This week

Colin got braces!

Before

He really didn't want his picture taken, so this is all I could get...

After

His teeth don't need much, it's really just his bite that needs help so this should be a quick process.  It's only been a week and I feel like they're already straight!  I've made lots of mashed potatoes and milkshakes this week :)

Alison and I went to the coffee festival at the Broadway Pier.  We had a really fun time!

Selfie of the best coffee:

My favorite picture of they day:

Our favorite moment of the day was hearing a sales pitch about how a probiotic coffee would heal our mitochondria and increase our ketones.  We learned to test the coffee after walking away from the vendor and this time proved our lesson.  The coffee tasted terrible but we laughed about the gimmick all day.

We went out for lunch and then to Westfield mall.  

Fun fact: we went there in 2017 and I wrote on the blog that we would go back to go ice skating and we never have.  Maybe this will be the year that it actually comes true.

Oh Maya pup.  She tweaked her leg while sprinting down our backyard hill.  She limped around the house for an entire day, which is kind of her fault because she insists on following us around constantly.  I had a feeling she would be okay if she would just rest, but she would only do that if we all stayed in one room.  The things we do for this dog.

Thankfully, I was right and she was fine the next day.  But she's still not very happy that Ben is gone.  This is her refusing to get into bed because she's convinced that he's still coming home that night.

This week

A spot opened up on a basketball team and Colin jumped in.  It was an intense week of training, but he killed it!  I was beyond impress him.  He was so sore, that it was hard to walk down the stairs one day.

While he was at one of his games, Eli and I went on a sushi date.

The time has come for a "mini" deployment.  While I'm thankful the kids are teens this time around, it doesn't make goodbyes any easier.

Distraction is the key to make time go by quickly, so we played some pickleball.

Field Trip to Balboa Park

We started off with a picnic and then went to the Japanese Friendship Garden.

Eli is beginning his Japanese studies this year, so this trip gave him a little taste of Japan.

We walked the grounds and got some boba lemonade.

We stopped by the fountain and then walked through the botanical gardens.

Then we went to the San Diego Museum of Art.

A favorite feature was this section where you could learn how to write calligraphy.

 

Life Lately

Eli and I went to KPop Demon Hunters sing-along in the theaters.  It was an epic event!

When he's not working on school, you will find Eli in his Lego domain. 

 He challenged himself this summer to build something everyday, using the random pieces that we have.  It's been amazing to see his creations.  Every day something in his city changes.

3  cars in the driveway, Maya keeping watch on the boys skateboarding and a garage puzzle in the works.

Catching up with Alison after school and work looks different these days, but I would say the transition to college life is going well.

This photo was not approved, but I had to document one of Colin and Ben's jam sessions.

Spontaneous beach trips are a regular around here and I love it.

A lot of evenings, the boys play Smash Bros together.

And my favorite thing of all...the boys put boogie boards on skateboards and spent many evenings running around the cul-de-sac.  I'm so thankful for neighbors who both have grown boys and have told me many times that they miss the street being full of kids playing.  I'm sure they were thoroughly entertained by their fun.

First Day of School!

She thought she was done...ha! 

Alison, first year at Mira Costa

Eli, 10th grade

Colin, 8th grade

but do you want to know how he really feels?

After we finished our first day of work, we went to the Lego store and then out to dinner.

 

Backpacking trip

A milestone for our family: Alison got her drivers license! and the kids stayed by themselves for a few days.  Ben and I went backpacking up in the Sierras and the kids did great holding down the fort at home.

Our first day, we drove up to Lone Pine and channeled our Yuma life to eat tacos in 105°.  Then we drove up to 10,000ft elevation to acclimate.  We took a little walk and Ben did some fly fishing.   The stars that night were so magnificent, it was worth the whole trip.

We got up early the next day and drove/off roaded to the base of Split Mountain. 

It was hotter that day than we anticipated and with no shade, it made the trek pretty uncomfortable.

Pictures don't do the "trail" justice...it was a much harder hike than we thought it would be.  And I say "trail", because 95% it did not look like a trail and was covered in overgrown thorn bushes and boulders.  We were pretty happy to finally reach Red Lake.

We set up camp, put our feet in the alpine lake, ate dinner and enjoyed a quiet mountain all to ourselves.

I learned many lessons on this trip and one of them is to thoroughly check your stuff before hanging the bear bag to make sure all scented things are put away.  I will never make that mistake again.  I missed a wrapper in my bag and a rodent tortured me all night long, trying to get in my bag and tent.  Unfortunately, it was successful in getting in my tent which resulted in lots of screaming in the middle of the night.  It didn't leave me alone until Ben threw rocks at it around 4 am.

While I finally got some sleep, Ben went to the summit of Split Rock mountain.  

This is me very excited to see Ben alive when he got back to camp.

The hike took longer than he thought and I made another mistake by reading a book about a widow in her 40's while waiting for him.

Again, pictures don't do it justice, but hopping boulders was a large portion of our trek down.

Do you know what tastes amazing after backpacking?  Carl's Jr. milkshake and fries.  I haven't had Carl's Jr since it was Hardees and I was a kid, but it really hit the spot this day.

Overall, we had a great adventure, enjoyed some beautiful nature and had some fun.  And while I would choose an easier hike for next time, I'm glad that we did this.  It's always good to put things in perspective; to appreciate the little things we take for granted and to remind us that we're capable of more than we think.

Here's the video Ben made:

This week

Alison got her wisdom teeth removed.  The surgery went smoothly and they let her gradually wake up, which was great for her, but a bummer for me because I missed her saying anything funny.

She spent the week recovering and joined us for evenings of playing Mario Party.

Colin went to a YMCA surf camp down at Imperial Beach.  They had  a week for just military kids.  They surfed in the morning and then did regular camp activities the rest of the day.  Camp would send us pictures every night, which I was super thankful for.

They spent one night on the beach, which kinda made me laugh because the whole camp was pretty much on the beach and the cabins were basically tents...but at least he got to set up a tent.

They also played soccer, gaga ball, field games and skate boarded.  Sounds like they were moving nonstop for the week!