Yesterday was a long day for us all! Ben had been talking and negotiating to dealerships all week and made the drive to Phoenix when all was set to get our new car. The model and features we wanted, came in only one car in the whole state! Thankgoodness it was in Phoenix! We had to compromise on the color, but it's still fabulous and we LOVE it.
While Ben was driving, the kids and I spent the morning at the dentist. Colin insisted on rolling up his pants :)
Then we met homeschool friends at the park (something we've been doing
most Friday's while it's been cool enough outside) and because it was so
hot, came home to play in the sprinkler. Unfortunately, we saw
temperatures in the 90's this week. I had a haircut that took forever
and a year, but when I got home, our new car was waiting in the driveway!
It's a Volkswagen Atlas, with captain chairs and optional 4 wheel drive. We have dreams of great adventures in our future and hope that this vehicle gets us there. For now, we are soaking up that new car smell!
There is so much to love about the kids getting older. Perhaps #1 is that they can cook! Alison was craving something sweet, so she got out the cookbook my mom made me and whipped up a batch of Aunt Karen's sugar cookies.
How Eli often hugs daddy goodbye in the morning:
Speaking of mornings, the kids all decided they wanted to work ahead in school so they could have extra time to play, which equaled them bringing books to the breakfast table 7 am! I appreciated their drive, but it was a little crazy for awhile.
Happiness=running with these two.
And on a rare overcast day :)
Ben says that Maya has claimed him as her human. I'm not convinced; I think he just spoils her the most.
When I'm tucking the kids in bed, we'll talk about our favorite, least favorite and interesting parts of the day. Colin always has the most surprising answers.
We said goodbye to our trusty old van today. For how much I grumbled about this car, it still holds so many memories. I mean, Colin was basically born in this thing.
I wanted to document the kids with this car. I've been telling them a lot lately that they will never forget this thing. They'll look back and say, "Remember that van we had that couldn't charge electronics or play music besides Spanish radio or cool air. Remember how we had to open and close our own doors?! It was crazy!"
We were feeling pretty sentimental about saying goodbye. In a way, I loved how simple and humble our car was. But, I was also embarrassed at the thought of trading it in...praise the Lord Ben did it for me. "Uh, don't mind the cup holder, it doesn't go back into the dash. And I wouldn't recommend taking the duct tape off the grooves of the floor...there's years of goldfish, juicebox straw wrappers and I don't want to think about what else, but probably somewhere along the lines of puppy grossness, under there. And if you fix the CD player, I'm pretty sure you'll find a KidSongs CD. That's just our gift to you. :)"
Thank you for your service, mini van. You served our family well for the last decade. You kept us safe and took us on many great adventures. We will miss you and so will all of our friends, as they can always spot us in the parking lot.
A photograph just wasn't enough for Alison, she had to draw a picture too.
Now it's time to party! I always said I would have a big party the day I got a new car and Ben is driving home from Phoenix with it right now! Stay tuned...
We will be moving to the Ventura, California area in December. Ben will be stationed at Point Mugu, which is about 45 minutes north of LA and south of Santa Barbara. We are looking forward to making a trip up there in the next couple of months to get a lay of the land and already dreaming of the beach life. Talks of living in California came up quite a bit on our weekend trip to Carlsbad.
Eli and his entourage ready to hit the road Saturday morning:
Ben was running in the Carlsbad 5000 (America's fastest 5k) on Sunday, so our first stop was to pick up his race packet and we got bagels for lunch at a local bakery. I don't think our kids have ever had bagels like that...it's so sad that they are growing up without an Einstein's bagel.
Next stop, was car shopping!!! We are researching our next family vehicle and needed to see a few options in California that Yuma doesn't have. I think we may have a winner! This momma is SUPER excited, but Alison is feeling very sentimental about our trusty old minivan that she's basically grown up in. We may have lived in a lot of houses in her life, but we've always had that van. And let's be honest, they just don't make seats as comfy as this van anymore.
We *had* to stop by REI afterwards, tried Pure Burger for dinner and then headed to the beach to watch the sunset. It was cold, but the kids didn't care for a second.
Ben and I were freezing, like teeth chattering freezing.
How are kids immune to cold?
My favorite:
Sweatpants, long sleeves, bare feet and building sandcastles.
Sunday morning, we all went down to the race, bright and early. This was a BIG race, so we had to park pretty far away from all the action. We had scouted out a park, parked there and I let the kids play a bit while Ben warmed up and headed to the start line. This zip line was their favorite. We saw a lot of runners heading to the race while we played and Alison said, "Mom, you're going to love California because you won't feel left out anymore...everyone runs here!" (i.e. we never see any one run in AZ. We barely see anyone outside, period.). So yes, I am looking forward to being around fellow runners more and I do love that active community feel.
Waiting for daddy to run the race:
This was the most dramatic race I've ever seen. A train track ran through the course and runners crossed it twice. Racers were told that no trains were scheduled for that morning, but if one did come through, they would obviously have to stop and wait. So, there was forewarning and communication about the possibility and safety precautions taken. There were also races going all morning as they were broken up by age groups and elites. Ben's race starts and there's one person leading the race, with a pack of about 6 runners a little behind him. The final stretch of the race was a slight downhill, turning from the road that followed the ocean. The first runner turned the corner to come down the hill, everyone started cheering and the announcer was going crazy...and then the train rails start lowering and the whole crowd started saying, "NOOOO!!!". Two police officers had to stop the runner from attempting to sprint in front of the train and I am so glad they did. A train went full speed through the course and it was not slowing down for a millisecond! By the time the rails raised up, the pack following the leader had caught up to him and they were all standing there waiting. You could tell everyone was very gracious and still let the leader sprint to the finish and be the winner, but it definitely ruined a good race for at least 10 people. Thankfully, Ben was not affected by the train and finished 66th overall!!! Look at the time on the clock!
It was an amazing race and so fun to be a part of a lively crowd, who were equally as excited as I was. The kids would still say I cheer too loud, but it wasn't as embarrassing this time.
2 free beers for the runners. They had to stay in this gated area to drink, so Ben looked like a toddler in a playpen, waiting to get out.
The kids climbed a tree while they waited.
When we got back to the car, the kids wanted just a few more minutes at the park.
After lunch and checking out of our hotel, we were back on the beach. I was not planning on the kids playing in the sand like they did, so it was a messy day. Lesson learned; always plan for playing in the sand. I rolled up the boys' pants, but it didn't matter. They got completely soaked and then covered in sand.
You can see Eli sprinting through the water in the background:
While sitting there, watching our kids play, Ben asked me if I will be able to handle 3 years of this. My answer is a big, fat, YES. Three years of perfect weather every day, ocean air and kids jumping in waves. I think we will be doing a lot of sea life studies in school, because I am going to be spending a lot of days by the ocean.
Ben took the day off work and requested to hike Telegraph Pass as a family.
A fun family fact: when we hike, one of the kids will get VERY chatty. It's not always the same kid, but nature must bring out deep thoughts for them. This day, it was Colin.
My favorite picture of the day:
The boys were very excited that they got to "rock climb" on this adventure.
Poor Alison was woken up for the event and only able to grab a quick bite before leaving, so we had to stop on the side of the mountain to refuel and cool off for a minute.
This was just another reminder to me how incredibly strong and courageous our kids are. There are not many adults who climb this mountain and yet, here our kids were, hiking away because it's what their daddy wanted for his birthday. They would do anything for him.
Can you see the square of Yuma in the distance? It is so crazy that we live in that square in the middle of the desert.
The walk back was long and we ended up carrying the boys for awhile. Actually, I think Ben even carried Alison for a little bit. At the end of it all, I was so proud of our family. Ben had a great time and now whenever the kids try to tell me they can't do something, I'll just remind them about the day they hiked Telegraph Pass.
Maya giving her "Happy Birthday's" to Ben:
Back home, Ben opened his presents.
Ben smoked a brisket for dinner and I made him a German chocolate cake.
It took my legs a few days to recover from this birthday but it was worth it to celebrate the amazingness of Ben.
This week could be titled: Do as many things outside as you can before it gets too hot.
It also involved working on the kids clothes as growth spurts have hit this house yet again. One perk of living in Arizona is I don't have to completely redo closets with the seasons. Basically the kids have a couple of pairs of pants and a few long sleeves and the rest is shorts and t-shirts. Colin is starting to feel the hand-me-down blues, so we treated him with a few new things just to spruce things up. He looks so stinkin' cute in these pj's!
Brothers, in pj's, playing Mario Cart is always the best.
We went to see the bugle band and silent drill team on base. It was hard to get a great picture, but it was such a fun experience. I loved that the kids got to see the different instruments and a little taste of daddy's work life. During the silent drill, they pulled out the knives at the end of the gun and Eli said very loudly, "They could kill themselves!!!". Thankfully everyone around us chuckled.
Ben met up with us and we got to sit with our friends, the Helton's. Shane deployed with Ben last year and since then, him and his wife have started coming to our church.
We also went to the camel farm with the White's.
There was also a zebra and a zedonk (a mix of zebra and donkey).
There were lots of goats and ducks too.
Because it's not every day you get to stand by a camel:
A picnic at Sonic was also a must. Next time we go, it will probably be to get a drink so we survive the rest of the drive home.
