Discover

We are home from another fun-filled road trip. We visited the beautiful city of San Diego for the Comicon convention. Bobby had to work on Saturday, while the kids and I enjoyed the hotel room. Honestly, after four hours of being in the room with three kids that did not want to be in the room, I was ready to get out. Thank you Becky for making the trip out to spend time with us. You see I was a little afraid to take my three kids out by myself, in a city that I don't really know. We wanted to take them to the park. OK, we got lost, a few times but we did make it there eventually. I guess I should mention that even though there was a navigation system in the car, I don't know how to use it, pathetic I know. But this is why I don't go out with the three kids by myself. The kids got a chance to run around, swing, climb and let some of their energy out. We met up with Bobby for some lunch and then thought it would be fun to take the kids to the beach. But we never ended up at the beach. We took a few wrong turns and then saw a sign for the Cabrillo National Park and decided to go there. What a beautiful view of the city and the ocean. Lots of cool exhibits about California and the kids became Junior Rangers, complete with badges and certificates. We missed the tide pools and the lighthouse but we defintely want to come back. It was a cool unexpected discovery.

By the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted. Sunday Bobby took the boys to Comicon. They had a panel on animated voice over, where the kids got to see, and hear, the voice of SpongeBob and some of their other favorite cartoons. They also saw a teaser for the new BEN 10 movies, and they took pictures with different lego statues and Star Wars figures. Of course the most anticipated moment was purchasing the new Bionicle toys, not out in stores yet. They could not wait to get to Melissa and Derek's to play with them. I took Sofia to Fashion Valley. She was OK in the stroller for about half an hour and then she wanted to run. So I didn't get as much shopping done as I would have liked. Bobby, did you put her up to that? She finally took a nap and I hit the Nordstrom's sale, HAPPY ME. We met up with Melissa and Derek and went to this new Sushi place by their house. Yumminess!! The food was delicious. Love when you get to discover a new place, and even more exciting when it is sushi.

Monday we visited the Wild Animal Park with Becky and Derek. We missed you Melissa!! It was hot and there was a lot of walking but the kids had so much fun. Love this place. You feel like the animals have so much room to roam and live. And the efforts that are being made for the survival of some of these animals is worth the price of admission (even though we got in with free passes). The only negative thing was when Sofia twisted her wrist trying to get away from Daddy. She cried and said "it hurts." Bobby took her to First Aid where Ryan gently wrapped it with an ace bandage and some ice. Sofia was in love and she felt better. No swelling or bruising today so we may be able to skip a doctor's visit.

Home today to wash and repack for our trip to the Dakes place in Kernville for the rest of the week. Should be fun, again.

Guess Who

decided to jump in the water with all their clothes on, on the last day of Summer School?


Nope not Andrew.


She saw the pools and went for it. At this school they encourage wreckless behavior like this . . .she'll fit right in. She had to ride home in just a diaper because I didn't have a spare with me . . .last time that happens.

Oh and she is loving going on the potty. She is doing so much better than the boys in that department. They were 4 years old by the time they got that down. But now she wants everyone to go on the potty. Moms, grandmas, chewbacca, baby shrek, dinosaurs. Yes, you can find me at any given time taking her toys to the potty, and then washing their hands. I love having kids.

And guess what her new favorite word is? uh-hmm, let's just say she knows the correct term for her privates . . . and she uses it . . .all the time . . .at home . . .at the grocery store . . .at swim class. She has even used it as the lyrics to the Star Wars theme song.

Have a good weekend.

Time

We are having such a quiet week around here. Andrew's last day of summer school is tomorrow. He will be the snack boy. I wanted to do snack on the last day of school, but I didn't think about the fact that I would lose a day to get some things done. Jordan has been such a great help for me with Sofia that I have been able to go to the grocery store or target with both. Once I have Andrew home, things will change. He hates going shopping and he's the one I have to chase around and say "don't touch that", "get out of there", "stay with me." Fortunately, I have picked up most of the school supplies at this point. I wasn't ready to think about school this soon but a lot of kids go back in August so supplies are one sale now!

This past weekend Bobby and I had a chance to enjoy some alone time. Sue picked the kids up on Saturday afternoon for a sleepover at "Camp Grandma's." Bobby planned a long over due date. We headed to Pasadena to try something different. Our first stop, dots bakery, a cupcake place that i have been hearing alot about. Unfortunately, we arrived an hour before they closed and they only had 3 cupcakes left. So we grabbed the pina colada and apple pie cupcakes. Then he took me to Madeline's, an amazing restaurant in South Pas. Onion and Olive tart, cucumber and crab salad, halibut, escolar, curry, couscous, need I say more? And even though we had cupcakes waiting for us in the car, we couldn't resist the chocolate ice cream flight. Four samples of locally made ice cream with imported chocolate from around the world. Outrageous. And the final phase was going to see the new Harry Potter movie. Not sure how I felt about it. I liked it, but don't really know that much about the characters and story so i was lost most of the time.

Sunday was clean up day. Got the kids room organized and cleared out for a new bookcase.

Here's the before and after


It looks great now, everything in its place. So much easier to do it while the kids are gone. We picked them up in the afternoon at Gigi and Great Grandpa's house. So glad to see that Gigi is doing well. She looks great and had fun with the kids around.

Getting ready for a few road trips. Friday night we leave for San Diego. Bobby "has" to attend Comicon, a comic book convention. The whole family will tag along and stay at the hotel while he goes on Saturday. Sunday he will take the boys. Sofia and I will head over to the convenietly located mall down the street for some girl time. We will stay with Melissa and Derek and Monday we will go to the Wild Animal Park. FUN.

We will be home for one day and then we go to Kernville with Grandma Sue and Aunt Becky. Just a few days of relaxing and hanging out. Bobby will join us for the weekend. I feel like we've been out of town so much. Kind of fun, but tiring at the same time.

That's about it for now. Wish i had more exciting news.

Perseverance

We are still riding the roller coaster but now it is going in a positive direction. Monday Jordan woke up crying and telling us that he did not want to go to swim. It took us an hour to get him to calm down and stop fighting us. I was ready to give up, but Bobby helped me to be strong. He's gonna love it, we just kept saying. This is about getting through this with strength and perseverance. And we did.

He was hesistant to go, but he got dressed. He was upset when it was time to go, but he got in the car. He was fearful of getting in the water, but he did. He swam for one hour, back and forth, doing drills, listening to the coach's instructions. Everybody passed him in the water but you could tell he was trying. He needs to work on keeping his legs straight to gain speed. When he got out of the pool and started walking toward me I was not sure what he would say. The last few times he has said, "I don't want to do it anymore." So I held my breath. He came to me and said, "I love it." Wow. It was what I wanted to hear but I was not sure he meant it.

So this morning I was hesitant again. He moaned and complained a bit, but less then before. He was nervous getting into the pool, and crying a bit but he made it through another day. And the best thing, the coach told him he was doing a good job! Jordan was so proud of himself. And I was proud of him too. And thankful to the coach for seeing that that is what Jordan needed, some positive reinforcement.

I hope he learns to give new experiences a try. And that it may take a while before you can make a decision. Don't let fear guide you. And believe that you can, because we believe that he can do anything. I have gained strength from this, too. Just keep going, keep believing and not to let fear take control, see where he gets it from? We have to pick our battles with him, sometimes it really is just not worth it. So he refuses to ride Buzz Lightyear at Disneyland for a year. And now that he has, he's just not that crazy about it. We have to know when to push and when to just let it be.

We really think that this battle was worth the fight. He now has an activity that is his own. He will learn to set goals and by hard work, to achieve them. He will learn what it means to be on a team and cheer each other on. And maybe in September he will compete and win some ribbons. Oh wait, one battle at a time.

Everyday Conversations

This is the conversation I have been having with Sofia everyday:

SOFIA: Where Dewek? (Derek)
MOMMY: At home.
S: Where Lissa (Melissa)?
M: At home.
S: Where Mikey?
M: At home.
S: Where Becky?
M: At home.
S: Where Jeff? (emphasis on the "f")
M: At home.
S: Where Kenny? (Kenzie)
M: At home.
S: Where Bob?
M: At home.
S: Where D?
M: At home.
S: Where Tito? (my dad)
M: In New York. (My parents were in New York this past week.)
S: Where Tita? (My mom)
M: In New York.
S: Where Baji? (Gaby)
M: In New York.

She basically takes roll of everyone. The locations change, depending on the time of day. If I don't answer her she just keeps asking. It's funny, sort of. But she does this at least once a day. And when we say our prayers before sleeping she also mentions blessings for everyone. So sweet. Having a quiet weekend. My parents are home from their travels, so we will be swimming at their house later.

Tomorrow Jordan and I will conquer the fear of the swim team. Our church has a swim team and I have been taking Jordan to practices all last week. It has been an emotional roller coaster that ended last week with both of us in tears. We're not sure if it's just a question of Jordan expecting perfection from himself or if it's a wrong match with the coach, not the most approachable person. It also doesn't help that the coach has to yell at the kids to be heard while their heads are under water. Jord is having a really hard time with that one.

To help him we squeezed in a private swim lesson with our wonderful swim teacher that he's been going to for 3 years to boost his confidence. He is a beautiful swimmer. We are just helping him believe it. One of those situations where you question yourself as a parent. Am I pushing him to do something he really does not want to do? Is his fear and hesitation keeping him from doing something that he loves and is really good at? Is he just being stubborn? Am I? What will happen if I continue to push? What will happen if I don't? Is it all worth it?

Bobby and I have talked about this at length. This is a life lesson. It may not be the ideal situation for him but this is life. Sure we can change the environment but, then how does he learn to deal with situations that make him nervous or that don't go his way? I am torn between trying to protect him and his feelings and teaching him how to cope, even though it may cause heartache, both to him and me.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Wish us luck.

Adventure, Part 2

We had a breakthrough tonight - just figured out how to upload and embed a video file. And now, for your viewing pleasure, a media slideshow of our houseboat trip. Enjoy!

Adventure

So now this trip seems like it happened weeks ago. That's because we just got back from Baja California for the weekend. But that will be another post.

We had such a great time on our trip. We water skied, or at least tried to, had a picnic by a creek, swam, floated, jet skied, fished, realxed, soaked up the sun, ate and ate and ate, danced, read, played games, laughed like crazy, cooked, went off the slide, saw deer, ducks, fish, snakes. Overall just had a relaxing, wonderful weekend with our family.

It was a great opportunity to get away from the hectic lifestyle and really focus on what's important; being together as a family and having fun. Jordan spent as much time as he could in the water. He loved going down the water slide, playing games and hanging out with Melissa and Derek. Andrew tried the water slide once and that was enough for him. He would rather get everyone soaked with a super soaker. Sofia hung out here and there, took naps, floated in the water, and was just plain cute. Bobby wanted to water ski as often as possible. He fished, played in the water with the kids and made sure that our boat was level every morning. I read a book for the first time in two years, thanks to all the helpful hands on board that would keep the kids entertained. I jet skied, and went for a ride on the tube. I tried water skiing for the second time and on the second day was able to stand up. That's a huge accomplishment for me.

Dinner every night was awesome: Pizza, hamburgers, carne asada tacos, BBQ chicken, pasta, tri tip, even the left overs were yummy. And then playing games at the end of every day was so much fun. We played cards and board games. The hit was Apples to Apples. I laughed so much listening to everyone argue their point.

On our way back we stopped to see our friends in Sacramento. They opened up their lovely home to our crew for a few days of fun. Jordan and Owen have been best friends since Pre-school and they just got right back into their groove. We went to the movies and bounced on the trampoline in their backyard. They took us to the Country Club for some swimming and margaritas. It was so hard to say goodbye but we were looking forward to getting home.





Since we've been home I have made an effort to watch less tv, and not sit in front of the computer as much. We've tried to be oustide more, well maybe not in this sizzling weather. Just slow down and explore, discover and appreciate more of what is out there.

HOME

Safe and sound. Well at least safe. We had the best time. And what an adventure. So much to share, in word and picture. Getting unpacked today, downloading pictures, filling up the fridge again, getting back into the swing real quick. Andrew has school today. Bobby has a half day. He may take the boys to see TRANSFORMERS this afternoon. I think I'll work on my blog entry then. Glad to be back home.