Legoland Recap

Hi Everybody! Well, I've discovered there was a downside to taking a break from blogging. I now have way too many things I wish I could tell you all about... Christmas was wonderful and full. One of the special things we did was surprise our kids with a trip to Legoland. They had no idea we were going until Christmas morning. We left a few hours later to drive to Bakersfield where we spent Christmas afternoon with my dad, stepmom, grandma, siblings and a whole bunch of uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins. (Did I miss anyone?) (It's one of the things I would love to tell you lots more about.) We spent the night there and drove the next day through day-after-Christmas-LA-why-are-we-doing-this-traffic and arrived at Legoland (30 min. north of San Diego) around 4:00pm and stayed there until the fireworks show at 7. We returned for another 7 and a half hours the next day before returning to Bakersfield and then home the next morning. (I tell you all this b/c I know you care about our travel itinerary. And maybe I'm out of practice blogging.) Anyway! We had a lot of fun. If you want to see a lot of pictures, watch the video below and you'll see dinosaurs, giraffes, zebras, the Washington Memorial, other skyscrapers, and a mariachi band all made of LEGO!!! Really amazing!!! What you won't see is me about to go nuts late Thursday morning because we were spending too much time PLAYING and not enough time standing in line. Because I like to pack as much as possible into a day like that because we might not be there again for a very long time and isn't that why we're there??? To do as much as possible??? (You can laugh at me. It's ok. I'm laughing, too.) Oh, and my wonderful hubby? Well, he mostly just shook his head and smiled at me knowing I was churning inside and that there was no reason for it. And he let me go take a walk while he and the kids kept playing. Well, praise the LORD, God helped me realize (just in time) that if I kept feeling stressed and thinking everyone in the park was having more fun than I was (and many were having more fun b/c I was being a little, ummm, let's say uptight) that the kids would eventually pick up on it and stop having such a good time just loving being there. God helped me to let go of my control-freaky-ness and just enjoy the rest of the day. We had a fabulous time and (surprisingly or not) we DID pack an amazing amount into the day. One thing I remember from growing up is that the adventures are great, but many times, what is so precious about them is remembering them together. The trip was a gift from God in many ways. We are really thankful for it and are going to enjoy remembering it together for a very long time. If you watch this 5 minute video, know that if I were with you I would be telling you about everything in the pictures because I like doing that... but then, of course, it would take even longer. : ) Y, Mel