San Diego - Day 5

On Wednesday we headed north to Legoland. This was what Ethan was looking forward to the most - a whole theme park created out of and built around legos! It is created specifically for kids ages 2-12, and it was totally up the boys' alley. They were enthralled.

But before we left the condo, we discovered that a crayon had gotten into the dryer with the clothes somehow. An hour later, after lots of scrubbing, we had salvaged most of the clothes. But so much for getting on the road early!

We promised the boys that we'd stay until closing time, 8 pm. :)

Ethan says, in all seriousness, before we leave, "Mom, I'm going to go honk the bike horn so that God can hear me. Do you think He can hear me all the way back in Topeka?"






Dad and son, made out of Legos





When we got there, we noticed that Volvo parking was on the front row, right next to the gate. Too bad we didn't have our Volvo! Apparently the same people own Volvo and Lego, which is pretty fun.... and right inside the gate was this life-size Volvo SUV made out of legos!













The Skyride was rather scary!





This was our view!




Si looked confused....




















Favorite rides:
Simon - the Royal Joust in Castle Hill - a horse ride along a track. He wanted to ride this one over and over, probably because he got to ride it by himself. Simon is lucky that he is tall...36" was the height requirement, and he just made it.

Ethan - the Dragon in Castle Hill









Towards the end of our day we visited Miniland, an area of the park where famous United States landmarks are created out of Legos. It was pretty awesome, especially the New York City skyline.















At the end of the day the boys spotted this place where you could build your own Lego race car and give it a test drive. They were all about this! It was like this place was designed with Ethan and Simon in mind!












Crazy stuff I've overheard Dave say today:
Don't grunt at me with that tone! (we laughed so hard over this one)

You can't have your apples until you eat all your fries, young man.

No more chanting, boys, and I mean it. (the repetitive chanting has got to stop! If I hear "Si-MON, Si-MON, Si-MON" chanted one more time, I am going to blow my lid...)


We loved Legoland!!!!!

San Diego - Day 4

On Tuesday we took a little drive, crossed the Coronado Bridge and had lunch at a cute cafe on Coronado Island. We are trying to find local places to eat, even though there are plenty of fast food places around. The wait is a little longer (patience, boys, patience!), but the food is so worth it! And I don't know, but there is just something about having a leisurely lunch at an outdoor cafe that makes you feel like you're really vacationing!






The beach at Coronado Island ended up being our favorite of any that we've visited while we've been here. The sand was so soft and there wasn't any seaweed. It looked and felt like a tropical island.

And this time I did actually get in the water. For a few minutes, anyway.






My sandy boys....they were constantly rolling around in it. They can't help themselves - they love to wrestle!











Building sand castles together.










Crazy Ethan.









Si had plenty of room to run here!










Oh! There's my gorgeous hunk of a husband!






And his mini-me, fast asleep.





Simon has been the best sport about naps. At home, he still takes one after lunch every day, but we have been out and about and nowhere near the condo at nap time. Whenever he is tired though, he comes over to snuggle and I have him lay down. And within seconds, he is asleep. Isn't he precious?

Pray for Baby Evelyn

Our dear friends Grace and Brandon's 9 day old little girl Evelyn was admitted to the hospital yesterday. Please pray for them! She was not eating well, and they were having a hard time arousing her. She is in the ICU on a ventilator now.

They don't know much at this point, but our Father in heaven surely does. I was reminded of this tonight, as I was cooling down from a run on the boardwalk next to the beach. I sat down to stretch, and this David Crowder song started playing on my iPod - I think it's called The Glory of it All.

Anyway, the first verse says,

At the start, He was there.
In the end, He'll be there.
And after all our hands have wrought, He forgives.

It brings such quiet assurance to my soul tonight to know for certain that my God has always existed and will continue to be God, despite whatever waves crash over us. Nothing gets past Him, and He is in the business of working in our lives for His glory. Each and every one of us. Even sweet, little Evelyn, who I haven't even gotten to meet yet.

As I sat there on the beach, I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes as David Crowder sang the chorus:

Oh the Glory of it all is
He came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

He cared enough about us to come and redeem us, enough to send His precious Son to die for us. And so I know He cares when we pray for His help in this situation too. For healing. For wisdom on the part of doctors. For strength and peace for Grace and Brandon and their families. For His glory.

The sea was gorgeous tonight, dark and powerful. I love sitting outside and just watching the waves crash against the sand, and I have to admit, I stayed out there for awhile. Just talking to the Lord about all of this. Dave told me that he almost came out looking for me. He knows how long my runs usually take. :)

The next verse of the song, while simple, really spoke to my heart.

All is lost, find Him there,
After night, dawn is there,
After all falls apart
He repairs He repairs

He redeems us. And He repairs us. No matter what our need, He is there. I am so thankful for the truth of that!

Please pray for Evelyn, and ask the Lord to meet her need. And lift the rest of the family up too. These are hard days.

Grace's sister Christina is posting updates here.

San Diego - Day 3

On Monday morning we headed to Sea World, which is just minutes from where we're staying. Our tentative plan at this point is to do the beach every other day, and see the sights on the other days. We definitely didn't want to miss Sea World, and I'm so glad we decided to go. It was a simply amazing place and so much fun for all of us!

We spent the first few minutes at the Sesame Street Bay of Play where all the kiddie rides were.





Then it was on to a Shamu show.







They had several areas where you could touch and pet sea life. The sting rays were our favorites, but I didn't get any pictures of that.





The Sea Lion show was our favorite. The boys were laughing out loud - it was hysterical!






Penguin Encounter!




Journey to Atlantis - a pretty decent roller coaster. Ethan decided he wanted to go, and Dave convinced me to go with him. He assured me that he didn't need to go to the bathroom when we got in line, but like 1o minutes later, he was having trouble. :) He had to hold it for almost an hour.

At this point, E had no idea what he was getting himself into.




He told me later that he was sure that the ride had broken and we were falling and going to die! Isn't that awful???




All wet! (But notice he's smiling. All is well. :)




Things to remember about Sea World, San Diego:

• Ethan loved the Wild Artic ride - he was pretty convinced that he actually traveled to Antarctica and back, what with the real, live polar bears and all.
• It was Dave's 30th birthday that day, and Ethan kept asking when we were going to make him a cake. :)
  
• We rented a stroller when we got there, which turned out to be a good thing. Simon took an hour long nap in it mid-afternoon while Dave and Ethan rode the bigger rides.
• Favorite drink - frosted lemonade - yum!
• Favorite snack - the ones we brought in our backpack. Seriously, do they have to charge $4 for everything???
  
• The lines for the rides are so much shorter by 4 pm. We got 2 day passes online for cheaper than at the entrance, so we may go back again later this week.

San Diego - Day 2

On Sunday we drove to Mission Beach which is just a few minutes away from where we're staying. It is just a gorgeous area, lots of palm trees, grassy areas, and playgrounds right by the beach. From the beach you can see Belmont Park, with all kinds of shops, places to eat, and a huge roller coaster right on the water. The sand here was littered with shells. And since it is in the bay, there weren't any waves, which was a nice change.













We came back to the condo for lunch and then headed out again to the very touristy Seaport Village, where we rode the carousel, ate some icecream and looked at all the boats on the water.









The weather here has been perfect - the sun feels very warm but with a nice cool breeze. I could seriously live here!

Things to remember about Sunday:

• The boys looking for shells with their dad reminded me of our trip to California when I was nine or so. One of my best memories of growing up. My dad got out there in the water with us kids, and I remember being amazed (dad didn't do water much) and thrilled about it. All my best memories of my dad are from vacations we took, and I'm loving that we are able to take a family vacation with our boys too. Just for the memories and the time the kids get to spend with their dad.

We're there!

I cannot believe we are finally here. San Diego is everything we had hoped - and more! The weather has been gorgeous, and the neighborhood where we are staying has such a fun atmosphere. 6 houses from the beach! Is this the life or what?!

We flew in yesterday around noon (California time) and after finding our condo, headed straight for the beach. The boys brought along buckets of sand toys that they found in the garage here, and they played for hours building sand castles and running in the waves. Dave got in a little body boarding too!

Me? I was reading a book on my towel - happy as a clam. The water was a little cool for me. Actually, it's probably just that the temp here is cooler than I'm used to - low 80's with a breeze, which feels incredible when you're not wet.

In the evening we drove around looking for somewhere to eat dinner along the waterfront.



Look what we found!




Apparently there are tons of Jayhawk fans in San Diego too! We knew we liked this town! (And of course we had to eat there :).








Tonight I went for a run on the beach at sunset. I could not believe how much I enjoyed it (I rarely enjoy my runs these days - and am always trying to think of a way out of them! Then I try on my jeans. That always does it). It was considerably easier with the salty mist of the sea blowing across my face and the wet sand to cushion my stride. I think I'm going to have to move here!

Surprise! (yeah, right)

We had a *surprise* 30th birthday party for Dave and Doug this weekend. Reagan posted about it here.

Can coupons be fun again?

My grocery budget has been so tight recently. I'm definitely noticing the higher prices, even though I am still a devoted *coupon lady.* :) Tonight while I was shopping, after staring at my coupon binder for a few minutes, the guy behind the meat counter asked me if I was a CPA. Ha!

But even a stay-at-home mom like me knows that coupons DO pay off, and every little bit counts, right?

I started couponing about 2 years ago and have been pretty consistent with it. But with the higher prices recently, it hasn't been nearly as fun. Know what I mean? When I use coupons and STILL come in over budget, it's pretty disheartening. Week. After week. After week. I'm sure I'm not the only one, but still.

And we don't have THAT low of a budget. I am not a $40/week Money Saving Mom, or anything! We like to eat way too much, I guess. :)

So after weeks of going over what I intended to spend, tonight I prayed that I could find some good deals and get back into the groove of this. Rediscover the *joy* of couponing, if you will. :) And it was a good night! The Lord provided exactly what we needed - and under budget even!

Just thought I'd share...


CVS - 1st transaction
1 Alavert $5.99 - $4.00 coupon ($3 ECB)
2 Red Zone trial size body washes in clearance section marked down to $.75 each - $1 and $.75 off coupons that did not specify a size (there are tons of these, girls!)
1 Tide Simple Pleasures marked down to $4.97 - $1.00 coupon

Used $2 off $10 purchase.
Paid $3 in ECB and $1.27 oop. Got back $3 in ECB!



CVS - 2nd transaction (Candy deal)
2 bags of Gold Emblem candy 2/$3 - $1.00 Gold Emblem CRT that I got tonight
1 bag of Dove chocolates $3.00 - $1.50 off coupon
2 bags of M&M's $2.00 each - $.75 coupon

Used $2 off $10 purchase.
Paid with a $4.00 ECB and $.97 oop. Got back $5.00 in ECB!



CVS - 3rd transaction
2 Lamisilk foot lotions $9.99 each. Used a B1G1 free coupon and a $4.00 coupon. ($10 ECB)
1 CVS ibuprofen $3.29 - FREE CVS ibuprofen CRT

Used $2 off $10 purchase.
Paid with $4.50 in ECBs. Got back $10 in ECBs!



So all in all, after shopping at CVS tonight, I got several things I needed (laundry soap, body wash), some fun candy for our trip, and made a little over $4.00 doing it! Yay!


Granted, CVS and Walgreens have been good to me pretty consistently for a couple years now. We rarely, if ever, have to spend much more than pennies on household items. But where I've really noticed a difference is at the grocery store.




Feeding a family of 4, healthy or not, costs a ton! And when half my cart is filled with fresh produce, I know the bill isn't going to be pretty. But Hy-vee and Dillons did have some good sales this week - here's what I saw, in case you're headed out there soon too.

Hy-vee
Red potatoes $.77/lb
Driscoll raspberries 2/$4
Green seedless grapes $1.48/lb
3 lb bag of Clementines $2.99
Romaine lettuce $.99

Dillons - Urish
Lots of half gallons of organic milk marked down to $2.00
Several containers of cherry tomatoes marked down to $.99
Several bottles of Tropicana pure juice marked down to $2.29
Horizon organic cheese sticks marked down to $1.00 (there were still lots of these left too!)
Tyson fresh drumsticks marked down to $1.24 for a package of 6 - I had a $.55 off coupon doubled to $1.00 = $.24
Cottonelle still $.99 for 4 packs - used $.25 and $.50 off coupons to get it FREE or for $.50 each
Pampers Little Swimmers packages on clearance endcap right next to eggs - not marked but they ring up for $3.99. Used $1.50 coupon!!!! Yay, we needed these for our trip! (probably 10 left)


We definitely have all that we need and more, but I still appreciate seeing God provide for our family. The difference may have been that tonight I was watching for it, waiting for Him to provide the deals...I don't know.

All I know is, He is good.

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him."
Lamentations 3:25

Big Boy Bed

Oops, I think I forgot that I had a blog. I love to check everyone else's, but the inspiration has just not been there to spend time recording our daily happenings around here. It's funny how that works.

We've been busy. Lots going on around here this month, and we're getting ready to go on vacation pretty soon. More to come about that!

But for now, the big news around here is that ever since we got home from my mom's a month or so ago, Simon has not slept in his crib once. He will not hear of it! When we got home, we put him down in his crib, and he immediately hurdled the side, opened his door, ran into Ethan's room and snuck into his bunk bed. Dave and I were watching from our room, and it was so hard to keep from laughing! So I guess Simon is officially a big boy! And not only is he sleeping in a big boy bed, he is sleeping on the top bunk! (Yes, there are rails. And he does great with it - it is the arrangement that he and Ethan worked out. Don't ask me!). So they share a room now, and it is so sweet to see.


Ethan complains that he is tired in the mornings because Simon talks to him all night long, but they really only giggle for a few minutes before it gets quiet in there. When we moved Ethan out of his crib, it was so hard to teach him to stay in bed. I mean, HARD! (Those of you who got to watch the process can testify! We weren't sure he would ever learn!). So I have just been amazed at how much easier it is to transition a little one from a crib to a bed when they have a fun, older brother to share a room with.

Now, why can't everything be easier with the second kid? Like, say, sharing and cheerful obedience, for instance?