Since being back, we've had an interesting week or two. The girls both finished up their soccer classes, and started their new swimming levels. I also had a lovely, low key Mother's Day being showered with cards and flowers from my people. We've done some more exploring in the city [high lights being the Children's Museum at Yerba Buena Gardens, Salt N Straw Ice Cream, Plow, etc]. This coupled with out door time on walks and family swimming has been nice, and we've enjoyed it. This whole fire man schedule sometimes stinks on weekends, but over all we like that we get to spend so much time together during the week. That has a been a rare and special blessing for us, and I'm sure we'll be holding on those memories and times when things get crazy again.






















Medically speaking its been interesting. I had a routine blood draw which the girls came with me for and they were all over the caretaker business-holding my hands, telling me what a great job I was doing, etc. It did my heart good to see how sweet they are. Then, shortly after that, Addy woke up one morning saying her body hurt-and that it for sure wasn't a growing pain. As I proceeded to get up out of a deep sleep to help her, see what I could do, she then threw up all over the place-and then apologized a ton for making a mess and said she would clean it up. And it broke my heart haha! I told her she didn't ever have to apologize for being sick, and she was doing a great job. After getting her [and the mess] cleaned up, we bunkered down for the long haul of whatever 24 hour virus it was, and eventually after a lot more yuckiness and fun at home time, we came through the other side. Then, about 48 hours after Addy was done, Isla like clockwork started on the same schedule poor thing. She also was an incredible trooper through out it all-I know its probably weird to say how proud you are of someone when they are sick, but they handled it like champs, and rarely complained. I feel so honored to be their Momma.







After she got better, we were free and clear for about a week, in which we did a few fun things [some listed above] and felt like we were good to go. Then, around 3:30/4:00 ish [literally just like the girls] it started for me. After the first few bouts of sickness, I felt like I was still able to handle it. But after the 6th time in two hours, and the baby freaking out as a result, going from being lethargic to hard contracting every 5 min contracting, we decided that even though we knew that it was probably the same thing the girls had, just delayed a week, we should probably go into the ER for the babies sake. Once we got there, they put me on fluids, scolded me for not going straight to a hospital w L&D and then monitored me for a while to see if they could get me hydrated w the fluids and anti nausea meds. After that didn't work, they transfered and admitted me to L&D in the hospital where I spent next 14 hours or so. Eventually, they were able to get the contractions to stop [thank goodness, since I'm only 28 weeks and some change] and get me hydrated [they pumped me full of fluid, magnesium, calcium, and reglan, along with some other fun stuff] to the point that I was able to go home that evening. I can't stop thinking about how grateful I am for the team of people I had to help me-between my family, Lester's family and of course Lester himself, I didn't once have to worry about if the girls were ok or being a burden to someone-instead I could just focus on trying to get me and the baby through this one. I think about our Oklahoma days, and I don't know what I would have done if the same things had happened then. So thanks again to all who helped-you guys are the real MVP's.


Now I'm home, and bed resting it till Tuessday when my next prenatal is. Its a slow process, but I feel marginally better every hour, so I'm happy with it. Step by step I suppose. And at the end of the day, it will all be worth it-even though we did have evidence of him repeatedly headbutting my cervix off and on for an hour haha. Crazy just like his Momma-looking forward to my days of holding him, and being able to cuddle his amazing sisters and sweet Daddy again.

So every time I sit down to write about this last week, I decide not to, bc it feels like once its done, our vacation is offically done too. And I don't want it to end haha! Still-I'd rather get it down now so I can remember and enjoy the memories and pictures later on!

A while ago, my in laws invited us to join them in Disneyland, where they were meeting up with more of the family [from Australia.] After working out the logistics, we said we would love to! So Monday afternoon, after the girls soccer lessons, we packed into the car, and off we went! The first day was mostly driving, with a stop of two here and there for food and breaks at Harris Farms and Casa De Fruta [I remember stopping here with my family on Disneyland vacations when I was a kid so that was fun!]. We stopped for the night a bit past Bakersfield, rested up then started our adventuring early the next morning.

Tuesday after a quick breakfast, we arrived at Universal Studios-a first for me and the girls! Of course, we made a beeline for Harry Potter land, as we'd been watching the movies in preparation all week. It was, for lack of a better term, truly MAGICAL. After riding the two main rides there and exploring Hogwarts, we ended up looking in on all the shops of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. After stopping at Zonko's and Honeydukes [for Bertie Bott's every flavored Beans and a chocolate frog-we got Rowena Ravenclaw] we sat by Dervish and Bangs and drank our iced butter beer [which, in my opinion was good, but to sweet! had to try it though!] We also checked out the Owl Emporium, and got the girls their own wands [Isla went with Ginny's and Addy went with Hermione, which I was thought suited them perfectly!] They loved doing spells throughout the park and watching their with powers come to life. I loved it so much! The rest of the day we spent enjoying the rest of the park. The studio tour was interesting and fun [although the baby hated this more then the other rides, which I thought was weird!] and we walked through the other areas. It was fun running into characters like Curious George and Scooby Doo [who was super playful and got Isla to eat her lunch better then any of the rest of us could!]. We also were impressed and enjoyed the Despicable Me portion of the park, and Lester and I both enjoyed the water Jurassic Park ride and running through the fountain. I think I hit my threshold though, and probably did one ride to many. But after a rest and some water in the car while we drove to dinner I was ok. We ate at Pizzeria Di Mozza, which we we're excited for as we had enjoyed the Chef's Table episode w Nancy Silverton who owns this place. All of it was delicious, heavy on the olive oil-but the highlights by far were the cherry tomato burrata appetizer, and all the desserts surprisingly. Seriously, so good! From here, we made it to our last stop for the night, and a few days. This was a high light for me-we stayed at The Paradise Pier Hotel which is one of the Disney owned hotels. The girls and I were in awe at our amazing view of the Disney CA park, and we loved seeing it all lit up. It was so cool! The first night, I took the girls swimming in the pool on the roof, and let them warm up afterwards in the hot tub with Lolo & Lola [while I just soaked my feet!] From here, we did our best to contain our excitement for the next day long enough to sleep!

























The next morning we all woke up early, because part of staying at the hotel meant we had 'extra magic hour' at one of the parks every morning. We tried to take advantage of this as much as possible, so after walking through downtown Disney and grabbing some delicious beignets, we waited for them to open the park gates for us. This early time every day made a huge difference! This day it was at Disney CA, and we were able to ride all the attractions that get the super long waits throughout the day, like Soarin [which I had never done before] and the Cars ride which was awesome. We also made use of things like Fast Passes and Rider Switch [for parents who switched off to ride] and it made for an awesome, fun filled morning. After a packed morning full of rides for the family, we crossed back over to Disneyland and did some princess meets [I loved seeing the girls twirl with Cinderella, talk about how they were mermaids with Ariel, and compare notes on how scary the witch was in Snow White]. We spent some time in Paradise Pier with Toy Story rides, the Giant Mickey Ferris Wheel, and many more. Then, finally the time had come for us to meet up with Lester's visiting family! This was the main reason we had decided to do this trip, and after being initially shy [as they had only kept in touch through videos and Valentines], the kids ended up hitting it off and having SO so much fun together! And we loved being able to catch up with Thea and Gino, and Tita Tess. The rest of the day was a blur of fun and good memories-I think the high lights were meeting Mickey and playing in Toon Town, riding Haunted Mansion [Isla covered her eyes the whole time] and Its a Small World all together, and covering most all of Tomorroland. And for me, I love love LOVED getting to live vicariously through Addy as she got to go on stage and participate in Jedi training, and eventually become a Jedi after fighting a Sith and Darth Vader. SO COOL! After going till we could go no more, we headed back to the hotel to do some laundry, relax, swim, watch the movie they were showing in the hotel, and grab a quick dinner. Lester and Isla were out pretty quick, but Addy and I watched and listened to the World Of Color going off outside our window and it was wonderful.






































After a decent nights sleep, we woke up super early again and headed out to Disneyland for the Extra Magic Hour. After the crowd bum rushing Fantasy Land, and a little wait, we were able to do all of Fantasy Land, and a total of 8 rides in the first 2 hours. We got to meet a few more of our favorite princesses [Tiana and Pocahontas] and characters, and do some rides in Frontier land, before we meeting up with the group in Bugs Land. From here the kids became inseparable-they did all the rides and loved doing the water features and it was so fun to watch them thrive and enjoy each other and make new connections. After conquering all of that, we did Cars Land again, and met some more of our favorite characters, ate some food and enjoyed some more rides. Afterwards we enjoyed Adventure Land for a bit, then finished up the things we had missed in Paradise Pier. Then, after saying a fond farewell to Disneyland, we went back and checked out of our hotel, packed up the vehicles and all headed over to Calabasus to visit my in laws life long friends the Yuzon's. The kids ended up sleeping on the couch the whole night while we all enjoyed catching up and doing family fun things and eating. It was hard to say good bye, but I'm so grateful we had the chance to make these memories and spend this special time with them.












































On our last day, we grabbed breakfast again at Harris Farms, grabbed some fruit at Casa De Fruta and finally arrived home an hour or two before my sweet, incredible husband headed straight to work.

Sometimes, I think about where Lester are at in life and I feel like even if its not fancy world wide, exotic trips or hard core adventures, trips like this are what its all about. Family, food, friends and lifelong memories. I feel eternally grateful for experiences like this one with my new little family, and Lester and my original families. Especially as our lives are about to change again in August, and this may be the last one of these for a while. It was a magical week!