As I stated in my Spring 2023 birthday blog post, we skipped hosting birthday parties for the kids this year and instead took them to Disneyland and California Adventure. None of us had been visitors at the parks since Fall 2019 (well, Irene had never been!), and as SoCal residents, we were overdue for some time at the “most magical place on Earth.” We stayed at a bucket list hotel for us – Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa – in between our days at the parks. In addition to all the theme park fun, we also squeezed in pool and hot tub time and I got a facial at the Tenaya Stone Spa (Dan had built this spa with his previous GC firm in 2020 and he wanted me to see what his work had produced).
California Adventure Day
We checked into our hotel in the morning, stashed our luggage in our room, and then went right into California Adventure.
Celebrating 100 Years of Disney at the Grand Californian
We spent all day in the park and between all six of us, we pretty much did it all (thanks to rider switches)! There were many new rides since we’d last been there and the kids were so much taller and could go on new-to-them rides, too. This blog post contains just a few pictures from a few of the rides that we rode.
We ate lunch outside at Flo’s V8 Cafe (the food wasn’t great, but the view was) and dinner poolside at the Craftsman Grill (highly recommend for good food, music, drinks, and ambiance). We all went swimming and hot tubbing after dinner, but Vivian and I cut our swim short to go back into the park and go on a few more rides. It was way past everyone’s bedtime by the time we all fell asleep, but we had a great, fun, full, and active (we walked over 7 miles!) day at California Adventure.
Disneyland Day
On day two of our mini-vacation, we went to Disneyland. This park is so much bigger than California Adventure, so we didn’t get to do it all, like we had the day before, but we still rode some favorite rides, some new ones, and we still all had a good time. At the beginning of the evening, we all chose one ride/attraction that we really wanted to experience before the end of the night and that helped us focus our fun before the nighttime breakdown that we knew was coming. Here, again, are just a few pictures from some of the rides that we rode.
In the middle of the afternoon when we should have been resting and napping, we went to the hotel pool. William really wanted to play on the water slides and they were closed the night before (Dan has also worked on these, too!). So, we stopped riding rides and instead rode the slides, swam, and sipped mocktails and cocktails by the pool before returning to the park in the evening.
Poolside Drinks
The food is not nearly as good at Disneyland as it is at California Adventure, but we found a gem for dinner at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante. Most of the food and drinks we ordered in the parks we ordered ahead of time through the park app, but at this quick service restaurant, you couldn’t place a mobile order. Luckily, the line was short, the service was fast, and there was plenty of covered open seating.
Of course, we ate snacks, specifically churros, in the parks. After taking a picture of Irene eating a churro, I was taken back to the times the older three had eaten churros at Disneyland at around the same age (you can even see that Lillian and Irene are wearing the same shoes in their pictures).
Disneyland Churros Through the Years
At the end of our second day at the parks, after walking over 7 miles again, we loaded into our car and drove home late (too late, especially for a school night). We packed in as much as we could and had a lot of fun. I think we enjoyed our day at California Adventure more, for many reasons, but Disneyland will always have that nostalgic feel to it. I’m glad we could contribute to future nostalgia through this little trip (and skip out on birthday parties this year!).
We recently concluded our 5-week birthday run for four out of six of the people in our family. Vivian’s birthday is first, followed exactly one week later by William’s, followed exactly four weeks later by Lillian’s (all on Thursdays this year). Dan’s birthday is squeezed in between William’s and Lillian’s. This year, William and Dan had *big* birthdays – William turned 5 (one whole hand!) and Dan turned 40. We had low key festivities and simply celebrated with balloons, a few presents, and cake and candles. We skipped parties this year (I’m honestly still recovering from all the parties last year) and instead took the kids see The Lion King at Hollywood Pantages Theater and then on an overnight trip to Disneyland and California Adventure in mid-May after all the birthdays were over (see blog post on that mini-vacation).
Vivian Turned 9
Last year, William’s birthday fell while we were on vacation and this year, Vivian’s did. She awoke on the morning of her birthday to a few balloons and presents. She was celebrated at kids club. And then when we got back to California, we celebrated her more with presents, cake, and candles.
At 9, Vivian is so smart, an avid reader, and very helpful. She is organized, discerning, and joyful. She loves snuggles, reading, writing, friends, school, gymnastics, Girl Scouts, traveling, hiking, camping, skiing, choir, listening to music, and art. She is me and I am her.
Also at 9, we are halfway through her years at home with us full time. For some reason, that milestone never occurred to me until her birthday. And then it was like a punch in the gut. These past nine years have flown by and I know the next nine will seem to go by twice as fast. Ultimately, we are so lucky to be raising such an incredible person – it’s truly the pleasure of our lives.
9 Years Old!
William Turned 5
William got to celebrate his 5th birthday at preschool and at home. He chose a Red Velvet Cake Roll for his birthday cake. At 5 years old, he is a big snuggler, very interested in how things work (future engineer?), playful, and, of course, energetic. He’s still an early riser, but when he wakes now, he simply slips into our bed and snuggles me (Dan always leaves for work early before anyone wakes up). He loves gardening, baking, swimming, gymnastics, and soccer. Shortly after turning 5, he started riding his bike without training wheels. He is my sweet little puppy dog and makes me so grateful to have had a son.
5 Years Old!
Dan Turned 40
Dan finally turned 40 this year! I say “finally” because it seems like nearly everyone else we know turned 40 years ago! We celebrated him with birthday notes, balloons, a few gifts, and a delicious midnight chocolate cake.
At 40, Dan is dedicated to his family and his work. He’s the fun, patient, playful parent. He snuggles William and Lillian every night at bedtime. He tries hard to make us all happy. He enjoys snowboarding, hiking, camping, watching movies, playing poker, and traveling. We all love him so much and are glad that he tolerates all of our “eccentricities” (i.e., craziness).
40 Years Old!
Although I took him out to two “fancy” dinners on and around his birthday (Taco Maria and The Drake in Laguna), I also stretched his celebrations into the following month with an overnight parents-only trip to The Lodge at Torrey Pines. My Mom was in town, so she watched the kids while we slipped away. We were able to squeeze in pool/hot tub time, drinks, a few hours at the spa, a nice dinner, peaceful sleep, a nice breakfast and lunch, and a 5+ mile hike at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve before returning to the kids.
Cocktails and Pool Time Before the SpaHiking in Torrey Pines
Lillian Turned 7
Our Sweet Lilly Belle wrapped up our family springtime birthday celebrations. Like the others before her, we celebrated her with balloons, gifts, and cake – for her, an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. At 7, Lillian is sweet and sassy, sometimes 7 going on 17 and sometimes 7 going on 3. She has a pure heart of gold and feels deeply. She has no fear of new situations or people and easily makes new friends. Lillian loves tickles on her back, playing with William, snuggles, her left thumb (still), gymnastics, swimming, horseback riding, country music, reading, school, friends, Girl Scouts, traveling, hiking, camping, and skiing. She is the cutest little cutie cute cute cute cute.
7 Years Old!
Another year of birthdays done. Our celebrations weren’t over the top this year, but I think everyone felt loved and special.
In early May, we ventured up to Yosemite National Park and spent 5 nights/6 days hiking and exploring. Dan and I had been to Yosemite before with friends and family and with each other to hike Half Dome, but the kids had never been. We were so excited to show them another national park, especially one as famous as this one. We visited after an unprecedented rainy and snowy winter and the park had well over double the average snow pack. Of course, when we visited, there was no snow in the valley, but there was still snow in the high Sierras. All the snow that had already melted made the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers very high and fast and the waterfalls gushing and full. The high snow and water levels also meant that many roads and trails were still closed. And even though winter was technically over and it was May, the weather was still cool and wet – I packed winter coats, gloves, hats, and boots and we wore them all!
On some trips we go on, I plan detailed itineraries and pre-book everything I possibly can. For this trip, I simply booked a villa at a resort (in July 2022!) and one dinner reservation. Everything else we figured out on a day-to-day basis. This approach seems to work best when we’re on “adventure” trips that are primarily outside and on trails. On trips like this, some things are just completely out of our control anyways, like the weather and road conditions, and we have to just go with the flow. Weather very rarely ruins one of our adventures – we still hike in the pouring rain and snow – but it might mean we swap trails for the day or dress differently. On this trip, we hiked through mud and snow and light rain and hail. If roads are closed, though, there is really nothing we can do about that. Unfortunately, the Big Oak Flat Road closed the day of our arrival, causing us to take a two-hour detour (each way) to get to the valley from our resort in the west. Traveling with four small children is hard and this made things harder – nobody wanted to be in the car for over 5 hours each day (especially after our 7+ hour drive to get up to our resort), the Littles were hysterical at night when they woke from sleeping in the car and realized that we were still driving, Vivian got car sick, and Dan and I quickly tired of the seemingly never-ending windy mountain roads. However, there was absolutely nothing that we could do about this, so we attempted to make the best of it with road-trip games, music, and snacks. If I had known ahead of time that this road would be closed for our entire trip, I would have cancelled or postponed our trip. In the end, though, I’m glad we got to experience Yosemite during this unique year and season.
Roughing it at the Resort
Did we camp while visiting Yosemite? No, we did not. Not at all. This is the first time I’ve been to Yosemite and not camped. Instead, we stayed at an amazing resort right outside the western park boundaries (and, when all the roads are open, is only a 30 minute drive into the valley). Prior to this trip, I’d wanted to stay at The Ahwahnee, but it’s even more expensive than the resort where we stayed, and after eating dinner there one night, I’m so glad that we did not stay there. It’s old and crowded and seems to be full of elderly people who aren’t really thrilled to see our four children traipsing through their pricey accommodations. I also used to think that I’d want to camp in the valley, which I’ve never done before, but after riding the shuttle through all the valley campgrounds, I don’t ever want to do that, either – every campground looked like an overrun homeless encampment. Rush Creek Lodge and Spa at Yosemite, the resort where we did stay, opened in 2016, so it’s new, right outside of west Yosemite, and has villas that can accommodate our big family. It has an amazing lodge with a game room (complete with a cool climbing structure), a heated pool and tub tubs, daily crafts for kids, nightly s’mores around fire pits, a spa that is welcoming to families, the most fun ziplines and playground, trails, great restaurants and a bar, a recreation desk, and a general store. We were not roughing it at all.
We stayed in a two-room hillside villa that had a bedroom with a king bed in the back (that Dan and I slept in) and a large room in the front with a king bed and pull-out queen sofa (where all the kids slept) and access to a long porch. The villa didn’t have a kitchen, but it did have a lot of shelving for storage and a fridge, which was great because there was plenty of space for me to store food for our breakfasts, packed lunches, and snacks (I highly recommend doing this because although there are restaurants and a general store onsite, there are no nearby grocery stores, and eating breakfasts and lunches with packed-in food will definitely save on food costs). The villa also had a large entryway with lots of hooks for coats and a bench to sit on while putting on shoes. We brought so many coats and shoes/boots with us on our trip and there was ample space for all of them!
Settling into Our Resort – The Pool is in the BackgroundNightly S’moresAwesome Game Room in the LodgeFun Playground [Not Pictured: Ziplines!]Family Picture in the Lodge After Daily Crafts
Experiencing the Spa
Our resort had a beautiful spa with daily family hours, so we were able to take the kids to their first spa. We spent the morning after our arrival at the spa – all six of us – and we had the entire place to ourselves. Our entrance fee allowed us to use all of the amenities at the spa, such as the Aromatherapy Steam Room and Warm Waterfall Coves. The kids loved it and we enjoyed seeing them love it (we also liked it, but going to a spa with four small children doesn’t come close to relaxing and rejuvenating). We did have one minor incident at the spa that ruined it a bit for William – while in the steam room with Dan, he tried to touch the valve where the steam enters the room. He immediately ran out of the room screaming with a second degree burn and blisters that popped right away. So, if you decide to take your children into a steam room, be sure to warn them not to touch the steam valve!
Family Spa Morning
Hiking
Over the four full days that we were in Yosemite, the kids hiked over 17 miles (I hiked over 20 miles because I did one extra solo hike). They hiked their longest hike ever – 5.6 miles – and probably gained the most elevation in the shortest distance (over 1000′). I carried Irene on my back on all the hikes she went on and Lillian and William got a few rides on Dan on our snow hike, but other than that, they moved their little legs, one foot in front of the other, across all those miles. With the exception of the snow hike, they also did not complain at all (the snow hike, however, had enough wailing, complaining, and hysterics for all hikes combined). Our hikes outside of the valley were sparsely populated (tip: get out of the valley!!) and allowed us to experience more of the peace in the area. Here’s where we hiked:
Carlon Falls The three Bigs and I hiked this 3.55 mile trail the day after we arrived. Dan and Irene stayed back at our villa and napped. We drove just a few minutes from our resort to a small parking area just outside the park entrance and then hiked into Yosemite National Park. The hike hugged the Tuolumne River and concluded at the rushing Carlon Falls.
Carlon Falls
Lower Yosemite Fall(Valley) Dan and I had done this “hike” before (it’s a paved trail, so I’m not sure if it really qualifies as much of a hike), but we certainly hadn’t hiked it when the falls were flowing like they are this year. We walked a 1.27 mile loop around the falls and across the Merced River.
Lower Yosemite Fall
Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias This 4-mile hike (let me say here that every single hike we went on was listed as shorter than it actually was – I don’t know if they were all originally measured using some sort of antiquated tool or what, but my GPS tracked every hike being longer than advertised. This hike was only supposed to be 2.5 miles!) went down as the Snowy Hike From Hell. The trail was covered in multiple feet of snow, it was over 500′ downhill (which meant that we had to hike back up all that on our return), and the sequoia grove was difficult to walk through due to all the snow and the wetness. Lillian had the hardest time on the hike and her cries could be heard for miles, I’m sure.
Hiking Through the Dead Giant
Wapama Falls (Hetch Hetchy) After our 4-mile disaster of a hike the afternoon before, I was nervous to take the kids back out hiking the next day. But that’s what we were in Yosemite to do, so Dan and I just held our breath and hoped that they wouldn’t revolt. And, they didn’t! We hiked 5.6 miles across the O’Shaughnessy Dam, through the tunnel, past Tueeulala Falls, to Wapama Falls (and back). We ate lunch just passed Wapama Falls. The views around the reservoir were spectacular and I think the hike will be remembered as a family favorite. Dan and I had never been to Hetch Hetchy before and our resort was close by, so it was new and required minimal driving. The Tuolumne River runs through it and there is beauty everywhere you look.
O’Shaughnessy DamHetch Hetchy Reservoir After the TunnelFamily Picture with Kolana Rock in the BackgroundA Favorite Picture: Our Hiking BigsWapama Falls
Lookout Point (Hetch Hetchy) The kids did amazing on our big hike of the day to Wapama Falls, so we didn’t want to push it. However, I wanted to do one more hike in Hetch Hetchy, so while the kids played near the Hetch Hetchy entrance, I quickly hiked 2.77 miles up to Lookout Point to get a view of the reservoir and the waterfalls from afar.
Lookout Point
Columbia Rock (Valley) Our final hike of our trip was 2.76 miles to Columbia Rock (en route to Upper Yosemite Fall). At the beginning of our hike, we saw a bobcat, which greatly excited the kids (and us!). This hike had us climb over 1000′ feet in just over a mile. We hiked dozens of switchbacks and wouldn’t you know it, the kids were literally running ahead of us the entire time. I do always say that the harder and more technical a hike is, the more the kids like it (apparently, hiking through snow is a big exception to this rule, though). When we reached Columbia Rock, we made and ate lunch before hiking back down to the valley floor.
Lillian Looking Out Over the ValleyAtop Columbia Rock
Sightseeing
In addition to the trails we hiked in Yosemite, we also stopped to take in the views at Tunnel View and Swinging Bridge (on different days with very different weather, as you can see from the pictures).
Cloudy Day at Tunnel View (Bridalveil Fall in Background)Sunny Day on Swinging Bridge (Yosemite Fall in Background)
We pointed out the enormity of El Capitan every time we saw it or drove by it. The kids were fascinated that people actually climb it and so when we returned from our vacation, they watched Free Solo on TV.
One day, after walking across the valley floor, we rode one of the free shuttles around. The park really encourages people to use these shuttles, but we found them to be running late, way overcrowded, and too few and far between. The kids enjoyed the ride and it did eventually get us from Point A to Point B, but I’d recommend a bike in the valley over a shuttle any day.
Normally, when we visit a national park, we stop at at least one visitor’s center and see the exhibits. The kids also often work on their Junior Ranger badges through the visitor’s center. However, we were not able to do that this time. The Yosemite Valley Visitor Center is not near a park entrance, like visitor’s centers typically are at other national parks. We ended up prioritizing hikes over indoor activities and were never able to make it to the visitor’s center during business hours.
Eating Out
As I stated above, we ate all of our breakfast meals in our villa. We packed nearly all of our lunches to eat on trails. That only left us with dinner for dining out, which worked well for our schedule and budget.
We ate at our resort’s tavern a few times; this restaurant had a great bar, diverse menu, and decent kid meals. It was also easy to get take-out meals and eat them in the lodge.
On the day that we visited Hetch Hetchy, we stopped at our resort’s sister property, Evergreen Lodge, on the way back to our resort and ate at their restaurant, which was lovely. We let the kids order mocktails and then after dinner we played at the resort, which was almost (but not quite) as fun as our resort. [Side note: If you’re considering a stay at Evergreen Resort, I would recommend it! Also, if you’re staying at either one of these resorts, I recommend visiting the other one for meals and playtime.]
Playing at Evergreen Lodge
We were in Yosemite Valley twice during dinnertime and ate at Base Camp Eatery (standard cafeteria food that is not very good) and the Ahwahnee Bar (okay food and drinks, but poor kids’ menu). The best part about both restaurants was just seeing the hotels around them. The view out the back of the Ahwahnee is spectacular and we sat and let the kids run around in the grassy area while we enjoyed the view.
Irene Running Under Half Dome Outside the Ahwahnee
There’s one story about eating at the Ahwahnee Bar that I want to remember…we were a bit of a spectacle, as we always are with four small kids in tow. Most of the patrons at the bar were older and did not seem to appreciate our happy hiking family. Even the wait staff seemed prematurely annoyed with us. But we ended up sitting at a table next to an older lady who just couldn’t stop smiling at us and chatting with us. It was clear that we reminded her of her younger years when she had small children of her own with her on vacation at Yosemite. She told us about her now grown children and relayed that when her children were small, they, too, like our children, colored on the kids’ menus at the Ahwahnee Bar. She saved the menus (for probably 30 years) and then had recently unpacked them and gifted them to her grown children, who, of course, could not care less about the old menus that they colored on as kids. She expressed her disbelief that her children did not want to cherish these old menus from their childhood in their own homes. Dan and I eyed each other and laughed because we related to her children in her story, not to her. She was very sweet and kind, though, and was not all annoyed by the presence of our children.
Serenity and Beauty
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.
John Muir, The Yosemite (1912), page 256
Even with four energetic small kids, we found (some) peace in the mountains and valleys of Yosemite, and so, so much beauty. We are already scheming ways to visit Tuolumne Meadows in east Yosemite this Fall. The mountains continue their call.
We have made it to the end of the 2022-2023 holiday season – yeah! Although Easter on April 9 ended the holiday season, it’s still close enough to March to include it in a 2023 first quarter recap. The three post-Christmas season holidays that we celebrate are Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. This year, we celebrated all minimally and without too much fuss, which this busy and tired mama was happy about.
Valentine’s Day
For Valentine’s Day, I didn’t do any baking. And you know what…no one but me even noticed! I did buy a few small gifts (like bath bombs and chocolates) for the kids and made sure that they had holiday outfits (William is pictured in his pajamas, though, because he celebrated the holiday at preschool with a pajama day).
My Forever Valentines
St. Patrick’s Day
Prior to this holiday, my Mom was visiting and so she made cut-out sugar cookies with the kids. After this holiday, I baked a belated soda bread. On St. Patrick’s Day morning, the kids followed the trail of gold coins down the stairs to the hidden pot of gold. This is our annual tradition, which they love. However, this was the first year that Vivian caught on that Mama was probably the leprechaun. For the next few days after St. Patrick’s Day, she picked up the task and left trails of gold coins and scavenger hunt clues for her siblings. It was a little bittersweet to see her doing this – she’s getting older and catching on to things, even if she doesn’t call us out directly – but it was so kind of her to extend the holiday fun for her younger siblings.
We attended a friend’s party on St. Patrick’s Day evening, which provided opportunities for a lot of fun photos and good times with our neighbors and friends.
St. Patrick’s Day OutfitsGreen Beer (or Something Like That!)Party People
Easter
We only participated in one local Easter activity this year, the Easter Eggstravaganza at Irvine Park Railroad (and, actually, just William and Irene did this). All the other egg hunt events and activities were the week prior to Easter, which is when we were on Spring Break in Mexico. William even missed his preschool egg hunts.
Sprouting BabiesEaster Fun with Nana at Irvine Park Railroad
Prior to Easter, the kids dyed eggs and then on Easter morning, they searched for the real eggs in the house and the plastic eggs outside. They opened their Easter baskets and we attended mass, which Vivian sang at in the children’s choir.
Easter BasketsHappy Easter!After Mass
I baked M&M cookies using Easter-colored candies and then roasted a chicken for our Easter dinner. We invited some friends over for dessert and celebrated the end of the long holiday season that started last Fall with Halloween.
We recently returned from our first international trip with the kids – a Spring Break trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. After extensive planning and prepaid bookings, this trip almost didn’t happen, but we’re so glad it did because it ended up being one of our best family vacations. We have fun and make memories on every trip we take, but some vacations have certainly been harder and although we may have come away grateful for the experience, we were also a little disappointed in how the vacation felt. Certainly, the younger the kids have been on trips, the harder they’ve been. Kids don’t stop growing, though, and as they’ve gotten older, and as we’ve gotten better at managing travel with them, our vacations have gotten better. All this to say, this Spring Break landed on the positive side of our vacation metrics.
As I said above, this trip almost didn’t happen. Since our kids had never traveled outside of the country, they didn’t have passports. In January, we applied for their passports with plenty of time for them to arrive before our April departure, according to the currently posted passport processing times. But each week that passed in March without completed passports in our mailbox made me more nervous. Would we actually have to bail on this trip because the kids’ passports didn’t come in time?! The published passport processing times kept extending – it turns out that more people than ever were applying for passports. As someone who extensively and carefully plans everything, I was kicking myself so much for not applying for their passports earlier. I ended up contacting (many, many times) both of my state senators and my representative and spending a combined six hours on hold with the National Passport Information Center to push the passports through. I also shelled out extra money for expediated shipping. Finally, a mere three days before our departure, all four passports arrived. Whew.
One of the reasons that we chose Cabo for our Spring Break destination was because it is only a 2-hour direct flight away. We flew out of LAX, which can be crazy, but we gave ourselves enough time to ensure that our departure went smoothly. When we arrived in Cabo, we retrieved our crappy minivan rental, which took longer than we would have liked in our tired traveling state, but it worked out better than taxis and rideshares for our large family.
Ready to Fly to Mexico!
As soon as we arrived at our resort, the beautiful Hilton Los Cabos, and were handed welcome hibiscus margaritas, our travel wariness dissipated and we activated vacation mode for the next five days. We stayed in an Altamar premier suite with an oceanview balcony, which was essentially adjoining hotel rooms. Dan and I had our own bedroom, Irene had her own bedroom (a large bathroom), and the big three kids had their own bedroom. We had two full bathrooms and a long balcony with amazing views, in addition to all of the Altamar amenities. The space worked out perfect for us! Each morning, we were up early in the six o’clock hour to start our day with breakfast and swimming and each night, right after dinner, we were all snug in our beds and fast asleep no later than 8pm. I think one thing that made this vacation so great is that everyone got good rest!
Our Ocean View
Pool & Beach
Much of our time on this trip was spent pool and beach side. I tried so hard to soak up the feel of relaxing in the water (even when Irene was in my arms) and the gorgeous ocean views. The resort had multiple pools, hot tubs, and a kids water slide, in addition to safe beach access, and we took full advantage of these amenities. Time by the water is still a little stressful for us since Irene is not yet water safe, but oh, we’re so close to being able to sit in a lounge chair and read while all the kids swim. The big three kids quickly learned their way around the resort pools and we felt comfortable with them swimming around.
Infinity Pool
Even though the Pacific Ocean is practically in our backyard, the kids were still so excited to swim and play at the beach in Cabo. Irene and I accompanied the girls down to the beach one morning, but didn’t go back again since Irene refused to put her feet in the sand or water. Dan took the big three kids down to the ocean multiple times, though, and each time they had a blast playing in the waves, building sand castles, and searching for (or being scared by the) crabs in the rocks.
Ocean Waves
Church
The day after we arrived in Cabo was Palm Sunday. Although we do not normally go to church on vacation, I wanted to show the kids some of the history of Cabo San Lucas, and so attending mass at one of the oldest churches in Cabo (it was built in 1730!) was on our agenda. Parroquia de San Lucas Evangelista (Parish church of Saint Luke, the Evangelist) was very small and it was packed and so the kids were in and out of it during the service (along with other parishioners’ dogs!). The mass was mostly in Spanish, but it was easy to follow, which was neat to point out to Vivian. After the service ended, we bought ice cream from a street vendor and then sat in a gazebo in the Plaza Amelia Wilkes and ate it.
Palm Sunday Mass
Dolphin Swim
One of the trip highlights for Dan and William was swimming with dolphins. Dan has loved dolphins since he was a kid and has wanted to swim with them since then, too. All his childhood dreams came true when he took William along to play and swim with dolphins at Cabo Dolphins (this is something that you definitely can’t do in the States anymore!). Although the girls would have loved this activity, too, we didn’t have a high enough adult/child ratio in our family to make this possible for everyone. So, Dan and William participated in this activity and the big girls and I went horseback riding on the beach. William rode on a dolphin and Dan swam underwater with a dolphin and they both kissed, danced with, hugged, and interacted with the dolphins. It was a really fun experience for them! Then at the end they were goaded into buying pictures of their experience (no personal cameras were allowed) that were at least double the cost of the actual experience. Still – dreams came true!
Swimming with Dolphins
Beach Horseback Ride
Lillian absolutely loves horses and so all her childhood dreams came true when we went on a private horseback ride on the beach. Both girls were thrilled to control their own horses (unlike other trail rides they’ve been on, the horses on this ride did not simply follow each other butt-to-nose in a straight line).
Beach Horseback Ride
Hike
Of course, of course, we had to go on a hike while in Mexico. I found a 1.7 mile hike up a hill that showed us spectacular views of both the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. The kids did well on the hike (I believe that Lillian won the No Whining Award on the hike) and gave them an opportunity to see more of the geography around Cabo San Lucas.
Cerro de la Z Hike
Food
We ate so much good food on this trip. I think that every meal was amazing. Immediately after arriving at the resort, we ate at a Mexican fiesta from the Talavera restaurant onsite. At the fiesta, they had live entertainment and Lillian joined the singers and dancers, showing off her Latin dance moves. Every morning during our stay, we ate breakfast at Talavera, which offered the most amazing buffets of food choices. We also celebrated Taco Tuesday at this same restaurant where Dan and I got to taste unique taco filling combinations.
Thumbs Up for Taco Tuesday
While at the resort, we also ate at Vela for dinner, Lena for lunch, Sotol for Happy Hour, Mio for lunch, and Dulce for ice cream. Offsite, we ate at Los Tres Gallos for dinner. This restaurant is located in the historic center of San Jose del Cabo and the kids loved the mariachi band and the random street cat roaming among the tables.
Mariachi Band at Los Tres Gallos
We also toured and ate at the well known Flora Farms the evening before Vivian’s 9th birthday.
Flora Farms Mango and Papaya Grove
More Fun & Relaxation
In addition to all the activities we did and food we ate that are detailed above, we also enjoyed complimentary evening cocktail hours; a family beach photo session; alternating afternoons at the spa for Dan and me; lizard stalking (the lizards were huge!); and crafts, games, and movies at the kids club for the big three kids.
Large Lizards
We had a very full and fun week! I highly recommend Cabo, and especial the Hilton Los Cabos, for families. This was a wonderful trip that allowed the kids to get some introductory experience in international travel. Now…where should we go next?!
We recently returned from a snowy 5-day/4-night road trip to Mammoth Lakes, CA. We love Mammoth sooooo much and everyone in our family had a great time on our trip. The area had their second snowiest January on record (2017 was the snowiest) and our early February trip allowed us to take full advantage of all that snow for skiing, snowboarding, sledding, tubing, and playing. Plus, it was absolutely beautiful there – the mountains were covered in deep snow and the views in all directions were spectacular.
A Suite with a View
This year, we stayed in a larger 2-bedroom suite at The Westin Monache Resort, adjacent to The Village. Our suite had two large bedrooms and two full bathrooms, a full-size kitchen, a fireplace, two balconies, and many almost floor-to-ceiling windows with amazing scenic mountain views. When we checked in, we were greeted with champagne, which was very welcoming after our long 6-hour car ride. The resort’s ski valet service was so helpful, we loved being able to pop down to the bar to grab a drink, and the underground parking was nice for keeping our car snow-free after a particularly snowy night and day. We will definitely stay here again!
So Much Snow at Our Hotel!
Since we had a full kitchen, we ate all of our meals in our suite, except for the one dinner we ate at a friend’s cabin down the street one night, and our lunches on the mountain. The hotel was expensive, but at least we saved on food costs.
Breakfast at the Hotel
On two of the evenings, we took the kids down to the pool/hot tub, which was directly under our suite. I also took the kids there to run off some energy while Dan loaded our car before our long drive home.
The Westin Hotel & Pool
Ski Days
We spent two full days at Mammoth Mountain skiing and snowboarding. The girls took full-day ski lessons out of Canyon Lodge, William took half-day ski lessons out of Canyon Lodge, and Irene spent two full days in child care in the Village (William joined her in the afternoons after his ski lessons). And Dan and I got two full days on the mountain by ourselves!
Our first day on the slopes, although windy and cold, was sunny. Dan and I ate lunch outside at The Outpost. We were able to ski the center and backside of the mountain, but couldn’t get to the top since it was closed most of the day. After the girls finished their ski lessons, I got in a few more runs with Vivian. She was so excited to ski with me and we were having so much fun together, but it turned south fast when we got separated going down a run. I could not find her anywhere and there were multiple places she could have ended up at the bottom. She did the right thing, though, and spoke with a lift operator who called me. We were reunited, but that did end our day of skiing on a rather stressful note.
Sunny Ski Day with Woolly
On our second day on the mountain, it snowed hard nearly all day. There was powder everywhere, which provided an extra challenge for the kids (and us!) to ski/ride in. I was able to get in a few runs with the girls before their lessons and a few runs in with Vivian afterwards (she skied her first black diamond and no one got lost!). It was cold and super windy all day (the backside and top never opened), but everyone bundled up and still had fun. Dan and I ate lunch in the crowded Mill, protected inside from the harsh weather.
Snowy Morning Ski Runs with the GirlsWilliam SkiingSki Bunch at Day’s End
The girls are truly getting to be such good (and safe) skiers and I am so proud. William has learned the basics, is confident, and has fun. Next year, William will advance to all-day lessons and Irene will join the rest of us on the slopes!
Sledding & Tubing Snow Play
In between our days on the slopes (we don’t like to ski two days in a row), we played in the snow. We went sledding with friends on our favorite sledding hill in town and I took the big three kids tubing. All the kids had a blast sledding, even Irene, and the Bigs and I had a ton of fun tubing. The views from the tubing hill were, as I keep saying, breathtaking; the runs were long and fast; there was no wait at all (of course I did have reservations); and the covered magic carpet ride to the top of the hill was very convenient. I’d recommend tubing here over anywhere in Big Bear any day!
Vivian’s Snow AngelSweet Snow Bunny IreneSledding FunFamily Snow PlayTubing Fun
In the Village
Our resort was across the street from The Village and in addition to getting the kids’ ski rentals there and riding the gondola in/out of there, we also played, sat by the outdoor fire pit, and attended Woolly’s Dance Party there.
Woolly & FriendsMammoth Babes
Overall, we had a very fun and successful trip. Mammoth feels like home to us – it’s “our” mountain. I have 20 years of memories going up there now and taking our four kids there certainly makes the best memories yet.
Our sweet Reney Beany, our last baby, is no longer a baby. She is two. Unlike with her older siblings, even after turning one, I called her a baby. But now, she’s a full-on toddler who talks clearly; runs, jumps, and climbs; has her own opinions; and expresses her own feelings. She is no longer just an extension of me. It’s wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. We celebrated her second trip around the sun like we celebrated all of the other kids’ second birthdays – low key with balloons, a homemade cake, singing, and a few presents. Irene loved the special attention!
It is tradition on our family for the birthday child to wake up to balloons decorating the kitchen. They all look forward to them and since Irene loves balloons now, too, it was so fun to see her excitement over her birthday balloons.
Birthday BalloonsIt’s My Birthday!TWO
I baked an Epiphany Cake for Irene this year since her birthday was so close to the holiday. She was so happy hearing us sing to her. “Happy to you!” she kept saying.
Happy Birthday to You!
Irene opened a few presents and this play sink was the biggest hit.
New Toy
Happy Birthday, Big Girl. You are so incredibly loved.
The kids and I started 2023 out with a nearly week-long trip to Ohio to visit my family. My sister and her family also few in from Colorado and so the whole gang was together, including all seven grandkids/cousins. We mostly hung out together, but we also squeezed in two ice skating adventures, one trip to an awesome library, and neighborhood bike rides/walks. Our week culminated with the celebration of Baby B’s baptism at one of the church’s in which I grew up. Then, we returned to California and our work, school, and activity routine.
This trip to Ohio was my second cross-country flight alone with all four kids and my last flight with a lap infant. Irene turned two just days after we returned home from Ohio, so from now on, she’ll need a seat of her own. It was a bittersweet end to a travel era that consisted of many, many, many flights with a baby or toddler on my lap.
Coincidentally, our flight out of California also occurred on my 20th Californiaversary. While jetting away from the state, I quietly reminisced about arriving 20 years ago to the day in my 2001 Oldsmobile Alero with no money, a bunch of debt, no local friends or family, and a 4-month technical writing internship. I feel very lucky for the life and family I have made in this busy, expensive, crowded, but also beautiful, active, and opportunistic state.
Leaving LAXLast Flight with a Lap Infant
The kids loved playing with their cousins in Ohio and they also loved ice skating at my undergraduate alma mater. This was such a fun, inexpensive activity that we will for sure be repeating it on future trips. On our first trip to the rink, only the big girls and I skated, but when we went back, William was ready to join in on the fun. One day, we followed our skating with a delicious pizza and pasta lunch at Campus Pollyeyes.
While we were waiting for my sister and her family to arrive from Colorado, my Mom and I took the kids to the Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s Main Branch. I’d been wanting to go here for years and I’m so glad that we finally made the trip. Their children’s library is the best children’s library that I’ve ever been to – great play areas, amazing themed exhibits, and plenty of space. We spent hours there. The kids played and read and I sat and read and watched them.
Saloff Children’s Library
Like I said, most of our time in Ohio was spent just hanging out with family. My brother and his family drove up from central Ohio and my aunt and uncle drove down from northern Michigan. We celebrated the family’s January birthdays. And then on the morning that we left, we went to church to witness my nephew’s baptism. Dan and I are honored to be two of his godparents and I was thrilled to stand up in church for Baby B.
Family
I’m sure we’ll be back in Ohio again this summer, like we normally are. This off-season trip was a great way to start the year and continue building on the relationships that my children have formed with my family.
During the last week of 2022, when things slowed down and work and school halted, we escaped to the local San Bernardino Mountains for some snow fun and a little relaxation. We hiked, skied, and went sledding, and when we weren’t active in these pursuits, we were reading by the wood fire in our cabin and drinking mugfuls of hot cocoa.
The very first thing that we did when we arrived in Big Bear was go on a hike, of course! Right before sunset, we hiked 1.6 miles on the Woodland Interpretive Loop Trail near the Big Bear Discovery Center. The trail was muddy, but the forest was beautiful and peaceful (except for our screaming children) and it was a great post-Christmas hike. Afterwards, we ate dinner at the Village Sports Bar because it didn’t have a wait to sit down.
Hiking with a View of the Ski Slopes
One our first full day in the mountains, we visited the small Big Bear Alpine Zoo, which was near our cabin in Moonridge. This zoo has a reciprocal membership with the Santa Ana Zoo, where we are members, so we got our whole crew in for free. We enjoyed the bear keeper’s talk and the playground at the far end of the zoo. I love small zoos (and museums and parks and pretty much all small places) that you can fully see in 1-2 hours without burning the entire family out and this zoo completely fit the bill for size.
Zoo Crew
Even though it only snowed a little bit while were were in Big Bear, the weather was still cold (and rainy) and so hot cocoa and a hot fire were mandatory after each of our daily excursions.
Hot Cocoa!
On the Wednesday of our trip, we attempted to go tubing…along with nearly everyone else in SoCal. The lines were absolutely insane and Irene was too young to go anyways, so we happily bailed on that activity and took our own sleds out into the forest to go sledding for free. However, since there hadn’t been any new snow recently, the sledding hill was mostly ice. The big kids didn’t mind at all, though, and had a blast (while I stood precariously nearby holding Irene the entire time so that she wouldn’t slip and fall down the hill). In the evening, we ate dinner at the Hacienda Grill, which we did have to wait awhile to get into (only a couple of restaurants in town actually take reservations, which was frustrating).
Ice Sledding
Luckily, by Thursday morning, there was a dusting of fresh snow on the ground, just in time for the big girls and me to have a ski day at Big Bear Mountain Resort. Surprisingly, in nearly 20 years, I had never skied here before. Dan dropped us off and took the Littles to the Big Bear Discovery Center. Viv and Lil each took lessons in the morning while I skied the entire mountain, top to bottom. After lunch outside, the three of us skied together, which was so fun. Both girls are getting good and they love skiing. They have confidence and are thrilled by it. I was a proud and happy Mama.
Big Bear Ski DayDiscovery Center Display
Before leaving town on Friday morning, we grabbed donuts from Dank Donuts for breakfast. On our way back home down the mountain, after pulling over on a windy road to clean the back of the car out after Vivian puked in it, we hiked a loop on the 2+ mile Heart Rock Trail near Crestline. The air was thick with mist and it felt like we were in the Pacific Northwest. The heart in the rock wasn’t much to look at, but it was a successful hike and the complaints from the kids were minimal.
Hiking Heart Rock Trail
By the time we got home, our car was wrecked with mud, food crumbs, and puke, but our bodies and minds were a bit refreshed after a busy holiday season. Perhaps a post-Christmas mountain getaway will become an annual tradition.
Even though we are nearing the end of January 2023, I would be remiss not to document our Christmas holiday fun at the end of 2022. As usual, our celebrations extended over six weeks. They included eight Santas (but only the last one was real), two preschool holiday singing programs, two holiday productions, multiple letters and calls to Santa, dozens of homemade cookies, lights, decorations, fake snow, one tree lighting, two Christmas church services and one “Noel Night,” presents, an amusement park, and some barnyard animals. Oh, and a tired Mama.
Our holidays officially started at the end of November when we decorated our house. This year, the kids put all of the ornaments on the tree all by themselves.
Tree Trimming
After trimming our own tree, we saw our city’s tree light up at the Civic Center.
All of the kids wrote multiple letters to Santa and he even wrote back to them. Santa also called to speak with them at home one evening.
Mailing Letters to Santa
In addition to all of the letters and calls to Santa, the kids also saw him eight times! The first two Santa visits were on our Arizona Thanksgiving trip and the the last time they saw him was on Christmas Eve when he was delivering presents.
Finally, the kids saw Santa unpacking presents in our house on Christmas Eve! We always wake the kids up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and allow them to sneak a peek at Santa.
It’s Santa!
William sang in two preschool holiday programs (the same ones his older sisters sang in) and his enthusiasm was so cute!
Singing Reindeer
My Mom came for a visit in December and we took her along to all of our holiday fun. She decorated a gingerbread house with the kids (an activity that I no longer want to participate in), brought a few presents for the kids to open while she was there, baked holiday goodies for us, and accompanied us when we saw the neighborhood holiday lights.
Gingerbread HouseThe Nutcracker at Segerstrom Center (Lil fell asleep during the last quarter of the ballet.)A Christmas Carol Musical at the Rose Center TheaterDana Point Harbor After the Boat Parade of Lights (Nana was with us, too!)Lights and “Snow” at Heritage Hill Historical Park
While my Mom was in town with us, Dan and I even got to sneak away for a few date night dinners and one neighborhood Christmas party.
Neighborhood Christmas Party at The Grove Clubhouse in Baker Ranch
On Christmas weekend, we attended two Christmas church services – one with my friend at her church and one at our church.
Vivian’s BFF and her mom joined us in the front row pew on Christmas Eve for mass at our church. Vivian sang in the children’s choir and Lillian acted as the “lead angel” on the alter when the Gospel was read.
Christmas Eve Mass
Finally, Christmas morning arrived along with presents!
Christmas Morning
Post Christmas, we finalized our celebrations with a day trip to SeaWorld where we saw their decorations and real reindeer!
Christmas at SeaWorld
All in all, the kids had so much fun during the holiday season. And we had fun providing the magic. I keep trying to figure out the right equation of activities to downtime in order to best enjoy the season and I’m not sure if I’ve achieved that yet, but regardless, we sure all made a lot of happy holiday memories.
The Chambers Family - A.D. 