Sledding

Cory only has a few more days of leave and the kids have been dying to go play in the snow that we can all see in the mountains. So yesterday we ventured up by the local ski resort, Mountain High.
We laid out all of our gear the night before to take stock of what we had and realized we were a few items short of what we needed. Clay still needed snow boots, I needed sunglasses and some kind of waterproof pants.

We headed into town to pick up our items and then headed into the mountains. I had packed lunch for us, so we ate on the way up there (which was about the only thing we planned that went as scheduled).

We had never been up to Mountain High before, so we needed to scout out the joint. We didn't really want to pay $30 per person to go tubing at the resort. We wanted to find some snow and a hill that we could just play on.

We finally found a little pullout that wasn't too crowded and decided to start suiting up. I was so excited to take a picture of Vivi all suited up in her snow gear, I got her all fixed up and I set her to the side to help Carter zip up his suit. But before I could do anything else, Vivi fell face first into a mud puddle...which was the start of her bad mood.

We got to the hill and Carter immediately went down. I was really impressed. He's never been sledding before and in fact other people were standing around deciding how best to go. But, he just..went!

We were able to get about 40ish minutes of sledding in, before Vivi decided she was DONE. We're still not totally certain what happened. She just started losing it. Arching her back, screaming, inconsolable. So....we packed up and went home. And of course Clay was angry and tired and refused to walk back up the hill (because we were at the bottom). Cory had already taken Vivi to the car and I was responsible for getting the boys, 3 sleds, the camera and everyone's gloves - that they had taken off - back to the car. Luckily, I found a nice person willing to watch all the stuff at the top of the hill while I went back down to get Clay.
I have to say Carter did really well, and while he was upset about having to go home so quickly, he didn't throw a tantrum and took it all in stride.
Here's a few pictures of what we were able to do in our short time:

Trying to recover from the mud puddle

Carter with his ice ball.

Cory coming down the big hill with Vivi

snow angels!

Carter dutifully carrying his sled back up

Me and Vivi

Here's Carter coming down the little hill

Cory and Clay going down the little hill

The Problem with Hair

Most of you know that Vivian, my ONLY daughter, is bald. Ugh. She's been bald since the day she was born. Did you know that some babies are born with hair? Did you know that some can sport pony tails or pig tails before they are even a year old? We still aren't even close. We're creeping up on 2 1/2. 

To be fair, she's starting to get some hair, but only in the back really. And, it's CURLY! I don't know what to do with curly hair! It's beautiful, but curly hair is an art...one I am not familiar with. And also, it would help if the FRONT of her head had curly hair. But no, it's perfectly straight....

This is after having completely wet hair, putting mousse in it and having it air dry. If I don't fix her hair, she doesn't have curls, she just has a rat's nest.

This is the front view, with totally straight locks. Everything from her crown forward is straight.  Everything from the crown back, is curly.

Carter Turns 6!

Dear Carter,

It is so strange to me that these last years have gone by so fast, yet a the same time, so slow.

Yesterday we went out to eat in Tehachapi at Domingo's (a favorite local Mexican place) and Daddy was telling you about the day you were born. I could almost barely remember that day. Maybe it was the insane amount of drugs I was on or the pure adrenaline that fogged my memory of the day you were born. But it seemed like so long ago. Like, a fuzzy memory already. Is this normal? Is this how the rest of my adult life will be? Will I only have memory in 5-6 year spurts? Maybe I should be taking more pictures...or see a doctor.

Other times, like our time in Korea, seem like just yesterday. We had such a good time there. You had so many friends and we played on the playground everyday. I didn't know how good we had it there. Like most things, you never know what you have until it's gone. We had a cleaning lady...who did our laundry! What in the heck did I do with all my free time? I don't remember that either. I suppose we played at the playground and browsed the Bx everyday.

But since all that, you've grown into such a great young boy. If someone were to have asked me 5 years ago if I thought you'd ever be able to sit still for any length of time, I would have laughed in their face. You are quite the trailblazer (at least in our lives) and have burned a deep trail of trial, tears, joy, frustration and excitement. I often use you as an example to other moms who exclaim how tired and exhausted their 'full throttle' boys make them. I tell them, "It's okay, it gets better! Just wait a few more years!"

It's not to say that some days are not without difficulty, but these days you have been so delightful. You are a great helper. You constantly help me by bringing me things, letting the dog out, YOU MAKE YOUR OWN BREAKFAST AND/OR LUNCH! You sacrifice things like your pick of movies, reading time, what seat you sit in, plates you eat off of to help satisfy your siblings or rectify a desperate situation. You have empathy and courage. You're brave and FUN  and honest and funny. You love to tell jokes, mostly of the butt/poop variety. Jeez.

You are doing wonderfully at school. You have almost perfect behavior (you did get a yellow card last week for talking during class). But I am still so proud of you. You are so smart, so loving, so...emotionally present. I know, that sounds weird. But whether your angry, or sad, or excited or happy or confused it shows. It's so clear and you're not afraid to show it. And although sometimes me and your dad get frustrated when you're in a bad mood, we at least know what you're feeling and why. I hope you are always like this. I am so afraid that in 10 years when you're a sullen teenager I won't know what you're thinking or feeling . I am really trying to soak up the time of you needing me. I try to remind myself that it won't be much longer that you will want to spend time with me. It won't be much longer that you will seek my advice, or need my help. You won't want me to walk you into school and kiss you goodbye. I am trying really hard to enjoy these times. Even when the days are crazy and the hours are long. Even when you scream at your brother or argue with me, even when you complain about homework or brushing your teeth. I know you're only (already) six, and this time is going to fly by quickly. 

I love you big boy.

Love,

Mama

ps. If you'd like to reminisce, here is Carter's 2nd Birthday, 3rd Birthday, 4th Birthday and 5th Birthday.

I'm No Meteorologist

But I'm pretty sure this is the forecast for Edwards everyday...

*those brown pointy things are mountains. And the blue wavy lines are wind. And that's us, blowing around in it. 

An Important Read

I know I post to the site  Free Range Kids often. Most of the time, I just post the link. But, I know not all of you take the time to click over there. I know not all of you understand why I want my children to be 'free range'. I can't always explain it very well, and many time Lenore (the owner/writer of FRK) or her readers can put it into better words than I can. Here is a great example of a free range child. Especially after losing Garrett last month, this rings especially true.  This is today's post from a mom who wrote into FRK 

Dear Lenore,

We spend a lot of time trying to control for risks in the lives of our children.  We feed them right, we teach them to look both ways, we try devilishly hard to balance exercise and play with rest and work.  But sometimes, despite our careful planning and watching and guiding, things just happen.

Three weeks ago, my 9-year-old daughter collapsed and died, in the space of less than three minutes, from a cardiomyopathy so rare that she was twice as likely to have been struck by lightning. She was ice skating, and having the time of her life.  She never knew what happened and she was gone before I could skate the 20 yards to lift her from the ice.  I’m not telling you this so your readers will all go out and have EKG’s for their kids.  Probably couldn’t detect it if they did, to be candid.

This is, instead, about her life and what it meant.  My father made a remark, while we were still in the hospital and the grief was devastatingly raw.  But it’s sticking with me, and I am finding some solace in it:  “She might only have been nine years old, but she lived 20 years in those nine.”  What he meant was that she had done a lot, experienced a lot and just..LIVED…while she was here.  She rode horses.  She rode motorcycles with her dad (always with proper safety equipment).  She went to old-fashioned church camps where they played in mud pits and made their own slip-n-slides and jumped in the lake and roasted marshmallows on fires with sticks.  She played competitive hockey.  She practiced Karate and Jujitsu.  She rode her bike to her friend’s house, a mile away.  By herself.

Did these activities carry risks?  Absolutely.  Calculated ones.  Ones we could account for and try to control.  Was I worried about her?  Every day.  Every time.  Did I let her do these things anyway?  Yes.

Am I glad I did?  More than you can possibly imagine.

A friend asked me if I had any “unfinished business” with my daughter when she died.  I pondered that question.  Did she know every day, without doubt, that she was loved unconditionally?  I know in my heart she would answer an unequivocal “yes.”    Did she leave this earth, far too soon, but having actually LIVED while she was here?  Yes.  Yes she did.  So no; there was nothing I saw in her life that I regretted for even a moment, save that I didn’t get nearly enough moments with her.  If she hadn’t lived every moment of her life to the fullest, she might have been here longer.  The nature of the disease is that it takes the lives of the active and the athletic faster than otherwise.  But if she’d been here, safe and sheltered, for 20 years, I doubt she would LIVED more than she did in these nine.

This act of living, of raising our children, of balancing risk and reward, is not easy.  And it is, I have learned in the most painful way possible, filled with uncertainty.  But we owe it to our children to teach them to live like every moment is precious.

Because it is.

Keep spreading your message, Lenore.  It’s the most important thing you can do. -

Beth

Clay Turns 4

Clay,

I remember thinking two years ago when you turned two, and Carter was about to turn 4, trying to imagine what you'd be like as a 4 year old. I couldn't imagine it. You still seemed like such a baby. And now, that you're four, I have the same problem with Vivi. Maybe because Carter is the oldest, I can always imagine what he will be like (or you know, what I think he'll be like) in a few years. But for you and your sister, I think you'll always be babies. Is this what Mamas mean when they say "you'll always be my baby"? But, I have two of you since I have one girl baby and one boy baby? Oh, my baby boy.


This year, you have been so much healthier than in years past. Since we've finally figured out the lactose intolerance thing it has made life so much easier. Your gut is still sensitive to what I call 'overindulgence' though. Today was a good example, all the Thanksgiving food and sweets did you in today. I am so sorry. I have such a hard time mediating between letting you enjoy the food you want to eat and holding you back 'for your own good'. Because 'for your own good' isn't a good reason for a 4 year old. You don't seem to believe me when I tell you that you're going to be in some serious pain in a few days if you keep eating this stuff. 'In a few days' is a lifetime away for someone who's four I guess.

You are so sweet, and just love people to love you. You mostly want to snuggle and tell people you love them.

You're very spiritual, I know the Lord is speaking to you. Sometimes it's strange, because I've never heard a 3 (now 4 year old) talk much about Jesus and the Bible. You talk about Jesus very often and tell me the things he says to you. You tell me that you can't hear him in your ears, but in your heart. This is strange to me, because I don't think anyone had ever used that terminology in front of you (hearing Jesus in your heart) before you told me about it the first time.
When our good friend Garrett died last month, you were very concerned - since you were the one with me when I got the phone call...until you asked me, "Is he in Heaven?" When I told you that yes, he was. You told me, "Well then Miss Meg and Beckett will see him again there, mom!" You were no longer sad. You tell me that it will be so wonderful because when you go to heaven one day because your tummy won't hurt anymore and you tell Carter that he won't have headaches anymore. Sometimes you blow my mind and I hope you continue to grow in your relationship with the Lord. I think what you have is special, a gift.

You are such a different child than your brother. You are introverted, but sweet. You are curious, but quiet. You are so smart but you don't announce what you know, until you are certain it is right. You don't have any toy or TV show that your obsessed with like most boys. You don't love trains or cars or optimus prime or dinosaurs. This makes you very hard to shop for. You told me you wanted green balloons, a whoopee cushion, and a basket of kittens for your birthday.
You love, love, love our new kitty, Sansa. Y'all have a special relationship as well because he lets you, and only you, carry him around rag doll style. He is so tolerant of you. He must know that even though you are very rough with him, that you love him so much.

You are so smart and capable. I can't believe you can ride your bike without training wheels already. You are learning to read (and point out familiar sounds in the books we read). You can count pretty high and add single digit numbers.

This year for your birthday we went to Mulligan's, one of those mini golf/arcade/go-kart places. You do really like arcades. You love to play skee ball and you love all that little crap you get to 'buy' with your tickets. Nana and Pop were lucky enough to be here and enjoy the day with us. You had birthday pancakes (complete with sprinkles and icing!) and birthday cake (the next day because we stayed at Mulligan's way too late.)

You are so special and I love you big boy.

Love,
Mama

School

Everyone is off school this week! HURRAY!
I never imagined myself saying this, but I am glad everyone is home this week. Usually, I am more than ready to ship everyone to school for a few hours. But this never ending school schedule wears on me. It's such a pain to wake everyone up EVERY morning, force feed them, get them dressed, shoes on, teeth brushed and out the door. It's really like herding cats. By the time I get everyone corralled into the bathroom to brush teeth, 2 of the three go missing. Or get distracted. Or forget they don't have their shoes on. Or need to pet the cat. Arrg.
It is nice to let everyone wake up on their own this week, eat breakfast at our leisure and not have to get dressed right away. I would have much preferred to sleep in a few minutes myself today but I have been working out with friends at the gym at 5:30 three times a week.

Carter is really loving school (even though he hates the morning routine), and has had perfect behavior the whole year so far. If the kids go all week without moving their smiley face, they get a special Friday badge. Carter has gotten one every week! And he even has a pretty strict teacher. For those of you that have known Carter as a toddler/preschooler you know this is great news. It is not news that Carter has some....impulse control problems.
So I'm thinking that this has caused some of the behavior problems at home. Carter has been having a problem behaving at home some. However, I have a hard time being really hard on him, since I know he is trying his hardest to keep it together at school. I literally think it takes all his energy to keep his impulses under control for the 4 hours at school that he doesn't have a lot left in him by the time he gets home.
But, I will take that. I would much rather deal with impulsive Carter at home then have to deal with the consequences of impulsive Carter at school. I am so proud that he is doing so well there.

Also, we had our first parent teacher conference in October. They have a rule that in order to get his report card, you have to meet with the teacher. I think it's one of the few things this school does right!
His teacher, Mrs. Berglund, said he is doing really well!

In order for him to graduate Kindergarten they have to be 80% proficient in the curriculum. Carter is already at 100% in the first quarter! Even though they haven't covered everything yet, the teacher showed me what they will be required to do by the end of the year, and carter has already been doing those things for awhile.  He had just started reading this summer and he is great with addition. Subtraction takes him a little longer (he can't normally do it in his head right away like addition), and he is able to do all the 'follow the directions on the page' worksheets. She said that he needs to slow down because sometimes his handwriting gets messy (which is true, he tries to blast though his homework and sometimes I make him re-do it just because it's messy). But that seems to be a typical boy problem. I had talked to the teacher about him becoming bored and therefore acting up, but she said that she is well aware of those type problems and keeps them quite busy with changing activities throughout the day. She went over their typical routine and it sounds like even if they are capable of finishing their work quickly, they don't have a lot of time to misbehave.

Clay has been attending Part Day Enrichment at the CDC since the end of September and it's going okay. He spends about 50% of his time there laying in the floor. When I ask Clay why this is he says it's because they don't get to eat there. Which some of you may think, "An almost 4 year old should be able to go 2 hours without eating." But no, Clay almost literally cannot. All of Clay's tummy issues have almost developed into an abnormal relationship with food. He only goes about 25-45 minutes between eating and if you deny him food he will bawl in the floor until you give it to him. This isn't just a normal tantrum. It is screaming and tears and anguish. He can/will not do anything unless he has a full belly. Almost like he's obsessed. You know how when you have a newborn, before you do anything else, you feed them. Before you go to the grocery store: you feed them so they're not hungry while you're shopping. Before you put them to bed: you feed them so they will sleep longer. This is Clay. I have to feed him before and after any event. He thinks about food all day, everyday. His thoughts are always on what his next meal will be. Like he's worried there won't be a next one. It's hard to explain. But it's strange, and the lack of snack at preschool is really worrisome to him. He says he can't play because his tummy is not full. And the teacher confirms that yes, he does spend a good amount of time laying on the floor. Not asleep, just laying on the floor. When the teacher asks Clay what's wrong he tells her, "I just need to lay here, I can't play."

So obviously, this is somewhat disconcerting and we have toyed with the idea of taking him to the big church off base for preschool this spring. The problems is that 1. It's expensive and 2. It's 20 minutes one way, and  the schedule doesn't work out at pick up time since Carter's school and the preschool get out within 10 minutes of each other. Hmph.

I already have Clay enrolled in what I am thinking is going to be a great at home preschool on base for next school year. And this one is 4 hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday (and includes snacks!). So really I just need to find a temporary solution for the spring. Whether that means stick it out at the CDC, or try to find a way to make the church workout I am not sure.

Halloween

Cory was out of town for Halloween so that made for interesting trick or treating.
I was lucky enough to have some friends to tag along with and help me, but it was still chaos. Carter and their oldest daughter were zooming through front porches faster than the rest of us could go. Viv was 2 houses behind, and Clay got *lost* twice because he just got caught up in the wrong crowd. Sheesh.

Lucky for me, the kids were fine with calling it quits after about 10 houses and went back to the house to hand out candy. We were able to sit with our wonderful neighbors, Amy and Kenley and visit for the rest of trick or treating hours. (Trick or treating is allowed between 6-8pm here on base.)

I was proud of myself for gaging candy correctly. I didn't end up with any leftovers, yet I didn't run out too early either. A Halloween success!

Here we have Minnie Mouse, Godzooky, and Darth Vader

Look Who

Is riding their bike!

SETP at Disney 2012

We were fortunate enough to get to go to Disney again this year for the annual SETP conference. We were also fortunate enough to con my parents into joining us again!
We drove down on a Tuesday and did the park with Cory and my parents on Wednesday. My parents and I did the park on Thursday and Friday and we just hung out at the pools at Paradise Pier on Saturday. It is always so crazy to do Disney with kids but even just looking back on these pictures that are only a month and a half old, I am ready to go back again. It was much easier this time than the last time we attended. Really. just because everyone was 2 years older. It makes a huge difference.

Waiting in line for Finding Nemo

We had purposely scheduled our whole morning to catch the Jedi Training at Tomorrow Land. Carter is a die hard Star Wars fan this year and he's got the backpack, lunchbox, and Halloween costume to prove it. Cory rushed Carter up to sit at the front before it began and as they began picking kids to participate, it really looked like they weren't going to pick Carter. Me and My parents were sitting behind at Tomorrow Land Terrace and were getting really nervous that they were going to pass him over. We knew he'd be DEVASTATED if they did, and that we'd have to rearrange tomorrow to try and make it happen again. LUCKILY, they picked him second to last. Whew!
 ~sigh of relief~

Carter as a padawan, waiting for instruction.

When Darth Vader and Darth Mal came out, they kept trying to tempt the kids to join the dark side. I hope I wasn't the only parent secretly nervous that Carter was going to volunteer. I wondered if they had a backup plan for that scenario......

He finally got to test his skills against Darth Vader. 

Waiting for the carousel

Vivi had been talking about "BICKY BOUSE!" All week. She was saying, "Bicky Bouse hold me?" over and over again. But of course, when the time came, she was a little more than skeptical...But here's Carter with Micky. I think Clay was asleep in the stroller.

During our day at California Adventure, we had split up for some reason and my mom had ended up with Carter by herself. He had conned her into buying him a face painting. Well of course when we all met up again, Clay and Vivi saw that Carter had something that they didn't! That Grandma has some nerve! Well, then we all knew what was next......

Here is a well kept secret in a back corner of California Adventure. It's called 'something something, dance party' (or something) and it's a big room with music and cast members and characters. There's comfy chairs that surround the perimeter for the adults and it's all contained and it's AIR CONDITIONED! You sit, your kids dance and it'll be your favorite ride of the whole park.

Carter and Grandpa

Clay and Grandpa

We ended up taking a rest at just the right time and right place at the end of our CA Adventure day. As we were relaxing with a snack, this awesome parade rolled by!

On our last day, we made reservations for my mom's birthday at Goofy's Kitchen! The food was good and it was a buffet. But for some cursed reason, every time I have access to unlimited, good food I am not hungry. But charge me by the ounce, and I'll never get full enough.

Vivi was only afraid of the characters, not the princesses.

Apparently Cory can get her to smile though!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Apathy

I've been struggling with what to write on here lately. You know, something like a close friend dying really changes your life. I've been so blessed to not have to deal with death much at all. I've had two grandparents die, years ago. But they were old and ailing and it seemed natural. Sad yes, but natural. Having a young, healthy 32 year old friend die doing something your husband does/has done is unnerving. It's scary and it's dramatic, and sad and unbelievable.
I can't imagine how magnified all those emotions are for my dear friend Meg (his wife). I try to understand best I can, but how can you?

While surfing Facebook this morning, I was reminded about how much I don't care about things I used to be so passionate about. Not because of the sudden death of a friend, just in general. Because I'm not in that 'stage' anymore. You know what I mean?

For instance, when I had young nurslings I was extremely passionate about promoting breastfeeding. I wrote blogs about it, posted on FB about it, talked about it at length to anyone who would listen, (ad naseum I'm sure). But being over a year past that stage just gives me almost complete apathy about the whole situation. Like, meh, I still think it's a good idea to breastfeed. And I think there's a lot of misinformation that gets spread or passed down generation to generation. But really, I could care less about what you do with your baby. Now, if you're posting about how you 'can't stand to breastfeed' then also post about all your baby's tummy troubles and switching formulas every 3 days all over FB, it stirs up old emotions about my arguments I would have made 2 years ago. But, mostly I know that if you're that person, you're not going to listen to what I have to say anyway. So, oh well. What do I care?

Another one I used to be really 'nazi-like' with, was car seats. I even took a class on how to install car seats. I had them checked and knew all the rules when Carter was a a baby. But, really after living in Korea, my zealousness just...faded. Maybe it was the loads of kids that hop around in the backseat not strapped in at all over there, maybe it's just, meh. I don't really care what you do with your kid. I still install our car seats properly. And I like to think I'm at least mostly as zealous to buckle my own kids in safely. But, I just really don't care if everyone does. You know? I used to send out e-mails with statistics about how many people installed car seats wrong. I think it was something astounding like 80%. I used to mention to people I didn't even know about car seat safety, yes, like a crazy whack-doodle.

What I'm trying to say here is,  I still care if my children are breastfed or buckled in properly. And yes, I do care about others' children. I'm not a total heartless jerk. It's just that I don't feel passionate about educating the general populace anymore like I used to. I used to feel like I wasn't doing my part as a citizen if I didn't post about it on FB, or talk to strangers about my stance.

But I think that I am SO OVER everyone having some extreme opinion about EVERYTHING. Like, you can't possibly love your self/children unless you have an EXTREME opinion on something and DEMAND that others see your point of view. If they don't see your way, you must have clearly not educated them enough.
We all know someone, or everyone who is super passionate about being vegan, or all organic or obsessed with working out to extremes. We all know the lactivist, or the intactivist.  And I know everyone has good intentions. They feel great or guilty about their own decisions, and they just want everyone to have the same feeling (or in cases of guilt - to be able to bypass that feeling by making the right decision). To have the same benefit. But it just gets SO OLD reading about everyone's platform.

And this isn't to say I'm just laissez faire about everything when it comes to my life, or children. I still have my views and I still believe in what I believe in. But I just DON'T CARE what everyone else does. I don't feel it's my civic duty to persuade everyone, or to educate everyone. I think there's enough people to fill that role these days, which is good. Because I'm tired.

Perspective

How do you write a blog about everyday life when you've spent the last week in bed with your friend who's just lost her husband?

Sequoia National Park

We had really wanted to go camping and see the sequoias over Labor Day but like I had posted earlier, we didn't get our act together in time to reserve a spot. Last weekend, we took a chance and headed up for a quick one night camping getaway. We didn't really have a campsite in mind, but there are a ton of them as you head north into the forest. We had three requirements in order for us to stop and put up camp.

1. Shade
2. cooler temperatures (by preferably 10 degrees)
3. campfire allowed

We were kind of worried at first because along the Kern River and at lower elevations all the campsites had 'no open fire' signs out. We just kept going up and were super lucky to find the perfect campsite! It's called Redwood Meadows and is right across the highway (literally, just a few steps) from the trail of 100 Giants! We got there at about 3:30pm and quickly set up camp. The kids kept busy by talking on their cell phones (rocks and pieces of wood) to each other around the site. We were then able to take a quick hike through the Trail of 100 Giants before we started cooking dinner. The trees were amazing! They were so huge, and hard to imagine how they could possibly be so big!

We had taken all these great photos of the kids and us next to the trees with Cory's cell phone and NOT ONE of them turned out. Something was wrong with his camera app or something. So we have ZERO pictures of our trip. However, lucky you, I created an artistic rendering of the trip.

Here are the kids next to three Sequoias that have grown together.

Cory and Me next to one of the 'Giants'.

*picture stolen from google

Our family in front of the tree. From L to R: Cory,  Me, Carter, Clay and Vivi

The kids had a great time camping. It was the first time we've gone as a family since Carter broke his head. And it was the first time Vivi had ever been camping. We even took the dog (although she didn't make it into any of the pictures, obviously.
We had "Schmoes" around the fire before bed and it sent everyone into a tizzy because no one could fall asleep for another 2 hours or so. They were just all so excited. Of course, they woke up at first sunlight and after breakfast, we packed up and went home.
It was a pretty nice getaway, and we're definitely going back soon!

Cops

They LOVE me. I mean, they just can't seem to get enough! Pull me over for no reason? Sure! Pull me over for going 3 over? Why not?! How about because my gas tank is open? Absolutely. I must give off some irresistible cop pheromone. If I am driving within a 3 miles radius of a squad car, it is GOING TO PULL ME OVER.

Any of you that have been reading my blog for any length of time remember when this happened. But, sadly my friends, this is not the only moving violation in my history, or even that year. Actually, after my license was suspended in May of 2010, I got another speeding ticket (for 7 over, mind you) in Palmdale right before TPS graduation (7 months later). Thank God it wasn't on base, because I'm pretty sure they would have sent me to base jail.

Luckily, we moved to Florida shortly thereafter  and I had a 'clean slate'! No worries though, as I'm driving through Mississippi to visit family, I got a nice speeding ticket there too (for going 6 over). I also got pulled over twice in FL. One because my gas tank was open, and once because my decal for my Texas registration was expired. Nevermind I had fully valid FL registration and just had forgotten to take the TX sticker off. I can be proud to say I DID NOT get an actual ticket in FL!

On Monday I got pulled over right in front of Carter's school after I had picked him up. And they did something they've never done before, they gave me a warning! I was so relieved, because I was sure that when they pulled up who I was that there were probably sirens and flashing lights and their computer exploded from all my 'violations'. And that I was going to base jail. Great, Cory will be super happy getting a phone call from security forces telling him that he needs to bail his wife out of jail.

I actually was completely shocked that they gave me a warning because technically I was speeding, and the insurance card I was carrying was expired. Yay. me. 

 I do not speed more or anymore often than other people (including Cory). I am never the one speeding through traffic, passing other cars. In fact it drives Cory crazy that I hang out in the right lane behind trucks quite often. I get passed by OTHER cars more often than not. But as soon as my speedometer reads any more that 3 miles over the limit, an alarm must go off inside all the squad cars in the area and I get pulled over.  I get pulled over for following traffic. And I am not the only person who doesn't print out their USAA insurance card as soon as the last one expires. In fact, now that I think of it, Cory is a perfect example. We probably drive about the same speed and have the same forgetful habits when it comes to our insurance card. But he has NEVER been pulled over since I've known him. This proves that I am not a delinquent but purely UNLUCKY. Cops always find me, and they always find a reason to pull me over. 

In college I was pulled over in Louisiana and questioned about my drug use and where I was headed (Note: my drug use was/is: none) But it was everything I could do to convince the officer of that. Sorry officer, but my story about returning from Christmas break back to an all women's university really is true! I got 3 speeding tickets in the ONE year I attended college. One was legit, and I deserved a ticket. The other two were for less than 7 miles over the speed limit.

No one can say I haven't contributed to CA's debt crisis. I'm probably the only one keeping this state afloat!

Labor Day in Long Beach

We had wanted to go camping in the Sequoias for Labor Day, but were total slackers and didn't reserve a campsite in time. We were afraid of trying to get a first come first serve site since Carter still had school on Friday. The last thing we wanted was to spend all week getting ready to camp, drive 6 hours up to the mountains and find out there wasn't any space left. We promised we'd reserve our spot for NEXT Labor Day and then we headed down to Long Beach for the long weekend.
Cory had been down there earlier this month and thought it'd be a great little getaway.

A Spider Crab! Eek.

Petting the sharks

All the kids got to help in a little sea life skit

Al the Lorikeets had been spooked before we went in. They wouldn't come down. Boo.

Cotton Candy Ice Cream

Yum!

We rode the ferris wheel

We took a harbor cruise around Long Beach after the Aquarium. It turned out to be a pretty warm day. The breeze from the boat was great though!

Long Beach

 We went to an arcade on the second day. The kids all had a good time winning 1,000 tickets and cashing them in 5 at a time.

Racing Motorcycles.

After the arcade, we surprised the boys with a trip to Medieval Times. We had been wanting to take Carter for awhile since he is so into sword fighting and knights. They had a blast. Although it was quite ironic that the boys weren't sure about the yelling and eating with their hands while on a normal day, it's all they want to do. Ugh. Of course.

Viv made a happy plate.

Mmmm spare ribs

Our view from our room

Carter loves comfy hotel beds

Long Beach Convention Center

The Harbor

Time for a smoothie!