Ok so 2 months ago we went on vacation to California and I thought it might be time to actually post about it! Jeff had a National Waterpark Conference to attend in Palm Springs, CA. Well there was no way I was letting him go to California without me! So I called up my Mom and we made plans to go also. About a week before we left I started getting cold feet. Mainly I just wasn't too excited about a 6 hour plane trip with 2 kids, 1 Grandma w/ no memory and No Husband. You see Jeff was actually flying out on a different airline and arriving at a different airport. So I wasn't too thrilled with the way the plans were working out, but we had our tickets so off we went.
My kids are so great they made the whole trip. They were so well behaved on the airplane. Tyler gets so excited about traveling that the experience alone kept him occupied the whole time. Maggie could barely keep her eyes open the whole plane ride. Every take off and landing quicly lulled her into sleep. They didn't even want to watch any of the 6 movies I dragged with me in my carry on luggage.
We actually flew into San Diego. We picked up our rental car and took a nice drive along the harbor. We saw some huge Navy ships and some Cruise ships docked just a few feet from the road. That was exciting. Then we took off for the 3 hour drive to Palm Springs. Apart from a few bad directions from the web, we arrived safe and extremely tired in Palm Springs. We picked Jeff up from the local airport where he had arrived 4 hours earlier and headed to our resort. Wow did we stay in a very nice place with the most comfortable bed ever!
Jeff had 2 days off before his conference started so we spend most of our time trying to decide how to spend our time. We hit about all of the 5 pools on the property. They were all cold! Ok the water wasn't that bad but the air was pretty chilly. We spent one day at Joshua Tree National Park. Jeff and Tyler decided they really liked hiking. Donita got us momentarily lost in the desert, but luckily it was only for a few minutes before we spotted a road to guide us back to our car.
We also celebrated our 7th wedding Annivesary while in Palm Springs. We figured the vacation was our present to each other, but we did manage a nice romantic dinner at the villa. We also got to spend a couple nights alone once Jeff checked into his hotel room at the Conference Center. Wow it seems like we have experienced so much in only 7 years. Happy Anniversary Honey!
The kids had a great time just playing in the hotel. Maggie really enjoyed the pool and spending time with her Nanny. Tyler is infatuated with hotel rooms and loves to just hang out in them during his vacation. I did take the kids to a Children's Museum one day. We also spent a day at the local Outlet Mall. Mostly we just enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. Mom and Jeff really enjoyed the desert and would have been happy to move to Palm Springs. I personally missed seeing anything Green! Although you really can't beat having sunshine every day. It is certainly a cure for the Winter Blues.
Of course our biggest excitement of the week was the California Wild Fires. We flew into CA the day before they started. So they were burning all week and we were trying to figure out how to get home. We were supposed to drive back to San Diego and leave from that airport on Saturday. We weren't sure it would be open or the roads would be open or safe for us to drive back. Mom finally convinced the airline to let us fly home from the Phoenix airport. So Friday night we bid Jeff goodbye and headed our for our drive to Phoenix. Man, the desert is a busy place at night. I didn't expect so much traffic. And Phoenix is a big busy airport. Especially when your son decides he needs to use the bathroom 10 minutes before boarding, AND he just can't wait, AND the bathroom across from your gate is out of order, AND you walk 10 minutes in the wrong direction and never find a bathroom so you have to turn around and backtrack another 10 minutes in the opposite direction, AND you finally make it just in time! (I threw that story in for you other Mommies with 5 year olds that wait till the absolute last minute to decide they need to use the restroom)
So we made it home safely. And Ohio, true to form, welcomed us with gray dreary skies. It really makes you miss California, even if the desert doesn't have any green.
Love,
Donita
Monday, December 17, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Changing Bedrooms
The influx of papers from Tyler's Kindergarten career has taken over our house. This was the basic catalyst behind our decision to redo the kids' bedrooms. Tyler and Maggie had been sharing a bedroom and the extra room was our guest room. (Ok Maggie actually was sleeping with Mommy and Daddy, but her stuff was upstairs). After Ty started school he decided he wanted a desk and I was only too happy to give him someplace to draw and store all the papers he refuses to part with.
So we found a desk on Craig's List and began a weekend of rearranging. Tyler kept his bedroom but got a new bed. He now is sleeping in the Queen size bed that was in the guest room. Not too shabby for a 5 year old to have such a big bed! His room looks very nice. We do need to indulge his affection for the color red somehow by adding some border to his room. The kid wants me to paint his room red and purple, but that just is not going to happen.
Maggie's new room was a little more difficult. The closet in that room had been our storage closet since we moved so we had alot of things to clear out and go through. Then we moved her toddler bed and Tyler's old twin bed into her new room. She has been sleeping in the toddler bed for the time being. I still have alot of things to do in her room. We need to: paint, get quilts for the beds, get her a dresser, and finish organizing the last 3 boxes remaining in her room. But she does have her own room and has been going to sleep there with only a small amount of complaining (well, the first night it was ALOT of complaining).
That is what we have been up to. In a few days we are all off to California for an exciting vacation. Jeff and I will also be celebrating our 7 year Anniversary on Sunday.
Love,
Donita
So we found a desk on Craig's List and began a weekend of rearranging. Tyler kept his bedroom but got a new bed. He now is sleeping in the Queen size bed that was in the guest room. Not too shabby for a 5 year old to have such a big bed! His room looks very nice. We do need to indulge his affection for the color red somehow by adding some border to his room. The kid wants me to paint his room red and purple, but that just is not going to happen.
Maggie's new room was a little more difficult. The closet in that room had been our storage closet since we moved so we had alot of things to clear out and go through. Then we moved her toddler bed and Tyler's old twin bed into her new room. She has been sleeping in the toddler bed for the time being. I still have alot of things to do in her room. We need to: paint, get quilts for the beds, get her a dresser, and finish organizing the last 3 boxes remaining in her room. But she does have her own room and has been going to sleep there with only a small amount of complaining (well, the first night it was ALOT of complaining).
That is what we have been up to. In a few days we are all off to California for an exciting vacation. Jeff and I will also be celebrating our 7 year Anniversary on Sunday.
Love,
Donita
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Maggie's First Day
Maggie's first day of preschool went very well. I am only sending her one day a week. She goes on Tuesday. We have been talking to her about it all summer and she has been anxious to start. Her school started about a week after Tyler's so she was begging to go to school every day he went.
She went right into her classroom the first day. She is such a big girl now and wants to do everything herself. So she carried her own lunch bag and put it in her cubby. She is very excited about her snack. She said bye to Mommy and was on her way. She had a really good day and was excited to see me when I picked her up. She got to paint, so that was very fun for her. Since then she is excited to report that she also gets to play with playdough and play on the playground.
This week we had Parent's Night at her school. We got to visit her classroom and see what she does during the day. The teachers had hung up everyone's artwork. That was very cute to see. It is hard to believe she is old enough to paint and glue. We have been so busy the past year with Jeff's new job, selling the house, moving, and Tyler starting school that it seems Maggie has grown up overnight. It is very hard to imagine the little girl who screamed every time I tried to leave her at the YMCA childcare so happily marching off to school. Now if her independence will just expand to bedtime then we will really have accomplished something!
Love, Donita
She went right into her classroom the first day. She is such a big girl now and wants to do everything herself. So she carried her own lunch bag and put it in her cubby. She is very excited about her snack. She said bye to Mommy and was on her way. She had a really good day and was excited to see me when I picked her up. She got to paint, so that was very fun for her. Since then she is excited to report that she also gets to play with playdough and play on the playground.
This week we had Parent's Night at her school. We got to visit her classroom and see what she does during the day. The teachers had hung up everyone's artwork. That was very cute to see. It is hard to believe she is old enough to paint and glue. We have been so busy the past year with Jeff's new job, selling the house, moving, and Tyler starting school that it seems Maggie has grown up overnight. It is very hard to imagine the little girl who screamed every time I tried to leave her at the YMCA childcare so happily marching off to school. Now if her independence will just expand to bedtime then we will really have accomplished something!
Love, Donita
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
School Started
Well school started a month ago, but I am finally finding time to write about it. Tyler's first day went really well. Jeff, Maggie and I all drove him to school and walked him into the building. He quickly said goodbye and ran off to be with his friends, while Mommy and Daddy weren't quite ready to let go that fast. He has 2 kids in his class that he knew from preschool. The first week he complained about not knowing anyone and not liking school. I think he was just overly tired from our busy Labor Day weekend in West Liberty. Since that he has been pretty happy.
Tyler has been riding the bus home and sometimes riding to school in the morning. He really loves riding the bus. He has a friend named Lindsie who lives down the street. She is his bus buddy and in the same class at school. Tyler is infatuated with Lindsie right now. He thinks she is the coolest person he knows. It is very cute that he has made a good friend. It is not a crush, but just him having a friend at school.
Tyler has also suddenly turned the corner in is learning. He is now eager to say the alphabet, write, color, and learn the spellings of words. I think it is finally starting to click for him.
So that is Tyler's school so far. He goes all day every day. I was really worried about the long days for him, but he has adjusted very well. Maggie and I need to go get him at the busstop now, so I will sign off for today. Next time I will post about Maggie and her first day of Preschool.
Love Donita
Tyler has been riding the bus home and sometimes riding to school in the morning. He really loves riding the bus. He has a friend named Lindsie who lives down the street. She is his bus buddy and in the same class at school. Tyler is infatuated with Lindsie right now. He thinks she is the coolest person he knows. It is very cute that he has made a good friend. It is not a crush, but just him having a friend at school.
Tyler has also suddenly turned the corner in is learning. He is now eager to say the alphabet, write, color, and learn the spellings of words. I think it is finally starting to click for him.
So that is Tyler's school so far. He goes all day every day. I was really worried about the long days for him, but he has adjusted very well. Maggie and I need to go get him at the busstop now, so I will sign off for today. Next time I will post about Maggie and her first day of Preschool.
Love Donita
Saturday, September 22, 2007
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