Enough Already

What is it about there being 25 school days left that is making my students CRAZY?!!! I love them to death and all, but they are driving me nuts. Bring on summer... please! 

San Diego, Easter, and Too Much Fun!

As if the tide pools I went to in San Diego weren't enough fun, my family made sure I had a non-stop fun vacation the whole way through! Here are a bunch of pictures of just some of the things we did.

This is the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island just off of downtown San Diego. I have been here hundreds of times, but every time I go, I am amazed at how beautiful the hotel is, how fun the shops are, how good the ice cream is, and how gorgeous the beach right outside is.

My mom and I with the Coronado Bridge in the background. 

We took bikes from home, and rented a fun one for my pregnant sister and her boys to be biked around Coronado by my dad.

How cute is this bike! My sister's boys thought it was great to shout directions/commands to my dad to "Go faster!" or "Don't go in the water, Grandpa Rose!" No trust!

I can't go to San Diego without a trip to the beach. It was a beautiful day and so fun to hang out with my cousin Taryn, who happened to be visiting at the same time.

This is what you call teamwork! Luke would play/slam the piano and Ethan would work the pedals and tell Luke what songs to sing. At one point it was jibberish, another point Primary songs, and yet another was the names of his friends put to a tune. Audra and I let them play on in hopes of scaring away the salesman that my mom was nicely hearing out at the door.

No Easter with kids is complete without some egg dying. My mom bought this cool egg spinner, and we also had stickers, a clear crayon to leave designs behind after dying, traditional dyes in cups, and an assortment of other fun tools.

I had to get in on the fun of course!

We're still kids at heart who want to have a turn too.

A quick Easter church shot. I loved seeing Audra's cute GIRL baby bump! It was weird not having my brother David there. He is on his mission in West Virginia and pretty much almost forgot it was even Easter. Only then did he realize he needed a good dinner. Luckily, a nice member had him over.

Dad with his girls.

Easter dinner is always at my parent's house. Don't worry, we were only preparing for 26 people! No big deal. Here is Taryn and I again.

The boys getting ready for a hunt.

Luke cracked me up with his "creative counting" as he tried to figure out how much loot he accumulated. "6, 17, 13, 8, 6". When he was done I asked how many eggs he found. He promptly answered, "A Lot". Smart kid.

My Mom still spoils us with our own Easter baskets full of carefully picked out gifts and candy. These have been our baskets for I don't even know how many years!

Diving in for the good stuff.

No party is complete at my parent's without amazing flowers and various decorations. This was the kitchen table.

This is the dining room table.

Outside we hung lanterns from the overhang. It all turned out beautiful of course.

Thanks family for a fantastic break and thanks to Chris for being able to do without me for 10 days. Although, with part of that time being spent at the Masters golf tournament in Georgia, I don't feel too bad for him.

A Little Slice of My Kinda Heaven

I don't think my version of Heaven would be complete without the tidepools like the ones at La Jolla Shores in San Diego. Not everyone knows these exist and they spend a happy day soaking in the sun and waves at the beach, thinking they are completely fulfilled. If only they knew that all you have to do is walk a little ways past the pier to experience something more amazing than what any aquarium around could offer.

Hidden on, around, and in all these rocks and pools are a variety of ocean life. The ones we got to see included: star fish, sea slugs, an octopus, sea anemones, a sting ray, fish, crabs, coral, sea sponges, and much more. For some reason it is much more exciting when you find something on your own, out in nature, rather than have it handed to you at the aquarium.

There were so many huge star fish around, that we just stopped pointing them out.

If they could somehow make a blanket that could emmulate the softness of this sea slug, I would be a customer. Strange, I know, but you just have to feel one to understand. That and the fact that I am a blanket junkie.

I love this view underneath the pier

My mom refused to be in any shots, so there are a lot of pictures of me, the ocean, and its inhabitants.

This star fish was carrying around a lot of extra weight. It's amazing how strong they are!

This was the daddy of all the star fish we saw! It was gigantic!

This is the view coming down into the shores.

A huge hunk of coral. It's sharp, just ask my finger.

A gorgeous sunset on the beach. What a perfect day! To be honest, I lived in San Diego for 18 years and have never seen the tide out that far which is what let us see so much. It was truly amazing and I could have spent all day searching for critters.

I'm Leaving On An Airplane

No more teachers

No more books

No more teachers' dirty looks

Oh wait, I am the teacher who probably was giving dirty looks to all the over excited 2nd graders who so desperately needed a break like two weeks ago. All I know is... San Diego, here I finally come!

(Anyone recognize the the rhyme as being from Anne of Avonlea? Maybe it's just me that thinks about these movies.)