One more day

Wow, it has been awhile since my last post. As you can imagine we have been super busy.

Last Saturday my parents and me and the boys went hiking at Mt. Baldy. It was such a beautiful day and the pine trees smelled so good. We had a picnic lunch and then headed home again.

Sunday we went to LAX because Darrick is on leave and flew to CA for Thanksgiving. From the airport we went to Dave and Laura's so he could meet his new nephew. After a nice dinner and dessert we headed back.

Monday morning we got up and Darrick, me and the boys headed to Disneyland for 2 days. The boys are at really great ages and had a really good time. Micah rode Splash Mountain twice and Jacob was in love with all the characters and wanted to have his picture taken with them and give them hugs. His favorite was Minnie Mouse. We spent the night at the Double Tree Hotel and had another fun filled day, mostly at California Adventure.

When we got home Tuesday my brothers Sam and Jeff had arrived from Iowa! It was so great to see them.

Wednesday we got back in the car and drove 3 hours to Bakersfield to visit Darrick's brother Charlie and his wife Maud. They are expecting their first baby in February and they found out it is a girl. They also showed us their new house and we went out to dinner at John's Incredible Pizza Kitchen. When we got back, Dave, Laura and Elijah had arrived at my parents house to stay for a few days.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and my Grandpa and Grandma Vanderbilt joined us for a yummy dinner.

Friday we all went to Acapulco's (my favorite place to eat) for the last time, since they do not have any in Hawaii. Darrick and I started packing up in the afternoon. Then at night my parents watched the boys and Darrick and I went and saw "Jarhead".

Today we are going to LA to Dave and Laura's for Christmas. Since we are all here and will not be at Christmas we are celebrating now.

Then tommorrow we are flying back to paradise! These past two months have gone by so quickly but we did so much fun stuff and reconnected with so many friends and loved ones! Aloha!

Thanks

Thanks for leaving the comments, hopefully that will work and people can now post again.

I took the boys to Scandia to mini golf this morning. We had a good time but it was super windy. We don't keep score or even play right. Actually most of the time Jacob picks up his ball and puts it in the hole. When you get to the last hole it goes in and you can't get it back out. The boys each rolled theirs in. It has a volcano type hole so and if you get it in there you get a free game so I thought I would give it a try. I hit it really hard and it bounced off the wall and right into the water. The boys just looked at me and Jacob kept saying "Mommy, you hit ball in da water?" He even had to tell my parents at dinner.

It is one week until my brothers, Sam and Jeff, come home from Dordt. If you don't know, I'm the oldest of four siblings. I have three brothers, Sam who works at Dordt, Dave who is married to Laura and they live in LA, and Jeff who is a Senior at Dordt. Yes we all have gone to Dordt, in Sioux Center Iowa and once Jeff graduates we all will have graduated from Dordt.

Darrick is out to sea this week and then is flying here on Sunday. It will be a month again since we have seen him, so we are anxious to be reunited again.

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If you are reading this could you try to leave a comment for me? I changed some of the settings so that non members could post a comment but hopefully not those lame computer ads, so we will see.

Today we (my parents, me and the boys) went to Knott's Berry Farm. In the month of November military and vets get in free plus you can get a guest in free, so my mom was free too!

We spent some time first at Camp Snoopy. We rode the boat, nascar speedway, ferris wheel, and saw a Peanuts pirate show. Then we had lunch and rode the mining ride, big train, log ride, nascar speedway again and the huff n puff. We also had a caricature done of Micah and Jacob which turned out really cute.

We had a really great day and the crowds were not bad until late afternoon. The longest we had to wait was for the log ride-20 minutes.

I have discovered that Jacob loves thrill rides and Micah does to a point but he is more cautious. Jacob was asking to go on the adult roller coasters and even told Papa he would hold his hand, because Papa said he was too scared to go on!

Darrick cleaned out our storage room in Hawaii and got our Christmas decorations out so I can decorate when we get back. When I talked to him he was at Ala Moana mall in Honolulu, having dinner and walking around with a guy from the ship.

Ow, my eye...

Tonight I was going to go over to my friend Nicole's house to hang out and watch TV with her. My contacts were feeling dry so I thought I would look for some drops before I went. I looked in the bathroom cupboard at the contact stuff my brother Jeff left behind. I found a little bottle that looked like eye drops and put one in my right eye. The moment it hit my eye it felt like someone jammed a hot needle through it! I told my parents and my mom read it closer and said it was a protein remover for contacts, not rewetting drops. I had to flush my eye with cold water and wear my glasses for the night. It was read and still burning but better then before. I guess that is why people always say "Read the label..."

Another mini adventure

Yesterday the boys and I drove out to Los Angeles for a mini overnight adventure. We drove to Dave and Laura's house to spend time with them, see Elijah and spend the night. We had such a great time. The boys love Elijah so much. Micah held him a lot and Jacob even shared his special blanket with him. We had a great night sleep in their guest room and then a yummy breakfast with Laura and Elijah this morning.

From their house the boys and I left to go to The Natural History Museum which was about 5 minutes from their house. It was so great. We saw dinosaurs, animals and they had a great Children's Discovery Center. The boys just went from display to display saying "Mom, look at this!"

An added bonus was when I went to pay for my ticket to get in ,$9.00, and found out that military gets in FREE and kids under 5 are free too so I only had to pay for parking!

We left by 1:00 and had no traffic on the way home!

Darrick is back in Hawaii this week and then next week out to sea and then he will be here!

Day at the Museum with Mommy

Today my parents were invited to a wedding so I thought the boys and I would go and do something.

So we headed out to Redlands to the San Bernardino County Museum. I told the boys that today were going to exercise our brains which is just as important as exercising our bodies. The boys were both free and I was only $6.00 so I was happy about that. The last time I had been there was when I was in High School. The Children's Exploration Station was closed but we had fun anyways.

We first walked to see the stuffed and preserved animals and insects. Then onto the birds, nests and eggs. The boys really like these two exhibits. The last floor was California History which did not really interest them much.

I packed us a lunch so we went outside and ate at some tables in the sun. They wanted to go look at the animals again after lunch so we did that one more time and then we went home. We were there about 2 1/2 hours.

It is so important to me that the boys are well rounded and appreciate things like museums and art galleries. We talk about how you act and how we use a quiet voice and no touching unless it says we can. It amazes me what a sponge Micah is, he loves learning so much and did not want to leave. I told him that I would take him to another museum and he was happy with that.

On the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen for a ice cream treat.

It was such a nice day together!

Catching Up

Well the last day I posted was Thursday. And by Friday afternoon we got a call from my brother Dave and his wife Laura that they were in the hospital to have their baby! We were so surprised because their due date was not until November 8! Little Elijah David Gutierrez was born at 6:07 pm on Friday night. So we headed to LA to see the newest little miracle. And boy is he cute!

Saturday the boys and I had a day out. A Christian Bookstore was premiering the newest VeggieTales movie "Lord of the Beans" evey hour so we went to watch it. While we were there I bumped into my friend Susan and her kids. So we all went to lunch together at Carl's Jr. From there the boys and I went to Barnes and Noble for a special Halloween Storytime with Max the Bunny from Max and Ruby. After the storytime we sat in the warm sun and drank some Starbucks (non coffee) drinks and read stories. Then we went back to my parents and carved pumpkins.

Sunday we went to church with my parents so that we could go visit Dave, Laura and Elijah. They came home from the hospital that afternoon so we also cooked dinner for them so they could just relax.

Monday was Halloween. At night we went to my Aunt Belinda's house for dinner and then Trick or Treating. Micah was Batman and Jacob was Robin, they were really cute.

Yesterday morning we went to visit my Grandpa and Grandma Vanderbilt. We always have peppermint tea with yummy banana bread and cookies.

Today the boys and I went to Target and I just have to say that I am so tired of people who think they know how to parent my boys. I was changing Jacob's diaper in the restroom and this lady comes in. I was completely minding my own business and she asks how old Jacob is. I say 2 and she goes "Oh well I guess it is ok, I thought he was older and he needs to be potty trained" then she starts on Micah "How old are you, shouldn't you be in school?". I just bit my tongue because she was pretty fiesty and rude and I didn't want to get into it with her. But what makes people think they know what is best and why do they feel compelled to give me their opinions. It is not the first time this has happened to me. I have been given unwanted advice on pacifiers, bottles and even discipling. It is just so judgemental and rude.

I'm such a wimp!

I admit it...I am freezing my bootie off in California! Last night I put an electric blanket on my bed. I am constantly wrapped up in a blanket with a heating pad to warm me up...oh send me back to tropical weather!

Today me, my mom and the boys had a nice Fall Adventure. We drove to Yucaipa to go to a really cool pumpkin patch. We went their last year too. It was pretty packed with school kids but we were still able to do what we wanted to do. We were surprised when we saw some of the kids shirts and realized it was the OC (Ontario Christian) Preschool. I went to OC 1st-12th grade. I even saw Terry Jansma who was in my class. We climbed on the hay castle and looked at the animals and took pictures. The boys each picked out a mini pumpkin.

Then we continued on our journey up to Oak Glen. I do not remember my first time to Oak Glen-it seems like I have always gone there every Fall since I was a little kid. We went to Los Rios, home of the best Apple Cider, and had a nice picnic lunch and of course some warm apple cider. After we ate the boys played around and collected pinecones, acorns and pine needles. Micah came up and pointed to the pinetree and whispered to me "Mom that tree is a conifur!" Wow, I was impressed. They mention that on a video he has, it was just cool that he remembered the word and was able to identify one himself.

From there we went down to the village and feed the reindeer. The boys loved it and laughed when their tongue tickled their hands. Then we followed the bear tracks (they are just yellow bear prints painted on the ground) to the candy shop. That is where we get the best caramel apples, chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate snowcaps, and yes we bought all three and they are so so so yummy.

Then we went down to another village and bought Apple Strudels for dessert tonight. We also picked up two "Daddy" Pumpkins, as the boys call them. They boys have never carved pumpkins so we thought we could do that this weekend.

It was such a fun day. The air was so cool and crisp but it started getting foggy and the sun went away when we were on our way home. Time for me to get back under the blanket, hmmm...now where is that heating pad?

A Million Little Pieces

Yesterday afternoon I finished reading the book "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. I started on Saturday morning on our way down to San Diego and read every spare moment I had so I could be done by today.

This book was chosen by Oprah for her book club. This is the first one of her choices that I have read. Something about it just interested me. But I knew the author was going to be on Orpah today talking about the book so I wanted to be done by then.

I knew my friend Nicole had the book so I called her and asked if I could borrow it. She said yes but had to warn me that the language was pretty bad, which it sure was. For those of you who have not read it, it is a true story about the author's time in drug rehab. It was very raw and detailed and taught me things I never knew about this world of drug addiction.

I only cried on one part when it talked about what happened to Lilly at the end but I do not want to give anything away...

I usually read Christian books and this was so different because he does not believe in God. This book was not something I would normally read but it is good to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone every once in awhile. Next though I think I will go back in to my comfort zone and read "Sisterchick's Down Under"...it is more up my alley...

Yoho, Yoho, The Sailors life for us...

It was so great to see Darrick again this weekend! Let me catch you up...

Saturday morning a group of 18 family and friends drove down to San Diego to see Darrick and tour the USS Hopper. Our group included My parents, me and the boys, Dave and Laura, Aunt Belinda, Corey, their friends Kelli and Sarah, Uncle Oscar, Aunt Kathy, Charlie, Maud, Micah, Nicole and Kaitlyn. The weather was gloomy but we had such a good time.

From there we went to The Corvette Diner for lunch which was so fun and really yummy. After that everyone headed home but my parents and the four of us checked into the Navy Lodge so we could spend more time with Darrick.

It hit me Saturday night. Every once in awhile I just feel weak and so tired of all this and I just had to get it out and cry. I usually am ok but sometimes it is hard when Darrick pops in and out of our lives. It feels so good and familiar when he is with us. As we were sleeping and he reached over and pulled me close it felt so safe. He is so much more than my husband, he truly is my best friend and the person I am closest to in the whole world. It is so hard that we are now separated again. It is hard on the boys too. Jacob is really a Daddy's boy and would hardly leave Darrick for a minute the whole weekend.

Monday the Hopper left to go back to Hawaii. Darrick gets leave for Thanksgiving so he will fly back to California in about a month.

I miss him tonight, the boys miss him, but we will make it through...

Eat More Chicken!

Today we went to Kohl's to look for some shoes-since they were on Sale. Every pair I tried on was wrong for me in some way so I gave up but on the way out my mom and I noticed some 70% off racks so we started to look. It was 70% off the already reduced sale prices! A lot of it was summer stuff, which was perfect for me since we live in Hawaii! I found some great stuff for cheap-I love to get a good bargain.

After that we headed to Chick-fil-A for their grand opening on 19th street. It was so yummy! I had an original chicken sandwich and my had a wrap. They were giving away free brownie tastes, balloons, and were so customer friendly. They have a great play area for the kids. Even the cow was there with his sign saying "Eat more chicken!" The boys each got a mini stuffed cow.

They gave away booklets for 52 free chicken sandwiches for the first 100 people through their doors. We actually saw people with tents out there!

Interesting...

Date Night

Tonight Micah and I went on a "Mommy and Son" Date. I had found out that Barnes and Nobles had a 7 pm storytime for kids and tonights theme was Pirates! The boys are obsessed with pirates. But since it was at Jacob's bedtime my parents said they would put Jacob to bed while we went. First we went to Starbucks and Micah got a chocolate chip non-coffee drink and I got vanilla bean.

I was surprised at how many kids were there almost 30 I would say. After the 3 pirate stories each kid got a treat from the treasure-Micah picked a lollipop. Then I bought Micah a book "How I became a pirate". We had so much fun together.

Today Darrick called me and said that he went to Fire Fighting school in San Diego. He said that it was cool and the fire was about 30 feet and they put it out.

I rained again today so my mom and I took the boys to the newly remodeled McDonalds on Foothill and Archibald. They have a cool new play structure. We were there for 2 hours eating and playing. There were other little boys Micah's age and they all played pirates. It was nice for them to burn some energy since we cannot got outside and play.

I also took the boys to get a haircut today at this kids hair shop. They get to sit in little cars and blow bubbles. They love it and it makes the process so much easier.

Update

It has been awhile since I posted! Wow the time is going quickly. Today marks one month that we have been in CA. We have one more month here-actually about 5 weeks.
The weather took a turn for the colder and it is nice but I definitly think that I am a warm weather girl. Last night we had a huge rain storm complete with thunder and lightening and it poured rain-it even woke me up.

Yesterday my Dad built a nice little fire in the fire place. It was so cozy.

So what have we been up to you may wonder?

Well last week we spent a lot of time running around and getting things ready for a Baby Shower I threw for Laura (my sister in law)on Saturday.

My Grandpa also came home from the hospital and praise God he is doing so great!

My mom and I picked my Uncle Marv up from the airport one night. He flew in from Grand Rapids to help with things at my Grandparents house.

I talked for about 3 hours to my newly married friend Becky.

Then on Friday night I waited up til midnight for Darrick to drive up from San Diego. It had been a month since the boys and I had seen him. The ship pulled into San Diego and since he had the weekend off he rented a car and drove 2 hours north to stay with us for the weekend. We had such a nice time but of course it went to fast. He left Sunday night to drive back down to San Diego.

Saturday was the baby shower and it was such a nice time. A lot of people came, even men, and they hung out outside and talked while the women had fun inside. Dave and Laura got a lot of really nice gifts and we had really yummy food.

Saturday night after we got the boys in bed Darrick and I went to Starbucks and walked around the new Target on 19th street.

Sunday we went to Friendship Community Church. It was so great for Darrick to see everyone again. After church the Martinez family had us and a bunch of other friends over and we had such a great time eating Juan Pollo and talking.

Then Sunday night our good friends Micah and Nicole invited us over for Pizza.

It was a very busy weekend but so much fun.

The boys had a hard time with Darrick leaving last night. They did not want him to go.

Since we are suppossed to get more rain over the next two days we are just being cozy at home in sweats. Maybe we will make some hot chocolate...

Past few days

The past few days have been really busy and it has been like grand central station here. My Grandpa Vanderbilt, who is 94 years old, had surgery on Friday. My mom had a minor operation on a tooth on Wednesday. Praise God that everything is going good for both patients.

This afternoon we went to the hospital to visit my Grandpa. He is in the Intensive Care Unit so they can monitor him closely because of his age. Micah really wanted to in and see Grandpa but they would not let him because he was under 14 years old. I told this to Grandpa and he said that meant a lot to him. He said he would of expected it from Jacob because he is so open with his feelings and always gives them hugs. But it meant a lot to him that Micah said that because he is so shy. I was very touched by that. Grandpa looked really good I thought and he was tired but was pretty talkative!

Hospitals can be so sad sometimes. There were a lot of distraught people in the waiting room. One of my dear friends called me this week because her mom died and being in the hospital brought so many emotions up for me.

It is so interesting to me how God works in our lives. On Thursday I just had a nudging on my heart that I should call this friend, who I have not talked to in a few weeks. So I did. I called her cell phone and she did not answer so I left a message. She called me back on Friday and told me that yesterday afternoon her mom died. You could call it a coincidence but I know it was God.

I also heard from Darrick tonight. The ship is in San Francisco for Fleet week. Tonight he was going to Fisherman's Wharf. They had to go in uniform and he said people were taking pictures of them. Tomorrow he has duty and will be giving tours on the ship. Monday he is going on a tour of Alcatraz and Tuesday he is going on another tour but I forget right now what it is of.

We made it back!

Here we are back in CA! We actually got back late, late Sunday night/Monday morning. So yesterday was spent catching up on sleep, unpacking and laundry.

We have a wonderful time in Wisconsin-except for the freezing weather the first few days! Brrrr! Now I know why I like Hawaii. All of our flights went really good. And our hotel was great. They had an amazing indoor pool that the boys loved.

Wednesday night, since we were the first and only guests there, Becky's parents had us over for dinner which was so yummy after a long day of traveling.

Thursday morning Becky and I went out to breakfast. Thursday night Becky's parents invited all the guests that were there over to their cottage by the lake for a BBQ.

Friday started with a brunch for the bridesmaids and then a day at the spa. I had a wonderful hour long massage. That evening was the rehearsal and dinner.

Saturday was the wedding. Becky looked amazing! She was so stunning. Her and Jim just both seemed so happy and in love. The ceremony was beautiful and focused on God's faithfulness to them. Another great thing is that we had a Dordt Roommate reunion. This was the first time all 6 of us had been together in 10 years. Five us have have been together at different weddings but never all six. It was so great to see everyone and catch up.

Sunday afternoon we flew back.

Darrick and the ship are on their way to Fleet Week in San Francisco which is this weekend.

I talked to Laura yesterday too and this Saturday will mark 4 weeks until her due date!

I spent some time today going through almost all of my mom's photos and organizing them. I made four main boxes for us kids and then some other categories. I love doing stuff like that.

The boys spent a lot of time today playing outside in my parents backyard. It feels like Fall is in the air! The air feels a little crisp at times. I love this time of year!

On our way again

Today and yesterday have been spent getting ready for our trip to Wisconsin.

Yesterday my friend Susan, who I have known since gradeschool, gave me a manicure and pedicure. Now my nails look pretty. I am the matron of honor!

Today the boys and I went out to lunch with Nicole and Kaitlyn. Nicole suggested "The Hat" because of their chili cheese fries. They were so yummy. We gave the food a 10 out of 10 but our kids a 2 out of 10. They were not bad but just busy.

The rest of the day was spent packing. We leave before the sun comes up tomorrow morning so we can arrive in Wisconsin in the afternoon. I will not be posting while we are gone.

I got good news from Darrick today via email: his leave request that he put in to come to CA over Thanksgiving was approved! I am so excited!

Hey does anyone feel like some cheese?

Our weekend

Thank you to those who let me know that you are reading. So I will continue to post while we are in California!

Saturday my parents, me and the boys drove out to LA right after breakfast to help Dave and Laura with painting their living room. They are missionaries for World Impact and live in their housing. The only downside is that inside their house, every inch almost is blue, light and dark, including the carpet. They have almost been there a year and are slowly painting it. Well now that Laura is pregnant she cannot paint so we came to help! Laura played with the boys while we got busy. We got the whole first coat done by lunch and then finished the second coat a few hours later. It looks awesome! After that Laura gave me some make-up lessons. I am in a wedding next Saturday and wanted a new look. Since I never had a sister I really enjoy now having someone I can go to and get advice on girly things. Then we went through 2 bags of the boys old clothes and she picked out what they could use for their little guy.

Today the boys and I went to Friendship Community Church, which is the church that we attended for 3 years while we lived here. It was so good to see everyone and feel so much love. After church they had a potluck at a park so we went to that too. Then we had a chance to catch up and talk to people. The boys played all afternoon with their friend Jonathan. And I went from person to person talking. Even one of our good friends, who goes to a different church now, stopped by to see me and the boys. I wished that Darrick was there too. It will be nice to reconnect with everyone while we are here.

Tonight my Grandpa Gutierrez came over to see me and the boys. I learned something that I had never known-that he joined the Navy when he was 17 years old and that he spent some time in Hawaii! He was a gunners mate and it was fun to hear some of his stories.

Last few days

I'm just curious if anyone is reading our blog. I thought that maybe people thought that since we are on vacation that we might not post. So if you are reading and would like to hear about our CA adventures can you let me know. It is not as easy here to post...my parents have dial up...enough said.

Wednesday morning we went to the Montclair plaza to do some shopping. For dinner my parents took us out to Los Monitos for the best enchiladas! Later that evening I went by myself to my friend Nicole's house and we watched the premiere of "America's Next Top Model"-one of our favorite reality shows. Confession: upon moving to Hawaii I discovered they did not have UPN (the network that plays the show) so Nicole recorded every episode and mailed them to me! What a great friend!

Thursday morning we went to visit my Grandpa(94) and Grandma(88) Vanderbilt. We were welcomed with loving hugs, kisses and cookies! We also joined them for tea time which they have every mid morning. It was such a wonderful time. That evening after my dad got home from work we went to the LA County Fair. The weather was so perfect and we had a great time. We ate yummy food and rode on the big yellow slide and saw fun exhibits.

Today we kind of relaxed and I did laundry. I am having a hard time adjusting to the time change. And now Wednesday we will be in Wisconsin and have to change time zones again!

Hopefully I will hear from someone...

Rain, rain

Today we had such a nice rainy day. In Hawaii it rains but soon after the sun is usually back out and the dark clouds are gone. It actually started last night. And today we even had thunder and lightning. It was cozy and since we did not have to go anywhere it was nice.

My big project today was to write out and address invitations for a Baby Shower I am throwing for my sister-in-law. Her and my brother Dave are expecting their little guy on November 8!

I also heard from Darrick today which was so great. It has been almost 2 weeks since we have talked.

The boys have been playing all day long. We just can't get over it. My brother Jeff left a big tub of his toys when he was little and the boys are just having a blast with them.