Priceless

Our week together in Illinois was so great. Lots of togetherness. Lots of laughter. Lots of good food. Chicago has the best places to eat, in my opinion! :) Highlights include. . .

• Watching my boys interact with Will. Someday they will be known by Will as "those cousins who drive, attend high school, and beyond!" But for now, they simply enjoy playing with Will like he's another brother.
• Shopping with Derek, and only Derek!
• Shopping with Mom--actually, I shopped while she took Kaleb and Aaron on the train at the mall and bought them cookies!
• Finding out our van needed transmission work and being blessed with a quick fix.
• Watching Braylen show his great grandma his iPod touch while teaching her how to use it.
• Beautiful weather, open windows, lots of outside play time.
• Learning a new card game called, "Pass the Ace."
• The fire station of course!
• Reconnecting with an old friend over coffee (for 4.5 hours!)
• Scoring 2 dozen FREE donuts at Dunkin Donuts to share with my family.
• Feeling at home in the home I grew up in.

These times are few and far between, but maybe that's what makes them so special. Thank you, Lord, for a priceless week!

To Illinois We Go

Spring break! A week of sleeping in! Grandparents to entertain and spoil our kids! Meeting our nephew for the first time! Can you tell we're having a good week? Aaron had his turn at the fire station with Grampy, just like his brothers have done in years past. His smile could not have been bigger when he climbed in for his fire engine ride.

Ready to roll!

There he goes!

Today we made our traditional trip to our favorite shoe store here. Our boys are hard on their shoes, and were in desperate need of new ones. Tonight during bedtime prayers they all thanked God for their new shoes. Sweet. :) We're playing outside a lot, and it's warm enough for shorts. Ginger's made herself at home too. Last night Braylen built a fire in the fire pit and we cooked hot dogs and brats for supper. Ginger loved licking the grate clean, after it cooled off of course! We roasted marshmallows for dessert and sat outside on the patio enjoying the pretty night. This feels more like summer break!

Just before dinner, my brother and his family arrived! We all spent some quality time in the front yard getting acquainted with our nephew/cousin. So far this week is could not be better.

Aaron and Will :)

Will looks like he's floating on his daddy's hand!

Maybe I will stick with this type of blogging after all. I guess the best thing for me to do is just type what I know! :)

Thinking About Things

I've been home from San Diego for 2 weeks already. As fun as it is for me to keep a record of our lives as a family, I think I want to go in a new direction with this blog. Instead of keeping track of what we do every day, I'd like to pick a topic and weave our family life into it. Somewhere along the way I lost my ability to tell a story, and turned my blog into newsy, informative posts.

Part of this change comes from some things I have going on in my life right now. I feel like I'm balancing a lot of spinning plates, and if I don't keep everything balanced just right, I'll drop them all. Changing the format of my blog will free me up from documenting every little thing we do throughout the week. I hope my posts will be more meaningful and less busy. My goal is to capture our life together with our three sons, and turn it into a story of lessons learned and memories made.

I have no idea how this will work, but I'd like to try. :) For now, here's a great picture of Kaleb to wrap up this post.

Kaleb and his cousins' new puppy. Her name is Caramel.

Dolphins and Whales

Dawn and I decided we've come a long way from our play date days! :)

On our last day in San Diego, Dawn and I went on a whale watching tour. Thank goodness my aunt gave me motion sickness medicine before boarding the boat, because without it I'm sure I would have been sick. She also gave me ginger chewing gum and motion sickness bands to wear around my wrists. Bless her! Lesson learned: if you are ever on a smallish-type boat, traveling 12 miles out into open ocean, do NOT get up and try to walk around. I was fine until I did that.

We chose to sit on the top, open-air deck. It was chilly, but nice!

On our way out to sea, we saw the sights of the harbor. San Diego has the second largest Naval Air Base in the United States, so I took some pictures for my boys. (The largest is in Norfolk, VA, where Kaleb and I went last fall!) Anyway, we saw lots of helicoptors fly over our boat. We also saw some submarines--two in the water, and one in dry dock. I thought that was so cool.

Can you see the submarine barely sticking out of the water?

San Diego Skyline

 Once we left Point Loma behind, we began looking for whales. We looked and looked, but never saw any on our way out to sea. However, we did see lots of dolphins! Some of them even swam right next to the boat, giving me a great view from above. My dolphin pictures aren't that great, because I captured them from videos I took. But in person, it was an amazing sight!

Once we turned around to head back into the harbor, the swells were behind us and I felt much better. We saw a lot of whales from a distance--we were able to spot them from their blows, and the captain turned the boat in their direction. Or course the whales would dive beneath the surface and make it hard for us to see them up close. They resurfaced after 3-5 minutes, and we chased them again. The captain said in previous tours they were able to get much closer to the whales than we did, but I still thought it was a good tour!

Back at the resort, we said our goodbyes to my aunt and uncle. They really made the trip special for me! My core temperature was so low from our afternoon on the ocean it took me all evening to warm up again. Dawn and I opted for a tv night in our room with the heat cranked up! We packed our things and set our alarm for an early flight home in the morning.

This trip really was everything I'd hoped it would be--better even! I am blessed with a loving, sacrificial husband who worked overtime to pay for it. I do not take that for granted! He also took excellent care of our boys and our home while I was away. When I stepped off the plane and walked into the airport, they were there to welcome me back home. I loved all their hugs--I can never have too many hugs. :)

It's good to be home again. Oh, I almost forgot. Next time I'm tempted to complain about the price of gas, I will look at this picture.

On this date it was $3.59 at home.

It feels good to be all caught up from my trip and back in my routine at home. Before we know it we'll be going on yet another trip--this time all 5 of us will go. Well, 6 including Ginger. :) Yipee!!!

Leap Day With Rachel

Wednesday in San Diego belonged to my dear friend Rachel! Some people come into my life and only stay a short time--that's how it is with Rachel. We only had one year together: our freshman year of college, and that was 17 years ago. Yikes! It's been at least 8 years since I've seen her. Funny...it didn't feel that way when we were together this week in San Diego. She is so very, very special to me. :)

Rachel is a busy mom with 4 kids. I didn't care what we did during our day together, just as long as we were together! I feel in love with her kids right away. At our first stop, we visited the pediatrician's office with her sick son. Then we wandered around Target forever while waiting for prescriptions to be filled. We picked up her daughter from school. Lots of ordinary, everyday things that moms do. But for us to have this chance to do these things together is anything but ordinary. I can't even begin to describe how much I loved this day with Rachel. We laughed and laughed and laughed! :)

The view from Rachel's yard. So pretty!

She has fruit trees--orange, lemon, and lime. What a yummy treat to pick the fruit from the tree and eat it! I brought some home to share with my family, and they devoured all of it. Rachel, being the great friend that she is, sent us another box of oranges she picked from her tree. I'm trying to make it last longer than the first batch.

Rachel also has chickens. Too bad the eggs can't be mailed like oranges!

Around 4:00 that afternoon, she took her kids to their grandparents' house and we were on our own! We walked around Old Town for a bit, and met her husband for dinner at Casa Guadalajara. 
I think this restaurant has the bext Mexican food ever.

Part of Old Town

After dinner I invited her back to my resort so we could soak in the hot tub. By then Dawn was done for the evening, so the three of us went to the hot tub together. What a fun night filled with friendships and of course, lots more laughter! :)

Let's do this again Rachel!

Tuesday in San Diego

In my mind, Tuesday in San Diego was reserved for Auntie B--my 92 year old great aunt! I spent all morning with Aunt Beth, sorting through Auntie B's jewelry. With no children of her own, Auntie B became the "West Coast Grandma" to my mom's side of the family. I looked forward to visiting her at lunch. We met up with her at her care facility and went for a nice long stroll around the grounds. This is a huge complex, to put it mildly. It's been 10.5 years since I last saw Auntie B, and she looked the same to me. Since I was almost 9 months pregnant at the time, I hope I didn't look the same to her. :)

We took Auntie B to In-N-Out Burgers, a "must-do" if you're in San Diego. It's like the Chick-Fil-A of the west coast, only burgers instead of chicken! :) Auntie B loves milkshakes, a woman after my own heart. :) She ordered the same meal I did and finished every bite. I hope I can eat like that at 92 years old!

The longer I was with her, the better her memory seemed. By the end of our visit she knew who I was and that I have 3 boys at home. Aunt Beth told me aging isn't for wimps, and she is right. In this place filled with elderly residents, all with varying degrees of independence, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. To live your life and spend your last days in a small room...that has to be beyond hard. We said goodbye and as we backed out of the parking space, I watched her wave to us from he window. I will never forget that.

A dwarf lemon tree in Aunt Beth's yard

I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the sun at Aunt Beth's house. My family back home faced tornado warnings and watches--not so in San Diego that day! We chatted via facetime and I told Braylen to play beautiful music that night at his concert. :)

Tuesday evening we picked Dawn up at the resort and went downtown to the Gaslamp District. Uncle Wally treated us to supper and I had another "must-have" while in San Diego: a fish taco. I must admit, it was very good! We walked around the city (so pretty!) and visited Ghirardelli's for dessert. Seaport Village was empty that night, so I easily found souvenirs for the boys there. At the waterfront, we saw a statue fashioned after the famous kiss picture at the end of WWII. I stood beneath it and took a picture while looking up at the moon. It doesn't show how large the statue is, since I was about as tall as the nurse's ankle! The aircraft carrier (USS Midway) is something the boys would have loved to see. (not the kissing statue!)

Petco Park, where the Padres play baseball.

Our seafood restaurant is right by the convention center. We ate outside!

See the moon?

Another fun day in San Diego! I'm so thankful for my aunt and uncle's hospitality! They took really good care of us. :)

A Family Dinner

Since I was spending the night at my aunt and uncle's house on Monday, it was the perfect time to invite my other aunt and uncle over for dinner. Two of their three boys came along, which was great. I think the last time I saw them was at my wedding--almost 15 years ago. So there we were: my mom's two brothers, their wives, me, and two of my cousins. We held hands while my cousin Daniel said the blessing. The roasted vegetables and tender shredded beef rivaled any restaurant, anywhere! I think my boys would have liked to see the way my uncles passed the dinner rolls from one end of the table to the other. (Uncle Rick made a great throw, and Uncle Wally made a great catch!)

My mom's family is geographically split in half. Her two brothers moved to San Diego upon graduating from college. My mom and her sister remained in Illinois. This means I grew up living a very different life when compared to my California cousins. They are California boys, through and through. I am definitely a Midwestern girl. But as we spent time together Monday night, all I could think about was this--we are family.

Daniel pointed out that I am the oldest grandchild, he is exactly in the middle, and Josh is the youngest. That is something I would normally pick up on, but he beat me to it. :) What a perfect representation of our family! I said my grandma would have liked to see us together, and somebody else said, "Oh, she's seeing it!"

Aunt Beth & Uncle Wally; Uncle Rick & Aunt Jody

Josh--my baby cousin, and Daniel--my middle cousin.
I'm older, but definitely not bigger. :)

A close-up for my mom

That night San Diego experienced a hailstorm, which is not a common occurrence. I like to think I brought it with me, since we get plenty of hailstorms where I'm from. My California family watched with fascination as the hailstones fell, and again, all I could think about was this--we are family!

Sunny San Diego

Oh, how I loved taking this trip with my friend Dawn! I'm so glad she decided to attend this conference in San Diego, and that her husband wasn't able to go with her. (Sorry Bill!) Our first full day in San Diego was a free day for Dawn, so she came along with me for the day. My aunt picked us up from our resort in the morning and we had a great day together.

Our first visit was to La Jolla. I have memories here as a child, so it was fun to be back again. There were lots of sea lions (so noisy!) and lots and lots of cormorants. (very smelly!) My favorite part was, of course, watching the waves crash into the rocks and onto the shore. My uncle swims from the shores to the cove every day in their warm season. I wish I could do that. We walked all around La Jolla, and ended up at Porkyland for lunch. It's a yummy place for Mexican food, even with a name like Porkyland. :)

See all the cormorants?

See the sea lions? I love the blue water.

My Aunt Beth and me. The water came up to our feet while we posed for pictures.

After leaving La Jolla, we went to Balboa Park. There are 17 museums here, a zoo, and lots of gardens. The one museum we splurged on was the Titanic Exhibit. It was really well done, and I saw lots of artifacts that have been recovered from the sunken ship. So cool!!! I thought of my son Kaleb every minute! Photos weren't allowed, and that was strictly enforced. But I took plenty of photos of the rest of the park!

The orchids were in full bloom.

There's this bridge in San Diego that is somewhat iconic. While I didn't get a picture of the bridge, I took a picture while standing on the bridge!

While we were in the Titanic Exhibit, the promised storm arrived. This is SoCal's winter, and really it's the only season with rain. It began raining at 2pm and didn't stop until the next morning. We dropped Dawn off at the resort at 4:30 and continued on to my aunt and uncle's house. What a fun day we had, and the day wasn't over yet! More later!

At Home

Last week I was blessed with a trip to San Diego! What a week! Hopefully I can write about it soon. I just need to keep things in order, so here's what happened around here just before I left. (And while I was gone.) I know, the suspense! :)

Remember Aaron had to give up his dresser for his new cousin-to-be? My sister-in-law has the crib now. I can't wait to see pictures! Aaron went through a brief period of sadness when we took his dresser away. However, that didn't last long. Immediately after the crib dresser was gone, Derek put together the new dresser we bought for Aaron. It took an entire Sunday afternoon. Good thing Derek had so many helpers! :)

Assembling the new dresser...can you spot Derek's 3 helpers?

He likes it! It might seem like an odd place for a dresser, but a nightstand doesn't
provide enough storage. When 2 growing boys share a 10X12 room, this works!

While I prepared to be gone for a week, Ginger decided to stop eating. Wonderful. One more thing to deal with, right? I thought she had a parasite. Diagnosing her myself and taking in a sample to have tested at the vet's office, I sure was glad to save us the cost of an office visit. However, her sample came back clean. No parasites. When she refused her food day after day, and wouldn't even drink water for me, I decided it was time for an office visit after all.

Poor girl, can't you tell she's not feeling well?

We found out Ginger has a perineal fistula. That's a fancy way of saying she has a painful sore in her bottom. Why does she have this? What is it? How do we get rid of it? And most pressing on my mind...how much will this cost us? Turns out it's costing us a whole bunch. (But it could be much, much worse.) She requires a special diet for the rest of her life. She needs to be on medications for at least one month. Oh, and even better. Even if we do everything right, she might have a recurrence of this at any time. It's kind of like Crohn's Disease for dogs, with the fistula being the external evidence of the disease.

We're all giving Ginger lots of extra love and attention.

After switching her dog food and starting her on the medications, Ginger seems to feel much better. She's eating and drinking again. In fact, the prednisone she's taking makes her excessively thirsty and hungry. Next Wednesday she returns to the vet for a check-up. Hopefully we can stop her medications and we'll have our Ginger Girl back to normal. Kaleb noticed she had something wrong "down below" before I even took her to the vet, but I didn't pay attention to what he described to me. Lesson learned. Today after brushing Ginger, Kaleb told me everything looked all better "down there." I believe him! I'm thankful for a good report from Dr. Kaleb. :)

Now, moving on to the next patient. Aaron's latest blood test shows us he's within therapeutic range with his Depakote. He's at 60, and the target is between 50-100. We are still seeing several seizures every day, although it seems like some days are better than others. I'm not sure if this is the best we can hope for, or if there's still a way to eliminate these absence seizures. I feel like I have lots more questions than answers lately.

Derek did an amazing job caring for our boys and home while I was away. One thing I missed out on is the Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts. Kaleb earned his Webelo rank, and Aaron earned his Tiger badge. Both boys received the Sportsmanship trophy from the Pinewood Derby Race, and we are super proud of them!

One more thing I missed is Braylen's band concert. For this event, Daddy taught him how to tie a tie. What a special father-son milestone for them to share. :) Braylen played the bass drum, suspended cymbals, and gong. Good thing Derek took videos for me to watch! Braylen loves following in his daddy's footsteps by becoming a percussion player. Pretty soon we'll be setting up the trap set in our basement...Braylen's dream come true. Oh my!

Handsome 12 year old

They're growing up, aren't they?