Road trip to Minnesota

Last Saturday the kids and I embarked on a quick, last minute trip to Minnesota. My parents were going to hold some meetings for the new ministry they are involved in. And me and the kids? We were going to have fun. Play with cousins, visit family, soak up some fall weather, collect fall leaves, and of course, eat!

The drive to Minnesota takes about 15 hours without stops. We were set to leave on Saturday morning at 9AM. My parents had our van and were planning to pack up and come pick up me and the kids. Well Saturday morning we awoke to SNOW! Yep, on October 8th. And it was snowy pretty hard. So my parents eventually arrived at our house. And our van? The "Check Engine" light lit up on their drive over. So we unloaded and reloaded into their van, which was not a quick process. (Read: 3 car seats). We got on the highway, and found out the highway was closed due to an accident. At that point, we completely rerouted our trip and drove through Kansas and north to Iowa. We arrived on Sunday night, ready to not be in the car for a few days. The kids did great on the drive, which I was happy about.

So Luke wasn't scheduled to arrive until late Wednesday night, so I was a single parent for a few days. And during that time, I learned that I never want to be a single parent. It's tough work- props to those of you who do it day in and day out.

Two lessons learned while on our trip:

~Don't pack attempt to pack light. That means that you will end up doing laundry on vacation- maybe more then once. I don't have a ton of clothes that fit right now thanks to my hyperthyroidism. On our car ride to MN, Levi's dirty diaper leaked onto my jeans. I washed them. The very next time I wore the jeans, he had another dirty diaper and you guessed it. It leaked onto my jeans again. Two leaky diapers all week- and both times on the same pair of jeans- that happen to be the only pair of jeans that actually fit right now.

~Don't bother trying to keep your kids out of classes or the nursery before a trip. You might think by doing this you will be more likely to have healthy kids for your trip. Wrong. I kept the kids out of numerous things last week because I did not want them to get sick while we were on vacation. Guess what? All 3 kids got sick with a nasty cold that included a fever. Guess who is sick now? Luke and I. Seriously, I heart winter. But I do not heart all of the sickness that comes with it.

There were more lessons I wanted to blog about, but I can't remember them anymore.

I saw some friends while in MN, but the best thing about being in MN was just spending time with my family. I happen to have one of the greatest families in the world. And it completely stinks that we are spread out over all over the country. I cherish the time I spend with my siblings- and for my kids, their cousins. We had a great week with Kelly and Corey, and my nieces and nephews.

On Friday, we went to the Children's Museum in Minnesota. It's a fun museum, probably the best that we have been to. While we were driving to meet my sister and her clan for dinner at Cafe Latte (which was my 3rd visit there in 5 days. And for the record, I would have happy to go every day!) Anyways, on the drive, I asked Silas if he liked Minnesota or Colorado better. He said, "Minnesota!". I asked again... but threw in California. And I honestly didn't know what his answer would be. And he said, without hesitation, "Minnesota!" That is my child! But his reason for liking Minnesota the best is because of the Children's Museum.

One of the benefits of driving to Minnesota was we could bring lots of stuff home. We went shopping at Trader Joe's, Byerly's and Cub and brought home lots of our favorite things we can't buy here. We also visited two apple orchards. I think we brought home 50 pounds of apples between my parents and us!

We drove through the night on Friday, home to Colorado. Poor Luke spent only 48 hours in Minnesota, and then 20 driving. It was my crazy idea to drive through the night. And it was hard for Luke and I. But it was definitely easier for the kids. We did pull over in Iowa, and we slept in a parking lot for a few hours. And the sun arose, and we started driving again. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast because we are die hard Monopoly fans. We WILL win some year! It was the busiest McDonald's I have ever seen for breakfast. There were only a few tables open. Lots of senior citizens! We were quite the sight, as the kids walked inside in their pajamas, with messed up hair and crusty noses (the kids, not us).  We were thrilled to be home last night. Silas isn't sure he ever wants to drive to MN again because "It's SO FAR!"

The kids said lots of funny things on our car ride. The best was yesterday though. Eliana collects everything. I am constantly telling her to not pick up things on the ground (like cigarette butts). Yesterday in the car, she was throwing a fit because Silas had her empty fruit snack wrapper. Silas looked at her and said, "Eliana, don't be a hoarder! Throw garbage away!" Amen!

All in all, a fun but very busy week! I have feel like I have fallen off the blog bandwagon. I want to go back and blog about the last 2 months, but have realized that is never going to happen. I will do a few brief recaps and move on!

Terrific Tuesday: Vacation Edition

Our second to last day in San Jose was packed with fun. It started off with breakfast with friends. After breakfast we headed to one our favorite parks. This park was within walking distances of where we lived. We often walked to the park after dinner so the kids could play. We had Eliana's 1st birthday party there. We have many happy memories there- and the kids were exited to go back.

After the park, we went to Los Gatos to meet with up with some friends at the fountain. We had lunch and the kids splashed in the water. Simple things like this are things that I miss the most.

The kids aren't the only ones who like to play in thefountain- I do too!
I love chasing them around- I just try to stay somewhat dry!

Reagan, Maddy, and Eliana

Next, we hit the road for Watsonville. We were thrilled to find out that Gizdich was still picking strawberries. I convinced Luke that I had to take some home with us. We arrived and the fields were practically empty. But the strawberry bushes were full of huge, red, juicy berries. They were so good! In a half an hour, we picked 10lbs of strawberries. Luke looked at me like I was nuts and I know was silently wondering how we would get all of them home...

Yep! The strawberries were delicious!

The strawberry fields of Watsonville... 

Now how are we getting to get these home!?!?

Next stop was Capitola! Capitola is a little town south of Santa Cruz, right on the beach. It has a cute little downtown with shops and restaurants. It will always hold a special place in my heart because it was where Luke and I had our first date... Anyways, we grabbed pizza at Pizza My Heart, and walked down to the beach to eat. A cool breeze was coming off the ocean and it was a beautiful start to our evening...

Our final thing for the day was the Santa Cruz Boardwalk: Take Two. We met our Boardwalk friends (Brian, Marny, Maddy, and Reagan). It was basically a repeat of the last week. Lots of rides. Time for the adults to talk. Fair food (cotton candy, corn dogs, soda, ice cream). You know, healthy stuff. I thought that Silas might enjoy going on the sky ride from one end of the park to the other. When I suggested it, he was excited. And so were all of the other kids- and me! But Luke, Brian, and Marny weren't particualarly thrilled. Luke took one for the team and went. Luke rode with Reagan and Silas. I rode with Maddy and Eliana. Maddy was screaming at the top of her lungs at Luke- just calling him name- for no particular reason. Half way through the ride she looked at me and said, "I'm so funny!" It was so innocent and cute; it cracked me up.

Maddy and Reagan on the airplanes!

Silas driving the Pepsi truck

One of the rides that is the kid's favorite is the race car ride. The cars ride around an oval shaped track, and the cars whip around the end of the track and the kids go sliding in their seats. Their expressions always make us laugh!

Eating ice cream at 10PM before heading home! 

When we go to the Boardwalk, we always intend to leave at a reasonable time. And that never happens. We are lucky to leave by 10PM- and then we will have an hour drive home. This night was no different. We quit the rides at 10PM and then went to ice cream. Who sugars up their kids before bed? We do! Because that is what vacation is about!

Goodbye Boardwalk! Can't wait to come back again!

Our time "Back Home" in San Jose

When we left Redding, we drove back to San Jose, which is where we spent the rest of our time. I failed in the picture taking area, and don't have photos of much of what we did. But let me say, we had a fun time! Here is a list of some of the fun things we did, but I have no pictures to prove it!

I attended a bridal shower for a friend, Cassie, and was able to see Heather and Maeve, two other girls from my days of working in the youth group at LGCC.

I had lunch with my former co-worker and dear friend, Anne. She is like another grandma to the kids- and we all had fun seeing her.

I had breakfast with some friends from church, Hillary and Kaitlyn, and Kaitlyn's new baby, Logan. Levi and Logan are just a few weeks apart. It was a fun breakfast, but a little crazy with so many kids! (I'll be honest, the babies were perfect. It was more Eliana and Silas- why would they want to sit and eat breakfast when they can run around in a restaurant?!?).

We had lots of fun with our friends, Brandon and Sarah, who we stayed with. We were up many nights talking until the wee hours of the morning. I think once it was 4AM. Yep, we were all tired the next day.

Luke had a day to go down the coast and take pictures with Brandon.

We had dinner with my former boss and great friend, Diane, and her husband, Brian. It was a double date at Santana Row- and a perfect evening of food, ice cream, coffee, catching up, and laughing. 

We ate at In-N-Out 3 times! Yes, it was wonderful. Our second time was in Fairfield, on the way to Redding, and Silas had his first hamburger ever! Memorable. :)

We had more CCC's at the Great Bear then I can count. We shopped at Trader Joe's a couple of times. We ate at Willow Street, one of our favorite restaurants (and a place I worked for many years). We shopped. Luke had Phil's Coffee. We had Sprinkles cupcakes again. We went to our favorite parks. We had a picnic at Vasona with friends and road the train and carousel. We spent time hanging out in Los Gatos. We went to the fountain to play. We visited friends and former co-workers at our old church. We were able to attend the service and worship at our old church- and see many friends and familiar faces. We had Manley's Donuts- more then once! We went and drove through our old apartment complex and tried to explain to Silas why we couldn't go in our old apartment. We spent evenings with friends. We played at the Children's Museum. We picked strawberries at our favorite farm in Watsonville. We went to our favorite grocery store with "the little carts" and got sugar cookies. The kids played with Mr. Mark and Mrs. Patty- friends of ours and surrogate grandparents for the kids. We ate at Pizza My Heart- and got t-shirts. We went to La Villa in Willow Glen and picked up dozens of raviolis to freeze and bring home to Colorado. We went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk- again!

We did so much on our trip and came home needing a vacation to recover from our vacation. But it was SO. MUCH. FUN. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could. Because even though we were in California for 13 days, we still didn't get to do all we wanted do and see all the people we wanted to see.

The next few posts will be filled with the pictures we did take of our adventures!

NorCal: Redding

Disclaimer: I am so behind on blogging right now! And now that I am blogging about our vacation over a month later, I am forgetting details. The rest of these vacation posts will be heavy on the pictures. My vacation blogging will be done in the next day or so. Sorry they aren't super exciting to read, but I am blogging about it capture the memories for us. :)

After we spent one day in San Jose, we hit the road and drove to Redding to visit family. Most of Luke's family lives in that area. His sister, Janelle, and her family came to Redding too- so we were able to see almost everyone. 

We had a great time visiting. We stayed my in-laws house, up in the mountains. Much fun was had- four wheeling, hanging out with cousins, a campfire with s'mores, and of course, lots of eating! We spent time in Redding visiting grandparents and swimming.

Grandpa reading with Silas and Eliana.

Riding the 4 wheeler! 

Our niece, Maggie, who is 4 years old
getting ready to ride the 4 wheeler.
She is hardcore. :)

Eliana swimming.

Cousin Zech swimming.

One day while we were there, we went to Brandy Creek Lake to go swimming. This is a placed that Luke's grandma used to them swimming when they were kids, so it was fun to go back to a place with memories for him.- We had a great time! I love swimming in lakes- and we thought the kids might enjoy it since the waves were a little overwhelming when we were at the ocean.

Eliana- 2 years old

Maggie- 4 years old

Silas- 4.5 years old

Jadon- almost 6 years old

All of the kids with grandma and grandpa!

Santa Cruz Boardwalk: Take One

One of our favorite things to do in the summer during our last year in California was go to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Every Monday and Tuesday night during the summer, all rides are $1. Sodas, hot dogs, and cotton candy are $1 too. Warning: the hot dog tastes like $1- not good. On the other hand, cotton candy?!? Delicious. I always get a bag (or two).

Our Santa Cruz Boardwalk pals are some of our best friends, Brian and Marny, and their two girls, Madison and Reagan (also known as Lala). (Side story: Silas and Reagan are the same age- and best friends. When Reagan was little, she couldn't say "Silas"- so she called him "Lala." Silas evidentally thought, that was what they called each other- so they both call each other "Lala"- and I think it's adorable.) Brian and Marny were high school friends of Luke's- and friends of mine since Luke and I started dating. They are like family- and their girls are like nieces to us.

We had one day in San Jose before we went to Redding to see Luke's family. So we went to Santa Cruz! We met Marny and the girls downtown, and when they kids saw each other, they ran to each other. They hadn't seen each other in over 8 months- and yet it was like no time had passed. They reconnected immediately. We met Brian and grabbed dinner before heading to the Boardwalk.

Our evening at the Boardwalk was great. The kids had a blast going on ride after ride. And the adults had a great time talking and catching up.

Maddy and Levi at dinner

Brian and Marny 

Silas on the Whale ride...

Maddy and Eliana on the Dragons... Maddy
was Eliana's ride buddy for the night.

Reagan and Silas on the Helicopters

SoCal- Part 3

We left Carlsbad late Sunday morning. We decided to stop in Beverly Hills for lunch and cupcakes. And it's always my hope when we go to Beverly Hills that I will see someone famous. (Stupid, I know).

We parked our car and as we were walking down the stairs to the street, we passed a couple. I knew immediately she was someone I had seen. We passed them and I turned around and mouthed to Luke, "She's famous!!" I knew I had seen her in something and I was thinking her name was Amy. Thanks to the data package on Luke's phone, I was able to do a quick search on the internet. And it turned out to be Amy Smart- who I recognized from "Scrubs" and "Rat Race." She was with a man who had a hat on and sunglasses- so we didn't recognize him... As it turns out though, it was her fiancee, Carter Oosterhouse. Enough for celebrity talk...

So most restaurants in Beverly Hills are a little over our price range- and not appropriate for 3 small children. So we grabbed a few slices of pizza at a little pizza place and headed to the real reason we stopped in Beverly Hills. Sprinkles.

Our Beverly Hills destination: Sprinkles!

So many choices!

Top Row: Marshmallow Chocolate and Milk Chocolate
Bottom Row: Two Dark Chocolates

Silas devouring his cupcake...

Enjoying my dark chocolate cupcake...
Poor Levi, someday he will eat yummy food!

Miss Messy Face

And, she's done! 

After our cupcakes, we got back on the road (after a quick trip to Starbuck's for Luke). Our trip from Carlsbad to San Jose should have taken about 8 hours (without any stops). It took us 12.5 hours. We hit some traffic. Besides stopping for lunch and dinner, we stopped two times at Starbuck's, once to feed Levi, once for gas, and once for a bathroom break. That's a total of 7 stops. Yep, it was one long day!

SoCal- Part 2

We celebrated my niece Madison's birthday while we were visited. She turned 2 years old on July 22nd. I really wish we lived closer to my brothers, sister and their families. I wish my kids had the opportunity to grow up with their cousins... So it was special to celebrate Madison's birthday while we were there. There was cake and party bags for the kids- it was nearly a perfect day!

The birthday girl- all smiles!

Michael and Madison

Eliana sporting some of the loot from
the party bag. 

SoCal- Part 1

We started our trip in California in the San Diego area; specifically Carlsbad, home to my brother and his beautiful kids. We had a great visit with Michael, Jordan, and Madison. As always, our kids loved seeing their cousins. We had fun at the beach, went to my brother's softball game, ate some great food, and just hung out. I wish we could go back tomorrow. Really.

Went to Phil's BBQ after the softball game. So good!

On Saturday morning, my brother went to tennis match with a friend from work. We stayed home with all of the kids and decided to head to the beach. My brother lives across the street from the ocean, so we just walked over. I am sure we were quite the spectacle walking with all 5 kids, a beach chair, towels, snacks, and an umbrella. I looked at Luke and said, "I bet people are looking at thinking, Have you heard of birth control?" We laughed... We got down to the beach and got set up. The family we were sitting next to kept looking at us. Finally, the dad asked, "Are all of those yours?" We laughed again and told him that only 3 of them were. My brother joined us at the beach not long after we arrived. We had fun. Silas and Jordan got knocked over by a wave- and that was the end of Silas' time in the water. Levi slept under the umbrella the whole time we were there. And somehow, he got burnt on half of his body. I will spare you the pictures, because it just makes me look bad. But really, who knew he needed sunscreen?!? He was in the shade!

Levi sleeping in the shade...

I love the ocean!

Madison playing in the sand.

Me, Eliana, Michael, Jordan, and Silas.

Eliana... just looking cute!

The Traveling Circus: Pictures

Luke, Silas, 3 car seats, 3 carry-ons, and 4 suitcases. 

Eliana, the stroller, and 4 carry-ons. One big reason
we bring the stroller is to help transport the carry-ons. 

We don't travel light. Period. Here we are upon our arrival in San Diego. Do we look exhausted? Because at this point we had already been up 7.5 hours. And it was only 9:30AM. And unbeknownst to us, we are about at to have the worst car rental experience of our lives. But we are happy to be in California, the land of In-N-Out!