Catch Up Time!

I've been a little lax on blogging of late... no wonder as it has been a constant stream of busy for all of us!  Spring is here (yay!) - everything is getting green, flowers are blooming, trees are blossoming, my garden seeds are sprouting, the frogs are out, and we finally saw one of our turtles sunning himself on a rock today.  And, it's warm:)  I love it!

Froggo Baggins:)

E- performed in the Dr. Seuss play at the library a couple weeks ago.  She was Sam I Am.  Too cute!

She also got accepted to the community college to take some dual enrollment classes next fall.  We meet with an advisor on Monday.  She pretty much aced the placement test - happiness!  Should be an interesting and different experience for both of us.

She was elected President of her Venture Crew  - that might make for a busier year, especially with Hubby taking over as Scout Master in May.

M - and Hubby spent the day helping at Coronado State Monument on an Eagle Project and now are off to plan their Philmont trip for this summer (a 12 day hike!).  One of the prohibited items is deodorant (really - I read it like 5 times!) - because of bears.  Can we say S-M-E-L-L-Y boys?!

E- tested for her orange belt in Hapkido this afternoon.  She rocked it.  Seriously, I was super impressed with her confidence, power, and technique.

And, she broke 3 boards (palm strike, elbow strike, and front snap kick)!

We are re-trying our TAC visit next weekend.  M- is staying behind to camp at White Sands.  I definitely have Spring Fever... hope you do too!

Relax, Enjoy, Relax

This was the sign in our bathroom at the 1906 Lodge in San Diego - and it is EXACTLY what we did for our delayed 20th anniversary celebration:)  I spent nearly an entire day sleeping, Hubby finished a book (unheard of!), we sat at the beach, biked, walked and spent mornings and evenings on our private porch.  

I took a gamble on booking a room at this B &B (online reviews were good) and oh my was it worth every penny!  Quiet, off the strand and away from the craziness, 2 blocks from the beach, free bike rentals, beach chairs, umbrellas, fantastic homemade healthy breakfasts (different every morning), good local coffee (this is a necessity for the both of us!), evening wine receptions, very friendly/accommodating staff, comfortable beds!  We totally recommend it and HOPE to go back sooner than our 40th:)

The beach!  I love the beach!  I needed the beach!  I miss the beach!  Coronado has GOLD sand - seriously... and sand-dollars, and dolphins, and Navy guys training on the beach!  What's not to love??

My hubby is cuter than the Navy guys though:)

One of my favorite things was getting up with the sun and walking on the nearly empty beach - so peaceful.  We got a bazillion steps - but my darn fitbit broke so nothing logged!  Arrrrr - 

*side note:  Go FitBit - they sent me a brand new one today... for FREE!  I love this product and this company!

View from our porch into the courtyard.  Hubby loved this porch and got to enjoy some San Diego local brews while relaxing!  

We took advantage of the free bicycle rentals and biked all over the island - who knows how many miles??  So fun!  My bike was pink and orange:)

It might be a bad thing that Southwest flies direct to San Diego in little over an hour - with the time change, flight and taxi to Coronado we were on the beach in few hours!

 

We will totally go back here someday, soon.... next month?  I can dream:)

Thanks Hun!  I love you!

Jump for Joy!

Being that we are 'sort-of' on Spring Break this week I have tried to take the kids to do some fun stuff in the afternoons.  Yesterday was bowling  and Sadie's New Mexican Food.  Gamma and Pah joined us and Pah beat me by 2 points!  He still has it at 72!

Today we headed to the trampoline park.  Oh what fun - kids had gone once before, but not me.  Obviously, I had to jump!  Helped that we were the only ones there for the first 45 minutes:)  Seriously - get to one.  So much fun.  So many laughs - here are yours!

M- doing the Mario jump

E- doing the genie jump

This is me!  I can still do the splits in mid-air!

M- flipping like a ninja!

Find a park - it's super fun and tiring!  Heading for my afternoon caffeine fix now.

Expect the Unexpected

 This is the scene we woke up to on Saturday morning - about 5 inches of snow and still coming down!  Roads were closed and travel was not advised.  Sadly, we had to cancel our trip with E- to check out Thomas Aquinas College (TAC).  

She took it well and had some fun playing in the snow with Clara:)  It was a nice excuse to sit at home, watch movies, read books and bake cookies!

And by the following day... it looked like this!

Warm and sunny with no snow in sight!  Zoom in on that beer (compliments of my Dad) - It is called "Thunder Ann"!  

We have rescheduled the trip and maybe it's better as we'll have a little more time and hopefully warmer weather (even CA was going to be cool and rainy).

In other news, BIG NEWS.... M- was accepted via lottery into a STEM Innovation school for next year.  STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and  Math.  

Photo by my Sister

He is jumping for joy:)  Very excited!  He'll get to do CAD (computer aided design), engineering, and explore biomedical sciences too.  We feel blessed that he got in as there were only 25 spots available (freshman class will be 75 total).  The school should be a perfect fit for him with many project-based assignments and team work.  Will definitely be a different year with him in school and E- taking some dual enrollment courses at the community college.  I foresee even more driving in my future!

And since this post is mostly about M- He also performed at the Entravision Health Fair (i.e. Spanish Health Fair) in ABQ a couple weekends ago.  He has been doing 4 hours of classes 2 days a week and assisting with the little kiddos as well.  I'll have to try to sneak a picture of him with the little ones - super cute! 

He's growing up!  14 in a couple months:)

Yay for Friendship!

My friend Darcy visited this past weekend!  How lucky I am to have good friendships in my life?  I have missed my Oregon girlfriends more than I can tell you, so when Darcy called to tell me she was coming and bringing her littlest I was ecstatic!  Ask the kids - I was pretty much jumping around with excitement the week before she arrived.  Oh what fun to sightsee, shop, eat New Mexican food, drink margaritas, enjoy the sun (we had nearly 70 degree weather!) and chat!  And to meet little Casey (born after we moved) was a treat!  What a joyful little guy - I love him!  Friends are awesome!  Thanks SO much Darcy - - - 'til next time!

Casey - ready to sightsee!

Enjoying some Nutbrown Ale from the local brewery - Kactus

Took the RoadRunner (really the Rail Runner - but I would have named it differently!) to Santa Fe

Picked up some New Mexican goodies at the Farmer's Market.  Darcy had to mail some stuff home she bought so many chiles:)

Had some pretty fantastic New Mexican food at Tomasita's - the sopapillas were as big as my head!

Heading back home .  Casey was wiped out - slept through lunch and the entire ride back.

Took a little hike here - can you believe this is New Mexico?!  In the Jemez mountains near Valles Caldera.

The perfect weather to hike, though a little icy and mucky.

Can't resist sharing these - how adorable is this guy?!  

And the margaritas - we might have had a few:)  

Cheers Darcy - I miss you already!

Ann

A Hike, A Hike... I went on a Hike!

Hubby and I headed out to the Cibola National Forest to hike today!  This is not something we typically find time to do so it was quite the treat!  Left the kids at home... M- tired out from camping over the weekend with scouts and E- recovering from a cold and mid-terms.  

We found a great trail - Tunnel Springs - just about 15 minutes from our house!  Snow and muck covered as it was, the weather was beautiful (mid 50's) and we saw not a soul on the trail!  But did spot some cougar tracks and a bald eagle!

So peaceful and relaxing... I am sure I am ready for the week ahead!

And, some homemade butterscotch pudding should help as well:)  Still love that Pioneer Woman!  This is an easy recipe... so yummy!

Happy last week of January! 

It's been 20 years!

Today my hubby and I celebrate our 20th anniversary!  That's a loooong time these days!  I know we both agree that we both feel super blessed and lucky and happy to have each other and look forward to 20+ more years together!  Here's just a partial list of what we've been through in 20 years:  long distance love while he did details, classes, FLETC (multiple times), 7 states (NC, SC, TN, NV, WA, OR, and NM), more than a few cars/trucks/RV's/trailers, babies, tweens, teens, more jobs than I can list, homeschool woes, pets (Frosty, Bo Cat, Sebastian, Emily, Jitter Bunny, Addy, Gifford, Jitterbug, Lego the Guinea Pig, and Clara) money woes, park housing, RV living, home ownership, home sales, call-outs, worry, fun, happiness, movie extras, travel, stress, laughter, friendship, enjoying friends and family, parenting, and love.  I love you hun!  Can't imagine my life without you:)  And for fun and laughs - just look how far we've come since dating at 18 and 19 years of age!

Still looking good together!  We got out for an awesome meal in Corrales over the weekend.  *Hope to get to a beach sometime this year to officially celebrate and relax!