Now, let's get to Dad. My parents are so sickenly in love (27 years later), that it's just beyond moving and inspiring. He actually came up with the idea we ended up pursuing for her birthday and was determined to make it as special as possible - and special to my dad means multiple surprises! Seeing him spend hours and hours researching to make this a perfect birthday full of surprises for her melted my heart.
So, what did we do? I told mom I was taking her away for a girls weekend to our favorite place in the world - Disneyland. We'd do it a week in advance of her actual birthday since it would coincide with the last weekend they have the place decorated for Christmas, which is our absolute favorite!). I would drive down from NorCal, pick her up at LAX and we would spend a 4-day weekend at Disney...and we'd do it up right nice, fit for a 50th birthday celebration. We'd stay at the Grand Californian - a 5 start resort connected to the park. We'd get hot stone massages and facials at the Mandara Spa, and we'd spend two days at the park having a blast. And we'd of course see our favorite Christmas parade that makes us cry every single time! She was SO excited!
Little did she know that as soon as we got to the hotel to check in, my dad would be there (who had just dropped her at the airport 4 hours earlier, all dressed for work). She cried she was so surprised and happy! We had a beautiful dinner dressed up all fancy at the Napa Rose (best restaurant ever - amazing food)! Dee was supposed to be there too, but unfortunately got stuck having to work....so instead of a double-date weekend, it would just be the three of us she thought.
We had adjoining rooms, so luckily I was coming down with a cold and claimed I needed to go to bed early. I slipped into my room, and out of the hotel back to LAX to pick up my brothers - Johnny who was flying in from Austin, and Kevin who was flying in from Tucson. Luckily both on time. By the time we got back to the hotel it was 11:30pm - we quickly and quietly went to sleep. The next morning, they woke up super early so they could slip into the park well before my mom, dad, and I did. Mom was all set on getting tickets for the World of Color, so we immediately went to that area when we got into the park - the last thing she expected to see was Johnny and Kevin running up and yelling surprise as we approached the fast pass booth. Again - more tears! She was incredibly surprised, moved, and happy.
We had the absolute best time as a family celebrating mom and her favorite place in the world. We missed Dee and he missed all of us...and he especially missed getting to see Cars Land. :) Though the Grand Californian is a splurge - it's WELL worth it when you're tired and want to nap at 1 in the afternoon and don't have to drive anywhere to do it! Mom and I also loved lounging by the many fireplaces around the hotel with our glasses of wine...and you can't beat the amazing rooms. :)
Here's some fun pictures from the weekend...
The inside of our hotel
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