The Golden Coast

I'm not sure if that's what California's beaches are called for certain, but when we stepped onto the shores of Coronado Island near the Hotel Del--I kid you not--the sand sparkled with gold! I tried to get video of it, I tried to get pictures of it, but all I can say is, wow! was it pretty to watch the sand sparkle in the waves! Grandma J looked it up, it's not gold, it's mica, but I'm going to pretend that I discovered gold in the water, so that I can afford to stay at the Hotel Del Coronado. Granted, when we walked into the the interior, heavy with dark wood paneling, the fire alarms were going off and a kindly voice was telling us not to be concerned--which was maybe a little bit concerning. I'm guessing it had to do with the fellows pulling the stages of scaffolding from around the picturesque peak of the roof, completing their long labor of historic restoration.

We saw some jets fly by. We saw the endless, wide stretch of beach. We saw our toes sink into the soft, warm sand. We saw the waves crash over the rocks--and discovered these were the best tide pools, yet! Next time, we will bee-line for this pretty stretch of the USA :)

After our trip through The Del, we headed for the Brigantine restaurant for fish tacos. They were tasty! Then we did some souvenir shopping and enjoyed wandering in and out of all the little shops near the coast. One thing we really hadn't enjoyed much of on this trip--ice cream! So, we popped into the Moo Time Ice Cream parlor and ordered up some amazingness (funny that CA friends identified our location, just from the photos of the ice cream :)

Back at the house, I worked on getting some of the suitcases packed, got closer to finishing up a book Grandma J happened to have on her shelf that I happened to have on my reading wish list, and got a bit cleaned up after ourselves--which also meant we got a few more loads of laundry done.

For dinner, we drove down to grab some yummy, cheesy pizza . . . then drove back up to the house to enjoy eating it by the fire. I also unpacked and repacked the sweet little baby things P got for Baby S. Grandma J wanted to see them, and it's so fun to fold those tiny little outfits!

We realized that my phone did some time change theatrics and we needed to leave much earlier for the airport the next day than we first planned (good thing we checked when we checked in). 

For our drive to the airport, the weather was wet and gloomy for the first time, really, since we arrived nearly two weeks before. We were sad, Grandma J was sad, but as much as we'd like to stay, we needed to scoot on home. I'll tell you who was very happy to see us! Well, maybe Graysen--he kindly picked us up from the airport (we connected in Minnesota, adding to the list of all the airports our Crew flew in and out of; they did have a Chick-fil-a, so that was a bonus).

But if you answered, Daisy, you were correct! She did the ultimate happy howls for like 20 minutes . . . and then peed or puked in her kennel four times over the next week. We're now closing the door after dinner, so she can't chugga-lug-glug her water before bedtime.

But as usual, I digress . . . what a special trip this was! We are grateful for CA family and friends who welcomed us back, fed us, entertained us, celebrated with us, and took care of us. Caelan said, "I really like having a stay-at-home grandma; I think that should be a thing." Lol! All the meals planned, prepared, all the snacks provided, all the dishes done (with a little help from us, of course), all the days filled with fun . . . sunshine, palm trees, the ocean, the flowers, the canyons . . . it was a blessing upon blessing kind of vacation, and we are still thankful--even almost a month later, because it took me forever to write these posts--for the rest and recouperation. Until next time!

Disneyland!!

. . . surprise, Disneyland!! I think we determined the last time we visited Disney was when we met Rissa and her fam in 2011. That was so long ago! And on that trip, we didn't have Little Jen with her magic app. Well, first, I should say, Little Jen is a Disney adult (I think she fits the description). She brought ears for everyone and made us choose our style the night before :) I didn't think I'd keep ears on all day, but in fact I did! 

Rissa's hubby, Trent, was a trooper and an excellent chauffer. He kept up/put up with we four ladies all the livelong day--which also happened to be Rissa's birthday! After we had parked, rode the shuttle, made it through the entrance, saw Sleeping Beauty (she was awake), and listened to the brass band, Jen bee-lined us for a shop on Main Street and got us celebration buttons to wear. Mine was for retirement and throughout the day, Disney staff people would congratulate me on that very thing. Isn't that fun? 

You know what else is fun? The Disney Lightening Lane fast pass . . . Jen had a system for booking big ticket rides, so we could just walk on and enjoy the fun without waiting in long lines (Grandma J provided my pricey pass as part of my retirement gift, thanks Grandma J!! :) We zippity-do-dah'ed through the lines and exited the rides to food ordered, paid for, made fresh, and awaiting pick up--another of Jen's app's wonders! First was beignets after our first, and always my favorite, ride of the day--Pirates of the Caribbean. From previous trips, I don't remember the little French Quarter scenery behind the ride, but we wandered through the shops and it was really cute. Disneyland was certainly busier than Universal, but we enjoyed equally amazing weather!

I should add some pictures--I should also mention that it is 2 a.m. and I've been up all night with a cough for four nights in a row. Sleep-deprived writing is always interesting to read back over later . . . :)

We didn't spend much time chasing down characters, but we couldn't resist when characters came to us! Or walked by us on their way back to "The 100 Acre Woods" and were kind of sidetracked in their process by Jens and a Rissa jumping into their path :) So, Little Jen had this tiny, tiny backpack--and she kept pulling stuff out of it like Mary Poppins herself! In this case, she'd brought along paper, a pen, envelopes, and even stamps, so she could mail her college boys letters signed by Eeyore from Disneyland! That lady is a marvel (as were the confections in the bakeries of Disney, wowza!!)

Other wonders of Jen's app--she could add characters to our photos while we waited in lines. She could also operate robots and solve puzzles and codes in Star Wars land. She almost made the Millennium Falcon (which I keep wanting to call the Millennial Falcon) take off from its crash site (or at least made it smoke and look like it could ;) 

Yes, Star Wars land was really cool! There were Storm Troopers walking around, and we saw the Mandalorian with an animatronic (or puppet) Grogu in tow! I took Buck and Brennen along on some of the rides via video stream, and they were in secondhand astonishment of things I was seeing. The rides were so crazy cool! 

Little Jen knew that you could interact with the cast of the Smuggler's Run to feel like you really were captured by the bad guys, awaiting interrogation in the bad guy ship . . . but I didn't. She got the attention of one of these patrol guards, pointed at me, and said, "She killed an Ewok and skinned him to make my ears." Giggle, giggle. Suddenly, I'm surrounded by characters who were not breaking character asking questions about the Resistance and my role in it--all while I'm wearing Princess Leia ears, and she is clearly NOT on their side. "Giggle, giggle," says my friend of many decades. Oh my goodness! I really wasn't sure what to do with all that :) 

Thankfully, our turn came for interrogation, and then we were busted out of there through a secret panel, and we escaped the bad ship and even drove through the legs of those giant AT-AT walkers (and, yes, I looked up how to spell it :) I would have loved to ride both of the Star Wars rides again. Buck said seeing those new aspects of the park was the first time he really regretted not joining us! 

(These videos are all part of the same ride--it was like 15 minutes long!)

But he and Brennen had a pretty great day with Grandma J! They went to check out a church I'd done some research on online--the sermon was on Revelations, so that's never an easy first visit topic to absorb. Then they went to a burger place that Grandma J likes to take guests--other than In-n-Out, lol :) And then they helped with a variety of jobs around the house, like repotting a giant aloe plant and cleaning/disassembling a Trager for Jen and Fake Rosie to drive back to Jen's house for her cheffy hubby to use.

Back at Disney, we definitely went into more shops and certainly stopped at more food spots than I ever have at Disney, before. We found the one water bottle filling station and swung by there often as we zigzagged through the park to catch our ride times. We rode Space Mountain and Jen drove us in a little car that still spurted diesel fumes after all these years :) Small World was closed for renovations, but we discovered a princess shop which is basically Build-a-Bear for your children--and your children are the bear! For some undisclosed price, they could get their hair and make-up done, then parents could accessorize their child's princess dress, shoes, jewelry, handbags, magic wands, etc. etc. Little princes also had an option, but not the full selection the girls had--and these were not Treat Night quality costumes. These little getups were legit! Jen said that if you go in during daylight hours, they throw pixie dust sprinkles over you . . . huh.

Caelan did a good job of navigating us through Universal Studios on the app she downloaded for that park--but the Disney app was an extra level. I don't know how anyone would accomplish anything in the park without it. We even scanned ride photos and photos from the park photographers and they all appeared in the app. If ever you go to Disney--go with an expert Disney Adult, like Little Jen!

As you can see, we stayed allllll day! However, we people in our 40s wore out about 9 p.m. And since the fireworks were at 9:30, we decided to do the wise old person thing and get out of the park ahead of the crowds. We skipped our last ride reservation, the Matterhorn, which honestly Idk if I've ever ridden, grabbed some last souvenirs and snacks (which we were too full to eat--but Jen wanted to find Rissa a little birthday cupcake, aww :), and counted on Trent to get us back to the ranch.

Buck and Brennen were still awake when we arrived home. We quickly realized that, though they, incredibly, managed to fit the entire disassembled Trager into Fake Rosie's car--there was not going to be room for the large amount of suitcase and dog kennel that they didn't know also had to fit. So, they unloaded the grill and reassembled it the next day [fast forward two weeks: Mark and Jen drove over on Mark's birthday to stay the night with Grandma J and to pick the smoker up in their minivan--a much better fit! They took Grandma J to breakfast at the crepe restaurant, which was really sweet. We then received pictures of the meat Mark was cheffing on the T, and Buck and Brennen knew their efforts and Grandma J's gift were well worth the effort]. 

Rewind to the Disney day . . . it was fun to talk to Buck and Brennen about the fun and busy day! We chatted for an hour or more, which was awesome :) Then midnight started calling this sleepy princess to pumpkinland . . . well, honestly, that day, my shoulder ached from all the everything--I think Jen said we were at 22,000 steps? I'll have to check my texts. But I still never really felt tired, thanks to that shot, I suppose, or maybe it was just the wonder of the day with wonderful friends. I'm tired now though, cough, cough, go away!

Beachy Transition

Oh my goodness, all the emotions! The kids left in the (VERY) wee hours of the morning, making their way back through Phoenix and Charlotte (of all places) to their home destinations. Again, lots of prayer and I was thankful they all landed safely when and where they were meant to. We missed them already . . . then in swooped my friends, once more, and off we went again! Brennen and Buck joined the fun, while Judi chose a rest day (they were up at 3:30 a.m. for the airport run!)

We drove back down towards San Diego and found a spot in the same parking garage as the friends ahead of us. There was an all-vegan street fair happening; it smelled good, but I think it was 99% tofu. And a lot of dogs. Kind of just ... tents of dogs? They seemed happy to be hanging out in tents. Idk. Anywho . . . our destination was a unique, independently owned bookshop called Verbatim. It was super cool inside, like what you would dream up as a kid or read about in a story about bookshops! They spelled the name of the shop in books on the back wall, so creative! There were nooks and crannies and chairs and curiosities--I found Gab the What to Expect When You're Expecting book that helped me so much two decades ago. I checked to make sure this one was updated (2022 :) but the illustrated girl on the cover didn't look old enough to be starting another generation. Is that a sign of old age, when even imaginary people start looking too young for things? Lol :)

Next door was a darling, partially open-aire clothing/plant/children's shop called Pigment (not a tattoo parlor; that was my first guess :) I could have bought a house payment's worth of stuff for the baby and her parents, but I resisted (but I did take pictures for ideas and inspiration ;)

We decided to be hungry, and the closest, best-smelling food location (not the tofu tents) was just across the street, called Swami's. The business owner was extremely enthusiastic about our large party, and rang us up by running between two cash registers until all our orders were placed. We sat outside, because that's what you do in March in California, and waited for the deliciousness to arrive. And it did arrive! Mmm brunch burritos and all the delicious things that can appear on a plate. We topped it off with a coffee/chai from the exact next-door shop, and enjoyed the conversation with friends from 25+ years, plus fake Rosie :)

Next, we headed to the beach--as one must when one (or seven) is that near the ocean! We saw a guy literally dressed as Maui from the Moana movies wandering back and forth and a military wedding happening in the park. Jen and Riss tried to fly kites above the sand and surf, but the kites preferred swimming to flying. It was good to just put our toes in the sand, soak up the sun, and enjoy the day. That's also what you do in California :)

The out-of-towners (we were temporarily locals ;) headed back to the hotel to switch salt-dampened clothes for dry options and to grab Fake Rosie's dog, Darla. They met us back at Grandma J's where we feasted on a plethora of leftovers from the week's dining festivities. 

With all the doors closed (so tiny Darla didn't get lost) and company staying later than her typical bedtime, Miss J chose the next available option to Grandma J's room--our bed! She refused to look at me when I told her that I wanted to reclaim my slumber spot and that she should depart my premises :) It took Grandma J to convince her the coast was clear and her own favorite sleep space available!

Throughout the week, Miss J would lay on the rug in the guest room or in the bathroom in front of the cabinets, just reminding us that this was really her domain and we were guests in it. But I really did want to go to bed because the next day was . . .

Surprise!

Surprise, surprise, surprise! It felt like a whole line of surprises stacked up awaiting my discovery. Everyone played it cool in the morning, while I wrote postcards and fussed about not spending time with the kids while they were still in CA; our last day all together. Caelan finished the puzzle and insisted we take a picture with it (I didn't realize it needed to be put away for the day's unexpected festivities). 

Buck wouldn't give me any hints about the why of our brunch of crepes. I was even more confused when I walked into this restaurant to find a table already full of food and a person who was clearly not my friend, Rosie, hiding behind a life-sized picture of my friend Rosie. (I should add: the night before, we found a home improvement show, where they distract the family for a day and then the family comes home to basically an entire home renovation. I was getting inklings of this trickery echoing from the show, but clearly, I didn't have a home to renovate). Buck indicated that this was our table, so I sat down with Fake Rosie, who very nicely introduced herself as Jeni and confirmed that I do not know who she is. At this point, the two goofballs who'd been watching this unfold from the doorway I was supposed to have walked in--realized they were part of the surprise, and the part that would make more sense, lol :) So, in they swooped to give hugs and join us for breakfast. My mind was quite literally boggled.

I was trying to put the pieces together and simultaneously expected to order food--I'm still not sure what I ate, but noticed I have a picture of it :) Jen (the one I know) made lemon bars (they were amazing) and brought them for me on her road trip. We'd joked about all of this--me needing a shoulder nurse, Gabby needing an OB nurse--on a text thread earlier in the week, as a goofing around way to say they should come out and do "work" on vacation with us. Little did I know, they weren't joking--and suddenly, there they were! 

We talked and laughed and caught up, but I still didn't quite understand if they just happened to be in town or why they were there eating breakfast with us. I also forgot we were in a public place, until a nice older lady came up and put her hand on my chair and said, "You all have raised the energy of this whole place! You're having so much fun, and oh, your laugh!" We thanked her, and then I tried to reign in my distinctive (and loud) laugh a little :)

Buck invited the traveling trio to come back to his mom's house to say hello to everyone. In the car on the ride back, he asked me what I thinking about the crepes now, and I told him I imagined maybe he took me seriously when I joked about a catered retirement party at the beach. He just laughed. We got to the gate, the girls in the lead car zoomed through. Buck kept trying to get the code to work; I called Caelan to get the code from Grandma J again--maybe this was another stall tactic, so the trio could join the rest of the house in position to yell, "SURPRISE!" when Buck and I walked through the door.

In the short time we were gone, everyone at the house sprang into action--decorating with balloons, banners, swirly things, and those puffy ball ornaments in our school colors! They welcomed Grandma J's neighbors, prepped a mountain of food, got dressed up . . . I was flabbergasted! There was a cake with my name on it and colorful envelopes holding cards from people, some of whom I met in that moment, who call CA their home. My friends kept giggling, and finally the understanding sank in--they were here for a retirement party for me. Wow!

There was even a special program! With everyone's help, Caelan built a slideshow that shared highlights of my educating career. And now I'm finding out all the behind the scenes information mining that had been going on around me. Brennen at some point was tasked with gathering all the high school transcripts to send to Caelan. He missed this text, and claimed no prior knowledge of these upcoming, now happening, events. At the party, Caelan read him the text she'd sent--out loud with the request and what it was for and when it was happening--that was pretty funny :) 

Putting the pieces together, I remember, months(?) ago, Caelan telling me that Gabby should have a copy of her high school transcript; so I found Gabby's transcript and emailed it to her. Gabby mentioned this was a weird thing to receive, but she was in on Caelan's plan, so forwarded the information to her sister. Brennen however clearly wasn't, so Graysen came in clutch with a request to see his own transcript--while I was distracted by Brennen and Sarah being here. I thought G$ needed it for college, because I hadn't gotten an update on whether the official one landed, but then he also asked to see Brennen's, so he "Could see which one of us is smarter." Seemed like a brotherly thing to do. He took them upstairs, comparing GPAs and I still didn't think anything of it. Lol :) Caelan used this information in the slide show to highlight the 52 subjects the kids collectively learned over the years--wow!

Once upon a conversation, Caelan also asked me how many days of school we did each year. Apparently this was so she could math out 5 hours per day x 150 days per year x 17 years = 12,750 hours in the classroom. Whoa. They broke that down to minutes and days and even years . . . 1.46 of them. I thought it was sweet that they each included their favorite memory of homeschooling--Buck and Grandma J, too! Gabby was the researcher, gathering pictures and stats from the blogs of years past . . . like how many classroom critters we had and in what number (there was a lot). Gabby also threw in some humor with statistics like, "How many times Mom hit her head on the bunkbed while teaching . . . almost as many times as Nancy Drew was knocked out." Funny, and true :) I'm not sure about the next one, though . . . lol

Yearend ice cream celebrations, graduation parties, senior spring break trips--they thought of everything! It was amazing; it made me proud of all the work they put in over the years and the joy it was to home educate these amazing people! I'm so thankful for all the time God gave me to spend with them in their growing up years, seeing them embrace learning and discovering who God created them to be is an incredible part of the package. I'm so glad Buck came up with the idea to educate our Crew at home, and also for this whole amazing completion celebration! All the happy tears!

Lest I forget the food . . . Buck grilled specially-bought carne asada outside on the patio and it was delicious! There was also pork and chicken, green chile, cornbread, all the fixings--another feast! 

What a memorable day with the people I love! I felt special, recognized, and appreciated. I'm so thankful Buck pulled off this surprise--although, it's a little alarming just how many people managed to keep this soiree a secret. Even our Wedding Czar was like, "Yeah, I knew . . . was it fun?!" Lol! Our Crew can sure throw together a party. It was an honor to be celebrated :)