A {Temporary} Farewell...

... to one of our favorite places!  Yep... our annual passes expired on New Year's Eve!  Boo.  And the kids are already asking when we can go back!  Poor things!  {NOT!}

We didn't take too many pictures, but we did decide to go out with a little bang!  We went on Tuesday night after Christmas (the night after FHE at the temple) and spent the night in a hotel and braved it for almost the whole next day, too!  We got there after dinner, but stayed until the bitter end... after midnight!  The next morning brought LOADS of rain for a while, but then turned out to be pretty nice, and though we didn't ride ANYTHING in California Adventure, we did get in all of our favorites in Disneyland!  

Damian and I sort of surprised our kids, but not in such a nice way.  They had not been listening very well, and had been arguing with us about what would be best to do, and why... not just about rides, but about all kinds of things, so... we knew that none of them had been paying attention when he checked into the hotel earlier that evening because they were glued to a movie in the back and decided to see how well they could follow instructions and TRUST that we would always provide what was best for them.  {And yes... I know it was after midnight... and probably not the most beneficial time to sink a lesson into the brain of a child, but...}  So, we told them that we were going to take a shortcut home.  Then our van door started acting up and DINGING loudly for no reason (which fit perfectly into our plan... because we really needed a reason to stop) so we quickly tried to fix the door at a stoplight, but it didn't work, so we drove on towards the hotel, and one of them says, "This isn't going to be much of a SHORTcut if we're going to have to keep stopping like this!"  We pulled into the back parking area of the hotel and proceeded to get out.  We told them to grab their stuff and some blankets, we would have to walk for a while until we could get a ride home... and they just started sobbing!  I mean SOBBING!  One of them even offered the idea that Aunt Colleen's was much closer than our house... couldn't we just go there?  ;o)  Ella wouldn't even get out of the car.  She was holding on for dear life thinking that she was going to have to make a pioneer's trek.  Well, needless to say we didn't really expect them to break down like that, so we tried to calm them and head for the door.  They didn't even get it when Damian held up the electronic key to the door and it magically let them in.  They wanted to know if we were going to call someone to come and get us and where we would wait.  They didn't want to go back outside.  We told them that we would take care of them and that it would be fine.  We would never make them walk all the way home, but that we needed them to calmly listen and OBEY in order to make things work.  We walked down the hall and pushed the button for the elevator.  Still didn't get it.  Still upset.  Got to the room and MAGICALLY opened the door... still didn't get it!  We told them we were staying the night and that their surprise included another day at the "Happiest Place on Earth!"  Poor things... we had to tell them like 3 times before it sunk in!  We got them a bath and into bed... all three in one bed, so funny, and when we left the next morning Ella commented, "That was a GWEAT sleepover, Mommy!"  (We obviously don't stay in hotels too often!  But it turned out to be a fun experience... and the older two have started to learn that sometimes they just need to LISTEN and OBEY rather than argue and fight, hopefully knowing that we ask them to do things for their own good, knowing that blessings will follow if they will.)

So... just a little taste of our last day(s) there.  We really LOVE that Ella loves the Matterhorn now.  We went on it probably 6 times!  Can't wait until she's tall enough to ride Thunder Mountain, Space, and Splash, too!

{Dates of this were actually:  28 & 29 December 2010}