Spoiled Rotten!

The girls are on another field trip.  This time they will be learning about all things Disney.  Yep, they are headed to Disneyland with their dad.

BIrThDaY GiRl

Holly turned 11!  Her first bIrThDaY present was delivered via robot.  It was pretty awesome!

The rest of her bIrThDaY was kinda blah because we were in the car for hours.   But we did stop off for a birthday dinner with Ayzha, Tiago and Reyn.

And she got some sweet Heelys

And a Ding Dong cake

Taking Our Sweet Time

The weather has been so lovely that we decided to add an extra night to our trip before heading back to the cold.  We also needed to have another U.S. History lesson, so we stopped by the Hoover Dam.

Classy Joint

We stayed at a real classy joint on the way home.  Prices were sky high at all the Vegas hotels, because of a fight, so we stayed at the Golden Nugget in Jean.  We still managed to have fun in the pool.  Maybe some day we'll be able to afford the swanky hotels.

Newport Beach

We couldn't drive all the way to California and not go to the beach.  Since Ben's office is in Newport Beach, that's the one we picked. As usual the water was super chilly, but that didn't stop Ben and Holly.  I was a bit nervous watching them out there in the huge waves trying to body surf.  Qyntn didn't seem to mind the water either.  I prefer to stay on the warm sand, enjoying the sound of crashing waves, with a breeze on my face.

I'm at the Stage...

in my life where amusement park rides make me sick.  I can't even go on the kiddie rides any more without wanting to throw up.  The magic and excitement of roller coasters is completely gone, they have now become something I dread (although I still enjoy a good log ride).  And yet, we have kids, and therefore, we go to amusement parks.  Luckily, Ben still likes a good ride.  I am more than happy to let him be the "fun" parent.  Today we hung out at Knott's Berry Farm.

The girls love roller coasters,
especially Alyssa

This little guy is a bundle of happiness,
and ball of energy.  No complaints out of him today,
and he didn't ask to be carried, not even once.
What a stud.

The girls were all about the gift shops

Q's favorite

Following Q's lead on the Ferris wheel

Early BIrThDaY Present

Holly turns 11 next week so I thought it would be fun to do something extra special for her birthday.  Since she loves animals, I took her to Sea World.  She was smiling all day!

Home School!

For our first day of "home school" we took a field trip to California!

We stopped off in Vegas to do a little shopping and eat at one of our favorite places, Cici's.

We stayed at Buffalo Bills
and taught the girls about Bonnie and Clyde
who were buried nearby. (U.S. history)

Once we arrived in Orange County
we had this slice of heaven all to ourselves.
Slight breeze, 73 degrees.  Perfection!

He Is Risen!

That is why it is my very favorite holiday!  

Phase 1

It's moving day!  Phase 1 of our moving adventure is almost complete.  It hasn't been that fun, to be honest, we must have packed a thousand boxes.  But Ben used his wizardry to fit it all in the storage pod.  He utilized every square inch, he is magical!

Q loved playing around in here

Cleaning isn't fun either, ask Alyssa, but we are almost finished, yay! And several women from the neighborhood came to help.  There are angels among us!

We have been overwhelmed by the love we have been shown by our neighbors.  They brought us boxes, cookies, they have helped us pack, they have helped us move stuff, they have watched Qyntn.  One of our neighbors gave Ben and I a free massage because she wasn't going to be here to help with the move.  They even threw us a surprise farewell party last night.  We have loved this neighborhood and will miss all the friends we have made!  I feel a little bit like I did on my mission, every time I got a transfer I felt like a piece of my heart was ripped out.  I will definitely be leaving a piece of my heart here in "The Garden."

At the party, each of our neighbors wrote us
a sweet note on Jenga pieces.
What a cool remembrance we will have
 of our fellow gardeners!

Poor Ben!

This was the headline in the NY Times...

Delta Has Canceled Thousands Of Flights And Everyone Is In Hell

On his way home from Germany, Ben got caught up in this mess.  His final leg of travel was cancelled in Atlanta.  When they let everyone off the flight he waited in a line 4 gates long to get rebooked. 

After standing in line with tired, angry people for hours, he was finally given two blankets, a chic-fil-a sandwich, and found a corner to curl up in on on the floor

He didn't sleep a wink, but he was one of the lucky ones.  Most people couldn't get another flight out for days but because he has status on Delta he was able to get a seat on a flight home this morning.   He is wiped out!

Wheeling & Dealing

Holly has been asking me for ways to earn some money, so when she heard there was going to be a neighborhood yard sale she got excited!  She and Alyssa went through all their stuff (and my stuff) organized everything and set it out.  Unfortunately it turned out to be a rainy day, but they still made some deals! 

One of the coolest parts was that Holly was able to use her Spanish with some of the people who came.