Rays Trip: The USS Midway

So I am finally at the actual day of the aircraft carrier. We visited the USS Midway and got a special VIP tour of everything the ship has to offer. We got free rides on all the flight simulators, free entry for an entire year, free souvenirs, free lunch, and a special secret tour of parts of the ship not normally shown to the public.

We were there for six hours! And Ray was engaged and interested the entire time! He truly truly loves these ships and the airplanes. He was so cute and in fact we loved it so much, we went back a few days later and spent another two hours there! Here are the photos from that day.

Captain Phil was a pilot on two different air craft carriers and was our guide for the day.

Ray sitting on deck in the very plane that Captain Phil flew!

Ray steering the ship.

Solomon on the flight deck! They took Ray up to the tower part and had him raise a flag over the ship. Later they took it down and gave it to him to keep. After we got home he got an official certificate in the mail stating that on that particular day the American Flag was raised over the USS Midway by Ray Sanchez. It was cool.

Solomon thought the giant anchor chain was pretty cool.

In fact, we all did!

The kids and I were fascinated that the enlisted men had to sleep in such tight bunk beds. It was really small and dark and cramped and noisy!! Not fun.

This sign was posted right at the entrance that day so every guest (they had 2500 visitors that day) got to see Ray's name and wonder who he was and why he was special!!

Shannan, Captain Phil, Joe, Solomon, Ray and Ruby in front of the aircraft carrier. It is four stories high and forever long. It was intimidating but also really really cool. I learned so much about stuff I never would have thought about. I am grateful that Ray has a different interests than I do as his mom, you know? We can learn so much from our kids if we just let them be who they are. It was a very satisfying and educational experience for our whole family.

Same group only with Charles the ship's engineer. Where was Ammon you ask??? Well our two year terror never would have survived six hours on the ship!

We were rescued by no joke, an angel that day! That very morning my neighbor Katy and I exchanged phone calls, she called her cousin in San Diego, the cousin jumped in her car, drove an hour and met us at the museum. She looked safe and trustworthy and came highly recommended by my neighbor...so we just put Ammon in her car and watched a perfect stranger drive away with our baby. It was not easy let me tell you!! But she was awesome and Ammon played like a superstar with her kids all day at the park and her house and was totally happy. And we had a safe and enjoyable day on the ship without having to shout "Ammon Alert! Ammon Alert!" every five minutes like we normally do.

Thank you Katy and your cousin! You both really saved us! It made me grateful for the church and the connections we have through Relief Society! We were lucky.

Thank you Make-A-Wish for granting such a wonderful wish!