Whirlwind Weekend

This weekend Jeff's sister Jen got married in Porterville and Jeff was in the wedding.  Porterville is approx 5 hours from where we live so this trip with the kids took some planning.  Jeff had to be there on Friday so he left solo and then I followed with the kids on Saturday.  I must admit I was nervous to attempt this road trip alone with three kids - 6 years old and younger.  But with a lot of advance planning and some serious good luck the trip went very smoothly. 

I knew the kids would meltdown if I attempted to drive the whole way without at least one long stop.  So I packed a bunch of snacks in individual sandwich bags (to eliminate any possible sharing issues), some juice boxes, empty juice cups with lids, and of course our overnight bags and off we went Saturday morning.  Our first stop was the Stockton Children's Museum.  It was about an hour into the trip and would allow the kids to play in a contained environment.  Plus we have been there once before so I knew what to expect, which was nice. 



The future firemen.




Or maybe future vets.



Or farmers.

Or police officers.

Fun with the fun mirrors.

Joey took this pic for us.

After the museum we drove for about another hour before driving through McDonalds for Happy Meals.  Those empty juice cups with lids came in handy when the Happy Meals came with bottles of chocolate milk.  No way am I passing back a bottle of milk to a two year old.

After another 45 minutes the inevitable "I have to go potty" chorus began.  Since the thought of gas station bathrooms gives me nightmares I opted to stop at Baskin Robbins for ice cream and much nicer bathrooms instead.  The kids loved this idea!

We made it to the hotel just in time to meet up with Jeff, get changed, and load back into the car for the wedding.

Logan is wedding-ready with Pandi Bear in the elevator on the way to the car.

This was the first wedding for the kids and they did great! We sat in the back row in case I needed to make an escape  - but thankfully a quiet iPhone game kept Emmie's attention and the boys were on their best behavior.  Only once did Logan ask, "Is it over yet?" which did get a few chuckles from the next row up.

Patiently waiting for the ceremony to end so he could have cake!

It doesn't get much cuter than this! Daddy and his princess dancing together.

One of the coolest wedding ideas ever - let the kids decorate the dance floor (sidewalk chalk and concrete dance floor).
Logan was so excited to show me the heart he made for me.  LUV!

The very awesome DJ brought out a box of crazy hats for the kids.  Obviously our kids loved them.

This was the hat Logan kept on for the majority of the night.

The wedding was beautiful and thankfully very laid back.  From the unique "farmers market" favors to the family recipes served for dinner it was obvious that a lot of thought went into every detail. I know that we had a great time and for me the best part was when the dancing started.  Joey was so excited to dance with me, we danced for hours!  I will never forget dancing under the twinkly lights with my little man.  My other little man was using glow sticks to bang on a pumpkin like a drum for most of the night.  Emmie was either monopolizing Jeff, dancing with "the princess" who was of course the bride, or making new friends.  There were a couple songs when Jeff and I were able to dance with each other, but mostly I was twirling around Joey for the night.

Always wonderful to see family and to finally meet family we only really "know" through Facebook posts and pics.  All in all a great night and memories that will last a lifetime - what more can you ask for?

On the way back to the hotel from the wedding Joey said, "I'm scared to grow up and be a daddy." Why? "Because I don't know if I can be as good at it as my daddy is."  This will probably be one of those quotes you remember forever.  It was so spontaneous and heartfelt - my kids could not be luckier to have Jeff as their dad.  Of course we told Joey that he will be an awesome dad because Daddy will teach him how to do it. :o)

We got back to the hotel and headed straight to bed.  Me with Joey and Logan in one bed, Jeff with Emmie in the other bed.  I am pretty sure I woke up at least ten times last night sandwiched in between those boys -and their stuffed animals of course.  At least four of those wake ups were to the sound of Emmie rolling out of the bed on to the floor - see tomorrow's post for how I solved that one!

This morning we started off with the hotel continental breakfast...

Then we headed home but first planned a stop at the Fresno Zoo.  We had low expectations for the Fresno Zoo, assumed it would be small and we would be there an hour or two.  Ha were we wrong! That zoo was amazing and we were there for over four hours.

Joey was very excited that this zoo had bears!

One of the coolest zoo attractions I have ever seen, a "Dino Dig" where kids can brush and dig away gravel to uncover a buried TRex.  If we let them they easily would have done this for hours.

Emmie at Seal Cove watching the sea lions swim by.

Logan being Logan.

Emmie in the petting zoo.  This baby cow was so cute even Jeff said he would have trouble eating meat for awhile.  Well apparently "awhile" meant 20 minutes since he ordered a tri-tip sandwich for lunch!

Emmie's new caterpillar friend.

All in all it was a fun-filled weekend.  Even I can't believe how much we packed into 2 days! The kids had trouble picking their favorite thing from the weekend.  For me dancing at the wedding was my favorite activity and the baby orangutan at the zoo was my favorite animal (simply adorable but couldn't get a good photo!).  So happy to be home and to sleep in my own bed tonight.

On to the next adventure! 

Logan's First Haircut!

Logan got his first official haircut! Yes, he is 4 years old and yes this is really his first. Partly this is because it took him forever to grow hair.  Here he is on his 1st birthday and as you can see, practically no hair...

But let's be honest, it took me this long to get his hair cut professionally mostly because it's Logan.  Logan has been our little challenge and trying to get him to sit still during "his terrible twos" or his "you have got to be kidding me threes" was out of the question.  I wouldn't subject a stylist to his tantrums and instead I cut his curly mop in the bathtub whenever I could distract him.

But he is a much more reasonable four year old now and I felt like he was ready.  Thankfully I was right - he did great!  In fact, after his cut he asked if he could come back the next day and do it again! 

 

Emmie didn't get a haircut but the princess still got attention. She loved the sparkly face painting. 

Here is the "After" picture of Logan and Joey's haircuts.  I am happy to report Logan's hair is just as crazy curly as it was after I would cut it!

Let Soccer Season Begin!

Soccer season has officially begun which means our Saturday mornings are booked through November.  Logan is playing in his first season and this is Joey's third.  Saturday was Logan's first game, Joey missed his because of a lingering fever.  Unfortunately I also missed the game as I had plans with my dad and sister for our annual trip to the bay area to visit my grandparents' graves.  It was a great trip but I was bummed to miss Logan's first ever soccer game.  But, fortunately Cheri was on hand to take photos for us and cheer him on! 

Joey also used Cheri's camera to snap some action shots of his little brother.

Joey in his awesome hat!

Jeff trying to talk to Logan while Logan appears to completely ignore him. 

Apparently half way through the game Logan said he was done and decided to sit with Daddy instead.

Adorable team photo.  Really at this age it is like herding cats on the soccer field!

Such a character!

Serious business...

Eating the traditional orange slices at the break.

Our handsome soccer star!

Stranger Things Have Happened

While all we wanted to do this last month was crawl into bed, pull the covers over our heads, and stay there indefinitely... we have kids.  As every parent knows, when you have kids you don't get to wallow in whatever is troubling you for long.  So, in reviewing my iPhone pics I realized I have missed some very blog-worthy moments and now I am going to attempt to catch up.

We went camping.  I realize this may not sound like anything too special but you have to understand that I do not camp.  I certainly do not camp in a tent and I definitely do not camp without running water bathrooms.  But I did it! I seriously almost cried the first time I had to use that glorified outhouse they call "vaulted toilets" but I survived.  The worst part is I drank hardly any wine, and wine would have made the whole outhouse thing more tolerable, but it also would have made me have to use the nasty outhouse more! It was a tragic catch-22.

The purpose of this trip, besides the obvious enjoying the great outdoors stuff, was to celebrate our neighbor/friend's 40th birthday.   Jeff even got to go on a zip line tour of the mountains because he has the most awesome wife ever who stayed back at camp all day with the kids, dirt, and bugs so he could play Tarzan in the trees. 

This was Logan and Emmie's first official camping trip, Joey is a seasoned pro.

Ready to go on our camping adventure!  I even offered to eat a gas station sandwich - cuz I can "rough it"
(thankfully Jeff stopped at Taco Bell for me instead!)

Joey

The view from our campsite at Sly Park

He gets that duck face from me and I got it from my dad...

Daddy & the princess

He loves me!

Emmie loved the dirt!

Tarzan

Cutie pie with curly hair!

He loved playing catch.

And he spent hours collecting pine cones to throw into the fire.

Emmie could spend hours throwing rocks into the stream.

Logan giving his little sister a ride on the trike.



Can you tell these two are siblings??

 

Tough guy checking out his muscles.

Mommy and Joey by the campfire.

 

1,000+ Reasons to Smile

I have been silent on this blog for awhile now.  You see life has thrown me a curve ball, or rather a sucker punch, and I didn't really want to document any of it.  I don't want to remember the last month, it was dark and twisty and terrifying.  The worst part is that it's not over.  We are still riding the shock waves that erupted with a literal knock at our door.  I'm not trying to create dramatic suspense here, but I don't want to get into the details here either.  It is not something I want to remember in depth years from now; and that is what I use this blog for, a virtual diary to catalog the moments in life that slip by too quickly.  Unfortunately this mess is not something I want to refer back to.

Here is what I will say on the topic -
#1 - Having a blended family can be a great joy, but it can also be a source of great heartache.  When another person or another family has influence over yours, they have power to disrupt your life whether you like it or not.  They can violate you, manipulate you, and hurt you in ways you never saw coming. 
#2 - In the epic battle of good versus evil that has raged on in many forms since the beginning of time, good can often lose in the short term because it will not stoop to the levels evil so happily lives in.
#3 - Quotes, cliches, and proverbs are trotted out on parade in times of great struggle. This is our futile attempt to make sense of the senseless, and surprisingly it does help.  It helps to know that others have lived through something trying and horrible and lived to say something quotable about it later.  It is comforting to repeat them in a mantra of hope, to hold on to them as though they were a life raft, and to post them on to a Pinterest board.
#4 - Your true friends are there for you in times like these.  Messy times full of tears and wine and more tears are when real friends show up with more wine.  We have amazing friends.  We have friends who text, call, clean, cook, grocery shop, watch our kids, make us run, make us laugh, send us inspirational quotes, show up to sit in waiting rooms with us, distract us, and support us in any and every way they can.  We are truly blessed.

One friend sent me this quote - "When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. - Unknown"

I have more than a thousand reasons to smile and it is time to start focusing on that. This isn't over, but while we are riding this roller coaster I choose to focus on the positives as much as possible. I have amazing friends, a wonderful husband, and incredible children.