Vacation, Days 5 and 6

Day 5

We drove.
We got lost.
We finally found it.
We swam.
We built sand castles.
We fortified the sand castles.
They got washed away.
We had fun.

Day 6

We swam.
A little girl asked me what the brown dots on my arms were.
Freckles were new to her.
We had a lengthy conversation about freckles.
Who knew?

{Once again...for your enjoyment!}
{I LOVE this picture!}

Really?!

Just watching a show on tv called, "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant". For real!? You didn't know you were pregnant? How on earth?! I just really can't believe that. Hhmm... Any thoughts on that?

Vacation, Days 3 and 4

On Monday, we decided to head over to Knotts Soak City. One thing we didn't know before going to Palm Springs is that it's just as hot as Hurricane and it's humid. So, we decided that it would be best if we spent all our waking hours in the water to keep cool.

We had tons of fun! I remember as a kid going to Wet and Wild in Vegas and I miss having a water park so close. The kids didn't even know what a water park was! They're so deprived! We got there about 11:00 and didn't leave until 5:00. My favorite ride was Pacific Spin. {I didn't take my camera, so I pulled some pictures off the internet.}


It was so fun! Here's the description from the web site:

"Riders of Pacific Spin will find themselves blasting down into a 132-foot long tunnel, then dropping a stomach-churning 75 feet into the mouth of a six story funnel. The ride’s distinctive 4-person cloverleaf shaped tubes hug the inside of the funnel as riders pitch back and forth in 5,500 gallons of swirling water. The thrilling escapade culminates in a waterfall splash that deposits riders into a cool catch pool below. This action-packed water adventure carries 700 passengers per hour at a maximum speed of 35 feet per second!"

The thing they don't talk about is that most of the ride is in the dark. Then you drop down {still in the dark} into the funnel. Poor Brandon, though! You had to be 48" to ride it, so Kendal wasn't tall enough. You had to have two people to ride, so Brandon had to ride with both Derek and I separately. On the last time going down the drop, we caught some air and we thought we were going to flip. After that Brandon looked at me and said, "I'm not riding that again!"

Derek actually rode this one. Not me though! I really don't have a death wish!


Both Brandon and Kendal's favorite ride was the Sea Snake. It's a tube ride that's completely in the dark. I went first {to catch Kendal because they wouldn't let her go with me} and was pretty scared. I thought for sure she was going to be scared, but she came out laughing and wanted to ride it again! That's my thrill seeker!

After a day of fun, the next day we decided to hang out at the pool again. We took our time in the morning and then headed out to check out some thrift store,. thinking we could get some great deals. And, we did! We found the Star Wars trilogy, some jeans for Kendal, and a South Beach diet book for Derek. Score!

After that we headed back to swim. We swam for a few hours and then headed to Rubio's to eat. {Love of my life!} After dinner, we headed back out to swim again. We had so much fun swimming! Kendal and Brandon have really turned into great swimmers! Brandon would put on his goggles and then go looking for treasures underwater. One time he found $11 and turned it into the lifeguard. I was so proud of him! Kendal would strap on her cute blue goggles and dive for rings or practice swimming across the pool. She did so good! We had fun swimming and I wish I had a pool in my backyard!

Vacation, Days 1 and 2

Day 1 brought us grateful that we arrived here in one piece with no one being left on the side of the road and no one being arrested for indecent exposure for peeing on the side of the road. Whew! We woke up, well, the kids woke up, we kind of stumbled out of bed, and decided we'd swim today. The place we stayed had an awesome pool area. They had two slides for the kids, one big and one little. So that day, Saturday, we spent all day in the pool, expect for the two hour nap we came back to the room for. Ah! Much needed!


Day 2 was the baseball game. Angels against the Yankees. It was so much fun! We went down to the front before the game to try and get autographs for the kids. There was a staff guy that Derek became friends with that was so sweet to the kids. He told Derek that when a player came over, he'd take the kids balls for them and get them signed.

They each got three signature on their baseballs and were so excited. After we got all the signatures, we headed up to the nosebleed section to find our seats. We specifically got them up high so we could be in the shade. I'm so glad we did, otherwise we would have been baking! It was hot!

The view from our seats. Good thing none of us were afraid of heights!

After the game the kids got to run the bases. The line wrapped halfway around the stadium (which we got to walk around {yes, the whole thing} because a certain person misplaced his sense of direction on the whereabouts of the car). Luckily, we were at the front of the line so we didn't have to wait too long. It was hard to get a picture because they kept us moving along. They also had people stationed around the grass so people wouldn't step on it. Derek, the rebel, stuck his toe on the grass when the security guard wasn't watching. That was the highlight of his day!

All in all, it was a fun day at the ballpark.

Can't see the garden through the weeds...

Remember this?

It is no more. This is what we came back to after our vacation.
{Thanks to Travis for watering it for us!}

Making the kids weed. So mean!


This is after weeding for a couple hours and pulling out all the dead tomato plants. They all died of curly top. So much for bottled salsa.

Look how cute!

It was exciting when we got back to go looking through the garden for veggies. We found so many zucchini, winter squash, and cucumbers. I wish I would have taken pictures. We had a full box full. Some of the zucchini were about two feet long and weighed about 4-5 pounds. I shredded and sliced most of it. I still have quite a few gallon sized bags of shredded and sliced if anyone wants any! I'll even give you the recipe to make zucchini brownies! Delish!

Vacation!!!

So, we're heading out for a vacation in the desert! We're geniuses and knew we'd miss Hurricane too much if we left, so we booked a vacation in Palm Springs! Granted, there are no 5 star hotels or big theme waterparks or wait for it...Angles vs. Yankees baseball games nearby Hurricane. I guess in the desert the internets not too good or really, really expensive so we'll be posting from Derek's blackberry on his blog. So, if you want to know what we're up to, head over to The Caffeinated Chef. See you soon!

You can play wii for as many minutes as you pull weeds...

That's how it's been at our house for awhile. I decided that my kids needed something to do this summer besides having too much fun. I remember as a kid pulling weeds every day and I thought it would be great for them to do the same. {Funny how as a kid we swear we'll never do that to our kids.}

So, at the beginning of June, we planted a garden. I wish I had a before picture, because it was horrid! We started out with a four foot pile of dirt. Derek and I spent two days leveling it out. {With a little help from our friends...err...friend! Thanks mom!} Then it was to the nursery to buy some plants where some know-it-all nosy guy admonished us by telling us it was too late to plant. Mind your own beeswax dude! It's never too late! {Unless there's snow on the ground. Then it might be too late.}

Here it is in all it's splendor! It's growing beautifully. And, it's so much fun for the kids to see things that they planted growing. Sadly, my kids are not growing in the hard worker category. But, we're getting there! I figure if I torture them enough, eventually they'll learn.

{Oh, and to those parents who want their kids to have a little hard work, give me a call! There's plenty of weeds to go around!}

It's not ripe!

Those are the words that I uttered {or maybe slightly yelled} to my daughter last night as we watered the garden.

I tried not to get upset as I told her for the twelve billionth time that the tomatoes weren't ripe and she couldn't pick them.

When she informed me that she was going to pick a pepper {ha, ha} and I told her no because they weren't ripe, I tried really hard not to get upset.

Then, she did, pick the pepper that is.

I didn't yell, I just pulled weeds.

Then, when she decided to pick up the hose and water everything {including the dirt and the new blossoms} I decided to pick my battle.

I don't often do that, pick my battle, and for that I sometimes feel like an inadequate mother. I tell myself it's for the best, because why fight over something that doesn't really matter?

So, I picked my battle, picked her up and moved her off the garden. She decided that time would be a good time to roll on her back and play dead.

And I let her.

I pulled weeds.

As she screamed and cried about how she couldn't get up, I pulled weeds. Trying to come up with some way to handle this tantrum.

As she cried {fake, for my benefit}, I remembered the tarantula hawk we had seen earlier dragging the poor spider it had caught, back to it's lair.

And as I pulled weeds, I subtly reminded her and said,

"I really hope there's not anymore spiders in the grass."

Up she hopped and it was all over.

Not in my mind though. I wondered how on earth I was going to survive this five year old phase. I'm sure it's the same as how I survived the 2, 3, and 4 year old phases.

But as I watched my mom with her, the two of them pulling weeds together, my mom praising her every step of the way, I figured it out.

There it was, so easy.

Love her, respect her, praise her, and still...pick your battles.