Legos!!!

The girls got some girlie colored legos for Christmas from Gramma and Papa and in the last month and an half, they are on a Lego Building/Playing extravaganza! We went to Disneyland today after school (thanks to it being a minimum day) and while there, we hit the Lego Store at Downtown Disney. It's been a few years since we've been in the store since they've not been into Legos until recently. The store was overwhelming...the Star Wars kits, the Indiana Jones sets, the cities, the houses. All were very appealing. I would have loved to have bought several sets, but just like they were when I was a kit, they're expensive. Having a side yard that desperately needs weeds pulled, I struck a deal...they pull weeds for a set amount of time, and I'd buy them Legos. There was no hesitancy on either of their parts, and thus a deal was made.Hannah chose a Lego set that I told her was worth an hour and a half of weed pulling. Rachel chose a set that needed to have an hours worth of weeds pulled. We shook hands and I purchased the sets. They can have them once their end of the bargain has been met, and thankfully, tomorrow is another minimum school day.

Mission San Luis Rey

Hannah has been studying the California Missions in school this trimester. And with today being a holiday, I thought it would be fun to go visit one of the missions! Gramma came with us and we made our way to the San Luis Rey Mission in Oceanside.One of the neat things about this mission is that this was the very mission that I did my report on when I was in the 4th grade and my parents took me to visit it when I was in the midst of writing my report. There's a picture of me somewhere in front of this very fountain! There was no photography allowed in the museum or in the church. But there was some pretty beautiful architecture and wood workings inside. In addition to the things Hannah shared with us about all she'd been learning in school, she got a little education from me and Gramma about the differences between the Catholic faith and ours. We had to explain the candles you can light for prayers, the wall mounts that held Holy water, why so many crucifixes.The cemetery was beautiful. There were headstones that were very old, and surprisingly, some that were very recent (like in the last 5 years). It was interesting to read the dates, the details, and the names. It was fun to explore the Mission. Hannah enjoyed it. And I mentioned that perhaps when they are off track next month, we'd make a trip to the San Juan Capistrano Mission. After our time at the Mission, we weren't too far away from probably the best Home Goods in Southern California, so of course we made a stop there. And then we weren't too far away from where Uncle Bart lives. He was in San Diego for the day working on a side job, but we left him a Valentine's package on his doorstep, and then stopped at our favorite donut/bakery shop across the street from our beach campground, looked at the beautiful ocean from our route to the freeway and then hit the road home.

What a beautiful, beautiful day to drive to San Diego County. The skies were blue. The hills were all green from the all the rain we've had. Flowers are starting to bloom. The sun was brightly shinning. It was most definitely a great day for going on an adventure!

Friday + No School = Sleepover and Disneyland

The girls had no school today, it was a teacher inservice or work day or something like that. Hannah's been hankering for some play time with her BFF so I arranged for her to spend the night last night and then go with us to Disneyland today (thanks to homeschooling, she was able to take today off of school!).

Taking Emma with us to Disneyland worked out great. Her and Hannah were able to go on some of the rides that Rachel either won't go on or isn't big enough for just yet. Rides that if it were just the three of us, Hannah would have missed out on. It was a great day at Disneyland. Very little crowds. Minimal wait times. Perfect weather. All in all a great day was had by all! :)

Visiting Papa's Work Trip #2

A little over two years ago, we got to tour where my Dad works. The company had just opened a brand new muti-million dollar corporate office with the grocery warehouses built, not stocked, with more on the way. It was an interesting tour and Hannah loved visiting Papa's work.

The popular grocery chain has recently finished all their grocery warehouses and all are now stocked with food and thus, another Open House was held today and we got to go exploring once again. The dry grocery warehouse was fully stocked and the workers were working to pull orders for the trucks to take out to the stores. In addition to the dry groceries and the health and beauty warehouses, we got to visit the frozen and cold foods warehouse and the bakery, both which were in the process of being built at the time of our last tour.We got to wander through the corporate offices again. This is where Papa's office is. We visited Papa's cubicle and checked things out. He had pictures of the grand girlies proudly displayed and the digital frame we gave him for his birthday last year scrolling with more pictures of the family. I think the best part of the entire tour for the girls was visiting the section where they train the grocery checkers. Hannah loved scanning the groceries in the basket and pretending as though she really worked for the grocery chain!At the end of the tour, lunch was offered - BBQ'd hot dogs, California Pizza Kitchen, drinks, chips, and a visit by the Oscar Meyer Wiener-mobile!! Whoo Hoo!It was a fun tour and it's nice to get to see where Papa spends all of his time when he's not at home. With a Daddy that works from home, as well an Uncle, it's sometimes hard for Hannah and Rachel to comprehend what it means for a Dad/Papa to have to GO to work. LOL.

Some After Christmas Camping

This Christmas vacation has proved to be a busy one. With preparing for Christmas the first half of Hannah's vacation, we took up a part of her second week with camping, not too far from home.

We went to Vail Lake and camped with three other families from church, all whom had trailers and thankfully had extra beds that were offered to all of us as it was COLD at night. We took up the offer half way and put our girls in the trailers to sleep at night. And they enjoyed it, although Hannah said it didn't really feel like camping sleeping in a trailer. LOL. One of the families that went camping with us had their motorhome, which had satellite television. Hannah spent a lot of time in there with her friend Jen, watching movies and playing with their new DSi's they'd gotten for Christmas!Where we were camping, there was tons of grass and tree swings and even a miniature golf course. Hannah had a great time playing and hanging out. Of course, there was always good food to be had, like breakfast burritos and muffins from Costco one morning!It was a great time had by all. And Hannah seems to enjoy our camping trips!

Christmas 2009

Christmas for Hannah proved to be a very good one this year, when it came to receiving presents. Just about everything she got on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was off of the list she made at Toys R Us a few weeks ago.

Four very excited little girlies on Christmas Eve.The biggest gift she got was from us, a Nintendo DSi. She's been wanting one for a while, but when her cousin got one at the beginning of the month for her birthday, her desire for one became even stronger. LOL. Rachel also got one, as did Haylee, so on Christmas Day, once all the presents had been opened, the four girls disappeared into Hannah's room and we really didn't see much of them all day as they were chatting back and forth on their prized new possessions. She was also very excited to get a gift card for the clothing store, Justice. We went the day after Christmas and she picked out a purple pair of pants and a pink and purple shirt. She loves that store and I have a feeling that store will be one we check out frequently!Christmas 2009 is done and over with and all of her new things have found homes and places in her room, as well as thank you notes written and sent.