Nani & Grandpa

We were kind of bummed out when Daddy had to go back down to Peru for the week. We planned on getting some deep cleaning done and hanging out at the house hiding from the sweltering heat. INSTEAD - Nani & Grandpa surprised us and replaced daddy for the week. We did all sorts of fun things. Jace was enthralled with all the coins and old Chilean money Grandpa brought for him to look at. They spent hours talking about them. He even took Jace to a rare coin store here in AZ where he picked up some quarters minted on Jace's birthday in 2005. They are uncirculated and have never been touched. SO cool!

Grandpa took the kids swimming and to McDonald's. Nani took them school shopping and got them lots of clothes and new shoes. We took Brooke and Ty to the Doctor's office and found out they have double ear infections. YUCK! The boys saw The Avengers and the girls saw Brave in the theaters. We let them run all their energy out at the Mall play place and we took them on lots of ice cream dates. We watched Red Tails together and laughed at the kids while they danced in the rain (because that hardly ever happens here). They let me take a much needed break while they watched kids, took care of meals, helped with dishes, laundry and cleaning, they took out my trash and they were there for me when I was hysterical about thinking that my Brookie bean was missing.

Ty LOVED his Nani & Grandpa. Even when he was surrounded by 4 other people all gawking over him he could look up and spot one of them from across the room and give them a giant smile. We had fun watching him 'try' to crawl. He's getting SO close. Yikes!! My baby is almost mobile.

Thanks for coming and cheering us up, Nani & Grandpa. Sorry it was so stinkin' hot and that Brooke and Ty had double ear infections so we couldn't do much swimming.  We LOVE you!!

The kids already are missing you like crazy. You guys are so much more fun than mommy.  Jace sat and sulked in the front yard watching your car drive away. We hope to see you again soon. :)

The WORST Feeling in the World...

The WORST feeling in the world ... when you think that someone has taken your child and you don't know if you'll ever see them again.  This happened to me today.  It was around 5:20pm, Nani and Grandpa had left 20 minutes earlier with Jace to take him to the new Spiderman movie.  Brooke asked me if she could have a donut.  I said yes.  She asked if she could have a root beer too.  I said no and I got her some water instead.  I gave Ty a bath - Brooke came in for a few brief seconds and then went back into the kitchen to finish her donut.  I finished Ty's bath and took him into his bedroom to get some pajamas on him.  He was hungry so I nursed him too.  I came out and couldn't find Brooke anywhere.  I figured she was in the backyard - she wasn't.  I thought maybe she was hiding.  I saw that she had helped herself to some root beer and spilled it all over the floor.  She must have thought I would be mad at her because I had said no root beer.  She must be hiding.  I quickly looked in all the hiding spots I could think of.   I yelled her name and rechecked the house, backyard, front yard, and garage.  Nothing.  By this time I'm really starting to get freaked out. I yell that if she does not come out from her hiding spot in the next 5 seconds she is going to have to do a time out ... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 .... nothing. The house is dead silent. This is odd. Brooke is my loud girl. She is NEVER quiet unless she is sleeping. Even when we play hide and seek for family night she can't be completely quiet. I start frantically rechecking the house and any spot she could possibly fit into all while screaming her name and praying in my mind that I find her.  Nothing.  I run outside and down the street looking for her.  I ask people along the way if they have seen her.  Nothing.  I start crying.  I start thinking that someone has taken my sweet, innocent, 4yr old girl. I start thinking of all the horrible things that might happen to her.  I panic.  I call my in-laws at the movie.  I cry to them that I think someone has taken Brooke.  I call 911.  Within 3 minutes 2 officers are at my door.  They start helping me search the house for her.  They ask me all sorts of questions about her ... what she is wearing, what she looks like, if she has run off before.  Paula and Robert show up with Jace and I just break down.  By that time there are 4 officers searching my house and the surrounding area. 10minutes go by - it feels a lot longer.  Then I hear one of the officers say "Is that YOU"... and then "We've found her."  OHHH,  sweet relief.  She was in the back of her closet, on the floor, in the fetal position with a sleeping bag covering her ... fast asleep.  The officers all take a deep breath of relief.  I still can't calm down.  I cry and cry tears of relief.  That is the WORST feeling in the world thinking that your child is missing.  I'm so thankful I'm holding my daughter in my arms tonight.

4th of July

We attended the annual 4th of July breakfast put on by Oakwood ward.  It was fun to visit with friends and the kids got to make their own rockets and blast them off in the field next door.  To Jace this was exactly the kind of thing you should do on this holiday.  We mostly chilled at home.  We did a barbecue and daddy tried smoking the meat with hickory chips.  Craig had a water fight with Jace. The kids did pop its and sparklers in the back yard and then we parked near the Peoria Sports Complex to watch the city fireworks.  The best thing about this 4th of July was the great weather.  We never expected to see 75 degrees in Arizona this time of year.  It rained for a good part of the day and just cooled everything off.  It was awesome!  Daddy stayed up late packing and we dropped him off at the airport the next morning.  He's heading to Peru for a week again for business.  :(  We will miss him. Grandpa Brammer called us this morning though and he and Nani are headed down for a visit.  YEAH!!

Oceanside, CA Vacation

My loving parents invited us to crash their vacation to Oceanside and we were happy to oblige.  It was just a bonus that my awesome sister, Becky, surprised us with a long overdue visit all the way from Japan.

Day 1 Monday: Wow, Peoria to Oceanside is a long drive when you have a baby.  Ty is unfortunately at an unfriendly long drive age.  He did okay until the last hour and by then he was furious.  He was the most excited when we arrived.  We stopped along the way and got some yummy, fresh, California produce and then we unpacked, checked out the Condo and went swimming.

Day 2 Tuesday: Yahoo!!  I finally got to give my sister and all her boys a hug.  We have missed you more than words can explain.  We visited that morning then headed over to San Diego and had some Mexi food in Old Town and toured The Mormon Battalion.  This was really fun. The kids favorite was panning for gold at the end.  I'm sure Jace will be disappointed when he finally figures out that it's fools gold and not the real thing.  Grandma & Grandpa held an Unbirthday Party to celebrate all the grand kids birthdays and presented them with some awesome kites to fly at the beach.  We topped the day off with swimming with cousins.  Can't get better than that.  I love the fact that you can spend lots of money and do all sorts of fun activities but the kids favorite thing is still the pool .. which is free. :)

Fish Tacos and Quesadillas in Old Town San Diego.

Barrels of candy.  YUM!

So glad I got to witness mom being "fake scared"

 for this picture by the Haunted Whaley House. lol 

The Mormon Battalion tour ...

I love my aunt Becky!

Check out these AWESOME kites!!  Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

My favorite picture.  Ty giggled and giggled for Aunt Becky.

Day 3: Tuesday

We started the morning off very early with a sea shell hunt on the beach.  We loved the fact that we were practically the only ones on the beach.  Ty got to come and he loved it.  There was a prize of a dollar for the best sand dollar found and the boys took that very seriously.  We found some crabs in the rocks and Aunt Becky was brave enough to catch them. She also found a star fish and picked it up to let the kids examine it before putting it back.  The kids collected lots of shells to bring home and we all enjoyed the salty sea breeze and the sound of the ocean.  I really think the beach is one of my all time  favorite places to be.  It's great to get some exercise in the morning too.

The best Sand Dollar prize was won by Carter & Jace.

 

After hunting for shells we hung out in the condo for a bit.  Grandma & Grandpa did the La Jolla Coves Kayaking and we stayed back and watched cartoons/ played games.  Mid-Day we attended an ice cream social put on by Trendwest.  The kids loved that they got to put on as many toppings as they wanted.

Yum Yum!!

 In the afternoon we took the kites that Grandma and Grandpa got for everyone to the beach to test them out.  They were pretty cool kites and that ocean breeze just lifted them right up into the air.  Jace got a fighter jet, Brooke had a fairy, and the Olsen boys shared some Star Wars box Kites.  It was super fun!

Day 4: Thursday

Thursday morning Beck and her boys had to get up early to catch a flight on Space A in Riverside so we said our good bye's ... hopefully not for too long. :(  

We walked down by the lighthouse and had some delicious fish n'chips on the harbor.  They were SO good.  Then grandma and the kids built a sandcastle and watched until the waves crashed it down.  Craig and I even got a romantic walk on the beach.  Then we hit the pool again on the way home.  After Becky left I only had my stinky little camera that doesn't take very good pics.  What was I thinking leaving my Canon behind??  I did get some underwater pics at the pool though.

Mermaid Brooke

Grandma, Grandpa, and Brooke's underwater teaparty/ Jaceroo

After swimming Grandma and Grandpa took the kids and Craig and I were able to go on a date.  We went into Old Town San Diego again and ate dinner at Old Town's Mexican Cafe and got the Carnitas.  It was the best Mexican food we have EVER had.  The flour and corn tortillas were amazing.  Here they are hand making them...
 

Day 5: Friday

Friday was our San Diego day.  First Craig and I visited the temple then we headed into down town San Diego and stopped at the USS Midway for a tour.  Jace had been looking forward to this for months prior to our vacation.  He's very into air craft carriers/ battleships/fighter jets/ect...  Grandma and Brooke opted out and just walked around the shops down town instead.  Afterwards we got some fast food and walked around the gas lamp district looking for Ghirardellis.  We finally found it and enjoyed a delicious ice cream sundae with Ghirardelli chocolate sauce.  It's to die for.

Day 6: Saturday

Craig was sick but the rest of us headed down for our last day on the beach.  Grandpa taught Jace how to boogie board and boy was I proud of him.  He braved the cold water and had a blast catching several great waves.  Even mommy had fun in the waves.  We tried to get Brooke out there but she started screaming at the top of her lungs "TAKE ME BACK TO SHORE" as loud as she could and that girl has some serious lungs. lol  We went swimming again to get some of the salt water off and then we flew our kites again.  In the evening Craig and I went on another date to go snorkeling at La Jolla Cove.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  We saw Sting rays, tiger sharks, and all sorts of other colorful fish. It was so fun.  We had a great time.

Day 7: Sunday

We packed up, cleaned up, and headed home.  Another long car drive.  What an awesome vacation though.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Johnson - we had a blast!

View from our room.  Pictures courtesy of Jace. :)