Road Trip to San Diego

A couple of months ago I had mentioned to my mom that it would be really great if Riley could tag along with her and my Dad on her business trip to San Diego. She then suggested that Victoria and I come along too ... OK!! If you know me, you know that all you have to say is "Go" and I will ... anywhere.

So we left last Thursday for a two day car trip and four day stay in sunny southern California. There was a bit of chaos before my parents even showed up at my house that morning. In the hub-bub of packing the car that morning, a bird flew into the garage, which mom then shewed out and it flew into the truck. They eventually got it out of the truck, but not before it left a little surprise on dad's gear shifter. Yuck. Then when they were about 10 minutes from my house, dad realized that he forgot to shut the tailgate. So they turned around and made the trip back to Aledo in search of their brand-new $35 ice chest full of a variety of liquid refreshments to please everyone. Well, they never found it. I know ... total bummer. Anywho, approximately 3 hours later we finally made it out of Tarrant county.

No road trip can begin for a member of our family without a stop at QT.

Day 2 - Finally found one of those cactus you always see in the cowboy movies.

Our first destination in San Diego was the zoo. I was expecting a bit more to it. It is probably about the size of the Fort Worth zoo, but they have some different animals and more baby animals. The double-decker bus tour was fun and the Skyfari air tram was really fun. Riley and I were a bit scared at first on the Skyfari. We had the Thelma and Louise hand-holding thing going on.

This was hilarious ... "Ok Riley and Victoria, sit by the panda
and I will take your picture."

"Scoot over a bit Victoria."

And that is as close as she would get to the giant fuzzy cute panda.

Next stop for us was the ocean ... it was so cold.

Getting our feet wet in the very icy cold Pacific Ocean.

Then a shopping trip to the Seaport Village right on the coast.

We also found a ginormous park by the water for the kids. We played there, flew kites, picked flowers, found seashells and rolled down the hills. I tell you what ... that was the easiest kite flying ever. No running. We sat on a bench and just unraveled the string. Went up easy as pie.

Then there was the constant spoiling of the kids by Pops and
Gigi ...

... donuts literally the size of your head and ...

... if you can't decide between a cookie or an ice cream cone, you get both.

Definitely NOT the same people I grew up with.

I flew back with the kids on Tuesday ... all by myself. We all did pretty good. Victoria freaked out on the plane when she realized that she could not sit in my lap. I mean totally freaked out. I could feel the other passengers' blood-pressures rising at the sound of a ballistic 2 year old's screams and we had not even taxied out to the runway yet. Fortunately, some cheese popcorn managed to calm her down before we took off. We landed at Love Field 4 hours later and Riley talked Carey's ear off about all that we did over the past 6 days.

We had a super-fun time. I told Carey that mom probably laughed for about 10 hours of the 20 hour road trip. And it got to be that silly laugh, ya know, where you just laugh because you are so tired and everything takes on a new level of silliness. Oh man, Pops and Gigi are such a blast. That was definitely the best part of the trip. Me getting time with mom and dad and the kids getting time with their Pops and Gigi. The best.

So fun. So great to get away. So missed Carey. So glad to be back.

Family Camping Trip #2 - Possum Kingdom

So, this is the second camping trip we have taken together as a family (click here to read about the first). We went to Possum Kingdom State Park for two nights. We were a bit bummed when we got there to find out that we would not get to have our campfire. Totally bummed. Carey was bummed because he hauled firewood from home for this express purpose. I was bummed because this is my absolute favorite part of camping hands down. I love it. I love the warmth of it. I love the smore making. I love to stay up late with just Carey and I outside of the tent talking while the kids are asleep. So bummed. Carey and I had our little pity party about no campfire and then proceeded to try and enjoy oursleves.







We didn't have quite the drama as we did on our last camping trip together.

Although, Carey did not pack any pants, Riley was on the verge of crying at one point because he missed his toys, bed, the TV and getting to take a bath (not a fan of the shower), Victoria was a complete mess the entire time and kept eating food that she would find on the ground (I kid you not!), I only slept about 3 hours the first night because I was SO uncomfortable, and the park ranger got on our case a bit because we left our dog unattended to go fishing (apparently this is a BIG no-no).

But, we ate good (as usual), Riley loved getting to hike with Daddy, both Riley and Victoria got to go fishing for the first time, we had an awesome secluded campsite up on a hill with a fantastic view of the lake, I did absolutely nothing on Friday for about 4 hours, there was a quaint camp store there that was kinda neat - it had just about everything you would ever need crammed into about 200 square feet, and we got to eat ice cream from DQ on the way home around 10AM.

Good times. Glad to be home.

random stuff

• through Riley's eyes: I pulled this out of Riley's backpack this afternoon. Looks like they are talking about times of the day at school. In the morning he is eating pancakes, in the afternoon he is playing and in the evening he is in bed. He also added Carey and I. I am the one in the afternoon frame. That is me there doing what I do best I suppose ... putting away clothes. And then there is Carey there in the evening frame ... watching TV. My first thought (which probably wasn't that nice of me) - at least I am doing something useful. My second thought - I need to spend more time playing with the kids so they don't remember me as essentially the maid. But don't you just love the way little kids draw?! I just love it!!
  

• reading: Riley is reading so well. It all clicks now. I am so proud of him. But can I just say that this English language of ours is just full of oh so many words that do not follow any sort of phonetical rule and that is just a bit frustrating.

• jeans: I finally found some jeans that fit Little Miss. Now, she is tall, but most of her height is in her torso ... that is why she wears 3T shirts and dresses. So, her legs are the length of most 2 year olds. But, her baby belly is a tad on the larger size and most jeans get rid of the elastic in the waist after size 24 months (it starts young girls). So, the hunt for jeans that are not too long but will fit a larger than average belly was a bit difficult. Target came to my rescue. Found two that work and one can be converted to capris ... yay. And normally I would be totally against the low rise for toddlers, but this style allows for her baby belly to be free in its natural state. So, I am ok with it.

• straight hair: I am currently experimenting with wearing my hair straight. The only draw back is that it takes sooooo long to fix it that way. I am used to the wash and go look that I have been doing now for, oh I don't know, like 30 something years. This process of standing in front of the mirror for 20 minutes and fixing my hair is no fun. But, I really like how it looks and so does Carey. But if you ask Victoria, she "no like."

• sahm: I love being a stay-at-home mom. It totally rocks! I have done the other, whether part-time or full-time, and let me just say that I find being a SAHM is so much more relaxing and less stressful. When I was working outside the home, I had very debilitating stomach pains. Haven't had those since I quit working. It is amazing how our bodies respond to stress and guilt, because let me tell you, I had it in spades. Even though the day to day of it all can feel a bit like the movie Groundhog Day (ya know, the same thing over and over again, not much deviation from the norm) I so enjoy moments like these ...
  

What you can't see here is that I too have on a pair of goggles
as well.