House of Estrogen

SoCal Day 3: San Diego

In the early stages of planning this trip, I assumed we would hit the most well known and popular San Diego tourist spots - Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. As our planning came together though, it dawned on us that none of us really cared much about going to the zoo. Pandas are one of the main attractions there, and we had seen pandas recently on our trip to the Atlanta Zoo. I think we are learning over time that we just aren't a big zoo loving family. I initially felt a little weird parental guilt about taking my kids all the way to California and not taking them to the iconic San Diego Zoo, but I got over that. It was the right call for our family. As for Sea World, as much as I have enjoyed previous trips there, after seeing the movie The Cove and reading a lot about the movie Blackfish, I came to the conclusion that I just couldn't ethically in good conscience support Sea World any more. It was a fun, entertaining park in the past, but it needs to make some changes.

So... there went the two biggest San Diego attractions. My next phase of planning called for us to visit the U.S.S. Midway on our second day in San Diego, after the Seal tour. Then on the third day, we would hit the Safari Park.  The heat changed all that though. After the Seal tour and a visit to Old Town, we were all hot, sweaty, run down, and exhausted. The forecast for the next day was 85 on the coast (where the U.S.S. Midway is) and 95 inland (where the Safari Park is located). Nobody had any interest in walking around a safari park in 95 degree weather. It was an easy decision to drop the safari park completely and move the U.S.S. Midway to the morning when the weather would be cooler, and we would all be well rested. That proved to be a great decision.

I highly recommend visiting the Midway in the morning right when it opens if you choose to go there. It is a lot of walking, and you want happy, energetic, well-rested kids.

Also, when we first arrived, we spoke with one of the volunteers who recommended that we quickly head straight up to the island which is the section of upper most decks where the radio room, control deck, and captain's quarters are.

He said that first thing in the morning there is no line at all for the guided tour. Apparently later in the afternoon the line gets really long and often gets shut down well before the end of the day. We were so thankful for his advice. We quickly made our way over there and enjoyed our tour with very little wait.

The tour guide chose Nina as our captain for the day.

J.C. decided he was definitely too tall for an aircraft carrier. Despite repeated warnings about watching his head from every volunteer docent we passed, he still managed to bang his head several times. It was almost impossible not to.

All the girls enjoyed the visit to the Midway more than I thought they would. It was mostly on our itinerary because *I* wanted to see it. Everyone in the family got something out of it though, and I never heard "I'm bored" or "When can we leave?"  Nina, in particular, was really intrigued by all of it. Every time we turned around, she had her headphones on, listening to a part of the self-guided audio tour. She filled out the entire junior captain scavenger hunt. It is fun to watch your kids get completely absorbed in history or art or something a little unexpected.

One of the big highlights for me was showing the girls the SBD Dauntless, the plane that their great grandfather flew in WWII. They certainly came away from this visit with a much better understanding and appreciation of what his life was like while stationed on a carrier.

We had lunch on the Midway (surprisingly great food there...I recommend it), wandered around a bit more after lunch, and then headed back to the condo for naps.

Addison had other plans though. Apparently I had said that we "might" go to the beach or would "probably" go to the beach or some other such vague wording about our afternoon plans. She was not going to let me forget that. She begged and pleaded. Elise, J.C., and Nina stretched out on the couch to watch Star Wars while Addison gave me her best pitiful look, imploring me to take her to the beach.

The last thing I wanted to do was brave San Diego traffic on my own, but I didn't want to let her down. Plus, I'm a sucker for the beach. I told her we would drive to Mission Beach. If we found parking, we would stay. If we drove around for half an hour and never found a parking spot, we were coming back. That sounded fair to her, so off we went. Thankfully, a car pulled out of a prime parking spot shortly after we arrived.

I'm so glad she convinced me to go.  We had the most wonderful afternoon.

 

We spent hours playing in the waves, playing in the sand, and really cherishing the rare one on one vacation time.  It was magical.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the afternoon. As much as I thought I wanted a nap, my afternoon with Addie was so much better.

Perfection.

As we were leaving, we got a little taste of the quirky world that is the Mission Beach Boardwalk. This character was playing piano on the boardwalk. Addie will tell you that seeing him was one of her favorite parts of the entire trip.

Day three was a great day. The Midway was one of those sleeper hits that I had predicted the girls would tolerate but not necessarily enjoy. Instead, they all enjoyed it, and then the beach was fantastic.

Emerald Isle 2014: Family Fun

Last weekend, I had a glorious child-free weekend with girlfriends at Myrtle Beach. We gabbed, walked, napped, swam, ate, drank, laughed, shopped, and relaxed. It was definitely a different vibe from our family trip to Emerald Isle last month, but both trips were fabulous. The beach is always my happy place. I love this quote from the book "Where'd You Go Bernadette?" (a great beach read, by the way).

"When your eyes are softly focused on the horizon for sustained periods, your brain releases endorphins. It's the same as a runner's high."

~ Maria Semple   

I'm thinking these faces have some of those beach horizon endorphins coursing through them.

We did a lot of boogie boarding.

Elise did some jumping.

Grandparents came... my parents for the first part of the week...

And J.C.'s parents for the second half.

This was a very laidback vacation. We didn't play putt-putt, or go to the aquarium, or take a boat ride. We just played in the pool,

buried sisters in the sand,

 

got lost in a good book,

got illegal lessons in driving a golf cart,

rode bikes behind the golf cart,

went out for seafood,

and some of us may have taken afternoon naps.

Overall, it was a very mellow, relaxing vacation spent with family. In other words, it was just about  perfect.



     

Emerald Isle Picture A Day, Day 3

Three Generations at the beach

HoE Christmas 2013

We have had a lovely Christmas season. Having the kids off of school for the whole month makes holiday fun so much more relaxing. Of course, we have had our fair share of "I'm bored", "You're the meanest sister EVER!" and "Mommmmm, she hit me!", but overall, it has been good. We have baked cookies, decorated gingerbread men, attended holiday parties, and pigged out on holiday donuts at Krispy Kreme. (The BEST donuts ever. All you Dunkin Donuts fans (RB... talking to you!) need to get your taste buds tested. There is no comparison. I know this as fact because I went to school in Winston-Salem, NC, where Krispy Kreme started. Beat that.)

We went to see the Nutcracker Ballet. Note that my mom dressed for "the season" while the rest of us dressed appropriately for the weather!

Disney on Ice was the other holiday show we attended. Now, someone answer this question for me. See the ridiculously overpriced snowcone Nina is holding in this photo? They had that identical cup in four characters - Cinderella, Tinkerbelle, Mickey and Minnie. The Cinderella and Minnie snowcones were $10. The Tinkerbelle and Mickey snowcones were $12. What gives? Doesn't that seem unfair to moms of boys? They were all the same size, yet if you had a boy who insisted on a Mickey snowcone, you had to cough up the extra $2. Needless to say, Nina's choices were limited to Cinderella or Minnie.

As Christmas Eve rolled around, I decided my old lady hip was not up to cooking a big dinner like we usually do. Instead, we declared it finger food night, and everyone chipped in. J.C. made sausage balls. Elise made pigs in blankets. Addie put together a crackers and cheese plate. Nina cut veggies for veggies and dip. I made Grinch kabobs. Cute, eh? Credit goes to some creative person on Pinterest. I just copy.

I can remember Christmas dinners growing up when we each made a dish. My dad always made an appetizer - usually involving smoked salmon and hearts of palm. I would usually make a veggie or dessert. My mom would make the rest. It seemed all family-family-joy-joy and Christmasy at the time, but now I get it. It is really nice to have help in the kitchen! I'm thinking finger food Christmas Eve where everyone pitches in may become our new tradition.

Christmas Eve night, I had my heart set on watching either Arthur Christmas or Elf. I figured between Netflix streaming, Amazon Prime streaming, Uverse on-demand, and HBO on-demand this would be as easy as turning on the TV and hitting play. WRONG. We couldn't get either of those movies through any of those methods without paying about $10. What? Huh? It used to be you could find Elf on TV on just about any station any time of day for the whole month of December. Now I have to pay $10 for it? Bah Humbug. We watched some forgettable princess movie instead. Between now and next Christmas, I will be purchasing DVDs of Elf and Arthur Christmas, so we will have them for next Christmas Eve.

Before heading to bed to wait up for Santa, the girls opened their Christmas Eve PJ's and we lit the luminarias on the driveway.

Christmas morning featured Christmas morning video failure for the second year in a row. Why am I so incompetent when taking videos on Christmas morning? I don't have this problem any other time I want to take videos. Frustrating as it may be, if you could see the video, it went something like this: Kids running down the stairs. Nina and Addie run to their Santa gifts saying, "Yea", "Cool", or "Awesome". Elise runs to her Santa gift and yells, "A phone! OMG! Santa got me a phone! I can't believe I have a phone! Squeee!!! No way!! No way!  I have a phone! OMG! I have a phone! What's my phone number? Squeee!!! I can't believe it!!"  The other kids can barely be seen or heard in the background. Anyway, it would have been a great video, but you'll just have to use your imagination. I don't even have photos showing her excitement because I was so busy "videotaping". Sigh.

The rest of the morning was spent opening gifts,

cheering about good ones,

and putting new ornaments on the tree.

My parents came over for brunch which was very low-key. I was all about simplicity this year. I know you can hardly see these in the photo, but my mom made the Christmas cowboy boot napkins and table runner for me. I love them!

After opening gifts with my parents,

we played some games,

read some new books,

played with the new Guitar Hero set,

and Nina did some sketching with her new pens and sketch book.

In the afternoon, Nina put on her new favorite shirt (for fun... ask Siri "What does the fox say?"), and ...

we went over to J.C.'s parents' house for more gifts, more food, and fun with cousins.

While 2013 was my year for scaling back Christmas and cooking as little as humanly possible, my mother-in-law went in the opposite direction. She decided to turn Christmas dinner preparation into an Olympic sport. I don't think I've ever seen that much food in my life. It covered every square inch of the kitchen counters and kitchen table, and then overflowed to the top of the washer and dryer and into the garage. I think she deserves a medal, or at the very least a weeklong nap.

The big feast was enjoyed by all though.

 

After dinner, we decided to attempt mission impossible - a photograph of all 27 family members in attendance without an SLR camera, a wide angle lens, or a tripod. J.C. came up with this brilliant idea for a tripod though. Nice, eh?

Given the circumstances, I think the picture turned out remarkably well!

I apologize for the length of this post. I certainly had no intentions of it growing this long when I first started writing it. 2013 really was a nice Christmas though - full of fun, smiles, family, and food... just as it should be. I hope yours was too.

 

 

A Whirlwind Weekend in Texas

I never pass up an opportunity to visit my home state of Texas. I may not live there anymore, but I will always be a Texan at heart. A couple weeks ago, my cousin's daughter was getting married in Dallas, so what better excuse to plan a Texas trip!  I wanted to leave early Friday morning to maximize our visit. Since it was Elise's first week of middle school, I didn't want to pull her from school for the day. She stayed home and had a fun, quiet only-child weekend with her dad while I flew with the littles to Texas. My mom joined us too.

We had booked a room at the Gaylord Texan, mostly because my aunt, uncle, and a bunch of cousins were going to stay there. At the last minute, they changed their plans and moved to the Great Wolf Lodge. We had gotten a good rate at the Gaylord though, so we stuck with our original plans. I'm so glad we did! Any long time readers of this blog likely know of my love affair with the Hill Country Hyatt in San Antonio. It is one of my very favorite vacation spots. The Gaylord is like the tackier, over-the-top step-cousin of the Hyatt. I loved it though!

I would describe the ambiance at the Hill Country Hyatt as "Texas Elegance". It is the perfect combination of elegance and Texas charm. My other favorite Texas vacation destiination is the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch. I would dub its decor "Ranch Chic".  It is a little more rustic than the Hill Country, but still so beautiful. The Gaylord is more like, "The state of Texas threw up and everything landed in the Gaylord atrium."  It is huge. It is over-the-top. It is Texas-tacky, but it is so much fun.

Where else can you get eat breakfast or get your picture taken in front of a fake Alamo?

Or meander along a fake San Antonio Riverwalk?

Or get your picture taken with a 10 foot tall cowboy?

How many other hotels have you stayed in that have a fake oil well in the atrium? (This was the view from our room.)

OVER.THE.TOP doesn't even begin to describe this place. If you can overlook the tacky and just go with it though, it is so much fun!

If you were reading this post and thinking to yourself, "Gosh... I wonder what that place would look like made of Legos", I have your answer.

My personal favorite part of the Gaylord is the great big Texas star at the top of the atrium. Be still my heart. Do you think I could install one of these in my house?

Friday night, we kept with our "experience fake Texas" theme and headed to Traildust Steak House for dinner. I had my birthday party there in about 6th grade, and the place hasn't changed a bit. I knew the kids would love it. There is a really fast slide that goes from the second floor down to the first and sends you screaming across the dance floor. The girls had a ball. The food was mediocre, but we were there for the fun.

The next day, after some breakfast at the hotel, we put on suits and took the trolley to the Gaylord's water park, Paradise Springs. We spent a fun day in the water. Addison's favorite activity was the slide which she went down over and over again.

Nina spent most of her time on the zip line.

It is really a fabulous little resort waterpark, and the lifeguards were the most vigilant I've ever seen at any pool or waterpark ever. If anyone from the Gaylord happens upon this little ol' blog o' mine, your lifeguards are exceptional. They all deserve a raise.

We ate lunch poolside, with a margarita (or two) for me,

and shaved ice for the kids.

After we eeked out every minute of pool time that we could, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. Don't we look purty?  (That's Texan for pretty)

The wedding location was beautiful.

The groom's name is Kyle. I thought every Kyle in Texas was named after Kyle field, the football stadium at Texas A&M. So many Aggies name their kids Kyle (my cousin Kyle is one) that I figured it was a Texas law that all Kyles were Aggie-kids. Apparently not... this Kyle is a Texas Tech man. The horror! (My family is predominantly Aggie. I'm the black sheep who left the state for college.)

(I just noticed this cake is missing a strawberry or two. I hope one of my kids didn't steal one!)

The girls had a blast hanging out with their cousins.

Nina and B were hilarious. They took over the photobooth. When the bride and groom get the CD of photos from the photobooth, they will quickly discover that 90% of them are of Nina and B!

Then there were these two cuties. Addison and her little cousin E hung out all evening long. They walked around holding hands all night, and just couldn't have gotten any cuter. Addison was wearing the dress that one of my flowergirls had worn in our wedding. My mom made it, and I was so excited that it fit her! It looked just gorgeous for the occassion.

I just now realized that those two are going to be in all the photos of the groom taking the garter off the bride!! Oops!

It was such a fun weekend with family.

The next morning, we said good-bye to the Gaylord and the 10 foot tall cowboy and headed to the airport, exhausted. The flights were good except for the dicey landing. We're no worse for the wear though, so all is good. I loved our little getaway.

Emerald Isle 2013: Family Fun

As I posted from the beach a couple weeks ago, we had one day where the vacation gods were actively taunting us. You can read about it here, but the short version is: burns, bruises, an ambulance, a rescue boat, a WWII mine field, and a tetnus shot. All makings of a fabulous vacation, no? That day ended with a storm cloud that looked like this.

Seriously, what had we done to anger the vacation gods? By the time this cloud rolled in, I wouldn't have been at all surprised if a swarm of locusts blew in with it, and we all came down with the plague. Most evenings, the lovely view from our porch looked more like this.

That night was fierce though. We were beginning to wonder if we had been struck with a vacation curse.

My go-cart injuries were beginning to get as dark and foreboding as the sky as well.

Thankfully, with the exception of that 24 hours of vacation voodoo, we had a great time.

We went to the beach...

a lot.

We jumped over waves...

a lot.

We waved to all the miltary jets and helicopters doing maneuvers overhead,

and sometimes they even waved back.

We rode a shark in the pool,

relaxed in the pool,

and jumped in the pool,

a lot.

One night, Grandmama and Papa treated all of us to dinner at my favorite beach spot...

Sanitary Fish Market,...

and the girls and I treated ourselves by updating our Sanitary Fish Market wardrobe.

We took a boat over to Shackleford Banks one day.

That was a fun day trip but a little depressing too. When we were last there just two years ago, the beachs were wide, flat, and so much fun for long walks hunting for shells. In just a very short time though, the beaches have eroded, and it no longer even looks like the same island. There is hardly a beach to walk on post-Hurricane-Irene.

The wild horses who have lived on the island since the 1600's are still doing fine, but the island is only a mile wide. With that sort of erosion, it makes you worry a bit about their future.

Despite our initial shock and sadness when we arrived on the island, we still had fun collecting shells,

studying the shells we collected,

swimming with Papa,

listening to tunes on the beach,

laughing in the tide pools,

building drip castles,

and playing in the water.

I think one of the keys to a vacation with extended family is having a nice place to stay, with room to spread out, and space for people to have a some alone time when they need it. We rented a house that worked out great for us. The teens could take over the basement with the pool table and theater room. The little kids could get the day started early without waking up everyone in the house, and the adults could escape to the hot tub for a little relaxation.

The house had an oceanside porch, just perfect for relaxing in a rocking chair with some ice cream,

or giving grandmama some lovin'.

Despite a few bumps in the road mid-week (and what sort of vacation doesn't have a good burns-bruises-mine field-ambulance-rescue boat-tetnus kind of story?) we had a really great time.

Good-bye Emerald Isle! Hope to see you again soon!

Emerald Isle 2013: A Family Affair

We have been going to Emerald Isle at least once a year for the last nine years or so. Sometimes we go by ourselves, sometimes with friends, sometimes with my family, but this was the first time for us to go with J.C.'s family. The major players in this trip were:

Grandmama - She is the one who had the dream of a 50th anniversary family trip. Her vision pulled it all together.

Papa - He is the most easy going guy ever. He just goes with the flow. He was happy to go along with whatever decisions were made for the day - beach vs pool, eating out vs in, TV vs movie. He makes for a great travel companion.

The lovebirds and the teenagers - My sister-in-law and her boyfriend take the prize for the most active vacationers. When they weren't taking 50 mile bike rides or paddleboarding, they were walking or running on the beach. When they were done exercising, they ate things like pumpkin seeds and raisins. I think they had a great time, but I was too busy lounging on the beach with a Diet Coke, some Oreos, and a People magazine to really know for sure. I didn't let them cramp my style. Her kids (the teenagers) did what teenagers do. They stayed up late, slept in even later, got sunburned, and were very patient in tolerating the rest of us.

Then there was our crew...

Elise (11)

Nina (9)

Addison (5)

J.C. - he sported that hat 24/7 in an attempt to keep the sun off the new skin that has finally established itself on his face after his accident.

and moi. This is the last photo that you will ever see of me in a go-cart as I am never getting in one again. Ever.

With our cast of characters ranging in age from 5 to... uh... umm... probably not a great idea to reveal in-laws' ages on a public blog, huh?  Well, with folks ranging in age from 5 to whatever age you are when you are celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary, we weren't sure how it would all play out. Would the grandparents get worn out by the little kids? Would the little kids annoy the teenagers? Would the teenagers tolerate all the dumb adults? Would the adults go crazy from too much togetherness? Would the vegetarian find anything to eat amongst all the carnivores? Stay tuned to the next blog post to find out.

Emerald Isle 2013: A Golden Anniversary

We went to the beach last week with J.C.'s family, in part to celebrate his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Fifty years! Fifty! Five-oh! Half a century! Five decades! Not many marriages make it to the golden anniversary these days.  It is truly something to celebrate.

When they were married, John F. Kennedy was president and Lyndon B. Johnson was vice president. The year they were married, you could buy gas for $0.30/gallon, a stamp for $0.05, milk for $1.04/gallon, a car for $2,300, and a house for $19,300. Sidney Poitier took home the Best Actor Academy Award that year, and Tom Jones won Best Picture. Some of the top songs were Blue Velvet by Bobby Vinton, He's So Fine by the Chiffons, and My Boyfriend's Back by the Angels. On television, Bonanza, The Andy Griffith Show, Leave it to Beaver, The Fugitive, and The Dick Van Dyke Show were all popular. The week they were married, the Ayatollah Khomeini was arrested in Iran, and the Rolling Stones made their first TV appearance.

Now, fifty years later, J.C.'s mom and dad are parents to two, grandparents to five, aunt and uncle to many, and still very much in love.

One of the things J.C.'s mom wanted for her anniversary was a nice family portrait. I hope she is happy with these. Considering we were using a tripod and a timer, I think they turned out pretty well.  She loves the beach just as much as I do, so I think the beach was the perfect setting for both an anniversary celebration with family and also a family photograph.

Happy Anniversary!

Feeling Sad for West

As the awful tragedy in Boston and the subsequent manhunt was the captivating our nation and every 24 hour news channel, the lesser reported explosion in a tiny Texas town was the story this week that took a little piece of my heart. My father's family is Czech, and the tiny town of West, Texas, while just barely a dot on a map, is the heart of the Czech population in Texas. West was even named "Home of the official kolache of the Texas Legislature."  Kolaches are a traditional Czech pastry, and West is the place to get them. In my family, it was always expected that if you were making the drive between Dallas and Austin or San Antonio, you would arrive at your destination carrying a big box of fresh baked kolaches from West. My aunt's favorite is prune, my dad's is apricot, and mine is cherry. Any drive on I-35 included a mandatory stop in West for kolaches from Kolacek's Bakery. If we had a cooler with us, then there would be a visit to the Nemacek Brother's Meat Market for sausages. The population of West is under 3000, most of them Czech. It is a tiny little town with a quaint traditional main street. Until this week, most people had never heard of West, but it has always been a special place to our family. If you were going to visit an aunt, uncle, mother, or grandmother, you came with kolaches from West in hand.

The fertilizer plant explosion this week leveled more than 60 homes, killed at least 14 people, and injured more than 200.  I can't even fathom the lasting effects this tragedy will have on that community. It will never be the same.  I'm sure everyone with ties to Boston is mourning for their city and the lives that were lost there. West, Texas is a little piece of my family, my heritage, and my heart, and my dad and I are both mourning for it.

I know the Czechs in West will keep baking kolaches and find a way to recover, but that little bitty dot on the map along I-35 will never be quite the same.

Dear ______, Thank you for the ______.

My mom was one of those mean mothers who was a stickler for thank you notes. After every Christmas and birthday, I remember sitting at the table having the importance of thank you notes drilled in to me and being made to write them. Like every child of a mean thank-you-note-writing-mom, I'm sure I complained. I'm sure I procrastinated. I'm sure many of my notes were hastily written, so I could run off to play. Looking back, I can honestly say, "Mom, thank you for sticking with it." Now, as an adult, the importance of a hand-written thank you note is understood, and I appreciate them that much more. There is no better way to show your gratitude. I'm trying my best to follow in my mom's footsteps as a mean thank-you-note-enforcer. I don't always succeed. Occassionally notes go out really late, through email, or (dropping my head in shame) not at all. Despite misses here and there, I want my children to grow up with the same foundation. To that end, we spent this morning at the kitchen table writing Christmas thank you notes.  If you've never made your five year old dictate a thank you note for you to write, you are missing out. Here are two from this morning.

Dear JoJo and Bubba,

Thank you for the P book. It will let me learn how to read because of letters. I like the letter R because it is my favorite letter in the whole state. I hope you can walk better soon.

Love, Addison

Dear Aunt L,

Thank you for the Wizard of Alls movie. I like it so much. I was wishing for it so much. How did you know that? I like the Wizard of Alls because I was wishing for it. My favorite is all of the sparkling shoes. The part of the movie I like is when the house got on one of the witches. Happy New Year!

Love, Addison

How sad would it be if I deprived the gift givers of notes like those.  My hope for my children is that one day they will appreciate the dying art of thank you note writing and continue the habit as adults. When I am a grandmother, I hope to get notes from my grandchildren about their favorite letter in the state and favorite part of the Wizard of Alls!