The Pulleys

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Newport Beach!

I realized this morning that of the 18 days of April, I have only been home for six of them! The latest whirlwind trip was to one of my favorite places, Newport Beach. My husband's family has vacationed there for years and now I've come to LOVE it there. Here are some of the highlights, and low points from our trip.

Highlights:
Food
All of my health conscious ideas and calorie counting goes out the window when I am in Newport. We ate Balboa Bars, Ruby's diner, Bristol Farms bakery, gelato, Sprinkles cupcakes, more Balboa bars and the list goes on. And it was worth each and every bite!

Time with Steve
It is good for me to get out of mommy mode and get back to being myself and being a wife. This was our first kid-free vacation since Tyler was born. Steve and I were able to go on walks along Balboa island every night. We went to Crystal Cove and went tide pooling. Drove a couple of hours, without kids interrupting our conversation, to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Time with my husband is usually minimal, so it really was great for us to have a few days to remember why we fell in love with each other in the first place!

At Magic Mountain, they have some pretty intense rides. Their X2 roller coaster is the most intense and insane thing I have ever experienced. No joke, I had to have Steve help me out of the chair my knees were shaking so bad. I truthfully almost wanted to cry...not because I was scared, but because I didn't know how else to digest the experience of the ride. And Steve's reaction? I have never seen him laugh that hard in our nine years together. He had tears streaming down his cheeks. He had the time of his life.

Shopping
Pretty much every store is better in California. You might think I spent a lot of money on cute clothes for myself. You'd be wrong. All I could think of was cute things for my kids. I couldn't help but miss Tyler and Hannah when I see things like this. Both of these came home with us!

And now for the low points:

Vertigo
I had my first ever case of vertigo...the day we were leaving. It was awful. I got motion sick at Six Flags the day before but this was worse. It took two Dramamine and four extra strength Tylenol to touch the dizziness and headache. Not my favorite.

Leaving
Just like any vacation, it was hard to leave the sun and beach to come home to laundry and rain clouds. But I will gladly come home to my kids and housework if it meant I had a wonderful long weekend with my best friend!

A very big thank you to Steve's parents for providing a place to stay and for the great company!

Monday, April 9, 2012

A whirlwind of weeks

I swear the past month has flown by. To make a long story short, we've had a funeral, house guests for a week, a week long road trip to Phoenix, and Easter. That is all in addition to preschool, the gym, grocery shopping, church meetings and all the daily doings. I feel like I haven't really had a chance to exhale!

Over Spring Break I went down with the kids to Phoenix to see my sister and meet my new sweetest niece. My mom was nice enough to drive down with me. It was great for the cousins to be together. I LOVED snuggling Sophie. And of course the weather was simply splendid! We ate good food, sat around and chatted, watched good shows, and relaxed.

I was all set to drive home myself with the kids on Friday morning. I was sort of dreading the long drive, but was geared to go. However, Thursday night Steve surprised me by walking into Jay & Kristin's house. No joke, I cried for two minutes straight. I believe I asked him "are you serious?" to which he replied, "No, I'm just kidding!" So we stayed an extra day and played at the park, ate AMAZING pizza at Grimaldi's and laughed so hard we cried. A true vacation!

We got home late the night before Easter. Like I said, a whirlwind! The kids actually let us take pictures of them. I think because we told them they couldn't find their Easter baskets until they gave us a good picture! Tyler must have a homing device on him, because he found his basket pretty easily the first place he looked. Hannah found hers the second place. Both kids loved their candy...of course!

After a wonderful day at church, we found Easter eggs outside at Grandma's house, dyed eggs for the first time and ate a delicious dinner. It was the perfect way to relax and unwind from the past few weeks. We were able to spend time together remembering our Savior. It was a very Happy Easter!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Happy Happy Birthday Tyler dear!

I've had that primary birthday song stuck in my head all week!

Tyler turned five this week. He keeps reminding me that he's a whole hand! In keeping with tradition we celebrated over almost a whole week. First up was the family party over the weekend. In past years Tyler wanted a robot cake or a rocket cake. What were his demands this year? A circle cake, with black and blue on it. That's not much to go on. So while it ended up looking like a UFO, Tyler loved his black and blue circle cake. Thank goodness he isn't hard to please!

Of course Tyler loved opening presents and having all eyes on him. And of course Hannah was a little jealous of all the attention Tyler was getting, so she made me take this picture!

His actual birthday started off with the breakfast of his choice, followed by a spotlight at preschool. That evening we had presents at home. Tyler was thrilled to open silly putty, binoculars and Candy Land. He was less than thrilled when he saw he got to choose a bike from the store. Who knew? He was however very excited once we were at the store.

He had his kindergarten check up this morning. He handled the shots like a champ. During his breakfast prayer, he asked that he would be brave during his shots. He was VERY brave! He is the 97% for height and 86% for weight and perfectly healthy. You can't ask for more than that! He is a pretty good boy who has a tender heart, loves Legos and reading, has lots of energy, and adds the perfect personality to our family!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Happiness is....

My kids asking for seconds on dinner, including green beans. Success.

The television show Castle. If you aren't watching it...you should. My Monday nights are always Castle nights. I'm not going to lie, I am bummed when there isn't a new episode.

Getting a letter in the mail. There is just something about getting a note or card just for me! And I will usually read it twice right when I open it.

A really great hair day. The other six days of the week I am tempted to chop it all off.

Tyler reading an entire "easy reader" book all by himself. The look on his face was priceless. He was grinning from ear to ear when he finished. Definitely a proud "mom" moment.

Getting hooked on Downton Abbey. I can't hardly wait for September and season 3. I am a sucker for period dramas.

Playing footsie with my husband during dinner!

Meal planning. I know, I know, some of you are thinking "what?" For me, the key is to plan meals for the entire week. I love having a stocked fridge and knowing what I am going to make for dinner that night, and the next.

Snuggles and smiles from Hannah. She will give you the best squeezy hug you've ever had. I love that girl.

Family movie night...popcorn and all. All four of us on a small couch equals wonderful quality family time.

What brings you happiness?

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Confessions

I ate five of my mom's most delicious chocolate chip cookies in 24 hours. And I didn't even feel guilt. So I had another one a day later! How does she make them taste so good? Love, I'm sure of it.

I vacuum and dust my house at least twice a week. There are several reasons for this. The first is need. I swear the dust multiplies exponentially here. And my kids leave a trail of crumbs with their snacks. And second, I am bored so I might as well clean.

I have to secretly throw away Tyler's papers from school and church in the laundry room garbage can. If he had his way, he would keep every single paper from every single class.

I cannot stand a mess. At all. My kids know they can only have a few toys out at a time. Does this make me a bad mom?

I still haven't put away Hannah's Halloween costume yet. I couldn't tell you why.

I cannot watch scary movies. I will be up all night...which means Steve is up too. Sorry honey! I may or may not have looked out of the shower just to make sure no one is there after watching a creepy movie. Maybe.

I simultaneously wonder if I am ruining my kids, and yet know that I'm doing the best I can so that's got to be enough.

If I go more than three days without working out, I have a fear I will end up on The Biggest Loser.

I have never really liked my name and I didn't have a middle name growing up. Yet when I got married and had to change my name legally, I couldn't come up with a middle name.

I am addicted to carbs. I could not go a week without some sort of bread or pasta. And don't get me started on my love of cheese (all kinds) and ranch dressing. And my mom's chocolate chip cookies.

There you have it. My confessions. Trust me, there are many more I could list. Just for fun, what are some of your confessions?