Six People | Twelve Times

We love traveling together. I always thought that you can tell what kind of parents people are by how they deal with road trips with their kids. I don't know why - but you know who the 'head' of the house is during a road trip. Is it the kids? Is it the youngest? Is it the parents? My kids have been doing long road trips since they've been born. Of course, we all get antsy, but for the most part - my kids do great! They don't get candy at every place we stop. They take turns picking movies - the most irritating person is usually Haley - cause she just won't stop chattering, and she's not a TV watcher. She just chit chats for 10 hours. We travel to California frequently - since my 3 brothers live there. What isn't to love about California? Our kids love the beach, pool, hot tub, everything - but I really think that what they love most is just hanging out with the family. It's funny how there is no fighting at the beach. Everyone is just so happy to play! Troy and the kids automatically just jump right into California's cool ocean. I only get in up to my knees. I am not a cold water girl. My dream one day, is to stay in a condo/hotel RIGHT on the beach - and just play and read books there all day long. That would be heaven, for all of us! I better start planning it!

BRACES...off!

Jake got his braces off a few weeks ago! He was so excited. Jake is the kid who had every problem with the braces. Brackets breaking, wires coming off, everything. We actually went in the day we got home from Hawaii for him to get his braces off, but a bracket had fallen off, and his teeth were crooked, he had to wait another 10 weeks to get them off. On Halloween night, I had to text the ortho cause he broke something off with candy. So, we are all (I'm sure the orthodontist more than anything) glad they are off! It's funny, cause Troy and I think he has this huge mouth now. Hopefully he will grow into it!

More of San Diego...

The next day, we sort of bummed around San Diego. We went to Mission Bay and the little amusement park - Belmont Park. We let all the kids go on one ride, and Kristin talked Grammy into buying Cotton Candy. I'm pretty sure it was Lucas' first time with the stuff - and he loved it!

They had a wave pool next to the ocean that we were trying to peek into to see the practicing surfers. This is probably my favorite photo from the whole trip - and of course, I took it on my phone.

We went to see where Jason lived and oohed and aahed over the view. I guess that's what a master's degree gets you! That, and 4 roommates.
Jason took us to lunch at a pizza place. Hmmmm...what can I say about this pizza place? It was New York Style pizza. It was pretty good. It was an interesting restaurant. If my brothers would like to give their review, they will have to leave a comment. While we were waiting for the pizza, I HAD to snap this photo of Jason with all his nieces and nephews...ughh...once again, on my dumb phone. It kind of blew out the faces a bit. We also hung around the hotel room and swam quite a bit. My kids would have been happy to be in the pool all day!
The last night we were there, we got Spiderman cupcakes for Lucas. They were a HUGE hit!

We said goodbye, and drove the 10 hours it took to get home. We can't wait to see them again in August!

San Diego Zoo

On Saturday, we went to the San Diego Zoo.
Our kids have never been there. They have these new double decker buses, that were fun to ride in, but they traveled the paths people walked, and I feel that they ruined the zoo! It must be a new ploy for more money, or for all the lazy people who can't just walk through a zoo. From the top of the double-decker bus, Kristin noticed face painting. She has saved birthday money and begged and this is what she wanted to spend her money on (Thank you Grandpa Korth and Grandma Great - this is what she spent her money on). Naturally, Haley had to have one too. While we were walking around, the oddest things walked by us. A dog and a cheetah on leashes. Some new program they have at the zoo - I can't remember the exact purpose of it.


After walking for awhile, the kids all were ready to go. We were as far from the exit as was possible, and we thought we should stop by and see the Panda Bears (30 minute wait) and then to see the gorillas. Well, Kristin had a meltdown - threw an enormous fit, and ruined her face paint. We carried on, and talked them into the gorillas - with a little bribery of popcorn and soda while we waited for the Panda's. It turned out to be a good thing we did - my kids most memorable moment of the whole trip happened while watching the gorillas - and it's disgusting, but I must document it! A gorilla, came and sat on a log, his back to the crowd. He proceeded to poop into his own hand. It was disgusting. I wish I would have gotten it on video - the people in the crowd's comments were priceless. The photo I got is afterwards...you will notice the 'item' in the gorilla's hand...gross...I know... On the way out, Jake got his hands on the map and was leading us out of the park. He took his job very seriously. Even after Kristin threw an enormous fit that day, on the way home from our vacation, my mom asked Kristin what her favorite part of the trip was. She said, The zoo. Ughhhh...girls!

The Beach...

The majority of our trip was a little chilly - for San Diego standards, so we planned ahead and hit the beach on the warmest day. Naturally, my kids didn't fill the chill as they got all the way in the water, off of Coronado. I was in love with Coronado. It is my new dream place to live. Lucas got some new sand toys, and we came prepared to play! My sweet sister-in-law, Maria, was due in less than a month and was such a trooper the whole time we were there! I hope she laid down and rested the whole next week after we left! Can't wait to meet my new niece or nephew in August!





Gotta love when your uncles bury you in the sand. Okay, I totally did not notice the man in the back when I took this photo of Kristin. It's priceless...by far, my favorite photo of the day!

Lucas turns two!!!

After we saw graduation, we headed down to San Diego to see Mike, Maria, and Lucas. David and Jason joined us. Lucas was going to turn two in a few days, and we wanted to go to an ice cream parlor. We found the best one we could on Coronado - so we ice creamed it up before hitting the beach! Happy Birthday, Lucas!






(Many more posts on our San Diego trip coming up...)

Jason gets his Master's Degree!

We went down to California to see Jason graduate...again! This time with his Master's Degree in Educational Psychology. He graduated from Cal State Long Beach (Go Beach!). It was a gorgeous day for an outside graduation! We are proud of you, Uncle Jason!