The Cabin 2013

This year's annual trip to The Cabin was quite an ordeal.  As our family gets bigger, schedules get more conflicted.  In years past, we have stayed 2 nights and have all been together.  But this year, not everyone could come at the same time, so we stayed 3 nights and people came and went as they could.  Hopefully we will be able to coordinate our schedules better in the future.

But we did end up going!  And as always, it was an absolute blast.  We ended up staying in a smaller cabin the first night with barely enough room for all the food we brought!

The kids shared a big bed in Grandma and Grandpa's room upstairs.

Everyone was a little squished that night, but we made it through and moved into a larger cabin the next day.  So much more room!

Aaahhh!  Much better!

 

And the snowmobiles!  Of course we rode snowmobiles!  A2 couldn't wait to get started.

Grandpa happily obliged this cute little guy in his goal to be a speed demon.

Last year, A2 cried when we drove faster than 5 mph.  This year he begged us to go faster and faster.

 

And why don't I have any pictures of A1 on her snowmobile?  She was WAY too excited to hang around for photography.  Just like A2, she begged to go faster and faster.  And this year was the first time in 3 years that I got to go snowmobiling (pregnancy and breastfeeding really put a damper on fun, you know).

 

However, the best part of the whole trip was playing games with family.  Erin stayed inside for most of the trip because she had to take care of her new little one, Molly.  Isn't she a doll?

So I stayed inside quite a bit and played games with Erin and Molly and Grandpa (after he was done driving A1 and A2 faster and faster).  We also got some serious movie-watching in.

 

And what about L2?  What did he do at his first cabin trip?  Well, he mostly just hung around with the adults.

How we love the cabin!  I sure hope everyone's schedule works out so we can all get together next year too.

Winter Wonderland

A couple weeks ago we visited friends and family in Utah.  They have been hit by some major snowstorms, receiving 2-3 feet of snow with each storm.  We haven't received any snow at our house, so the kids were ecstatic to enjoy the mounds of snow left in Grandma J's yard.

A1, stuck in the snow (look at the pure joy the snow brings)

A2 decided to help out with the shoveling (the driveway was clear, so he tried to uncover the grass)

What an amazing snowman!  These kids are talented!

I am so glad that we were able to enjoy the snow without having to do much driving in it and that we don't have to deal with it at our house!  Snow is nice to visit, but not to live in.

Thanksgiving 2012

Our first Thanksgiving in our house!  Of course, I had to decorate.  I think these are my favorite decorations so far.  I wanted to just sit in this room and enjoy the feeling of the bright beautiful colors.

R was on call over Thanksgiving weekend, so I packed the kids into the van and took off for the grandparents' houses.  We all had a great time visiting for a few days.  Grandma Jensen gave A1 a bunch of fun educational papers (word searches and such) that she had collected over the years.  So she disappeared behind her pencils and crayons for the rest of the trip.

A2, on the other hand, wanted to be right in the action.  He helped Grandpa Blackburn prepare Thanksgiving dinner.

He made perfect mashed potatoes.

L2 kept Grandma busy teaching her how to play on her iPhone.  He had a great time with Grandma.

And then croup hit!  A1 and A2 were out of commission for the rest of the trip and a few days after we got back.  Luckily L2 didn't get sick.  But that drive home was not fun!  I don't think I want to do that alone again.  We'll just have to save up our pennies so we can fly next time we go on vacation, I think.

The New Bubble

Before moving away forever, we visited with family for a month in Utah.  While we were there, we went swimming with R's brother Steve and his family at the Bubble.*  What a blast we had at the indoor Lazy River...

...and the Splash Pad.

I haven't seen such huge smiles on these kids faces since the last time we went swimming before I was too pregnant to fit into my swimsuit.  And we just haven't gone since L2 was born.

Then we went to their outdoor pool, which had a really cool pirate ship with multiple water slides, water cannons to shoot, and lots of splashing.

And R was there to give the kids a lift any time they felt like the pool wasn't awesome enough.  Isn't my husband amazing?

The kids had fun swimming with their cousins...

...while I stayed on the sidelines with L2, enjoying a good book.  My dad has finally convinced me to give James Michener a try; my verdict: very good!

And the love of my life still takes my breath away when I look at him.  Don't you think he's the most handsome man you've ever seen?

*Note: the facility is no longer called the Bubble since its renovation years ago, but I refuse to call it by its true, absurdly-long name.  I grew up with it called the Bubble, and the crotchety old person in me refuses to change.

Sea World, Take Two

I've shown the pictures of animals from our last visit to Sea World, so we won't focus on animals in this post.  We'll focus on the fun time we had in the 100 degree weather!

The kids' favorite place was the polar bear exhibit, because it was made of ice walls and was nice and cool inside.

The penguin exhibit was also a favorite, but it was too dark for pictures.  Some of the workers were out on the lawn trying to help some new penguins become accustome to people constantly walking past them, so they were letting the kids pet the penguins.  That was HUGE!!! for the kids, but alas, no pictures because I was too busy petting the penguin myself (did I say HUGE!!!).

We also enjoyed the walk through the shark exhibit.  There's a tube that goes through the aquarium, so basically you are completely surrounded by fish.  So cool!  (And, yes, R did have to make us pose to take this "candid" shot.  Hee hee!)

Even L2 had a really good time looking at the fish and watching the dolphins jump.  I mean, look at that happy face!

It was a really hot day, so we were glad when the final show ended and we could go back to the beach and just relax.  I wish I could end every day saying that I just went back to the beach to relax!

Blackburns Take On the Zoo

You can't go to Southern California without going to the San Diego Zoo.  Our kids love animals and love to visit the zoo, so off we went!

We spent the whole day looking at exotic animals and enjoying time together.  I mean, look at these amazing gorillas!

So beautiful, so majestic, so foreign.  All right, we did actually see a lot of animals, but who wants to be bored with pictures of animals when you obviously came here to be bored with pictures of my cute family and our wonderful non-adventures!

My poor pregnant sister had a scare with high blood pressure the day before the Zoo, so she was forced to spend the day in a wheelchair.  My kids were jealous that she got to be pushed all day, but they got over it quickly when they noticed that she didn't get to see the penguins.  We're glad that you decided to come to the Zoo anyway, Erin!

And another candid shot of my family that makes me laugh: my sister Alison serving the rest of us while we say, "Could you make me one more sandwich?"  Thanks for taking good care of us, Alison!

The Zoo, as usual, was tons of fun.  We definitely need to go back!

Post-Graduation Vacation

As I said, this year was full of graduations, especially in the Blackburn clan.  R graduated residency, A1 graduated kindergarten, A2 graduated preschool, my niece Carmen graduated preschool, my sister Alison and her husband Casey each moved to new (and better) jobs, my sister Erin and her husband Ryan both graduated their bachelor's degree programs, Ryan got a big promotion at work, my sister Megan got a big promotion at work, and my mom turned 60.  I can't think of a better reason to go on vacation and celebrate!  So we went to Oceanside and spent a week enjoying what southern California has to offer.

We stayed at a beautiful beach house...

...where the kids had a blast digging in the sand and running from the waves.

I joined in for some of the running, and they're right, it is fun!

We also spent some time in Olde Towne (pronounced "ye oldie townie") San Diego, where my dad couldn't stop the teacher in himself.  This is the perfect representation of him, turning every moment into a teaching moment, like how to read a map.

Speaking of perfect representations, this picture just makes me laugh.  Why do my sisters insist on making funny faces for the camera?  It makes for some awesome shots, though!

I love spending time with my family.  San Diego was a lot of fun, once we figured out where the good food was.  Yum!!

Camping at Zion 2012

The camping tradition continued this year over Easter.  We go every year, and this year - for the first time in eight years - R was able to go with us!  We loved finally having him as part of the group; we've missed him while he's been working over the Easter holiday.  The kids were very excited to show him all the important camping activities.

First they had to teach him how to set up the trailer.

Second came the correct procedure for hiking at Weeping Rock (you have to kick the rock hard enough so that it will continue to cry until next year when you can kick it again).

Third they showed him the joy of camping with family - you always have someone to chase...

...and catch, if they don't run fast enough!  Thanks, Aunt Megan, for entertaining our children for three full days.

A1 and A2 are old enough now that they enjoy more than just sitting around the campground, so R and my sister took them (and her kids) hiking.  Thanks for the lift, Aunt Alison!

Isn't my nephew so adorable when he's "hiking"?

L2 and I were able to join for about half an hour of hiking before he had enough.

The rest of the time, he and I sat around and enjoyed good company and some awesome games with the rest of my family!  I love camping with these people.  You guys are the best.

Great Gardeners

Grandpa Jensen has an amazing vegetable garden in his backyard.  I really had no idea how much work he put into it until last month.  We volunteered to help him get the garden ready for planting while we were visiting one day.  R helped him rebuild a few of his garden boxes (he does square-foot gardening) while Dallen picked up a ton (literally) of compost in the back of his truck.  When the kids saw the giant pile of "dirt," they had to join the fun.

They started to help move the compost from the truck to a wheelbarrow...

...but the moving soon devolved into just digging around...

...which then devolved into burying themselves.

After an hour of goofing off with the compost, Grandpa and R were done rebuilding the boxes, so the actual moving of compost could begin again.

I don't know what it is about dirt that gives kids such joy, but I must say that the mess is occasionally worth it!  Thanks for letting us help with gardening, Grandpa.

Jensen Joy

We love visiting our family so much.  We have most of our vacation time scheduled out so we can enjoy visiting as much as possible.  But there are times when it is nice to just sit back and relax.  The Jensens make relaxing a lot of fun.

Dallen taught A2 how to sword fight, Final Fantasy-style.  It looked like a battle between David and Goliath, but I believe the Goliath won this time!

The kids really enjoyed climbing the big tree in the backyard.  And my new camera took some great shots - do those look professional to you too?

And Grandma found her cotton candy machine, which may have been the highlight of the whole trip.  I can't believe how much sugar these two can pack in their tiny bodies - or how messy they can get doing it.

We love hanging out with you guys and can't wait to do so more this summer!