Well, it's going to be about impossible to catch up, but I'll try to be brief. I also have TONS of pics I need to load and post, but I'm not making any promises about when, at least for now!
I don't remember much about the remainder of January and most of February, such is life I guess. March I do remember, because for most of it we were traveling! March 4-11 we went to Florida, and the 21st through the end of the month we took a road trip to the West Coast.
I was going to go to Florida alone. One of my good friends from the Disney days was getting married on the 8th, and I really wanted to be there. But then Joel's Dad decided to help us out so we could all go, which was great! (I think the thought of me coming without their son and grandson was probably appalling! But C costs to fly now, and we just couldn't have done it). We had a great week out there, probably one of the best trips ever. C is old enough to really enjoy a lot more at the parks, and he still asks to go back, and tells us constantly he remembers things we rode or saw there. We actually took 4 whole days to do the parks, one day at each and a little hopping to hit things we missed the last day. I think it's the first time I've ever done that! My cousin Becky and Melissa (a former roommate) and their daughters were able to come meet us there a couple of days too, which was great! I don't get to see C interact with kids around his age all that often, and it was nice for me to catch up with the girls a bit. Joel's parents also came with us for 3 of the 4 days. Saturday we ventured to Kissimmee for Brenda's wedding, which was quite a Coronado Springs (the resort I worked at and one of my many jobs at Disney World) reunion. It was really nice to see everyone, and to meet Brenda's now-husband and see her so happy! We spent a lot of time with Joel's family. They taught C to "dig dirt", which is now one of his favorite passtimes! All in all, it was a great trip.
After Orlando, we came back home for 10 days. I had a training meeting for the Rockies and worked at my old High School with Shauna, helping out with the standardized testing. Then things really got interesting.
We left for our road trip the evening of Friday, March 21st, Joel, myself, C, and my sister Shauna. We got all the way to Thornton (no, it's not very far), before we realized something was REALLY wrong with our 2001 Toyota Camry, now our only car. We pulled over and came to the conclusion we had thrown a rod and therefore need a WHOLE NEW ENGINE. We decided, with a lot of help from my Dad, to go ahead a rent a car and take the trip anyway. The purpose of this trip was so that C could meet my mom's Dad and sister, and I wasn't ready to have that not happen. So, we had the car towed back to my parents, and Steven picked us up in the van.
We regrouped, rented the car, and were on the road around 4am Saturday. We drove to Utah, where my parents were visiting Denise. We had planned on stopping there for 2 nights, but it ended up being a little shorter due to the car trouble. We spent some time with my family at Temple Square (where C saw the Salt Lake Temple and declared it was where Tinkerbell lives, and my mom ever so gently suggested maybe he gets a little too much Disney exposure. I just laughed. It's only going to get worse! : )). We saw the Joseph Smith movie there and toured some of the Visitors' Center. Then we went to Joel's aunt Beth's home, where we would be spending the night. But first we went out to dinner with Joel's 3 aunts, some of their families, and his Nana. Joel's uncle also took us by East High School, where he works and they are filming High School Musical 3. We went mostly just because it's become such a Thing, but it was funny. The next morning we had breakfast with Nana at the home she lives in, and saw her place before getting on the road to head for California.
We drove to the Bay Area, where my Grandpa Esposo lives. I hadn't done that drive in a while. It's all pretty, I mean, Nevada gets a little boring, but nothing like driving through Kansas!! I'm amazed at how it goes from the desert of Nevada to lush, green mountains as soon as you cross the border into California, but the road through those mountains is not so great! We arrived at Grandpa's in Alameda in the evening and almost immediately he fed us some of the Filipino food we love so much (well, Shauna and I did, Joel and C were trying it for the first time, but they liked it!). The next morning we took the ferry over to San Francisco. We walked Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 and Ghirradeli Square, had great food and fun shopping. The 2nd day we drove down to Santa Cruz, where there's a beach and boardwalk. We frolicked on the shore and played some miniature golf and a boardwalk game, where I won C a stuffed dragon. But the rides were too expensive, especially considering we were going to Disneyland two days later. We also stopped by the Oakland Temple and church bookstore that day, before driving back to Grandpa's for more good food and visiting. C still remembers him and asks to go to his house.
We left the next morning to drive down to SoCal. We got there that evening, checked into our hotel, and walked to Downtown Disney for dinner. We spent the next 2 days at both Disneyland Parks. We were going to do one day at each, but the first day we ended up getting Dream Fastpasses, so we had to hop to do all the rides on those. This could turn in to a very long story, but suffice it to say that while we enjoyed Disneyland, and some of the original rides are great and even superior to their WDW counterparts, we found the service very lacking in comparison the the Orlando Parks, and Joel left pretty disappointed with his first Disneyland experience. We won't be rushing back, but I'm glad we got to go. I mean, how many people get to visit both US Disney parks in the same month?? The weather was perfect and we had plenty of time to see what we wanted. The next day we started the long drive back home, stopping at an In-N-Out in Vegas for lunch for Shauna, and driving into a snowstorm coming back through the mountains.
So, now we're home for a while. No more traveling for the Gaineys until we pay some bills and fix our car (which is now taking place and going to cost us well over $2,000 : ( ). Baseball has started, so I'm working a lot, and Joel may have the opportunity to take over a different branch of the bank. We're both busy with Church callings and Joel is doing great in school. C is great (tho a little sick at the moment). He would be perfect if we could just omit tantrums and be successful at potty-training! But I probably don't deserve a perfect child anyway...... : P
I will really try to be better at updating. I only actually send out reminders when I post pics, so I'm well aware no one may ever read these long entries. It's mostly for me since I'm so bad at journal-keeping, which I used to be so good at, and my memory is only getting worse! Someday I'll print it all out. Hope everyone is well!
