Polynesian Field Trip

Today we had sort of an odd field trip, but it was fun none the less. We went to the library to see a polynesian dance group perform. The boys didn't want to go so I took Lily and our neighbor Audrey. Needless to say we were a bit disappointed by the two old dance up on the stage who were whiter than I am, but I was proud of Lily for going up on stage to dance.

Lily got a little bored and started taking pictures with my camera. I have a lot of funny shots that I won't post. It was funny to see the world through want she deems important.

First Beach Trip of Summer!

Lily and I went to the beach today with the Shoff's. Our boys were at school so we took the younger kids and headed to the beach! Dianne wanted to go to Coronado and since I have never been to the beach over there, I know, I lived here 5 years and have never gone to the beach there, we decided to go. I am so glad we did. I am so in love with that beach. It was so great. The water was freezing of course and while we were there over 10 people got stung by sting rays, but we still had a nice time. The kids all got tired and about 2pm so we decided to leave, but we will definitely going back. I have to relearn how to apply sunscreen properly. I seriously look like a candy cane right now. It is ridiculous. I still love it here.

Adam's Date

For Valentine's Day the kids were all given a date coupon. Everyone chose what they wanted to do and who they wanted to go with. The other two had already done their's. Adam wanted to go to Disneyland with just mom. I finally was able to fulfill that date for him. Yesterday I picked him up from school early and we headed up to the magic kingdom.
He was so excited when I told him where we were going. He had no idea. I wish I could have taken a picture. His face was so cute. We had a really fun time together. The weather was perfect. The parks were a bit more crowded than I prefer, but they weren't to bad. We hit most of Adam's favorites except Indiana Jones. It is just hard to squeeze it in into one day especially when there is lines.

The last thing we did was watch Fantasmic! That was great. The last time we tried to watch it it was raining and not fun at all. Last night was perfect and we had the best seats. The hardest part was driving home late last night and of course the recovery this morning. I can't seem to get moving. It was all worth it though. I love my Adam.

A fun Visit

Our dear friends from Oregon, The Dominguez Family, stayed with us over the weekend. They were here for a wedding. It was so fun to see them. We have known them since 2000 and our oldest boys were the best of friends in Oregon. They still get along great. The boys stayed up late talking the first night. They were remembering the good ole days in preschool. So funny.

Keira and I were always pregnant at the same time. Our kids are mostly the same ages. we used to swap kids for babysitting and whatnot. She has helped me redecorate, hang things, sew things, paint and once took Noah in at 9pm at night when we had to take Adam to his first of many ER visits when he was a baby. She also discovered Adam's peanut allergy. Oh, the memories. It is great to have friends!

We enjoyed their visit and are so sad that they couldn't stay longer. We can't wait to see them again.
Today was also Father's Day. We celebrated it the proper way with lots of yummy food and presents. We celebrated with my dad last week so today was all about Damon. He works so hard to provide for us and take care of us. He is such a great dad. We all love him so very much! Hope you enjoyed your day!

Field Trip Thursday

Wow! It has been a while since a field trip. What can I say? I was gone and then I was super busy. Sometimes the fun does have to be put aside.

I have my sister's kids right now because she was having surgery on her knee. I have had them all week. It has been nice to have some more girls around to help keep Lily entertained. We have run errands, gone to 2 birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese, (yea for me) and played outside with the neighbors.Today we met up with our usual field trip friends, The Shoff's, and went to the pool at the club. We all had extra kids with us, but we still managed to have some fun.

Can't wait until Summer really starts!

Recital #4--Done!

I am so happy that the recital is done. It seems like we got home from our trip and I haven't been able to stop running until tonight. I think my body is unloading all the stress that it was holding in because everything hurts. I just have to laugh.

I spent all Friday night and Saturday morning making all the treats for the recital. I didn't take a picture of everything when it was set up on the table at the recital. I had a flag cake, eclairs, creme puffs with American Flag toothpicks sticking out of them, chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels and watermelon. It was a lot of work doing everything by myself, but it all came together splendidly.

The recital went relatively smoothly. I honestly can't remember much of it. I think that is why I have Damon record them, because I don't remember what happens the moment it ends. The boys did great on their songs. I was very proud of them. Lily was able to attend this year and managed to stay quiet during the whole performance. Damon was a saint and designed the programs and ran some of the errands I just didn't have time for. The recital is seriously a family effort to put together.

We celebrated the end of the recital by going to The Hamburger Factory in Old Poway. We had never been there. It was a cute place located in a really unique setting. It is fun to try new places. We strolled through the park afterwards before we can home.



I am completely pooped and have no desire to accomplish anything over the next few days. I think I need a vacation.

A graduation and ranch round up

What a busy Friday! It started at 4am with a migraine for me. Yea! I was finally able to fall asleep again and woke up at 7am and got moving. I made cookies for Lily's pre-k graduation, finished a cake for the cake walk at Jerabek's ranch round up, made breakfast, got the kids ready for school, taught my last piano lesson for the week and got the kids all to school on time, barely.

I am frantically getting ready for the recital tomorrow by running all over the place trying to find everything I need. It hasn't been easy. I feel like I have been in my car an awful lot this week. It also seems that our vacation was months ago and not last week. The glow of vacation relaxation is gone.

It was a bit sad to see my baby be all done with her early years of education. From now on, the public school system has her. She looks awfully cute. I can't believe she will be 5 in a month. I still think of her as a baby.

This is a picture of Lily and Ms. Jane. Lily has known Ms. Jane since she was 6 months old. Ms. Jane also taught Adam for 2 years of preschool. She is a wonderful teacher and has now prepared two of my kids for kindergarten. I am sad that we won't see her very much anymore.

After the boys got home from school and had a snack we headed to Ranch Round Up, our school's main fund raiser for the year. The kids had wristbands and could stay in the bouncy area as long as they wanted. They also had tickets to get food and play carnival games. I was able to catch up with some friends and teachers I don't get to see very often. Damon joined us after he got home from work. Fun was had by all.

Now it is off to finish all the recital stuff. Can't wait til it is all over!

What Summer means

Summer is quickly approaching. The temperature guage is rising. We are all getting ready for school to end (in 5 weeks...grrr).
Summer means tomato sandwiches from the garden, going to the pool or beach everyday or sometimes both in the same day. Summer means dresses, shorts, sandals and ponytails. It means sunscreen and suntans. It means always having to shave my legs. Family/friend gatherings are a must. It's eating watermelon til we are sick and corn on the cob until our teeth need to be flossed. It means long days and short nights. It means smelling like chlorine even after we have showered. It's free movie Wednesdays or Blockbuster hits on Fridays. Summer means no schedules.

Summer equals fun. Now, bring it on.

What I learned

All traveling leads to growth. It doesn't matter if you travel up the state or around the world. Everyone learns something.

So we have been home a week and I have been pondering all of our experiences. Here is a list of what I learned.

1)All European big cities were built around water and a cathedral

2) Europeans don't like flat sheets. Out of the 5 hotels we stayed in only 1 had the flat sheet as well as the fitted on.

3) It doesn't matter what country you are in, all woman like shoes

4) No matter where you are you can always find a McDonald's

5) In Europe they call drive thru's Mcdrives

6) Owning all 4 walls of your home is a luxury

7) Foreign flight attendants are much nicer than American ones

8) Always greet everyone with a hello in their own language, even if it is the only word you know

9) Italian food is good in France, England, Germany and Austria.

10) public transportation is only sneered at in America


11) Even after being together for 13 years there are still things I learn about my spouse


12) Even after being together for 13 years there are still things I need to learn about how to behave around him, patience being the biggest


13) I really love carbs and Europe only feeds into that love.


14) Every country has something unique to offer the world. One just has to find it.


15) No matter how tough everyone thinks I am, or how tough I tell myself I am, I can still cry at the drop of a hat


16) Just because one brings adapters for the electrical outlets does not mean that all appliances should be plugged in. My flat iron started smoking two seconds after I plugged it in. Luckily it still works in America

17) Typos are pretty common when you blog late at night and are to tired to proof read:)

We had a wonderful trip and are having a hard time adjusting back to normal life. Work just seems that much harder to get done.

Home

We are home now and I think that it was the longest day of my life. We woke up at 5:15am London time, which is 9:15pm the night before in San Diego. We made it to the airport in good time and started the trek west.

The flight was nice. We all had our own little tv's that we could pick our own movies to watch. I slept for a little bit and then watched movies the rest of the time. It certainly made the time fly. It really was an enjoyable flight.
We landed in New York at 10:20am local time. That was the hard part. Our flight didn't leave until 5pm. The original plan was to go to New York City and have a little bit of fun during the 7 hour layover. What we didn't account for was how exhausted we would be. Neither of us felt like leaving so we spent all that time in the airport. We weren't even in a very fun terminal.
Our flight back to San Diego was nice too. I slept for an hour and a half. Damon didn't sleep at all. Probably because I was using him as a pillow. We landed earlier than expected and made it home before the kids were asleep. The excitement that met us at the door reminded us of why we love being home. We couldn't give the kids enough hugs and kisses and they all seem so much bigger.

up next... what we learned

London Day 6

This morning we had to catch and early train. 8:10am. Yuck! I miss the days of not having to set an alarm. We made the train, but not before I literally ran in front of the bus as it pulled out so we could get on it. The bus driver told me I was a very bad girl.

The train ride out to Lingfield station wasn't bad. It was short. There was nothing out at the station, but we were able to call a cab and it took us to the London Temple. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. The air smelled very clean out there and it was really quiet. After being in some really big cities it was a nice change.

It was nice being at one of our religious buildings after being at so many cathedrals over the past 2 weeks. The temple is simple, but very nicely decorated.

We rode the train back and then went to Picadilly and had lunch at TGI Fridays. We were in the mood for some BBQ. We then did some shopping and then came back to the hotel. I was hoping to go out again and see London all alight, but Damon isn't feeling good so we are staying in for the rest of the evening. I guess I will have to save that for our next trip.

I have packed and am all ready to start the long trek home tomorrow. I am excited to see the kids and my garden and Nana. Not so excited about working again.

We were actually able to go out for a little bit later. The buildings looked cool all aglow.

Goodbye London! Hopefully we will see you again.