Going Home Again

When I think about my trip to San Diego, I think of it as a quick trip home. It was actually a week long, but I guess a week is not enough. It never is. I went home to San Diego with Gage and Mallory a few weeks ago and it was such a sweet trip.

Among the many great things was the celebration of my mom's birthday. It was so nice to be there for that and be surrounded by family. I feel like I was there for one of the parties that I always see pictures of, but never get to attend. Another highlight was spending time with my sisters. I love my sisters and wish so much that I lived near them.

Caitlin, Travis, and her little baby Tosh are living with my parents and I got to be with them a lot. Tanya made great efforts to come down a ton and Jennilee came in to town to stay with my parents for three of the days that I was there. I missed seeing my brothers, but that means that I will have to go out again and spend some quality time with them!

On my mom's actual birthday I went with my kids, my mom, Tanya and her children to Disneyland. I am loving that Disney lately and we had a great time. It was Gage and Mallory's first time and they were so excited to be there. Gage loved Space Mountain and was disappointed he was a hair too short for the Indiana Jones ride. Mallory's favorite ride was Dumbo and it was our last ride of the evening. When we got in to the car in the parking lot, we saw the firework show.

We shopped, ate at Rubios and In n Out, spent some time at the beach, and asked Papa Ross to heat up the jacuzzi one night. Gage got the Wii all to himself and Mallory loved that grandma had the Beauty and the Beast DVD. One day while Mallory took a nap, Gage and I walked down to Beef n Bun and had a shake. Grandma Julie met us there and had a Root Beer Freeze. Then, she dropped us off at the 99 cent store where Gage and I did some shopping and then walked back home. It was fun to be with Gage by myself. One on one time is rare. Mallory keeps telling everyone we meet that she went on an airplane and she wants to buy another ticket to see Grandma Betty this time. I wish her luck.

Easter Past and Present

Spring Break Fun

We've stuck around the town for Spring Break since...well, we always have. This one had just the right amount of outings, fun, and sunshine to make it well spent. It didn't get off to a great start, but the week picked up and the kids were happy. That's really all I want...Happy Kids.

Monday- Pajama day (for me at least). I had some jewelry to make so I was busy and ended up going a bit mad. The kids played outside. Oh, and they did get dinner at Five Guys and a book trip to Barnes and Noble. Not all bad, eh?

Tuesday - The movie "How to Train Your Dragon" which was given two thumbs up by all the kids and Chick-fil-A.

Wednesday - Chuck E Cheeses. Need I say more?

Thursday - Bowling - a fun game full of pretzels, icees, and snacks with a stop at 31 Flavors on the way home.

Friday - Outside play and dinner at Chiles. The kids were well behaved and the manager came over and gave us more free kids meals coupons because she said they were great. That's rare, but I'll take it.

Saturday - Campout!

Back Yard Camping

This home has turned in to a Scouting home through and through. Zane is the Scout Master, Trevor is an 11 year old Scout, Boston is in Cub Scouts, and the others just want to do what they are doing. The boys had a camp out in the back yard a few weeks ago. It was complete with a dutch oven meal by Zane that was really good. They made it through the night although Zane thinks that we might need a bigger tent. It was a 3 man and a few of the boys were wedged in the sides of the tent! Mallory and I enjoyed the comforts of my king size bed inside the house that night.

Easter With The Cousins

What a great surprise and treat it was to have Brett's family come from Spain to visit for Easter weekend. They came home to Cincinnati, OH to take care of work business and medical visits, and asked to spend the weekend of Easter down here with us in Kentucky. The kids were so excited and asked every day how many more days until they came. It was great to see the cousins pair off and enjoy each other so much. Gage made sure his sleeping bag was next to Addie's every night. Eli and Boston shared the top bunk and I don't think Mallory left Cohen alone for very long all weekend. Gavin and Trevor enjoyed being the tops dogs of the family.

The Bunny had hidden the baskets for the kids in the night. When they woke up (and it was early) they went out to find them and the Ross kids were surprised they weren't there. The Underwood kids told their cousins that the bunny hides the baskets at this house and once the parents came out the hunt for them was on.  

We ran out of time to decorate the hard boiled eggs and the kids still wanted to have a hunt, so Amy and I hid the undecorated eggs in the front yard and when they found them all they still wanted to find more. So, we went and hid them in the back yard again. Then, in the front one more time. It was so funny to see how excited they were to find the eggs - especially the youngest kids. The next day there were a few smashed hard boiled eggs in the street that I think rolled off of the cars - they were hidden and never found! That night during the egg hunts, Zane made us all dessert - a peach cobbler - in a dutch oven. The Rosses left Monday morning and we were sad to see them leave. A great weekend.