Day 1
On Tuesday, Mary and I had to catch our shuttle to JFK at 4:45 am! Those of you who know me know that I am not a morning person. I couldn't sleep at all because of the fear that I would oversleep and I had to get up at 3:30am anyway. Thank God for Stacey who drove us to the shuttle and helped me get ready. Hopefully she was able to get caught up on some sleep. When we got to the airport, American Airlines had a special check-in area just for Snowball passengers. Then a very nice soldier escorted us to security, and then from security to where the Snowball passengers were gathering. They had a little breakfast buffet and goody bags for kids and moms. The goody bags contained things that would be good for in-flight entertainment, such as coloring books and crayons for the little guys and puzzles for the moms. (I wish I hadn't packed so much entertaining stuff for Mary in our carry-ons, but I had no idea what to expect). Then we were escorted to our gate and onto the plane, which was only for Snowball families. We stopped at Dulles and again in Nashville to pick up more families. Did I mention that Andy the Bacheleor and Tony Orlando were on the plane with us?
While we were stopped at Dulles, one of the flight attendants asked Mary to come help her decorate the plane. So Mary taped up some garland along the wall of the airplane. Then she made friends with some little girls sitting near us. They found a hiding place behind a curtain near the galley. I think Mary was the boss--dictating who could come in and when.
While we were stopped at Nashville, a Ladies Auxilery and Mickey Mouse came on board to greet the children and bring more goody bags. As we backed away from the terminal the Patriot Guard lined up outside to see us off as well as several American Airlines employees. (All of the Flight Attendents and Pilots donated their own time to do this and the jet fuel was donated by BP). As we turned onto the runway, the firetrucks did a water salute.
This was the greatest flight I have ever been on! However Mary will probably never be a good flier again. The seatbelt rules went out the windows and the kids were up and down the ailes playing with eachother. Tony Orlando sang over the intercom and the kids danced and sang Christmas Carols. The children helped the flight attendants: walking down the ailes offering on their trays; candy, cookies, fruit, and cheese and crackers. The supply of food and beverages was never-ending.
We finally made it to LAX. As we walked into the terminal there were hundreds of people there to clap, cheer, and give us their support. It was amazing. I don't think there were too many dry eyes in the terminal--except the kids who were super excited. Even the TSA agents sang Amazing Grace.
The buses took us to Anaheim and thankfully Mary slept all the way. We checked in and headed straight to dinner at the Hilton across the street. Our dinner entertainment was Terry Factor, a ventriliquist. He was amazing! Most people can't sing that good with their lips moving! Mary thought he was hilarious. I am sure she will very much enjoy the Terry Factor DVD she received.
Day 2
Wednesday when we woke up, it was pouring down rain and it looked completely miserable. We boarded the buses to go to Universal Studios. When we arrived the Patriot Guard lined the entrance with their flags. Those guys are awesome. Even in the pouring rain, they stood at attention to support all of us. When we got off the bus they handed us much needed ponchos. I put one on Mary and I also put the rain cover on her stroller. We were all quite a sight.
They hearded us all down to the center of the Universal Walk. I found Eileen and Krista and their kids--Yay! There was a quick speech and then we went into the park. The first "ride" we did was Shrek 4D. I wasn't sure how Mary would do. I have heard some parents say that 3d can be really frightening for toddlers. Although Mary is always fascinated by what frightens her. I don't know if that is good or bad. But she sat through Shrek and I think she was just in awe. Either that or she was just so glad to be out of her stroller and out of the rain? Next we did the Studio Backlot tram ride. We were the last ones on the tram were the wettest seats. So needless to say, we got pretty wet. I don't think Mary was interested in the tram ride at all. Obviously she doesn't know the movies or tv shows and I think it was hard for her to see. I thought it was interesting. I thought the falling bridge and the Jaws bit were incredibly lame and I can't believe how much they frightened me when I was a child.
Next we headed to the tent set up for Snowball Express. The kids got their faces painted and some giant cookies to decorate. Then Eileen and I took the kids to lunch at the Hard Rock (which Mary slept through) and then we decided to just head back to the hotel. It was just too miserable and I think we were all exhausted after our travels from the day before. I thought Mary would fall asleep on the bus, but instead her an Jolie (Eileen's daughter) laughed and played the entire drive. They were really cute.
Mary and I took naps and then we went out to dinner with grandma Teresa and aunt Susan. We went to the Cheesecake Factory and had a great visit. I think Mary was very pleased with the Disney Princess things that her grandma brought her.
Day 3
Thursday was the day that I was most excited for--Disneyland!!! So Mary and I hopped on the bus to Disneyland. Luckily it was not raining, although it was a little chilly for southern California. After entering the park we saw Mickey and Pluto. Mary didn't want to see them close up and was content to watch from a distance--thankfully because there was a very long line to greet them. We headed to Fantasyland first and did the carasel--Mary's favorite. Then we rode every ride in Fantasyland except the teacups. It's a Small World was all decked out for Christmas and singing Jingle Bells. I couldn't believe there was actually a line for it. After that I saw that we were right by the Princess Village so I thought we could go see what was going on. We ate lunch there and saw Cinderella read the story of her life. How enchanting. Then Mary and I got our faces painted and I had Mary's hair done up like a princess. She looked so adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish she would let me do her hair at home. The girl who did her hair was amazed when I told her that she usually throws a huge tantrum when I come near her hair because she sat so good for her.
After our make overs we went to Tomorrowland. We did Autopia first and I let Mary drive. She was pretty excited but then we kept hitting the divider in the middle. That just made her laugh even more. Then we waited in line for the Nemo ride. It was actually pretty cool. I think Mary really liked it. Then I put her in her stroller and we strolled over to Adventureland. I was hoping she might fall asleep for a bit since it was way past naptime, but she was just way to excited about everything. There was no line at the Tiki Room and we went right in. Wouldn't you know it--she fell asleep. I thought I could just put her in the stroller and she would continue sleeping. Nope she was ready to go as soon as we got in the stroller. I even walked for a while to get her to sleep, but she wanted to go on another ride. We got in line for the Pirates of the Carribbean, one of my favorites. She was pretty thrilled with the drops. I thought that would scare her but she just giggled. Too bad she isn't tall enough for Splash Mountain! (It was way too cold to attempt that ride even if she was tall enough). After Pirates we got some dinner and then waited in line for the Haunted Mansion. The line was super long and I really hate when it has The Nightmare Before Christmas theme. I thought that might be the last ride for us since it was getting late, but I didn't want Mary to have this image of The Haunted Mansion/Nightmare Before Christmas running in head the rest of the night, so we went on the Winnie the Pooh ride, which is very sweet. As we walked by the Tarzan Treehouse (formerly the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse) I asked Mary if she wanted to go up and check it out, but she said no. She was tuckered out and fell asleep right after that. I picked up some souviners and we went back to the hotel. It was such a fun day. Mary and I spent good quality time together because for the entire day she had my complete attention and we just had such a blast together.
Day 4
On Friday, Mary and I met up with Eileen and her kids again. Everyone lined up in front of our hotel for the "Walk of Gratitude." Hundreds of people came out to cheer for us as we walked to the Anaheim Convention Center. It was so amazing! People held signs that said things like, "Your daddy is my hero" and waved flags. The day at the convention center was sponsored by Oakley. There were so many things for the kids to do and lots of giveaways too. Also there to support the children was Stephen Spielberg, Jack Nicholson, Eric McCormack, and various actors from the Pirates of the Carribbean movies. Mary caught side of the bouncy houses and wanted to go bounce or "bouncth" as she says. Tina volunteered to take her over there so I could wait in line for some of the giveaways. There was so much to do even besides the bouncy houses: there was a giant bike/bmx half pipe, lots of face painting and makeup, the reptile people were there (I averted my eyes), an aquarium on wheels, live bands, a dj, balloon people, and other things we didn't even get to. The ghostbusters and Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew were there (not the real actors). It was just an awesome event. Mary also like all the therapy dogs that were there, but they were all little dogs and she was kind of treating them like big "Max" dogs. Mary had fun once again with Jolie and she especially liked the bouncy obstacle course. No one thought she would be able to do it because she is so little, but she really showed them. The only problem was she didn't want to wait in line. Finally we went back to the hotel so Mary could nap.
That evening there was a farewell dinner. Gary Sinise made an appearance and the entertainment was The Cactus Cuties. They were these cute girls from Texas who sang lots of Christmas songs. They were pretty good. Mary was enthralled by them and danced and clapped. (http://www.thecactuscuties.com/)
Then it was all over. It was so sad saying goodbye to all our friends because we don't get to see them too often. I love these girls because they are going through what we are going through. Our common experience of losing our husbands in war gives us a very special bond. As usual Mary wouldn't say goodbye. Neither of us wanted to say goodbye. It was such an amazing week and experience. I am so thankful for Snowball Express. I hope we will be able to do it again next year.
