While we were gone...

Ben got a few projects done. Among them was taking our house from brown to blue:

The picture does not do our new colors or the new decorations justice. You will have to come by and see it!

And then he also sanded & painted the bunk bed that we were given and assembled it ready for Violet & Eliza.  So fun!

He got lots of other little things done but these were the big ones and it was so nice to come home to a new hosue!

Day 5: Egg Hunts & DDR

There were only 2 times I felt overwhelmed with all the kids: feeding and bed time. But look at these cuties! How can you resist?

 

On Saturday, the extended Henderson family invited us to join them for a BBQ and Egg Hunt. We had a great time! THANKS Marlene & Jay!

 Tara had implemented a chart for the week-if the kids filled it, they would get a trip to the yogurt store: they did it! And we did not have to help them too much--they were pretty much well behaved the whole week!

Katelyn didn't really understand why we had invaded her home, her room, her everything. But she warmed up to us by the end--she even sat on my lap on her own!!

 After all the kids were over--we pulled out our dance moves with the Wii Just Dance (I think that's the name). Ben & I have never played anything like it--it was fun!!

I didn't take any pictures on Easter! It was pretty uneventful BUT we did get to go to Shawn & Hoa's house (Shawn is my cousin).  It was fun to see her & her family (I had never met her kids).  We had a great dinner & then Ben and I packed so that we could leave the next morning.

I can't say our trip home was uneventful--we got up, we were fully packed, got in the car and it was dead! :( Kevin jumped us and we got on the road at 9am. We had clear driving until LA which was very full.  And right in the middle of LA-Eliza threw up!  Argh.  We pulled off at a gas station and got cleaned up.  It was a little early for lunch but we didn't want to stop & start too many times--we did not know what was going on with our battery.  We got lunch and got back on the road. We made it for a few more hours--no one really took a nap and by the time we were an hour and a half away from home--Abby decided that she was done.  And she let us know for the remainder of the trip--she cried off and on. Nothing could soothe her. We were all grateful when we pulled in.  And then it was time for the BIG reveal!!!

Day 4: Safari Park San Diego

I'm so glad everyone talked me into going to the Safari Park! There were a few kinks (like when we got into the elevator and realized Eliza was still upstairs--eek!) but for the most part, the kids were FABULOUS and we REALLY enjoyed our time with the Hendersons (both families b/c Kevin's brother & his family were there too).  The kids LOVED seeing the animal. Hands down, my favorite was the baby rhino. And the picture doesn't do it justice--he was so tiny at 400lbs!  Of course we also enjoyed the other animals and the train ride.  The day started out SO well though-we got our entire family in for the price of one adult ticket! WHOO-HOO!  Thanks to Kayley & Tara for sharing all your coupons. :)

Day 3: Beach Day

I was super anxious about taking the kids to the beach. I am always super paranoid around water so having an area as large as a beach was not my idea of fun. BUT, it was FUN!  The kids especially thought it was fun.  They loved every part of it and would have stayed all day if I would have let them.  We made it for about 3 hours--longer than the snow, so that's an improvement, right? 

Day 2: La Jolla & The Krages

After breakfast, T & I packed up all the kiddos and headed to La Jolla. We had planned to show the kids the temple but even the grounds were closed so we skipped ahead to the beach.  We were on a mission but took time to enjoy shell hunting, watching the seals, and seeing peoples faces as T & I strolled with 9 kids 7 & U on the sidewalks of La Jolla.  :)  All the kids loved the sand-Abby (it was her first time at a beach) & Violet were all about picking it up and sifting it through their hands, Eliza was all about shells, and Xander was all about playing with Ethan.  Good times were had by all.  Later that day, we took kids back to El Cajon and went swimming and had dinner at the Krages. T took back the littlest kids around 730 to put them to bed at her place and I took the big kids to the airport to pick up Ben!! Ooooh, And Eliza got to have her first sleepover and stayed with Lainey! What a big girl!!

Day 1: RELAX!

 

 

The first day there was great-the kids were SO excited not to be in the car. We rode bikes to Ethan's school and played at the park.  Lots of happy kiddos.  That afternoon Kayley & her family came up and John spoiled us by watching ALL 9 KIDS so us girls could go get manicures & pedicures.  SERIOUSLY.  He is awesome.   Truth be told--Kayley was taking her Dental Hygienist exam the next day and he really wanted her to not be stressing the day before.  So after we took K out--he took K out and we kept their kids for the night.  :)

San Diego!

Late one night, I concocted a plan: I was going to take the kids to San Diego for spring break! I have 2 sisters down there now and so, WHY NOT? Who wants to stay in their house all day during a break? I was getting the itch to go someWHERE and do SOMEthing. So I proposed it to my sister and she said it sounded great!  (She didn't realize what she was getting herself in to)

I was going to drive alone and have Ben fly down later that week but my parents were really worried about me doing that long drive alone, so they caravaned with us.  In the end, I was really grateful.  We got to the first reststop (and I REALLY had to go to the bathroom) and neither Violet nor Abby would let me put them down...I wasn't sure if I was going to make it...and then in stepped Nana! PHEW!

I thought that the kids would go back to sleep so I woke them up at 545 and we left.  They did not go back to sleep. We stopped for breakfast and potty breaks--I had packed homemade cinnamon rolls that I had made awhile back and frozen with some fruit and it was perfect!  We were a quick stop there and didn't stop again until LUNCH!

The cleaning crew was cleaning all the tables & the grass was covered w/ dew so we opted for a concrete picnic :)

We made GREAT time!  My goal was LA by lunch and we totally made it.  The kids did fantastic--in fact better on this long drive than they do around town.

Farewell to our Larsen friends

We had one last hurrah with Ivy & her boys before we took off for our spring break trip.  I was so sad to see them go!  Ivy is that friend who is with you through it all-the good, the bad, the awesome and the ugly--you know--the one that's more like a sister than a friend? That person who doesn't judge you for being your true quirky weird self?  Anyways, we have definitely been through it all!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed though that a more permanent solution will fall from the skies and the Larsens will be able to ditch the east coast! 

ANYWAYS, we had fun eating, swinging, climbing, getting eggs from the chicken coop--all that and more.  Thanks Ivy & the Sellers for hosting us once again!