Newport Beach 2020

 

Ok. So I've been going out of order a little bit. I'm going to attempt to go back and fill in the blanks of 2020. It was a shit year - so I'm blaming the disorganization of the blog on that. There will be a lot more pictures from Newport since we spent a lot of our quarantine days there.

Yosemite

 

Over the summer we went to Yosemite with my family. My stepdad and I had a bet that I couldn't hike Yosemite Falls without complaining. 25,656 steps, 11.7 miles, and 134 floors later - I got a pair of high heels.  There was no way in hell that I was going to complain. It was a looooooooooong day - but I was pretty proud of myself for getting through it!

Spring Break 2020

 

I realize that Spring Break is right around the corner and I should have posted last years awhile ago....but to be honest the last 11 months have been a bit of a blur.

For Spring Break 2020 I wanted to do something fun for the kids. We couldn't travel and had been housebound for a month.  I decided to make a jar filled with fun things the kids wanted to do. We all filled out little pieces of paper and the kids picked a few out each day.

There were a lot of nerf gun fights and game nights. Sometimes both ended in tears and sometimes they didn't

There were lots and lots of movies nights.

One day we planted flowers in little pots. I got the kids little gardening sets and we put a bunch of wildflowers in multicolored pots. The kids were so good about watering them every day. And then it got super hot....and a lot of the flowers died. Let's just say the pots are no longer outside.

And one of my personal favorites was making paper airplanes, decorating them, and then seeing whose flew the farthest. Newsflash - Andrew was the winner.

We also wrote letters to family and friends.

We also did science experiments and water balloon fights. I'll just say this - one of these activities lead to a meltdown by a certain person. I'm not naming any names though....

All in all it was a really fun way to celebrate Spring Break when we couldn't go anywhere. We all took part and everyone was able to write at least one thing down they wanted to do. Andrew's favorite was when the kids made us breakfast in bed.....

Max Wanger Photoshoot

As you all know - my absolute favorite photographer is Max Wanger. I love love love all his photographs and for the last two years we've been lucky enough to get holiday pictures with him. This year we definitely took more than we did last year. The kids were much better behaved (they knew that their mom wouldn't mess around again) and Andrew was feeling much better.

This was our holiday card this year. I think it perfectly captures our crazy little family. I'm hoping that we can do it again next year!

Family Pics

On my birthday we did a drive by birthday party (more on that later) and had a photographer come and take some "porch portraits" of us. I hardly ever get pictures of us as a family unless I'm doing it myself. And unfortunately it gets frustrating because the kids are always fighting...or no one wants to do it. With a photographer - everyone is on their best behavior! 

Mexico Day 2

Our second day in Mexico was fun...although there were a few tears from everyone including me! You know when you've been looking forward to something for so long....and then something happens that just ruins everything? Well...that happened on more than one occasion for me. From the kids fighting to no one wanting to go on any excursions. To not being able to get into the one restaurant that I was dying to try to not being able to go into the ocean. Etc etc etc. The hotel did have a lot of cool features though. There was a homemade ice cream shop, nightly shows and live music, loads of good restaurants and a gorgeous beach.

See what I told you about the tears. This was one of a handful of times that Buster was not happy. It's hard to be 6 sometimes!! The food was really good. I had these fish tacos a few times on the beach while we were there. 

At the pool you could buy inflatable toys - so of course the kids had to have one! I secretly wanted one too. They also had this really fun spot where you could make crafts. Honestly - it was so fun we did it almost every day. And the finished pieces were pretty amazing. The guys running the crafts added a lot of details that made them look like ceramics sold at the gift shop!

Dinner was always hit or miss. Andrew and I loved it because everything was included.....but sometimes it was hard with the kids. Their palates aren't quite as refined as ours. 

Mexico Day 1

After New Years we headed to Mexico for the trip we postponed when Andrew was in the middle of his chemo treatments. I'd never been to Playa Del Carmen and was excited to see what it was all about. Unfortunately we booked a red eye - since it was the only direct flight I could find.  Let me say this - NEVER AGAIN WITH THE KIDS.  Andrew and I couldn't sleep....and it was a lot harder than taking a day flight.  Oh well - live and learn.

On a side note - this was the only day I went into the pool.  The water was so cold and believe it or not - it was the warmest day when it was raining. 

New Years 2020

New Years day we drove to Newport to visit the family.  My mom and Chris bought a new house on the island and it is AMAZING. The kids love it and ask every weekend if we can go.