School Firsts

Both the kids started school this year. Eva in preschool and Wyatt in Kindergarten. I know some people are so excited for school to start and have some down time, but I'm so lost without the kids! Wyatt was really excited, but also pretty nervous. He couldn't even eat his lunch on the first day. :)

(Can you tell that he like Phineas and Ferb?)

His friend across the street, Parker, is in the same class, which I think helped with some of his nervousness. Thankfully the teacher didn't seat them together or she might have had some trouble.

I know most people don't do 2 years of preschool with their kids, but Eva needs it. Not for the academics ( I think she's pretty smart, but I might be a little biased) but because she has a little problem with separation. She still has a hard time going to nursery every Sunday and tries to get me to stay with her. She's pretty comfortable with preschool because she would go on the field trips with me and Wyatt last year and she loves her teacher. And her best friend Ashlyn goes too so she has someone to be with. The first couple of days she wanted me to stay but now they get out of the car and tell me to leave. She won't even let me walk her to the door. I'm really hoping this means I won't be leaving a crying child when it's her turn for kindergarten.

I am adjusting to have them gone, thankfully not both at the same time. It's nice to have one on one time with each kid, especially since I still spend most of each day being sick with this new baby, but I also enjoy the mornings they are both home. I think the hardest part has been having Wyatt gone everyday. I sometimes forget that he has to go to school every afternoon and I'll plan things and then remember that he has school. Oops...I'm blaming that on the pregnancy as well. :)

Moonlight Beach

Other than Sea World our only plan was to chill at the beach, which we did. We spent all of Tuesday at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. Danny spent most of the time boogie boarding while the kids built sand castles and played in this huge pit. I lounged on the towels under our umbrella with Julie and Dusty.

Notice how Wyatt's legs look a little bit too dark? I'm guessing his sunscreen didn't quite have time to dry before he started playing.

Wyatt was totally game to try the boogie board until he wrecked and got a mouth full of sea water. He wouldn't even get back in the water after that. And great parent that I am, I thought it was quite funny. You can catch a little bit of him freaking out at the end of the video.

Sea World

We started out our day at Sea World with a the rides. I'm sure Eva would have stayed on them all day. I, on the other hand, volunteered to stay off and take pictures. I do not like rides that spin at all.

Especially since this is how that ride went:

Our next stop was to feed the Sea Lions. I think this was every one's favorite part. We were the first people of the day to feed them and as soon as we got the glass they started barking and yelling.

Right after got we feeding the out little fish the trainers came out with a bucket of fish and the sea lions went crazy.

The line for feeding the dolphins was already getting, so that was our next stop. Danny took the kids while I watched from the other side with Julie and Dusty. I didn't think Eva would get near them since she's afraid of pretty much all animals, but she fed them and even touched one. If you notice in the video she only uses one finger though. Wyatt was so excited to feed them he couldn't stand still while waiting in line.

Then it was off to the Shamu show. I didn't take any pictures or video though because we were sitting in the splash zone and I didn't want the camera to get wet. Which didn't turn out being a problem after all because our section didn't cheer loud enough to so we never got wet. It was still an awesome show.

We stopped for a snack break before heading to the dolphin show. Which was mostly acrobatics and no dolphins so skipped out after about 10 minutes and headed to the car for some lunch.

We rode the gondola's across the bay. The kids wanted to go again but the line was too long. I think Eva just wanted to sit so she could fall asleep. She's not used to going so long with no nap.

We walked to the Shark exhibit after the gondola ride and Eva fell asleep on the way.
This picture is kind of dark but this part was awesome. We rode an escalator through the pool of sharks. I wish it would have gone slower. Wyatt was a little nervous at first before he realized the sharks couldn't get us. :)

All in all, a great day at Sea World. We all went home and took naps before heading out to Old Town San Diego for some dinner.

Mission Beach

Our first beach stop was Mission Beach. Mostly because it was close to the hotel and we didn't want to drive far. We brought a picnic for lunch and ate at the bay while the kids looked for shells.

Later that evening we dressed in warmer clothes (the weather was pretty chilly compared to Utah) and headed out to the actual beach to see the waves. The kids loved it! We weren't planning on getting wet, but we should have been. Eva was washing her hands in the surf when she got blindsided by a big wave and ended up completely soaked. Didn't slow her down though.

Vegas

Since we haven't ever done a long drive with the kids we decided to split up the trip and stay one night in Vegas. We got there about 1 pm, dropped off our stuff at the hotel and then walked the strip with the kids.

We started with the lions at MGM, went onto the M&M Factory, Coca Cola Factory and ended with the fountains and gardens at Bellagio. It was sooo hot outside that we didn't last very long. The kids thought it was pretty cool, but I'm grateful they weren't old enough to really notice most of what was around them. Yikes! Pretty sure we won't be taking the kids there again anytime soon. :)

We finished the night off by eating at the Hash House a Go Go (below) and were going to head out to Fremont street after that but we were all so tired we just went back to the hotel to swim and went to bed. Because of all the traffic heading back to LA on Sunday we were up at 4:30 to head out.

Hmmm.....

Yes, I know it's been a while. A long while since I've updated. A little bit ago my sister left this comment on my last post (On the Menu: Sweet Pork Burritos)," Isn't your family getting sick of burritos by now? They've been on the menu for weeks! :)" I figured after that I should try to be better. But I haven't been, as I'm sure you know.

I am going to update today though. I know you have all been dying to know what' going on with us. I'm not going to tell you everything, mostly because it's probably pretty boring, but I will tell you what we did on Saturday. We decided to take the kids to San Diego a couple of months and started our trip on Saturday by driving to Vegas and staying the night. We spent the afternoon walking part the strip with the kids. M&M Factory, Bellagio Fountains, Coco Cola Factory, the lions at MGM and lots and lots of escalators, which I think were the kids favorite part. That's all they wanted to do. Over and over and over.

We ended the evening by eating at a little place called Hash House a Go Go. (If you're ever in Vegas, give it try. We like it. But be prepared to eat a lot of food. The portions are HUGE.) My bro-in-law saw it in Man vs. Food so he tried it out, loved it, and recommended it to us. Wyatt thought it was the best food ever, I think maybe because it was the biggest pancake he'd ever seen.

I don't remember what Danny's food was called, but it had biscuits, chicken, eggs, potatoes, bacon, cheese and smothered in chipotle sauce. I think he ate like a 1/4 of it.
Julie and I decided to share the grilled cheese and still didn't eat it all. So much food!

More vacation pics and videos to come soon. We are headed to the pool right now so we can wear the kids out and get them ready for bed.

On The Menu: Sweet Pork Burritos

My sis-in-law Erika made this for us a couple of weeks ago and I've been craving it since. Which is weird because I don't usually like shredded pork (I think because I don't like BBQ sauce and that's what a lot of people put on it). It's super easy to make and you can eat it on buns or on tortillas. We're having tortillas. (I discovered the raw tortillas, thanks to mom, and can't get enough of them!) My only problem with making anything in the crock pot is that I have to smell it all day and not eat it. :) At least it's not Fast Sunday today, right?

SWEET PORK:

2 pounds pork (we like to use boneless pork ribs)
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can diced green chilies
3/4 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

Yesterday's Excitement

Yesterday afternoon a firetruck came into the neighborhood and parked in front of our house. The neighbors all thought that we were having some sort of emergency and came over to check us out. Wasn't us though, thankfully. Turns out the fireman were looking at some vending machines that a neighbor is selling. The kids were so excited to see the truck and the fireman was nice enough to let them look inside and he even turned on the lights. Made Wyatt's day.

On the Menu: Chicken Fajitas

Made this recipe for the first time tonight. It was super easy and really good!

1 tsp. oil

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1/4 cup KRAFT Italian Dressing

3 cups pre-cut mixed fresh stir-fry vegetables (I actually used a bag of frozen fajita veggies)

2 tsp. chili powder

8 flour tortillas (6 inch) (I used the raw tortilla's)

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

HEAT oil in nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 min. or until done, stirring occasionally.

STIR in dressing, vegetables and chili powder; cook 5 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

TOP tortillas with chicken mixture and cheese; roll up.

What's that you say? It's not summer? Are you sure?

Today's forecast : Mostly cloudy with a high of 65 and a 20% chance of rain after 5.

The kids chose to ignore the forecast and pretend it was summer instead.

Oh, to be a kid again. :)

Notice the clouds behind Wyatt? Not very friendly, especially when wearing a swimsuit.