A spring break to always remember!

Last week the kids were on spring break and we were so lucky to have some of our great Iowa friends come with their family to visit us.  It was SO great to see them!  We had SUCH an incredible time.  Our kids only get to see each other once a year (if we are lucky) but when they get together, it's like they've been friends forever!

They came a week ago and we started the fun by soaking up some sunshine outside hiking South Mountain.  I ended up only lasting about 30 minutes of the several hour hike... carrying a 28 pound Madelyn up those hills was more cardio than I've done in a LONG time.  

While being in the Arizona sun was fun, Kerry and I had done some planning and since Dad had a work conference in San Diego, we decided to surprise the kids and go to San Diego for a few days.  We didn't tell them until the night before and needless to say, they were all pretty pumped about it!

Even if that meant we had to get up at 4:45 to try to get out the door by 5:30, we were only about 40 minutes late leaving.  

Boy was it worth every minute of being on the beach... even though it was cold (in the 60's) it was glorious.  Glorious. 

Something about the ocean air, the breeze and the sound of the waves crashing into the shore... medicine for my soul.

Madelyn spent hours digging in the sand while Kerry and I got to catch up in person a bit.  I've been thankfully gifted with Kerry's friendship for many years (the fact that we celebrated our spring break together 17 years earlier -our lives were so different then, is a testament to how long we've been friends). 

While we never get to talk as much as we'd like, and we text every few months, it is so nice that we can pick right back up where we left off.  She's incredible.  I'm so thankful for her.

Meanwhile Madelyn got sand every where the big kids were off being adventurous... 

They found a sea anemone right by the shore and a ton of sea shells.  

They also were ecstatic to find crabs!  Living crawling crabs!  Which of course they captured and decided to hold captive in the hopes I would let them bring them home to Arizona with us.  It was a big fat NOPE from me!

They were all excited about their finds!

Our hotel room was right near the beach, basically out our back door.  Here are the girls waiting for everyone to gather up as we were headed out for more adventures.

On our second day in San Diego we went down to the pier and toured an old Navy aircraft carrier. It was SO neat. On our way to that ship, we found some other cool ships!

And we found a stingray just swimming along.  Made me think of Finding Dory wondering if he or she was lost.

When we got to the US Midway Michael was very interested in this quote as he had just been learning about it in school. 

Once inside we were surprised at just HOW BIG the ship is.  Seriously, I can't even remember how many airplanes are on the ship.  SO MANY.  

We got to listen to a recording about how the ship was used in WWII

Aren't the kids so cute all together.  (Belle was somewhere, not sure).  The things around their neck are the speakers that would tell the story.  Madelyn had to have one too.

These are the bunks where the service men would sleep.  Three high, and NOT very much room.  The kids tried out the beds, I don' think they'll be lining up to trade their beds at home anytime soon.

Tiny spaces

Then we got to see how big the chain is that pulls in the anchor.  Wow is that baby HUGE.  Each link weighs over 150 pounds with the larger ones more like 200lbs.  

While I didn't get a picture of it, each of the dads picked up the 200 lb link just to show their kids... they still are the SUPER MAN (men) the kids view them as.

Next it was onto the major operations center of the ship.  I forget the official name but it is where all the business of keeping the ship protected, launching the weapons, tracking the radar... all of it.  There were more buttons in this room, than in a TV remote factory.  The space wasn't very big, maybe 12 x 15, filled with computers and the veteran talking about it said that when they were on alert or being targeted sometimes there would be up to 50 people in the small space.  I can't imagine being claustrophobic and being on this ship.  

The kids loved this part of the ship too because they could push any of the buttons.  I'm pretty sure my kids messed with every button.  They were fascinated.

Even Madelyn thought it was neat.

She and Kael were talking about the ships on the radar screen.  It was actually showing real time radar.  

We also got to test out the seats where the crew would be briefed on updates.  This set is the Navy's section.

And these fancy ones were the chairs for the Air Force.  Yes still on the same ship but they had their separate areas.

Finally we made it to the top deck.  We asked the Smiths to take a family picture and after 5 minutes of trying to get our act together and begging people to look and smile we settled on this picture.  Bout as good as we get.

The sea gulls were huge and decided to hang out.  Michael quickly became distracted with the bird and started chasing it all over.

Can you tell who is real?  I asked Gabriel to take this for us since I'm not in too many pictures.  As you can see I'm hardly in this picture too.  Maybe I'm just supposed to be behind the camera.

The ship was so neat and I'm really glad we took the time to go.  We didn't know how much time we'd need so we plugged the meters for a few hours and turns out we were racing back (okay it was really Jarrett and Chris who raced-literally ran) back to the car to avoid a parking ticket. 

We would have spent the entire rest of the day still looking around.  So much to see.

This was the view of the city from the top deck. .. not bad huh?

Back at the hotel, we tried for another family picture.... notice anyone missing?  They were "too cool" to be in the picture with us.  

That afternoon we went back to the beach.  Even though it was cold, Isabelle heard beach and stopped mi-step to strip down.  Just like at home, she wanted to leave a trail of clothes behind her and race off.  (see below).

Thankfully we got her clothes before she took off.

Madelyn then thought she was supposed to do the same with her clothes, except she didn't have her swim suit on.

That afternoon the kids found even bigger crabs, which we returned safely to the ocean

Madelyn was in her glory digging in the sand.

Even as the birds would come by her, she's continue digging.

Gosh I love this view.

More crabs... Michael was thrilled!

The kids spent time in the water (it had to be about 60 degrees) and when they were too cold to stand it anymore, we decided to leave.

Yay  a family picture that almost everyone is looking in.

Pretty sure I could live there... also pretty sure I couldn't afford to live there.

She's a fan too.

That evening we went out for a nice dinner, not before having a toast on our deck.  To great friends, sharing times together and memories to cherish forever.  

It was SO great to see them.

The view from out the back door of our hotel

Almost all the kids lined up.

When the sun went down it was kind of chilly.  Especially for us wimpy desert folks.

So many fun times we've shared at this place.  It never disappoints.

We went to a seafood restaurant, where they bring in the seafood fresh daily.  Jarrett and I got scallops, Kerry and Chris fish... from the amazing calamari, to the main course, drinks and key lime pie... it was tasty... down to the last crumb.   

Madelyn absoltely loves Chloe.  Chloe is a dear, so patient, loving and if she lived closer I'd be begging her to help me babysit.  Madelyn insisted that either I or Chloe carry her everywhere, often times picking Chloe over me.  Chloe's poor back!

And look at the boys.  They were having no fun.  No fun at all. I feel so bad for them.  :-)

On our final day at the beach, Chris showed me this cool tree. All the kids went to look at it and then I asked to take their picture.  I love how they posed.  Don't they look like they've been buddies their whole life?  I so wish they could see each other weekly!

It happened to be St. Patrick's day and while we waited for Jarrett to finish up at his conference we soaked up the final views and scents from the crisp clean beautiful sea.  

It was sure hard to leave!

Before leaving town we had to stop at In & Out burger since I understand it is one of Kael's favorites.  It didn't disappoint and man that place was packed!

Jarrett and I took the girls and Kerry and Chris took the boys in their car (we were the lucky ones I think as least as far as noise level).  Madelyn held Chloe's hand almost the entire 5 hour drive home.  

We had such a great time and not going to lie we've all been missing the Smiths.  We will forever cherish this spring break as one of the best ones we've ever had.  

Until next time,

Angie

Celebrating Michael's birthday

Jarrett and I are going to sneak away for a few days later this week, which happens to fall on Michael's birthday (we will NEVER let this down).  In an attempt to celebrate early, we surprised him by having his great friend Bella over for an afternoon.  Michael had been talking for weeks about going Ice Skating so that's what we did.

Belle rang the door bell and when Michael ran to open the door he was surprised to see she was there.  He was slightly embarrassed he hadn't combed his hair so thankfully his hat was close and he could put it on to hid the bed head he had from the night of sleeping.

We had lunch and then birthday cupcakes to celebrate both of them having March birthdays!

You can see the two girls loved the frosting!

And then it was time to go skating!

This was Isabelle's first times on ice skates. She wasn't sure about it at first.

We laced them up and they were off!

Some more hesitant than others.

Dad kept Madelyn busy on the bleachers.

There was a brief break for the Zamboni machine to resurface the ice.  Don't these kiddos look grown up?

Did anyone else notice the shorts and ice skates?
Only in Arizona right?

Michael and Belle had fun!

Soon they were twirling around and doing circles (stunt tricks)

Michael declared he will be a future gold medal ice skater and we should now drop several thousand dollars to put him in private lessons and it will all be worth it because he will for sure bring home a gold medal.  

That Michael, he always has some sort of new plan he's rigging up. 

It was a really fun day to get to celebrate Michael's birthday and I think he enjoyed getting to improve his skating skills.

Hard to believe this little guy that melted our hearts is now (almost) 11!

Until next time,

Angie

Take me out to the ballpark! Go Cubs Go!

Tomorrow the kids return back to school after an AMAZING spring break. 

It actually started a day early for them when we surprised them by pulling them out of school for their last day before break to take them to the ball park.  My was it a fun day!

Thanks to our friends the Faulkners, and their charity Campbell's Crew Cares, they along with their friend Steve's Dreams Charity, gifted us tickets to the Chicago Cubs spring training game against the Angels.  This was our first time getting to experience the fun of being a Cub's fan in the desert.  We had heard many great things and boy did they live up and surpass every expectation we had.

That morning we met at the ball park and got to tailgate with our friends Carrie, Campbell, Sage and Emery.  They took care of every detail... even down to the Chicago Style hotdogs.  

It was so much fun and that was even before we entered the stadium!

Here are the girls reading about Steve's Dream, a charity set up in memory of a young man who left this world too early.  His family set up a charity in his memory where they gift spring training Cubs tickets to families so that father's get the chance to take their kids to the ballpark for a day.  I was lucky enough to get to go along too!

Here the girls are reading about Steve and his life.  As a mom who lives to tell the story about her baby that isn't here, I know it means a lot to their family that their son's legacy lives on. 

The girls were super interested in reading about him.

Madelyn was a big fan of Carrie's and it didn't hurt that she has rice crispy treats to eat!  Yummy!

We were running low on some chairs so Madelyn improvised and used her big sister's back.  Smart cookie in my mind!

Soon enough it was time to head into the ball park.  There were more surprises ahead.

We were given the opportunity to have one of our boys throw out the first pitch.  Michael was the lucky one but we all got to go down onto the field and see the players up close.  IT WAS SOOOO COOL!

Can you tell how excited Michael was!?!!!!!

Gabriel, meanwhile was just dreaming of how cool it would be to actually get to play in the game.

Isabelle decided to take a seat right where the players sit when they are getting ready to be next in line to bat.

This is Lauren from the Cub's and she's great!  She gave Michael the signal and soon enough he was taking the plate.

but not before Cubbie came over to give all of us hugs. 

Here's the video of Michael getting to throw out the first pitch.  It was such a neat experience and we were so excited for him!

On our way back out of the tunnel, we passed Anthony Rizzo who looked up at the boys, said hello and thanks for coming out.  Madelyn was having a meltdown at this point (well past naptime) so I kind of missed it all but managed to snap this picture.  The boys were floating in air!  Another SUPER cool moment.

And then, after all those amazing moments, the game started and we had even more fun!

Our seats were awesome, right in front of the dugout and next to the tunnel to we got to see the players up close and Michael even got a few balls from the players. 

Here is Campbell's friend Kyle at bat.  He ended up hitting a homerun!

Madelyn ended up falling asleep and sleeping through the first 4 innings and then woke up ready to have fun.

Jarrett was thrilled to get to watch his childhood team in person.  He was having a really stressful day at work but managed to cut out and join us for the afternoon.  It was really nice to have him there.

Madelyn played with straws more than she watched the game but this kept her entertained for at least an hour and a half.

And this guy... he could eat, sleep and breathe baseball and still go back and watch more.  

Yep she was still playing with the straw.

Then Belle decided the straw would be fun too.

Notice that hat?  It's more than 30 years old and the hat Jarrett got at one of his first Cub's games as a boy.  His mom and dad saved it and gave it to him to share with his kids.  You wouldn't believe the compliments we got on this vintage hat!

As the bottom of the 9th ended the Cub's were up and the final song sang.  We walked back to the car with so much joy and celebration in our hearts... it was such a fun day and we are so grateful for the opportunity gifted to us.

It was a family day we will never forget.  We celebrate the time we got to spend together as a family as we honor Steve's legacy.  While he left this earth too soon, the joy, happiness and kindness that his family shares with others, has to make him smile down from above.  

What a great way to start off spring break.... and it was just getting started.

More fun was sure to come.

Until next time,

Angie

Caught 'em

We have a candy drawer in our house which I admit is usually stocked full because it is my vice.  Some like coffee, some like wine... I like candy, more specifically chocolate.  Some would say I have a problem.  Personally I don't see what the big deal is.

Turns out the girls in our family are following right in the footsteps of their momma.  Madelyn and Isabelle have a sweet tooth too.  I know they get into "the drawer" when I'm not looking or in the other room, and it really isn't too hard to tell when I see chocolate smeared across their face. 

This past Sunday, when I was folding a load of clothes by the kitchen I watched quietly as Isabelle and Madelyn decided they needed a chocolate fix.  Together they walked over to the drawer, Isabelle pulled out her treat and then Madelyn stood up on her tippy toes and reached in for the kisses.  Then she carefully pulled off the wrapping, threw each piece on the floor near her and then when she finally got it pealed off, shoved the whole chocolate in her mouth. 

I stayed back and took pictures while quietly watching them.

When they both had their candy in their mouth I surprised them and yelled, "Caught you two!" 
They both smiled and when Isabelle decided to run away, Madelyn turned and chased behind. 

Silly girls.  Momma caught you!

Until next time,

Angie