Family Fun

Back in January I booked a room at the Disneyland Hotel for a little family get away. With me being out of commission for a little bit I thought it would be a fun treat when I got back to "normal". I even asked Damon to take 2 days off of work for it. The kids didn't have school on Friday so it worked even better. Damon and I decided not to tell the kids and it was a hard secret to keep from them.

So Thursday morning I sent the kids off to school and had told them that they had a dentist appointment and that I would be picking them up a little bit early. Yes, I told a lie, but I didn't want them to assume what we were doing when I picked them up. Damon was in the car when the kids got there and that surprised them. Then we passed the dentist office and then they started asking questions. By the time we past Oceanside they were really confused. Damon and I were laughing as we told them that we were driving to Oregon. Noah looked in the back and noticed there was luggage. He doesn't like surprised at all so he totally started freaking out. He demanded that we tell them where we were going and after a few minutes of kidding around we told them. They weren't excited until we told them where we were staying. Most kids get excited about going to Disneyland. Not mine.

Well, the real surprise came for all of us when we checked into the Disneyland Hotel and ended up being the Family of the Day! I had reserved one of their basic rooms, without a view and that hadn't been updated, at a discount price. We were upgraded to a two bedroom suite with a view of the Parks on the top floor. This suite was bigger than our house, almost, and the views were so amazing. It had 2 bathrooms. We almost just felt like hanging out in the hotel the whole time. My kids are never going to want to stay anywhere else. It was a flashback trip for Damon and I as we took the kids to see Captain EO. We laughed our heads off. The kids like it, but my favorite thing was Adam asking after it was over, "Was that a guy or a girl? I couldn't tell." He was referring to Michael Jackson. We also went to Electronica where they started it out by playing 80's songs and talking about the super computer. We laughed again as we sang along to the music.

We had a fun 2 days at the park with turn down service and room service at the hotel and no waiting in lines on Thursday. Friday was a bit more crowded, but we still managed to have fun and see World of Color. We loved spending time together as a whole family which makes me feel truly blessed. My favorite thing is to here the words, "Thanks Mom. This is the best day ever!" I got a lot of those.

Valentine's Crafts

Me and Michael's should not get together very often. Every time I walk in my imagination runs wild about all the activities I can be doing. I really have to control myself during each holiday.

I had to get some stuff at Michael's last week and found all sorts of fun Valentine's stuff to do. It was hard to decide which activity to choose from. I settled for 2. We made Love Day boxes to leave each other love notes in. The other activity was making Love Bugs. We made them over the weekend while enjoying cookies and milk.

We love Valentine's Day!

Pinewood Derby #3

My Good Looking Scouts!

The Pinewood Derby was tonight and the boys had such a great time! They worked on their cars every Saturday for 5 weeks. Their cars were great and fast! Damon did a great job as Cubmaster organizing the races. We had a lot of fun, but we are all really glad it is over. Adam and Noah came in 3rd and 4th. We are very proud of them!

It's never minor when Mom is out of commission

When the Dr. called and said that there was an abnormal growth that needed to be removed nothing really crossed my mind. I didn't think my life was ending. I didn't even think it would be that big of deal. When he said, "You have to pretend that you are a very old person during recovery" is when my questions started flying. So what do you mean a really old person? Can I not workout? Can I not stretch? All along those lines. His words, "Well if the stitches tear there really won't be anything to sew back up." Lovely.

So here I sit on the eve's eve of what the Dr. called "minor surgery", but what I like to call a procedure because the kids freak out with the word surgery wondering what my life will be like while my back heals. I'm not one of those people who can sit still without thinking of a million things I need to be getting done. I've got a stack of books and dvds to pass the time.

Poor Damon. Nothing stresses him out more than his wife seeming mortal. I'm really never down for the count. Hopefully he will hold down the fort for 12 days.

As for us stay at home moms there is never anything minor about being out of commission.

The last 2 weeks of Break

The last two weeks of break have flown by. Since school is starting tomorrow, I'm happy and sad about that, I figured it was about time to stop being lazy and update the blog.

The third week of break was quite uneventful. I didn't have a car for a couple of days and then after we got it back the kids just wanted to play at home. I'm not going to argue with that. They have had a lot of fun terrorizing the neighborhood with the other kids on the block. It's been rather fun to watch them. The boys have been working hard on their Pinewood Derby cars.
The last week of break we had some fun.

Tuesday we went to Balboa Park. We hit the Natural History Museum. The have a new exhibit about rocks and gems. It was fascinating. We also watched a movie about the ocean South of Baja, California.
Wednesday Lily got to spend the whole day with her friend Addie. That was nice. Sometimes I think it is a little weird how much time my kids spend together. I certainly didn't spend that much time with my siblings when we were growing up. The boys got to go ice skating. Some of Noah's classmates were meeting at the rink to skate and that's what the boys wanted to do.

Thursday we went to Disneyland. It's my favorite time to go. It was a warm, beautiful, uncrowded day. We even ended up with ice cream it got that warm. Lily got to go on the Tea cups for the first time and loved them. I certainly went on a lot of spinny rides that day. Blah. I discovered that my new favorite treat is a Coke Float with soft serve ice cream. YUM! Lily also went on Tower of Terror for the first time and absolutely loved it. She also kept her arms up in the air the whole time on Space Mountain. She's a bit scary sometimes. The boys had lots of fun too. We can't wait to go back. Here is Lily going on the Tower of Terror for the first time smiling and having a jolly time. At least Adam has someone to ride all the rides with now.

Friday Damon and I went on a last minute date to the Coronado Cays. We went on a romantic gondola ride. Our Gondolier even sang Italian songs. We went at night so it was nice and peaceful. A great end to a loud week.

Saturday Damon, who has been working nonstop, took us out to brunch in La Jolla to a place called Jerry's. It's a cute little place that has been there since 1960. They only serve breakfast and lunch. The weather was absolutely amazing we went down to the Cove, but everyone else must have thought it was amazing weather to because there was no parking to be found.

We love 9am church. We have the whole rest of the day to relax and spend time with each other.

Monday was a holiday for all of us and we spent the days playing outside and doing small projects. I got sunburned.

It's a bittersweet end since this is Noah's last long winter break. Next year he goes to normal schedule. And now since it is the middle of January I can start getting excited about Valentine's Day, or as we call it in this house Love Day! And now I must go pack the dreaded lunches.

A blast from the past

When I was in the 3rd grade my choir teacher at school wanted me to audition for an all girl choir. I did with a couple of my other friends and we all made it. We made it to the training choir. We were in it for a year. After that I auditioned for the Concert choir and I made it in there as well. For the next few years I practiced twice a week, had concerts, tours and choir camps with mostly the same girls and the same choir director. This same director, Sue, also directed the Phoenix Girls Chorus when my little sister was in it years later.

Last weekend they had a concert to celebrate Sue. I didn't find out about it in time to get over to Phoenix, but it has sent a rekindling of friendships and memories on facebook. It has been so fun to see everyone's old pictures from concerts, camps and tours.

Girls Choir was such a big part of my life. It's been fun to relive it. Even with the puffy hair, teased bangs and braces.

A New Year!

Wow! 2011. It seems like it was just 1999. Damon and I have spent so many New Year's Eve's together, I can barely remember not spending it with him. We had a Rockin' New Year's Eve at Mortensen Manor. We had all night celebrating with good food and games with the kids. We did a language/country matching game. The kids learned how to say "Happy New Year" in 16 different languages. It was pretty fun. Then at 9pm we brought in the New Year with the East Coast with noise makers, poppers and the ball drop. The kids went to bed right afterwards.

The adults brought in the New Year at Midnight and filled in the rest of the time with more games, more food and lots more fun.

We started off 2011 with the traditional French Pancakes and the Rose Parade, which was fabulous. We walked, we cooked, we ate and partied some more. It's been a great start to the new year.

Here's to 2011. I am feeling optimistic for 2011 and have high hopes for this year.