Fun times

The holidays are in full swing and it seems like there are more things going on then ever. I am feeling much better although my run today was slow and short and quite horrible. Apparently I need to take working out more slowly.

Monday I kidnapped a friend, who was having a stressful day, and went to Starbucks. My new favorite hot chocolate is caramel. Yum. I remembered how nice it is to take a step back and relax and that is what we did. We weren't even there for that long, but it was nice.

Tuesday a crazy friend of mine (yes you are crazy Heather) had a Five Favorite Things party. We had to bring 5 of our favorite things and share them and then draw five names from a bowl and those 5 got our 5 favorite things. It was a nice party and a great way to see what else is out there. I enjoyed myself. I got small tongs, hand lotion, fun lip gloss, a magic eraser and note cards. I thought it was about your favorite holiday things so in my cute little Christmasy container I put a sparkly ornament, some holiday scented lotions and my most favorite holiday thing, sugar cookies. I just put a mix of that in there though. Who has time to make sugar cookies?

So I have a question for you. What is your favorite thing? (Holiday or non holiday)

Sickness

Boy the past week has been very humbling and very frustrating. When a person is a busybody and doesn't like to sit still giving them and illness where they need to rest and recoup is way annoying.

After a week of not feeling good, but still pushing myself (not to hard. I haven't worked out since the triathlon) I finally went to the Dr. I had a sinus infection/head cold that was moving towards my chest. Yea. Not quite pneumonia, but still annoying.

So now I am on the right medicine and told once again to take it easy (grrrr). I am feeling much better now and am itching to get moving again. However, on Saturday night Lily started not feeling good and now she is sick. I was worried about it being the hini virus since some of the kids in her class have had it, but it turned out to be just a really high fever and nothing more. Once again, I need to slow it down so she can rest. She is on the mend, but is housebound for the next couple of days (grrrr)

I must do my thankfuls now that the month is halfway over and I haven't posted anything. I have a lot of gratitude in my heart so I feel that it should be expressed so here they are.

November I am Thankful...

1) That I was able to detox my body from all the sugar that was ingested during Halloween.

2) that a dentist in our neighborhood takes all the Halloween candy and sends it to the troops overseas so I don't have to have it in my house (my kids aren't to thankful for that)

3) for a free country. I really enjoy democracy even though it leads to bad choices sometimes

4) for my family. I really appreciate my sisters and brothers and my parents and Damon's parents

5) that I am all done working for the week

6) for my Lily. We spent some time just us today and I really do love her. She is growing up to be quite a young lady

7) for a really healthy body. I keep challenging it and it keeps doing everything I ask. The human body is amazing. I am also grateful for my triathlon being over.

8) for quiet sabbath days. In this busy world it is nice to have one day a week to slow down, reflect and to worship

9) for my piano students. They drive me crazy, challenge me and work hard. They are amazing.

10) for my Noah. He works so hard and is growing up so fast. It makes me sad to think I only have 8 more years with him living with us.

11) for Veterans. I love having a day off to reflect upon those who serve our country. I have such great respect and admiration for them.

12) for great friends. I didn't have any kids today because they were playing at friend's houses. It was so quiet all afternoon and I was able to rest from my illness

13) for Damon's job. It allows me to stay home and be with the kids. I am happy that he still has it. He works so hard for us.

14) for Adam. He works so hard and makes us laugh all the time. He is such a nut. I think he was sent to our family to help us take life less seriously

15) for antibiotics and urgent care facilities.

16) that Damon is such a wonderful husband. He has had to do his job and my job lately since I haven't been feeling well and I know that must be exhausting. He has done dishes, bathed kids, gone to soccer games, made dinner and taken care of Lily in the middle of the night so I can rest. I so appreciate that. He is wonderful, not perfect, but wonderful.

There is my list of Thankfuls thus far. I will try to be better about posting them so I don't seem ungrateful.

Field Trip Wednesday!?

First and foremost we need to send a shout out to all of those military who have served or are serving our country. Thank you for all you do!


Secondly, I am sick. A head cold which feels like it is quickly becoming a chest cold. Love it. If this is the only sickness I get this year I will be glad.

With a day off from school on Wednesday we decided to go on our field trip today instead of on Thursday. I rearranged my piano schedule so we had the majority of the day off. YEA! Today we decided to tackle two more of the California Missions.

We left around 9:30am and drove up to San Juan Capistrano. It was hard going all the way up to the OC and not going to Disneyland, but some how I survived. Actually, I asked the kids if they wanted to go to Disneyland and they said no, that they wanted to go to the missions (who's kids are those). We met up with my parents and my two nieces at the mission after we explored the area and found a park to play at.

The mission was huge. I don't even think we saw all of it. The gardens were beautiful and there were so many architectural cool things about it. It is a photographers dream. Unfortunately, Damon doesn't get Veteran's Day off so he wasn't with us. We enjoyed our time there. They had some really cool fountains with big fish in them that kept trying to nibble the kids fingers. They also have this 300 year old back wall in the apse area of the chapel that was sent over from Spain. Walking in and seeing it took my breathe away.

We ate a picnic lunch at a park that we just found around the corner from the mission. At the park there was a giant Christmas tree all decorated. That was kind of fun. It was a nice day for an alfresco lunch.

We drove back down to Oceanside after lunch and stopped at the mission, San Luis Rey. It is known as the King of the missions since it is the largest. Unfortunately the largest does not mean the most available to the public. The mission was mostly closed to the public and we were only able to tour the chapel and the cemetery. They also have the oldest pepper tree that was planted in the 1800's.

It was a fun field trip for the kids and for the adults. I am so glad that I am able to do this with my minions who I love so much. They are fun to be around most of the time.

Field Trip Thursday and a Race

Our field trip Thursday was quite "meaty". We went and saw "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". I know what you are thinking, "Didn't that movie come out in September?" Yes it did. We finally had an open Thursday. It was great because we were the only ones in the whole theatre. The kids liked the movie and I liked spending time with them.




I had another triathlon today. It was a bit different then all the other because I did an Olympic size one and not a sprint. My sister felt that our sprint tris were getting to easy for us. I thought it was a great idea until the night before the race when I wanted to do the "easy" race. Lily and I drove up to my sister's house on Friday afternoon. The boys enjoyed their "boys" night with Daddy.

All smiles before the race!

I started my race this morning in Lake Perris. It wasn't to cold so that was nice. What it was though was foggy. I couldn't see the path markers in front of me and kept swimming off course. Some where at the beginning at the race I wanted to quit. I was so ready to swim over to the life guard boat and say "pull me up. I am done". I didn't. I stuck with it. I started to view the water as my adversity and I didn't want to let it in. I ended up swimming most of the race with backstroke because I could breathe easier. I finally made it in.The bike was easy for me this time. I have been spending most of my time training for the bike part of the race. I didn't have issues on the hills and i fought my fear of going fast on the downhill rides. I almost got hit by a car who wasn't following what the police officers were saying. I also lost my water bottle when I hit a big bump. I was annoyed about that.

The run was great. I have trained for the 10K since school started so I really didn't have a problem with it. YEA!

When I finished the race my whole lower half was in so much pain. It hurt to stand, keep walking and sit. My muscles honestly felt like they were burning. It was a wretched feeling. They will be sore for the next few days I am sure. I had wanted to do the race in 3 hours and I got 3 hours, 3 minutes and a few seconds. Yea me!

I am glad I challenged myself to do the bigger race. It was a great accomplishment. One that I am not sure I want to repeat any time soon. As always I was the last one of my friends to finish the race, but being last has its advantages. They were all waiting for me at the finish cheering me on. I went to pack up my gear and get ready to go. I wasn't staying for the awards ceremony because there was no point. My swim was mediocre, my bike was ok and my run was average. You could have pushed me over with a feather when they announced my name for 3rd place in my age group. I got a trophy. Pretty cool!

Halloween Fun!

Happpy Halloween!!

We had a busy Halloween, but a lot of fun. We managed to get a little work done too. The day started early and we went strong. So strong I took a little nap when I fell asleep at 8:45pm on the couch. Pumpkins were carved, tricks and treats were gotten and jack-o-lanterns were made. Damon deserves 2 thumbs up because he went to a soccer game too.



We met up with some of the kids from the neighborhood and went out for two hours. Lily only lasted a half hour and I ended up carrying her home. She was so cute. The boys had so much fun. It was Adam's first time going with the "Big" kids. Our courtyard was all decorated for the trick-or-treaters is fine Halloween fun.

I am glad this holiday is over. Now bring on Thanksgiving.

Field Trip Thursday & a taste of Halloween

Our field trip this week was a well read one. The library has a partnership with In n Out burgers and when you read 5 library book you get a ticket for a free burger. The kids flew through 5 books and yesterday we went to In n Out for our field trip. We called up our friends to join us. We had a lovely time and ate some yummy burger.

Earlier that day I had a birthday brunch with some friends. No pictures, but I felt like I should mention it. It was nice getting together without the kids and without any other distractions going around. I know that I am loved in San Diego.

Last Saturday our church had our Halloween Party. Damon was at a luau so it was just the kids and I. We had chili and cornbread, played carnival games and went "Trunk or Treating" around the parking lots to the cars of people who were there. The kids had fun. Who Doesn't need more candy before Halloween?

Birthday Magic

It was my birthday on the 22nd and we decided to celebrate it by going to Disneyland. Damon took the day off work and the whole family went. It was such a great day. The park wasn't to crowded and the weather was delightful.
We spent the day riding rides and relaxing. The kids were great. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and had a lovely time. The kids were great all day and were so nice to me. We did something we haven't before and went to Tom Sawyer's island. It is now called "Pirates Lair". The kids loved running around and climbing through all the caves. We ended up finding the pirate booty.
That night we watched the Halloween fireworks show. It was amazing. It was one of my favorite fireworks shows they have ever done. The kids loved it and we all enjoyed spending time together. In mom's mind it was a great birthday.