We're BAAaaaaaaAHck!

Well, we're finally home from our marathon Christmas/Wedding/New Year's vacation to Utah/San Diego/Utah. And I think I can honestly say it was a fun/exhausting/exciting/relaxing/frustrating/satisfying trip.

(I don't want to be tied down to one emotion.)

In the past 2.5 weeks, my kids have gotten to see every single Aunt, Uncle, and cousin they have with only one exception--my sister Jenny who lives in Virginia and couldn't make it to the San Diego wedding.

We've also...

Lost one 6-year-old boy's brand-new winter coat,
gained numerous Christmas presents and pounds,
driven over 1500 miles,
flown for two days,
consumed 10,000 unhealthy treats,
cooked 2 delicious meals,
eaten-out about 100 times,
played with exactly 29 different cousins, 8 aunts and 8 uncles,
learned to say "chillax!",
suffered through a few colds,
slipped on much ice and slogged through much snow,
stared longingly at the beautiful, happy, Pacific ocean,
saw old friends,
met new people,
lost sleep,
slept in,
and generally had fun.

Boy, it's good to be home!

See more pictures at Doug's Blog!

Trips Within Trips

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Utah holiday vacation to bring you...(*DRUMROLL*)

FAE & JOHN'S WONDERFUL WEDDING!!!  ***

...and too few hours of blissful, warm, redolent, fabulous, euphoric, happy, (did I say 'beautiful'?) hours of San Diego sunshine and warmth.

And now back to the snow.

***Beautiful photo courtesy of (my genius cousin) Wendy of Blue Lily Photography

Food Update and Max Gets a Stitch

By staying in a hotel and having to eat out twice a day, we've easily managed to knock a few more eating establishments off the "must hit" list: (Yes, many are fast-foodish and/or chains, but we don't do much fine dining these days with the little terrors. Having your toddler run screaming through a nice restaurant tends to ruin the ambiance.)

In-N-Out: Doug got a 3x3 "animal style". I always stick to a plain old hamburger with no tomatoes or onions...and then try to scrape off all the tiny pickle bits from the special sauce with a french fry.

I'm not a big fan of In-N-Out shakes (though they're better than some) so after getting our burgers the other day, I made Doug drive across the street to Jack-in-the-Box for a "real ice cream Berry-licious shake". Ummmmmmmm! Totally worth it!

Last Thursday night Kristen and Wendy came to our hotel for a swimming party and we ordered Claim Jumper for dinner. (Doug picked it up for us and delivered it pool-side.) I ordered my old favorite the "Stuffed Baked Idaho". It's a baked potato with grilled chicken, steamed veggies, and Alfredo sauce. VERY yummy. (Also very easy to make for dinner at home...which I frequently do.) Then of COURSE Wendy, Kristin and I split the I'Declaire. Approximately one pound and one trillion calories of pure dessert heaven!

Over the weekend I got a little break from eating out when I and the boys went north to spend a few days with our awesome dental school friends, Ginger, Lee, Ani and Maggie. (Doug was at his Peds conference Fri, Sat, and Sun.) (There was one meal from Del Taco. )

Gin is an awesome cook and Sunday night made her delicious and famous Chicken Curry! For dessert, Devil's Food Cake with cream cheese frosting and ice cream.

Yesterday on the way home from Gin's, I got to stop for a visit with my cousin Wonderful Photographer Wendy. She graciously took us to lunch at another old favorite--Souplantation: all-you-can-eat buffet bliss for young and old alike! Doug was doing an office visit so had to settle for El Pollo Loco for his lunch.

Then it was back to Carlsbad for the last 2 days of our trip. We checked back in to the same hotel and went straight to the pool. Five minutes later, Doug was leaving the pool to take Max to urgent care. Max bonked his chin on the hot tub railing and split it open. We didn't know anything had happened until I saw blood dripping down his face and looked for the source.
Although I told Doug just to fix the wound with super glue but he refused and took him to a "real" Doctor who gave him one stitch. (He was frustrated that he didn't have the supplies to do it himself.) Max was very very brave and didn't cry until the Doctor told him he could not go back in the pool for one week. To comfort him, Doug bought him some Tofuti Cuties (non-dairy ice cream sandwiches) and some water proof band aids. And then let him get back in the pool.

On his way home, he surprised me with Pick-up Stix. Love those Cream Cheese Wanton's and Original Chicken. For dessert, we had some yummy chocolate mousse cake and a little of this:
My sister-in-law Laura just happened to be in town camping at the beach with her friend Hilary. And where Mrs. Dub goes, Miss Dub goes. Namely, Eden. The neice we had not previously met. I'd like to say she and Gabe did some serious bonding, but she was a little aloof what with him drooling all over the place and not being able to crawl.

That brings us up to right now. We will soon be on our way to my very favorite eating establishment of all time. Pipes. A little all-breakfast cafe that caters to surfers located a block from the beach in Cardiff. They have the BEST French Toast, fresh squeezed OJ, breakfast potatoes, Mexican Hot Chocolate, and omelets around. We visit every time we're here. I can't wait! HOORAY FOR FOOD!

P.S. We're now home! Pipes was great. All three boys did awesome on the flight. SWA is fabulous. It's sorta good to be home.

I miss California already!!!

We're Home!

Turns out I'm a little bit of a wuss.

Yes, I know that I frequently proclaim to my husband that I'm "hard-core" but it's all talk. He and I both know I'm not the most athletic jock in the strap box. (I don't even know what that means.)

So it was with much trepidation I embarked upon one of our first Maine adventures.

After staying the first night in a hotel, we drove further North to Acadia National Park to a nice "Family Campground" (translate: has flushing toilets, a swimming pool, and grass.) After setting up camp, we drove into Bar Harbor (or Baa HaaBaa as the locals say) to rent....*drumroll*...
mountain bikes!

Now, it seems--in retrospect--that 74-89% of my college dates somehow involved out-doorsey stuff. Of course, some guys were more prone to dragging me up mountain sides than others, but hiking, biking, rock climbing, and even skiing dates seem to be popular favorites in Utah Valley.

In fact, I met my darling husband at The Rock Garden (an indoor climbing gym) in Provo while there with...another guy. (But that's a whole other story.)

This might lead you to believe I am, as previously proclaimed, hard core. Not so. (In fact, it may speak more to my acting abilities that I was able to disguise my out-of-shapeness and act like I was enjoying myself while hyperventilating my way up to "the Y"...) Although I do really really love rock climbing, and although I have experience doing lots of different athletic things, I'm not even remotely athletic or in shape as a rule. So I was scared to get on a mountain bike after probably 8 years of sluggishness.
(Sam's facial expression perfectly illustrates my feelings.)
But I supported the activity. Nay, even ENCOURAGED it. (I'm trying to shift my paradigm from "future mother of girls" to "current mother of boys".) Because THIS is what families with three boys DO. They go BIKING!
(This is how we started out but Doug and I had to trade 'cause that trailer was darn heavy!)
Despite my misgivings though, it ended up being really fun. Yes, it took us a long time to do a wimpy 3-mile loop, and yes I was totally worried I was going to eat it and dump Max into the gravel, but I SURVIVED. (and got sore in all sorts of crazy spots!)

( See! The above picture was taken post trip and I'm still standing upright with only minor support!)

I guess I'm a little hard-core after all!