Spring Break

For Ryan's birthday we got his bike tuned up and a lesson on how to do it. We bought a couple bikes off these tens a few months back and they told me how they fix up bikes for fun so I reached out and asked if they could show Ryan how to fix up his bike. They changed out his gears to thumb shifters instead of grip shifts, fixed his back wheel, and in general made his bike (which we got for $10) run much better.

The next day we piled in the car and headed west to San Diego. The kids had mini sketch pads, books, and some DVDs. After our road trips to Utah, 6 hours (really 7 after pit stops and lunch and traffic) didn't seem too bad.

The kids thought the huge windmills were pretty cool. 

We stayed at the San Diego KOA in a deluxe cabin which included beds and linens and a bathroom and kitchenette. It was perfect. 

We never did get any wood to have a fire in the firepit, but we sat around it to relax and to eat in the evenings.

After checking in the kids and Jacob checked out the jumping pillows while I went to pick up some dinner. After dinner we went to explore the playground and found that it was pretty fun. It had a couple old school pieces of equipment: cement pipes and this rocking horse/fish thing. 

The rest of the playground was pretty new looking and the kids had fun playing on it and digging in the sand.

Wednesday we headed downtown for a Seal Tour. After checking in we had a little time to wander and check out the ocean.

The Seal Tour was actually more of a sea lion tour. We rode on this big bus that also works as a boat, so we got some commentary on the area as we drove along the shoreline of the San Diego bay. 

Once we got to the boat launch the bus just drove right down into the ocean and turned into a boat. It was slow moving on the water, but still cool. There was a lot less wind traveling at that speed, which was a plus.

On the way over to where the sea lions were we saw a boat with some people from a sea mammal rehab center, or something of that sort. They were leaning over the side of their dingy training a dolphin that lives in the San Diego Bay. It was a little far to see much, but we could see the dolphin pop up every once in a while. 

The sea lions were all just laying out waiting for the fishermen to come back so they could eat the scraps. This one was showing off like he knew we all had cameras pointed his way.

The weather wasn't all that warm to begin with, and on the ocean with the sea breeze it got chilly. Luckily for Ryan, Rachel is tough and didn't put on the jacket she had brought, so he was able to borrow it. He wrapped up nice and warm and survived the rest of the tour without freezing. Though just barely.

On the way back we were able to see lots of big ships including the USS Midway and others, including this one that houses the Maritime Museum.

With COVID and California being a little extra cautious with restrictions these museums have been shut down for a year, with some finally able to open on a restricted basis just recently. We didn't visit any this time.

Instead we headed over to Coronado Beach. The Coronado bridge is the scariest bridge I have ever been on. It is not a great bridge for those who are afraid of heights. Or for people with images of prior earthquake damage in their heads. Luckily we survived the bridge. (Jacob drove on the way back so I could close my eyes this time.)

The weather still wasn't warm, but the kids were more than happy to play in the sand, and eventually the water.

Megan had a hard time getting water into her bucket. It's hard to have the water deep enough to get into the bucket when you run anytime the water reaches any higher than your toes. She got better at it as time went on.

Rachel brought her artistic flair to the beach:

Ryan wanted to be buried so I got to work burying him.

Look! We found a random head just sitting on the beach! 

Ahhhh! He's sinking! 

The kids had so much fun at the beach we had a hard time pulling them away, but we promised they'd get to go to a beach again the next day. 

The kids spent some more time on the jumping pillows when I went for dinner again.

After dinner we watched some Donald Duck. Annie watched from the sleeping loft for some fun.

It was nice to have relaxed mornings with time to read scriptures and just hang out before we went anywhere. I think the kids were gathered around here to watch a video of some sort from the day before.

Thursday morning we rented some bikes from the KOA where we were staying. The kids all liked the idea of driving the big 6-person bike, but we quickly realized they needed an adult by their side to correct their steering problems. 

Usually 4 of us rode on the big multi-person bike while two others rode on the smaller individual bikes we rented. They all had steering wheels instead of handlebars, which made it more exciting than just a regular bike.

After our hour with the bikes was up we headed to La Jolla for lunch then on to the tide pools and beach. 

We used the Find Me Gluten-free app to find a place we could all eat. Turns out we found a vegan gluten-free roof-top bistro. It could have been cool, but the kids didn't appreciate the lack of food they recognized, nor the long wait for their food, nor the cold wind blowing across the roof. 

We cuddled trying to stay warm while we waited for our food to be served. 

It was cool to be able to see far, though. But, if we ever go back to La Jolla we probably will find a different place to eat.

The stretch of beach at La Jolla has a great variety within a very short distance. We were able to see some tide pools and watch surfers catching some waves.

Then just a little ways up the road there was a beach that was closed because seals had taken it over for their new pups. It was cool to see so many seals and their new babies in their real-life habitat.

Between the tide pools and the seal beach was a perfect beach for playing on. The kids were bummed that we weren't going back to the Coronado beach that they knew they liked, but turns out they liked this one, too. 

The beach here was a little steeper than the Coronado beach so the waves occasionally really surprised them coming up higher than they were expecting. Rachel and Ryan both got pretty wet, basically all the way to their neck. Eventually the got digging on a project creating a walled "city" and a trench and smaller wall in front to protect the big wall. They had varying degrees of success, but the main city withstood most waves the ocean threw at it.

Jacob and I mostly hung out in our camp chairs with our sweatshirts on since it wasn't all that warm. Nice and relaxing.

 I did get up a few times to bury kids in the sand. It's rather therapeutic. :) 

Ryan wanted to be buried again, this time with his body sculpted to look like a muscle man.

Megan wanted to be a mermaid.

Their walled city looks huge! 

But really it wasn't that huge. It was relatively deep, but perspective does make a difference. :) 

That night we just ate frozen dinners at the cabin and chilled out. The kids discovered that the sand from the beach can get in places they wouldn't even imagine. Showers, playground and Phineas and Ferb rounded out our last evening there.

Friday morning we packed up and headed east. We stopped just before Yuma at the sand dunes there. We showed the kids how to jump off a steep edge and drop way down and still land in the nice soft sand. Those of us who didn't have flip flops on managed to get shoes and socks filled with sand before heading back to the car to continue on with our travels.

It was a great trip and left everyone wanting more. Hopefully we can go back sometime when the covid restrictions are lifted and have even more fun. It was great to spend time together as a family and have time to just relax for a few days. Definitely a nice spring break.

March- pre-spring break

After Spring Break the elementary kids go back to school 5 days a week and Rachel goes from 2 days a week to 4 days a week, but will still be home Fridays. Fridays have been our pizza/eat-out-for-lunch day since the pandemic started a year ago. So for one of our last Fridays we grabbed some Little Ceasars Pizza and went to check out the new Esmond Station Library that just opened. We still can't go inside, just pick up books we've reserved at the door, but they have an outdoor patio with tables and chairs so we ate there after we got the books. Ryan especially loved the cement benches he could run up and jump off of.

Rachel recently got called to be the class president in her young women class. One of the girls in her class turned 15 and had a quinceañera and invited the ward. Since we don't really know the family we thought we should go to give Rachel a chance to show her support and so I could meet the parents so if we offer rides they know who I am. We purposely got there 15 minutes late, but apparently that was at least an hour early--there was NO ONE there, not even the birthday girl. Just a couple people setting up and another family from the ward that also didn't realize we were supposed to get there way later than the invitation said. The kids thought it was amazing and beautiful and were excited about the soda and eegees refills they could keep getting. We stayed just until we finished dinner, then headed home to get the kids in bed. It's a little sad that we missed the exciting part of the quinceañera with the dancing and all, but not sad enough to entice us to stay.

The kids have been playing around with the panoramic mode on my phone camera. They discovered that if they're careful they can make pretty funny pictures. We have two sets of triplets! ;) 

Our neighbors, the Sanders, have recently begun riding bikes to school with us. On days that their middle schooler also goes, we have the Palmer girls join us, too. So our huge long line has just gotten longer and longer. The other day I think we had probably 15 people riding in a row. Hard to capture in a photo, but I tried.

3rd quarter has ended. Because of COVID they didn't have Vail Pride Day like normal, but they tried some virtual ways to recognize excellence, including adding the category of Outstanding Student to the recognitions they do with Teacher, Support Staff and Volunteer of the Year. Annie was nominated by two of her teachers, Ms. Montagu and Mrs. Goodall for outstanding student. She deserves it. She's persevered and done all her work even when she hated doing it.

Rachel also was recognized for being a great band student this quarter. It's been nice to have these two just do their work without me having to check on them or supervise much at all.

Ryan turned 9! Well, not yet. But he does this coming week while we'll be in San Diego for Spring Break, so we celebrated with the family on Friday. 

He got some stuff to fix up his bike, a hydration backpack, some books and a STEM kit. 

He wanted a coconut cake that Grandpa always gets, so we didn't decorate it fancy like we normally do for birthdays. Just a store bought (tasty) cake.

Grandma hosted a sleepover to top off the party. They watched a movie, slept over, then had pancakes and bacon and watched more TV Saturday morning. Fun was had by all.

Saturday I was able to get vaccinated! With Peyton and McKenzie on Spring Break last week, I signed up for a volunteer shift at Casa Alitas for the first time since last March. Looking at my emails from them I saw they were hosting a vaccine clinic for their volunteers, so I got in just in time. Todd and Savannah also became Casa Alitas volunteers and were able to get vaccinated, too. 

I woke up in the night with body aches all over and had a hard time getting back to sleep. Tylenol has helped, but I've felt pretty sore all day. But a day of side effects from the vaccine is totally worth it to be vaccinated and one step closer to getting back to normal. 

Rachel continues her drawings. I believe this is Peter the Panda...