Summer Vacation 2009 - AKA "Makin' Lemonade"

***blogstalkers beware- this is the longest post in history***

DAY ONE - We drove up to Travis AFB today to sign in at the passenger terminal for our Space-A flight to Hickam AFB, Hawaii. Clint signed us in and they informed him that there is a flight at 4:40 am tomorrow morning with 53 seats. After that, there are two more flights with a total of 39 seats. We are so excited to see our friends tomorrow that we are going to bed at 7:30 so we can be up and out the door at 3:30 am to make that flight!

plan for tomorrow: Wake up early, fly to HI, go to the beach, hang with our friends!

DAY TWO- We woke up and were sitting at the airport at 3:45 am waiting to see if we could make the flight. Clint and I slept very little last night in anticipation of waking up so early, so we were exhausted! They called everyone over to the gate and began calling the names of the passengers who would be on that flight. They did not call our name. We headed back to the hotel (walking because our car was parked 2 miles away in long term parking) with all our bags. We rested and watched TV for a couple hours and then walked back to the airport at about 8:00 for the next flight roll call. They, again, didn't call our name. Apparantly, Hawaii is a popular place to visit...who knew? We hung around at the airport for another 2 hours until they called the final flight passengers. And, guess what?? We didn't get on that one either. The next flight to HI is on Thursday, so maybe we'll try for that one. There are also flights to Alabama, South Carolina, and New Jersey for tomorrow, so perhaps we'll change our vacation plans and head east and try to get back to HI on Thursday. When we left the airport, we found a playground, a pond (with ducks) and the pool. It was a nice hot day for swimming! We made hotel and car reservations for SC, so we're good to go!

plan for tomorrow: Let's go to South Carolina! Hey, at least it's got a beach!

DAY THREE- Found out that the chances of us making it home from SC aren't so good. There is a flight to Washington state tomorrow and then right back here on Wednesday to hopefully catch the flight to HI on Thursday. That's our new plan. Since we're here, we headed out to Muir Woods National Monument and saw some really beautiful redwoods. On the way back to the Hotel, we went by The Golden Gate Bridge and then had lunch at an awesome mall in Fairfield. The kids threw pennies in the fountain and wished to go to HI. Hopefully it will all pan out...Clint and I threw in quarters. We cancelled our SC reservations and made some for WA. We didn't bring the laptop, so finding out hotel and car information is a giant PAIN!

plan for tomorrow: Fly to Washington state, check on the house and come right back on Wednesday to catch a HI flight.

DAY FOUR- We got a call from my BFF last night who let me know that her friend in HI had been trying to get home via Space-A travel for a week and a half. We don't have that much leave left and that isn't really something we're prepared to fly commercially to avoid. We called our HI friends and relayed our current status/plans and resigned ourselves to the fact that we probably wouldn't make it to HI this vacation.

We got on the plane to WA without any problem and Carson was so excited to fly on a plane for the first time ever. Gavin "called" the window seat and then was extremely surprised to find that there was no window seat. It was a C-17 and all the seats folded out of the wall and faced the middle of the plane. No carpet, no cushy seat pad, no in-flight entertainment or beverages. We got a pair of earplugs and a quick lesson on how to use the noxious fumes personal hood (in case the air became too toxic to breathe...great). The best part about his little speech was reminding us that because the hood was completely sealing off our outside air, when it ran out of oxygen, we should remove it or we would suffocate. Cool. Still, the flight was actually pretty awesome, I mean, how many of you can say you've flown on a C-17? I almost needed the services of the motion sickness bag and Carson could've used two, but all in all it was pretty cool.

After we landed, Clint got the rental car and we immediately headed up to Port Orchard to see the progress on our new house. We went in and looked around and met the neighbors. It it almost done, I can't even believe it! They discontinued the color we picked for the siding, so I had to pick a new color last month without even seeing it. I was scared that it was going to be horrible, but we actually really like it.

We left the house feeling pretty good about everything and drove back down to the hotel. We stopped for dinner along the way and then turned in for the night, glad we had decided to come.

plan for tomorrow: Fly back to CA early in the morning and spend a few days before heading back home. The Sacramento Zoo is really inexpensive, so we'll try to go there tomorrow.

DAY FIVE- Well, the flight back to CA got cancelled this morning and, so far, there isn't another one scheduled. So we went back out to the house and measured for blinds. The kids played at the playground across the street while we were in the house. A few minutes after we went in, we saw the neighbor walk by the front of the house with her big ol' umbrella. We peeked out the front door as she said, "It's raining. Your kids are coming to play in my house 'til you're done. Take your time." I'm gonna love this neighborhood! We walked around our new downtown area and froze our tushies off. We each only brought one pair of pants for the plane ride. This is what happens when you pack for HI, but go to WA.

plan for tomorrow: Buy some pants.

DAY SIX- We got some pants for Cambria and drove up to the ferry stop to take us across to Seattle. The ferry wasn't necessary, but we thought the kids would enjoy it. Cambo stood on the center console and stuck her head out the sunroof, while the guys all went up to the top of the boat. It was worth it to see how cool the kids thought it was. We arrived in Seattle and I happened to have (totally randomly) tickets to the Space Needle and free valet parking shoved in a pocket of my purse. We got them in January compliments of our builder and I am surprised I even remembered they were there. We employed said tickets and had a fantastic time!

The fact that we didn't have to pay made it even better! We also found a coupon in a local magazine for the Seattle Children's Museum. We figured we could do that too. Turns out that the Space Needle and the museum are in all in the same block. We got to keep our free valet parking for that! We saved $77 dollars on a super fun afternoon! The kids really enjoyed the Children's Museum. We checked on a minor league baseball game to see if that might work for tonight, but ultimately decided against it, in favor of a visit to Pike Market.

We went to Pike Market and parked the car in a lot a few blocks down. I say, "down" because we were parked at the base of a hill below the market. We walked up 9 flights of stairs to reach the place. All was well until flight 8 of 9. It was a staircase with no backs to the stairs. Cambria insisted on walking herself and accidentally flipped her flop off her foot and right through the backside of the stairs. I looked over the side and saw that the part below was completely fenced in. Well, crap. Clint and the boys were already up and in the market while the malay ensued. Malay being Cambria screaming, "I want my flip flop!" over and over and over again. This continued for the next 17 minutes we spent in the market. Every person stared me down as though I was pinching my child while she sat on my shoulders, snot, slobber and tears streaming into my hair. It was unpleasant. I finally asked her if she wanted to look for her shoe when we left and she immediately stopped crying. Why didn't I think of this before? I just kept saying, "I'm sorry honey, it's gone." Clearly that was not what she needed to hear. We walked around for a little while longer and the headed back down those blasted stairs. We reached the bottom of the missing shoe staircase and searched out a way to get it. The edge of the fence bent up about 10 inches, so I sent Gavin in and he retrieved the item in question. It was a successful mission and Cambo returned to her usual cuteness. We left there and went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. We love that place!!

plan for tomorrow: Check on flights again, go to zoo, go to pool?

DAY SEVEN- There is a flight tomorrow, so we will not be stuck here forever! Wahoo!! We got up and had some breakfast and headed out to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. The entrance was beautiful and for an additional $40 we could get season passes and come back any time. We thought we better check it out first and then apply our ticket prices for that day toward a season pass. The view from the main area was gorgeous. Mountains, trees and Puget Sound all in plain sight. We thought season passes might be worth it just for the view! We quickly changed our tune when we actually went through the zoo. Aside from the Budgie aviary and a quirky wild animal show, it was pretty lame. We have had passes to the San Diego Zoo and Monterey Bay Aquarium. Both near the top of the "best of" lists. This one however, just can't compete. Sorry, Point Defiance, we've seen better.

We got back to the base and drove around to see if we could find the aquatic center. We finally scoped it out and decided to give it a go. It was 4:00 in the afternoon and about 70 degrees, but it was fun and warm enough.

plan for tomorrow: Get on a plane and go back to CA.

DAY EIGHT- We arrived at the passenger terminal and checked in. We were about 1 1/2 hours early, and the first ones there, so I turned on a TV in the waiting area and found some cartoons. Clint drove out to the rental agency to return the car and got a taxi back while the kids and I waited and caught up on the 'toons. When he got back, we were all called over for roll call again. We were informed that there were 47 seats and only 26 passengers checked in, so there wouldn't be a problem for everyone to get on the flight. We all checked in our luggage and went back to the waiting area. About 1/2 hour later, they recalled everyone back up and said, "There has been a change of cargo on this flight and we now only have 9 seats. We apologize and will now read the list of those families who will be on this flight. Hoskins, Smith. Thank you." A man ran out to the person reading the list and gave him some additional information. He then told us, "Sorry, folks, there will actually be 13 seats. Jones, you will also be on this flight." The remaining passengers had to get their stuff back off the plane and wait around for another flight. We didn't feel too bad since we already had our turn with all that craziness when we were planning to go to HI. We got on the flight, properly armed with Dramamine, blankets and our trusty earplugs and had an uneventful flight.

When we got back, Clint hiked the 2 miles back to the car and came back to get us. The Pilot had said that it was 81 degrees at Travis AFB, but when we got in the car we noted that he was about 20 degress off. Yep, 101 and we were roasting! We quickly found some lunch and made our way back to the pool. I made Clint promise me that if we went to WA he would to take us to the pool when we got back so our kids could enjoy the sun and water they were originally promised. We had a great afternoon at the pool, found some dinner and crashed back at the hotel.

plan for tomorrow: Go to pool, go home.

DAY NINE- We woke up and gathered our belongings and packed them all up into the suitcases. Headed out to the BX to get some breakfast and got to witness and elderly Asian couple duke it out at the Cinnabon. Good times, good times. Anywho, we got our grub, and went back to the hotel to watch a few more cartoons before heading to the pool. We got our swimsuits and spent one last hour at the pool. Which, by the way, was fantastic since it was 112 degrees today. Ouch. We wrapped things up there and finished off our crazy vacation with some much needed In-N-Out Burger. 2 hours later, we were home.

And as far as life giving us lemons, we definitely made that lemonade. So next time we get those lemons, we know what we'll do...chuck 'em right back and say, "Lemons? We don't need no stinkin' lemons!!" Just kidding...we'll make some more lemonade! We hope your summer vacation is as exciting as ours!

In case you hadn't heard...

...I'm kind of a big deal. Even though I am moving next month, the YMCA gave me 2 classes for the summer schedule! I am having so much fun, and I figure, if I have to work out, I may as well get paid to do it!

My minority children

The kids had a school dance during the last week of school. Each class prepared a dance to share with everyone. They all were so cute and did such a great job. The PTA, of which I am part, had a huge BBQ for the whole school that day, so I was preparing plates with buns and chips starting at 8:00 am. Thankfully, a friend offered to keep Cambria all day. Having her there would have been extremely challenging! check out Carson's mohawk

It's been such a great experience to send my children to school here. They have definitely had the opportunity to know what it feels like to be different. Each of them is one of three students in their class that have English as a first language. It has really taught them that it doesn't matter who's different, everyone can be friends (well, except the mean kids, nobody wants to be their friend).

Early Birthday Party

Cambria and her friend Brady were born only a few days apart. Brady's family is moving this month and we're leaving next month, so we decided to have a little joint birthday party for the two of them. No, you didn't miss her birthday, it's not till the 30th, but we had the party while we were all still here and not yet crazy with moving stress. They each invited a few of their friends and it was a rockin' good time! The weather couldn't have been better, and that's rare in Monterey. We all even got to bust out the flip flops!

Home with the fam!

Clint's mom and dad follwed us home and got to play in Monterey with us for a week. It would be so fun if they lived closer!

The kids all slept in Cambria's room for the week. The boys are so used to their bunk beds that they felt the need to recreate them via air mattress. It didn't last too long.

Viva Las Vegas!

We had the opportunity to take the family to Las Vegas a few weeks ago. It was the National Bowling Tournament that Clint and his dad participate in each year. We had such fun (despite the constant need to avert the eyes away from pretty much everything on the strip) and have some pictures to share!

This is how our kids end up in the middle of the night. It's a good thing they're still little!

So you don't think there's an In-N-Out in heaven...

Clint would disagree.

WARNING: Feet picture posted below, if you don't like feet, look away!

Clint and the kids treated me to a pedicure for Mother's Day. By treated, I do not mean that they pulled out the clippers and went to town, but that they said, "Go get a pedicure for yourself." Actually, I believe the direct quote was, "Go get those hooves fixed." Yes, I know, my husband is such a romantic. Anywho, I dragged my friend, Sarah, along with me and we went and got the hooves fixed. I figured I better take a picture since I jump around in gym shoes half the day and I know it won't last long!

All about the Mama

The kids had an activity at church where they got to spend time with their moms. We played games, decorated cookies and planted flowers. My kids and I got to participate in the 3-legged race (or 4-legged-with-a-hunch-back race, as the case may be). The 11-year old in charge insisted that I had to have all my children tied to me. A bit ridiculous, but we managed to take second place behind a mom with only one child. I'll take that victory, thank you very much!

The kids ran a relay where they had to dress up like a mom, complete with bathrobe, shoes, purse, bag of groceries, and a stroller and run to the end and back. Cambria was slow and steady, tripping most of the way down the room. Gavin, on the other hand, threw everything in on top of the baby in the stroller and made a mad dash. Perhaps fatherhood is a journey best suited for an older fellow.