we loaded the 4Runner, stopped for some treats and hit the road. I-10 had a teeny weeny area near Perryville where the roadway was only one lane. It took about an hour to get through that mess...then a quick stop for gas & grub in Quartzite (what a scary little place that town is). We drove and drove and drove. It seemed like the longest trip to LA I have ever taken.

The boys were great; they ate their snacks and watched movies. Richelle and I talked and talked and talked. We didn't need any music, we just used the hours to catch up on our lives. It was the best part of the entire trip (if you ask me). There is nothing better in this world than sisters...and I have been blessed with many.

When we arrived, we checked in at the Disneyland Hotel. Richelle and I were SO excited to finally get our chance to stay there. We had both dreamed of staying at THE Disneyland Hotel for SO long. We let the boys play in the Neverland (heated) pool for about an hour...they were also able to use the Pirate water slides. They seemed to enjoy themselves, even though Richelle and I were freezing.

After the slides, we headed up to the room to get ready for dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. Luckily, Richelle made reservations, so we walked in and pretty much were seated immediately. We had fun meeting the characters throughout our dinner...and the boys each got birthday cupcakes and a happy birthday song. Carsen got an autograph book so he could collect the character's signatures...that was a fun new experience.

By the time dinner was over, I was nearly dead from exhaustion...so I opted out of hot tubbing with Richelle and the boys. Instead, I took and shower and was looking forward to relaxing and falling asleep when Richelle knocked on the door. She was carrying Jake...she said he slipped and fell as they walked back from the pool...and thought his chin was bleeding. It had been drizzling most of the evening, so the walkways were slippery (when wet -Bon Jovi baby!!).

It wasn't bleeding nearly as much as I would have thought, but he split his tiny little chin wide open. He was lying very still and was silent...which scared the crap out of me. Then he fell asleep...which honestly scared me even more than his silence and huge eyes. We rushed him to the closest ER and after our wait...the doctor stitched him up with seven stitches.

Carsen fell asleep in the ER, but both boys were awake for the ride back to the hotel...Jake was quiet & poor Carsen was exhausted, crying...begging us to let him sleep. It was freezing and it was late...we were all so tired. At about 2am, we finally laid down to get some sleep.