Daddy's Day Off..

As a reward for all the extra hours put in over the last few weeks finishing a project, Dave and his guys were rewarded with a few days off.  He spent most of Monday back at work getting things entered before quarter end, BUMMER, and putting new rotors and brake pads on Mommy's van, YAY!!

Tuesday was an all fun day.  We started with breakfast in Laguna Beach, with NO kids.  My good friend Shauna took the little ones, and the big ones were still in school.  We feasted on fresh fruit and eggs benedict with avocado, and Dave's had filet mignon.  So good!! We finished up with some leisurely shopping, and just hanging out together.  It was relaxing, and fun.  I love my hubby so much!!

After the kiddos were home from school, we packed them all up, and did a little divide and conquer (it's kind of our thing right now) Dave took the boys to "How to Train a Dragon" which they all loved, and Natalie and I hung out at the mall across the street.  It was so fun just hanging out with my little Miss, and I love her cute personality.  The boys had fun with Dave and were actually able to sit through the whole movie without an impish two year old trying to escape.

Home for dinner and homemade dessert, what a great day off!!

Train Trip

On Thursday Caleb's preschool class took the Amtrak train from the San Juan Capistrano Station to Solana Beach. 

Natalie and I tagged along, and the Reed family was able to join us as well.  We enjoyed the 45 minute train ride, followed by a walk to the beach, and then lunch and much playing in the water and sand.





















Oh what a fun time we had!!

Exciting News!!

Elder Christensen and companion  - 1995

Almost 13 years ago, my sweet husband returned home from his church mission in Germany.  He grew to love that beautiful land, the food, the language and most importantly the people.  He has had many opportunities to keep up the language, and his heart has yearned to return back.


In a few weeks he will get that opportunity!!


Through work he has the amazing opportunity to go to Germany for over a week.  He will be working, but he will also have time for much picture taking, driving around, and reliving the sights and sounds from that amazing time in his life.


I am so excited for him, jumping up and down actually!!


Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Daniel's Birthday Party

Nothing like a weekend project..

So we started out the weekend with quite the to do list.  Birthday parties to attend, a little family time, and a trip to Lowe's.  Then I started thinking about the mess my desk was in, and our need for a craft area, and some clean-up.  My solution was a cheap find on craigslist, mixed with throwing all the kiddos in the truck for a trip to Huntington Beach followed by a last minute stop at Micro Center for computer fans, then down to Computer Geeks for parts for Dave's upcoming work trip to WA, late lunch at Harbor Fish 'n Chips and just in time to drop Caleb off at his birthday party. 

Some quick sanding, painting, staining, an additional trip to Lowe's for hardware and now we have two clean areas. 

Lowe's trip (CHECK, and DOUBLE CHECK)
Family Time (driving in the truck for 3 hours, followed by some nummy Fish and Chips - CHECK)
Birthday Party (CHECK)

Here's my Before and After's...(I still have a bit of work to do, but not too shabby for a couple of hours of paint and sanding..)

Lunchdate with the boys

This week the school hosted a day to come and have lunch with your kiddos.  Josh's lunch was at 11am, and then Daniel's at 12pm, and Caleb to preschool by 11:35.  It was close, but we got it all done. 


My sweet friend Shauna brought lunch for the kids, and I brought her daughter, who had been having a playdate that morning with Natalie. What a great team we made!!  She grabbed me enough food for both lunches, so I was able to feed the kiddies and snap a few pictures, what fun!!

Geocaching

Last weekend we ventured out after the rain, and did a little exploring.  We decided to try our hand at geocaching..

(thanks Wikipedia for the defintion) Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container (usually a tupperware or ammo box) containing a logbook. Larger containers can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is most often described as a "game of high-tech hide and seek", sharing many aspects with orienteering, treasure-hunting, and waymarking.

Armed with a GPS, and our coordinates which we had found online, we began our hunt. We drove to a nearby spot, and then made our way on foot to our destination.  The ground was still wet from the rain, and everything was fresh and new.  It felt like spring, and the kids had a great time on and off the trail till we found our treasure.


on the hunt












X Marks the Spot


We found it!!


Our view to the East


and to the West

I had so much fun taking pictures, and the kids loved running around in the fresh outdoors.  We could actually see our house from the trail, along with the ocean, and a beautiful rainbow peeked out for a few minutes.We can't wait to find more treasures, and see where it takes us.

Disneyland

On Tuesday we picked up Dave from work early, and headed to the Magic Kingdom.  We only had a few hours, before they closed (4-8pm), but we squeezed so much in, and had a blast.

Me and the kiddos

Natalie giving a fairy some love, and enjoying Pixie Hollow.



Daddy and the boys on "Thunder Mountain"




The kiddos enjoying a little snack of popcorn and mommy squeezing in for good measure. (they're soaked from Splash Mtn.)




Joshers rockin' the Captain EO glasses, and a little unsure of what's coming...





Natalie is chillin' and "super cool".

Dress-Up