Hazel got invited to a birthday party that was being held on a Sunday. This is the first time we've had to turn down an activity because it conflicted with our Sabbath Day values. As soon as I looked at the calendar and told Hazel the party was on a Sunday, her face fell. I was so proud of her that there was no discussion, no attempt to negotiate or make an exception. She is a good girl who always tries to do what we believe is right. It's a cool thing to see her testimony already.
Todd helped me spend some money, and we spruced up our front porch a bit. It feels much more welcoming now that there are decorations in place to distract you from all the leaves and spider webs. The kids and I love to sit on the bench and read outside.
We made a family trip to San Diego. There was rain on the forecast for most of our trip, so we prioritized. We knew we had at least half a day of sunshine and wanted to spend it at Sea World. Hazel was tall enough to hit all the rides. Jack could have ridden most of them as long as Todd or I went with him, but he was too timid to try any of the big rides. He loved the kiddie ones, though.
Hazel rode the roller coaster with Todd, then came to get me and ride it again. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe something dinky like the roller coaster at Happy Hollow. It. Was. Awesome! I screamed and laughed the whole time, and since there was no line (thank you, rain!) we jumped right back on for a second trip.
The kids fed sea lions and bat rays. Cool experience.
Jack is still (three weeks later) talking about how much bigger than him bat rays can grow to be. That really interested him.
We watched a dolphin show that was really, really cool. Lots of people diving and fun costumes and tricks. It was very visual and exciting. Later, we went to the Shamu show, but that's when the rain decided to pour. Everyone was miserable and we almost packed up to leave.
Luckily for us, the rain slowed down early enough that we decided to stick it out til closing after all. We all loved observing all the animals (the penguins were especially cute) and playing on the playgrounds. It was a really fun day.
The next day was forecast for rain all day long, so we scratched our plans to visit the San Diego Zoo, and spent the day at a children's discovery museum instead. Todd and I got a little bored after a couple of hours, but all three kids were in heaven all day long. They made paper, built with blocks, painted, sculpted with clay, and played with plenty of creative apparati (is that a word?).
The sun came out mid-afternoon, so we were able to spend a few hours at the beach. It was too cold to want to get in and use the body boards like we'd hoped, but it seemed like everyone was pretty happy just to dig in the sand and collect shells.
Overall, it wasn't quite the trip of our dreams, mainly because of the bum weather, but we had a great time.
Lately, Gemma has wanted something in bed with her while she sleeps. It doesn't much matter what, just whatever she's been playing with right before night night. She does a great job of not staying up to play, but it gives her something to do when she wakes up. She's funny.
These three are good buddies with each other. I'm so pleased that they all play together nicely, and everyone has a unique and strong relationship with their other two siblings. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I was worried someone would always be left out with three kids, but so far, so good. They manage it well.
Legos are still going strong over here. The way Hazel and Jack play reminds me so much of how my sister Emily and I used to play with Barbies. They create a setting, then talk through a story with the people, coming up with really cute dialogue. It's fun to eavesdrop on, and they spend literally hours every week with it.
Our friends the Moss family came up one Saturday to hang out. We hadn't seen each other in about a year. I love these real friendships I've got in my life, where it doesn't matter how long it's been since you've seen each other, when you reunite, you feel close and can talk about anything, and feel truly cared about. We had a scrumptious barbecue lunch, played at the house for a long time, then went for a hike and did a little geo caching.
On Memorial Day, we drove down to Santa Cruz and hung out at the beach with Todd's brother KB. It's been fun for the kids and us to be able to see him more often while he's living close by.
The last weekend of May, I had a girl's overnight get together with some of my best friends from Sunnyvale. We met in Tiburon and stayed in a hotel. We strolled through the cute downtown shops, went out to eat, swam in the hotel pool and even choreographed our own little synchronized swim routine! Ha ha.
We stayed up late talking and playing games and eating chocolate. The next day, we went on a hike with awesome views of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge and Angel Island. It was truly beautiful outside.
The rest of the day contained lots more talking, more games and chocolate and restaurants, and pedicures. The whole trip was so rejuvenating, to be with people who feel like sisters, where we could be silly and confide our fears and feel safe and appreciated and loved. I am so blessed with these good friendships I've formed.
1 comment:
You are so good at blogging. I've gotten so far behind that I fear starting again. I should just start from here and now. But I've missed so much. I love the idea of a monthly update. seems easy enough. I love your recap on our trip. It was just a fun get a way. I loved every minute. Thanks for including me this year.
Post a Comment