Easter FHE

This evening we had Family Home Evening with our good friends, the Galbasinis. What an adventure it is dyeing Easter eggs with kids. They actually did really well...except for Mason drank a big gulp of the blue dye. I guess it looked appetizing! While the eggs were drying, we built a fire and roasted marshmallows. Bowen even broke out the guitar and serenaded us as we ate our smores. There's nothing better than ending your night like that! Thanks, guys, for a fun night!

Sunburns and minivans

I know I've mentioned how much I love living here, and today was no exception! Bowen woke up early to go wake boarding with some guys from our ward. I made lunches and got ready for the beach so we could leave as soon as he got back. AJ (Bowens cousin) is in town for a while on his ship so we swung by and picked him and his friend up on our way. We spent most of the day at the beach and actually had quite a few people drop by and hang out at our "camp." It was a little breezy out but the sun was hot! Bowen and I now look like lobsters. I guess I was so busy trying to keep Mase from getting sunburned I forgot about us. Oh well, I need some color anyway. I love our Summer Saturday Beach Days. Anybody and everybody is always invited!

Here's the old Jimmy all loaded up for the beach!

Colten and AJ slowly becoming addicted to San Diego and its greatness :)

Poor Bowen, he's had such a hard day of wake boarding and surfing. He needed a good nap!

Can you guess what this is......?????

...It's Mason! We had only been there a couple hours, but he was exhausted! Luckily Heidi was there to work her baby magic and put him to sleep. What cute little sand baby I have!

I guess the water and wind were a perfect combination for kite surfers today because there were sooooo many! I've never seen this many at the beach before. They fun to watch but I got tired just watching them! What a workout.

After a good 5 hours at the beach we packed up and headed back home to get cleaned up and head out for the evening. The boys headed out for the night and we headed once again to Carmax to see if our van was ready to be picked up.

Yes, that's right, I said van. I know, I can't believe it either! I always said I would never get a van and now that's what I'd rather have over any vehicle right now. It took a little while to convince Bowen that a van would be so much more efficient than a big SUV but after he borrowed a friends Yukon and filled up the gas tank he was in complete agreeance with me.

Our last ride in the beloved BMW. I think I saw a little tear in Bowen eye as he handed over the keys to the salesman. Don't worry, I was sad too. It was a great (fast...luckily no speeding tickets) year and a half!

So now we are the proud owners of a 2007 Honda Odyssey! Yay!

Can you just see the excitement on Bowens sunburned face?!?

Mason was sure excited to have all that room back there!

We decided we needed to celebrate this new exciting chapter in our lives so I took Bowen to his favorite restaurant, Wings N' Things. We were all stuffed by the end but it was sure delicious! It was such fun day. Sometimes I feel like we're on vacation living here. I never want it to end!

Good news and fun times

What busy/fun/exciting couple of days we've had we've had. I had a Dr's appointment yesterday morning. This one I'd been looking forward to all week because we were able to find out the gender of our baby. I'd woke up at 4AM and couldn't go back to sleep because I was so excited. Luckily the apt was at 9:00 so I didn't have to wait long. Heidi watched Mason and Bowen met me at the hospital. We quickly learned (and it was quite definite) that we're having another BOY!!! I'm so excited! Mason gets a little brother, Bowen is that much closer to having his own personal football team, and I don't have to change the decor of Masons room. Mostly we just excited to have another little person join our family. As soon as we got out of the office we were on our phones calling and texting everyone the good news. We had already decided on a name for our first two boys before we were even married. I had always wanted a Mason and Bowen had always wanted a Malachi (like in the bible). So, that's his name! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by already. I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow and it seems like just yesterday I found out we were expecting. I think working and chasing a toddler around keeps my mind and body so occupied that each weeks just flies by. We'll see how fast the weeks go by when I get closer to my due date which is August 14...ish.

I had another appointment this morning and Mason came along. He always gets worried when the nurse takes my blood pressure. I tell him that it's just giving my arm a big hug and that calms him down a bit. My midwife said everything looks good from the ultrasound pictures so that's always comforting to hear. Mason sat on my chest while we listened to the baby's heart beat. I tried to explain to him that there was his little brother in mommy's tummy. I think he's still a little to young to get it, but hey, it's worth a shot. He just is obsessed that my belly is poking out. If he sees my belly button he runs up, pushes on it, and says, "Ding dong." What nut!

By the time we got out of there and home it was past Masons nap time and he was delirious. He slept for a couple hours while I got some housework done. When he woke up we headed to the zoo for the afternoon. I met a few girlfriends and their kids there. Most all of our husbands work together so they met us there too. It was nice just to walk around and visit with everyone. The kids wore themselves out, of course, and by the time it was time to go, they were ready!

Mason could've just watched the flamingos all day!

There is a new extension of the polar bear exhibit that includes a helicopter you can go sit in. Mase was so excited! He kept saying, "heltopter, heltopter!!!" There is also "polar bear caves" that you can crawl through but he wanted nothing to do with them.

On to Elephant Odyssey. If you ask Mason what an elephant says he will say, "Moooooo."

We're working on that one.

Now the Lion was pretty awesome! He kept roaring so loud! I can definitely see why he's called the king of the jungle. Mason knows what a lion says but I think he was taken back at how loud it actually is!

What a fun afternoon! We had to rush home so I could go to a baby shower. The boys spent their evening watching basketball and eating Chinese take out. Can you think of a better top to the night? Ha Ha!

Now Mase is in bed, Bowen is passed out on the couch (snuggling with the dog), and here I am writing down my good news and memories. What a day! Tomorrow we're spending the entire day at the beach. I'm going to soak up some sun, build sandcastles with my baby, eat some sweet peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and watch my wonderful husband catch some waves.

Spring is in the air...okay more like Summer!

The weather has been so nice lately. I love that I don't have to slip on my Uggs every morning to avoid the bite of the cool night on my toes! Just last week was our first official beach day of the year. It was delightful to spend the day on the sand, soaking up the sun, and watch the kids play. I think that little bit of color on my face improved my mood 100%. After living here I know I couldn't move anywhere where it rains all the time. Both of my boys have thoroughly enjoyed the sun as well. All Mase wants to do is go outside, every day, all day. That's fine by me! Bowen went surfing last Saturday with the Young Men from the ward. I know he's excited to start Beach Day! It's full of surfing, sandcastles, boogie boarding, suntanning, and visiting with all of our friends. We set up camp in the morning and don't leave until the sun is setting. Have I ever mentioned that I love living here?!? Ha ha! I do!

Here are some pictures of what's been going on lately.

This is Masons favorite place to go by himself and eat his lunch, or snack. He acts like such an old man sometimes. I know he's had enough when all he asks for is a snack and to go outside. I call this "Mason's Spot."

The Easter Bunny was supposed to bring this to him but the smart little man saw the box, exclaimed, "Basket ball!!!!!", and wouldn't let it go. So, I'm thinking that I'll just put a bow on it Easter morning and have his little basket of goodies by it. He loves basketball (well really any ball) so much. If he's inside, he's shooting the ball. In Mason language he calls it, "shoot ball."

Our good friends daughter had a birthday party last Saturday. My oh my was it filled with fun activities! Mason had so much fun just running around, riding his bike, squirting the girls with squirt guns, playing ring toss, and eating cake. We were only there for about 4 hours but Mase was so worn out he slept for about 3 hours when he got home. Yesss!!!

I love Spring and Summer. It's a happy, memory filled time. I want to make this a fun time for Mason before he grows up and doesn't want to hang out with his mommy and daddy anymore. I know that's a ways away, but I hear it goes by fast.

Breakfast fit for my kings!

We have a few projects going on today that will require a lot of hard work. So, to prep my boys I made yummy buttermilk pancakes with strawberries and chocolate milk. Yummmmm!

Here's what we have going on today and the before pictures... Tear up the back yard (even more), level it out, put in a shed and pavers, and remove a giant tree stump. Tearing up the ugly linoleum in my kitchen. I'm so excited to see how these projects are going to turn out!

Our projects...dun, dun, dun

We recently discovered with all the rain that Masons room had sort of well...flooded. Ya, it was a great surprise to pull back the bunk beds and see mold all around the wall baseboards (barf). The carpet was completely a loss too. We found out that the dirt in the back yard was too high against the house and water was slowly leaking through. So my handyman husband started digging away. Once we got that under control it was time to deal with the floors inside. With the help of many friends we put in new wood floors throughout most of the house. It looks soooo good and I love how fast and easy I can clean it! Although the back yard is still in shambles (dang that rain won't stop!), we don't have that stinking leak anymore. One more thing to add to that project is we have to put gutters on the house too. That'll be a project of it's own! Our other project wasn't supposed to be such a project. We recently received a new washer and dryer. Yay! Only when the delivery men came to set them up, the machines didn't fit through the door. Oh no...here we go again. Since part of the door frame needed to be taken off, Bowen decided to tile the floor in the laundry room. With help from his friend, Rick, and all of his tile tools they were able to get the floor done super fast. Once the floor was complete and dry (it looks marvelous by the way) we moved in the machines. It was a sort of trial and error getting them set up and working properly, but now I am in love. I'm still catching up on 2 weeks worth of laundry but to have a washer that actually works is so so worth it!

Before....

After...

Now that Bowen has experienced how "easy" it is to put in tile, he wants to continue it through the patio, kitchen, and bathroom :) At times it's kind of tough having put money into your home...especially when you have no choice... but when you can do what you want and make it your home it's worth the price. I've been pretty careful to watch Mase with all of this construction going on, but yesterday he escaped and this is where we found him.

Help! I need feedback!

Ok, so Mason has definitely hit the terrible two's! He's cranky, stubborn, aggressive, and there's no compromising with him. What have you other moms done when they reach this crazy age?

Mom and Ethan, the rest of their trip.

Mom had never been to Ikea so we woke up bright and early Friday morning and headed there. I love Ikea but I must admit, it's a bit overwhelming to shop there with a 1 1/2 year old screaming the whole time. We had gotten a few things, but Mase had had it and we were supposed to meet Bowen for lunch downtown. So I just left our cart sitting there full of stuff and walked out.

This picture is very misleading. He was NOT all smiles the whole time.

After our brief adventure there we met Bowen for lunch. His work is getting super strict about the length of lunch breaks, so all too soon he had to head back to work. It was nice, though, to see him for that short little bit.

It nearing nap time so we headed back home. I'd been watching the Casa Linda Apartments while Heidi and Gordon were on Vacation. It was nice playing manager again :) Anyway, Mom and Ethan were nice enough to stay home with the Mase while I went and got some work done there. Thank again! I was even able to go the the grocery store. It's amazing how fast you can shop when you don't have an extra set of hands grabbing at things as you go down the isle!!!

When Bowen got home from work we got ready and headed out again. I had been wanting to go to the newly redone Mormon Battalion in Old Town so that's where we were headed. But first we stopped by USD to show Mom and Ethan where Bowen is going to school this fall. I'm so excited for him! This is a goal that he's had for such a long time and it's finally starting to become a reality!

This is the building where he will spend the next 4 years of his life

So after we drove around the campus we headed to Old Town. I don't know what it is about this little place, but I love it! Its so historic and there is always something going on. I knew the Mormon Battalion would be closing soon so we went there first. Let me just say, if you haven't been there and you get the opportunity to go, GO. It was so cool! There's a few surprises along the tour but I won't give them away. Plus, it's free so you can't beat that!

I don't even know who this statue is, but we were tourists, so we had to get a picture by it! Our group was pretty small and Ethan was the only young man there. He was quickly volunteered by all of us to be the one that got all dressed up like a soldier from the battalion. I think he thought that was pretty cool, especially when they handed him the gun that was taller than he was! Outside there was a place you could pan for gold, make oven fired adobe bricks, and pump water from a well. Mason loved doing them all!

There is a little restaurant called Cafe Coyote that sells fresh homemade tortillas on the street for super cheap. You dress them with either homemade salsa or butter and sugar. I had been craving them all day and oh my goodness they were good!

Everyone enjoyed their tortillas very much!

This was another restaurant where you could watch them making the tortillas too.

It had been such a long day but we had one more stop to go. We stopped by the Sears outlet center. Our washer and dryer were on it's way out and we desperately needed new ones. Thank you to an angel (well, two angels) we were able to get some machines that I hope will last us a very long time. I can't describe how grateful I am!

We were still all full from our little snack but we all still had room for some Yogurtland. I know, I'm an addict and I don't care. Ethan thought it was the neatest thing that you could dispense your own fro yo and add whatever toppings you wanted. I think he put every flavor and topping that would fit in that cup.

After such a long day we pretty much fell into bed that night. What a day!

Saturday morning was the launch of Bowens ship. It is part of the TAKE Explorer class of cargo ships for the Navy. We woke up early that morning to the wonderful sound of pouring rain. "Oh boy," I thought, "this is going to be interesting." Bowen had to leave earlier and we were going to meet him downtown. I ran outside to pull the car up to the house, but it wouldn't start. It was completely dead. I tried everything I could think of to get it started but nothing worked. Nobody was out and about that early...especially since it was raining so bad. After much distress we got a ride from a guy from church. We had arrived just in time to see the ship back out of port. We'd missed the ceremony, but at least we made it for the best part. I did feel bad mom and Ethan had missed it though. We did get a few pictures and quickly headed back to the car.

This is Bowens boss, Jason.

Here's Ethan sporting his fancy garbage bag poncho. Woot woot!

Outside the shipyard

On our way back to the car

AJ is in SD for the month and Holly had come out to visit him for the weekend. They had showed up for the launch but barely missed it. After a brief hello we all decided that we'd go to breakfast and try to warm up and dry off a bit.

By the time we were done with breakfast the rain had subsided a bit. Thank goodness! We took AJ and Holly back the the hotel and headed home. After resting from our eventful morning we got ready to go to a birthday party for one of Bowens friends kids. I kind of didn't want to go at first and made a stink about it, but I figured what else were we going to do? I'm glad we did go because it turned out to be a fun afternoon.

Sunday was beautiful. I love San Diego after it rains because everything is so beautiful, green, and clean! After church we drove to the top of Mt. Soledad to the lookout. You can see pretty much all of San Diego from there. Mason was just happy to get out and run around on the grass.

Over looking La Jolla Cove Family picture! This is one of Masons newest picture poses. What a ham!

Ethan had asked to see the temple so that's where we headed next. It's always beautiful but it was especially white and beautiful next to the blue, blue sky. We had such a great time with them here! As always the visit was much too short and I wish we could've done a few more things while they were here. We already miss them and can't wait until we see them again! Thank you! Love you!!!