Vacation, Day 4

We started the morning by making a nice breakfast of waffles, bacon, eggs and sausage. We also set the smoke alarm off. Dak fanned it to try to make it be quiet. We did not start a fire. The bacon was just smoking.


I love these boys. They are so cute. I wish I could hear what they were saying.
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We brought a shovel from the house to dig a big hole. We didn't get very far.




I was trying to catch a good candid photo of Ben. He's letting his hair grow out.


I cleaned out the pantry a few months ago and found some cereal that expired over a year ago. Obviously, no one is eating it. So, I put it aside for the birds. Noah loved feeding the birds last time. Him and Alanah started feeding them. I put the Kix cereal in the chip bag so he could feed them easier.




Then, Noah decided it tasted good. Oh vay.


He's so cute.


His hair is getting longer too and OMG, those curls. I didn't even know he had curls.


Ben just wanders around the beach. He never goes too far, but he's here, there and everywhere.



We're all out in the water catching waves. There was hardly anybody there today.




I wish I could be in his brain.


And his brain.



And this is a beautiful site. My husband coming back with lunch! The adults are getting lunch out while we are at the beach. There are so many good restaurants around here.


I hit the waves in the afternoon.


Dak and I are professional boogie boards now.


It was a super fun day! Tomorrow is Universal Studios.

Vacation, Day 3, Knott's Berry Farm

Today, we spent the day at Knott's Berry Farm.  I haven't been there in about 30 years, and my kids and David have never been.

As soon as we got there, we saw Charlie Brown.  My kids are huge Charlie Brown fans, but Noah was afraid of him.  But, Ben jumped in for a photo.

Then, Emily headed off with our friends since they have two older kids who wanted to ride the big roller coasters.  David and I took the kids to Camp Snoopy.

We thought it would be all kiddy rides.  We hope on this roller coaster first.  It was like teacups on a roller coaster.  Seriously, you were on a roller coaster and the carts spinned around and around.  In hindsight, it was a 4 out of 5 on the scary scale.  We didn't see that until after the ride.  David was done for the day after 5 minutes in Camp Snoopy!

Then, Ben and Noah rode some little airplanes and David and I took some photos while they waited.  

This one went up and down and Ben thought it was going to be a wussy wide.  Not so!

This was David's second ride.

Ben was really kind of at an in between age.  He didn't want to go on the crazy roller coasters, but he didn't want to spend all day going in circles on airplanes.  He still had fun though which doesn't surprise me in the least.  Ben can have fun anywhere.

This ride was totally fun.  They lay down like Superman.

Then, we texted with our friends who said Em was done like dinner.  There was no wait all day, so they road crazy coaster after crazy coaster.  So I went to get her.  This was the ride she chose to sit out on.   I don't blame her.

She liked some of the little rides in Camp Snoopy.

This was Noah's favorite ride.  The cars bounced up and down.

Then, we went on the ferris wheel.  They look exactly alike in this photo.

David's third and final ride.  

Then, we met up with our friends for lunch.

After, Dakri took Ben and Emily and Alanah on this roller coaster.  That's a good friend that rides the roller coaster with your kids after lunch because your stomach can't do it.

Ben found this awesome sign!  He'll have to make one in shop class one day.

Dak and I with some ladies.

Then, we went on the two water rides.  The husbands didn't want to go.  We were soaked at the end. Then Ryan and Dakri took our kids to another ride called the Pony Express.  Oh vay, this looks painful.  

Noah was bored at that point and wanted to ride something, so we went on the bumper cars.

It was the sweetest thing.  Noah was too small for one of the water rides.  Dak and I took the other kids.  We got off and Noah had picked some pretty red flowers for me.  He is the sweetest.

Then, Dak and Ryan took the kids on this old wooden roller coaster that pretty much did them all in.  It was time to go.  But, only after one last photo.  We let Noah get a souvenir and he picked this Linus.  Oh my, he's so cute.



Then, the boys got thrown in jail.


It was such a great day.  The weather was perfect.  The park was virtually empty.  The lines were about 2% of what you find at Disney.  We walked right on to almost everything.  It was great.  Knott's lacks in the ambiance that you find at Disney, but at $35 vs. $100 for a ticket, it was a great option and we'd definitely go back.  Emily asked, "Is there any indoor rides?"  Nope, this isn't Disney.  The rides don't have a theme and a story.  It's just straight up rides.  But, boy, it was fun.

We came home, threw some burgers on the grill and got in the hot tub!  Tomorrow is a beach day, and there is nothing I'd like to do more.

Seal Beach, Day 2, Sharks Don't Frolic

Today was a beach day. We had a relaxing morning and headed for the water. David and the kids got right to boogie boarding.




Noah started off with the salami. Seriously, it's 9:30 in the morning. Whatevs.


They were catching some good waves.




My husband is a big kid.


Noah did a shadow karate dance with sticks. He was pretty amusing.


Now, last weekend, we had a movie marathon of Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaw 3 and Jaws the Revenge. My kids aren't scared and we actually kind of laugh at how fake it looks. But, it may not have been the best choice of movies before a beach vacation. So, when we saw a fin, we all freaked for a second.

The girls took notice.



Luckily, it was just dolphins. They went back and forth from the pier for well over an hour. Very fun to watch. We saw a surfer get out and she stopped to watch them. We were chatting and she verified, yes, they were just dolphins. Sharks don't frolic. She's got a point.

The boats that are all out there are so cool to watch. Apparently, there is some sort of dock strike, so all these boats are just piled up with cargo and no where to unload.

My girl looking cute.


Then, it was like 1:00 and this crazy fog moved in across the beach. We had never seen anything like that. Yes, there is fog sometimes in the morning. But, this moved in like our dust storms do in Arizona.


And before long, it looked like this. The pier is on the left, but you can't see it or any boats.


That's Ben in the water.


Now, he's the little speck on the far right.



And then, the fog moved out.


Then, all of us went in the water and boogie boarded for an hour or more. It was so fun!

It was a great beach day. We are all exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is Knott's Berry Farm!

Seal Beach, Vacation, Day 1

Travel days are always a little ho hum. It really isn't a long drive. It took about 6 1/2 hours and that was with 2 stops for the restroom and one fill up with gas. On the way, we passed a group of bicyclists. We knew one of the guys. He's the little brother of our friend. Last year on Valentines Day, he was in a skiing accident and is paralyzed from the chest down. He's biking with his friends using a handcycle all the way to Mexico! They are delivering some supplies and Gods word to kids in Mexico. Did I mention he is on a handbike? For 240 miles! Makes me feel a little lazy really. Can you imagine how your biceps would feel. Oh my....

I digress. We gained an hour coming here. So, the fact that we lose one hour tonight in my first ever Daylight Savings Time, is really an even wash. But, not really. Whatevs.

We got the car unloaded and everyone was hungry. I was like, grab a snack and let's go! The beach is waiting. And it never disappoints!




Noah wasn't quite as brave as the older kids.


But, he still has fun.


The water is a little cool, maybe 60 degrees. Not too bad, though, but Noah needed a little warm up time with Dad.


These three were diehards. I think they were just numb at this point.




I mean could life be any better. No, I think not.


Silly boy.


I'm not sure what Ben was doing, but him and the beach are like peas and carrots.


The girls having some blanket time.


A little soccer.


Then, while we ordered pizza, they all went swimming and in the hot tub. PERFECT!




Then, the boys went down to their man cave. Ben had made a sign for it weeks ago. He was very excited about the video games and the eating of pizza.


Day 1 was a complete success. Tomorrow is a sleep in, relax, beach day.

Invention Fair

Today was the invention fair at school. Participation was optional. Noah's class made a bunch of new animals. Noah and his classmate made this spider turtle. 

Ben and his BFF Andrew made this cloning machine. They did awesome and I'm proud of Ben for even wanting to do it. 

Ben was bummed he didn't win a first place ribbon, but there were like 15 inventions for third grade. And how can anyone compete against Swiffer slippers? 

Tomorrow is half day and we leave for Cali first thing Saturday. I can't wait to sit on the beach. It's been 6 months since my toes were in the sand and that's about my max. I start getting cranky if I don't let my spirit align with the ocean at least every 6 months. Seriously, I start getting in a funk and I just need some ocean air. It's the perfect remedy for everything. 

Umbrellas, Ammonia and DST

I asked the boys to refill my water for me last night and they came back with it filled up with an umbrella. How sweet is that?

I finally took Noah to the doctor today. His cough seemed to turn the last few days and he's been running a fever for awhile. And he has a slight case of pneumonia or as noah says, "I have ammonia". he's on an antibiotic. 

So, the thing that I'll get to do Saturday night in California is daylight savings time. I've never done it. I thought it was great since I'd get an extra hour of sleep. But, my aunt and cousin told me that I lose an hour. What?  That freakin stinks. Seriously an hour of my life that I'll never get back. Like ever. I'm mad. 

Before I Get "The Call"

I know "the call" is coming from my Dad, Suzy, my Mom and David's Mom. What's going on? Why hasn't Gina blogged? I already heard from Aunt Linda. My loyal followers. This is for you. :)

I got sick...again. Like it's been 10 days, and I'm just starting to feel better. Ugh, these colds are killing me. I finally started looking into some herbal stuff. I took Mullein root to help my lungs since I seem to get bronchitis now after colds. And Aunt Paula gave me oil of oregano. Between those two, I finally turned a corner.

We had a nice, but short, visit with David's Aunt and Uncle and cousin Amy. It was great to see them. We didn't really do anything. The weather was not great. We just hung out and visited and then they were gone. And I didn't snap pictures. I did take this one of the Big Foot hat they brought Noah. And there is a blurry Aunt Paula in the background.

Speaking of the little monster, he was sick too for the last 5 days with a bad fever and cough. He's finally on the mend, I think. But, last week, he learned how to really swing. He kind of got it before, but he really got it now. Go little man!

Ben was sick too somewhere in there. It's been a hard winter for us. Last winter, we didn't catch anything. We are making up for it this year.

But, I don't care, because in 4 sleeps we will be here again with our friends.

Beautiful Seal Beach, California. We are doing Universal and Knott's Berry Farm, but mainly just hanging out on the beach. And that sounds pretty darn perfect right about now.

Oh, and I get to experience something on Saturday night, that I never in all of my 41 years have ever gotten to do. NEVER! Actually, once I realized it was happening and what it meant, I'm a little mad. Any guesses?