Some Easter Pictures

Hope all of you had a Happy Easter. We had a good time at Brenna and Justin's. The kids were in candy heaven for the day. (I throw out any uneaten candy after the day is over. Yes, I am very mean. Somehow I'll get over it.) I didn't get a picture of the boys in their Easter clothes since I couldn't get one before we left for church in the morning and a kid threw up all over Chase in nursery, so there went the picture of the kids. Maybe next Sunday. I got one of Reagan though.

Senora Nancy!!!!

It was my mother-in-law's birthday last week and we went to Mi Ranchito. When the waitress found out it was her birthday, they did the whole "embarass you on your birthday" thing. I had to put this up... for the rest of the in-laws. Your moment of zen...

Reagan and Her "Big Girl Bed"and Reason #679 Why I Love Blake

Reagan got her big girl bed on Saturday. She had a convertible crib that would become a full-sized bed. When we stayed at my parents' house she slept in a regular bed and did fine so we thought it was about time to make the change permanent. It is funny because she is still this little thing and she is sleeping in a full-size bed. She is a small speck on the huge bed.

Saturday I was having a pretty crappy day and I was being snappish and generally unpleasant. Blake took Logan out to lunch and came back with lunch for me, some dark chocolate and these roses. Blake is the greatest husband; he is always trying to make things easier for me. He is amazing!

Day 4 of Awesomeness

The fourth day we spent on Mission Beach. They have a boardwalk there and we got an awesome parking spot since the day started out overcast and no one was out. If any of you know Blake... when he gets an awesome parking spot we are not going anywhere. In this case, though, it was perfect. We started out on the boardwalk, going on some rides and then spent the rest of the day on the beach. Blake built and fort with the boys that actually withstood the tide. The kids spent most of the day digging, eating, and chasing the tide and the birds.

Here are the girls destroying the hard work of the boys. We are so mean! (Actually, it was to keep people from tripping.)

In closing, I need to give a shout-out to two of the awesome places we ate: Big Kahunas Pizza (which didn't serve pizza at all, but Hawaiian BBQ, yum!), and Island Pasta on Coronado; (homemade pasta) I will never forget your manicotti. And I huge "thank you" to my brother, Matt, the San Diego expert. Awesome advice and tips and I promise we will go to Kona's next time!

By the way, anyone notice how many times I used "awesome" in the last few posts? Cali must be rubbing off on me!

Day 2 and 3 of Awesomeness

The next day we went to Sea World and the kids had a blast. We got there at opening and stayed until closing. It was amazing! The kids loved the beluga whales and stayed at their exhibit for a full hour, I believe. The dolphin show was a big hit, along with the dog and cat show, the tide pools and the ray exhibit(which were hands-on). We saw everything but Shamu. I know, terrible, huh? And we even got out of there without a stuffed animal. I think that is unheard of.



The big pay-off was that the kids actually understand what whales and dolphins, etc. are now and still want to read and learn about them. Chase always wants to wear his whale shirt now, when he only wanted his train t-shirt before... yea, I get to expand the wardrobe!



























On day 3 we went to the USS Midway. I enjoyed the history since my great uncle was in the Battle of Midway and I always remember stories of what happened to him. It was an amazing restoration of the carrier and they even had some helicopter and planes on the deck much to the delight of my aircraft-obsessed children.
















The second half of the day we went to Cabrillo NM. It is right on the point and the views are amazing. There are several hikes there, but we went specifically for the tide pools. The kids poked all the anemones they saw. We found a few crabs and lots of sea life. We all ended up soaking wet and had a great time in the process.

We ended the day with a swing on the beach back at the hotel.

Day 1 of Awesomeness (Or Our Trip to San Diego)

We drove into San Diego in late afternoon and it was almost dark, but our hotel was right on the beach and we had to let the kids see the ocean for the first time. It was cold, but the kids soon got over it and enjoyed themselves chasing the waves in an out and chasing the birds too, of course. Poor birds never had any peace our entire stay. We stayed at the Naval Base on the island of Coronado and it had its own private beach that was HUGE and it was right out our door.

What I miss about Sierra Vista...

We are finally unpacked and I am beginning to feel like this is home again, but there are a few things about Sierra Vista that I miss:


1. Weather, weather, and weather! It was 75 degrees when I left Arizona and it snowed in Utah the first night here. It made me so depressed. The kids and I went to the park in January with just long sleeves... no sweaters or jackets to speak of. The only cold week in the winter was the week family visited... go figure.


2. "Creek Park" That is what my kids called it at least. We had only discovered it in January, but after we found this awesome park that nobody went to, we were there 3 times a week. It had everything: a slide/jungle gym, fire pits, a creek running through it and lots of rocks to throw in the creek (a particular favorite with my kids). I am one of those parents who is tired of the park as soon as I get there, but I can stay at this park for hours and have. We would often bring lunch and meet Blake there for a picnic. The best part... we hardly EVER saw anyone there. It felt like our own little playground. I will miss that very much.


















3. The Bread Basket and Rodolfo's. Anyone who lives in Utah knows how hard it is to find good Mexican food. Rodolfo's was that hole-in-the-wall place that served the best Mexican food... and their breakfast burritos... I miss them so. The Bread Basket was an authentic German bakery that served the same breads I remember and loved in Germany all those years ago. Their pretzels, Bavarian Rye loaves and apple strudel were my favorites. I would often pick them up on our way to "Creek Park" for lunch.

4. The traffic, or lack thereof. There is no I-15 rush hour that is to be avoided at all costs. Enough said.

5. Friends. Of course, with every move, we make friends and lose friends. Which is hard. There are always people that I wish I could just put in my pocket and take with me wherever we go. One of the benefits of moving is to be able to meet all kinds of interesting people with all sorts of experiences, but the hard part is leaving them behind... many times I know I'll never see them again (At least in person. Thank you internet!) and that is heartbreaking.

6. All the sights. Now when you think border of Mexico, you probably don't think that there is a ton to do, but there is actually quite a bit. Our kids loved Tombstone, Coronado NM, Chiricahua NM, Tucson, Phoenix (ok, it is 3 hours away, but it has so much to do). We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in Sierra Vista and we will miss you! (Of course, we'll probably be back there in about 16 months anyway.... but still.)