Vacation from... WELL...

I hope this will go down in the Norris family books as the worst vacation of our lives. I hope, we will not experience anything worse than this. Our story begins here...

We surprised the boys Monday morning that we were flying to Disneyland that day (not Thursday as we had previously told them). They were so excited!

Everything was in place we loaded up without a hitch.

We got to the airport early, the boys waited to board the plane. 

We got on the plane... and waited to take off.

 Then we waited for the flight to be over, then to unload.

Then we waited for our shuttle.

Then we waited to drive to the condo and check in. 

The boys did great through all of this, but it certainly made for a long day of waiting which can be frustrating for little kids.


Once we dropped off our luggage we FINALLY made our way (about a mile walk) to the park. At last we had arrived!

Nate immediately started taking pictures with my old white phone. 

We decided to start with Dumbo. Unfortunately by now, Bradley was completely over waiting and was not very happy when he realized that once again we had to WAIT in line to get on the ride. His face says it all.

Luckily he perked up when it was finally our turn!

By the time we were done with Dumbo it was dinner time so we stopped at the Village Haus Restaurant nearby for some pizza and mac and cheese that the boys didn't like. I think they ate some fries though. LOL. Next we got right on King Arthur's Carousel. 

After that we wandered around for a little bit trying to figure out which ride to do next. The boys kept throwing out their suggestions, however the wait times weren't great so we were struggling to figure out a ride that wouldn't take too long to get on. Of course the boys couldn't agree on which ride to choose anyway. So we paused for a picture! Haha.

 We had Fast Passes to the Buzz Lightyear ride so we got right on that. Brad was not a fan of the loud music/sounds. Bradley was begging to do the Astro Orbiter so we got in line for that. The line felt like it was barely moving and it was taking forever. Brad was getting very impatient! We were almost to the front when the cast members informed us that the ride had closed! AAAAHHHH! Brad was a mess after that. Try explaining to a 3 year old that you don't get to get on the ride you just waited in line 30 minutes for! They did give us Fast Passes to a ride of our choice. Unfortunately, Bradley wasn't tall enough for any of the rides that took a Fast Pass. Poor thing. It was about time for the Paint the Night parade to start so we searched for a viewing spot. The one we found was decent but right in front of a speaker so it was a bit loud. A younger woman nearby offered some glow sticks to the boys which was a nice surprise! The parade was pretty cool. 

 After the parade we were ready to use our Fastpasses for Luke, Nate and I to go on Star Tours. Nate was so excited since he wasn't tall enough the last time we were here.

Both boys loved it and Nate was the "rebel spy" that Darth Vader was looking for on the ship because the light shined right on him! The boys got a good kick out of that! While we were on the ride Chance took Brad to get a treat and ended up with a ridiculously expensive lemon sugar cookie that Brad ate 2 bites of. We did the rider switch so Chance could ride it with the boys and so I took Brad to the Star Wars store. He loved finding a "Rancor"!

The fireworks were cancelled that night due to the wind and it was about closing time so it was time to call it a night and head back to the condo to try to get some rest. It had been a long day of traveling and we were ready to rest up and really hit the parks for our remaining 4 FULL DAYS of fun!

The next morning it was so nice to make some breakfast in the kitchen of our condo and get ready for our day without being in a small hotel room. We were loving the condo! Our plan was a full day at California Adventure. I had the whole day mapped out and was excited to execute my plan I had spent way too much time on while planning this trip! After grabbing some Fast Passes we got in line for the Toy Story ride. The wait was only about 10 minutes and the boys all loved the ride. 

Next we headed to Mickey's Fun Wheel. Nate didn't really want to ride it and was pouting a bit at first but started to warm up to it once we were on it.

We chose to ride in a "swinging car" and Chance and I both agree it was a bit terrifying. It felt like you were going to slide right off the wheel. We did our best to hide our terror! Haha.

On our way to the next ride we got to snap a quick picture with Buzz Lightyear!

We new Bradley probably wouldn't reach the 40 inch height requirement for the next ride (Silly Symphony Swings) but we tried, just in case. We were right, he just barely didn't make it so he couldn't ride it with Luke and Nate. I took them on it and Chance went to go find a snack for Brad. Nate and I rode in a swing together and Luke was off on his own. I felt so bad, he was a little freaked out and I couldn't reach him! So I just had to record him and laugh. LOL.

After we got off the ride Chance told us that the cast member was so impressed with how well Bradley handled not getting to ride with us that she gave us special passes to Toy Story where we got to get on right away! No wait at all! It was even better than a Fast Pass! That was such a cool treat. We did a few more smaller rides with the kids and finally gave into Nate's relentless request for Cotton Candy. That was probably his favorite part of the whole trip!

We took the older two on Goofy's Sky School which they LOVED! Hearing them laugh so hard as the roller coaster flung us around was such a delight. We also took them on the Cars Ride. It was Nate's first time and he had a great time.

We stopped for an ice cream break and saw "Red".


We also got to see "Mator" drive up.

The boys riding the Mator ride. 

Chance took Brad on some rides at Bugs Land so I could take the older boys to Tower of Terror.


I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I forgot how freaky the build up to the Tower of Terror ride is, but Nate and Luke said they wanted to ride it so I agreed. We got to the first room or "holding area" where they played the scary Twilight Zone video and it became apparent to both the boys and myself that this was a bad idea! I asked the worker if we could get off but they said we had to continue through to the next area (the stairway) and tell the next person. They walked us down an emergency exit. After meeting up with Chance, I went back on the ride myself. It's one of my favorites! Chance really wanted to do the Grizzly River Run, so he headed to that ride while I took the boys the the Redwood Creek Trail to play. While we were there we ran into the Fodge clan (we new they were there but hadn't seen them yet).  They told us that they saw Chance in line for Grizzly and Blake decided to ride it with Chance. I was glad Chance had someone to do it with him. :) 

 After playing for awhile it was time to find a spot for the parade!

Chance and Blake joined us when they were done. Chance had changed into shorts and sandals for the ride, but poor Blake's jeans and shoes were soaked!

After the parade we got in line for the World of Color. Unfortunately, our "seats" weren't great and we didn't have the best view,  but it was still a pretty cool show none-the-less.  The park closed around 6:30 that night. It was SUCH a fun day! We got to ride so many rides and never had to wait in line for long. It was about as successful as you can get and I was super excited that my itinerary worked like a charm! We decided to go grab some dinner on our way back to the condo. After all, we had 3 more FULL days at the park and didn't want to wear ourselves out! Little did we know.... :(

That night around 2am I was awoken by a sound every mom dreads. "Mom, my belly's causing problems". Bradley tossed and turned in the bed next to me for about an hour, before he told me again that his belly was still causing problems. I took him into the bathroom and just as I was turning on the light I heard him start coughing. This is Brad's M.O. for throwing up. Before I could even rush him to the toilet he had already thrown up on the (tile) bathroom floor. It splattered everywhere. On the walls, on the stuffed animal he was holding. My heart sank. So there I was cleaning up a bathroom in the middle of the night. Was it something he ate? Did he have too many snacks/junk food at the park? He ended up going back to bed and sleeping (restlessly) till morning without throwing up again. By morning I had some hope that maybe it was just a fluke. He was acting tired, but he had had a rough night. We all got ready to head to Disneyland as I monitored Brad's condition. Finally, I asked him before we were about to leave if he wanted to go or stay at the condo with Mommy. He picked the latter. I was so disappointed, but I wanted to make sure he was over whatever was going on with him.  About 10 minutes after Chance left with the other two, Bradley began throwing up. Regularly, about every 20 minutes. It was then I realized that we were staying at the condo for good. At least for that day.

It was so terrible. He would cry before and after he would throw up. He was miserable and so was I. After a few hours, I started to feel nauseous. 

Chance and the boys managed to have some fun in the morning.

Then the fear that was creeping in the back of my mind came true. Chance called from the park around lunch time. He said Luke was complaining that his eyes hurt (headache). He also said the boys weren't really wanting to do anything and wanted to come back. I could see the writing on the wall. I told Chance to bring them back. I new at least Luke was coming down with something. The boys watched TV and rested in the living room while I tried to contain the "puking" germs in the bedroom. By then Brad had stopped throwing up but he was exhausted. All I could do was drink lots of water and try to fend of the nausea I was feeling. I was also really tired. Luke ended up falling asleep in the late afternoon. 

We moved him into the bedroom with the rest of the sickies.  He wasn't throwing up, but he had no appetite and I could tell he had a fever. He would ask me in and out of sleeping if he was going to get to go to Disneyland tomorrow. It was heartbreaking. I could feel it all unraveling. Chance remained optimistic but I new it would not be a quick turn around. 

That night I began to fixate on this verse. Obsessively. I clung to it because I could tell I was on the verge of a breakdown. I felt terrible (fever and nauseous), while having to tend to two sick children. All night as I would wake up to give Brad or Luke water or change a cool rag for them, I would read this on my phone till I fell asleep. 

After a long night it was clear that Luke, Brad and I were in no condition to go to the park. Chance left with Nate. Chance said they looked at some things and took some pictures but Nate had no interest in doing any rides.

He was not happy when Chance insisted he walk around Tarzan's treehouse.

All he wanted to do was get souvenirs for his brothers and come back. 

Meanwhile Bradley was starting to perk up and get back to his old self so when Chance got back with Nate (who was beginning to go downhill) he decided to take Brad back so he could take him on the circus train. 

Luke slept almost the whole day. I thought he was probably sick and exhausted from a busy couple of days but as the evening came and he was still sleeping and very warm I told Chance he better leave and bring me back some Motrin on the way home. I have never given Luke Motrin before. Usually I let a fever run its course, but he was so warm and so sleepy I felt it would be good to have it on hand. When Chance returned I sent him back to the nearest CVS to get a thermometer. I wanted to take Luke's temp before I gave him Motrin. While Chance was still out Luke woke up from his slumber and while trying to talk to him, his responses were slurred. I didn't bother to wait for the thermometer as I new he was in bad shape. 

By that evening Luke and Nate both had high fevers. 

It's hard to keep track of who came down with fevers when because I didn't have a thermometer until Thursday evening.  I was giving them Motrin as soon as it would wear off because there fevers kept going back up to over 103. By Friday morning all 3 of them had high fevers. A well-intentioned friend had urged me the day before to get the kids to a walk-in by the advice of her nurse-mom, so when all 3 had high fevers by Friday morning (and after 3 terrible nights of sleep) I didn't know what to do. Which is when I call in the paramedics! Yep, I called 911. We didn't have a car, I didn't know if they were in bad shape and all I had been stomaching since Wednesday was toast and bananas. The paramedics assured us that it was a flu and they are seeing a lot of it and that there wouldn't be much the emergency room would do for them. So we thanked them for the peace of mind and new our last day in Anaheim would be spent hanging out in the condo. It was excruciating. We wanted to go home so bad.


We were all so done and just wanted to be back where we could nurse everyone back to health in our own home. The flight the next day was looming over our heads too. We never even saw Trisha and her family while they were there (with the exception of Chance who bumped into them Friday while picking up some souvenirs for the boys).

Luke was so sad, but he wasn't whining. He was pretty bummed he didn't get to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and he kept asking me why God would let this happen.

Through our tears and depression, we tried to make the best of it and remember that we were in this together. 

 If you think packing up to leave a vacation is hard to do, try doing it after a vacation like this one. Depressing doesn't began to describe it. But we were so ready to go home. 

And this little cart was the best $5 we ever spent.

Bradley sleeping in the boarding area. We did our best to contain our sick children, though I felt terrible we were subjecting the other passengers to our germs. 

Once we were back home, my friend Randi greeted us with a MUCH needed home-cooked meal along with flowers and a card. It was strange to get flowers for a vacation gone wrong, but it made me feel so much better knowing that she understood how sad we were. I was starting to feel better (health wise), but the boys were fighting fevers and missed a whole extra week of school.  But it felt SOOOO good to be home.

Chance and I battled some depression for awhile after this trip. Even though we knew there are so many worse things that could happen in life, it was a really hard pill to swallow as we had so many plans and rides we were so excited to do with the boys that we didn't get to do. Like I said, I hope this is the worst vacation we ever have.