Disney 2023

Hey Michael! Gosh I really missed having you with us this last few weeks. We’ve had a lot of quality family time, but it’s just not the same without you! I’ve enjoyed reading your recent emails. It seems like the position as AP has given you a lot of different opportunities to do splits and travel to other parts of the mission, which is probably nice to mix things up a bit. But you also seem to be so busy and just really giving your all and maybe a but overextended. I think your Dad’s advice is wise: don’t run faster than you have strength. You’ve served a wonderful mission. Soak it all in. Enjoy every minute. Savor the work and the relationships. You are forever changed, and so are the people you have served. Your dad and I are bursting with pride. 

Are you ready for another travelogue? 

Hard to believe that it’s been 5 years since we’ve been to Disneyland, but the last time we went I was extremely pregnant with Tate. And now he’s tall enough to ride almost everything. Grandma and Grandpa Rawson came along with us again, and it was really fun to have them with us. 

Saturday the 24th we drove to St George and checked in to our favorite Hyatt hotel. The kids swam in the pool while dad went to pick up Ty from Daxton’s grandma’s condo where he had spent the week. We ate pizza by the pool and then went to Tuacahn so see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was a fun show and the scenery and dancing was top notch (if not the voices). Probably the most memorable thing about the show was when the flying peeps got stuck on their zip line and they had to pause the show and bring up the lights in order to lower them! 

Sunday we went to church and then hit the terrible traffic headed into California. We had Rubio's for dinner and Ethan did not throw up. Win. We stayed in a great place that had a bunk bed, pullout, two queen beds, and two full bathrooms. Plus a free hot breakfast! That night the kids were excited and rowdy, and Jett accidentally poked Tate in the eye.  It was bad. Tate was hurt and upset. I worried it might ruin his first day at Disneyland—and I was a little worried about his eye possibly being damaged.  

Monday morning we hit the ground running not *quite* as early as dad would have liked. Tate was really upset about his eye. His sight was blurry and I think it freaked him out a bit. It was also sensitive to light, so we spent most of the day covering his eye in one way or another. Thankfully it was much better on Tuesday and wasn’t too much of an issue for the rest of the trip.  

We did California Adventure on our first day. The park seemed to be much less crowded than I was expecting. The fist ride of the day was Spidey’s Webslingers, so that helped cheer up Tate—he was really looking forward to that one. Tate was not quite tall enough for the Incredicoaster, but he loved Guardians of the Galaxy! The older boys were super excited to do Little Mermaid and Mator’s Junkland Jamboree with Tate. After dinner Grandma and I drove Ty down to San Diego to meet up with his birding group from school. The rest of the boys including grandpa stayed until closing. 

Tuesday we had a glorious rest day at Huntington Beach. We bought a couple of boogie boards and a pair of sunglasses that Tate promptly lost to the ocean. The lifeguards were concerned about riptides, so the kids couldn’t go out deep, but the waves were strong and they had a great time. The boys found a ton of tiny crabs that they caught in a bucket that were very entertaining. After the beach we picked up some dinner at Bear Flag Fish Tacos, and dad declared them the best he’s ever had. We will definitely be returning if we have the opportunity. 

Wednesday we went to Disneyland and it seemed much more busy than California Adventure on Monday. The boys rode Space Mountain and Matterhorn while we took Tate around Fantasyland. He loved it all, but wanted to do the big kid rides. He really loved the thrill of Space Mountain when we joined the older boys. We had Dole whip after the Tiki room (of course). Jett fell asleep in the Tiki room and fell off his bench, which was hilarious. Everyone loved Star Wars Land, but I think maybe the best ride of the day was Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The graphics were so cool. Tate was a goner before the fireworks, but it was a good idea to wake him up for more rides, because we just happened to be in Toon Town when Mickey came out for photos. Tate really wanted a picture with Mickey, so it was a perfect way to wrap up the day. 

Thursday we drove down to San Diego to pick up Ty, and had another (almost) perfect day at the beach. Tate took an epic nap in the sand, and the boys continued playing in the waves. And then just as we were starting to pack up and leave, Blake got stung by a stingray. It was horrible! He came out of the water—clearly in pain—with a small puncture wound. I did not recognize it as a stingray wound, and the lifeguards had just left the beach 30 minutes earlier. The pain did not subside the way I expected it to, and it soon became apparent that he needed to be taken to the emergency room. I feel really bad that it took us so long to get him to a hospital. We just didn’t really know what was happening to him or where to take him. Dad and grandpa and Ty drove to the hospital while the rest of us packed up our things from the beach. Jett was in the water with Blake when it happened and he was really upset and worried about Blake. Luckily the doctor at the ER knew exactly what had happened and how to treat it. As we drove to meet them at the hospital grandma was reading off the symptoms of a stingray wound which included “excruciating pain” and “death.” That did not help Jett’s worries! They soaked his foot in hot water to neutralize the toxin, and gave him a strong pain killer. Surprisingly his foot was bruised, but not too painful the next day. 

Since we had such a late night, the boys begged to sleep in a bit on Friday instead of getting to the park at opening. We went to Disneyland first and rode all the best rides. Tate wanted to ride Space Mountain again, but we didn’t have lightning passes for that, so I waited in line for an hour with him.  Everyone else ran through the single rider line—which apparently is Disney’s best kept secret. I think Ethan and Jett made it on 9 times! Then over to California Adventure to finish out the day with rides and World of Color. We were all pretty pooped and didn’t even go back to Disney for the remaining hour or two. We did stop at Downtown Disney for a few souvenirs before catching the shuttle back to our room. Hallelujah for the shuttle! 

Overall, we had a fantastic trip and it was made better by having Grandma and Grandpa with us. we really enjoyed their company and they helped so much with hauling all our beach gear home for us. Of course Grandma cried when she said goodbye to Dad. She’s the absolute best!


Love you tons! Hope you can come on our next adventure!
Mom

Ps. One more hi/lo light: Ethan busted his phone and had to go without it for the rest of the trip. And Ty had a great time on his birding trip and added a bunch of birds to his list. I thought the coolest thing was a video he showed me of parrots nesting and flying over his head. Tons of them! Honestly I'm not sure I even knew parrots lived in the wild in the US, Amazing.