Quilts, Kids and Chaos: Lost at Lagoon!

So I realized that I haven't posted about our day at Lagoon, so here it is!
We have some of the most amazing friends, and some of them got our family some "cheap" tickets to Lagoon. And when I say cheap, I mean FREE! What a deal! What a blessing! The kids have wanted to go to Lagoon for years, but John's excuse is that he would rather use the money to go to Disneyland, so we do! hahaha Anyway, we were able to take the whole team and what a great time we had!
One thing we did find out right a away, is that there are not many "family" rides. You know, the kind that you can take everyone on together from 35years to 8 months. Michael had a really hard time because he is so small, he was literally an inch from being able to ride a handful of rides. Once we figured that out, we knew it was time to head to the kiddie land. But first lunch! Again provided by our friends very generous work, thank you Allred's!
After a yummy lunch, Michael was turned away from yet one more ride, so at that point we told the big boys we would be in the kid area, and they could go ride the big rides together, as long as they checked back after each ride. They were so tired at the end of the evening. Especially Connor, who came home from Scout Camp that morning so he could come to Lagoon with us.
Well things were going really well for the first, oh hour or so. Michael was in heaven going on every ride he wanted, and Matthew was thrilled to be the "Helpful Big Brother". Nate and Connor were wonderful checking in and sticking together and Jakey was being a god baby. We thought, "this is the best!" Well, Michael started up with the potty dance, so I had to rip him away to take him to the bathroom. We figured it was time to give Jakey some lunch so John and Matt parked themselves on a bench and waited for us and the boys to return to tell us about the next great ride adventure they would be going on. While at the bathroom Michael and I notice a whole other area of kiddie rides. I told him we would come back after we got the boys, and we headed back to the bench. As we met up with John, Matt and Jake, I noticed Connor and Nathan wandering around looking for us. I hollered to them, but they could not hear me because we were right by the stage where there just happened to be a performance going on. I ran up to them and caught up just as we were going around a snow cone shack. We came around the other way and came back to the rest of the boys sitting around the bench. That is when I asked, "Where's Michael?" Michael was nowhere to be seen! I immediately started freaking out. My eyes were shooting from here to there, scanning the area. I circled the carousel and that is when my friends sister saw the panic in my face and asked if someone was missing. "Yes, MICHAEL!" I said quickly. She got up right away and began to help me look. She then told her family and my friend and her family were looking as well. We now had a small army, but it was nothing compared to the hundreds of people all over the park. I thought about the rides back by the bathroom, did he go there? I ran as fast as I could, but no Michael. I saw our friends circle around the stage, no Michael. I could not believe this! I was scared and a little embarrassed that of all the times to lose a kid, I had to do it when we were with our friends and their family. This is only the second time we have lost anyone, which, with all the times we have been to Disneyland and Disney World, AND having 5 kids, I think that is pretty good. I also think that is why I was so freaked out! I decided that I need more help and found security. They called in reinforcement and just as I finish his description, a mom came around the stage holding him. He looked frozen. I grabbed him and held him close. I asked if he was scared. He was. I thanked the mother, she was my angel! My friends were relieved and I was so grateful for their help. My older boys were so glad to see him, I know they were scared too. The mother that found him actually looked a lot like my friend Jana and her sister, and I think that is why he was willing to go with her. The mother also said that she knew all she had to do is look for a frantic mom and she would know who he belonged to. Michael just held me tight and I kissed him and told him I was so glad he was found.
We had told the kids that this trip to Lagoon was a trial run to see if we could handle Disneyland. Michael told John later that night, "I go Diseyland and not run away." Apparently he had followed me when I ran after Connor and Nathan around the Snow Cone shack, but did not see me go back around. He continued around the stage and then was found wondering back and forth.
I sat down on a bench with Michael as 3 girls came walking by. They kept looking at me and Michael, then one girl asked, "Is his name Michael?" I said, "yes". "Oh good you found him." She said. I didn't even know these girls. They must have overheard his description and they were looking for him. I am so grateful for all my little angels watching over us!
Well, we stayed for a few more hours, let the boys ride all the rides that they could. Play a few games and have some treats. We did end up riding the train as a family. That was fun, especially since John use to drive the train when he worked at Lagoon.
All in all it was a great day. We learned some great lessons and sometimes we remind Michael about the time he got lost at Lagoon. It helps to keep him in line!

John and Michael stood in line, only to be told that Michael was too small to go on the raft. So we watched the big boys get wet from above.