a little love for the animals

On Monday (Day 3 of our vacation), we headed down to San Diego to visit the Wildlife Animal Park and Sea World. Our original itinerary had us visiting these two attractions on two different days, but after only one day of trekking around Disneyland, we knew we were going to need a day off sometime in the week. Plus, our drive to San Diego was a good hour and a half each way and anything to avoid doing this two times in the week, we were willing to do!

We got up way too early for a vacation, and headed to San Diego for our first stop at the Wildlife Animal Park. This was part of our City Pass that we bought at Costco in preparation for the trip. (Such a great deal if you're looking for a lot to do on vacation in Southern California and plan on staying for a good week or so.) The pass included the African Safari Tour where we hopped on a tram and got to see many species of African animals in their expanded enclosures.


After our ride, we then walked around to see many more animals. This place is not your average zoo, people. When I say walked. I mean hiked.


We struggled a little with our sense of direction...


And Ryan helped feed the deer in the petting kraal...


After a fun morning, we hopped in the car, grabbed some Subway goodness, and headed to Sea World to spend the afternoon. It ended up being a little bit cooler than expected, which made it a bit more chilly. Our first stop when we got inside was to the show Pets Rule! I love these kind of shows where the animals do their tricks, so I was super excited. We sat in the "wet zone", but we figured since there was no water close by that we would be safe. We got sprayed with a water hose at one point during the show, but nothing major. Cute, cute show!


My favorite show by far was Believe! with the killer whales. I was so amazed by the ability these animals have. We stayed out of the soak zone, but others weren't so lucky. I'm pretty sure they were asking for it...must have been part of the thrill of the show! I would watch this over and over if I had the chance.


We finished the afternoon with a couple more shows, like the infamous dolphins and a cute show with seals as the star attraction. We also saw many different marine life.


We took a ride on the Raging River Raft Ride where we got soaking wet (of course, more me than Ryan). Then to finish the evening before heading home, we took a ride on Journey of Atlantis where we got just a little bit more wet. It would have felt great if the weather was a bit nicer. The ride home was spent with the heaters cranked on high.

All in all our long day was a lot of fun and although I may not repeat the safari, I would definitely love to bring the kids back one day to join in the fun at Sea World.

oh, to be a kid again!

Day 2 of our vacation started out with a lazy morning...the best kind! We weren't in any rush (although still excited) to head to Disneyland because we knew this was the first day of many that we would be out and about all day long, so we thought we would pace ourselves.

When we got to Disneyland, we just kind of walked around dumbfounded. We didn't really know where to start. It was Sunday, so there was still a lot of people despite it being December. We took some typical tourist shots, like standing in front of the castle (which was so beautifully decorated with "snow"). Neither of us are really good at asking strangers to take our pictures, so there are a lot of pictures of just one or the other or the famous shot from above of the two of us where all you can see are the two of us.

See me standing in front of the castle? Yea. Right there. In the brown shirt.


Our first ride we decided to go on was the Matterhorn Bobsled since we just so happened to head in that direction next (we decided to skip out on Fantasyland since it was filled with children and would only make us long for our own!). The Matterhorn was our first line we sucked up to stand in, but we were in our bobsled in a matter of no time. The ride was a bit more jerky than I had remembered, but it was fun all the same.

We headed to Autopia next and realized that we were in for a day of long lines. Here I am "zooming" past...


...And leaving my man in the dust.

Or something like that. He was actually riding my bumper the whole time. My pedal was pushed all the way to the floor, but no luck in going any faster than my little car could go.

Of course, while enjoying going from here to there while in Disneyland, we encountered many fun characters. These were the times I was longing for our little babies to be with us! I know Mikayla would have gotten a kick out of seeing these lovable friends!! Or it's quite possible she would have run the other direction in an effort to avoid them!

After checking off all the list of rides in Tomorrowland, we headed over to California Adventure to watch the new Pixar Play Parade. Again, Mikayla (and one day Austin) would have loved this! It was all of her little friends from the tube...

While still at California Adventure, we also took in the 3D show, It's Tough to be a Bug with the Bug's Life characters. Such a cute show with lots of fun surprises. (My husband's gonna kill me for showing these pictures!)


Unfortunately our camera's battery went dead shortly thereafter, but we finished off the evening with heading back over to Disneyland, grabbing a bite to eat and hopping on Pirates of the Carribean, two times of Splash Mountain (no lines...should have guessed why after only one ride of getting a little more wet than I had anticipated; did I mention it was 8:00 at night, and cold?) We also rode Thunder Mountain Railroad twice with little lines. Afterwards, we grabbed a snack of chocolate caramel corn (heavenly!) and waited for the fireworks show. We waited in the crowds longer than we wanted to, but it was so worth it! The firework show was so amazing and it all ended with some "snow" over Main Street.

Christmas at Disneyland is so beautiful!

muffin tin monday - the gingerbread baby

For this week's Muffin Tin Monday over at Her Cup Overfloweth, our theme was to do something that goes along with a Christmas story. I chose The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. This is actually a book we have around all year long, so Mikayla was familiar with its story. My last year of teaching I used this book for a writing lesson at Christmas time, so I was quite familiar with the story as well.

So, despite the busyness of the week in preparing to leave for California, I couldn't resist putting together a muffin tin so we could decorate gingerbread men (or babies). Plus, the kiddos deserved a little time with mommy (although I think Austin got the short end of the stick on this one).

~ our muffin tin ~

Top Row: coconut, red gel, black gel, mini M & M's
Middle Row: raisins, red hots, craisins
Bottom Row: green sugar, chocolate sprinkles, Christmas sprinkles, red sugar


Mikayla loves to bake...
she got a Christmas apron from Aunt Kristen
for an early Christmas present

hard at work...
if you look closely you'll notice some
evidence of missing candy on this little girl's face
death by candy...poor little gingerbread baby

We indulged in our baking after dinner, but with one bite of the head and a mixed reaction on the face of a 2 1/2-year old, I was quickly handed back the cookie and was told, "I don't like it." Nice. Now we have about 14 gingerbread babies that have been rejected by their maker. Hopefully they won't take it personal.

Next week's theme: Christmas shapes. The possibilities are already brewing...

Why do I participate in Muffin Tin Monday? Because it gives me the opportunity to do something fun and different when day to day life can get mundane. Try it! Just for something that will "shake things up" a bit. That's why I love this blogging world...it encourages me to do some different things. To stay creative and continue having fun in a household full of "daily duties".

ok, everyone on the couch!

If you know me, you know I like to take pictures...either people roll their eyes when I say "let's get a picture" or they are so thankful that I'm such a photo freak. Take it or leave it, but I'm still going to try to capture that moment.

I wish I had more pictures that documented our time with family over the Thanksgiving weekend, but my main objective was to get some cute pictures of the cousins all together on the couch, so I could have these memories tucked away for when I needed them most. I have pictures of me and my cousins way back when all lined up on our grandma and grandpa's couch in the basement. Those pictures will always be cherished, and so, to help carry on the tradition for my kids and their cousins, we rounded up the kiddos and took a few snapshots.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with my husband's side of the family (his parents and brother and his family).

~ the Boos side of the family ~
Parker (1 1/2), Riley (3 1/2), Mikayla (2 1/2), Austin (1)

A couple of days later we had my side of the family over for lasagna (sans "the big wigs"...a.k.a our parents). My brother and his family, and my sister and her family who drove down from Tacoma, WA.

~ the Johnson side of the family ~
Jacob (8), Noah (2 1/2), Mikayla (2 1/2), Hunter (1 1/2), Austin (1), & Hailey (5 months)

If you ever hear me say, "OK, everyone on the couch!", try hard not to roll your eyes, but just embrace it and play along with my insanity.

Here are just a few of the other victims from the past...

we're here!

After a slightly teary-eyed goodbye (I kept it together better than I had thought...for the kids, for the kids) to our two sweet children, Ryan and I made it to Southern California this afternoon. The flight was good and fast and of course, with our luck we sat across from a mom with 2 children close in age to Mikayla & Austin. Part of it made me want my kids with me, but the "trying to keep them entertained and not fussy" part made me thankful I was sitting and reading my magazine in peace.

Our rental car ended up being a white PT Cruiser. Can you imagine us driving around in this? It's a far cry from our mini van.


We grabbed a bite to eat at this nice little restaurant called Baja Fresh. Yea, we didn't quite get out of the box for that one. Someone suggested a nice steak house, but after hearing "dress code" we figured we were out since jeans and sneakers were pretty much the staples in our suitcase.


After lunch, we checked into the Newport Coast Marriott Vacation Resort. And, let me tell you, we can't say thank you enough to my in-laws for the FREE 1 week time share (which we were given for our 1st anniversary and finally "cashed in" on our fifth anniversary). Can you say $385 a night?! For free?! We are blessed. Spoiled, actually. We aren't travelers and when we are, it's usually in a budget hotel, so this is like a 2nd honeymoon for us. The view from our room is pretty. A little of the beach, a little of the golf course (and I do mean little), but we love those palm trees, which are so beautifully decorated with pretty white lights. Love it!


We hit the grocery store to stock up a bit for some of our meals, but after that we weren't sure what to do with ourselves. What did we do before kids? Not sure. This is when I got a little teary-eyed again thinking about the kiddos and wishing they were with us. I'm sure I'll go through that at least a few times this week.

After thinking it was at least 7:00, we realized it was only 5:00 and decided to find a movie theater close by. I've been wanting to watch the movie Four Christmases with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. It was cute and funny. The theater was inside an outdoor mall. Yea, they have those in places where it's warm. I was captured by the giant tree in the middle of the mall and had to get a picture...mostly for Mikayla.

We're enjoying some downtime and will probably hit the hay pretty soon so we can be well rested for our trip to Disneyland tomorrow. We figured we would make it a lazy morning and then later in the morning, we would head to Disneyland and stay through the evening to see the fireworks and enjoy Disney at Night.

If I have time, I would love to post each night or every other night. I figure this will be a good way to journal our fun times so we won't forget!

just a little behind

So, this is what I did today while the kids napped...


I've been wanting to take down our fall decorations and get started on the Christmas decor so badly, but since we are leaving for California on Saturday, I've been busy preparing things for us leaving the kids with their grandparents...not to mention finishing our Christmas cards and other have-tos, like MOPS stuff and a few other Christmas cards I designed for some friends. I do have to say that I am proud that I had my priorities straight because all the things I had on my "to do list before vacation" are now officially crossed off. I can spend the day finishing laundry, doing some last minute packing, and I think I might even have some time for putting up a few more Christmas decorations.

Although I am feeling anxious about leaving the kids, I am also getting super excited! I plan on having one or two posts ready to go next week automatically, so you'll still be able to catch up on a few things that I've been wanting to share. I also might try to post some pictures of our trip while we're in California. We'll see...

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! I'm a little sad that we'll be missing out on a full week of Christmas fun that I could be doing with my kids (and enjoying making some crafty things, too), but I know this will be a memorable time for me and my husband. I can't wait to experience Christmas at Disneyland. I'm sure it's nothing short of amazing!!

And, lastly, I've read so many fun blogs that celebrate Christmas all month long with a fun activity for each day (big or small), so this year because of us being gone, I've decided that when we get back, to help continue my love for the holidays, I will be doing 12 Days of Christmas with my kids. You'll just have to check back in to see what that means. We return on the 13th, which means there are 12 days until Christmas. Could it be more perfect?

mommy's makeup...

...was apparently Mikayla's makeup yesterday.

That girl loves to get ready for a night on the town! I felt bad having to tell her that I think she put on a little bit too much lip gloss.


I guess this is what I get for thinking that her and Austin are just "quietly playing".


And today when my husband got home from work, this is what he found as he walked down the hallway...

I didn't even know!

I heard the kids laughing and giggling (aka having fun!) while I was fixing dinner. Apparently, it was a brand new roll. Oops!

if I was a Christmas tree...

Since we aren't putting up our Christmas tree until after we get back from California, which isn't until the 13th (and yes, in a way this is killing me!), I thought I would at least share with you that if I were a Christmas tree, apparently I would be...

A Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree

Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

It hit me right on the head, don't you think? Although I do feel the "impress everyone" is not really me since I like to do these things to make people smile, not to show off.

Click on the link above and go see what kind of Christmas tree you are.

there's just something about those glasses

It's Wordless Wednesday!! Which is a good thing because there's lots to do and I shouldn't be blogging anyway...

I can't help but crack up at this picture that was taken on Thanksgiving Day. Austin wanted us to keep putting these glasses on him. These are a pair of "nerd" glasses that my husband used once for a Halloween costume when we were first married. (I'll spare you the photo since I'm sure my husband would not appreciate it.)

Austin - 14 months old

And what's even better is that I dug through my pictures to find one of Mikayla wearing these same glasses...

Mikayla - 13 months old

There's just something about being extra goofy! And, it probably doesn't hurt that the parents help it along!

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday.

countdown to Christmas

My wonderful seamstress of a mother "whipped up" this here little advent calendar for my kids this year. I had found one I liked with a hefty price tag while browsing the web and instead of trying to put my own craftiness to work, I thought I would pawn it off onto my mom. She was up for the challenge and our much anticipated calendar came a couple of weeks ago. We were super excited to put it up, but I held off until December 1st.

Mikayla is getting to the age where she is soaking a lot of what we tell her and show her, so she was right on board with it. At first, I was going to put a little treat inside each pocket as our countdown, but then I got to thinking how much I cherish the most important reason for this season...Jesus Christ! So, I found a cute little picture of baby Jesus in a manger on the computer, printed it off, and taped it to a popsicle stick. Mikayla gets to move baby Jesus each day until we get to Jesus's birthday. She loves to do this (although it's only been two days) and has already begun to understand that December 25th is Jesus's birthday.

Why does this work for me? It brings out the true reason for Christmas and it teaches my children why we celebrate Christmas. It's not all about presents, Christmas decorations, and yummy cookies (although we are blessed to have these traditions), but it's about celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior.

Look how excited these sweet little kiddos are!
Thanks, Grammy, for helping us start such a special tradition!

May you be blessed this holiday season and let us not forget the true reason we celebrate Christmas!

Visit Rocks in My Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday.

it only took a year

Updated to add on 5/1/09: This post is part of The Masked Mommy's Beautify Your Home Pow Wow! Go take a peek for more inspiring home decor.





Today, I'm talkin' it up for Talk About Tuesday hosted by The Lazy Organizer. It's the first Tuesday of the month, which means it's the Home Tour Edition...my favorite!



So, there's this little project that I have been wanting to get d0ne, but I have put it off for quite some time now. Oh, let's just say...a year? Yes, that's right, a little over a year ago we had our sweet little boy. And, unlike our first child, the nursery wasn't quite complete at the time of his arrival. I should say that most of it was done because, come on...it's me we're talking about! It just felt like something was always missing. (Not that anyone but me would actually notice.)

In the beginning, I had a hard time finding the right crib bedding for our baby boy. This was kind of a treat for us to be on the hunt because we didn't do the whole crib bedding thing with our first (it's probably because I couldn't find something I liked enough!) Much to my surprise and excitement, the ONE crib bedding set that I really like just happened to be on clearance because it was the floor model and did I mention I had a 20% off coupon?. How lucky was I?! The set came with a bumper, quilt, checkered sheets, and a valance. The diaper caddy was missing, but I wasn't going to use it anyway, so that didn't bother me. Anyway, this started my hunt to turn our room that was once our office into a little boy's room.

Here is what the bedding looks like (this is actually the quilt). I love the colors!


My mom and I took the quilt to Home Depot and found the perfect green to paint the one wall we were planning to repaint. We just held it up to the paint matching machine (is that what they call it?) and woolah! The perfect green! We left the other 3 walls "as is" because they were a cream color that went well. Why change something that works, right?

My next creative endeavor was to help spruce up the bare walls a bit. I just so happened to find some cute little wooden cut outs at JoAnns that looked just like the transportation vehicles as what was on the bedding. Again, I brought the quilt with me and found some acryclic paint and tried to match the colors as best I could.

Here are my little creations (don't look too closely)...


Here's a quick 360 degree tour...

This particular area has been complete from day one...probably the only part of the room that has. I found the square blocks that are on the green wall in our garage just waiting for them to be used somewhere! They were a perfect match to the furniture color. I knew I had saved them for something.


I had painted letters to spell the name of our son. The cute little mobile you see hanging was the final touch to this little corner. It was way to expensive to buy for when Austin was little, but this last summer I found it at a garage sale for only 3 dollars! I thought I could use it just like you see here...a little added decor. It matched exactly to the bedding. And did I mention it was only 3 dollars? In perfect condition.


The same time we hung the "mobile", I finally hung up something above the dresser. It had been sitting bare for over a year and it's the first thing you see when you walk into his room. I had to do something to spruce it up. I also found the lamp you see on the dresser on a shelf in our garage. Seriously that place is a gold mine! The changing table and baskets have been there from day one. My mom made basket liners out of blue fabric with little stars.


And finally, I found this fabric growth chart at a second hand store, and although it isn't the same brand of the bedding set, it couldn't have matched any more perfectly. This is where the mirror used to hang (that is now above the dresser), but with a blank wall underneath.


And now we've come full circle!

Thanks for taking a little tour of my little man's room. It finally feels finished and it actually feels a bit more cozy. One of these days we'll get some books on the bookshelf and maybe even add a few toys. One thing (er, year) at a time, right?


*It's a good thing I've had this little post ready to go for at least a week because there's no way I would have been able to find some time to get it together. I'm barely finding time to breathe these days!

don't give up on me!

I'm still here, wanting to blog so badly, but trying really hard to get things done in the next 6 days I have before my husband and I leave for Southern California. What? I didn't tell you that we are celebrating our 5-year anniversary with a trip to see the sites? Yes, we are being crazy and taking off a week during the busiest time of the year to enjoy many of the well-loved California attractions. Unfortunately, we are leaving our 1-year old munchkin and 2 1/2-year old princess behind, which is breaking my heart just talking about it. Part of me says, "what in the world are you thinking?" (please tell me my kids won't need therapy for us abandoning them) and the other part says, "this will be some much needed and enjoyed time with just your husband". We wanted to visit the Happiest Place on Earth during the most beautiful season...Christmas! Luckily, our kiddos will be in good hands with the grandparents and I'm sure the week will fly by quickly! Right? Please someone tell me the week will fly by quickly!

In the meantime, while I continue to cross off (and add) things on my list, here is a quick little post showcasing our Muffin Tin Monday hosted by Her Cup Overfloweth. There was no theme this week, but we were able to have TWO muffin tins this week. I don't know...I must have been on a roll or something!

apple slices, pizza bites, cucumbers, apples, more pizza bites, raspberry yogurt

YoGos, PB&J bites, veggie booty, grapes, more PB&J bites, Satsuma oranges (which, by the way, didn't go over too well with the toddler's tastebuds!)

Next week's theme is Christmas stories and you better believe I'm going to try my hardest to squeeze this one in before I leave! It sounds like too much fun! Wanna join me?

I do have some fun pictures of Mikayla swimming and our Thanksgiving with lots of cousins to share, not to mention a few fun holiday goodies, but this short post for today (very early today) will have to do for now. Let's hope I'll get a chance to break away from my list of things to do and stop back by here.