april-may ~ week 18 {life's a beach}

sometimes, i get so caught up in the logistics of what needs to be done before we can leave our home - even for a few nights - that i'm tempted to think it's not worth the effort.

our schedules have been a lil' on the hectic side, especially hub's.  he doesn't get paid enough for what he contributes to his team.  there.  i said it.  i shall leave it alone now.  i'm sure that was a bloggy sin.  anyone else tire of all the unwritten rules of blogging?  anyone else maybe in need of some chocolate?

needless to say, we yearned to get away.  don't get me wrong.  we love a good stay-cation as much as the next person, but sometimes a person needs to escape the projects at every turn, begging to be finished, in order to truly relax.  our house is feeling like that about now.  things are beginning to fall apart.  dishwasher, anyone?  things need to be organized, painted, and repaired.  mama needs a new {to me} vehicle.  something dependable, while hubs is out of town, you know?  whine much?  pass the chocolate, please.

hahhhh... things are looking better already. ;)

so this week started with school.  again, i will say that i wish that i'd been educated like this.  we are continuing to breeze through the middle ages in history.  we love learning about this time period, but so much of it was flawed... and, dare i say, still quite barbaric?  eek.



relaxed learning. 
totally.
at home, or on the go.

i've been listing older curriculum to sell online to help pay for our much anticipated curriculum, sonlight.  the girls are chomping at the bits to order.  makes me happy to see them eager to receive books for school.  i plan to go through the house to see what else we can part with to raise funds.  wish me luck!

beau's favorite spot?  under my feet. 
right in front of the oven.
waiting for turkey bacon to fall from heaven?

 

theater.  dance and piano lessons.  

you know, the usual.

singing do-re-me harmony with my lil' maria.
dragging my child to the gym.  she has book in hand, snack and ipod within reach.  clearly, she was suffering, while not pedaling.

post-juice veggie massacre.  best multi-vitamin evah.
long-legged jasmine.  she fits in our family, yes?
gracie singing the sound of music upside-down.

a pic of my headboard.  because my 'must-do-before-we-leave' chore-list made me feel overfatigued... and old.  it's where i collapsed.  long enough to instagram a picture, that is.

on our way out, we picked up chili's.  because mom didn't put "cook dinner" on the to-do list. oops. {note sarcasm}  but you should have seen my list! 




when younger, i was a fish.  you couldn't get me out of the water.  this trip, i only craved time spent in a good book.  gracie craved email at the end of the day.  sometimes, she makes me desire an amish lifestyle.  it could be good for her.

we packed food for our three free nights in the condo on the beach.  hubs made most of the meals. lord bless him.  why does a grilled turkey and cheese taste better when someone else cooks it?

he was also the parent that was first to go in the water with the girls.  and build sand castles.  he's pretty awesome at it.

no worries.  mom got her feet wet, too.  searching for shells is what i like to do.  gracie and i collect them.




our closest beach is normally quite murky. brown water. brown sand.  but we're thankful for it.

even if we happen to pick the time of year during the annual seaweed invasion.  it's for the health of the beach, so i guess we can't complain. 



except when a huge batch of it wraps around your leg and you think the loch ness monster is about to eat you alive.

however...
if you stay out of the water to read a good book,
listen to the sound of the ocean, 
enjoy your kids nearby digging to china in the sand,
soaking in the salty breeze,
in the shade,
it's heaven on earth.  
or as close as we'll get to it where we live.

then, all of the work it took to get here, 
suddenly seems worth it.



until you get pinched by a crab.

{due to our science lesson, we were able to determine that this little guy was, indeed, a boy crab.  just thought you should know.}

the end.

remembering {the alamo}

{finally} the end of our thanksgiving vacation.  you know... so we can blog about reality our current life.

one cannot go to san antonio without walking through this piece of history.



we opted to make a day of it.  
our traditional walk through the alamo itself.  no pictures allowed inside.

a trip to the disney store.



a ride through the riverwalk.
riverwalk + christmas lights = a great way to ring in the christmas season. 

end of the day celebrated at the hard rock cafe'.



this year, we threw in a little education torture.
we made our way through the wax museum and...

ripley's believe it or not.  i guarantee that's a stop our girls will remember for years to come.  the girls were mostly eager to find the exit sign.  i don't blame them.  they really should post signs for parents of what's around the corner. ;)

my favorite room was dedicated to the titanic.  the picture below shows a demonstration of the leak that took the titanic down.  unbelievable. 

we rewarded the girls with a lil' ice cream.  we're cool like that.



after we said goodbye to our room, it was time to make a mad-dash home.  just in time for theater rehearsal.  that's how we've been rolling lately.

i wanted to remember these circles in the carpet.  gracie walked on these {only} getting to and from our room.  seeing life through a spunky 9 year old is always exciting.



souvineers in hand, we had to say good-bye.
or see you later.  back to reality.

until next time...

a moderate ride {day 3}

if your children are not the ride-ridin' type, an amusement park is a must-stop when you go on a lil' family vacay.  make sense, no?



at least there's the water-gun-shootin'-game-thingy. winners and non-winners win a cape.  super powers might be attached.  it's a win-win.  

there's the car that runs on a track.  employees still have to check for fastened seat-belts when these lil' minors are driving.  safety first.



and these famous looney tunes.   gracie's favorite part.   gracie gave bugs bunny the 'call-me' hand signal.  he returned the signal to her... then gave me the 'call-me' hand signal.  

and that was the day hubs almost knocked bugs bunny out.  we kid.  maybe.



nator drove her first car.  no guidance from a track.  just railings.  of which she only bumped into once, while looking up for me.  not bad for a first drive, right?  gracie was happy riding as daddy's co-pilot. 



nator wanted to upgrade from the beloved 'shamu express' at sea world and try a moderate ride at fiesta texas.  she chose the large rocking boat.  during which, she vowed not to ever try again and determined rides were not in her dna.

i seem to be the only willing-coaster-rider {well, so long as it doesn't spin side-ways} in my family, yet i don't have a riding partner.  truthfully, the older i get, the less attractive they look.  the rockin' boat almost did me in when i looked sideways at hubs and gracie below.

the ferris wheel,  the one ride the girlies will ride, is about our speed.  so long as the girls don't look down.



okay.  secret's out.  i married a pirate and gave birth to a neon-colored-wanna-be hippie. 

gift shops... and the traditional lighting of christmas tree, being ushered in by carolers {who are not afraid to sing about jesus}, fireworks, and looney tunes?  those are always welcome.  and fun.  

but a night-cap at the macaroni grill?  yum. mo.

i suggested skipping the amusement park next time since we don't do rides.  gracie said, "but moooom, the looney tunes show!"

so... is coaster-riding in your dna? ;)

a traditional {thanks}giving

if you follow my instagram, you already know we didn't have a "traditional" thanksgiving.

it seems we've developed a different tradition 'round here.
thanksgiving = shamu.

we bought passes to sea world and fiesta texas last year that were to expire the weekend of our trip.  that, combined with hubby's hotel points made it a fairly budget-friendly family vacation this year.



our room{s} were quite posh.  yes, plural.  hubs booked the girls a room {with 2 double beds} that adjoined to ours, via a sitting room.  i told you it was posh.  down-right swanky, if you will.  i mean, i finally got to try a 'rain shower'.  in 3.5 seconds, i realized it wouldn't be at the top my list in dream home necessities.  kinda like showering under a waterfall? {not that i've ever done that} but i like to breathe. 



our first day was spent driving to our destination, then getting re-acquainted with sea world for a few hours.  we {heart} sea world.



day two, thanksgiving day, was spent watching some of the macy's day parade in our rooms, then we headed out to black-eyed pea for their thanksgiving menu... with all of the other families who didn't cook. ;)  the only down side is that you can't snack on leftovers later.

we did our go-'round-the-table-and-tell-us-what-you're-thankful-for tradition.  basically, everyone is thankful for everything.  gracie made sure to let us know that she was least thankful for... having to eat a few bites of turkey. we're such mean parents. ;) 



we spent the rest of the day at sea world.  again.
gracie trying to eat over-sized candy canes. 
seeing faces in trees.  do you see it?
meeting mistletoe-man.
waiting for shamu, while enjoying christmas tunes via saxophone... played by tobey mcguire. at least that's what i thought about him.  who doesn't love a good saxophone?  *sigh*



we had to visit our friend from last year.  the king penguin.  i love their waddle.  and bad hair days {you know, when they lose their feathers} *giggle*  nator has a thing for penguins.  all birds, really.  i have a thing for her.  she's a cutie.  and oh so smart.

then there were the sea lion pups.  oh. so. adorable.

we watched a handful of shows.  shamu being my fave, as always.  thus we watched it twice. {i love when the animals decide they want to play in the big tanks near the audience... instead of rotating to the back pens during the show.  it's a show-stopper. literally. cute. well, when the babies do it, that is.} 

drank hot chocolate late in the evening when it cooled off. listened to christmas music.

gracie's faaaaavorite was feeding and especially petting a dolphin.  you would have thought she had met justin beiber in person.  her dolphin's name was nikki.  full of adorable personality.

now she wants a dolphin.
we told her we'd put it right next to that horse she wants.

it would be easier for them to {one day} work at sea world.
that's always something they dream of when we visit.



who knows... when my day-job changes, i may send a resume' to sea world myself. i'm used to working with animals, you know?

day 3 of our trip to come...
see.  traditional, right?

a break

it was well over a week ago, but since we hit the ground running,
it feels like an eternity ago.

i was going to get my hard drive situation cleared up before i posted, but...
photoshop won't let me edit,
much less save anything new on the hard drive.
mama's computer is officially maxed out.
but the days are turning into weeks, so here are several pix.
mostly unedited.
oi.



on saturday, after the girls finished theater auditions {the second round},
we hit the road.  minus daddy.
*sigh*
ironically, he's been working crazy hours here at home.
as his office is in transition, changing their physical address, merging with other offices.
a huge project.
so leaving with us is out of the question.

the girls and i met up with granny and the fam in louisiana.
then loaded up our 2 cars to complete the trip.
orange beach.
less beach, more pool.



a lovely, relaxing week.
lazy river.
breakfast on the patio.
complete with panera bagels we picked up on our way there.
hazelnut cream cheese.
mmmmmmmm...
lazy river.



reading the help.
lazy river.
fun card games.
and the lazy river.

i made one trip to the hotel's gym, for good measure.
but swimming in the lazy river was much more fun.
and can be quite the workout when going against the current. ;)



the girls had a blast on the slide.
but we had to share with the adults, too.
right, uncle b? ;)

we ventured out very little.
to eat...
lambert's cafe and the hangout {next door to the beach}.
and shop...
gracie picked a feather for her hair, t-shirt, and a fashion designer notebook.
nator picked a small space shuttle, t-shirt, and an owl bank.

we also found a great sale on books at books a million.
nator spent some time gasping to the point of nearly depleting the room of oxygen.
too cute.  so fun to see kids excited about reading.



hubs flew in on friday to join us.



2 full days with everyone there.
before we hit the road for the long trek all the way home.
which, thankfully, didn't feel as long as we thought it would.
road trips induce great conversation.



there's video, too...
but the hard drive is not ready for that download.
soon.

all of the memory capturing, uploading, burning of dvd's, dumping of old files, etc... is stressful.  am i the only one who worries about that chore?
mine may have something to do with having lost a whole year of our lives in pix and videos,
due to a hard drive crash years ago.
since then, i have issues with deleting pictures.
even though they are now saved on dvd's.

confession:  i currently have 3,779 pictures in my iphone.  non of which i shared in this post... because of the can't-upload-to-hard-drive-issue.

just call me h-mama, the bagel-eating-lazy-river-riding-beach-lovin'-picture-hoarder.
*hangs head in shame*

downtown

our official last day.
you do know what i'm talking about, right?
i know.
you thought my last post was my last post.
*giggle*

it was saturday.
we weren't allowed to check in at the airport till 9:30 p.m.
what to do... what to do.
we hadn't had an opportunity to really explore anchorage during our stay in alaska,
so this was the perfect time.

unfortunately, it started on a foul note.
as we drove around downtown, looking for a good parking place, we noticed several roads blocked off.  what was going on?

due to the blocked roads and one way streets, we were forced to pull into jcpenny's parking garage.  this was as good a spot as any in our book.

we were told in the elevator that there had been a bad accident outside.  in my mind, i was thinking a lil' fender bender, at best.  keeping in mind that i've just experienced one of my dream vacations.  my head is kinda in the clouds.

as we walked out of jcpennys, and onto the sidewalk, we noticed several police officers scurrying people along.  and then... and then... 

we saw it. 

a body lying in the street.  mostly covered in a white sheet.  we quickly scurried with the others, trying to get past the yellow tape an officer was tying.  needless to say, my heart was heavy for several hours.  for peace of mind, i had to know what in the world happened... and only moments before we walked outside.

turns out... there was a gay pride parade.  really?  who knew?!  the lady driving the car carrying the grand marshal accidentally hit a man walking in front of her car. {read here}  needless to say, the parade was canceled.

we watch csi..
but in person?
it definitely feels different.

times like this, you just have to move on and make the best of it.
*thinking happy thoughts*



from there {trying not to focus on the above mentioned tragedy} we walked down to the annual-summer-saturday-market.  their 19th year.
"outdoors" is what alaskans do during the summer.
there's food, clothing, jewelry, and unique hand-made items by local alaskans.



we were tickled by the guy selling t-shirts
kinda making fun of texas.
he wanted people to know that alaska is bigger.
i get it.
even your mosquitoes are bigger.
i only believe that because i've seen them.



i had to sneak a picture of this big-hand-fed-diapered-puppy.  funny, huh?

it's not unusual to see many people riding bikes, walking dogs, carrying backpacks...
even within downtown.

you won't see that in our downtown.
the heat, alone, would do you in.

you should see alaska's produce.
and various flowers, as well.
huge, i tell you.
huge.
apparently, it's due to the longer daylight hours they get this time of year.
i might even be able to grow something.
*giggle*
i said maybe.



how about a lil' concert via the army?
yes, thank you.
they did quite well, actually.
the guy down front was cuttin' a rug.
or grass.



even though i was trying to blend in like a local...
well, minus the nikon.
we figured we'd better take the city tour via trolley.
it's  a tourist "to-do."
as well as, buying an ulu.

it's always neat to hear narration from a lifetime local.
especially the events of their 1964 earthquake.
it's amazing to see how the impact of this event reshaped the land.



as you can imagine, seeing aircraft is quite common.
during the tour, 
you realize you're not in kansas anymore when you witness parking like this.
car and aircraft together.

after the tour, we...
shopped for souvenirs.
ate at the glacier brewhouse one last time {*wiping tear*}.
cleaned our friends car.
did you know that automatic car washes shut down during the winter?
i mean, what's the point, right?
it would freeze.
then, we turned in the car at million air, waiting to go to the airport.



while waiting for our ride to the airport,
we watched some of batman begins in the theater room at million air.

of which we certainly are not.
hubs simply knows the ins and outs of travel...
that's all i have to say about that.
we almost fell asleep.

looking back, we should have.
sunday was full of flying to seattle, houston, then new orleans.
driving to granny's house to gather the girls and hand out souvenirs.
and driving back to texas.
yes, all on sunday.
we're overachievers.

here's just a lil' peek of our adventure.
when i managed to remember to video anything, that is. 



i admit it.  
there's not a lot of glamor to this fairy tale called life.
hollywood lies.
shocker.  i know.
but our week in alaska was pretty special.
one i will remember...
for the rest of my life.

i'll have to reflect on the memories after cleaning toilets.

i'm curious...
say if your hubs travels a lot and has built up air miles and asks you where you want to go...
which destination would you pick?

our last day of exploring in the mountains

after a full week, we were tired, y'all.  so we slept in.  past the hotel's breakfast time.  hubs told me about a place that sold pancakes bigger than your plate, so i had to see it for myself.  crazy, right?  hubs and i split one.  they were pretty yummy.



next we took another short road trip along the scenic seward highway from anchorage to the wildlife conservation center.  a center caring for orphaned and/or injured animals. 
 
although... i did wonder how they accumilated so many deer skins to sell in their gift shop.
were these animals they couldn't rehibilitate??
inquiring minds want to know.
or maybe we don't?
*gulp*



we watched this orphaned kodiac cub play in the water
like any clumsy house pet we've ever owned.
so stinkin' cute.
but no worries.
you won't find me feeding the bears.



there is a tiny wire fence separating us from most of the animals.
we watched this moose eat for quite some time.
he didn't let us disturb his lunch.

when getting eye level with one of the big caribou,
i was reminded just how tiny the fence was.
he must not have liked that.
when he stood up, inches from my face, i suddenly realized this lil' wire fence wouldn't hold his massive frame back... if he really wanted to come after me, that is.

he didn't seem to mind me reaching in to touch his huge antler, though.
i couldn't resist the temptation.
it felt soft and fuzzy.  kinda like kiwi.
good thing they shed those occasionally.
the weight of it would have me dragging my big head around.
for sure.



so after reading this sign...
do you notice anything funny about this picture below?



i was kinda hopin' the fence was left open on purpose.
yeah.
that makes me feel better.

wood bison.
they're pretty important to alaskan history.
between the fur, to keep you warm
and the fact that they are great grazers. 

after visiting and reading about the animals that reside here,
we headed over to girdwood to visit the alyeska resort
and ride the tram up the mountain.



it was the warmest day, yet we found ourselves standing in snow.

 

crazy, right?

so much fun.

but you had to be careful up here.

there were drop offs and hiking trails.

not to mention the bears.

we saw a black bear from the tram on the way back down.
apparently, it's not uncommon to find one roaming the resort.
ummm... i'll pass.

hubs made me move for fear that i would fall down the mountainside,
trying to capture the perfect shot.
*giggle*
we headed inside for a bite to eat with these crazy beautiful views.
apparently many are great for skiing.
that's something i've never tried.
maybe one day.

we headed back down to anchorage to meet up with friends
at the glacier brewhouse.
yummy.

friends that loaned us their car for the week.
again, so thoughtful.
and generous.
one of the many blessings that made this trip affordable.

{day 1}
{day 2}
{day 3}
{day 3 part 2}
{day 4}