To Disneyland, Legoland, and back. There's NO place like home!

Websters dictionary defines vacation as:

va·ca·tion  noun, often attributive \vā-ˈkā-shən, və-\-"a respite or a time of respite from something" 


Well, I am sure that definition works pretty good when you envision a romantic getaway with your one and only love to a remote island where tiny umbrellas don your margaritas each night. However, how many of us (moms) use that word..."vacation"...when travelling with our family and do not realize how incredibly misleading it really is?!  Respite? That's what the definition says..but really, who are we kidding here...I know there was NO respite to be found in Southern Cali the entire time we "vacationed" there this past week. There was, however;

*several occasions of bribing small children at restaurants so as to appear to have well-mannered kids.

  then hurrying to eat your food before the meltdown occurs.

* about fifty six trips to the various (nasty) roadside restrooms, toting a small child's potty seat in and out

   each time.

* four complete meltdowns, mostly prompted by the words ,"OK, guys, its time to go back now"...

*several bad hair days (for mom-who in the packing process for everyone else always manages to forget the

  important things for herself).

*seven nights of rib-jabs, kicks in the stomach, smacks in the face, and a giant bar across the hide-a-bed that

  somehow lands right on moms back. Why is mom in the hide-a-bed and not the cozy hotel king size bed?

  one word...VACATION!

All that being said, it may sound like this trip was horrid. Actually, it was pretty darn great. Because we parents go in to these family "vacations" fully expecting and knowing that it is for our children, we are (mostly) prepared for what comes our way and know to keep our expectations low, resulting in awesome family moments and memories.

I have to say, modern society has afforded us with some great inventions...and I have to say I really wonder how our parents made these long road trips with us in the back seat. I recall a drive to Disneyland when I was six and me and my older brother, who was 8 1/2 sat in the long back bench seat of whatever huge car my mom had at the time, and we didn't even have seatbelts. And we survived. And so did my mom. Amazing. No DVD's, no Nintendo DS's, and no iPhones to play on. Pure together-ness...whew! That must have been challenging. Glad we are in this decade because as we rolled out of the driveway here is what our car looked like:

Dave recently got me a new minivan and can I just say I LOOOOOOVE it so much! I have had a minvan in the past, then we got a Tahoe, thinking it was bigger and just as roomy. WRONG! After about a week in the Tahoe, I was wanting to get back to my old minivan days again. Two DVD screens, lots of legroom, and way more storage room in the rear....we had a great ride both there and back. I am so grateful for my new wheels...and for my husband who recognized I really did need another car, I wasn't just being picky.

So without further ado, here are some highlights from our trip...our first stop was Legoland in Carlsbad, Ca.
Ethan, being an avid Lego-lover, was probably our most enthused of the bunch, but by the end of the day we all had a really great time there.

You don't say! Legos AND Star Wars...those are two of Ethans all time favorites! But Owen...not so much. Check his face out. This face will reappear throughout our journey as he meets more life size creepy characters.

 So cool...EVERYTHING was made out of Legos...look at the entire cityscape we are in front of. Amazing!

 Ryans all time favorite..Batman himself. (well...in Lego version at least) I love Ryans pose here. Such a fan!

Ethan and Darth...who he said "is the coolest but meanest guy ever."


Legoland also has a few rides...mostly geared for younger ages, which was perfect for our clan. Katie and dad command much respect as they aim to hit the opponents here...

 I love Dave and Ryans faces in the above picture...totally dedicated to soaking the enemy ship.

 All my family on a boat...notice Owen and I stayed back for this wet ride. Gladly, too. :-)

 ...I got in on the fun with Ethan on this ride. Also a bit of a watery ride, but not so bad. We got Katie a few times..hee hee...

                               These kinds of smiles makes the trip worth every cent.
                   
                        Ethan was so pleased...check him out- what a great day at Legoland!

There were not too many rides Owen could go on at the ripe old age of 19 months, so I hung out with him while the others rode rides...and we found this super rad water park, where Owen had an absolute BLAST...

I have no idea how clean or dirty this water is...but he was just so darn cute...

Remember I mentioned meltdowns as part of a "vacation" in our family? Well, when it was time to call it a day...somebody was none too thrilled...I wont mention names here, but

We actually got video of this tantrum. It was THAT good. Aren't we great parents? :-)

After spending two fun filled days at Legoland, we headed up to Los Angeles and Disneyland. We all made it to our next destination safely, the only problem was....so did the rest of the world. THAT PLACE WAS NUTS...super crowded. Spring Break is definitely not the best time to visit Mickey and his pals....yikes. However, thanks to Ryan and his awesome "special pass" due to his disabilities, we were able to bypass much of the lines and we had a great time there.

We have arrived!

 Owen didnt mind Mickey Mouse as much, he even got brave enough to touch his ear....

 Random cute picture of Ethan...excited.

 Katie is always our navigator when we go places. Map in hand, she usually is the one with the plan.

 Random cute picture of Ryan...sporting his Disney shirt he loves so much.

Awww....can this boy get any cuter? Love the big gap in his teeth.
We got to see our LA family too while we were down visiting...I seriously think the kids enjoyed that as much as Disneyland itself...

 While at Disneyland, we stayed at Paradise Pier Hotel, and they host a "breakfast with characters" in the mornings...we had to try that out just once. FUN!

 Katie enjoys her Mickey Mouse waffles....

Minnie comes to the table to  meet Owen!

Ryan loves this photo...he keeps asking to see it. It cracked him up when Pluto "ate" his head.

After all the walking, running, and riding...our nights usually ended up looking  like this....

So...we really did have a great time. In fact, on the LONG drive home, Dave and I remarked that someday when people ask us "what were the best days of your lives?", these days..as hectic and non "vacation-y" as they are, will certainly be among them.

For God's great blessings we give thanks.



  

Superheros and Science Camp

So Katie and her dad returned from her 5th grade Science Camp trip a couple days ago and Katie is still raving about what a great time she had. Dave too...as a counselor for a cabin of 5 almost-pubescent boys I think he just jumped a couple notches in my book, because he also reports having a blast. I have yet to receive the photos of the "girls group" shenanigans, but rumor has it Katie let a nasty banana slug crawl across her face for more than 10 seconds. Ahhh...my dainty little princess Katie- ha ha.  They were gone for four days total, which means that left me at home with the three boys...completely outnumbered. 
Here are a couple shots of their time together, which, by the way, is something every dad and daughter should do someday.

...and I am pretty sure all the "big kid" dads didn't need to have their arms twisted to go on the zip line either...heres Dave as he jumps off the cliff---how fun does that look?!!

So I also knew I would have to get a tad bit creative because Katie is typically the master orchestrator in all things fun around here, and so the views at our home during that time were something like this,

A laundry basket (full of laundry, of course) is only as good as the person pushing it REALLY fast around the house. Hold on, Owen!

 Barista Owen serves up a cold one...

Now its Ryans turn. Who knew the old box from daddys lawnmower would still be getting play?

His face looks like mine after I am handed my mocha in the morning :-)  

It's really interesting how when you remove one or two family members from the routine the whole dynamic gets tossed up in the air, and its quite fun to observe. Ethan, always being reminded by Katie that he IS the little brother, and quite often put in his place to remain as such by her B.S powers (thats Big Sis, by the way, although it could stand for another appropriate acronym at times). Ethan quickly identified the missing link and seized his opportunity....its time for Superheros, fast blanket rides down the hallway, and....well, anything else HE wanted to lead the other two into. He had four days to exercise this power, he was not wasting a moment. Now, we all know Ryan is really the "next in line" as far as age goes, but Ry is one of those amazingly cool kids that doesn't care who the leader is, he is happy to join in and follow. Bless that boy.

Sometimes the Superheros donned attire and conquered various missions around the home...Ryan and Ethan LOVE the costumes Nana and Papa got them for Christmas, and Ethan even likes to mix it up a bit and be a little of everything.

Ethan is eating a true Superhero PB&J sandwich.
And then, once in awhile, even Superman needs to pause and plan his next move....

And Owen was busy the entire time too, not surprisingly, doing things like

this....

(lasagna, its whats for dinner)

and this....

(yogurt, he heard on Oprah its good for the hair)

...and he even joined in on some of the dress up fun with his big brothers...

My sweet dudes. Ethan needs to move a bit away from the big sword Ryan is holding, however, if he wants to keep his right ear.

And there actually WERE some quiet moments when I would let them watch TV...the scene would soon be quiet and look like this...for just a little while...

....so we all survived Katie and daddy's departure, but were so happy to have them back home. Katie quickly resumed her role as head honcho and Ethan gladly stepped down from his thrown, and was just happy to have his sissy back, even if it meant not being in charge.

I guess watching Katie play on the iPad is fun? Hmmm....the power of a big sis. Dont quite get it, but it kept him happy and quiet for a good while.

20 years and its still not fair...

Twenty years ago today I woke up and began my day as usual. I was nineteen and going to school and working. I had plans. I was doing things the "right" way, and surely they would turn out as I had intended.
I headed to the dental office where I would work until the evening, then I would go to school at night and take courses to get me to where I needed to be so I could apply to the dental program.

Plans were working.

Until I got a phone call that day at work, saying my mom had been taken to the local hospital.

She had a heart attack. She was 42 years old. Within two days mom was gone.

Don't heart attacks only affect overweight, old people who don't eat right and smoke cigarettes? That wasn't mom.

That nineteen year old saw all too quickly how the best laid plans could be blown to pieces in the blink of an eye. Or a phone call at work.

Fast forward twenty years later and as I try to keep this a short blog I think of all the things I would have loved to ask my mom, about her life, about her past. Much before nineteen, you don't really realize your mom had a past beyond being...well, your mom. There are no catchy or eloquent phrases I can put here....but one thing just keeps coming to my mind, after 20 years as a motherless daughter.

It's just not fair.

A daughter deserves to have her mom meet her husband to be, and to hear about how giddy her daughter is whenever she is around him.

A mom deserves to sit in the front pew at church sobbing as her daughter takes his hand in marriage.

A baby deserves to be held by his or her grandmother, and spoiled, and fussed over.

A grandmother deserves to be invited to tea parties, school plays, and 499 puppet shows put on by those grandchildren.

My mom would have shown up for all of them.

Not fair.

So now that I am a mother I realize much of what I do, including writing this blog, is to preserve memories for my own children. Because I have been taught, through a hard and painful lesson, that moms should not be taken for granted, they are not guaranteed to be there forever. My own mom never wanted to be in pictures with her children, she always felt her hair wasn't done right or she had a blemish. I have very few faded pictures of her, even fewer of us together. This is a lesson for me as well, because I know my kids wont care what I looked like, the value of that photo and memory is priceless.

Mommy and me. 1974    

Fevers, pink eye, and syrup, oh my!

So a little catching up from where the blog left off...with a sick Katie and a declining Ethan. Sure enough, Ethan got the funk too....in the form of NASTY, ICKKY, UBER contagious pink eye. Of all things to give a mom with SIX hands to be obsessive about washing and contaminating...PINK EYE?  Oh, to the moms out there who don't know what pink eye looks like ... here ya go---and don't stare at it too long, I am pretty sure you can catch this crud just by looking at it.

 So being the ever-so-clever boy, Ethan figured out a fine remedy for his disgusting pink eye. He emerged from the playroom wearing these, saying, "mom, I know, I will keep these on until my eye gets fixed!". What a smart kid...and in the meantime he can double as a spy with the night-vision glasses-bonus!

Hurtado scoreboard reads: Fevers-1, Pink eye-1... wonder whats on the horizon...

Staying on top of my toes is critical these days...I am thinking we will have certain mutiny if I am not always on top of things (and kids). But no matter how hard I try to be everywhere...they still win sometimes....

...."mommy, Owen really likes his juice today!"....I heard as I was changing the laundry from the washer to the dryer a few months ago. As I entered the living room, here is what I saw....

So, folks, that is not juice in his beloved hands...its syrup. A nice big -mostly full at one point- jug of the sweet sticky stuff. And what a grin! Chugging away on syrup. Call the mommy police.....this kid is going to be wired for days.


But I found that Owen doesn't run on just syrup. He has the energy of....well, an 18 month old. Even after having four of these creatures, I quickly forget how MUCH energy they have. Owen has now graduated from the "boring" milestones such as walking and moved into more "extreme" stunts such as balancing on the arm of a couch...which is super fun. For him.  Not so much for me, who's heart skips a beat every time I see this-

See, that's a tile floor on the other side of that couch arm....and for whatever reason this is THE spot to be for him these days. Time after time after time..."no-no" after "down, Owen", after "mommy said no", there he stands, perched and with a smug grin. (see it?)...another typical trait of an 18 month old is the sense of Independence they are feeling. So...you can imagine his response when I remove him from this spot and have to use my "angry mom" voice. (scary!)

...if I was really spiffy with my blogging abilities I would include an audio clip here. Be grateful I don't know how to do that...yet.

As for Katie, she is finally on the mend. Looks like she will be all ready for 5th grade Science Camp next week, along with daddy as a counselor for a group of the boys from her school. But that's another blog another time. Point is, she is feeling better, amen. So as I walk out of her room from checking in on her and head down the hallway I find Owen....who is...well, doing this. On the dining room table.

So first let me speak in my own defense and say that I SWEAR I had only left the room long enough to check on Katie...maybe five to ten minutes max. This kid is lightning quick...the drink is one left by his big sister, who let me remind you is sick...so I am sure there were juicy germs shared as he daintily sipped "his" prize. Looks like he has a giant hole in his lip because most of that ended up on the table, not in his tummy.

I need to point out something funny here...because yes, I can see humor in just about anything.  This is such a sign of how one's parenting style evolves over the years. I mean...upon seeing my firstborn sitting on top of the dining room table like this, teetering to certain injury, there is NO WAY I would have thought to get my camera. I would have thrown on my Supermom cape and whisked her off to her safety, probably spending a good ten minutes explaining to her in baby terms what kind of danger she was putting herself into.  But...fast forward to numero cuatro and we realize that:

1. if we don't take time to laugh at these moments we will surely go nuts
2. babies have really good balance, even on the arms of couches and dining room tables.
3. pink is an ugly color, especially in the eyes.

Certain moments

In parenting, I have found that there are certain moments that remind us how precious our children are and how quickly time is racing past us. And its not in the moments that are obvious or planned, but more the quiet and unpretentious times. For example, there is a certain moment where you KNOW, just KNOW, your little one is sick, or about to be. As a mom, you can see it in their eyes the moment it appears, yet you can not explain to someone who does not have children what "it" looks like. You just know. For me, I saw it in Katie's eyes yesterday. Now Katie has always been an easy child, very easy. She is actually a really "good" sick kid, because she basically wants to just be left alone, sleeps, drinks, that's about it. No whining, no freaking out. That's Ethan's job, by the way. Mr. Freakazoid when it comes to anything being off kilter with his body, or when two foods on his plate are touching each other (seriously!). But that's another story.
Instead, Katie is more the type to become frustrated at why she got sick in the first place, I mean, her mom DID raise her to be a germaphobe after all...so how on God's green earth did this happen?!

Katie is also a very dedicated and good student at school, and delights in her perfect attendance record. She actually requested we cut our vacation in Los Angeles a day short so she wouldn't mess such a record up.
However, Katie realized today that some things are just not in her (or, heaven forbid, our) control.

I noticed it in her eyes yesterday...as she was working on her state project. She wasn't complaining but there was a quietness about her (another indicator that somethings cookin') and when I asked she denied feeling ickky. Unfortunately, the thermometer doesn't lie, and with a reading of 102 she was informed that Miss Perfect Attendance would now have to seek another title at school, because she was home-bound for the next day. I snapped this of my worker bee as she was getting her project on Oklahoma done....

Fast forward to this morning, where she was rosy cheeked and still keeping it real with a 102 fever...

But in these moments I find it hard sometimes to fight back my own sadness, not at her temporary fever or bug, but because it becomes all too evident at how quickly she is growing up. I wonder how much longer she will need ME like this, how much longer will I be able to make her feel all better? I admit, sometimes it puts a lump in my throat, and tugs on my heart, these moments.

I think back to the little girl catching lizards on the ranch, and those chubby cheeks. I wonder where those cheeks went.  I wonder if other moms out there fight back the urge (and sometimes don't even try) to crawl in bed with their little ones, just to be close to them, because we all know those beds will someday be empty.

Tug.

I think about the times we have "special time" together, just as mommy and daughter, and we belt out our favorite girl songs in the car together and she still holds my hand because I am still not too "un-cool". I look down at our hands, clasped together, and

Tug.

I wonder if I am doing the "right" things, being a good parent, balancing everything. EVERYTHING. And still keeping enough left over to be a good wife. I guess in the end that is what we all hope to do, but sometimes, in these certain moments, it all stands so firmly in front of us it's hard to put aside.

So as I write this, I realize I must have gotten something in my eyes, because they are watering. But then again, this is why I started the blog. I want to be able to have something for my children to read when they get older...something filled with the small moments and the big love I have for each of them. Granted, the boys may not be too keen on reading what mom had to say about them not eating their veggies or other seemingly incidental moments, but I think one day they will want to take a peek inside their days filled with love, laughter, family...and yes, fevers.

And by the way....someone else woke up with the "look" today...yikes...this one, I must say, is a whole different story...to be continued....