Home Sweet Home July 23, 2012

Such a tired boy!

We got home late Saturday night, around 10:30 p.m. Keenan was SO tired. He fell asleep on the way home, around 9:00 p.m. and then woke-up after an hour, crying and saying, “Keenan all done!” Poor little guy, he just wanted to get out of the car and be in his crib. The drive back was the LONGEST drive we have ever taken! There was so much traffic on the road, it was ridiculous, thus making the drive even longer. Needless to say, we were all glad to be home (though, not for long, since we leave for Alaska next Monday).

Yesterday, we spent the day unpacking, cleaning out the car, doing laundry, getting groceries, working on Keenan’s birthday invites (which I’ll post about later this week) and catching up on sleep, since we were all so tired. Keenan slept till 9:00 a.m. yesterday morning and still took a 3 hour nap!

Keenan is still catching up on his sleep because he slept till 9:15 a.m. today, sleeping for over 13 hours! So far, he has been napping for over 2 hours! We are putting him to bed on time tonight and hopefully, he will be back to his normal “schedule,” tomorrow (but, it sure is nice that he is sleeping in so late!).

As promised, here is a recap of our trip:

Beach: Our house was 7 blocks from the beach, so we tried to go to the beach as much as possible, which ended up being every other day. Our beach days were our “relaxation days,” after a busy day of site-seeing the day before. Our house was on a hill, so the walk to and from the beach was a great workout, especially pushing Keenan in his stroller with all of our beach gear (thank goodness for our BOB!). Keenan and his cousin loved playing in the sand and building sand castles. Keenan loved getting more water in his bucket with my dad and “jumping the waves!”

Having fun “jumping the waves” with Nonna and Avo!

Keenan and his cousin after a morning of playing on the beach…they were tired!

Sea World: The day after we arrived, we headed to Sea World. It changed SO much since I was there 15 years ago! The park now has roller coasters and water rides (my dad, brother, husband and me managed to squeeze in a ride on the Manta, which was fun!). We saw all of the shows and I think I enjoyed watching Keenan’s reaction to seeing dolphins, whales and sea lions for the first time, more than the actual shows! He was mesmerized! We also watched a Sesame Street show and Keenan and his cousin got to meet Elmo, Abby and Cookie Monster. I wasn’t sure how Keenan was going to react, but all he wanted to do was “hug Elmo!” I had to hold onto him during the entire show because he kept wanting to climb-up on stage to see Elmo. After the show, we stood in line and Keenan and his cousin got to take pictures with all of the characters. When it was our turn, Keenan ran to Elmo and gave him a big hug; it was adorable! Since he was so enamored with Elmo, we had to get him a little Elmo doll and Elmo sandals, which he loved (he sleeps with Elmo every night and hasn’t wanted to wear any other shoes, but his Elmo ones!).

The Shamu show!

Keenan was SO happy that he got to meet Elmo!

USS Midway: After a “relaxation day” at the beach, we headed to the USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier that has been turned into an aviation museum. It was incredible! We learned so much. It was especially interesting, since my dad was a Naval Officer and lived on a similar ship (though a lot smaller) many years ago.  The Midway provided me a glimpse of what life was like for my dad (something he hasn’t talked much about). In addition, Keenan enjoyed seeing and sitting in all of the airplanes and helicopters!

Standing in front of the “Top Gun” plane.

Zoo: On our last day in San Diego, we went to the Zoo. It has also changed so much from when I was there 15 years ago; there are so many more animals to see! Like Sea World, I couldn’t wait to see Keenan’s reaction to all of the animals, since this was his first time going to a Zoo. He was mesmerized by the Elephants, Kangaroos, Giraffes and especially the Polar Bears (we saw one sitting-up and eating a carrot!). But, the highlight of the day was the petting zoo, where Keenan and his cousin were able to pet sheep and goats. Keenan was in awe; he loved petting the goats and giving them hugs. I think we stayed there for at least 30 minutes, because Keenan and his cousin did not want to leave!

Petting the goats at the Zoo.

“Hugging” the goats!

Our Eats: Since we stayed in a house, we cooked every night, to make things easier and to save money. It’s hard (and expensive) for a family of 8 to eat out every night. For all of our family vacations, my mom usually takes the lead to cook most nights. But, we made sure to give her a break and cooked every night during this trip. During the day on our “relaxation days” we made sandwiches for lunch and when we were out and about, we dined out. My husband and I went to Costco and Trader Joe’s to stock-up on groceries, once we arrived in San Diego. We planned most of the week’s menus, except for a couple of nights that my brother and sister-in-law cooked. We made roast chicken with roasted broccoli mixed with cherry tomatoes and feta cheese, pork loin with roasted cauliflower, fish tacos, burgers with oven-baked zucchini fries and an antipasti picnic night. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the food we made!

Keenan enjoying an ice cream cone after visiting the USS Midway, thanks to Nonna and Avo!

Beer: My husband’s favorite brewery is Stone Brewing Co. (which is located near San Diego), so we had to visit. We tasted almost all of their beers and my favorites were the Smoked Porter, Levitation Ale and Ruination IPA! The brewery is huge. It’s out in the middle of of an industrial park, but their restaurant and outside patio (where we sat) was quite nice and relaxing. I highly recommend visiting their brewery if you are ever in the area, or at least trying some of their beers (you can find them at BevMo or some grocery stores).

The lineup that we tasted at Stone Brewing Co.

Coffee: We brought our french press, grinder and some coffee beans, so we were able to make fresh coffee everyday. But, since we were in Southern California, my husband and I made sure to stop at as many Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf  shops as possible. They only have one shop in Northern California, in San Francisco, so anytime we are down south, we take advantage of them! Our favorite drink is their Carmel Blended! It is probably the best frozen coffee drink I have ever had! They make it with the toddy and add their non-fat vanilla powder, caramel and ice. It is creamy and not overly sweet. Again, I didn’t manage to take a picture of any of the ones we had, sorry!

It is time to get back to reality and head to CrossFit this afternoon (my goal is to workout 6 days this week, to maximize my time before we leave for Alaska next week) and start getting ready for our next trip. I have lots of errands to run this week, as well as things to do, such as cleaning the house (I’m not looking forward to it, but it needs it!).

What are your plans for the week? What kinds of things do you do to get ready for a trip?

Goodbye, San Diego! July 21, 2012

Keenan wiped-out after a fun, but long day at Sea World.

All things good must come to an end (unfortunately). We are packing-up and getting ready to leave San Diego bright and early tomorrow morning. It is going to be a LONG drive home, around 8 hours or so, UGH! Even though I’m sad to leave, I’m looking forward to being home, getting back into my routine and working out (I need to after all of the yummy goodies we ate this past week!)! I miss CrossFit!

The week went by WAY too fast. I could have easily spent another week here; it’s so beautiful and we all had so much fun! We definitely kept busy: going to the beach, Sea World, the Zoo, USS Midway and even tasting beer at Stone Brewing Co. (one of my new favorite beers is their Levitation Ale!). It was a perfect balance of activity and relaxation; I just wish we had a few more days! It was so nice to spend quality time together as a family. Keenan and his cousin had so much fun together, they were practically joined at the hip! 

Well, it’s time to get some sleep, so we are rested for the long drive tomorrow. I will post a full re-cap of our week, once we are home! Night!

On the road again… July 13, 2012

Keenan enjoying his new “Monkey” platypus water bottle on our road trip, thanks to Auntie Mimi!

Our car is loaded to the gills and we are finally on our way to San Diego! It is amazing how much stuff we have for only three people (it doesn’t help that my husband always over prepares for everything…”you never know, we might need it!”). Gone are the days of just packing a bag, getting-up and going. With Keenan in tow, it is quite a production to get all of us in the car; I can’t imagine what it will be like once we have another child! Do you pack light or do you tend to bring everything but the kitchen sink, when traveling?

We are headed to our first stop in Pescadero, to visit a goat farm to taste cheese, have Keenan run around a bit and then lunch, before getting back in the car to drive for several more hours. We are spending the night near Santa Barbara, so we can explore in the morning and then drive the rest of the way to San Diego. Do any of you have suggestions for must-see attractions (aside from the Zoo and Sea World) and awesome eats?

Once we get to San Diego, I will do my best to post about our trip when I can. When we return, I will be sure to post a full recap with lots of pictures! Have a great weekend!

Packing and getting ready July 12, 2012

Keenan “helping” us pack by sitting on Daddy’s suitcase, when we were packing-up to leave Costa Rica.

Today is all about running errands (picking-up last minute items at Target, taking the car to our mechanic for more coolant, getting gas and washing the car) and packing for our vacation. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning to drive down to San Diego for our annual family vacation. This is our first “real” road trip with Keenan, so we’ll see how it goes (he has only ridden in the car for a max of 4 hours)! We have the car stocked with Keenan’s music (from his music class) and some new music for us, as well as books to entertain him. We are going to take our time by breaking up the drive into two days. We are driving down Highway 1 (our first time driving down the coast south of Monterey), so it should be beautiful! We also have some fun stops planned, to give Keenan a chance to move around. Have you traveled with your little ones in the car for several hours? If so, what are your tips for keeping them entertained and happy?

After Keenan and I had our “usual” breakfast (except with a banana, since we finished all of the strawberries last night) and I drank my latte, we headed to CrossFit for one final workout before our trip. It was a hard one, too! The WOD was a 30 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of 5 deadlifts (men: 275/ women: 185), 13 pushups and 9 box jumps, one of the Hero WODs. I did the prescribed women’s weight of 185 and completed 10 rounds and 5 reps. I probably could have completed one more round, but the deadlifts were slowing me down. Towards the end, I could only do singles. I’m proud of my effort and RELIEVED that it is over! I’m looking forward to resting the next few days and then doing a couple of workouts next week on the beach!

It’s time for a quick lunch of some leftover soup and a slice of whole wheat bread (trying to clean-out the fridge before we leave) that my husband brought back with him last weekend and then time for packing! A little while later, my sister-in-law and I are going to get pedicures, a treat for her birthday. It will be nice to have a little relaxation time, since I’ve been running around all morning! Have a good rest of your day!