On our last rest day before we would celebrate one more day in Disney we decided to do something we haven't done before with the kids, BEACH DAY! The whole family was excited to experience this day together and see how each of the kids enjoyed the water.
Originally we were going to go to Santa Monica Pier but last minute Zach decided on going over to Huntington Beach instead. On the way we ate some KFC packs and it was delicious, I love their biscuits. Huntington Beach was good we walked some until we found a clear spot with not many people and went to playing with all our dollar store beach toys and of course getting comfortable in the water.
All the kids loved playing with the buckets and shovels but the rest of the toys were a bit pointless this trip as the kids had no interest to just sit and play they were on the go. Andie loved collecting shells especially when we told her we could take some home with us, child's dream come true. Jake really loved going out into the waves and hanging onto Daddy as the waves basically knocked him down. It was fun to watch the kids enjoy the beach for their very first time.
After a bit of playing we decided to go on over to a near playground and let the kids burn off some energy. It was all going well and Zach and I were playing our traditional game I created because I am a paranoid mother haha. Every 15 seconds or so we search for the kids and since there is 3 someone always wins. Its like a parent I Spy game haha. We were getting ready to leave the playground after playing for about an hour and gathering everything up, still playing our game by the way. when we couldn't find Jake.
Hearts pounding we searched the playground over and over but Jake was just gone! We literally had seen him 30 seconds ago and he had vanished. We looked everywhere! I started to panic and think someone took him, he must be stolen he wanders off but always stays in eyesight but he was GONE! We made the girls sit outside the playground and I took off asking anyone and everyone if they had seen a little 4 year old boy named Jake with brown hair. I was living a nightmare that no parent ever wants to live. This is the picture I was showing everyone on what he was wearing and who to look for.
I got this thought after about 5 minutes to call 911 and get help now because we could not find our boy! Huntington Beach police came on their beach buggy and we even had helicopters in the air. Lifeguards were notified and searching the water and even other parents by the playground were all looking for Jake within 10 minutes. The police of course told me not to worry and they would find Jake but I have watched to many criminal minds and kidnapping shows. I know that kids only have about 12 hours to be found before chances start going down.
Zach stayed with the girls by the playground and I continued to run around and getting more and more people to find Jake. I was in panic mode and of course the thought crossed my mind that I would not be leaving California without him! I even said a pray to please help everyone find my boy safely because we already had a miscarriage and lost our 4th baby this trip I couldn't lose my little boy too! It wouldn't be fair for me to lose two kids in a matter of days. I was distraught.
After about 45 minutes to an hour of not seeing my boy and wondering if you would ever see our little child again a lady was running towards me. I'm not a runner, especially in flip flops but my heart was racing I just knew she had to have news for me. I ran towards her and she said "He is found, he is found!" Hearing those words was such a miracle and I took off back to the playground telling the girl thank you, thank you. Funny how adrenaline can make you run like you have always been a runner!
Seeing Jake sitting on the wall by Zach, my girls and the police was the best feeling and I just ran up and scooped him up into the biggest tightest hug and bawled my eyes out. I think I probably scared Jake because he didn't realize what he had put Mom through. I never wanted to let go of my boy and he just let me embrace him for a very long time as we said thank you to the police. They had found him playing in the waves of the ocean having the time of his life. He could of drowned so easily but he was definitely being watched over and protected somehow.
I was so traumatized at this point we had to cut our beach day short and leave to go back to the hotel. I wish I would of taken pictures of the police and thanked them a million times more for finding my boy and all they did but we managed to wave as they drove to their next adventure I am sure. I was so thankful to have all my kids safely in the van as we left.
The kids were a bit bummed that we were missing out on more water time so we promised we could go play in the hotel pool for a bit instead as just a family. We told Jake he can never run off from us again and even Andie chimed in how scared she was that she would never see her brother again. It was a family scaring event for sure.
After swimming our hearts out and enjoying our time trying to calm our hearts down from the scare we went back up to the hotel showered and went out for some pizza. We knew that our last day at Disney would be a very special one tomorrow with everything that went down and we could not be more thankful for the three amazing kids we have and for all their safety.
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