Southern California

It took us over 9 years but we finally made it back to Southern California for a quick visit. I wish we would have done it many years ago, but better late than never! We always planned on taking the boys to Disneyland, but with family reunions, school, and busy work schedules it just hadn't happened....yet. My mom called and offered to watch the boys so how could we resist a trip for the two of us? Luckily our great friends Darcy and Curtis are still the area which made it extra fun.
Since it was a nostalgic trip for us we headed straight for Manhattan Beach for a walk down memory lane. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect, especially considering it was the beginning of April! I have so many memories of walks and bike rides on "The Strand". We used to ride our bikes from Redondo Beach to Santa Monica, (about 20 miles) have lunch and ride back. I love how each beach is so different with it's own personality. Manhattan Beach and Hermosa are definitely my favorite though and they did not disappoint!

After that we headed off to Malibu for some hiking with Darcy and Curtis and Gavin. It was gorgeous and was so fun to do with our friends. Back in the California days we had no money, no kids, no house and yard to keep up, and no pager.....so we actually did things. Mostly hiking, biking and beach stuff. Darcy and Curtis were often with us, so it was fun to explore the Malibu hills together.

Darcy and me-so much fun to be together again!

Later in the week we rented a car and made a few more stops. In and out Burger, Redondo Beach and Palos Verdes for a hike. Can you believe we used to walk from our house to this hiking trail? Why would we ever want to leave? You could even smell the flowers in the air. Breathtakingly beautiful! On a clear day you can see Catalina Island from here. More on Catalina to come.

Catalina Island

I have wanted to go to Catalina Island ever since we moved to Palos Verdes. I knew a little about it from a friend who grew up going there as a kid, and it always sounded like such a charming place where everyone rides bikes and golf carts to get around the Island. When we lived in Palos Verdes I walked (and hiked) a lot. I was captivated with Catalina Island which could be seen only on clear days. It was beautiful, and my dream to go there. Funny that we lived there for 2 years and never made it there, mainly because of the money. We were frugal and trying to get through school with as little debt as possible so we skipped anything considered "extra." So when my mom offered to watch the kids so we could go somewhere fun, I immediatetly thought of Catalina Island. We took the Catalina Express from Long Beach which was fun since that was another fun hang out for us.

It was so charming and picture perfect as we pulled into the bay.

Everyone there rides golf carts so we had to take one out for a spin. We quickly learned that a golf cart doesn't get you very far on the island since most of the areas restricted from the rentals. It was a fun thing to do for a couple hours.

The highlight of the trip was the zip line tour. I thought it would be a fun splurge for us, and I knew Dave would love it, but I was a bit nervous myself. Let me just say it was AMAZING!! One of the funnest things we've ever done! There were 5 different zip lines we got to do, the views were fantastic, and our guides were so much fun.

Ready to Zip!

I wish I had taken more pictures of the town. It was small,charming, and very slow paced. We stayed in a great bed and breakfast with a sun porch where we could read(me) and nap(Dave) in the afternoon. Other than breakfast we ate all our meals outside in the fresh air with beautiful views surrounding us. It was April, so a little too early to do summertime activities, but the weather was perfect and we loved every minute of it. It was the perfect place to celebrate our 13th anniversary (a month early).

Sunset on the beach. Beautiful. I want to go back!

Good time with cousins

One of our favorite things to do in Idaho is go to Steadman's.

The boys had a blast with thier cousins. Usually Dawson prefers to
watch, but this year he was all about the slides.
In fact he's still talking about the waterslide in Idaho!

Even Ernie loves the slides!

Grandpa and Great Grandma just relaxing.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a great time!!

What we've been up to...

Since it's been practically a year since I blogged, I thought I'd share a few highlights of the year so far. Hopefully I can follow up with more details later!

Dawson turned 4 years old in January! According to him it was "the best birthday party ever!"

We all went skiing as a family. Even me! We all rode the lift together and made it down in one piece! Definitely a proud moment for Daddy to have his boys skiing together!

Dave went to Haiti twice this year with "Health For Haiti," a fantastic group of physicians and volunteers.

Dallin performed in his first play, "a barnyard Moosical".

Dave and I did the incline for the first time.

The boys ride bikes with their neighborhood buddies every chance they get.

Dave and I traveled to Catalina Island to celebrate our 13th anniversary.

My wonderful mother came out and made great memories with the boys while we were away.

The Unexpected Birthday Surprise

Saturday was going to be "the best day of my life" according to Dallin. He was so excited about his birthday party he could hardley stand it. He even decorated his own Lego cake and was so proud of it. He was so anxious to play with all his friends and to do the zip line (because the birthday boy gets to go twice). All his friends arrived and he was having so much fun.....for the first 10 minutes at least.
That's when I realized he had injured his arm in the inflatable obstacle course. He's a pretty tough kid, but he just could't stop crying. I knew it was bad when he told me he "wished he never had a 7th birthday" and he just wanted to go home.

Luckily, dad was able to play the superhero and run down to the office and bring Dallin a splint. The support of the splint helped him at least enjoy the end of the party with his friends. He was so sweet to say it was the "best party ever" and "the best part was spending time with my friends."

He did so well with the splint that we decided that we could wait until monday to take him to the doctor for an x-ray. He rarely complained about the pain, but he was very guarded, expecially when the brace was off.

So it turns out he fractured his arm! He was all smiles when he found out he was getting a cast! He called it another birthday present. He chose a waterproof, camoflouge and glow in the dark cast and it is really cool! Casts have sure come a long way since I was a kid!

It was not quite the way I had planned his birthday party to go, but I'm so happy he was able to have a good time, despite the broken arm. I sure do love this kid!

Here's the cake he was so proud of, but just didn't feel like eating.

Opening presents seemed to cheer him up a bit.

Just happy to be spending time with his friends.

Ironman

May 1st was a big day for Dave this year. Last year on May 1st he called me from work and said that Ironman St. George had just opened. The date of the race: May 1st 2010- a whole year away. It can be crazy how quickly some of these big races fill up, so for some crazy reason I did it, I signed him up despite my fears of him doing something this big. Little did we know that very soon things would get even busier for Dave making it impossible to train. It was his buddy Rob, who finally convinced Dave to follow through, without feeling the pressure of turning out a good finishing time. Soooo.... around March 1st Dave officially began his training. He faithfully headed to the gym at 5am every weekday morning and worked out for 2 hours. He spent longer at the gym on the Saturdays he was in town, ran when he was out of town, and rested on Sundays. His only goal: to finish.

For those of you who aren't familiar with what an Ironman is I'll lay it out. 2.4 mile swim in a reservoir, 112 mile bike ride followed by a 26.2 mile run. This was the first year for the St. George Ironman and they are now saying it is one of the toughest courses in the US. The bike and run were all on very steep grades. Dave said he saw guys walking their bikes up the hills. Luckily in the past he has done rides with a lot of vertical incline, which is what carried him through, despite never riding outside this year before the race.

I'm happy to say that HE DID IT! Dave is an IRONMAN! He finished in 16:32, (at 11:30pm) just a half hour shy of the cut off and he loved it! It was very inspiring just to be a part of it. It was especially great to have both of our parents there to cheer him on throughout the day. Dave's parents, the kids and I, and Rob were all able to be at the finish line which was awesome!

Congratulations Dave! We love you!!!

More on the rest of our trip later.

Happy Birthday Dave

34 things

Happy Birthday Dave! I am the luckiest girl to have you in my life. In honor of your 34th birthday, here are 34 things I love about you:

1. You are humble, even too humble sometimes.


2. You like to "tornado" the house, and can do in an hour what it would take me all day to do.

3. When you set your mind to something you don't contemplate it forever, you just do it!



4. You have an excellent work ethic. You take pride in your work and you work just as hard for your employer as if it were your own company. You turn around projects for patients in record time and often after hours. Not because you have to, but because you know it would be nicer for them to have their product sooner.



5. You love your family more than anything.

6. You can't go to bed without peeking at your boys while they are sleeping.

7. You build me beautiful furniture. You don't even need a plan, just a picture and you're good to go.


8. You love me and think I'm beautiful even when I can't see it myself.


9. You try to get the most out of life.

10. You are kind to everyone.

11. You don't mind having burritos for dinner.....again.

12. You like looking at model homes or furniture stores with me.

13. I trust you completely.


14. You are like a kid when you get to go dirt biking with your motorcycle gang.


15. You help me with the dishes.


16. I never get tired of being around you.


17. You always want to do the right thing.


18. You love my family and they love you back.

19. You set big goals for yourself.


20. You are an Ironman.

21. I can talk to you about anything.

22. You were my first true love.

23. You iron your own clothes.

25. You bring me flowers.


26. You don't watch much tv.


27. You are grateful.


28. You want your boys to have opportunities.


29. When we met, you wanted to be a ski bum. You are no bum, but now you are skiing with our boys.


30. You work extremely hard, but I always know that your heart is at home with your family.


31. You made your own motorcycle chest protector and used it for 6 years until Irealized what the other guys were wearing and got you a "real" one.

32. You don't complain. I may complain about stuff you are dealing with, but you don't.

33. You are easy to like and easy to love.

34. You are my best friend.


I love you! Happy Birthday!

The thing about boys...

Dallin came home from school today really wanting to do a science experiment. I brushed him off a little since we did made homemade ice cream from his science book yesterday, and because I'm having company tomorrow and had just cleaned the kitchen floor. He was a little bummed and he basically told me that I always say, "we'll do it tomorrow" or "I don't really want a mess in the house" etc. What can I say, he is right. The thing about having boys (at least my boys) is that they would do science experiments or crafts everyday If I let them..... which I would love to, but reality is that once I have everything all out and ready to go they will sit at the table and participte for about 5 minutes or less and then they are on to the next thing and I'm stuck cleaning up for the next 20 minutes. Today we made musical instruments and literally I had time to grab my camera and take about 3 pictures and they were done and moving on! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE doing this kind of stuff with my boys, It would just be great if they could enjoy the moment a tiny bit longer! Is that too much to ask?