Today we took Auntie Cindy and Grampa to the Wild Animal Park. With all the interesting animals we saw and all the activities the kids participated in, nothing can beat this....and yes...my kids were the only ones doing it in shorts and t-shirts!!

A visit from home...

Auntie Cindy and Grampa have arrived for a visit. It's nice to see familiar faces and catch up on what has been happening at home. As you can see from the pictures it doesn't take much arm twisting from the kids to get Auntie Cindy to play! Today us girls walked over to Balboa Island. The guys met us there and we had a great day of exploring...little shops, restaurants, arcades and people watching! Before we knew it we were at the beach! It surely can't get any better than this!

The water was cold today at the beach on Balboa Island! As usual it didn't stop the kids from going in! We should all be so free!

The animals enjoying their Christmas treats!!

Christmas morning...I really love it! The kids are so excited and still half asleep. Bill and I are 3/4 asleep!! Ali and Maddy were so excited about their cameras...they've been taking pictures and video taping pretty much everything in sight! Katie is learning to ride her new tricycle and cruising around here! Mid day we were able to talk to family and friends back home. Christmas dinner was a joint effort with our friends and enabled us to have a feast with all of the trimmings! We all went to bed with a full belly and a smile on our faces!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our family and friends! We miss you all and we will be thinking of you during the holidays...

Photo of the Day

Almost Christmas...

It's been quite a busy time for us here in Newport Beach. We've been running around preparing for Christmas, playing LOTS and dealing with some unexpected illnesses. Last Friday the kids and I enjoyed going back to the marine mammal centre with Laurie and her boys. We never get tired of watching the sea lions and the kids enjoyed seeing it again with their friends. Afterwards we hit the beach! It was a little impromptu visit to the ocean...the kids chased waves and birds, climbed the sand hills and explored every nook and cranny! Our highlight was seeing dolphins swim by right in front of us! The kids could have stayed forever! It was late when we got home and by bed time Katie had developed a high fever...and you know Katie, she refuses to take any medicine! So for the weekend I spent my time cuddling and nursing our little one until the fever broke Sunday morning. She is back to normal now...bouncing around and telling everyone what to do! While she was down, Bill and Maddy went to the Newport Beach Boat Parade...a long parade of yachts, canoes, kayaks and motorboats all decorated for the holidays. What a sight! Sunday we went back to the beach with Bill and Jeff along this time...it was a beautiful sunny day and we stayed for the sunset. We haven't had a lot of opportunities for both families to spend the day together so this was a treat! Later that night we had a knock on the door...Ali had won the candy guessing contest here at the resort and they were delivering his candy! Monday was spent finishing up the Christmas shopping, doing some baking and fixing the leak in the shower! Just when we thought we were finished Maddy informed me that it just wasn't Christmas without a tree to put the presents under....so off we went today to find a tree that we could easily fit into this motorhome...no easy feat!! Just when we thought it was not going to happen I met a lady who was having the top cut off of a tree so it would fit on the table in her house. I went with her and asked the garden centre staff if they had any tree tops they could sell me...they brought out a couple and told me I could have one for free. I am so thankful for their generosity.... Maddy picked one out and we brought it home...we'll get some pictures soon so you can see our special tree!

Decorating Christmas Cookies

Fun at the Beach

December 21 Photo of the Day

Sunset at Aliso Beach today...

December 20 Photo of the Day

This is what happens when the kids get a hold of your camera...

December 19 Photo

Today the kids and I decided to hang out at home...we walked all around the bay at the resort, hung out at the playground and introduced ourselves to some off our neighbours. The sun was shining and we were able to spend most of the day outdoors.

December 17 Photo

Today the kids had their last cooking class(chocolate pretzel sticks)...thank goodness we had an indoor activity planned as it rained all day...again!!

Back to Normal!

Today the sun was shining when we woke up! Seems like the weather is trying to get back to normal....it was good enough for us so we decided to get out and explore! After some debate about what we should do we agreed on going to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. This facility is a haven for rescued sick and injured seals and sea lions. Today they had eight sea lions and one elephant seal which were recovering. Two of the sea lions were only six weeks old and had been found abandoned. It was such a great up close encounter! No one else was there this morning, so the volunteer working took us behind the fences to get a closer look at the mammals and facility. We were really impressed with the work that this organization is doing to help marine mammals and will go back to visit weekly. This evening Bill took the kids swimming...although the air was cool the pool is heated so even Katie was able to get her splash on! After a quick hot tub soak everyone was ready to get into their jammies and settle in for the night.

Maddy's Visit to the Doctor

Today I had to take Maddy to the doctors. Hence the picture of the day! Quite an experience...although we have coverage for the time we will be away, the receptionist looked at us as if we were from another planet when we registered. Apparently they don't get any out of country visits in this office as it took this unpleasant women at least thirty minutes before she agreed that everything was in order and we could see the doctor. Thankfully, Maddy is just experiencing some pressure and normal fluid build up in her ears due to the differing elevations around here. She'll be back to normal in no time! I wish I could say the same for the weather! We have had rain since last night and are expecting more...we've been told that this is unusual for the area...hopefully it will pass soon and we will be back to exploring and playing!

Our new home base...

So today is our first day in Newport Beach. We spent the day running around picking up a few things we needed to set up house again...another mat for outdoors, as it is all sand here!!, and some Christmas Lights for outdoors! I'm looking forward to decorating this week! The kids are excited about having a new "backyard". Maddy is now the Pigeon Girl, as she has befriended a family of pigeons she feeds cheerios to in the morning. We managed a little time at the playground down by the beach before it got too dark. The kids are really enjoying watching the bunnies around our place...the hill across from us was covered with them at dusk!

Moving Day

Today we leave for Newport Beach. It's only an hour an a half north but it means we won't be frequenting any of our regular joints anymore...that coffee shop with the great iced mocha, the corner store with sweet laffy taffy, the "best" fishing spot...Looking forward we can't wait to find more places to call our own, even if only for a short while. For now we say good bye to Santee Lakes.

Quail Botanical Gardens

Today the kids and I went to the botanical gardens for their Christmas Garden Lights event. We did crafts, sang Christmas songs, went on a horse drawn wagon ride and enjoyed the lights. The plants and flowers were brilliant...even in the dark. It was a lovely, calm celebration...the perfect end to our stay in the San Diego Area!

Sand and Snow

This evening I'm sitting on the couch doing a bit of knitting. It's a two year project I'm determined to finish this year! Maddy is playing on her computer while Katie is giving Ali a pedicure. It's quiet and calm. Numerous times today Ali has told me today was the most fun he has ever had. And Maddy thinks it's the best day ever! I'm sitting here sipping my cocoa and I'd have to agree with them. Before the kids woke this morning I was reading an article about unschooling by Ren Allen. This is the particular paragraph that stuck in my mind

"I wake up sometimes and really think about how I will respond THIS day. Just today I'm going to be utterly present for my children, I'm going to be in their world (not just doing my own thing while they do theirs), I'm going to really hear them...Those are the days that things really flow, that I'm not getting as frustrated (even when challenges arise), because I've made a CHOICE. "

So I made a choice to be fully present in their day today. It went something like this...

We head to Coronado (on the coast) to go ice skating. We all laughed as the kids twirled and jumped in their skates. The kids are seasoned skaters and are drawing a crowd to watch. The whole time the sun shined and the waves rolled in on the beach beside us. After an hour on the ice we plant our feet in the sand and collect shells along the waters edge. Maddy found a little hermit crab and we all sat and waited for it to come out of it's shell. When the kids got tired of waiting, I was volunteered to babysit the crab while they searched for more treasures. Ali comes running with more shells and another bigger hermit crab. They decide to put them in Katie's sand bucket with some water...she is thrilled to carry it around even though the water is sloshing all over her as she walks. We decide to sit awhile and watch one of the crabs scurry along. Katie holds the bigger crab calling him to come out..he never does. About two hours in now and Maddy suggest they go back and skate before the rink closes. It's five o'clock now and the kids come off the ice with little snowballs...Ali helps Maddy take her skates off and I bring them some hot chocolate. Katie spills hers all down the front of her sweater, so Ali picks her up and drys her off while I clean up. The sun is setting now so we head back to the beach to watch it. The kids are digging a big pit and I'm not allowed to be there until it is done. So I sit on the bench and watch the three of them dig in the dark. Finally they call me and they are all three in the "pit". No one else is on the beach now except me and my kids. The Christmas lights are bright on the boardwalk, enough so we can see where we are going when we start walking to the car. We are all wet, sandy and cold...and we don't care.

Exploring Carlsbad

Today the kids had another cooking class in Carlsbad (about 40 minutes from here). We decided to head out early and do a little geocaching before the class. We used to do this alot, yet we haven't done it since being here. So off we went...not really knowing where we would end up...that's always part of the fun! The first geocache led us to a dead end high up on a hill, overlooking the city of Carlsbad and the ocean. It was a great unexpected view! Maddy found the cache hidden behind a small sign on the railing...we left a Canadian penny of course! The second cache led us to a lagoon with a soft white sandy beach! Katie loved playing in the sand and watching the dogs frolic in the water! Ali was busy catching lizards and after thirty minutes he finally found the cache...cleverly hidden in a pipe among the irrigation pipes! The kids were excited to see what was in it...Maddy took a small frog and Ali took a little turtle. Off to cooking class we went...today the kids made chocolate snowman, chocolate macaroons, chocolate spoons, and cranberry lemon muffins. Delicious!