01 August 2007

Home Sweet Home


I'm back! And have so many random tidbits to share. We had a great time. Lake Tahoe was beautiful. Just beautiful. Truly the perfect summer spot. We swam in the lake and went hiking. My husband took the older kids river rafting and to Six Flags. I got my day in San Francisco (and saw a bear on the way home *shudder*), where my only goal (and just about the only thing we Bart novices accomplished) was to eat some gnocchi at E'Angelo's (hands down THE BEST Italian restaurant in the country, by the way). I also made my husband stop in Reno on the way home so that I could stock up on good travellin' eats at Trader Joe's (I've never been). It was all just perfection! (And sorry for so many parentheses.)

I learned that 3 days in the car with 4 children will either make or break you. It was tough. I mean, TOUGH. But I managed to make note of some funny things my kids said. And I have to share those, of course. Because if you can't laugh in hindsight at your unruly charming children, the population would be fast dwindling.

Day 1: Jonah keeps saying "This is the best day of my life!" (I should have asked him to remember that for days 2 and 3)

Day 1: While reading "Is there really a human race?", there came a part where mid sentence there was a page turn. Jonah just could not resist finishing it himself and made us all laugh right out loud: "If we don't help each other, we're going to..." (page turn) "JAIL!". Lol. (The word was actually "crash", and it's a cute book by the way, if you're searching.)

Day 2: We're using a restroom at a gas station and I (of course) ended up with both of the older children in my stall. My 5 year old is extremely impulsive and it didn't take him long to fidget the door open to innocent bystanders while I was still, er, "going". To add insult to injury, he says out loud, "Mom, you're STILL pooping?!" Ugh.

Day 2: The DVD they were all watching began to skip and Jonah throws up his hands and says, "That's it!"

Day 3: Jonah (this kid is full of funnies) was getting very restless, and we still had a few hours to go. Every hotel we passed he told us, "We could stay there! Oh oh, we could stay there!" So, in trying to redirect him, I said "Jonah, look at the beautiful clouds!" To which he sourly replied, "They're horrible!"

Day 3: Adriana, giving her father a sideways glance, says to me "Mom, I've got to talk to you in private. Can we have hot chocolate tonight?" (I admit it, I am "the fun parent".)

And I remembered my camera! (But we forgot the stroller. Sigh.)

My muddy buddies
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Grandpop says something funny
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Being silly with Aunt Emily
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The most photogenic cousin
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And again
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This one's for Morning Glory
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Feeling triumphant
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Anyone know what these are? Wild geese?
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Drewby sneezing (lol)
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And discovering stars
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The oldest and the youngest
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Could they be cuter?
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Beach babe
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Fun in the sun
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Lots of cousins
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As much as I enjoyed my time away, it is good to be home. I'll be slowly making my way around to your blogs. Still getting my land legs back. ;)

19 comments:

Montserrat said...

I really like th 'oldest and the youngest' picture. Priceless! Sounds like you had a fantabulous time. Glad you are all back safe and sound though.

Lara Neves said...

Looks like tons of fun! I know, because I just got home from our San fran/Tahoe trip last week, LOL! Only we went sans kids this time...but we've taken them several times too. Definitely our favorite vacation spot. :)

someone else said...

Welcome home!! Your pictures are wonderful and the kid stories are adorable. And thank you for bringing me a gift of the sunset/rainbow. That's just gorgeous! Don't you love it when you can capture a moment like that?

I agree -- coming home is lovely.

Char @ Crap I've Made said...

Fun! Glad you're back!

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Sounds like a lot of fun! Good stuff never comes without the hard work, and it sounds like you guys earned it! Beautiful pictures!

Crystal said...

Glad you had a good holiday - your pictures are great!

The birds in your picture are Canada geese, who migrate north to Canada for the summer and then go south when the weather gets cold. Sometimes they change their patterns and decide to hang around instead of moving on, especially if the food is good!

Crystal said...

Glad you had a good holiday - your pictures are great!

The birds in your picture are Canada geese, who migrate north to Canada for the summer and then go south when the weather gets cold. Sometimes they change their patterns and decide to hang around instead of moving on, especially if the food is good!

Belladonna said...

Welcome Home!

I've had your blog open in the background for the past hour or so while I've been working so I can listen to your tunes. Some great stuff therhe!

Anonymous said...

Baby on the beach--aaaahhh, so cute! I'm glad you had a great vacation :-)

Lei said...

Belladonna - I had so much fun putting together this playlist. I too am listening to it constantly!

Lisa said...

The pictures are beautiful! I love San Francisco and Lake Tahoe!! Great trip and cute kid quotes!

An Ordinary Mom said...

Welcome home! As much fun as vacations can be, there is just something special about coming home ... until it takes a few weeks to recover :) !! Sounds like you had fun and that is what is important. We took a road trip earlier this month and my little year old boy slept 1 1/2 hours of the 36 hour car ride. That was tough, too.

Did you like Trader Joes? I LOVE that store!

Lei said...

Thanks for clarifying Crystal!

Ordinary Mom - LOVED TJ's. I was in heaven there, especially with all their great candies. Lol!

Lucy said...

I'm so glad you're back! I love your recap. It's not a travelogue, really, but you captured what a trip is all about.

Jonah really is funny.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a great time! I knew you were on vacation, so don't worry about not responding sooner!

Oh, the rainbow! WOW!!

Jennifer @ Fruit of My Hands said...

I was going to say what Crystal did about the geese. My parents are up in Oregon and the geese there have become a huge problem b/c they decided to stay. You go to the park & its like poop everywhere!

Sounds like a fun trip, and some great pictures! Morning Glory isn't the only one who appreciates a lovely sunset!

elasticwaistbandlady said...

I actually LOL'ed at the poop thing. My Papi likes to use those moist wipey thingies. He had our 5 year old in a stall with him and apparently it was taking him too long to finish up his business using toilet paper. Our son sighed and said "Daddy, do you want me to go make the toilet paper wet in the sink so you can pretend it's a wipey and you'll get done faster?"

Emily said...

I loved all your pics and hearing about your trip. Glad you're back though!!

Michelle said...

Sounds like you all had loads of fun! I love the comments from your children, just cracked me up! And the pictures too, soooo cute!!