Our Beach Vacation at Crystal Cove

(Remember my last post Summer is in Full Swing? Well, turns out that there isn't a whole lot of time for blogging when the kids are out of school! As a matter of fact, there doesn't seem to be time for anything! But that's mostly a good thing because it means we are having a lot of fun! We have been in Utah for a week now and will be here for four more. I love Utah!) 

The boys had a blast! And so did we! It was the perfect family vacation and I would go back in a heart beat! (FYI: I definitely don't say that about all of our family trips!) The campground at Crystal Cove State Park was better than expected. So were the beaches. And the kids! 

This little blonde surfer dude is just so fun to take pictures of. He loved the ocean and waves even when they knocked him over and all around. Love that kid! 

Water + Sand + Sun = Happiness

He played so hard during the day that every night at 7:30 he would ask to go to sleep. Ha! That's a first!  We happily obliged and put him to bed. My kids sleep great when camping! Better than at home, actually. I think it's mostly because they are so used to it. And the love their sleeping bags! 

 Noah is loving his independence these days and it makes me happy to see him confident. I can tell that he is a lot like me which is both fun and scary! I am hoping that there is also a lot of Karl in him also or else we are in trouble...

He quickly became friends with the neighbor kid and together they explored the campground and beach. Our families were basically on the exact same schedule, so we ran into each other constantly. Of course Max has to be in the mix at all times, so it was nice for Noah to roam around alone with friends when Max was already asleep. It was strange to have one kid asleep and one off with friends at night. Almost like Karl and I could've just sat down together and had a conversation all by ourselves... 

We caved in and bought the boys boogie boards. Which they loved but didn't use as much as we thought. Or as they were claiming... So Karl and I had no choice but to boogie board ourselves. It could've been worse. Disclaimer: I really only went into the water all the way 3 times. I am a total wuss when it comes to playing in cold water. Plus, air temps were only barely in the 70s. Of course I loved it when I was actually in and playing in the waves. It's the best!!!

Sunsets were amazing. Max and I loved watching the fireball slowly disappear behind the horizon. Good times! 

Consider yourself invited to join us next time! The campground was a little pricy (just like all the good ones right on the coast) and definitely big enough for two families. We were on a bluff right across from the ocean and all it took to get there was a little (very steep) 8 min hike. If you do come, do not forget to bring your kids' scooters. There is an unwritten rule that all of the (many) kids need to have a scooter to cruise around the campground with. Good thing we threw ours into the trunk last minute! 

Big thank you to this awesome guy for being the camping master! Love you! 

And one more thank you to my parents for making this vacation possible! Love you too! 

Summer is in Full Swing!

School is out and summer is here! We all couldn't be more excited! 

Oh. Wait. That means my routine is completely messed up, I need to entertain the kids all day long, and - whenever they happen to not be fighting - they are complaining about not seeing their friends often enough. It hasn't even been a week and I am ready for school to start back up again! 

Ok. Not really. But I wouldn't mind a little bit of summer school from 9 to 12. That would give me enough time to get some stuff done and we would still have plenty of time to play and have fun! 

Yeah, I know. Don't ask me what I did all day long when the kids were 2 and 5 and not in any sort of school yet. I remember those days very clearly and although they are precious to me, I am not longing for them to come back! 

Most kids around here go to quite a few summer camps, which is tempting, because they sound like a lot of fun! But they are also super expensive, considering that I don't work and really have no excuse or money to put my kids in summer camp! That said, after we get back from our trip, Noah is going to a soccer camp for a week (courtesy of his biggest fan, my dad) and Max will go to the summer program of his preschool for a few hours in the morning. Should be fun for everyone involved! And really I do enjoy spending more time with them, especially Noah who is growing up so fast and won't even let me hug or kiss him anymore! What's up with that? 

In order to keep ourselves busy we have quite a few trips planned this summer! As usual, they either involve camping or visiting my in-laws because that is all we can afford. I am certainly not complaining  as I love both camping and my in-laws!

Last weekend we kicked off summer with a trip to Fool Hollow Lake in Show Low. It was a great weekend with lots of racing, camping, and hanging out with friends. You can read all about the entire weekend of fun here and find my race report here. Since I already talked about both of their races  (and Noah's visit to the emergency room) on my other blog, I just want to post a few more pictures of them here. 

Karl and Max coming into transition after the first run: 

Max eying his competition during the bike leg: 

This little kid gave it all he had: 

After a second run, he happily finished in 3rd and jumped right onto the podium: 

It was a blast to see him competing in his very first race. And I dare say he is just as competitive and determined as his parents! 

Noah and his friend, Sam, finishing the first run: 

Both of them stuck together on the very hilly bike course as well: 

I could tell that Noah's stitched-up hand was hurting him, but he toughed it out: 

These kids raced for 45 minutes, so it's no surprise that they were quite worn out at the end: 

We finished off the racing extravaganza on Saturday with dinner at our campsite. These kids were loving it:

After a day of racing and playing hard, Max and Noah got into their cocoons and slept soundly until the sun was shining right into their little faces: 

When we got home from our trip, a package from Great-Aunt Jeanette was waiting for the kids and they were thrilled! She sent us this lovely game that the boys are very eager to play: 

It's perfect to take on our next trip with us and a good activity for Noah who is trying to heal is hand in time for the beach:

Jeanette also sent this awesome alligator she made herself. Max thought it was the best and wanted to make one himself. Seeing how I am about the least crafty person I know, I was of no help. 

So he made a little snake. All by himself. I love that kid! 

And how much fun would summer be without playing on the slip'n slide? A big Thank You to my friend, Bethany, who let the kids play at her house while I was running errands for our beach trip. They had a great time! 

As I am typing this I am sitting in a hotel in Barstow, CA. We made it more than half-way to the ocean but decided to take a little break. Our little Inn is awesome and the kids love hotels, mostly because we hardly ever stay at one! We played in and at the pool for a few fun hours,

Ate dinner (and dessert) with our legs hanging in the water,  

and now everyone but me is sound asleep.

Night Night! 

New Habitats

In case you haven't heard yet: Our two stink bugs died. No one is really too sad about. Although, once Max was able to refrain from squeezing them in his hand every 5 minutes, they didn't smell so bad anymore. Last weekend the boys went on a 3-day camping trip and brought home a new pet. A walking stick bug. Those are actually pretty cool! So now the death feigning beetle has a new friend. We celebrated its arrival by giving them a new habitat: the bottom of our old and leaky water container. What could be better? 

We finally got a new dishwasher after the old one had been broken for a while. Yay for apartment living! We didn't have to lift a finger or spend a penny on it. And, lucky for the boys, it came in a nice big box! 

And, as we all know, boxes are super fun to play with! They were busy with that box for a long time! And when it was time to go to bed they convinced us to let them sleep in the box. Sure. Why not? So they got all comfy in there...

And a little silly...

It was a bit crowded in the box though and eventually Max decided he had had enough and moved into his bed. Noah, however, spent the rest of the night boxed up. They even slept in a bit longer than usual! Considering that we will be going camping a lot this summer, I am glad the boys sleep well even when not in their own bed. 

I thought I would throw in two more pictures for fun. Karl and the boys went to some sort of festival the other day and Max and Noah loved this activity for obvious reasons... 

I wouldn't mind having one of those at our house. Seems like a pretty safe way to get out lots of energy! 

Afternoons with Max

Since the last post on my training and racing blog is mostly about what Max and I do on most afternoons, I figured I would put a link to it here. 

Go here to find out how Max has been making progress on his bike and why he still gives me heart attacks every day! 

Thoughts on Mother's Day

First of all I want to wish my own Mama a very happy Mother's Day. 

Which is a little superfluous as she is vacationing in Southern France right now. 

How can you not be having a very happy Every Day down there? 

So it's not too terrible that I didn't send her a card (or anything else for that matter), right?

I mean, she wouldn't have gotten it today anyway. 

Maybe I will get around to it tomorrow. 

Do they even have Mother's Day in Germany? And if so, is it the same day? 

While every American and their dog posted something about Mothers on Facebook today, my German friends were rather quiet. So who knows. 

The following picture still cracks me up. 

My sister is screaming her head off and I seem to be pouting. Nice!

While we've always known that our mother loves us very much, she also made it very clear that we'd better be out of the house at the age of 20. I basically left when I was 17 to go to Utah as an exchange student for a year. Then I was home for 2.5 years to finish school in Germany. I left again at the end of 2001 and have been in the US ever since. And I definitely miss my mom a lot! And, of course, the rest of my family. Some day we will be back, I promise! 

If you are interested in finding out what it was like for me to grow up German, you can go here. 

I love being a mom to these two kiddos! 

I mean, look at them! How could I not? They are the best!

And it breaks my heart to have scary things happen to them. 

Like last Friday when a crazy guy escaped from the hospital and got on Noah's school bus. 

(You can read more about that story at the beginning of this post. I am going to write a longer post on that topic soon but some things still aren't clear to us.)

I am super impressed with Max's gift to me. I knew it was going to be awesome when I found out that my swimming buddy and amazing artist, Liza vonRosenstiel, was helping these little guys create something beautiful. It turned out wonderful!

A heartfelt Thank You to my partner in parenthood. 

Very glad to be on this journey together!