Remembering my Grandparents

After Ron announced a week or two ago that he was taking Logan to "Man Camp" to help him "man up" over Memorial Day weekend, I realized that I needed to make some plans of my own for the other three kids and me.  Since we didn't have school on Friday, I asked my mom if we could come up and spend the day with them and also spend the night--which is something we haven't done in quite some time.  After one of my kids asked me why we celebrate Memorial Day, it dawned on me that we should stop by my grandparent's grave to pay them "a visit" since they are right on the way to Issaquah.  I am ashamed to admit that I have never made the time to take my children to visit their great-grandparents grave which really is a shame considering how close I was to them during my entire childhood and adolescence.  They were both wonderful grandparents to me and I was so blessed to grow up with them living about 30 minutes away.  After inviting my mom to join us, we met up outside the temple and caravanned the five minutes to their cemetery.  My mom and I both laughed when we learned that the other person had picked white and pink flowers from our yards to lay around my grandparent's headstone.  Although we chose different types of pink flowers (my grandma's favorite color), we both picked white, blossoms from our Dogwood trees which was a fun coincidence.  The children helped us lay the flowers around their headstone before my mom shared a few stories about both of her parents with my kids.  It was a special way to spend the morning teaching my children about a part of the wonderful heritage that they come from.

Lia, Ella, and Emmett laying flowers around their great-grandparents grave.

Ella and Emmett placing some pink flowers around my grandma's name.

A group shot of my kids (minus Logie) and me.

My mom with three of her grandchildren on one side and her parents on the other side!

A shot of my grandparents grave once we were done decorating it.

Lia Getting Vaccinated!

A few weeks ago, our state announced that they would be allowing Covid vaccines for children ages 12 years and up.  Since this vaccine has still not be FDA approved and most children do not get very sick if they contract the virus, I really wasn't in any rush to sign Lia up to get vaccinated.  However, after my sister-in-law pointed out that if Lia did not get vaccinated, she would need to be tested before going to our church Girl's Camp this summer (if it really happens) and that she would still be required to quarantine for 10 long and awful days in her bedroom if exposed to the virus (which could easily happen at camp or at school), I decided to bite the bullet and sign her up las minute for our school district's vaccination clinic that was scheduled for the very next day at one of our high schools.  Unlike the crazy, long lines I had to wait in while sitting in my car for both of my shots (the first time was an hour wait and the second time was an hour and 50 minute wait), we arrived at the high school at 9:30 after dropping Ella and Logan off at school and within a matter of minutes, Lia was sitting in the nurse's seat.  She was as calm as a cucumber while she got her shot and said that she didn't even feel the needle go into her arm.  In addition, I'm happy to report that besides having a tender arm, she didn't feel any different the rest of the day.  We shall see how shot #2 goes in three weeks... 

The nurse preparing Lia's arm to receive the vaccine.

Lia looking down at her arm once the nurse was done.

Waiting in the gym for the required 15 minutes after receiving her shot.

What a Socially Distanced Classroom Looks Like...

Since parents have not been allowed to walk inside any of the schools this year since students returned to in-person instruction during the months of January, February, and March, I have never been able to see what any of my children's classroom looks like.  I have wondered how my kids are spaced out in their classrooms and how they keep their belongings separate from those of other students.  As a result, I found it quite interesting to see these pictures that Ella's teacher emailed out this past week that were taken on "I" is for Ice Cream Day during their ABC countdown that Ella is participating in the last 26 days of school.  I couldn't get over how far apart their desks are spaced and the fact that everyone is required to store their coats, backpacks, and lunchboxes in laundry baskets placed directly in front of their desks.  It's just one more adjustment that had to be made during this wild and crazy time of the Covid pandemic.  As strange as it is to see Ella and her classmates so spaced out, I am just so grateful that she was allowed to return to in-person instruction half way through the school year.

The kids in Ella's class holding up their ice cream sandwiches with their face masks on!

Another shot of half of the class with Ella in the front, left corner.

Out comes tooth #4!

After Ella lost one of her top, middle teeth at the end of April, the other tooth started to loosen soon afterwards.  Although it was no where near ready to fall out on its own, Emmett managed to make it happen last night.  While Ella and Emmett were waiting for me to tuck them into bed, they were playing around on top of my bed while I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom.  Somehow Emmett managed to kick Ella right in the face, knocking her tooth right into her mouth in the process!  Luckily, Ella immediately covered her mouth and kept all of the blood in her hand while she was raced off to the bathroom by Ron before any blood got all over my white bedspread.  After the blood was cleaned out of her mouth and the tears were wiped off her face, an upset Ella was tucked into bed with her little, stuffed tooth pillow under her head.  After the initial shock had worn off, she calmed down before falling asleep and was quite excited this morning when she found $2 and a note from one of her tooth fairies, Tera, who had visited her in the middle of the night.  As happy as I am for her, a part of me is sad knowing that Ella's little smile with her little, baby teeth will never be the same again after her adult teeth come in during the next few months.  My baby girl is growing up.  Sniff.

A Birthday Weekend with Sarah

A few weeks ago, I was finishing up a few things on my computer, before shutting down the house for the night and heading upstairs to put the kids to bed, when I got a text out of the blue from Sarah with the following question: "Are you surviving?"  Since she lives in Utah and has been blessed to have her children in full-time, in-person school all year long, she has felt pretty sorry for me over the past several months as I have struggled to homeschool three children with a very busy toddler.  Although things improved significantly since Ella went back to in-person school full-time and Logan part-time, I jokingly texted her back and said, "No, I am dying." She then wrote me right back and told me that I needed a weekend away with her to the beautiful, Hyatt resort in Huntington Beach.  Half teasing, I wrote back and said that this would be a perfect idea for my 45th birthday and within an hour we had our plane tickets purchased, the hotel reserved, and a 4-day weekend planned!  Never in my life have I ever planned a trip so fast!  It was so spontaneous and so fun.  After asking my mom to watch Emmett for half of a day on Friday (until Lia returned home from school at 2 p.m.) and deciding that Lia and Logan were capable of watching Emmett on Monday (since they are both homeschooling that day), I had the daycare all figured out and then the countdown began!

I flew out early Friday morning and just returned late last night from one of the funnest weekends of my life!  Sarah and I had so much fun cruising around Orange County in an amazing, cherry red, convertible Camaro visiting my favorite beaches and several of my favorite restaurants.  It was so fun to show her some of my favorite haunts that I had discovered while living down there and it was the perfect blend of activity and relaxation.  We laughed our heads off like we were still in high school and I felt so rejuvenated and rested when I returned home to three little faces peering through the windows of my front door last night.  If only I could do this kind of thing every month!

Since Sarah arrived at the Orange County airport a few hours before me, she was able to pick up the rental car and show up at the baggage claim in this shiny and flashy convertible!  I just couldn't believe my eyes!

Since Sarah hadn't eaten lunch, I took her to In & Out Burgers in HB so that she could experience this quintessential, California burger and fries for the first time.

At Sarah's request, we then stopped at Walmart for her to purchase almost $50 in candies and soda for her to snack on over the weekend.  As hilarious as this was, this really didn't surprise me as this is exactly how Sarah ate when we were in high school!

Since Sarah has always wondered where I lived during all of her trips to HB, she asked me to take her by my old apartment to show her.  Since In & Out is literally down the street, we were able to stop by and walk around my old apartment complex on the way to our hotel.  It was so fun to be able to show here where I lived and just relive some of the wonderful memories that I had living in this place for several years.  Here I am standing in front of my old garage door with my bedroom window in the left hand corner above me.

We then checked into the amazing and luxurious Hyatt resort that is located right on PCH across the street from the beach.  It was so much fun for me to stay here since I literally watched this hotel be built during the time I lived in HB.

After checking into our room, we headed out for a walk along the beach to visit the Farmer's Market that is still going on each Friday afternoon at the end of the pier.

Since Sarah is a pro at taking selfies (unlike me), we took many over the week with her amazing, new iphone 12.  Here we are about to walk on the skybridge that goes over the PCH and straight onto the beach.

We enjoyed wandering around the many vendors looking at all of the handmade finery.

Sarah and me with a vendor and the Pacific Ocean in the background.  Oh, how I loved living in this town for four years!

We then wandered down Main Street which has now been closed off to traffic so that the restaurants can provide more outdoor seating on the street due to Covid restrictions.  It sure looked and felt different.

I took Sarah into the infamous, Huntington Surf and Sport shop to buy a t-shirt for Lia.  Here is a hilarious selfie Sarah took of us while we were walking down the street.

We then walked back to our hotel and got all dolled up for our dinner out.  Sarah had offered to treat me to a birthday dinner at the fancy Duke's restaurant right on the beach.  Here is a great picture of Sarah cruising down PCH with the palm trees in the background.

We managed to get a seat with a view and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  Sarah told me that I could pick anything off of the menu, so I ordered Surf & Turf for the first time in years!

Although it was rather windy and chilly, we walked all the way to the end of the HB pier.

Some hilarious teenage girls cruising on their skateboards stopped and offered to take our picture.

After staying up late talking in our hotel room, we headed out by 9:30 Saturday morning to Laguna Beach so that I could share my favorite town, restaurant, and beach in Southern California with Sarah.  Since she had never been to Laguna before, it was so fun to show her this incredibly beautiful town.  Here we are enjoying our breakfast with a view at Las Brisas.

After stuffing ourselves with delicious food, we walked around the beautiful grounds outside Las Brisas for several minutes and took a few pictures.  Here we are in the gazebo that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

And standing at the lookout point.

We walked down a ways to check out the beach before turning around and heading back to our car...

so that we could drive farther south to my all-time favorite beach, Thousands Steps, where we spent five hours talking, relaxing, reading/beading, and playing in the water.  I told Sarah that I have never spent five hours at this beach at one time in my life.  It was so relaxing and wonderful!

Two bathing beauties posing with the ocean in the background.

We took several selfies of us with Sarah's phone before a giant, rogue wave came in and took us out.  I managed to escape, but Sarah got swept away and, luckily, did not drop her waterproof phone!

Here we are taking a picture before the giant wave came up behind us and took Sarah away!  As funny as it was, a lifeguard came running over to "rescue" her.  Needless to say, it gave us quite a few laughs.

Running in the surf!

Although the cave at the end of the beach is now permanently closed due to too many people getting injured, we still walked down to the end of the beach so that Sarah could see it up close.

We then drove the hour back to HB in Saturday, evening traffic.  We stopped by Wahoo's on our way into town to pick up their infamous, fish tacos to eat back at the hotel for dinner.  It was the perfect way to end the day after being gone for 10 hours!

To bask in some of the Hyatt luxury, we dawned our white bathrobes and ate dinner out on the veranda with a view of the Pacific Ocean.

After dinner, we put on our swimsuits and went down to finish off the evening in the hot tub as the sun went down.

Sarah brought down a bunch of her goodies and soda to munch on.  Although I did not partake, we still had to take a hilarious picture of some of her treats that she ate in the water!  Oh, that girl.  We finished off the night by returning to our hotel room and renting a movie that we weren't able to finish due to falling asleep around midnight!

We started off Sunday morning by heading to a famous, breakfast restaurant in HB called the Sugar Shack Cafe.  We were able to be seated right away (which is amazing on the weekends) due to their expanded, outdoor seating area.

After eating a delicious breakfast, I took Sarah on a little tour of the cute neighborhood right off of the beach that I always called the "numbered streets" when I lived there.  I first had to take her down my favorite, HB road, appropriately named Palm Avenue.

Me and the leaning palms of Palm Avenue.

After exploring several numbered streets in HB and admiring many of the darling houses and yards, we headed back south down PCH to the darling beach town of Corona Del Mar to spend the afternoon at my second favorite beach, Little Corona.

A picture of the free-standing arch off the beach of Little Corona.

Since it was low tide, we were able to get some cool pictures of the rock formations and the arch at the far end of the beach.

While Sarah beachcombed for over an hour, I laid on my towel and read a book--a real luxury in my life these days.

The clouds eventually blew off and the sun came out allowing us to enjoy some swimsuit time on the sand and in the water.

After a few hours, we packed up our belongings and headed back up the hill to our car.

We then cruised almost an hour north to Seal Beach so that I could take Sarah to my favorite bakery, Sweet Jill's.  Here we are about to pull out of the darling neighborhood in CDM where we parked.

Although Ron and I typically went to the Sweet Jill's bakery in Long Beach, I chose to take Sarah to the other one in Seal Beach since it is closer to HB.  Here is the picture that I had Sarah take of me so that I could send it to Ron!  Oh, how we loved visiting this place after dinner out on Friday evenings.

Although I only bought three baked items, Sarah went CRAZY and bought enough goodies to fill up two pink, bakery boxes.  It was so funny to watch her shopping in there!  Here she is standing outside the bakery carrying her two boxes of delicious treats.

We then drove back to our hotel in HB to get ready for our final outing of Sunday--to visit one of my old roommates, Heather, who now lives in Placentia with her husband and SEVEN kids.  After learning that she just had baby #7 at the age of 46 years old, I just couldn't resist looking her up.  Luckily, Sarah was a good sport and went with me.  We spent a great evening with Heather and her family and I really enjoyed seeing her and her husband after 14 years and getting to know here wonderful children.  It really was a sight to behold and was actually sad to say 'goodbye' to her at 10 o'clock that night!

Since we had spent very little time enjoying the amazing amenities that this Hyatt has to offer, Sarah insisted that we spend Monday morning at the pool.  Although it was pretty cloudy and cold, we were still able to enjoy the heated pool!

After an hour or so in the pool, I insisted that we get out, pack, and check out so that we would not be rushed during our final adventure before heading to the airport!

Checking out of our beloved Room #4505 that was such a wonderful host to us all weekend long.

After checking out of our hotel, we drove off to Anaheim to spend lunch and the early afternoon at Downtown Disney.  Although Disneyland just opened up two weeks ago for the first time in almost 14 months, only California residents are allowed to go at this time.  As much as a bummer as this was for me (since I would have LOVED to have spent one day in the park with Sarah without children), I convinced Sarah to go with me to Downtown Disney just so I could be close to my beloved park and experience the Disney magic for a few hours.

We enjoyed wandering through several shops when we first arrived.  Here we are secretly trying on Minnie ears in the back of one store since I am sure this is not allowed due to Covid restrictions.

We then spent quite a bit of time in the amazingly huge Disney store where we bought souvenirs for some of our kids.

Checking out some new Minnie ears that are covered in periwinkle sequins.

At my request, we walked all the way to the entrance of Disneyland just so I could look through the gates and then take this picture with a frown on my face.

Sarah and I with the Magic Kingdom behind us.  So close, yet so far...

We then said sad 'goodbye' to Disneyland and walked back to Downtown Disney where we ate lunch at Black Tap which is famous for its outrageous shakes!  This was the same restaurant that Lia and I tried to eat at during our one night in NYC and failed miserably due to both of the Black Taps being closed.  So, it was fun to finally experience this restaurant and try out their delicious Cookies 'N Cream Supreme Shake! 

Sarah and I enjoying this over-the-top, Oreo shake.

Happily eating away at Black Tap.

We then stopped by the amazing, Lego store on our way out of Downtown Disney to buy a few more items for our kids.

Taking a final selfie as we heading out of Downtown Disney with a giant balloon bouquet in the background.  Although we were not able to go into the park, I am so glad that we visited this place during out final few hours in Orange County.  Thanks again, Sarah, for treating me to the best birthday weekend ever!  It was the perfect way to celebrate my 45th birthday!