Mother's Day
Josh made me an omelette and a delicious chocolate smoothie for breakfast. We got dressed and went to church. Nolan got to sing with the Primary during Sacrament Meeting. He got to hold up a big star. He didn't sing. He just stood there. And he would only go up with Grandma Melody, and she slunk behind the kids. It was really cute still!
Then, we came home and went to my moms house for a Mother's Day dinner. Nolan and I painted pots and gave every woman there a flower. We also made special cards for my grandma, Josh's grandma and my mom and Josh's mom. It was a special day! I love being these boys' mom.
My Birthday
The Saturday before my birthday, I went out with friends to get pizza and ice cream. We also walked around downtown Tucson and saw live music, dancers, vendors, fortune tellers and even giant snakes! It was a blast.
While I was gone, Josh's mom surprised me and made cupcakes with the boys and got me a cupcake stand! It was fun.
On my birthday, it was more low-key than I usually like ;). A lot of my friends forgot my birthday. My friend Jessie made cupcakes for soccer practice and they sang to me. So I appreciated that. And Josh let me open a present in the morning! Unfortunately though, Nolan fell of of the counter that day and bumped his head hard. Josh got sushi for me but he didn't check what they gave him and it was 95% sashimi which I don't like...so we ended up giving it to a friend. He also forgot a cake for me...:) But we went out to ice cream and that was fun. He helped the boys get me a huge bag of m&m's. He said the boys (mostly Nolan) wanted to get me a "Finding Dory" bath toy, but he was able to talk them out of it. Josh got me a cute green cargo jacket and a kitchen aid attachment to make zucchini noodles. I am 29 now! Next year is the big 3-0!!!
San Diego Trip
We went to San Diego for a few days. We left the day after my birthday. On Thursday, we left around lunch time, and drove the 6 1/2 hour drive to San Diego. It was fun to pass the sand dunes by Yuma, on the border of California and Arizona. We stopped and ate our packed sandwiches for dinner then continued on our way.
Bennett was not such a great traveling companion. He cried a lot. The only way I could get him to stop crying was snacks for a short while, holding his hand from the front seat until my own arm ached or music, for a short time. This trip was kind of a test for our really big road trip this summer, and it didn't give us a lot of confidence in Bennett's road trip stamina...Nolan did great. He watched some movies, listened to music and just looked out the window.
We stayed at this little one-bedroom air b&b. It was our first time using that website to find housing. We liked it better than a hotel because we didn't have to share walls with neighbors, we could put the kids to bed in a different room so we didn't have to all go to sleep at the same time and there was a washer/dryer and a kitchen. It was a little smaller than I had expected but it worked out fine. It was cute and cozy.
DAY 1: SEAWORLD
Seaworld isn't really that kid friendly if it doesn't open until 10 am. My kids woke up at 6 am with anticipation of going to Seaworld and we had to temper their excitement for nearly 4 hours! Whew! We got up, and then did a little bit of grocery shopping, got some donuts (pictured), then visited Josh's dad's childhood home.
It was really fun to feel connected to him a little while in San Diego. This is the town he grew up in. I hope he was there with us while we visited places that meant a lot to him.
Then, we finally got to go to Seaworld! There are tanks at the front where you can touch fish and small sharks. Nolan had a blast. There is one where, if you hold your hand really still, the fish will come up to you and clean your hand. Josh was the only one brave enough to let all of the fish suck on his hand.
Nolan waiting for the orca show to start.
Nolan's favorite sea animal--the orca whale!
We went on a couple of the kid rides as a family. Bennett looked a little sick, but Nolan was thrilled!
A walrus!
There was a fun area called "Bay of Play". It was really little kid friendly and our boys spent a couple of hours there.
Flamingos!
A beluga whale.
The picture we took at the end of our fun day. The boys aren't paying attention...oh well!!
Josh got a bad sunburn at Seaworld. He was a trooper to endure the next couple of days in the sun after getting scorched!
Other than the sunburn, we had a blast. We saw the sea lion show, the orca show (Nolan's favorite), and the dolphin show. We loved seeing all the animals and getting splashed by one of the rides.
DAY 2: THE BEACH
We had first thought we would go to La Jolla Cove to see the sea lions, but when we got there, we couldn't find parking for 2 miles! So we ended up going to Coronado Beach instead. It was perfect. It was pretty windy that day however and Josh was worried about our beach tent getting blown over. Josh got another sunburn, this time a tank sunburn to go with his farmer's tan! Haha!
Bennett was nervous about the water at first and preferred to stay on the beach and play with the sand. Remember how I said it was a windy day? Sand kept getting in our faces.
Bennett decided to try out the water.
This was when Bennett wasn't so thrilled about the beach anymore...
But Nolan still had a blast!!
The biggest hiccup of our trip was that on our way to California, Ken & Sheri called us to tell us they all had bronchitis and couldn't host us for Saturday and Sunday night! Josh and I were in the car trying to find housing, via our cell phones (not the easiest thing to do). It was so expensive because it was so last minute. So I searched my facebook friends and see if any of them lived close to San Diego. I ended up reaching out to a friend from College, Alie & Tyler Jones. They live in Carlsbad, they have 2 young boys too. She was so kind and let us stay with them Saturday night. They even took us in all sandy and sunburned! They fed us dinner and breakfast too. They were true angels and lifesavers to us!!
DAY 3: LA JOLLA COVE
We decided to see the seals at La Jolla Cove before going home. It was much less crowded this second try, and we got a good parking spot. It was a beautiful view. We loved walking in the sand.
Life Lately
Bennett is getting so big. I can't believe he's almost 2!! He is doing pretty well. He doesn't say much though. The doctors think he will catch up this next year with his speech. His growing has gone up and down. His weight is currently climbing up! He started an appetite enhancement medicine. IT definitely has increased his appetite so far! He is on a break from physical therapy and feeding therapy. And with the weight growth being more steady, we only have to see the nutritionist every few months. So we haven't had to go to the doctor as much lately. We have enjoyed the freer schedule!
Bennett is full of personality. He glares at strangers, he gives huggies and kisses. He hits his brother. He loves to tease. He will pace the room. He throws everything. He screeches loudly. He speedwalks instead of running. He is cuddly, and has the brightest smile.
This was on a day where Bennett wouldn't nap, and Nolan wouldn't leave my side for quiet time. So I told them we would be having a family nap. As you can tell from the picture, not much sleep occurred during this "family nap". But we had lots of giggles.
This is Nolan with his friends at the park. Pure childhood!
There is an animal walk at Safari Park here, where you walk along and see iron animal statues. It is the kids' favorite. They love to climb on the animals even though the signs say, "Caution: VERY HOT". Haha!
This is a just a meal I made that was incredibly delicious. I have to document when I make something fancyish. :)
Nolan is starting to do chores. He has to vacuum every Saturday. And mop too. He sets the table and clears the table. He puts away his laundry too. And cleans up his toys.
The boys loved the file folder games I made them! I have to use my stored up teacher energy somehow!
"ABC Chart" game.
These boys love to read. It is something we have done right as parents!
We did a FitzKid race. They are these free races for kids. Nolan started out strong but got tired. But he finished strong. I loved running with him! It took us about 16 minutes and almost last place...but that's ok!
Memorial Day
We decided to put a temporary headstone on Josh's dad's grave. There is no other marker that it is, so we wanted there to be something there until the large headstone arrives. We hope we got it on the right grave...
It was somber to visit his grave. We miss him tremendously. I'm glad my boys got to meet him but I'm really sad he doesn't get to see them grow up. We try to show pictures, videos and tell stories of him growing up. We are trying to keep them connected to him.
In the afternoon, we went to Josh's grandma's house for a BBQ and swimming. Nolan was in heaven. Bennett too.
Phew, I have recorded the highlights of May. Now on to June!! Bennett's birthday, and my brother Bryan comes from his mission!! And at the end of the month, we go on our big road trip!
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